One of the reasons people hate going on a diet is the lack of flavor that a diet brings. Many healthy recipes simply forget to add flavorful ingredients, focusing mainly on ingredients that have health benefits. A low calories diet is no different. Without the proper knowledge, a low calorie diet can quickly become boring. Fortunately, there are low calorie ways to add flavor to your recipes. The following ingredients are not only low calorie, but they pack a lot of flavor as well.
Low Calorie Ways to Add Flavor to Recipes #1: Hot Sauce
Hot sauce is a wonderful low calorie way to add flavor to any meal. Not only is hot sauce low calorie, but it also ups your metabolism. The more hot sauce (and hot peppers) you eat, the more calories you will burn. I suggest adding hot sauce to chili made with extra lean beef or even turkey. Another great use for hot sauce is to kick up low calorie chicken dishes.
Low Calorie Ways to Add Flavor to Recipes #2: Spices
Spices are very low calorie, yet they add a lot of flavor. I constantly have spices on hand. I use everything from onion powder to red pepper flakes to add flavor to low calorie recipes. This is a very easy solution. The next time you make roasted potatoes try adding some onion powder and garlic powder. You won’t believe how much of a difference spices made.
Low Calorie Ways to Add Flavor to Recipes #3: Barbeque Sauce
Baked chicken and pork chops are incredibly boring unless you add some flavor to them. Barbeque sauce is a wonderful low calorie option that adds tons of flavor. If you’re worried about the amount of sugar contained in most barbeque sauces, look for low carb versions. You could even make your own if you like and use Splenda as the sweetener.
Low Calorie Ways to Add Flavor to Recipes #4: Citrus Juices
Adding citrus is an extremely low calorie way to add flavor to everything from meats to even a glass of water. For example, you could add lemon juice to olive oil and spices for a wonderful quick marinade for chicken or fish. Plus lemon juice is a very easy and low calorie way to add flavor to a glass water and we all know how important water is.
Low Calorie Ways to Add Flavor to Recipes #5: Buttermilk
Low fat butter milk is a dieter’s best friend. Let’s say you want to enjoy fried chicken. Obviously that recipe would be out of the question, but baked “fried” chicken wouldn’t be. To make this wonderful recipe simply soak boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a mixture of buttermilk, salt, and hot sauce, overnight. The next day remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dip it into seasoned breadcrumbs. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray and then spray the tops of the chicken breasts as well. Bake the chicken for 30-40 minutes at 375 or until done. The olive oil spray is not only good for high cholesterol but also helps the chicken to get crispy in the oven.
