Tired of bland “diet food”? Try This —
Your “diet” shouldn’t be stopping you from eating flavor filled food
So you’re making an effort to eat healthier. But it’s diner time and you sit down and look at your nice plate of baked chicken breast, steamed veggies, and brown rice … YUM! These stereotypical “diet” foods that can often be dry and bland when cooked to anything short of perfection. However, you should never be torturing yourself with boring meals. It is so easy to add a lot of flavor with only a little bit of extra effort, giving typically boring diet meals some much needed extra pizazz.
There are many ways to add flavor to any dish. However, many come with a boat load of calories to boot, and these can add up fast. If you’re trying to cut out unnecessary calories it is important to be cognizant of how you’re cooking your food. Oil, butter, and mayo based sauces aren’t going to be your best bet as. But never settle for eating dry food just because you don’t want to coat it in fat. There are so many ways to add flavor and moisture to any dish without breaking the caloric bank.
- *Disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist. These are just the tactics I’ve used in the past to add flavor to my food, making “diet foods” something that I look forward to.
Salt
As kids we are told that too much salt will raise your blood pressure to unhealthy levels. While this should be a concern for some (please check with your doctor), most people do not need to avoid excess salt. Let’s be real — salt enhances the flavor of basically everything, so don’t be shy when you put it on your food. Pink Himalayan salt is especially great for replenishing electrolytes in your body (just as an added bonus).
Mustard
I didn’t use to like mustard. I used to be put off by its extremely strong flavor. But as I’ve gotten older, mustard has quickly become one of my favorite condiments. The calories in one teaspoon of mustard are basically negligible (~3). I add a healthy does of mustard on all my sandwiches, vegetables, salads, burgers, you get the point.
Hot Sauce / Sirachia
Hot sauces (especially any sort of buffalo sauce) can add flavor to literally anything. Pick your poison and be careful, you won’t need to drown your food in this stuff to feel the heat. As an added bonus, you naturally eat spicier foods more slowly — something that health experts recommend for everybody to do.
Zero sugar sauces
I know so many people who love to put either (both?) of these condiments on basically everything they eat. Their zero sugar counterparts are great if you’re okay with taking in some artificial sweeteners. Those of us who are can successfully lower calories in these areas by up to 75%. Take a good hard look at the nutrition facts on your favorite BBQ sauce next time and let me know if you decide to make the switch.
Balsamic Vinegar
Don’t get this confused with balsamic vinaigrette. No, I’m not talking about the salad dressing. I’m talking about the extremely acidic, pungent, and amazingly flavorful stuff used in making the dressing. This stuff is great for flavoring pasta, vegetables, meats, tofu, you name it. You can even use it as a salad dressing by itself. Take it from me (who learned this the hard way), a little bit of this stuff goes a very long way.
Tomato / Avocado / Pickles / Onion
I am very aware that I just listed out three different vegetables (or fruits depending on who you ask), but I put these in because they are great tools if you don’t want to eat a sandwich or salad as dry as the Sahara Desert. They all naturally emit “juices,” adding moisture, texture, crunch, and creaminess to whatever you eat. Sometimes I’ll use these vegetables instead of salad dressing.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon has quickly become my favorite spice. I use it to add flavor and sweetness to a whole bunch of things (without having to add honey or sugar). For example, it’s perfect in/on top of pancakes and waffles, and as a topping for yogurt, various fruits, and rice cakes.
Frozen Fruit
This one might seen a little odd to some of you so just hear me out. Frozen fruit (when microwaved for 30 seconds to 1 minute), is one of the best toppings those of us with a sweet tooth. These berries will take on a syrup like consistency and can be used to replace whipped cream, maple syrup, ice cream, etc. I especially enjoy them in Greek yogurt, with pancakes (in lieu of syrup), and on top of any sort of protein based desert (cause we all know these can be dry as hell).
Lemon / Lime Juice
I recently started cooking more with these two citruses and they add so much flavor. Like a lot of things on this list they are perfect on top of salads, meat, vegetables, rice, etc. Instead of basting your chicken with oil, try coating it with lemon juice. You’re not going to get the same crispness, but you’ll still have flavorful, moist chicken, without the added fat.
There are all things that I did while losing weight, and continue to do today. If you’re trying to save on calories, condiments, toppings, and cooking fats are one of the first places you should start. Together they rarely ever add nutrition value and don’t come with a lot of volume to fill you up. By making easy swaps like this, you can easily save yourself hundreds of calories a day.
Again, I’d like to repeat that I am not a nutritionist and tried very hard not to give any actual nutrition advice in this post. I am really just hoping that these tips will help someone who is struggling to cut the extra fat (no pun intended) out of their diet.
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Until next time,
CC
