Healthy Cooking

By now, everyone has heard that most of us need to reduce the amount of fat in our diet. This is often easier to say than do. How do we reduce the fat? There are several ways to reduce fat in the diet. One way to reduce fat is to select a lowfat cooking method.

Lowfat Cooking Methods

Several methods of cooking add little or no fat to food. Most of these methods are good for meat or vegetables.

Steaming – a method of cooking where food is placed on a rack or in a special steamer basket over boiling or simmering water in a covered pan. Steaming retains the flavor, shape, texture and many nutrients with no added fat. Steaming is an especially good method for cooking vegetables.

Boiling – is cooking food in a boiling liquid. The liquid might be water, lowfat or fat free broth.

Baking – is cooking food, covered or uncovered, in the oven. This is a dry method of cooking and can be done with no or very little added fat.

Grilling – preparing food on a metal grate over hot coals or other heat source. Not only is no fat added, but also some fat naturally found in the food is cooked away.

Microwave cooking – food cooks quickly with little or no added fat and retains flavor and nutrients.

Stirfry –food cooks in a skillet or wok in a small amount of oil. The food is stirred continuously and cooks very quickly. Meat and vegetables can be cooked together.

When planning your menus think about not only what you are going to prepare, but also how you will prepare the food. Select a method that adds little or no extra fat to help reduce the fat in your diet.

Stirfry

Stirfry can be done with many different combinations of meat and vegetables. Any kind of meat may be used, chicken, turkey, beef or pork. Usually two or three kinds of vegetables are used. Chose vegetables you like or try a new one. Stirfry can be made with fresh, frozen or canned ingredients. It is also a good way to use up leftovers. A small amount of left over meat and vegetables, mixed together can be a great main course for dinner. Stirfry are often served over rice or noodles.

Here is a quick and easy stirfry recipe to get you started. Remember you can alter the meat and vegetables for a different flavor.