Best ways to make diet foods taste decadent

October 1, 4:27 PMNutrition ExaminerCarol Bardelli

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Whether you’re going low carbohydrate, low fat, or low calorie these easy techniques make meals tasty and even downright decadent.

Always use fresh quality ingredients whenever possible. Canned or frozen vegetables and fruits, packaged ingredients that have been on the shelf along time, and processed foods rarely compare in flavor to their fresh counterparts. Shop at farmers markets, whole foods shops, and the fresh dairy, meats, and produce aisles whenever possible. 

Make use of herbs and spices. They add little to no calories or carbohydrates and pack a wallop taste-wise. You can familiarize yourself on how to season dishes and even prepackaged foods with spice guides. The guides are included in most good cookbooks and can be found online. Also spicy foods are believed to rev your metabolism.

Dry herbs and spice are fine and many commercial spice companies like Instant Gourmet, McCormick, Mrs. Dash, and Spice Island offer spice blends like Southwestern, Caribbean, Italian, Jamaican, Oriental, and delicious house blends. If you’re at all adventurous try fresh cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, mint, thyme, and rosemary available in most grocery produce sections. Just a sprinkle of the right spice can turn a dish from dull to decadent.

An ounce of cheese is about 100 calories and 9 grams of fat depending on the type of cheese. Try high flavor varieties like blue cheese, feta, gorgonzola, English Cotswold, pepper Jack, or extra sharp cheddar. Don’t be afraid to use small amounts of rich high calorie ingredients like these cheeses, nuts, oils, and spicy meats in sparing amounts. You’ll spread the calories out over an entire dish but add loads of flavor. 

Make good use of high flavor vegetables and other pungent fresh ingredients like radishes, scallions, peppers, garlic, ginger, onions, and horseradish are low in calories and give any dish zing. Don’t forget high flavor fruits like pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi, cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries for adding flavor dimension to diverse dishes including meats, salads, sauces, desserts, and dips.

Condiments are a smart cook’s handy trick. Spicy mustards, pungent pepper sauces, relishes, chutneys, jams, marmalades, liquid smoke, balsamic vinegar, even low sodium soy sauce are all easy and quick ways to jazz up any food and make your palate sing with joy. Healthy dishes don’t have to taste like diet foods at all.

Spice, Condiment, and Cheese Guides:

Good Cooking Herb and Spice Guide

Reluctant Gourmet Cheese Guide For Home Cooks

Condiments in the Low Carb PantryWhat to Keep, What to Toss, What to Buy