5 Simple Ways to Create the Most Flavorful Meals
Welcome to Flavor Town!
Located in Flavor Town you will find Bacon Bank, Lemon Zest Library, Lake of the Leeks, and down Main Street is gorgeous Pistachio Park. It is a town bursting with happy eaters and ridiculously flavorful food.
We all love flavorful bright food! Right?! However, oftentimes we become derailed because we don’t know where to begin.
Two biggest fears when it comes to cooking:
1. Serving bland food.
2. Becoming buried under a pile of dirty dishes.
Honestly, I can really only help you with the first fear for now….
As a healthy home-cook it’s incredibly important for you to capitalize on all opportunities to add flavor, doing so keeps us on the path of eating well and craving healthy food.
Well, your fear of eating bland food ends today. Let’s chat about flavor and how to crank it up in your everyday meals.
Flavor comes in many forms and can be influenced by several variables:
Quality of food:
Consider freshness of the protein or produce, time of year and season, fresh versus frozen (whether a food is frozen or thawed will largely impact flavor and moisture content). I usually recommend cooking food thawed for flavor optimization.
Cooking method:
Yes!!! Your cooking method will absolutely influence your flavor profile. Think about a perfectly seared salmon with a crisp Brulee-d crust compared to poached salmon. That’s just not a fair comparison is it? When you prepare a meal consider the most effective and flavor-enhancing cooking method. My go-to cooking methods are roasting, searing, and grilling they all allow for an indulgent caramelization on the food.
Cooking time:
Often, novice cooks follow a recipe to a “T” almost to a fault, and they lose the art of cooking. Consider this comparison; Caramelizing onions low and slow to release the natural sugars and moisture versus sautéing them on high heat and having slightly charred bitter onions with no moisture. Two very different end products. Different foods require different cooking times, the value is in receiving the visual and scent cues of the food to know when to move on to the next step. Patience is key.
Food Combinations:
PB+J, chocolate + peanut butter, bacon + eggs, apples + cinnamon. These famous food combinations are proof that food was never meant to be served solo. Many different foods are complemented with other flavors. For example; when sautéing Brussel sprouts it’s common to add a dash of vinegar to the pan because the vinegar will dial down the bitterness. Be creative when preparing your meals, start introducing this idea by combining foods you have already seen or tasted together; fish and lemon, salmon and dill, garlic and potatoes, rosemary and beef, white wine and chicken. In no time, you will be mindlessly upping the ante at dinner time.
Seasoning:
When all else fails, season it. For real! If you have completely disregarded the first four ways to add flavor, this last one will make a sweeping save! Season your food as you are preparing your meals. Before you grill chicken breast, toss salt and pepper on it. When making a sauce, scrambling eggs, roasting vegetables at a minimum season it with salt and pepper. As you build your dish you will have layered seasoning. It’s a common misconception that to keep sodium consumption lower you should only salt and pepper your meal right before eating it. However, lightly seasoning each item as you prepare the meal will result in lower sodium and will increase overall flavor throughout the entire dish. Salt and pepper are classics, yet other simple add-ons are onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Preparing flavorful meals doesn’t have to be so complex. Focus on a few of these points when you are in the kitchen and you too will be a citizen of Flavor Town.
If you are looking for more healthy recipes, and to learn how to meal prep like a pro, scoop up my Simple & Healthy Meal Prep eBook.