Healthy Foods Don't Have To Be Boring!

One of the top complaints among dieters who decide to try and change their eating habits is that healthy foods are just flat boring. The lack of fat throws many people's cooking knowledge for a loop. They're so used to cooking with the idea that the fat will be a part of the flavor that when it is removed, they're at a loss.

The simple fact is that eating more healthfully doesn't have to mean eating bland food. You can make flavors that are far better and far more powerful than you've ever tasted before by using herbs and spices, and by trying new cooking methods. Diet food doesn't have to mean eating cardboard or straw.

Here are some ideas to try:

Cook it slowly: With fatty meats, you can cook quickly and have moist, tender food. With more lean cuts, like London broil, round steak and chicken breasts, you need to treat them with a bit more care. Use your slow cooker or oven to cook more slowly in flavorful liquid at low heat. The cooking term for this type of preparation is braising, and will usually appear in the recipe title. Look for "braised" chicken or beef when doing your recipe searches.
Marinate for flavor: A good marinade will give even the most fat-free piece of meat far more flavor. For things like chicken breasts, which don't normally take up marinades well, there is a gadget called a Jaccard tenderizer which will make them marinade-friendly. It uses rows of tiny blades to pierce the meat, allowing the marinade to penetrate. Also, look for marinades with some sort of mild acid, like lemon juice. They will break down the meat fibers and make it more tender.
Use herbs and spices: How many bottles of herbs and spices do you have in your spice cupboard that have been there for a year or more? Throw them out! Fresh herbs and spices are vital for good cooking. You can find great fresh spices online from spice merchants, or from gourmet food stores. Take one whiff of truly fresh cinnamon versus some of the grocery store stuff and you'll be a convert. And the great thing is that if you can find a place that sells dried herbs and spices in bulk, you won't pay a cent more than you would for the prepackaged stuff at the grocery.

The best thing to do is experiment. Get a few chicken breasts, for example, and mix up some different marinades or spice combinations. Write down what you used on each one and how much you liked it. That will get you on the trail of flavors you'll love ... and never would have noticed if you hadn't cut out the fat!

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