Healthy Recipes for Diet Haters
Hate to diet? No problem. These healthy recipes are just for you.
Forget giving up carbs, butter, sugar, bread and anything else you like to eat. The good news is you can eat healthy without dieting.
Everyone knows diets don't work. Yet we still persist in making New Year's resolutions to diet ourselves down to a healthy weight. And most of us fail.
Why? Because diets force you to eat foods you don't like. They make you feel deprived. And they create a mindset of short-term pain for long-term gain.
That's why I never diet.
It's also why my healthy recipes include ingredients like butter and sugar, and why I have healthy recipes for everything from scalloped potatoes to dark chocolate brownies.
How can I do this? First, I emphasize whole foods. Processed foods are loaded with hidden sugar, salt, preservatives and unhealthy fats.
By cooking with whole foods, I get to use all the sugar, fat and salt I need to make food flavorful. But because I'm using fresh, whole ingredients, I don't have to worry about hidden calories and fats in places they aren't necessary.
For example, my chocolate chip muffins have sugar, butter, chocolate chips and ricotta cheese in them. Yet they still have half the calories, one-third the fat, and one-fifth the cholesterol of a Starbucks chocolate muffin.
Healthier Ingredients Make Healthy Recipes
Second, I use healthier versions of key ingredients -- olive oil instead of vegetable oil, dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, whole wheat flour instead of white flour, etc.
Most of the time these substitions make the recipe taste better, as in my dark chocolate chip shortbread cookies.
Put the Flavor Stars Up Front
Finally, I put sugars, salts and fats where they'll add the most flavor for the least quantity. For example, I put shredded cheese on top of my chicken parmesan where you can taste it first.
And when you make my fresh green beans with sea salt, the pleasingly salty flavor hits you as soon as you take that first bite.
Follow these tips, and you'll be able to enjoy everything from chicken marsala to Mexican wedding cookies, and you'll still be eating healthy.
