Fit Tip: 5 Tips Making Healthy Food Exciting
I once heard a comedian refer to dieting as “eating kale and sadness”. Can you relate? Eating healthy doesn’t have to be sad or boring. Spice up your meals with five easy hacks.
- Start with good ingredients. Food tastes better when it’s in season. If you can afford it, splurge on organic fruits. Stay away from processed food that add sugar, salt and fat.
- Change up your cooking style. We tend to get stuck in routines. Do you always microwave your food, for example? Chicken and vegetables can taste new and exciting if you try out different cooking methods. Try blanching your vegetables (boil for 2-3 minutes then submerge in ice-cold water) to take away the bitterness and keep them from getting that gross soggy texture. You can bake, boil, grill, dry fry or sauté.
- Spice it up. A little salt goes a long way. Too much can hold water weight, so try some herbs you might have forgotten about or not used in a while. Cilantro, basil, mint and dill can give your veggies a kick. Parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, ginger, crushed red pepper and oregano work wonders with meat. Try Thai, Italian, Indian and Ethiopian blends to let your mouth have novel culinary experiences.
- Add a bit of citrus. A squeeze of citrus can improve your fish dish as well as vegetables. It takes away the bitterness of vegetables and add a zing to your meats.
- Blend it in a smoothie. If you’re trying to eat your veggies but just hate the taste, throw it in a smoothie. In my humble opinion vegetables taste better when they are hidden beneath chocolate protein shakes. This is also a great way to sneak vegetables into your children. My favorite veggie to mix in is spinach because it blends well and a recent study showed that spinach helps combat sugar cravings.
Have fun with it! Little changes can make everything taste better. When your mouth is satisfied it becomes that much easier to stick to healthy foods.