Rocco DiSpirito has faced challenges with his weight, but during his wellness journey, he found a way to make low-fat foods taste rich while leaving out the fattening part.

For a chef like DiSpirito, substitutions that replace the flavor of fat and its feeling of richness in the mouth offer the best answer to the too-much-fat-in-food issue.

For instance, purées made from garlic, vegetables, onions, and flavors of ingredients like chicken stocks and nonfat yogurt, mimic the creaminess of cream and butter in recipes.

DiSpirito also swears by the idea of swollen nerves tricking your taste buds enough to convince you that you're, in fact, consuming a rich and delish meal.

When he wants to create a spicy, rich sensation on the tongue, the celebrity chef pulls the likes of cayenne, jalapeños, and red pepper flakes from his spice rack and pantry.

This trick works in tandem with negative calorie cooking, which is cooking with foods like leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, and mushrooms (foods with high water content).

Spicing up negative calorie foods gives you triple the benefits. They're low in calories and puff up the nerves in the mouth, convincing you that you've eaten something fatty.