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Dan Durkin, Director of Food & Beverage, dishes out tips and tricks on how to make healthy food taste delicious – even your vegetable-loathing munchkins will love it.

Struggling to prepare healthy meals that not only are kind to your waistline, but also taste good on your fork? You’re not alone. Many home cooks have a tough time figuring out how to make healthy food taste delicious. And many assume that only unhealthy food tastes good , while healthy food is too tasteless and looks a little sadder on the plate. Fortunately, they’re wrong. Check out some of Dan's healthy eating tips for making any healthy meal into one you’ll savor.

A Little Goes a Long Way

A little bit of salt won’t hurt you. But don’t fall into the trap of adding way too much salt to make up for a meal’s low fat content. Cut back on salt and try herbs and spices instead.

Into the Oven

Many people hate the taste of super-healthy veggies, such as beetroot. But you can learn to love them and benefit from their nutritional content by preparing them the right way. Mellow or balance out the earthy flavors of beets by roasting them. Just cut off the leaves and stem. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake them for at least half an hour. Peel and serve with mustard. Roasting works great with other veggies, too. Most just need to be tossed with a bit of olive oil and topped with spices.

The Trending Vegetable

Steam and puree cauliflower, and use it in place of cream In dishes, such as risotto or creamed spinach, swapping the high-fat cream of cauliflower makes the dish lighter and healthier. But this unlikely swap also adds extra fiber, vitamins, and nutrients to your meal.

The Club's Healthy Options

Let it sit briefly then strain and refrigerate. The American Club offers a plethora of low-calorie, plant-based and meatless dishes. 

Head down to Tradewinds and get their Superfood Chopped Salad, a beautiful bowl of mesclun greens, spinach, kale, avocado, grapes, broccolini, almonds and sunflower seeds wrapped in a layer of balsamic vinegar. 

Or swing by Union Bar for the meatless alternative to the Korean Fried Chicken - Korean Cauliflower Bites. Or try Dan's ultimate favorite Grillhouse Impossible Burger, a plant-based patty topped with guacamole, American cheese and roasted garlic aioli spread.

Liquid Gold

If you’re cooking healthy meals, you already know to use butter in moderation. Supercharge butter with herbs and spices so you can use less overall. Thyme, garlic , and lemon zest all make great additions, especially if you’re cooking meat. Just heat the butter in a saucepan until it foams, then remove it from the heat, and add your herbs, spices, or flavoring of choice. Let it sit briefly then strain and refrigerate. With these simple tips, eating healthy can be flavorful, nutritious and fun.

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