Pump up the flavor: How to make healthy foods tasty

Table of content:

• How your taste buds are being hacked

• Tips from your favorite health coach to pump up the flavor

• Tips from chef Christine Sandford, Biera

• Tips from chef Filliep Lament, La petite Iza

You really want to eat well and healthy, but you find yourself craving the exact kind of food that you know isn’t supporting you. It’s so frustrating and kick starts a lot of negative thinking about yourself. Meanwhile, “healthy” tastes bland and boring…

If that sound like you, first know that it’s by design! You’d be amazed to see all the research that has gone into a bag of your favorite snack in order to get you hooked.

This blog post is for you! Here, we’re talking about things you can do in your kitchen to make this healthy food come alive. For this article, I’m not only sharing my favorite tips and spices, I also decided to reach out to Edmonton chefs to ask them what their go-to’s are.

Let’s pump up the flavor!

How your taste buds are being hacked

With the food industry having invested millions of dollars and years of research to increase processed food’s palatability, our taste buds are being totally hacked. According to Stephane Guyenet (author of The Hungry brain), there is a connection between palatability and weight gain, as well as our ability to lose body fat. If you’re interested in more on this topic, I would point you to this interview: Stephan Guyenet on Food Reward and Weight Loss.

So let me start by saying that if you are having a hard time using moderation, it’s not because you are “weak”, lack “will power” or are an addict… It’s because your biology is being hijacked.

If you are having a hard time using moderation, it’s not because you are “weak”, lack “will power” or are an addict…
It’s because your biology is being hijacked.

When it comes to our food preferences, we’re like David against Goliath. No wonder many of us find healthy food bland and lacking flavors… It’s especially true when eating a lot of take-out foods. From the oils used to fry and cook, to the basis of sauces, batters and other seasoning, there can be a lot of additives and chemicals that produce a highly pleasurable experience, but also jack up inflammation and hurt our delicate gut flora.

The good news though, is that our food preferences can be programmed. It is totally under your control.
That said, knowing what I know about the reward systems in the brain (that it could take months to reset baseline dopamine levels), having done it myself and guided people through the paleo reset, I believe that the best place to start reprogramming your taste buds is to go through an elimination phase. If you feel ready to do that, I encourage you to go get all the free resources I provide. All you have to do is to download the free guide with the button below. You can also join the private group and you will receive a series of emails for additional support.

Tips to pump up the flavor

Tips from your favorite health coach

1. Salt

Did you know that salt is a flavor enhancer? This means that no matter what you eat, salt will make the flavors really pop up. Sodium has had a bad rap for the past decade, but the most recent evidence shows that it’s not too much sodium that is associated with heart disease, but rather improper intake in potassium and magnesium. It’s estimated that 35% of Canadians don’t get adequate magnesium.

I find that a salad with the right amount of salt has the same power as a bag of chips: I can’t stop eating it. Use romaine for the crunch and add colorful vegetables for their content in phyto-nutrients for a winning combo.

2. Fat

Fat is another essential food that has had a bad rap. Not all fats are created equal. In general, industrial seed oils are better to avoid, as they seem associated with overweight, insulin resistance and inflammation, as suggested by some studies.
Knowing this, one of my go-to’s at home is mayo, made with avocado oil, to turn the most boring beef patty into a rich experience with no guilt.

Traditional fats on the other hand make for a healthy and tasty choice: think olive oil, duck fat, pasture-raised lard (fat rendered from pig, such as bacon fat) and tallow (fat rendered from beef). Wondering where you might find these in Edmonton? I personally get them all of these tasty fats at Acme Meat market in Ritchie.

When it comes to animal fat, the quality of diet is really important: fat is a storage mechanism. When animals are pasture-raised, they make higher amount of beneficial nutrients such as vitamin D or omega 3s, (Did you know there’s 500 to 1000 IU of vitamin D per serving of lard?). For example, eggs from pasture-raised hens have 30% higher vitamin A (orange yolk, not yellow) twice as much vitamin E and 3 to 6 times the amount of Vitamin D compared to caged animals. (source: Real food for pregnancy, Lily Nichols).

Suggestion: cut some slightly ripe plantain into chips and cook in bacon fat (Oven at 350, a few minutes on each side). Sprinkle with salt.

3. Additional tips

Here I will share my favorite tips for flavoring anything from beef liver to stir fry:

• My favorite spice and herbs mix is cumin and cilantro. I often add turmeric to that for some anti-inflammatory boost. I got that growing up with a dad from Morocco. Moroccan cuisine is incredible and if you’re looking for something new to learn in the kitchen, I would highly recommend finding a Moroccan cuisine cookbook.

• My trick for a tasty stir fry is to add kimchi to my plate. Fermented food is great for gut health.

• Craving Asian flavor? Coconut aminos taste exactly like soy-sauce. I love using this recipe for a rich Asian flavor on chopped veggies. Simple and different.

• Ginger for a kick: grate some ginger into a basic salad dressing; add it to some mayo with the juice of a lemon or in a coconut milk curry.

Tips from chef Christine Sandford, Biera

Chef Christine Sandford,

executive chef of Biera & the Monolith, Christine has been cooking professionally for about 15 years.

“I’m really nerdy about good quality food and love all things sourdough!”

My #1 rule is to start with a good quality ingredient. If the vegetable is local and in season there is a good chance its going to taste amazing. Learn and research the best way cook that product for maximum flavor development. Does it have lots of natural sugars? Maybe a long slow roast in a pan will bring out the sugars and help to caramelize it.

My favourite spice mix to use to enhance a dish is called Trappeur Salt. It’s Sweet, savoury and spicy, a blend created in the Canadian far north. Traditionally it’s made by mixing maple syrup grains with aromatic seasoning and salt. Funny enough, even though it’s a Canadian spice mix, I learned how to make it in Belgium form a Scottish chef who learned it from a previous Canadian chef!

At Biera, we use it on grilled meats, mushrooms and lots of vegetables. You can order online or buy it at our market store now!

I use a lot of liquid whey in sauces. I know there a lot of importation about dairy being hard on us (and I’m not denying there is some bad dairy out there) but I really believe in using high quality dairy in moderation. I use primarily Vital Greens Organic Dairy. The whey is typically a by product from making cheese or sour cream type products. We like to use it as a base for vegetable stocks or reduce it down to add a bit of sweet and tangy depth to a sauce. Whey also makes a great brine for poultry. Pop your chicken into some whey and the enzymes will help to tenderize it. Make sure the chicken is nice a dry before cooking it when you take it out of the brine!

Another great tip is leek oil. Rather than throwing away those leek tops, you can blend the dark green fibrous part with an equal part high-quality oil (heat to 70C). Blend together on high for 7 minutes. Make sure to strain it through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. The heat helps to bread down the cell wall of the leek top, and you’re left with this bight green deeply flavorful oil.

Tips from chef Filliep Lament, La petite Iza

Chef Filliep Lament,

born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, Filliep has been a professional cook for 15 years and believes hospitality is a lot more than just feeding people’s stomachs and cravings.

“Hobbies include Rec center spa days with the pals, fishing and in general being quite opinionated. Some of my favorite things to eat include Soups, Blueberries, Potatoes, Duck fat and also Beef tripe.”

• Go-to herbs: Parsley, Thai Basil and Summer Savoury All fresh. 

• Go-to spice mixes: Quatre Epices! Ground Chili powder in all its forms. And I unabashedly love Montréal steak spice.

• Sauce: Too many to list but for this particular purpose I adore Oyster sauce, Thai Green curry (Buddhist version) and Crystal Hot sauce, which is an American, vinegar-based hot sauce.

• Marinade: I prefer marinades that get eaten such as Jerk Rub, Buttermilk (or Kefir) brine and Barbecue style mustard or spice mix rub.

• Additional tips: Natural sources of Glutamic acids are gonna be your best friends when you’re avoiding some of the BS out there. Drier cheeses especially non-cows milk varieties like pecorino or manchego are excellent. Play with some miso's, marmite or even Doubanjiang. You’re going to want a stocked pantry of ingredients you actually like so my recommendation is not to be cheap and get the good soy sauce or coconut milk. Lastly, if you can handle it, I recommend good quality butter, the naturally yellow kind. It’s literally sunshine in solid form. I don’t know about you, but during this time of year I could use a little extra sunshine!

If you like social media I recommend finding some people who cook food you like and find inspiration there. Some people even make really neat videos of cooking, crazy stuff. A few of my favorites for inspiration are: @chefjeremyfox, @chefcortneyburns @studiokitchen1 and @zuzazakcooks

If social media isn’t your thing (good for you!!!), then maybe a bit obvious but I recommend reading cookbooks and practicing.

Ready, set, cook

I hope this article gave you some new ideas and that it leaves you inspired to cook real food in your kitchen. Nothing is as healthy as whole food and with the incredible tips offered by professionals, you are now a lot better off to try things out.

If you do want to cook more but find it hard to fit it in your busy schedule or don’t know how to make it work for you, I am here to help! I love helping people find ways to eat that fuel their dreams and make them feel confident that their food choices will help them live longer and healthier lives.

All you have to do to start getting some support is to book a FREE discovery call.