10 ways to make diet foods tastier

10 ways to make diet foods tastier

A quick summary

1. Remove the calories from your peanut butter while still getting the same flavor for desserts, sauces and dips by using defatted peanut flour.
2. Replace bland, low-carb pureed cauliflower with pureed acorn squash.
3. Fry "boiled" eggs, make ketchup without sugar and cook bacon in the oven instead of frying it in a pan.
4. Make chicken tastier with mustard and prosciutto. Occasionally swap your oatmeal for hot rice cereal... while you sleep.
5. Use peppermint essential oil to reduce your cravings. Use avocado cream for a new flavor twist on your low-fat protein sources

Forget salad

"I need to eat healthy and lose some weight, but I just don't like salad. Besides, I don't have time to cook."

We hear this all the time and ask ourselves the following:

Why do most people think that eating healthy is synonymous with bowls full of leaves and twigs? And why do others think that cooking requires hours of preparation?

It's time to look beyond the edge of the salad bowl. Here are some ingenious ways to incorporate a variety of healthy foods into your diet.

1. bake your ham and eat it with bland meals

Harvard nutrition expert Mat Lalonde has redefined the term nutrient density by considering nutrients that are critical to human health. Fortunately, pork is high on the list.

So here's your excuse to eat more bacon.

Tired of half-burnt, half-raw bacon dripping with fat? Then bake your bacon - especially if you like it crispy. And as an added bonus, you don't have to bend over a splattering pan with this unconventional method of preparation.

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Take an oven dish with a rack, line it with baking paper for easier cleaning and place the rack on top.
3. Place the bacon on the rack (turkey bacon also works...if you absolutely have to).
4. Put the whole thing in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes. Depending on your oven and how crispy you like your bacon, it may take 17 to 23 minutes for your bacon to be ready.

If you make some bacon in advance on Sunday, you will have a supply for the whole week. A strip of bacon added to a "diet meal" can make a significant difference in terms of satiety.

2. the solution for peanut butter addicts

How many servings are in a jar of peanut butter? Just two...if you're addicted to peanut butter. Fortunately, peanut butter cravings can be satisfied with defatted peanut flour - minus a large amount of calories and fat.

You don't have to follow a low-fat diet to use defatted peanut flour. You just have to love peanut butter so much that it only makes sense to remove the oil and excess calories.

What's left is a peanut-flavored powder to which you just need to add some water and salt to make a substitute for peanut butter that you can also cook and bake with. Here are 5 things you can try with defatted peanut flour:

1. Use it as a high-protein and gluten-free flour for baking bread, cookies and waffles.
2. Use it to thicken Asian sauces and add extra flavor to Asian dishes.
3. Mix it with oatmeal and protein powder for a delicious breakfast.
4. Mix it with water and a pinch of salt to make a light version of peanut butter.
5. Mix it with sliced frozen bananas, vanilla protein powder and unsweetened almond milk to make peanut butter banana ice cream.

You will probably have noticed that no quantities for peanut flour have been given above. This is because peanut butter is not often used as a baking ingredient. Experiment. For soups, creamy desserts and other dishes, use as much peanut flour as necessary to achieve the desired consistency and flavor.

Tip: Forget the sugared stuff you occasionally find in supermarkets. It is overpriced. Buy the bulk pack online, which only contains one ingredient: Peanuts.

3. prepare ketchup for adults

Here's the secret to making the same old proteins new and delicious: Sauces, dips, dressings, condiments and garnishes.

Here's a recipe for rustic ketchup that tastes like it's actually made from tomatoes and not from a candy store:

1. Mix 200 grams of tomato paste (not tomato sauce) with 2 to 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is best, but any vinegar will do.
2. Add a quarter cup of water and mix until there are no more lumps.
3. Season the ketchup with a little mustard flour, cinnamon and salt. You can also use cayenne pepper, cloves and spice mixes.
4. Place the finished ketchup in the fridge for half an hour.

If you compare this ketchup to regular ketchup overloaded with sugar, you probably won't like it. But if you think of it as a true original version of ketchup, you'll love it.

4. acorn squash, the ultimate pureed carbohydrate

Are you in a fat loss phase right now? Your best tool is food that fills you up and that you can enjoy every bite of. That's exactly what you can achieve with pumpkin...if you prepare it right.

Try pureed acorn squash. It tastes like sweet, pureed potatoes with a hint of onion and makes pureed cauliflower look old in terms of flavor. Yes, acorn squash contains carbs, but it will fill you up before you have a chance to eat much of it.

1. Cut an acorn squash in half and remove the seeds.
2. Bake the squash at 200 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until soft. Leave it to cool afterwards.
3. Remove the flesh from the skin with a spoon, put it in a saucepan and mash it with a potato masher.
4. Heat the pan and add the garlic powder, pepper and salt. Dilute with some chicken stock, water, unsweetened coconut milk or sour cream until you reach the desired consistency.
5. Eat this puree with any protein source that you're getting tired of seeing.

5. make your cooked food or chicken more exciting

There's a reason dieters eventually stop seeing skinless chicken breasts: they don't refine them. Yes, chicken breast is lean, but that also means it's drier than other meats. And no, chicken breast is not naturally packed with flavor.

The solution? Add things that make chicken breast less dry and more flavorful. Try Dijon chicken wrapped in prosciutto. Or even Dijon chicken without prosciutto.

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut the chicken breast almost all the way through lengthwise.
3. Place the chicken pieces in an oven dish and season with salt and pepper on each side.
4. Brush the top of the chicken breast generously with Dijon mustard.
5. Roll each chicken breast in a slice of prosciutto.
6. Bake the chicken breasts in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

6. hot pumpkin rice cereal for breakfast

Breakfast can be more than oatmeal and egg whites. How about some nutrient-packed pumpkin?

Yes, this may sound strange, but we're talking about the stuff other people use to make pumpkin pie.

1. In your slow cooker, mix 3 cups of water and a cup of brown rice cereal. This will make 4 to 5 servings.
2. Stir in a 450 gram can of 100% pure pumpkin.
3. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and other spices to taste or use a ready-made pumpkin pie spice mix.
4. Set your slow cooker to 6 to 7 hours on low before going to bed so that your breakfast is ready when you get up in the morning.
5. Stir in one to two scoops of protein powder after cooking or reheating.

Variations: Replace the rice cereal with rolled oats. Replace the pumpkin with two bananas or apples

7. protein-rich popsicles

You know you crave cool things in summer. You know you need more protein. And you know that berries are good for you. Why not combine all this into a delicious dessert?

1. Get yourself some cheap popsicle molds. If you don't have any on hand, you can also use small paper cups and plastic spoons as handles.
2. Mix 2 cups of Greek yogurt, 2 cups of berries of your choice, a third of a cup of canned coconut milk and a scoop of vanilla protein powder.
3. Pour this mixture into the ice cream molds and place them in the freezer for a few hours.

Variations: Replace the berries with pineapple or bananas. Use different flavors of protein powder. Use low calorie sweetener if needed.

8. hard-boiled eggs from the oven that don't cause bloating

Hard-boiled eggs are a convenient source of protein on the go. The problem, however, is that most people cook them incorrectly.

If your boiled eggs have a hay-green skin around the yolk, then they have been overcooked. It's okay to eat these eggs, but ferrous sulfur doesn't taste and smell as good.

Here is a practical solution that also makes cleaning up after cooking easier:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
2. Place a dozen raw eggs in a muffin tray.
3. Bake the eggs for about 30 minutes.
4. After baking, place the eggs in a bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process - no more Hulk green eggs and no more sulfur bloat.

9. use peppermint essential oil

While not technically a food, essential oils are pretty much the coolest thing you can have on hand. But be careful, this is very powerful stuff.

One drop in a liter of water is plenty. Or add a drop or two of peppermint oil to your chocolate protein shake for a subtle after dinner flavor.

Why should you use it? Peppermint oil is known for its appetite suppressant effects. Of course, you should eat when you're hungry, but if you're just swiping around the fridge because you're bored, try some peppermint oil-infused water and relax somewhere else.

Peppermint oil also has a cooling effect on the palate and you may find that the snacks you were craving before are now a little less appetizing.

In addition to this, peppermint oil is said to boost energy and soothe stomach aches.

10. add avocado cream to everything

If tzatziki and guacamole had a baby, this is what it would look like.

Avocado cream goes well with fish, poultry, baked potatoes, vegetables and sandwiches.

1. Mash an avocado and mix in a quarter cup of sour cream.
2. Add generous amounts of dried dill, onion powder, garlic and salt for flavor.

Variations: Add 5 to 6 diced olives and half a can of coarsely chopped artichoke hearts.

Bonus. A low-calorie alternative to coffee cream

Coffee cream in coffee tastes delicious. It's also virtually free from lactose and carbohydrates. But a serving of 1 or 2 tablespoons is high in fat and calories. The problem is that these unsweetened variations of nut milk are not as creamy as coffee creamer.

Why not combine the two?

1. Take a bottle and fill it halfway with organic coffee creamer.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle with unsweetened cashew or almond milk.

If you want a ratio other than 1:1, simply add more or less of one of the ingredients.

And then enjoy a big, creamy cup of coffee.

From Dani Shugart, Chris Shugart | 04/21/15

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/10-ways-to-un-suck-diet-food