Do you ever have trouble getting your kids to eat their vegetables? Unfortunately, a lot of youngsters simply refuse to eat their veggies.
"X-Ray Vision Carrots"
You might be surprised to hear what researchers at Cornell University found after studying the names of certain veggies. They presented 186 four-year olds with the same old veggies, but called them cool names like "Tomato Bursts" and "X-Ray Vision Carrots."
The preschoolers ate nearly twice as much of their vegetables as they did on days when veggies were simply called "tomatoes" or "carrots". Not only that, but in the days following the experiment, the kids continued to eat fifty-percent more of the veggies, even though the fun names were no longer being used.
Different Name, Same Great Taste
Food names can influence grown-ups as well. In a similar study, adults dining at a nice restaurant were offered a complimentary glass of the same wine with their dinner.
Half of the diners were told the wine was from a vineyard in North Dakota, while the other half were told the wine was from California. Not only did the diners who thought they were drinking California wine give higher ratings to the wine, but they ate more of their meal.
Their overall reviews of the food and restaurant were significantly higher than those of the customers who thought their wine was from North Dakota. Basically, the same foods seem to taste better if we expect them to.