Choosing a favorite food can be hard — after all, there’s no shortage of options to choose from. It could be a childhood favorite, homemade classic, or even a sign of your culinary adventurousness — but whichever your favorite meal is, it could be more telling than you realize.
In fact, your favorite meal reveals much about your personality, interests, and habits, not just your culinary taste. So what’s your favorite meal telling everyone? We’ve outlined 17 of the most popular ‘favorite foods’ — and what each is saying about you. Next time you reveal your favorite, you’ll realize you might be revealing much more than just that…
1. If you put hot sauce on your hot sauce
If your motto is “it’s not a meal if your lips aren’t burning,” then chances are you like to live on the edge, according to a study presented at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo. Spicy foods set off pain receptors, which you’d think would be a deterrent to eating them, yet for some people, that’s the allure. The researchers found that people who love their food spicy hot are also adrenaline junkies, desiring novel and intense stimulation. Burrito bungee jumping anyone?
2. If you love sour gummy worms so much you even lick the crystals out of the empty bag
Who doesn’t love a good sweet/sour combo? Yet there’s something particularly crave-worthy about those sour fruity candies, especially if you often feel conflicted or frustrated with your life, says Alanna Kessler, RD, a certified dietitian nutritionist in New York City and founder of Be Well. “Sweets, in general, are often used as comfort foods while people seek out sour foods when they’re on-edge, restless, or anxious,” she explains. If you constantly crave the two flavors together it may indicate that you get overwhelmed easily but you’re also good at bringing balance back to your life.
When deciding where to eat out, do you suggest the new fusion restaurant? Do you buy random foods at the store even if you don’t know what they are because they look fun? Did you serve a Turducken at Thanksgiving? If you answered a rousing yes, you’re likely a risk taker who also loves things like bungee jumping or the stock market, according to Kessler. A new food is a new adventure waiting to happen, and you’re not going to miss a minute (or taste) of it, she adds.
4. If you pick the caramel corn out of the cheese-and-caramel popcorn mix
Having a sweet tooth may mean you have a sweet personality to match, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The researchers found that people who crave cake, candy bars, or other similarly sweet foods are more likely to be agreeable, friendly, pleasant, and outgoing. Maybe Oscar the Grouch just needed to spend a little more time with Cookie Monster?
5. If your go-to happy food is pizza
Pizza tops the list of favorite foods for many people. One reason you can’t resist a slice is that pizza is the most addictive food, according to a study published in PLOS One. The combination of fats and simple carbs makes the brain light up like a Christmas tree. But if you love that cheesy, crusty goodness, it also shows that you may be an extrovert, Kessler says. Pizza is the ultimate party food—convenient, cheap, feeds a crowd—which makes it the go-to dish for people who love to be surrounded by others, she adds.
6. If Sunday dinner is always a pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Traditions are the ways we keep in touch with where we came from, and in no area is that truer than with food. But being a traditionalist doesn’t mean you’re boring! “Meat-and-potatoes people prefer an uncomplicated, simple life, and put a lot of importance in family and traditions,” Kessler says. And it doesn’t have to be a pot roast, per se, but rather any food that you grew up eating in a routine way that makes you feel connected to your loved ones, she adds.
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