Delicious Dining

Calories and Fats v. Truly Delicious Dining

In general, whole milk and real sugar make food taste better, and give a more satisfying mouth feel to the finished foods, than low-fat dairy products or artificial kinds of sweeteners. The better the food, the easier it will be to say, "That was delicious! I guess I should stop eating now, because I'm happy with what I've had, and I want to eat a wide variety of nutritious, delicious foods, and not too much of any one thing."

The point is, if the food is great, you shouldn't feel the need to keep eating more and more, in trying to trigger your feel-good hormones. The eating experience should be sensibly limited, but joyful and gratifying, and not laden with guilt or burdened with self-denial.

That said, it is true that some foods are just so yummy and feel so wonderful in the mouth that it is very hard to say to yourself "Stop! I've had enough!" when you need to limit calories or want to leave room for more nutritious foods.

If you are watching your weight, or the weight of your loved ones, some of these recipes may be just too dangerous! A recipe for a fabulous but fattening food should be prepared no more than once a year; some, once in a lifetime. And, unfortunately, for some of us, it is already too late to safely enjoy some of these recipes at all.

However, rather than altering any of these recipes to make smaller amounts, which may affect the consistency or quality of the finished product, try finding another way to eat well while staying healthy. Select recipes carefully, considering your overall nutritional goals.

Portions can be best controlled by sharing good foods with others. Baking cakes or cookies? Have a cookie-baking party, with a designated recipient to take home each of the calorie-rich treats, so no one has to be home alone with 3,000 calories of scrumptious irresistibility calling to them from the kitchen counter.

Everyone should have the right to feel safe in their own home, safe even from the temptation to overeat. Plan ahead to have enough to eat to nourish and satisfy yourself, and find someone who will appreciate and take home that which you admit you need to give away, for your own good.

Yes, it is true, you do only live once, so eat what you can of these great recipes while you are still young enough to enjoy dangerously delicious foods relatively safely. In later years, you may not be able to continue to savor the same foods, but you can savor the memories of having once indulged in the very best.