by Diana Howard

Created on: February 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 29, 2011

An overweight and unhealthy American public trained by the fast and processed food industries to over-salt their fat drenched foods, will not be inclined to throw their Big Macs in the trash in favor of fruits and veggies unless we find ways of improving the zest and flavor of these foods. Fortunately, this can be accomplished within the framework of a antioxidant and Omega 3 rich diet, low in fat and sodium.

Here are some essentials to use when preparing bland foods; lemon/lime juice, peppers mild, medium or hot sauce or salsa's, balsamic vinegar, garlic, onion, wasabi powder, and various mustards ranging from simple French's to sweet and hot varieties, along with low salt or no salt seasoning blends of your own choice. Most of the seasonings mentioned in the list are understood to be alkaline foods. They actually aid your system in maintaining the correct alkalinity; that is between 7.2-7.4 PH. When your system's PH is in this range, disease has little chance of taking hold. You will get fewer colds and be less susceptible to other diseases. The benefits of these tasty spices are endless, and the dressing/dip recipes that follow make good use of them. Several years ago, while recovering from a heart virus, I was told by my doctor to eat mostly fish, greens and turkey with little or no sodium. I was to consume no more than 1500 milligrams of sodium per day. At first, I was in misery, because the food tasted just like paper, however, all of that changed when I realized that lime juice with garlic or hot sauce was a great substitute for salt. I love hot foods, so I would combine the lime juice with Mrs. Dash's salt-free chipotle seasoning and some hot sauce and I was in heaven. I began experimenting with dressings that could compliment various foods.  If you do not like hot foods, Chef Paul puts out a salt-free seasoning that will perk up any dish.

I am big fan of organic frozen vegetables and I use them often in various ways. I generally use various colored peppers, and green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, etc., defrosting them for my salads. All frozen vegetables are blanched. They are still crunchy as long as you do not cook them further and they retain more of the fresh picked nutrients when they are frozen fresh from the field. Today' transportation of fresh veggies leaves much to be desired, so unless you live near a truck farm, I suggest you use this convenient alternative. Using creative seasoning, I now consider asparagus, green beans, broccoli,

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