Understanding Taste

[This article is part of The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan Coaching Program, an ongoing series on The How and Why of Eating Healthy. Read the whole series to date.]

It's common for folks to think that eating healthy means that food doesn't have any flavor. This couldn't be further from the truth. Understanding the flavors in ingredients and how they blend together is key to getting great results in your kitchen.

There are five types of receptors on the tongue that sense the flavors that we taste. They are salt, sweet, bitter, sour and one called umami. Each of these flavors acts on their own, but how they interact with each other is key to making recipes taste fantastic. Activation of any one taste will enhance another taste bud. Blending the flavors is important in all cooking and is the basis for great tasting healthy recipes. Understanding Taste, Part 1

Featured Recipes

Sausage and White Bean Tortilla Casserole | Low Sodium Version

You gotta love tortilla casseroles. They're so quick and easy and make great leftovers. I like spicy sausage and this goes perfect with the white beans. If you don't want this to be too spicy you can use milder sausage and less chili powder.

Southern Green Beans

You can cook these as long as you want. True southern beans are cooked to heck and gone and I do love them that way.

How to Conserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss
Exercise with Jacques Courseault, M.D.

Performing a search for "How to Build Muscle Mass" leads to bodybuilding sites, muscle supplement ads or vague advice on how to get "ripped." Your time is too valuable to waste on confusing recommendations that may or may not produce sustainable results. Advice for increasing muscle mass should be based on years of research by reputable organizations.

Researchers from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) meet every seven years to update recommendations for effective resistance training. These recommendations are used to design resistance training programs to improve muscle strength, power, size and endurance. How to Build Muscle Mass

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Create customized two-week meal plans for you and your entire family, including printable shopping lists for each week. Use leftovers for lunches and dinners later in the week - and frozen meals when you know you won't have time to cook.

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The Quality Calorie Diet for Coumadin Users:

Includes a complete six-week plan of The Quality Calorie Diet for Coumadin Users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and over 90 Coumadin-safe recipes. Just $19.95 for the paperback book and $14.95 for the eBook. Order yours now!