Your kids can learn to crave Broccoli. Here is how..

If there is one vegetable that is loathed in our household, it is the humble broccoli. I am not sure what it is about this vegetable, but our kids hate it and don’t want to touch it. I believe that that is the same across many households around the world.

So what if you could train your (and of course, your kids) brains to actually crave and want Broccoli? Sounds crazy doesn’t it?

But new research suggests that it can be done.

Scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University and at Massachusetts General Hospital have shown that you can train your brain to fire the same “feel good” neurotransmitters for healthy food that you get when you eat a chocolate or donut. The brain “rewards” you by firing dopamine and it “sparkles” for fatty foods. But you can train your brain to do the same for Broccoli.

It all has to do with eating a low calorie, high fiber diet. Combine that with educating yourself over the effects of a nicer diet and you can, over time, actually crave that nice juicy piece of Broccoli, the same way you are craving a donut right now.

Want to give it a try?

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I came across the Etsy shop Bad Stitched when I was looking for bookmark cross stitch patterns and found their adorable pride bat bookmark, which I didn’t share then because I was going for more of a back to school vibe, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you love rainbows and bats.

This Etsy shop is big on whimsy and color, but not on organization, as there are not categories. Still, as of this writing there were only a little more than 60 patterns, so it’s small enough to scroll through.

In keeping with the theme of the bat bookmark, there are a lot of designs with animals and insects in different colors. Another one that caught my in this neon cicada with a crescent moon and stars. This one is 85 by 70 stitches and uses 16 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 6 by 5 inches, or 15.4 by 12.7 cm.

You’ll also find patterns with animals such as mice, a snail, a jellyfish, a wolf, a corgi in a birthday hat, a fat seal and other bat designs. There are several mushroom designs, a pirate frog, and a scuba diving ghost (among other ghostly designs). You’ll find cats and mythical characters, a mouse thinking about eating strawberries and more.

There’s also an ebook full of mushroom designs, and another of creepy creatures for Halloween and beyond. There’s also a Pantheon bundle, full of gods, goddesses, characters from mythology, three amphora designs and a Greek inspired font.

If these sorts of designs sound like something you’d like to stitch, check out Bad Stitched on Etsy.

Know of a cross stitch designer (or are you a cross stitch designer) who should be featured in the designer spotlight? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending a note through the “suggest a DIY” link at the top of the page.

[Photo: Bad Stitched]

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