Low Fat Cooking Tips

Here are some low fat cooking tips to help with your weight
loss diet planning:

Low-Fat Supplies – -Keep these on hand. Butter-flavored
low-fat vegetable cooking sprays are out there. So is apple
sauce in place of some oil in recipes. Also keep the following
handy: lemons, limes, your favorite fresh herbs and spices,
evaporated skim milk, cornstarch, plain non-fat yogurt, flavored
vinegar, and onions.

Substitute – Check recipes and ingredients and where
applicable, cut fat and calories by using:

•Fat-free or reduced-calorie versions •Skim milk, 1 percent or 2
percent milk for whole milk

Cooking Skills – - Hone in on or learn how to:

•Sauté, as with vegetables in water or broths. •Use coking
sprays or nonstick cookware. •Cook in foil or parchment paper to
seal in juicy flavors •Trim fat from meats •Stir-fry, bake,
roast, poach, microwave, steam and broil •Experiment with
seasonings (herbs, spices)

As a basis for meals and menu planning, refer to the food
pyramid information that is available to make sure you have the
basic food requirements met for all family members. Then cross
check and plan by looking over basic food categories to target
healthy foods to fit the lifestyles and health of everyone.

Meal planning also depends upon several factors like the number
of people eating, meal times, special dietary concerns, budget,
available foods, recipes on hand and likes and dislikes of
everyone who will be eating. Begin by choosing foods and recipes
that you like and know how to prepare well and that fit into
everyone’s dietary plans. If one or more people have special
needs, like diabetics, plan ahead for substitutions either in
the food preparation or food substitution for that individual or
for those individuals.

There are a few things to note when making meal choices and menu
planning. First, some foods may be advertised a certain way, but
that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment. For instance, eggs and
sausage can be served for dinner, not just breakfast. And
waffles can be made from healthy wheat grains and eaten for
lunch with fresh fruits instead of sugary syrup and heavy butter
for breakfast.

Add variety, too. Have other family members jump in and prepare
meals some nights and on weekends. Kids enjoy making macaroni
and cheese, so host mac-n-cheese night on Wednesdays, for
example. Then alternate different vegetable combinations, colors
and textures to vary the menu on a weekly basis (no need to let
boredom take over on Wednesdays with the same routine!)

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