To many of us, this means a lot of grilled, poached or roasted fish and white meat chicken without the skin. And it can look boring, night after night.

But it’s easy to make everyday diet food look glamorous.

• Place your protein atop a bed of vegetables or whole grain. Cabbage, spinach and Swiss chard land watercress are examples of vegetables that lie flat. If the veg is prominently three-dimensional (broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots or cauliflower, for example), use a food processor to pulse it into a chunky purée.
• Alternate the cut of the vegetables. One day prepare them chunky-sliced, one day thin-sliced, one day a large dice, one day a small dice. Chunky slices can be speared onto skewers for some food-on-a-stick excitement.
• Rim the plate with vegetables. Use small broccoli or cauliflower florets, halved cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, carrot slices or other small-size vegetable cuts to create a decorative, edible border.

The most “diet” foods can be presented
beautifully. Photo courtesy Whole Foods Market.

• Vary your low-calorie condiments. Mustard, salsa and savory chutney are examples. Enjoy them straight, or mix with fat-free yogurt to make a low-calorie sauce.
• Snip fresh herbs over the plate. Chives, cilantro, dill, parsley and other favorites not only look great, they pick up the flavor of everything on the plate.
• If you typically use salt, sprinkle the plate with sea salt. The varying colors and textures that are available make a beautiful garnish while supplying salty flavor.
• Include a citrus wedge. It adds color and shape variety on the plate. And a squeeze of citrus juice makes almost anything taste more lively—and adds valuable vitamin C antioxidants.
• Use a peppermill. Don’t buy bulk peppercorns at club stores; they’re usually not as favorful. Instead, treat yourself to the best peppercorns you can find.

And check out our Garnish Glamour suggestions. Soon, you’ll be a glam-food expert.

It’s been replaced by chicken, in these tasty meatballs from Coleman Natural, ready to heat and eat.

Coleman Natural’s Gourmet Chicken Meatballs are antibiotic-free, hormone-free, preservative-free and vegetarian-fed. They’re gluten-free and soy-free. They’re better for you than conventional beef or pork meatballs.

See all the different things you can do with chicken meatballs in hors d’oeuvre, appetizers, lunch, dinner and snacks. Learn why chicken meatballs are a better choice than beef or pork meatballs.

And decide which flavor you’d to start with: Buffalo Style Chicken Meatballs; Chipotle Cheddar; Italian Parmesan; Pesto Parmesan; Spinach, Fontina Cheese and Roasted Garlic; or Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Provolone.

Beef? Fuggedaboudit and go for a chicken
meatball hero. Photo by Jill Chen | IST.

• Read the full review of Coleman Natural Chicken Meatballs.
• Find recipes and product reviews in our Gourmet Poultry Section.

[1] Use a wrap sandwich as an opportunity to eat more veggies. And don’t forget a whole wheat wrap (photo courtesy Online Vegetarian Deli.

Most people who consume a conventional American diet need to eat more veggies.

A painless way to do this is to switch your sandwich to a wrap, and fill that wrap with raw or grilled vegetables.

Why a wrap?

For people who resist eating vegetables, it’s too easy to the pick vegetables from a conventional sandwich, thwarting the goal. Wraps are eaten “as is.”

The USDA reports that the white potato is America’s most widely eaten vegetable, followed by iceberg lettuce. Neither is a nutritional powerhouse.

The deeply colored (green, orange, red and yellow), nutrient-rich vegetables, including dark leafy greens, make up only 0.2 servings of the 3.3 servings of vegetables Americans consume daily.

Thus, we have some suggestions for what to wrap.

But instead of hiding in cookie fortunes, your thoughts can be immortalized on tea bag tags.

Good Earth Tea’s tea tags have long featured inspirational quotes. The company has just launched the “TAG, YOU’RE IT!” Tea Tag Contest to allow tea drinkers the chance to share their own words of wisdom.

From now through February 21st, you can submit an original quote (60 characters or less). Twenty-five winners will see their quotes—along with their name, blog or Twitter handle—printed on Good Earth Tea Tags later this year. (Someone tell Nancy Reagan to submit her comment, “A woman is like a tea bag. You can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”)

Your own words of wisdom on Good Earth’s
tea bag tags could inspire others.
Photo courtesy GoodEarth.com.

For more information and complete rules, visit GoodEarthTeas.com. You can also request a $1.00 coupon.

• Find more tea inspiration in our Gourmet Tea section.
• Brush up on your tea terminology in our Tea Glossary.

Bison burgers are low in fat (just leave off
the Gorgonzola). Photo courtesy
WisDairy.com.

But a beefburger is filled with saturated fat—none more so than the “select” grade of beef used for many low- to moderately-priced burgers (plus chopped supermarket beef).

What’s a health-loving, burger-loving person to do?

Go for bison burgers. Here’s why:

Comparison Per 100g (3.5-Ounce) Serving

• Fat: Bison/2.42; Beef (Choice)/18.54; Beef (Select)/8.09
• Calories: Bison/143; Beef (Choice)/283; Beef (Select)/201

See the comparison chart, which compares bison, beef, chicken, pork and sockeye salmon.

The proof is in the tasting, but one thing to clarify up-front is that (a) quality bison is not in any way gamy, but more tender/less fibrous and “sweeter” than beef; and (b) just like beef, there’s top grade and average quality.

• Check out our favorite, Blackwing Bison. It’s the best quality we’ve had. Treat yourself to some burgers.
• If you purchase bison at your local market and don’t love it, try another brand.

One more thing: Because bison is so lean, it needs to be eaten on the rare side. For all of you well-done types: try it, you’ll like it.