Living the Lifestyle Tuesday July 16, 2024

Flintwinch

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.

Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Wildcard
Wednesday-misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard

Today's Topic: But It Tastes Like Cardboard: How do you enhance the flavor of foods without increasing calories or sacrificing good nutrition?

Flintwinch

This is a subject that has interests me. I try to eat within the confines of good sense, nutritionally and calorically. One way I do that is to enhance flavors. I added a tablespoon of half and half with some fruit and nuts to oatmeal. I go for non-fat versions of milk, cottage cheese and yogurt. To each I add some fruit, maybe an artificial sweetener, or a dollop of chocolate syrup to milk. For meat, I go easy on the sauces, skipping the butter and other saturated fat. I aim for five and five colorful vegetables and fruits daily. Roasting vegetables brings out a rich flavor, which doesn't need any enhancing, unless it's a spice or two. I look for ways to avoid ultraprocessed foods and always save half a restaurant main dish for another day, especially flavor bombs that I know are high in calories. I'm becoming less and less of a desert eater, unless it's a special occasion, and then split a desert with my wife.

Tim

imastar2

Well I believe you've just about covered it. However If it taste like cardboard I pretty much just pass. At age 77 life is too short to to eat tasteless food and by now it's hard for me to be fooled. Going to a restaurant is another the case unto itself. For the prices of resturants now a days I really have to stick to the basics.

At home I flavor foods as little as possible and I'm worn out on fresh frozen broccoli. 🤣

crewahl

I use Magic Dust from Blue Smoke BBQ on things.

I rely on my pepper mill to grind fresh black pepper on foods at home.

If I’m using salt on food - which is unusual - I use applewood smoked sea sake from The Salt Cellar. It’s good on hardboiled eggs, and you don’t need much.

I’ve started using Cholula Green Pepper hot sauce. Plenty of flavor, but so far it hasn’t burned my mouth no matter how much I use.

Cumin in my chili recipe.

Sap Sago cheese from Switzerland. It comes as a hard cone that you grate, and it’s naturally fat free. It has more flavor than parmesan.

misterhub

The culinary world is full of spices and herbs, and I make use of them. I use broth to sautee a lot of things, rather than oil or plain water. I am a fan of hot sauce and salsa. If I use cheese, I prefer very strong flavored cheeses that I have grated myself. The strength of flavor means I only need to use a small amount to find flavor. I hade crumbled blue cheese last night; but I used only a small amount, and it was totally sufficient. Trader Joe's has some wonderful seasoning blends that I use. I am careful with salt, but I do use salt because it is a key element to salt. That said, saltiness can be achieved with certain sauces, which add their own flavor enhancements. And, mustard - I like really good mustard - of all types.

steve0mania

We don't make or use a lot of sauces, but instead tend to use dry spices a lot (with negligible calorie content). I do use a fair amount of Sriracha or Cholula type seasonings on my veggies, and prefer potatoes with just salt and pepper (no butter).

Over the years I've appreciated that I am not a foodie. Thankfully, I don't have snobby tastebuds! I find that I'm more of a texture-eater. I like different textures in my food, for example, I like the gooeyness of cheese in an omelette, but am equally happy with a slice of processed American cheese food as compared with a fancy type of cheese.