Sunday November 22nd, 2009
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Tastes Great, Less Filling
Posted by Su Avasthi on August 15, 2007 - 5:34pm.
There's an interesting discussion on the boards at Chowhound.com, a site that is -- as a friend put it -- an online home to a lot of "food nerds."
Being a food nerd myself, I check the site out fairly often, and lately I've been tuned into a question that someone asked: Which healthy substitutes actually taste better to you?
For instance, the person who asked the question now prefers soy milk to skim in her coffee. Others commenters love topping their pasta with olive oil rather than butter, or choose mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. And, of course, switching back to real butter, instead of margarine.
It's a great question, especially since some people think that eating healthy is synonymous with deprivation. The topic certainly struck a nerve with the Chowhounders who contributed a lot of opinions. They also launched into long tangents about the pros and cons of baked potato chips, and whether soy milk really is healthier than the real thing, but that's what food nerds do.
A lot of folks echoed my own feelings about making healthy choices: many healthier choices just taste better.
Being a flexitarian, I definitely like fake meat better than the real thing. As a result, my freezer always has a supply of fake ground meat and veggie burgers. I've even replaced the chicken sausages that I once used with fake bratwurst links. (I know, I know, but I never inflict this preference on others.)
Some other favorite substitutions include the following:
- Using one yolk to every two egg whites for scrambled eggs or omelets. Now, if I eat an omelet at a restaurant, it tastes too rich and looks too yellow.
- Switching to whole wheat pasta. I wanted the extra fiber, and now white pasta tastes a lot like white bread once you're used whole wheat.
- Not being a huge fan of dairy (except for cheese, that is) I prefer vanilla soy milk in my cereal. It has just the right amount of sweetness to it for me.
I've tracked that discussion for a few days, and it's allowed me to consider which choices I truly like, and which ones I stick with for my health. Of course, I've also thought about which foods I'd never give up.
Much as I love fake meat, there's just no substitute for bacon.
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I agree with Vicki about the turkey bacon, it's just fine. My picky husand even eats it. I haven't eaten red meat or pork in many many years and would be lost without my turkey bacon to sustain me :)
Great site, I'll visit it often. Thanks!
For some odd reason, during this time period where I have been going without meat, I did substitute the real meat with fake meat. Surprisingly I like it! It does not bother me at all, I had always heard a lot of people saying that it never tasted as good as real meat, but sometimes, matters on my mood; I really like my fake meat over the real deal. One of the main reasons why I had gotten sick in the 2nd week of my challenge is probably lack of protein and other Vitamins I really need. I forget that I am Anemic and I cannot eat whatever and whenever I want like everybody else! And I will take you tips into consideration for dinner in the future.
As mentioned, the diet of the 3,500 participants was studied for five years. And at the end of that period, researchers found these revealing findings:
- Those in the first group or whole food group had about 26% lesser risk to experience depression.
- Those in the second group or the processed food group has about 58% higher risk of experiencing depression.
Though not as surprising as other studies’ findings, many research critics still have something to say about the study’s findings.