Have Some Fun Planning Your New Diet

When we're trying to change our diet when we have some sort of chronic illness, it can seem like a chore trying to figure out what we can eat.

Finding New Favorite Foods:

If we can put some fun in what we plan it can make the whole process a lot more enjoyable. It can be a reminder that eating should be a pleasant experience.

Removing foods we like can be a challenge. We miss those foods that gave us some comfort, even if we know they aren't good for us.

We can take the time and make the effort to find some new foods that we can enjoy. When we find some things that are really good, we should include them often.

When we make the effort to hunt out more of these kinds of foods and recipes, we start to build up a collection of new favorites.

Some of the new favorites will be very similar to what we cut out. It may simply be the way it's prepared that's different. Homemade versions of many foods can be made to be good for us, unlike the prepackaged store bought versions.

Since diets are so different, what those exact foods and replacements are will vary.

Fresh Dips and Salad Dressings:

Homemade salad dressings are an example that can be good for a lot of diets. You can choose healthy oils, real cream and sour cream and fresh herbs. You fully remove all the highly processed poor quality oils, extra sugar, food additives and artificial flavorings when you make them yourself.

Once you start making home made dressing that fits in with your diet plan, you'll likely be able to eat a lot more of it, especially if you're on a low carb diet. It can be used as a dip for a variety of the snacks you're allowed on your eating plan.

Check out our Salad Dressing recipe section to find something delicious that will fit in perfectly with your diet.

Savory Snacks and Treats:

Homemade snacks are another example of treats you can make yourself that are way better than bagged chips or frozen heat and eat snacks. When you make them yourself you can control the quality of the ingedients, and avoid the inferior ones commonly used in packaged food.

If you're doing a gluten free or grain free diet, there's all kinds of foods that turn out really good, such as Coconut Shrimp, Patacones, and even Pizza.

You can find all of these and more in our Snacks and Appetizer recipe sections. Try out some different ones to find some new favorites that will satisfy your snack cravings.

Heart Warming Stews:

Homemade stews are a way of making rich hearty dishes. They often only need small adjustments to make them fit many diets. For lower carb you can reduce the potatoes or beans and increase the meat. If you have some diet restrictions such as a dairy allergy, there's still plenty of dishes that are rich and tasty without the cream or cheese.

A side benefit of these kinds of meals is that you can often make a large batch and make enough to freeze some for another day.

If you're looking to try out some stews, check out our Main Dish recipe section where you'll find something that you'll love and that fits with how you want to eat.

Fresh Soup and Broth:

Homemade soup is another area where you can create some delicious and healthy comfort food. When I think of soup I always think of cozy and comfy. It's also really easy to adjust soup to your diet requirements - less starches for low carb, more Paleo compliant ingredients for Paleo, more fat and meat for Keto.

Make some fresh buns or biscuits to go along with it. There's loads of recipes now a days that are low carb, or gluten free, or Keto compliant, so you have lots of bread choices to suit your diet.

It's easy to make big batches and freeze it so you can easily make a quick lunch or dinner when you need a bit of a break.

Check out our Soup section that has a variety of light or hearty soups you can make when you want.

Breakfast Options:

If breakfast is your meal that is where you need some new favorites, there's lots of choices for a variety of diets.

Gluten free replacements for pancakes, low carb delicious eggs prepared a variety of ways. Homemade juice and smoothies can replace boxed drinks. Even homemade fruit sauces can be made with low carb sweeteners and can be used on gluten free or low carb biscuits instead of jam, or added to plain yogurt for a creamy treat much tastier than packaged flavored yogurt.

You'll find a variety of new breakfast recipe ideas in our Breakfast section, so you can try to find some new and tasty favorites you'll love.

In Conclusion:

Having food that we enjoy makes diet changes easier to stick with long term. With some planning and experimenting, you'll find the effort is well worth it. Let us know in the comments below some of the foods you find that are your favorite replacements.

If you're needing some mindset inspiration to break some old habits and create some new ones, be sure to visit our Kick It Up section where you'll find a variety of articles to help you on your new diet journey.

Search, eat and enjoy!

Thora