The Folly of Diet Recipes

Have you ever wondered why diet books always seem to have a
section of recipes?

Apart from the desire to make the book look larger and therefore
more worthwhile, why should we be so interested in studying
foods and ways to serve it when we are trying to avoid it as
much as possible?

It is inconceivable that we have reached adulthood without the
basic skills to boil, bake, steam, or roast our food.

We all know that these are the only low fat methods we should be
using on any diet. And whatever we eat, plainer is better to
control calories.

So what are all these recipes doing in a book that is supposed
to be redirecting our attention away from food?

Is it a case of mutual fool-yourself-time?

The diet authors know that unless their menus have taste, and
enticing pictures or detailed ingredient lists, no one will
select their plan and they’ll lose money. In their real diet
plan outline, they identify what is allowed and what is
forbidden. Their recipe section might have been written by
someone else. Certainly there are substitutions made to qualify
as diet food but desserts, dips, and brunches?

We bury our heads in the sand, keep taunting ourselves with
those addictive sweet flavors, and crow about the minimal number
of calories in a serving of the dish (a thimbleful size – check
the small print on how many people this little dish is supposed
to serve).

Admit it, the only reason we crave recipes is to spice something
up, to increase our pleasure and make the whole dieting task
less painful. We can eat food plain without any fancy recipes
but that would be no fun.

So we convince ourselves that all the stuff we are adding to our
basics: low fat gravy, liquid margarine instead of butter, lemon
and capers in place of tartar sauce, vinegar and oil rather than
creamy Ranch, and a variety of sugar substitutes are all allowed
in our plan so we might as well enjoy.

And then we are surprised and disappointed when the weight loss
stops.

It must be my glands!

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