1. Don’t get hung up on imitation/alternative foods.

People who go on a restrictive diet, especially at the beginning, have a tendency to try and replace their familiar – now forbidden – foods with “imitation” alternatives.  So for example, someone on a wheat-free diet might fill up their shopping cart with the store’s entire repertoire of wheat-free pastas, wheat-free breads, wheat-free crackers, wheat-free pizza crusts, etc.  I sometimes wonder if they ever ate that much pasta before it became taboo!

Or for the diabetic, it could be “diabetic-friendly” sweets.  Or for the vegetarian, vegetarian “meat” balls.

Don’t do it!  Or at least, don’t go overboard.

Don’t get me wrong.  There are some great “alternatives” out there.  Some of the coconut-based dairy alternatives are as good, or better, than the real thing.  Cookies made from cashews and almonds have a heft and substance that satisfies more deeply than white flour and sugar.  Treats made with coconut sugar are diabetic-friendly and delicious.  In fact, the only imitation food that still falls far short is gourmet cheese.

Having said all that, however, most alternatives don’t quite live up to the real McCoy.  So while I’ll sing the praises, for example, of Field Roast vegetarian sausages to anyone who wants to listen – and I’ll eat them myself – I’m forced to admit that they’re not quite going to match an “actual” sausage.

In the end, you’ll probably be happier – and you’ll certainly spend less – if you go for foods that aren’t imitating anything else.  Instead of wheat-free pasta, then, try the risotto, polenta, or potato gnocchi (you can use the same sauce).  Instead of vegetarian “meat” balls, try a hearty, aromatic Cuban black bean strew.  Instead of a diabetic-friendly candy, eat something every bit as self-indulgent – but savory.