…influences how I feel. Welcome to week six of my seven-week journey to regrasp my sanity in the civilized woods. In week three, I mentioned that the web of food chains across America can feel like parallel universes. People hundreds or thousands of miles apart eating identical dishes sitting in twin buildings of the same restaurant.

            This is where living in a geographical anomaly can be a significant upside. As travel for work dwindled down, I became increasingly creative about what my husband and I ate. We love food but no longer feel the pull of fast food and chain restaurants. 1600 calories of creamed spinach? No thanks. Carrying a brick load in my stomach the rest of the day? I’ll pass.

            Enter cookbooks, family recipes, and experimentation. Before I go there, we do enjoy the occasional deli sandwich from a national chain. Most of the time, though, I enjoy cooking something new or old depending on the day and mood. When I found myself not wanting to cook, as I mentioned in week one, I knew I had to find my way back to good food.

            I am a short person with a daily dietary budget of 1500 calories, which does not leave much room for eating out regularly without exercising like a mad woman. I am not a mad woman, despite what others might tell you. Nor do I want to exercise like one. Therefore, I must be creative in what and how I eat. Take something like mutter (peas) paneer in Indian food.

            Instead of paneer, I use mozzarella cheese because it is healthier*. With less calories, carbs, and fat, but more protein and calcium, it is the perfect substitute. My favorite part? The cheese melts into the gravy to make it thicker so no adding heavy cream or other products that tack on hundreds of calories. That opens the door to adding more vegetables, like potatoes.

             If you use a pinch of turmeric for light color and scent, you can make healthy mutter paneer at home without going to an Indian store for ingredients. Most American supermarkets now sell turmeric. For more information, go to www.jatinderkoharki.com and send me your questions using the contact form. Feel free to share other tricks by leaving a comment below.

            Mozzarella cheese also makes delicious snacks. When there is not enough pasta sauce left for a meal, I put a thin slice of mozzarella cheese on a saltine cracker and add a little sauce on top (hot or cold) for a healthy, low-calorie snack that can also substitute as a light dinner to make up for a heavy lunch. And vice versa. Eating healthy does not have to mean eating less.

            Naturally, the healthier I eat the better I feel. You would be surprised at the energy a glass of warm milk with a banana provides compared to chocolate or a cookie. To quote Marge Simpson, “fruit is nature’s candy!” I have come to believe that myself. Thanks for reading!

*Mozzarella vs Paneer Cheese : Choose Wisely

Disclaimer: This content is neither advice nor instruction, medical or otherwise.