Not too long ago, my mother and I
were talking about food and diets. "Your grandmother used to feed you
pasta five nights a week," my mother insisted.
"She did not!" I
exclaimed, stung. After all, I remembered my grandmother as a wonderfully
varied cook who could make anything taste wonderful. She served all sorts of
meals, not just pasta! There was spaghetti, of course - she was Italian, after
all. But she also made Ziti with vegetables. And Linguine. And tuna casserole
with. ..elbow macaroni. By the time I'd finished naming off a typical week's
worth of menus, I had to concede my mother's point - but I made mine as well.
"But... it didn't FEEL like we were eating pasta every night!"
There's a point to this story, I
promise, and here it comes:
One of the biggest reasons that
people slip off their diets and eating plans is BOREDOM.
It's very easy to look at the
foods allowed on your diet and see it as restrictive and boring. Chicken four
nights a week. Fish three times a week. Green leafy vegetables till they're
coming out of your ears. Who wouldn't get bored?
The answer is - anyone with a good
set of cookbooks and a healthy imagination. Perk up your cabinet with spices
and fill your refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables, then look for
novel ways to combine them.
Here are a handful of tips for
non-boring, healthy, low-cal eating
1. Spice it up!
Spices are one of the quickest
ways out of the diet doldrums. Rosemary and fennel with chicken, mint rubbed
into pork, pepper and lemon mint on fresh fish - the 'blander' the food, the
higher the effect of the spices.
2. Dress it up.
Fruit vinaigrette dressings make wonderful marinades for meats and
dressings for warm or cold vegetables. Try broccoli drizzled with raspberry
vinaigrette or cabbage spiced up with apple vinegar and pepper.
2. Herb-infused olive oils - tarragon,
ginger, fennel and more.
3. My brother the chef gave me a
set of three oils for Christmas one year and it completely changed the way I’ll
cook forever!
4. Low sodium soy sauce is a great
way to flavor up just about anything.
5. Fruit
The bitterness of dark leafy
greens like spinach were practically designed to be eaten with mandarin
oranges, raspberries or chunks of pineapple.
Still need some help? Here is a
list of the absolute best cookbooks on the market to help you fight those diet
boredom blues!
The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
This cookbook features polenta,
couscous and more!
Laurie’s Low-Carb Cookbook
This everyday chef shares recipes
that are so easy to do!
Low Carb Meals In Minutes
Use this book and get six weeks
worth of complete menus that include shopping lists.
Dr. Atkins New Diet Cookbook
This one’s from the creator of the
Atkins Diet
The South Beach Diet Cookbook
This book is packed with more than
200 recipes for delicious low-fat foods
Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat
Favorites
If meat isn’t your thing, this
cookbook shares recipes from one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants in
America
American Heart Association Low-Fat
Low-Cholesterol Cookbook
Are you trying to lower your
cholesterol or take care of your heart? This book has great tasting recipes
that are good for you—and your heart!
American Heart Association Meals
in Minutes
If you’re constantly eating fast
foods because you simply don’t have the time to create great tasting healthy
meals, check out this book!
Joslin Diabetes Center's
Vegetarian Diabetic Cookbook Meatless and vegan recipes that are low fat, high
fiber, and delicious
The Guilt-Free Gourmet Famous
cruise ship chef Sam Miles put together this wonderful cookbook from his six
years traveling on ships as a cook.
So, now you’ve got some ideas and
some resources—there should be no reason that you have to live with boring
foods—even if you are on a diet!
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