Are you a glutton for novelty??

I was just reading a blog post that stated "we are gluttons for novelty" -- and I think that is true.  From the larger perspective of how very difficult it is to sit down to write this post and feel my attention being distracted with the thought of what might be showing up in my inbox or happening on Twitter to the more narrowly focused idea that the more variety there is in my fridge, the more I will eat in a day.

We like new things -- you don't have to look any further than the crock pot in your fridge with the leftovers from Sunday.  Think anyone is getting in there again before that food goes bad?  Nope -- you're better off just to put it in the freezer right now -- we've tasted it and moved on to something new.

We like different.  Why do you think we all eat so much when we're at a buffet?  Lord knows you don't want to miss out forever on that chocolate pudding and all three kinds of jello!

Did you know that if M&M's are sorted by colors into different bowl, test subjected eat fewer of them than if all colors are mixed into one bowl?  It's true!  We don't like to miss out on anything -- even different colored M&M's that don't taste any different no matter what the color.

So what's that mean for our ability to be more mindful with our eating?  Just recognizing that more variety makes it more tempting to eat can help us.  Try buying one or two variety of yogurts or fruits each time  you go to the store.  Get one wonderful cheese at a time.  It will alleviate some of the stress of eating one so you can move on to the next.

And then give some thought to what variety pack trips you up.  How could you change up your buying habits to limit the temptation eat for novelty?