I don't do take out, or eat out very often. I average about 0.5 times a week, or about twice a month.
Why?
So, glad you asked. You see, I prefer less salt, less sugar and high quality. Restaurants make food for the most common customer. This means more fat, salt and sugar. And since quality is more expensive: it means less quality.
Let's look at the details: Salt has been a flavor enhancer for as long as people have been cooking. I do use salt, but not much. In fact, I've been working on the same box of salt now to 2 years. However, restaurants use much more. In some dishes, there can be as much as a full days' worth of salt on 1 plate.
Sugar is also a big additive. People love sweet things. Unfortunately, sweet comes with the consequence of diabetes. There are some dishes from restaurants that contain 3 days' worth of sugar on 1 plate!
It's the same with fat. Fat is tasty and I don't make any hesitation when I say I use good old-fashioned butter in my cooking. Of course, I don't use any bad fats, like canola and vegetable oils, and I completely avoid trans fats. I also don't allow my foods to drip with fat, nor do I choose anything but high quality meats from sources known to be high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Remember Paula Deen, the queen of butter? She had diabetes, a sugar disease, not a fat disease.
If I make most of my food myself, how do I get all that flavor without tons of salt, sugar or fat? Herbs and spices. I have over 30 different flavors of herbs and spices that combine into hundreds of sensational tastes. I can make the same meat and vegetable combo every night and by changing the flavor make it brand new.
I never skimp on the herbs. Herbs require tablespoons just to get 1 carb or more than 10 calories. So, you can put on lots and lots of herbs without adding anything negative. In addition to flavor, herbs contain some of the most concentrated doses of vitamins and mineral in the entire plant world. Because of all these vitamins and minerals, herbs and spices are some of the most potent medicines in the world (but who would tell you that, besides me?).
Here's an easy way to start adding flavor to your meals: Try 1 new herb or spice a week. Add it to a small portion of your food to test it out. In all the people I've worked with, never has anyone said an herb or spice reduced their pleasure in food. Most say they love the added sensations!
Christina Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic
Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic
Health helps people, especially women, who have Type II Diabetes, High
Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure lower their numbers, get off
medication and increase their energy so they can save money, take back
control of their lives and improve the health and happiness of their
families.
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