You read about diet and health. You scrutinize nutrition labels. You prepare healthy meals at home. But does flavor go out the window when you're counting grams of fat? It doesn't have to, and shouldn't. Enjoyment plays an important role in getting children, as well as adults, to stick with a healthy diet.

For most of us, enjoyment is the most important reason for eating. Good health does not mean deprivation. One can find great pleasure in eating flavorful, appealing foods presented in an inviting atmosphere. A savvy cook knows that the appearance and presentation of food is just as important as flavor. Fortunately, that doesn't have to add much, if any, time to your meal preparation.

The two main categories in making food appealing are the food itself and the atmosphere in which the food is served and eaten.

FOOD It hardly takes a statistician to point out what studies show: Flavor tops nutrition as the number-one reason we buy one food over another. Flavor is really several sensations blended together: taste, smell and touch (temperature and texture). With even one sensation diminished, the flavor is changed entirely.

Variety for the senses is the best way to enhance flavor.

Start with taste. To keep your taste buds perked up, don't duplicate flavors in a meal.
Too similar: Orange-glazed chicken with candied sweet potatoes
Better: Sage- and garlic-roasted chicken with candied sweet potatoes
Similarly, don't serve the same food twice. If you have cheese and crackers before dinner, avoid escalloped potatoes at dinner. Serving a variety of foods ensures a variety of nutrients, one of the main messages of the food pyramid.