Spice up your high-protein diet with seasonings

Are you one of those people who ask “what can I do to add variety to my own chicken and fish?” If so, you are not alone! Weight-loss surgery patients on a high-protein diet quickly get bored with routine protein dishes, but fear that taking too many culinary liberties will sidetrack them from weight loss and maintenance. As a general rule, people undergoing gastric bypass, gastric banding, and gastric sleeve procedures are told that the first rule of weight loss surgery is to eat “Protein First.” But nothing in the rule says it has to be boring.

I remember spending my first three years after gastric bypass eating chicken breast, canned tuna, shrimp, and hard-boiled eggs day in and day out. Straw! A good friend told me about her secret weapon that kept her taste buds pleased and met her nutritional needs. His gun from her? condiments! And I’m not talking about your everyday ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise. I’m talking about salsa and balsamic vinegar and salsa and fruit compote. Everything is alright. These days it’s easy to find great ready-to-use condiments and they’re also winners in the budget lottery. Paying $5 for a jar of Bruschetta sauce may seem expensive at first, but considering the jar stretches to 20 servings, you’re in for a bang for your buck at just a quarter per serving.

Here are some of the best tips for putting some flavor into your protein:

sauce: use it on eggs, cooked chicken, fish, and beans. Stir into soups and stews to add flavor without the cost of expensive out-of-season tomatoes and peppers. Mix it with plain yogurt for a delicious vegetable dip (not chips).

Balsamic vinegar: Sprinkle on pan-seared chicken or fish as it cooks to add a deep tartness to the protein. Remove the protein from the pan, add a little more balsamic vinegar to the fat, scrape, and serve over the chicken for an easy and elegant sauce. Lightly spray fresh strawberries with balsamic vinegar and marinate for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature for a delicious treat. Whisk together balsamic vinegar and olive oil for a quick and healthy vegetable salad or dressing.

enjoy: Don’t save this just for hot dogs. Use regular or sweet pickle relish to flavor tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad. Stir a tablespoon of the relish into yogurt or light mayonnaise for a quick and inexpensive tartar sauce for fish.

Fruit compote: Fruit compotes are generally a mixture of sweet and sour ingredients that enhance the flavor of the protein while adding moisture to the dish. They are sometimes called fruit sauce. Look for specialty mixes at farmers’ markets or whole food stores. Serve the compote with protein grilled or roasted by simply adding a small amount at serving time. Or glaze the meat with the compote in the last five minutes of roasting.