If you've actually kicked the sugar out of your diet, it doesn't mean you need to eat plain grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and salad! As a society, we've gotten lazy with the way we prepare our food and it's easy to rely on a lot of those go-to items that are loaded with sugar! You may notice that if you have protein shakes, salad dressings, marinades, creamers, etc. as staples. So, how do we make our food taste good so that we can really create some good habits that will last? Here are a few basics to get you going:
Coffee/Tea: Before you brew your coffee, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon for every 4 tablespoons of coffee grounds. It won’t make it sweet, but it may just satisfy that extra something you need. Missing your creamer? In addition to the cinnamon, add a splash of full fat coconut milk! Don’t make your own coffee at home? Sprinkle some cinnamon on top and mix it in. You can also sweeten your tea with cinnamon and coconut milk.
Salad Dressing: It is so easy to make your own dressings, using olive oil as the base. You can go with an herb seasoning that incorporates lime juice, freshly chopped herbs like oregano, rosemary, tarragon and add some minced garlic with some sea salt and black pepper. Or you could go sweet with the juice of one orange, half a lemon, some nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon. Looking to go creamier to accompany some other dishes? No problem - whip up some tahini paste, greek yogurt (ditch if you’re dairy free), lemon juice, fresh minced garlic, and some salt and pepper.
Veggies and Meats: Roast, steam, sauté, and SEASON with a variety of fresh herbs and spices. Here are a few things you could stock up on: sea salt, crushed black peppercorn, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, curry powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne, chili powder, fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, fresh basil, fresh thyme, fresh sage, and fresh garlic!
Sweet Fix: Fruits in their natural state are wonderful, but we can also play with them in the kitchen a little. You can bake them, sauté them, or grill them and use cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, star anise, ginger, and cardamom to enhance a lot of the flavors of fruit and get creative with them. Think oven roasted pears, sprinkled with a cinnamon, nutmeg, clove mix, brushed with a little bit of butter and topped with toasted walnuts. Now THAT sounds like a pretty delicious post dinner treat!