Many people feel confused and confused about how to make healthy foods tasty when they stop eating foods that are detrimental to their health (such as animal products, processed foods, excessive amounts of salt). This is not surprising, as even experienced chefs are often at a loss when it comes to adjusting home cooking methods.
Spices and seasonings can help add flavor to wholesome, homemade food – and with tremendous health benefits. But there are also a few more secrets. Shared by renowned vegan chef Chad Sarno, bestselling co-author Crazy Sexy Kitchen. At the end of last year, I completed the online cooking course Forks About Knives, в Chad Sarno was the lead instructor of this course, who taught me and thousands of people how to cook delicious, healthy, beautiful, plant-based meals.
So how do you adapt your recipes if you want to use less animal products, salt, store-bought sauces, less oil but still taste great?
Some foods are easily replaced: meat, for example, with beans. But other adaptations require more grace so that the dish does not lose its taste during the cooking process.
Sarno explains: “When changing ingredients in recipes, the most common mistake people make is that they think it’s enough to cut out the oil and salt and then just follow the instructions. Then, of course, they get frustrated with the finished dish. When adapting a dish, you need to evaluate the recipe as a whole and figure out how to get more flavor and flavor from the ingredients without adding oil and salt. It is important to adapt both methods and ingredients to build flavor. ”
Chad Sarno’s advice
Look for alternative cooking methods. For example, if the recipe calls for steaming vegetables (a very healthy way to cook food, but not always the tastiest), you can bake them in the oven or grill them instead.
If the recipe involves sautéed onions, you can fry them a little longer, pre-soak them in a little vegetable broth or wine to add extra flavor.
To enhance the flavor and aroma of your dishes, turn to spices and herbs. If the recipe calls for dried herbs, try fresh herbs instead.
If you need to add seeds or nuts to the dish, pre-fry them: this will enhance their taste. And to make the taste even more pronounced, the spices can be ground just before use.
At the end, sprinkle the dish with citrus juice (lemon, lime, grapefruit).
And very important: if you are using fresh herbs or other aromatic ingredients, add more of them to enhance the overall taste: in the absence of salt, the dish should not feel bland.
On my own I will add that sauces will always help you to enrich the taste of healthy dishes. Self-made, of course, because the industrially produced options contain a ton of unsafe ingredients. There are several recipes for homemade sauces and dressings in my mobile app.
And here is one of the interesting and versatile recipes: garlic and onion sauce with cashew nuts. You can store it in the refrigerator and add it to soups, stews, stews, spread on bread, etc.
Ingredients:
garlic – 13 cloves, shallots – 6-8 onions or white onions – 4 onions, vegetable broth – 2-3 tbsp., fresh rosemary or thyme – 2-3 sprigs, freshly ground black pepper – to taste, raw cashews – 1,5 cups, vegetable milk – 1/4 tbsp.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200 C.
Soak cashews in 3-4 glasses of warm water. When the nuts are soft, drain the water.
Cut the onions into medium-sized cubes and fold into a small baking dish.
Peel the garlic and add whole cloves to the onion.
Pour the vegetable stock over the onion and garlic to cover them.
Top with sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme and add freshly ground black pepper.
Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes: all the liquid should be absorbed into the vegetables.
Remove the sprigs and place the vegetables and cashews in a blender. Add vegetable milk and mix until smooth, like thick sour cream.