How To Jazz Up Simple Meals
Recently a client wrote in saying while she loves simple foods, they get boring after a while. Eventually she starts losing her desire and resolve to eat clean and returns to junk foods.
My advice? Fall in love with condiments.
Happy Herbivore's 6-ingredient bean burger on a whole wheat bun is a healthy choice, but I admit a little boring on it's own.
Add a lettuce leaf or some baby spinach, a slice of tomato, Dijon mustard and voila! That plain ol' burger becomes magical and even more healthy. Or serve it burger-style with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and condiments. These additions require very little extra effort but make such a difference in your eating experience!
One of my favorite snacks is a slice of whole wheat bread, toasted, slathered with a little bit of hummus, topped with a slice of tomato and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. It's so easy to make but tastes so good and feels so much fancier than just a tomato, or just a piece of toast or even a tomato sandwich. Sometimes I put the hummus and tomato on top of cucumber slices or I skip the tomato and add chopped green onion instead.
Maybe I'm a bit of a diva but I swear a plate of cucumber slices topped with hummus and onion is way more enjoyable (a more foodie-like experience) than dipping cucumber slices into a tub of hummus -- and I like that pre-spreading also forces good portion control too!
Next hummus, fat-free vegan mayo (or unsweetened vegan yogurt), Dijon mustard, hot sauce, salsa, yellow mustard -- these condiments can really spruce up any dish that feels a little too simple or a little too boring. Ketchup and BBQ sauce work too, but can sometimes be high in sugar or calories, so keep an eye out with those.
You can also add flavorful fruits like pineapple or mango (keep frozen chunks in your freezer for easy grabbing) to any dish for more color and flavor. (Remember, you eat with your eyes too! That's one of the reasons simple meals feel so boring!)
Finally, spices are a great way too. I was really into eating steamed sweet potatoes as a snack but as much as I love them, they started getting boring on me. That's when I started adding cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to my sweet potatoes. I also like using garam masala.
Same thing happened with white potatoes, by the way. My resolve? I started putting salsa on top, or Cajun seasoning or balsamic vinegar. All these additions have negligible additional calories (if any at all) but they made the experience new and exciting. Similarly, I like to jazz up leftover brown rice by drizzling a little hot sauce and soy sauce on the rice then adding chopped green onion on top. It's so fast, so easy and way better than boring plain rice in a bowl!
Do you have any tips for jazzing up a dull recipe?