Unbeknownst to most nutritionists on the planet, your average Joe does not enjoy tofu. Or boiled chicken. Or mixed leafy greens. These foods, while healthy choices, are also bland choices that don’t taste like anything we enjoy in “real life.” So when a diet suggests a dinner of beans and one cup steamed rice, most of us say forget about it and order a pizza. Unfortunately for us, those pizzas add up over time…

Eventually we need to take a look at what we eat and how we eat it.

If you’re reading this article, you probably have already acknowledged the fact that you sometimes (or maybe even often) make poor eating choices. If you haven’t come to grips with this reality, please do so now.

Go ahead, take all the time you need…

Feel better? OK, so the point we’re going for is to help make better choices – not turn the world upside town. Going cold turkey from spicy jalapeño burgers to brown rice and beans could kill a guy. Instead, we’re going to look for healthier ways to eat what we love and also some lower calorie alternatives that can help satisfy the same cravings.

Your grill is your friend

The grill isn’t just for the summer months. This method of cooking can be a great lower fat alternative for a lot of foods. Take chicken – if you get chicken wings or a buffalo chicken sandwich at a restaurant, you’re getting a whole lot more than the chicken itself – you’re getting the skin (high in fat), the oil it was cooked in, the batter that was used… did we mention the oil in the deep fryer? That same piece of chicken, with the skin and fat removed, can be grilled to perfection in your back yard and cost you less both financially and nutritionally. The grill allows the fat to drain off the meat so it doesn’t make a home inside you. Add some cayenne pepper to spice it up (and to keep you from adding too much salt). Some hot sauce is also a great way to add flavor without adding much fat or calories. And if you don’t have an outdoor barbecue, a countertop grill can give you the same kind of fat removing cooking minus the flavor that the open flames can provide.

Low (or no) fat alternatives

You don’t have to go any further than a coffee shop to see that your favorite foods and drinks are available in low fat alternatives. Don’t shy away from something just because it’s fat free. While it is true that there are some fat free products that no longer taste or even resemble food as we know it, the majority of products are decent facsimiles of their full fat brethren. This applies to everything from the milk you get in your latte to peanut butter and potato chips. So try something new – you just might like it.

Don’t give up on dessert

You may not be at the point where an apple sounds like a great after dinner treat, but take a look at some of the low-fat and low-calorie cookie alternatives. One of the best tricks you can use is to look for varieties that already come in small packages. Our minds tell us to keep eating until we reach the end of the package, so smaller packages mean less food going to our stomachs. Some varieties already come in packages advertised to contain just 100 calories. The key is to eat the contents of the one package – not the entire box…

Cautions for your journey

Beware of reciprocal eating. If you drink a diet soda, it doesn’t give you extra calories to spend throughout the day. The idea is to consume fewer calories. If you eat a 100 calorie pack of cookies, don’t rationalize a brownie from the vending machine by reminding yourself that you’ve “been good today.” And finally, remember to eat at consistent times and not late at night.

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