{"id":33650,"date":"2017-02-09T06:11:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T11:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/?p=33650"},"modified":"2021-02-13T11:20:20","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T16:20:20","slug":"make-healthy-food-taste-amazing-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/make-healthy-food-taste-amazing-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Make Healthy Food Taste Amazing {+Giveaway!}"},"content":{"rendered":"

The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations Lexi for winning the Adora Calcium Supplements<\/span> and Amazon giftcard giveaway with your helpful healthy eating tip:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
“To make healthy food delicious, I mix textures and flavor profiles. Something crunchy with something smooth, something spicy with something creamy and cool, something rich with some acidity\u2026 you don\u2019t need a lot of the heavy stuff, just enough to add interest!”<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This post is brought to you by A Healthy Slice of Life partner.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve occasionally gotten odd looks when I proclaim my love for healthy food. It’s true that “eating clean” makes me feel good, but I also genuinely love the way real food tastes. I was trying to think back to the time I first decided how delicious vegetables can be and realized I really owe a lot to my mom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In healthy eating and lots of other things, mom knows best!<\/p>\n

She cooked almost every night while I was growing up and made good food taste good. <\/em>Her herbed broccoli is still one of my favorites, she made Hollandaise for steamed artichokes, and she made a killer spinach salad. My mom has it down, but for me, once I was out on my own, it took some trial and error in the kitchen to prove that healthy food can taste really good. I don’t choke down vegetables, I actually prefer them, and over the years I’ve come up with my favorite ways to stay eating healthy by making real food taste amazing!<\/p>\n

Use the spice drawer. <\/strong>I was slow to experiment with different spices because I was intimidated. Now I’m willing to be a bit more creative. I’ve tasted the warmth and flavor that cumin or turmeric can bring to a dish. I’ve noticed the punch that dried mustard can add. Salt and garlic powder will probably always rank supreme to me, but branching out with spices (especially when I can buy them in small quantities from bulk bins) makes a huge difference. Also, vinegar is a great way to add a lot of flavor with a small splash too!<\/p>\n

Use strong cheeses. <\/strong>I love the power of cheese. Blue cheese crumbles, a schmear of herbed goat cheese, grated Parmesan.  They all add excitement to what might otherwise be a simple salad or lackluster bowl of pasta (or zoodles!).  With only a minimal amount, it creates a lot of flavor for a relatively low calorie and monetary cost.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cook with alternative liquids. <\/strong>Olive oil is a staple for a reason, but experimenting with broths, wine, or a more flavorful oil, like sesame oil has really livened up my meals. I also cook my grains in broth instead of water for added nutrition and flavor.<\/p>\n

Marinate meats.<\/strong> For the amount of time recommended. I really don’t believe a 20 minute marinade does much, but a few hours and sometimes overnight? That boring chicken is going to taste GOOD! Pro tip: use an acidic ingredient in the marinade, like citrus or vinegar, to help tenderize the meat.<\/p>\n

Roast all the veggies. <\/strong>I’m serious. Every single one of them. My method is simple: a spray of avocado oil, a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder, and roast at 375\/400 degrees until done to my liking. It can be 20 minutes for broccoli or closer to 45 for potatoes, but roasting is the way to go for maximum flavor!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For an added zing, squeeze a little lemon over roasted vegetables, or sprinkle with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan. We’re talking next level here!<\/p>\n

Buy fresh herbs each week. <\/strong>Or grow them. Fresh herbs (along with strong cheese) is one of those things that took me a long time to get behind. I saw it as increasing my cost, for little reward, but now I know better. Fresh herbs pack a lot of flavor and perhaps even more importantly, they make food look pretty. I’m a believer that we first eat with our eyes and a little sprinkle of green certainly jazzes up a plate.<\/p>\n

Choose local\/in season when possible.<\/strong> I’m working on doing better at this (I’ve been talking to a CSA I want to join!) because fresh fruits and veggies really do taste completely different than their grocery store counterparts. Just like my taste buds rejoice at the first bite of an in-season tomato, I’d like to do better with following suit year-round.<\/p>\n

Maximize the nutrients in my cravings.<\/strong> If you’re craving that chocolate brownie, my view is go eat a chocolate brownie. And make it an ooey gooey delicious one. However, if you need a little chocolate everyday, make the habit work for you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For example, Adora Calcium Supplements<\/a> are non-GMO and 2 delicious servings (oh twist my arm, I have to eat two?!) contain 100% of your daily recommended calcium. The decadent discs are made from organic dark chocolate from Rain Forest Alliance Certified cocoa. If it\u2019s been a particularly trying day, go ahead and scoop a little peanut butter on it. Take that Reese\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If salt is your thing (me me me me me) use a crunchy tortilla chip to scoop us some hummus or guacamole or snag a few delicious salty olives. For me, it’s getting the most nutrient bang for my bite.<\/p>\n

Toast your nuts.<\/strong> (and all the school boys giggle) Toasting pine nuts or walnuts can add a satisfying and flavorful crunch to salads, oatmeal, and even pasta. Like a strong cheese, a little can go a long way and make a big difference.<\/p>\n

My friends at Adora are giving one of you TWO bags of Adora Calcium Chocolate Discs (your choice of milk or dark chocolate) and I’m throwing in a $25 Visa Gift Card so you can snag some new items at the grocery store to spice up your meals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To enter: simply leave a comment sharing a tip you have to make healthy food taste delicious!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will announce a winner on Friday, February 17. Bon appetit!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations Lexi for winning the Adora Calcium Supplements and Amazon giftcard giveaway with your helpful healthy eating tip:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":33652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2243,2244],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}