So you either already learned how to eat healthy, or you’re now learning to eat healthy, but you can’t possibly eat another carrot stick or suck down another green juice and don’t even get you started on scrambled egg whites for breakfast every.single.day. Sound familiar?
Ever wish you could just invent new foods? It’s something I hear about often from my clients. They are b-o-r-e-d with their healthy routine.
After a few weeks or months of following various diet plans, it’s easy to lean too heavily on the same few healthy foods and meals. (Your refrigerator just called, and it’s really tired of yogurt, too!)
So while I can’t conjure up a variety of broccoli that tastes like chocolate or transform salad greens into pasta or create a new fat burning food, I do know there are hundreds of tricks to put new zing in your old healthy eating standbys.
Learning how to eat healthy doesn’t have to be the most boring thing you’ve ever done, and staying healthy doesn’t have to be an exercise in monotony.
How to Eat Healthy Without Getting Bored
Shake up your yogurt routine
- Make it savory: Instead of adding fruit, cinnamon or honey to your yogurt, add ¼ cup of chopped cucumbers, ¼ cup of tomatoes, ½ teaspoon of olive oil, and a dash of red wine vinegar for a tangy, Mediterranean-inspired snack. Pair it with raw veggies.
- Make it dessert-worthy: Add 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter and 1 tsp cocoa powder for a peanut-buttery chocolate treat. Note: you can do this with oats too!
- Make it tea-licious: Green tea doesn’t just belong in a mug. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp of matcha powder and stir some antioxidants right into your bowl.
Add sex appeal to sandwiches
- Try something richer: Spread on a little healthy fat, from hummus, mashed avocado or a nut butter.
- Crunch it up: Sprinkle sliced almonds, finely chopped walnuts, or cashews on turkey or grilled chicken wraps.
- Make it ethnic: Mango chutney or spicy salsa can give your sandwich some flavor pizzazz.
Un-blah food with more flavor
- Turn up the heat: Cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, wasabi or hot sauce make so many dishes more interesting, from your morning eggs to your evening chicken breast. Diet food does not mean tasteless food. Remember this always.
- Rediscover zest: Add fresh lemon or lime juice, white balsamic vinegar, pomegranate champagne vinegar or ginger rice vinegar to kick up the flavor profile of savory dishes, especially fish.
- Make it earthy: Add mixed mushrooms (shitake, Portobello, Oyster) to tomato sauce, stir fries or tacos for a woodsy, hearty flavor, or if you’re sick of lettuce wrapped turkey burgers try portobello mushrooms with the turkey burger in between.