Even though I plan, I do enjoy a little spontaneity in life. On my way to work this morning, I decided that a one-week series on food and cooking might be fun.

Today's installment is about knowing your food profile. By that, I simply mean knowing the types of food and food combinations that you enjoy the most. Each person has a different food profile. For example, I love the combination of coffee and chocolate, thus I developed my famous double-chocolate mocha walnut brownies. A dear friend of mine cannot stand that combination, though she likes both coffee and chocolate when consumed separately. I love the combination of sweet and salty, but I know people who absolutely refuse any juxtaposition of sweet and savory on a plate, even rejecting a slice of ham topped with a pineapple ring or accompanied by cinnamon apples.

Why bother to know your food profile and the food profile of others? It will help you plan menus and choose recipes. It will make mealtime less of a chore. It will cut down on food waste. It can even be the first step in broadening your range of food options.

The key step in developing your food profile is paying attention to the things you like to eat:

• Are there particular meals that you love to cook and eat?
• When you eat out, what sort of fort do you gravitate to on the menu?
• When you grocery shop, what foods attract your eyes and your taste buds?
• What recipes (online, in a newspaper or magazine, or on cooking shows) make you say "I should try that!"?
• What toppings do you like on pizza, burgers, salads, ice cream?

The answers to these questions will be the building blocks in your food profile. They will tell you the kinds of foods and food combinations that you prefer.

A few hints in developing your food profile:

• It's not a one and done thing. You will continue to refine your food profile throughout your life.
• Be honest. You may think it sounds better to say that you just love fresh dark greens like chard and kale, but if what you really like is cheese, you'll either be miserable or throwing a lot of food away. No, you can't eat 3 cheese-based meals a day, but you can learn that finishing off a salad with a teaspoon of shredded cheese makes you happy and far more likely to eat the salad.
• Pay attention to cooking methods. I am not a fan of steamed Brussels sprouts. I eat them, but I'm not excited about it. I'd never order them off a menu. But roasted Brussels sprouts are a whole different ball game. Cooking methods (or lack of cooking for foods that can be eaten raw) can make a big difference in taste and consistency.

In the next post, we'll look at some easy ways to broaden your food profile.