Years ago, I listened to a nutritionist talk about nutrition for athletes. I don’t remember much from the presentation except one gem that has made cooking healthy a lot easier for me over the years, especially when time is limited.
She was working with a football player who liked only ramen noodles. Instead of telling him he had to give up ramen noodles and learn how to cook and eat healthier, she said, “Great! That’s where we’ll start!” The take away I learned from her is that you don’t have to create a healthy meal plan from scratch. If there is something you or your family already like, start there and then build!
It’s actually quite simple! Take, for example, a frozen burrito. Now, think of something you can add that’s green. No, Mountain Dew doesn’t count! What about spinach? Nutritionally packed and easy to get. Add that, plus some fresh salsa or pico de gallo and you’ve added a powerful punch to your once boring burrito. In place of sour cream, add plain Greek yogurt and you have yourself a healthier super burrito.
Want another example? Start with a can of your favorite soup. Now, think of something you can add to the soup to pack a punch to the protein and add a bit more green (or orange or yellow) to it. I like to add packaged tuna or salmon (best when packaged in water and I do find Albacore tuna tastier than regular tuna). Now, maybe chop up some red onion (excellent prebiotic), colorful sweet peppers or carrots, spinach or basal (another excellent prebiotic) and heat it all up together. The veggies may be a bit crunchy but I always like a little crunch in my soup.
You say you don’t like the taste of some of these healthier foods? Next time you bite into something “healthy” and want to reject the taste, think of it as just different, then try and savor the taste and accept it rather than instantly reject. I think you will find many of these additional foods will make your soup or burrito or even ramen noodles, tastier!
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