10 Tips for Better, Healthier Food When it comes to cooking for the family, don't let your diet slip. Just because you're on a diet and the rest of your family isn't, doesn't mean you have to eat different food. There are times when you have to draw the line, eg Christmas lunch, Sunday lunch and family gatherings. Check out some of the suggestions below for healthier eating:
1. Try steaming or boiling your vegetables instead of frying or baking them, also avoid using cheese-based dishes. Try using herbs and lemon juice instead of butter or margarine.
2. Cooking with chicken can be a bit of a challenge, although chicken itself is very healthy and contains half the fat of red meat. Don't go for the easy option of breaded chicken fingers or nuggets, it's very unhealthy. Try roasting or braising chicken in a non-stick pan and eliminating the use of oil by using cooking spray. Be careful with chicken skin as it gets very fattening, try to buy skinless chicken or remove the skin before cooking.
3. Beware of different types of bread, stay away from white bread because it is full of sugar. Try reaching for whole grain breads, pastries, and whole grain breads. Also look for brown rice, wild rice and basmati rice, the flavors are not that different from white rice and they are much lower in starch.
4. When buying meats like pork and beef, try to buy lean and extra lean. Try some cuts like fillet and sirloin, they have less fat than other cuts. Baking, grilling and dry frying are healthy ways to prepare meat. Again, try using cooking spray instead of cooking oil.
5. If you are preparing a turkey, why not try cooking the stuffing separately. You will reduce the fat content by preventing the turkey fat from being absorbed into the dressing. Use less margarine or butter when making the stuffing. Also, don't forget to remove the fat from the sauce. Leave the chopsticks to the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save a lot in the calorie department.
6. Why not try serving fruit as dessert? Serving fruit instead of cake or pie can significantly reduce the number of calories you find in your meal. Instead of cake and pie, try serving a whole piece of fruit, some yogurt or a fruit cocktail. You will usually find that we don't need dessert and just have it out of habit. I think you'll be surprised how fruit can replace the sweet tooth in a dessert.
7. If you must have ice cream, try sugar-free ice cream made from low-fat frozen yogurt. Instead of topping with chocolate frosting or caramel, try a mixed fruit cocktail. The taste of the ice cream is almost identical and the sugar from the fruit stops the sweet tooth. Overall, it's fewer calories than the whole sugar and chocolate variety.
8. You save a lot of calories when cooking by using powdered milk. This way you will save a lot of fat and calories. Also, using skim milk instead of cream in your favorite cream-based recipes can also save on calories.
9. Try some substitutes when cooking. Use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in your desserts, replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or ¼ cup of egg substitute, replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce, try reducing the amount or fat-free frozen yogurt, or sugar free ice cream for cakes.
10. If you're still hungry after a meal and want to try seconds, go for the veggies. Choosing stewed vegetables over meat and bread is much healthier.
However, do try to remember not to starve yourself as you may just end up eating like a horse, which is never a good diet tip!
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