For most people “being” on a diet means being on a weight loss program. One of the most common mistake dieters do is to only follow it for a short period of time. They do some crazy zone diet set plan, where they don’t have to think about it too much, lose the extra 5 or 10 pounds and then what? Most people go back to their old eating habits which brought on that extra 5 or 10 pounds. But if someone is on a reasonable weight loss eating plan which included “normal” foods it is usually meant for a longer period of time and can become a bit boring if one is not too creative or experienced in the kitchen. So here a few ideas to spruce up your boring diet:
Do your research and find a meal plan that suits your taste and lifestyle. It’s of the most importance that you choose a plan you can live with as this will be a long term contract.
Don’t “buy” into a plan where you need to buy products, potions or only eat “their” food. This will get boring in no time at all, especially if you often eat the same thing.
Make sure your plan does not eliminate too many foods or food groups; otherwise you are prone to get bored quickly due to lack of variety.
You can be sure that a healthy weight loss plan will include fish. So you are bound to have similar meals from time to time. Try to vary the kind of fish, maybe test out different ones. You may find that you don’t like salmon but enjoy sole, or vise versa. Once at the fish counter, be sure to ask them questions. Find out the best way to cook specific fish and ask for small pieces of 2 or 3 different fish, cook them all at the same time and figure out which you prefer. The next time you go, tell them about your favorite and they will suggest other similar ones. And now that you’ve made a new friend, the clerk will always give you tips when he sees you.
Same as above, you may end up eating a lot of chicken. Vary it, between dark and light meat, maybe try different cuts of turkey like cutlets, tenderloin or even roast a whole turkey breast. Use rotisserie chicken when pressed with time, it’s flavorful and handy for quick dinners.
Try new vegetables. Ask your fiends or order something different when eating out. While food shopping, ask the clerk or better yet, ask a customer who is picking up a vegetable you don’t know. I often have people ask me about all these different produce I have in my basket. People will gladly tell you about the taste and best ways to prepare produce. Or be adventurous, buy a vegetable you don’t know, make sure to get its name and once home search the internet for more information and how to prepare it. This may be an interesting project if you have kids, let them chose the “mystery vegetable”.
Drink water. A lot of people have difficulty drinking plain water and rely on diet drinks that may not be healthy and can become expensive on top of producing a lot of waste products. Get a home water filter of some kind and flavor it. Look for natural essences at the grocery store, like mango, mint, orange and if you want to be super cool add food coloring too.
Experiment with different herbs and spices and make your own spice blend as you go. As a general rule, if you enjoy the smell of a food, you will enjoy its taste. If you see fresh planted herbs at the store, smell it or pick a leaf if you can. Better yet, if you are lucky enough to have a spice store near by, go in and ask questions and ask to smell or even taste. These people are experts and they will love giving you a “tour” with tips. You can have a little research project - search the internet for herbs and spices’ health benefits. Like this you can expand your kitchen repertoire while improving your health.
Have fun and play with your food. So what it’s not five stars, you tried, you’ll tweak it and make it better every time you do it. Haven’t you seen all those food 911 type shows on the Food Channel? Besides wanting Tyler Florence in their home for a day, you can see that people are trying to improve their cooking skills. And if your family asks what it is, just make up a funny name so every one gets into the game. Go on, play with your food. It’s fun, delicious and you may find yourself enjoying it.