One New Food a Week

It's been proven many times that a varied diet of healthy foods is the best way to eat, because it provides the wide range of nutrients the body needs to function properly. It also keeps the body's metabolism guessing, making it easier to lose and manage weight. Yet the average American eats the same 10 to 15 meals most of their life, which contributes to obesity and diseases that can be caused by poor nutrition, such as insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, and others.

I frequently get comments regarding the wide variety of foods my partner and I eat. Often, people want to know where we come up with the ideas for these recipes, and what our inspirations are for choosing new foods. There are many reasons we choose a new item or recipe to try, and we find our inspirations in many places.

We make a conscious effort to purchase new foods we see in the store or market fresh sections, for example. If we see an unknown fruit, vegetable, fish, or cut of meat, we either pick it up or make a note to look for it on our next trip. We ask the proprietor for recipe ideas, and also use the Internet to find cooking instructions and recipes for unfamiliar items.

Cost and budgeting are great reasons to try new foods. If we want to splurge on an edible luxury one week, we have to make up that cost elsewhere in the food budget. This has been our inspiration for many budget-friendly new foods, from lentil casserole to wine-braised beef heart over cauliflower puree. Ethic foods are often great cost-saving options that are full of flavor and new foods, and still easy on the pocketbook.

Recipes provide motivation to expand our food horizons. As a Chef, I spend a lot of time pouring over recipes. Just browsing through new cookbooks or websites, I'll often find something I have never tried before that looks tasty. I'll copy it and stick it on the refrigerator, or write it on our meal planning board so I don't forget it in the next week's meal plan.

The most important thing is realizing that it is okay to try something new, and that it is okay to fail. Not all new foods are going to become a regular part of your life, and some of the recipes won't be great. Some new foods, however, will become instant favorites. This is another source of inspiration, because you can experiment with different ways to use the new foods and recipe tweaks to keep it exciting.

Eating a varied diet can help boost your immune system, give you extra energy, help you manage weight goals, and so much more. It can also add interest and excitement about food for the whole family. So, today I am issuing a challenge to the readers:

Step our of your food comfort zone, and try one new food item each week.