As a dietitian, I’m interested in foods that nourish the body, but for me, they have to taste great too! Luckily, a big part of what I do for a living is developing and testing recipes. In fact, I tested 185 recipes in 2023 alone! This means I’ll be spending most of my time in the kitchen, testing out the recipes I come up with to make sure they’re as delicious as they are for you. When I started my career 14 years ago, recipe development was not in my repertoire. This is a skill that I have developed and reinforced over the last few years and as a result I have learned a lot along the way. Here are some of the valuable tips and tricks I received:
Using herbs and citrus for flavor allows you to reduce sodium. One of the first things I noticed when doing nutritional analysis (finding out how many grams of fat, carbohydrates, protein, and calories a recipe has) was how easy it was to exceed the recommended daily sodium limit. By adding herbs for flavor and often citrus juice and zest, I barely noticed the lack of salt, although I cut it significantly most of the time.
Not all salts are created equal. Another thing I discovered is that the type of salt you choose really matters. While I’m not a big fan of pushing brands, I only use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in my kitchen for one simple reason: Because of the way salt crystals form, this type of salt contains half the amount of sodium. teaspoon per teaspoon of most other salts.
Cooking with plant proteins is easier and more delicious than I expected. I’m an omnivore born and raised, but I’ve become a vegan enthusiast since I started developing recipes. There are actually two main reasons for this: First, the evidence to suggest the health benefits of following a plant-based diet is undeniable. Second, using plant-based protein while trying to keep saturated fat to a minimum is a healthy recipe developer’s dream. That’s because nearly every source of saturated fat comes from an animal, according to the American Heart Association. While I’ve never cooked foods like tofu or tempeh regularly in the past, I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily they can be incorporated into healthy recipes.
Switching fats is an easy way to reduce saturated fats. I grew up eating butter, and let’s be honest, it’s delicious. While I still use butter sparingly in my personal kitchen, I will never use it in one of the healthy recipes I develop because it won’t help me meet the nutritional goals I set for those recipes (especially when it comes to eating unhealthy saturated fat). As a result, I only use healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and nut and seed oils. The recipes are still incredibly delicious and I don’t miss the butter one bit.
There’s plenty of natural sugar to go around. Keeping added sugar to a minimum in foods that are expected to taste sweet is no easy task, but after a little experimentation, I found that natural sugars from unsweetened applesauce, bananas, and dates replace refined sugar quite well and also add fiber. Vitamins and minerals are added to the finished product. When needed, a tablespoon or two of honey or maple syrup also adds sweetness and trace minerals (they still count as added sugar).
Whole grains are incredibly versatile. As a registered dietitian, whole grains have been my go-to for many years. Brown rice, quinoa, farro, oats, and whole wheat flour were staples of my diet and always available in my pantry. But when I started experimenting in the kitchen, I truly realized how versatile these grains could be. For example, while most of us think of oats as a breakfast dish that can only be served with sweet toppings, I tried it in my Savory Oatmeal Buddha Bowl and was shocked at how amazing it was!
Fruits and vegetables can be appetizers. When it comes to healthy recipes, fruits and vegetables should be at the forefront. These low-calorie foods are also a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and have been linked to lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer, notes the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. . Plus, eating plant-focused meals has always helped me keep calories and saturated fat low while more than meeting my set guideline for fiber.
Keep trying foods you “don’t like.” Although it may come as a surprise, there are some healthy foods that I really don’t care for. But as a recipe developer, sometimes I have to step outside my comfort zone. The results were sometimes shocking. Take, for example, the time I had to develop a recipe with grapefruit (a fruit I hadn’t tried since I hated it since childhood!). When I added it to the recipe I tried and gave it another try, I absolutely loved it! I guess taste preferences really change over time!
After trying hundreds of recipes, I’m proud not only of the healthy meals, snacks, and desserts I’ve created, but also of what I’ve learned along the way. I hope these tips inspire you to cook healthier. I know I look forward to another year of delicious, healthy adventures.