Buy Meal.com - Guide to Good Food

Healthy Cooking Tips

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

More and more, Americans are avoiding the kitchen and relying on the convenient yet fattening fare offered at fast food restaurants and other national chains. While most people are aware that cooking at home is an effective way to save money, many of us ignore the fact that preparing our own meals can be beneficial to our health, as well. When taking steps to prepare meals in the healthiest possible way, you can not only develop a healthy relationship with food, but also probably have a little fun in the process. Most importantly for patients of weight-loss surgery, learning to prepare healthy meals is one of the biggest steps towards meeting long-term weight loss goals and maintaining healthy eating habits. The following tips represent just a sample of the many ways you can make the meals you prepare as healthy as possible.

Remove the Skin and Fat

Whenever you prepare chicken or any other type of meat, you should remove the skin and fat before cooking. Not only will you leave yourself the best-tasting portions, you will be able to avoid plenty of unwanted calories and unhealthy fat.

Cut the Oil in Half

If you prepare your meals from cookbooks or family recipes, add only half the amount of oil listed ? or less ? to all of your dishes. Though many cooking oils ? such as olive, safflower, sesame and canola ? contain unsaturated fats that can help lower cholesterol levels, these additives can also pack plenty of calories that can jeopardize your weight loss goals. If you consume these oils in moderation, you will be able to obtain the healthy benefits, retain the taste of your meals and stick to your weight loss goals.

Coat Your Pans with Cooking Spray or Chicken Broth

One of the easiest ways to avoid excess consumption of such cooking oils is to use cooking sprays and chicken broth instead. When saut?ing meat or vegetables on the stovetop, coat your pans with a fat-free cooking spray or healthy chicken broth instead of traditional oils. Once you perfect the simple art of healthy saut?ing, you will be able to enjoy meals that are not only healthier, but more delicious.

Pour in Skim Milk Instead of Cream

Much like the suggestion to substitute cooking sprays for oils, using skim milk ? especially the evaporated variety for weight loss-surgery patients ? instead of whole cream can help you trim fat and calories from your meals. People may also be surprised to hear that buttermilk is also naturally low in fat and is available in low fat and non-fat versions in some markets. When shopping for dairy products, you should also stock up on low-fat yogurt to use in lieu of sour cream or mayonnaise and low-fat cheese instead of the standard variety. Thick, creamy fat free or low fat Greek Yogurt serves as a delicious replacement as well.

Use Applesauce in Your Baked Goods

For all of your baked goods recipes, substitute applesauce for any type of cooking oil. However, you should definitely try to limit your consumption of baked goods, especially pastries that incorporate large amounts of sugar.

Cook with Fresh Spices

Rather than dousing your meals with unhealthy amounts of salt, you should also try to learn the art of cooking with fresh spices. Not only will spices add an incredible amount of flavor to your meals, you can season your food without worrying about the potentially dangerous effects of salt. However, be careful of packaged seasoning mixes as many contain excessive amounts of salt, destroying the benefit of using different spices.

Find Healthy Ways to Prepare Your Meals

Even if you follow all of the previous tips, using the wrong cooking methods can ruin the healthy benefits of your meals. As a result, you should avoid such cooking methods as frying. Instead, try steaming your vegetables and cooking your meats on a grill or in the oven. Your microwave also represents a healthy solution, as most foods can be cooked thoroughly without the use of oils or fatty cooking additives.

As you perfect the methods of healthy cooking, you should also try to enjoy the entire process of cooking ? from the simple activities to the aromas. You may even want to purchase new pots, pans, utensils or cooking appliances to help you make the most of your healthy meals. Eating should be a relaxing experience and allowing yourself to enjoy cooking will help you develop a healthy lifelong relationship with food. Many people find success by making it a family activity to teach their children how to shop, cook and eat healthy.

Carole S. Guinane, a Chief Clinical Officer writes articles about obesity and weight loss for New Hope Today.

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

MORE ARTICLES:

Spanish Food - How To Make Spicy Gazpacho Soup.
Home-made soups are so good for you - all that nourishing stock and chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals.But .

A Food Diary and Health Journal for the Rest of Us: The Bio-Diary for Women, a 12-Month Health Planner and Diary
For women who would like to keep a food diary, exercise log and health journal in two minutes a day or less. The Bio-Diary by FitMinder is an easy-to-use alternative to food and exercise journals that require tedious daily entries. Its unique format offers a useful and beautiful tool to record and analyze health information.

New Homemade Dog Food And Cat Food Cookbook Combination Released
Families with both dogs and cats can now purchase a two digital cookbook combination with both meals and treats created by a concerned pet owner in response to the devastating pet deaths caused by pet food poisoning last year.

Lobster Fare: Restaurant Diners Beware!
Lobster is my favorite food in the whole world. Eating one, however, is more than a sumptuous meal; it is an art form requiring great finesse.

Preparing Your Own South Beach Recipes Is Easy
Many people do not take to dieting simply because they believe that a diet would mean having to eat bland and tasteless foods. However, there are several south beach recipes available which help make dieting plan much easier. The south beach diet is one of the most popular low carb diets in the world today. Though many people are interested in it, they are not aware of south beach recipes.

Hilton Head Island Welcomes The 10th Annual Food Fest
ResortQuest welcomes the 10th Annual Food Fest to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Grand tasting and events will be held from 11:00 - 4:00 pm Saturday, September 15, 200. Hilton Head vacation rentals for the Food Fest are available through ResortQuest.

Barbecue Afficianados Discover Cooking with Wood Pellet Grills
This news release provides information about the growing phenomenon of outdoor cooking using wood pellet barbecue grills. It also directs users to a leading website for more information and pricing on these grills.

Jessica Alba's Special Request Basket Courtesy of Style Cafe Moms
A recent recipient of a SCMs Celebrity Basket, Jessica Alba had contacted us not only to thank us but also to request different sizes as well as different colors as she is having a baby girl. Not only did we send her the requested items in a 2nd basket, but also a few additions that every new mom would love.

Lemon Pie Recipes
Lemon Sour Cream Pie

Wal-Mart and ConAgra Foods Donate to America's Second Harvest to Fight Hunger by Reducing Shortages at Food Banks Nationwide
Wal-Mart donates 50 truckloads of food and grocery products to supply 3 million meals. ConAgra Foods contributes 35 truckloads of product, valued at $1 million, and issues a $200,000 matching grant program.

What Is Raw Food Diet?
Eating a raw food diet has been around for many years, but only recently has it started to come into popular practice. There are many raw food recipe books on the market now, as well as raw food restaurants. Much information can be found online in the form of support groups, forums, and newsletters.

Kelly's Table Restaurant Announces New Chef
Kevin R. Stantz has been named executive Sous Chef at Kelly's Table. Trained at New England Culinary Institute, he has worked with Jean Joho at Everest in Chicago as well as other restaurants. He will plan the menu for our first Oktoberfest and future wine dinners

Mauritian Food: An overview
Mauritius is an island of about 1 million inhabitants situated in the Indian Ocean. The ethnic diversity of the local people is reflected in its cuisine. As a result, the cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Indian Cuisine, Creole, Chinese and European. In Mauritius, local fruits and vegetables used under the influence of culinary traditions of France, India, China and Africa with its variety of flavours and aromas have resulted in a cuisine that is unique to the island.

Try Eating To Lose Weight
More than deadlines to meet and clients to satisfy, the pressure to look good is far more intense these days. Women strive for that after hourglass figure and men need to be Greek Gods. It is no wonder that every other person on the street is on a weight loss diet. Weight loss diet is the topic of conversation in public places, private parties, on buses and cabs, by the beach and the dinner table. Before you pick the next best diet, a few things need to be sorted out. Embarking on a diet to lose weight doesn't mean indiscriminate slashing of calories. It is true that you need to cut down on the calories but at the same time, you cannot compromise on your nutritional intake. Getting rid of unwanted extra pounds is never easy but many of...