From carb alternatives to flavour enhancers, never ask, “What’s for dinner?” again with this cheat sheet for making our every meal healthier.
By Miguel Maestre, resident chef behind nutritional produce delivery program, My Food Bag
11 Tips To Make Your Meals Healthy
1. Fresh herbs and spices add colour, taste and aroma to foods without added salt, sugar or fat. Add fresh herbs in the final stages of cooking to preserve flavour, or dried herbs can be added earlier on.
2. Swap iceberg lettuce for dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Dark green vegetables are richer in vitamins, nutrients and offer greater benefits for the same number of calories, and the texture is fantastic!
3. Use a little coconut oil in milk rather than coconut milk for curries.
4. Don’t forget that different techniques can also maximise flavour and lessen the need for salt and sweeteners. Try searing vegetables in a pan first to bring out natural sweetness, and then create a broth in the same pan to make a sauce.
5. Use olive oil instead of butter where possible. Olive oil contains healthy unsaturated fats that are an essential part of our diet. Although sometimes butter is needed to capture the full depth of flavours like in sauces for example. For these, just decrease the serve rather than compromise the flavour.
6. Swap white, over-processed breads for fresh and wholegrain for added fibre. Also consider other carb alternatives – spinach pasta and quinoa are great.
7. Swap sour cream for Greek yoghurt for the same creamy taste with less fat.
8. Choose leaner cuts of meat and cook fattier meats on the grill instead of a fry pan. This exposes the meat to direct heat and lets some of the fats drain away from your dinner.
9. Throw a shrimp on the barbie! Seriously, fresh prawns are delicious and packed full of protein, calcium, iodine and zinc and very low in fat. Team them with a light marinade rather than a creamy dressing – you get more natural flavour this way and less fat.
10. Above all, eat fresh. We are so lucky to have an abundance of fresh, local produce to match all of the seasons, beautiful colours and flavours for every meal makes us enjoy fresh food. All the recipes for My Food Bag use seasonal ingredients from local suppliers – it’s so easy!
11. Keep it simple and let the ingredients talk for themselves. Spices are a great way to enhance the flavour of your food – so don’t be shy to use a lot! We use a lot of different spices for My Food Bag and the recipes taste amazing.
Image credit: supplied and www.myfoodbag.com.au
