The Trouble With Protein
Protein sources that are allowed on the HCG diet are limited in their variety and in their inherent flavor. White fish, shellfish, and chicken breast are just plain dull without fat. If you could follow Julia Child’s advice to smother everything in butter (not allowed on the HCG diet!), you would get a lot more flavor from these foods. So avoiding fat and still getting flavor is the challenge
The key to making the protein sources flavorful is simply how you use herbs and spices. There really is not much to it. Garlic and onion are the most important of these. Hot sauce, chili powder, cilantro, parsley, tarragon, oregano, and many more highly flavorful spices make any dish of chicken or fish taste great. If you do it right, you can even have tacos! And if you are careful, you can incorporate extra lean ground beef.
Mother Nature’s Veggies
Vine-ripened tomatoes and cucumbers (both of which are really fruits, by the way), young asparagus spears, and dark green leafy greens are as good as it gets from Mother Nature. If you had a source for these, which would almost have to be locally grown, then cooking would not be necessary.
However, since the most inexpensive and easy to find veggies are going to be at your supermarket, then you will want to flavor them up a bit, or maybe a lot. They will have very little flavor, because they have been picked unripe, put into cold storage, then fumigated with ethylene gas to make them look ripe.
The keys to making flavorful veggie dishes are the same as for protein dishes. Herbs and spices make everything much more enjoyable. Oh, and there are some allowable vegetable combinations, such as cucumber and lettuce, that work just fine in spite of violating Dr. Simeons’ original protocol.
Chocolate Strawberries and Other Great Desserts
Like veggies, fruits are at their tastiest when Mother Nature takes them to ripeness. However, if you by chance want to really liven up some not so ripe strawberries, a chocolate sauce sweetened with Stevia is a great choice. The key is mixing the right proportions of unsweetened cocoa powder and flavored liquid Stevia (Vanilla Creme or Dark Chocolate are the best) into a fruit dip. Freezing and serving chocolate-covered strawberries is a real delight!
Even if your apple happens to be a little tart, you can transform it into an allowable applesauce. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, with flavored liquid Stevia, are the key ingredients. All you have to do is slice the apple, cover and bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (with one-fourth cup of water), then puree and add spices. Wonderful!
Stevia to the Rescue
None of the artificial sweeteners are good for your health. And some, such as aspartame, are downright dangerous. Stevia is the best of the lot if you want a sweetener without side effects. Well, you might detect an aftertaste if you use unflavored Stevia powder. The flavored liquids, however, open up all kinds of sweetening adventures without the aftertaste. Imagine adding these new flavors to your fruit desserts: English Toffee, Apricot Nectar, Chocolate Raspberry, Cinnamon, Chocolate, Grape, Lemon, Peppermint, Root Beer, Valencia Orange, Vanilla Crème.
By the way, liquid Stevia makes any beverage sweet and flavorful, too. I like English Toffee in my coffee, so I no longer feel the need to fuel my sugar addiction in my java. Although commercial sodas are the greatest diet evil in human history (am I being too wishy washy on what I think?), you can make a delicious and healthful soda on your own with flavored liquid Stevia. Just add a few drops of any flavor to club soda and there you have it. Nothing better.
Melba Toast
Okay, there is not much you can do with Melba Toast all by itself. Flavored Melba crackers do offer actual flavor, though (e.g., garlic, sesame). However, you can incorporate Melba Toast into meat dishes, such as meatloaf, to maximize your flavor experience from the starchy component of the HCG diet.
