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| 15 Ways to Add Flavor to Healthy Foods |
| Jennifer R. Scott, About.com Guide |
| 3/10/2010 |
| Adding flavor without greatly increasing the amount of fat in your favorite dishes will help keep you from getting bored. By varying the flavor of your favorite healthy meals, you'll be less likely to give in to cravings. Consider some of these easy ways to add flavor without adding too much extra fat. From the Fridge... * I admire anyone who can eat salads sans dressing to avoid the extra calories and added fat, but I just can't enjoy a "naked" salad. So fat-free buttermilk is a must for me to make my own reduced-fat salad dressings (I've yet to find a grocery store brand I enjoy.) My buttermilk salad dressing recipe has two grams of fat per tablespoon compared to eight grams in an average store-bought variety. * Salads made with iceberg lettuce get bland after you've had a few; not only is iceberg low on flavor, it's lower in nutrients than darker leafy greens. Add greens such as spinach to iceberg lettuce salad to pump up the flavor and nutrition. Make sure your crisper is stocked with a variety of fresh salad vegetables, such as cucumbers and carrots, to make any salad more tasty and nutritious. Tip: You can also cook greens as a healthy side dish to any meal when you're tired of side salads. * Trade real bacon for the fake stuff. Imitation bacon bits are actually made from flavored vegetable protein, not bacon. They have a very smokey flavor, so if you love bacon -- and miss it because it's not on your diet -- imitation bacon bits are a great way to get the flavor you crave. Sprinkle a small amount on top of salads or eggs, or substitute it for real bacon in recipes. *Ditch the high-fat tartar sauce. Fresh or bottled lemon juice will add extra zing to grilled or broiled fish. It's also a tasty salad topper and an ingredient in reduced-fat marinade recipes. * Say bye-bye to butter. Butter Buds, a fat-free granulated butter flavoring, is one of my favorite diet products; it really does taste like the real thing and has many uses -- from topping baked potatoes to popcorn to veggies. And according to the About.com Low Fat Cooking Guide, you can even reconstitute them to make melted butter for baking recipes or sauces. ... Click here for full article |
| Additional Information: http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/aa050105a.htm |