Make Your Food Taste GREAT
Eating the same thing day after day can get a bit old, and sometimes "healthy" food can taste a bit bland by itself. Sometimes you need a little extra boost to your meals and snacks if you want to spice things up or add variety. Stick to whole, fresh ingredients as well as minimally processed foods and sauces.
Also, don’t be afraid to add flavor to your meals! Adding tasty and flavorful ingredients to your meals can really take them to the next level.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to master your cooking process. While cooking with quality ingredients and seasoning stuff is very important, knowing how to properly cook your food plays a huge role in how your dish is going to taste.
Here are some of my favorite tips on accomplishing all of those things!
Make Your Food Taste Great
Add Flavor To Your Meals
Here are some seasonings, food, and condiments that you can add to your food to make it taste good.
Mustards
There are so many varieties (just stick to ones without added sugar e.g. honey mustard) - spicy mustard, regular mustard, Dijon, etc.
Seasoning and seasoning mixes
Adding seasoning to your food is so crucial! Add salt to each layer of your food while you’re making it (not just at the end - season each layer with salt and possibly with other seasonings, herbs, and spices as well).
If you want to skip using tons of seasonings one by one, you can buy some seasoning mixes.
Some good ones to check out:
Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning,
Mrs. Dash blends,
Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning,
Primal Palate seasoning blends, etc.
Salsas
Salsa is pretty much just vegetables! There are so many varieties of salsas too - pico de gallo, chunky salsa, spicy salsa, you name it.
Grated Parmesan cheese
A little bit can go a LONG way, and a canister of grated Parm cheese can last a LONG time
Dressings
My rule of thumb is to choose dressings with less than 50 calories per 2 Tablespoons. Dressing itself isn't very filling - so don't waste your calories here!
Herbs and spices
Herbs and spices can take any dish to the next level. Play with different combinations and flavors, and watch your dishes transform.
You can use both fresh herbs, and dried herbs, depending on the dish.
Use herbs and spices on meat, and when you’re cooking vegetables - they make food taste good, no matter what it is, and they intensify the flavor.
Here’s a list of some herbs and spices you can use:
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Rosemary
Chilly flakes
Cumin
Turmeric
Paprika
Curry powder
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Dill
Sage
Garam masala
Olive oil
Olive oil has a unique and delicious flavor, and it’s the oil most professional chefs use! So, when you can, use the cooking olive oil for cooking (to be used as heating oil), and extra virgin olive oil for stuff like salads, to take them to the next level.
Master Your Cooking Processes
Another part of making your food taste good is mastering your cooking processes.
You need to figure out how to bake properly, fry, grill, cook, etc.
Here are some tips.
Deglaze the pan
When you’re cooking something in the pan with the intention to get a crust on it (as you should), deglaze the pan with wine or cream or stock if you’re going to make a sauce - it will make the sauce so much better!
Add salt to everything
As mentioned above, add salt to each layer, not just at the end!
As you’re cooking, add salt to each thing you’re adding to the dish - the meat, the veggies, the pasta or rice, etc.
Especially if you’re cooking something like pasta - make that water super salty (crucial when cooking pasta).
Sear the meat
If you’re cooking meat, make sure you sear it to get a nice crust and color on it - that crust and color add so much flavor to your meat, it’s unreal!
That part alone can take any meat dish to the next level. Your taste buds will thank you!
Taste everything
This is something all professional chefs do - taste everything as they go. While you’re cooking, taste each layer before you add stuff or move to the next part - that way you know if you need to add more salt, pepper, seasonings, make it thicker or thinner, cook it longer, cut the salt with acidity, etc.
