"Diet" food doesn't have to be boring! - 1
Many times when people think of trying to lose weight they immediately think of a dried out and broiled chicken breast, maybe a bland plain baked potato and steamed (unseasoned) broccoli. Even to me that sounds just downright boring!
Healthy cooking shouldn’t constitute this kind of preparation, yet the myth persists. You don’t have to give up taste or even many of the foods you love just because you are cutting back on calories! You can't possibly stay with foods without flavor and be successful with losing weight. But, even simple changes on your favorite foods and recipes can make big differences.
Today I want to start with the idea of seasonings. For weight management and heart health
(to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure)
sodium and fat (more on that tomorrow) are the culprits. Here's how to
reduce sodium:
- Save the salt for after a dish has been prepared so you will use less. Do not cook with salt.
- And you know all those processed foods I am telling you to avoid all the time? They always contain unneeded amounts of salt, especially commercially prepared boxed and canned items (even deli meats have sodium and sugar). Make up freshly prepared dishes that offer taste with different flavors such as seasonings from Indian or Mexican cuisine. Rarely is the salt missed in these dishes. There are literally racks of low sodium seasoning blends that are just spices/spice blends without the salt but with loads of flavor! Take a chance and try them.
- How much is too much sodium? If a food has 300 milligrams of sodium in it may be too much. Total intake should not exceed between 2,300 to 2000 milligrams of sodium per day. (Some need less.)
- Remember sodium is an acquired taste. This means that you can gradually
learn to enjoy things with less salt. Do it in baby steps,
gradually cut down on the amount of salt that you use every week. (Note: one teaspoon of salt contains 2,325 milligrams and one tablespoon of soy sauce has 900-1,000 milligrams of salt!)
- Read your labels!
- Numerous other ingredients have sodium in them including: Monosodium glutamate (MSG), baking soda/powder (these are also found in headache and heartburn medicines) disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, and sodium nitrate or nitrite.
- Condiments (Worcestershire, soy sauce, bouillon, meat tenderizer, etc.) and seasoning blends (found in your spice sections) usually have generous amounts of sodium.
- If you do use canned items drain and rinse.
- If you choose any canned items choose "low -salt" or "low sodium."
- Again, anything that is processed in any way will probably have more sodium. Even bottled waters may contain small amounts of sodium.
Tomorrow I'll discuss cutting the fat but keeping the flavor in healthy foods.
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Posted by: Sophia | Sep 1, 2008 1:53:59 AM
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