17 day tips

LEAN 17: Lost in Spice—17 Ways to Make Veggies and Other Foods Taste Great

When you’re on a diet, you’ve got to get creative. Here are some suggestions to get the most flavors from your food, without using added fat or sugar.

1. Basil. Basil adds loads of flavor to tomato-based dishes. It’s also great with poultry.

2. Broth. Use low-sodium, low-fat chicken and beef broth to sauté meats and cook flavorful rice without adding oil.

3. Cayenne pepper. Just a pinch livens up chili, spaghetti squash and salad dressings. Consuming cayenne may help suppress your appetite

4. Chives. Add 1 part chopped chives to 3 parts spinach and boil or steam for 3 minutes.

5. Cinnamon. Sprinkle this sweet spice in oatmeal, hot cereals or coffee.

6. Dill. Known mostly as a pickle herb, dill is delicious on fish, carrots and salads. For an easy dip, mix it into plain yogurt and serve with cucumber slices.

7. Garlic. Stir it into mashed potatoes or salad dressing.

8. Horseradish. Ditch the gravy and go for horseradish to enliven meat. Or puree it into

Breakstone Live Active cottage cheese, along with some garlic and pepper, for a healthy vegetable dip or potato topping.

9. Italian seasonings (generally a combination of oregano, rosemary, savory, marjoram, basil and thyme). Sprinkle it on chicken, spaghetti squash, vegetables and tomatoes.

10. Lemon. Squeeze fresh juice on salads, vegetables and fish. Grate the rind to create the zest (flavorful outer rind). This gives a tang to poultry, vegetables and salads.

11. Mint. You can’t beat fresh mint from your garden, but dried mint is tasty, too. Good in tea, with fruit, and in plain yogurt.

12. Mustard. Dijon mustard adds zip to many dishes, from turkey burgers to roasted potatoes.

13. Rosemary. The fragrant, needle-like leaves of this woody herb are especially good with lamb and seafood, and in any dish with beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes or cauliflower.

14. Sage. This Mediterranean herb is especially good in tomato-based dishes, beans, tuna, chicken or turkey.

15. Tarragon. This wonderful seasoning makes salads and chicken taste delicious. For your salad dressings, try tarragon vinegar mixed with olive oil or flaxseed oil.

16. Thyme. A member of the mint family, thyme is great on carrots, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and beef.

17. Vinegar. Try cider vinegar on cooked spinach, herbed or raspberry vinegar on salad greens, rice vinegar on chicken salad and malt vinegar on broiled fish.