Settling into a healthy diet is harder than it sounds. You get to the grocery store and everything looks sort of nebulous on the good-to-evil spectrum. From the 1990s' racket about carbs being your waistline's enemy to the constant struggle over what part of the egg is the right part to eat, we're often functioning under very strange notions about food. The better choice is to find the whole foods that go well together, that you feel comfortable preparing, and that have flavors you can get excited about (I'm sorry, lettuce just doesn't thrill me most days). That way, you don't eat your healthy meal and then end up darting for the cheese puffs because you were left unsatisfied.
Here are some of my kitchen staples that help keep me out of trouble.
1. Avocados Sure, they're not a low-calorie food. But if you put avocados in their proper place in your diet, they can be awesome for you. Think of them as mayonnaise. If you spread some avocado onto your bread with a little salt and pepper instead of mayo (and this is from a mayo lover), it's a brand new kind of satisfaction, with the added benefits of healthy protein and tons of potassium. Delicious.
2. Almond Milk Trade your milk, with all its mysterious origins, for milk made just from almonds. I'm a big fan because I have a massive sweet tooth, and even the sweetened kind has fewer calories per serving (60 vs. 80) and no cholesterol.
3. Tomatoes It doesn't matter how you slice 'em, sun-dried, fresh, grape, cherry, plum, paste, sauce... tomatoes are insanely low in calories and high in flavor. They're packed with nutrients like vitamins A and C, lycopene and potassium, and at around 30 calories for a big one, you can pretty much eat your fill in tomatoes.
4. Mushrooms Talk about an easy ingredient to cook with. If you're a beginning or amateur home cook, or even totally unfamiliar in the kitchen, mushrooms are awesome because while they're a really good, clean-burning form of protein, they cook down beautifully, creating their own cooking liquid, and if you throw in some white cooking wine and garlic, you have a dish. Just put it on medium heat and watch the magic happen. Portobellos and creminis are my favorite, but dried mushrooms like porcinis and shiitakes are awesome, too.
5. Dark Chocolate While any doctor will discourage you from prescribing yourself a daily dose of chocolate, dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants which are the things that help your body fight heart disease. So that doesn't mean eat
more chocolate, but that you should opt for dark over milk. Like I said,
I'm the proud owner of a voracious, take no prisoners sweet tooth, and there's just something so satisfying about a rich bite of dark chocolate. So, no complaints here.
6. Tempeh There are a lot of meat replacements out there, and while I'm an omnivore,
I simply enjoy the flavor of tempeh in my meals. If you're a fan of that fermented flavor you get in aged cheese, tempeh gives you a little of that and the flexibility to be prepared like a regular protein. It's also shown to be rich in B12, which is usually only available in animal meat, and can help boost mood and lower anxiety. It's super easy to prepare, too. Since it's usually made from cooked beans or grain, it just needs to be poached in simmering water for a few minutes to soften up, and then you can cook it however you please. I season mine with worcestershire sauce and garlic and it has the umami quality of seasoned meat with the fermented tang in the background.
7. Garlic I'm a big fan of garlic because it adds a sweet depth to a dish. It can be the foundation of a flavor profile or the star of the show, but garlic is good for our bodies, too. While a lot of ideas about it are yet unproven, it's certain that garlic is a mild antibiotic. That means that while it fights infection, which is great, it's not so harsh that it contributes to antibiotic-resistant superviruses like SARS. SARS is not cool, garlic is. Preparing garlic, you just have to be careful you don't burn it. Other than that it's pretty user-friendly.
Among other staples that are more nutrition-neutral than necessarily healthful but are great to have around are: extra virgin olive oil (instead of Crisco, not as a condiment), capers, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese and cooking wine. These are all ingredients that add richness and complexity to a meal without adding a crap-ton of calories
so you feel more satisfied and less likely to let your portions get out of control. I've never been a fan of sugar-free or fat-free versions of things that are naturally more flavorful, but it does take a little bit of thinking in the beginning and then just maintenance of good habits.
What are some of your fridge or pantry staples?
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Comments (17)
These are excellent suggestions! Avocado is so creamy and satisfying. Mushrooms and tempeh are excellent for absorbing flavors with herbs you might cook! UGH. This makes me starving!
Very nice post :) I love interesting food and I love being healthy so I'm always keeping my eye out for suggestions like these.
Gives me a good reason to eat my tortellini with roasted garlic alfredo sauce with some kind of dark chocolate for dessert! :D
@JEDIJESSICUH@xanga - Sounds like a DELISH spread!
I love avocados, especially when it's used as a spread on flatbread.
im lovin these food posts
I loooooove avocados! And tomatos, too. In fact, slicing up tomatoes and avocados and eating them together as a sort of salad thing is delicious.
gahhh I want garlic bread right now
i have yet to try almond milk. I've just been drinking soy so I might have to try that next!
Blueberriessssss :D
So expensive, yet so so goood and jam packed in antioxidants
& Kashi Cereals
I don't think tomatoes are good for you.
Basically, everything you mentioned... and Sriracha.
Oh garlic, how I love thee.
@deemure@xanga - I don't know how you feel about soy, but switching to almond milk may be a good choice. I was vegetarian for several years and also studying molecular biology. I have a cautious attitude towards soy and wish there was more definitive research regarding its effects on estrogen. As such, I tried to keep my soy consumption to a minimum (which was hard when the best General Tso's tofu was right down the street). Almond milk was a nice touch. It also makes cereal taste a bit sweeter, so if you buy bland cereal that's a perk :)
Antioxidants are my favorite!
i love all of those foods mentioned above, except for tempeh. i don't think i've ver had it. my staples are quinoa and spinach oh and hot sauces, different kinds too.
love everything on here