Cutting Calories, Tips
Add 1/4 tsp. baking soda to cranberries while cooking them and they will not require as much sugar.
Cutting Fat with Applesauce
When cooking a dish with both vegetables and meat (i.e. in stir frys and stews), reduce the amount of meat by 1/3 and increase the amount of vegetables by 1/3. You will hardly notice!
Cutting The Fat, Cookware
Use non-stick cookware so that you don't have to use as much, if any, fat.
Cutting The Fat, Oil
Get into the habit of measuring the oil you use while you cook, rather than just pouring it out of the bottle. It will be much easier to moderate the amount you use.
Cutting The Fat, Substitutes for oil
When sauteing, use a small amount of chicken broth or wine instead of butter or oil.
Dieting
Keep in mind the 21-day rule.
If you stick with something for 21 days, it will become a habit. Keep a journal for the 21 days or mark it off on a calendar. Before you know it, your healthy habits will be your lifestyle.
Gravy, Salt Alternative
Instead of salting gravy, enrich both the gravy's color and flavor by using a little soy sauce.
Grilling - Healthy Flavor Substitutes
For low-fat grilling, use herbs and salt instead of oil. For low-salt grilling, try a combination of lime juice and chile as a salt substitute.
Lettuce, Vitamins
Romaine lettuce is loaded with vitamins compared to iceberg. It has three times as much Vitamin C and six times as much Vitamin A.
Lower Fat Meatloaf
Use a knife to poke small holes in the bottom of a disposable aluminum foil
loaf pan . Fill it with meat loaf mixture, place on rack set in roasting pan and
bake as usual. Unwanted grease will drip into the pan below.
Lowering the Fat
If a recipe must have fat to work, try using half the fat called for. You will have to experiment, but in the majority of recipes you can reduce the fat content to some degree.
Lowering the Fat, Cornbread
Use cream style corn instead of oil in your cornbread recipes.
Lowering the Fat, Cream cheese
In most recipes you can use fat-free cream cheese or blended fat-free cottage cheese instead of regular cream cheese. For recipes where fat content is necessary, try using half regular cream cheese, and half reduced or fat-free cream cheese.
Lowering the Fat, Eggs
Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute instead of one whole egg.
Lowering the Fat, Milk
Use evaporated "skim" milk when recipes call for evaporated or canned milk.
Lowering the Fat, Oil in Baking
When baking, use fruit purees, applesauce, or plain non-fat yogurt instead of oil.
Lowering the Fat, Replacing Meat
Replace the meat in your chili or other casseroles with extra beans, tofu, or tempeh. Experiment with different varieties of beans.
Lowering the Fat, Sauce
Make your own white sauce using 2 tablespoon reduced-fat margarine, 2 tablespoon flour, and 1 cup skim milk. Add fat-free cheese slices for a great cheese sauce.
Lowering the Fat, Sauteing without Oil
Use de-fatted broth, fruit juice, wine, water, or cider to saute meats and vegetables instead of oil or butter.
Make Your Own Low-Fat Coffee
To save money, combine a bit of nonfat dry milk with low-fat liquid milk. Keep in the refrigerator and shake just before using.
Nutrients, Leaving Skin On
Many vegetables and fruits, including potatoes and apples, retain many of their nutrients in their skin. So when possible, leave the skin on your fruits and vegetables and cook them whole.
Reducing Fat In Cooking
To reduce your fat intake, saute foods in wine, fruit
juice, non-fat cooking spray , or broth rather than in oil.
Removing Fat From Broth
To make fat-free broth, chill your meat or chicken broth. The fat will rise to the top, and you can remove it before using the broth.
Removing Fat From Soups and Stews
Ice cubes will eliminate the fat from soup and stew. Just drop a few into the pot and stir; the fat will cling to the cubes; discard the cubes before they melt. Or, wrap ice cubes in paper towel or cheesecloth and skim over the top.
Thickening liquids without fat
Thicken gravies with milk or broth blended in the blender with flour. Be sure to cook long enough to remove the raw flour taste. You'll never notice the lack of fat.
Vegetables, Keeping Vitamins
Vitamin C is destroyed quickly in cooking - so cook your Vitamin-rich vegetables in the smallest amount of water possible and for a short amount of time.
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