Breathes there a Low-Carber who is not well acquainted with strawberries, cantaloupe, broccoli or cabbage? Yes, indeed, these are familiar foods for a serious Low-Carber. No question, good foods all, but too much of even a good thing can lead to food boredom, which is the single greatest reason for diet failure. After all, wonderful as they are, just how many ways can you prepare strawberries…or broccoli?

The secret to any successful diet and maintenance, of course, is variety. But you cannot begin to have variety until you are willing to explore the big wonderful world of whole fresh foods, in all the many and diverse forms in which they come.

If we could return to eating truly well-balanced, moderate meals, consisting of a range of fresh, fiber-rich, vitamin and mineral laden food, and then get up and move around, we wouldn't need to diet and obesity would be a non-issue.

The term "junk food" is aptly designated and defines the severity of the problems we face in this modern era when "food" is not always what it ought to be. If we look, not just to the history of food, PJF (Pre Junk Food), but also to traditional and present regional eating habits we get a better picture of the role whole, unprocessed food contributes to good health.

Several years ago, over a period of time, I had the opportunity to discuss cultural cuisine with a number of French and Belgian houseguests. In Europe, they still typically use fresh foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables and whole-grain breads, often bought daily at market. They have been quite healthy, as a population, over all, until the past decade when American fast food has invaded them. They use real butter and heavy cream too, but their meals are balanced and served in much smaller portions, definitely not super-sized.

I recall one evening meal in particular when I had planned a traditional Southern picnic and set out a large bowl of tossed fruit salad. My Belgian guest looked puzzled and then asked why I was serving dessert along with the meal. Apparently, in Belgium, fresh fruit is served with assorted cheeses to end a meal, not baked in a sugary pie.

Imagine that? Amid the Diet Wars - with so many different opinions shouting to be heard about what food habits are best overall for promoting good health - a single common thread weaves in and out, viz., consume in moderation foods that have not been stripped of their basic values and then put those values to work by moving your body more than simply adjusting your seating position. The grueling physical challenge of sliding your feet apart to better see the TV does not count.

Lack of exercise aside, somehow we have forgotten the intent and purpose of food - to nurture, rebuild and supply energy to the body. We have come to think of food as nothing more than a quick response to hunger, the quicker the better, and certainly not as fuel first as nature intended.

Granted, we have been carefully programmed to crave certain foods, sugar being one addictive that keeps us hopelessly locked into a blood sugar/insulin loop. But unfortunately, when we eat for the wrong reasons, we often fall into food ruts, eating the same things over and over, grabbing the easiest fix.

We avoid or never consider the unfamiliar for no other reason than uncultivated taste buds. Distain for exotic foods is sometimes just a matter of lack of exposure to new tastes but I believe that the excess sodium and sugar embedded in the common foods consumed daily also often commandeer and deaden the taste buds and make us less amenable to trying new foods, thus preventing us from exploring the broad spectrum that could greatly widen our eating experiences and keep us on track.

I note that in my pre-low-carb days I could eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes everyday for breakfast and never tire of it. But it seems that foods, such as bacon and eggs, that do not trigger pleasure-centered addictions, also quickly leave us dissatisfied, bored, and tempted to revert to our old easy habits, i.e., Krispy Kremes!

The answer to this problem is to force ourselves to test foods that we never would consider before in order to acquire new tastes, staving off boredom and thus fostering better habits that will prevent us from reaching for the nearest potato chips.

Say, "rutabaga" in mixed company and watch the reactions. It's a fun game, actually. Eyes get all squinty and mouths draw up tightly. But the lowly, ugly rutabaga (or swede as it is sometimes called) is a powerhouse of nutrition. Beneath that repulsive exterior, the firm yellow flesh is slightly sweet, reminiscent of yams and can be prepared a number of ways as a vegetable alternative that adds new flavor and variety to an otherwise oh-no-steak-again dinner. Who needs potato chips when you can have easy to make Rutabaga Fries?

Bean Sprouts, a mainstay in Asian cuisine, are another often by-passed vegetable which are high, both in vitamin/mineral count and at less than 5 net carbs per cup, can easily be included in a carb-controlled diet. You know what they say about desperation being the mother of invention? The first time I made Egg Foo Yung with Ginger Mustard Sauce I was casting about for a way to use up some bean sprouts left over from another recipe as well as longing for something to excite my taste buds again. Well, let me tell you, it worked! What a delicious treat. I start salivating just thinking about it.

Even if you aren't ready to explore the multitude of exotic vegetables available that are usually in farmer's markets and specialty produce stores, there are still many ways to take old familiar produce and turn them into delights for the palate, simply by adding herbs and spices such as in Mozzarella and Tomatoes. The basil, garlic and olive oil combined with the tang of the tomatoes and creamy texture of the cheese make a filling and flavorful hot weather meal all by itself or can be a refreshing salad alternative.

Toss the steamed florets of ordinary cauliflower with butter and Keto Cajun Bread Crumbs and you won't believe the taste difference this simple addition will make.

So what about sliced fresh apple and pear served with cubes of Muenster for dessert? You can close your eyes and pretend you are in Belgium. Cool, creamy Homemade Yogurt crowned with blueberries and chopped almonds, is hard to beat, especially in the summer when it's just too hot for anything heavy. Did you know that blueberries are a great source of antioxidants and may help with memory as well as reduce the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer? All that from little blueberries!

When was the last time you thought of rhubarb? Yeah, me neither. Though it is seasonal and not always available fresh but is often found in the frozen food section of your grocer. This perennial veggie used more like a fruit is tart/sweet, and makes a delicious change from strawberries in Spicy Rhubarb Fool and is certainly well worth seeking it out.

With so many wonderful fruits and vegetables, often imported from the other side of the world just begging to be tried, it makes no sense to stay bogged down in the boredom of the same old, same old. The Internet is a veritable treasure chest of recipes free for the taking too. Root vegetables like cassava and celeriac, parsnips and turnips, green vegetables like chard and kale, amazing varieties of squashes like Coyote Squash, mushrooms, artichokes, beets - the choices abound.

Ginger, cilantro, basil, oregano, thyme, lemon grass - only a few of the spices and herbs that awaken the senses, transforming ordinary ho-hum food into rewarding cuisine. And a little goes such a long way, it makes super-sizing completely unnecessary.

It isn't merely for presentation and style that gourmet food is served in small quantity. When the taste buds are pleased first, with rich, savory, complex flavors, somehow the hunger mechanism is shut down more quickly and it takes less volume to satisfy. Furthermore, complex whole foods take longer to digest and keep the blood sugar balanced so cravings are abated.

The solution to the issue of lack of variety lies in whether or not one is willing to look a little further and beyond what has always been done and give something new a chance. Next time you are in the produce department take a few extra steps over to the ethnic and imported fruits and vegetables and see what you have been missing. You have nothing to lose but the food doldrums and it might just save your Low-Carb diet.

Always,

April

New Low Carb Recipes From April

• Homemade Whole Yogurt
• Rutabaga Fries
• Egg Foo Yung with Ginger Mustard Sauce
• Tomato Mozzerella Salad
• Coyote Squash
• Spicy Rhubarb Fool

More Low Carbing Articles by April Fields:

• Low Carbing: Whole Foods Part I
• Low Carbing -- Surviving the Holidays
• Low Carbing, Is It Right for You?
• Diet Mind Games
• Artificial Sweeteners -- A Pilgrim's Progress

April S Fields is a retired photo stylist and confessed sweetaholic. She lives in a small lake community in Northern Georgia with her husband, Ron. She has a popular long running column, I Was Just Thinking, in the "Buford Free Delivery." She also has two successful websites, http://makinghome.com and http://lowcarbsweets.com Her new cookbook, 101 Low-Carb and Sugarfree Dessert Recipes has been making a hit with low-carbers all across the country from Hawaii to New York.