Diet Stink

Low Calorie Healthy Seasonings to Sigh For

Don't get fixated on one stinking vegetable. Although garlic is King of the Diet Stink, onions - including green, yellow, purple and white onions, fresh or dried chives, leeks just leached from Farmer Tom's garden, showers of shallots - and white or red radishes also make wonderful seasoning sensations for your weight loss plan.

The great thing about foods that pack stink is that they are generally very low in caloric content. Foods that are minimal in the kcal department can be enjoyed more freely in abundant amounts.

For example, these vegetable seasonings contain the following amount of kcals in their raw state:

Onions: 46, per chopped
Shallots: 7 per chopped Tablespoon
Garlic: 4 per clove
Chives: 1 calorie per chopped Tablespoon
Radishes: 19 per cup of slices

Vegetables: Oh Those Healthy Little Benefits

Here are just a few things that we admire about this healthy Food Group:

These flavorful babies are generally fortified with nutritional value . Although most contain fat (yes, even lettuce, spinach, carrots and so forth), the content is most minimal. You won't find a lot of saturated fat in the vast majority of vegetable specimens.

They add flavor to bland diet recipes; while a taco that is packed with extra lean ground beef and a large wad of mixed veggies, when we bring in the Stink Squad - those peppers, garlic and onions liven up things and take that taco to an entirely new level of flavor.

Veggies can generally be enjoyed in several states; raw, cooked through boiling, microwaving, roasting, grilling - or they can be dried, canned or frozen for future use.

They are extremely low in calories.

Each hold a unique flavor that is all their own.

Another wonderful Diet Stink is beans - packed with nutrition, and part of the official Food Pyramid. On that note, here is one of our favorite recipes making use of the beautiful bean.

Pan Roasted Red, Pinto & Black Beans

1 medium size can each of the following beans: red, pinto, black

Zero Calorie Cooking Spray; the butter flavored works wonderfully well in this recipe

1 medium sized can of petite tomatoes - and they can be of any seasoned variety or simply plain

As a preparation note, if you don't like tomatoes, not to worry as they are a couple of trails that you can take your roasted legumes on so that they remain happy trails. After roasting the beans in a pan, you can add 1 Tablespoon (or two) of reduced fat margarine to the pan, stir and enjoy a 1/2 cup serving for about 120 calories.

Or, you can add a bit of ground chili powder, stir - then add a bit of low calorie sliced or shredded cheese to the top before serving. In addition, extra lean seasoned ground beef can be cooked and added to the roasted beans.

To roast the beans, drain as thoroughly as possible then add them all together in a deep, non-stick pan or skillet. Roast over medium heat for about ten minutes. Cooking spray can be used once all the excess liquid is absorbed to prevent sticking. Finally, add the can of petite tomatoes and keep cooking until piping hot.

In Summary

Be sure to get in your recommended daily servings of vegetables. Your body requires a minimum of three servings per day.