Healthy Eating Tip: Think outside the shaker

In honor of National Nutrition Month®, my colleague Marisa Moore is sharing her tip to help you savor the flavor of eating right.

Think outside the shaker: focus on flavor, not salt. 

Salt is a key finishing ingredient. It can really bring out the best in a dish. But before you salt, consider other ways to add flavor. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Roast your vegetables (or fruit!). Roasting is my favorite way to cook vegetables. With just a drizzle of your favorite oil, salt and pepper, roasting makes for quick and easy prep and clean up. But importantly, roasting creates a sweet, caramelized crust on vegetables that’s simply irrestible. Try roasted cauliflower or broccoli, green beans or beets to start.
• Add aromatics. Garlic, ginger, onion and peppers deliver incredible flavor and complexity to your meals without adding sodium. Plus these delicious vegetables add nutrients and phytochemicals that you can’t get anywhere else.
• Try vinegars. Have you seen the vinegar aisle lately? From balsamic vinegar to rice vinegar and more exotic ones like pomegranate, there’s no shortage of ways to add flavor with vinegars. Try something you haven’t tried before. Drizzle your favorite vinegar onto roasted vegetables. Swap a white balsamic or fruity champagne vinegar for standard red wine vinegar to create a new, vibrant vinaigrette. Use vinegar to whip up a flavorful drizzle for a fun vegetable and grain bowl.

These are just a few ways to add flavor to your meals. Focusing on flavor can help you explore and begin to incorporate foods you never thought you would. The options are endless!

Marisa Moore, MBA. RDN. LD. an Atlanta-based registered dietitian nutritionist and trusted food and nutrition expert who uses a mostly plant-based approach to help women eat and live better one morsel at a time. Check her out.