Don't like Broccoli? No sweat...

How many of us would eat raw unseasoned vegetables? Some of us would but the rest of us would cringe. How many of us would swallow a teaspoonful of salt? Probably none of us would. But we would 'trick' ourselves into eating greens by cooking with a teaspoonful of salt. And we would 'trick' ourselves into eating a teaspoonful of salt by putting it into our dishes.

For those of us who are starting out, I would like to recommend 'tricking' our way to a healthier meal. Apply some simple, uncomplicated creativity to health.

Broccoli
To me, raw or even lightly cooked broccoli has an overpowering taste so this is what I do. The most nutritious part of the broccoli are the florets - the topmost, greenest part of the clump. If you cut off the florets, they serve as a good sprinkle... an the taste is so much less overpowering. I normally microwave or stir fry the broccoli then cut off the florets and sprinkle it onto my other dishes or use the raw florets and cook it into an omelet. You would almost not notice its there... and still enjoy its health benefits.

Yogurt
There are times when I just could not figure out how to have my yogurt. To eat pure yogurt just as is, is just too tangy and sour for me. So at times I would learn a thing or two from the South Indians. They have this thing called the curd rice - and it's rice with yogurt. The original stuff tastes sour but my version is still quite good. I use Basmati rice, which is less starchy. Basmati rice is rather dry but by adding one and a half tablespoon of yogurt brings back the moistness and fragrance like those more starchy types. Plus, the gastrointestinal health benefits from the pre- and probiotics, of course.

Added salt
Added salt can be an undesirable thing particularly if we do not control its intake. Here is how I control mine. This could help you cut down added salt intake by half or more. I would put added salt into only one of my dishes. The rest of the dishes remain unsalted. We have a way of eating by mixing all our dishes into the rice in one plate so the unsalted dishes would appear salted when it is mixed with the salted dish. I would also consciously take only half the normal portion I would take of the salted dish thus cutting down the added salt intake.