- Toss some herbs (dill, thyme, parsley, etc.) into your salad as you toss it. An Italian study says that they increase the antioxidant levels in the other vegetables.
- Forget about bottled salad dressings...even the "low-fat" versions are full of sugar and preservatives. Makes your own with flaxseed oil or olive oil for a dose of good-for-you fats.
- You can get those good fats by adding a small handful of nuts to your salad as well.
- If you're making a creamy dressing like Ranch, replace half of the mayonnaise in the recipe with non-fat Greek yogurt. The result will be creamier with fewer calories and higher levels of calcium and protein.
- If you eat half an avocado in your salad, you up the concentrations of lycopene, beta-carotene and alpha carotene in your blood.
- Craving mashed potatoes? Substitute turnips for half of the potatoes in the recipe and you'll increase vitamins and decrease calories.
- I love rice, but it's not on my diet plan. I can swap quinoa out for it in my pilaf and risotto recipes to pump up the fiber levels...plus the quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids.
- Make a guilt-free cream sauce. Instead of using a cup of heavy cream, mix in a cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup pureed white beans. Fewer calories and 25 percent of your daily requirement of fiber.
- Next time you make marinara sauce, wilt in 6-8 ounces of spinach. More fiber, plus iron and potassium.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Healthy Ideas for the New Year
I'm betting that at least some of you made one or more of a set of related resolutions: eat healthier or lose weight. I'm right there with you. So these tips from Rachael Ray's magazine are welcome additions to our kitchen bag of tricks.
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