I say "Amen" to Joy Manning's piece today on The Kitchn.

A lot of the time, when it comes to cooking diet foods I get really wary. My expectations for these recipes tend to fall much lower than with other, non-lightened versions of the same or similar kinds of food. Too often diet recipes lose sight of the true cost when it comes to cutting calories and losing flavor.

I'm in agreement that in order for a diet to be successful, food shouldn't have to be unrewarding.

Food is an essential magic in our lives. Without great food, what point is there in living? I mean, if I ever lose my taste buds, I'm calling it quits.

For a while, home cooks were afraid of using salt because, of course, too much sodium is bad for us. But then we started to realize that only about 5% of our sodium intake comes from home cooking. The rest, that dangerous majority, comes from heavily processed foods.

I think the key to weight loss is in great tasting food that, as with so many things, is both prepared well and eaten in moderation. Because what use is a recipe that produces something with all the flavor of a cereal box when eating it does nothing to make you feel satisfied?