Healthy Eating Plans made Appetizing

Bangalore based Santosh Bangar, is one of our new Guest Writers. She shares some vital inputs on how to make healthy meal plans more exciting and appetizing’. She runs a highly popular food blog by the name Santosh’s Kitchen. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s time you do and find out various ways of creating healthy and appetizing dishes.

We all know that eating right is the best way to lead a healthy lifestyle. Yet, we keep indulging in fatty foods, which sooner or later can cause more harm than good. This bad habit can lead to high blood pressure and other serious heart complications if not kept in check. Sounds bad, isn’t it?

People have the impression that healthy food equals bland and boring meals, which is completely inaccurate as you don’t have to sacrifice taste for health. In fact, food qualities like taste and healthy can very much go together. There are healthy meal plans that will not only satisfy our taste buds but can also suffice our daily nutrition needs as well.

[scg_html_carrot] Know your Portions
Always keep in mind that just because you are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle does not necessarily mean that you have to give up the good things like cakes and takeout food. The secret is to know the right portion of food to consume. When you crave for something you know that is not totally healthy, do not deny yourself; instead of taking a whole slice of pizza, have half of it. This way you can satisfy your yearning, and at the same time, cut down on your calorie count by half!

[scg_html_carrot] Snacking
Another helpful technique is to be conscious about the amount of finger foods you consume such as potato chips. What will help you track your consumption of snack is to place those types of food on a plate instead of eating them straight out of the bowl or serving dish. This will enable you to distinguish accurately the amount of finger food you are eating. Make an effort to take smaller bites of your food. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, chewing the food for nine seconds will result in “significantly less food intake than quickly chewing for just three seconds.”

[scg_html_carrot] Cook your own Meals
Have you heard of the cliché, “Eat to lose weight?” If you have, then you should know that getting your hands on when it comes to preparation of food will make this expression more like “Cook to lose weight”. Having home-cooked meals have several advantages. One is that, you have full control when it comes to your portions. You can also guarantee that the food you are about to eat is not overloaded with oil, butter, and other unhealthy fatty preservatives. It is good to eat out and grab some hamburgers once in a while, but nothing beats a warm home-cooked meal!

Maybe it’s a good starting point when you want to keep watch on your diet, reduce eating outside and practice more on eating at home. If you think your kitchen prowess is limited, you can always check out the internet for some new ideas and recipes to spice up your old favorite dishes.

[scg_html_carrot] Experiment
Once in awhile it is good to experiment with your food with a variety of colors and spices. A colorful dish is ensures that it is high in nutritional value. For instance, purple and blue fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber, resveratrol, and zeaxanthin.

When you want something that contains Vitamin C and beta-carotene, go for the classic yellow fruits and vegetables. Scrumptious fruits and vegetables can substitute for your typical starch. Rather than going out and ordering lasagna, why not prepare for a sumptuous dreamy eggplant parmigiana. Don’t be fooled with this fancy name as this recipe is really very easy to prepare.

Text by: Santosh Bangar