SIMPLE COOKING TIPS TO CUT FAT & CALORIES

If you want to cut fat and cut calories from your diet, your best bet is to cook at home. By preparing your own foods, you control the type of ingredients in your food and the portion sizes of each meal. But even home-cooked meals can be fattening if you're not careful. Use these healthy cooking tips to prepare meals that will help you keep your weight loss plan on track.

Three Cooking Tips to Cut Fat and Calories

Stock your kitchen with good cooking tools.

 Non-stick pans.  One of the best weight-loss tips is to prepare recipes with non-stick pans. Much of the fat used in the preparation of meals serves to prevent sticking during the cooking process. By using non-stick pans, you can add a small amount of olive oil or other healthy fat to complement the taste of your food, but you will cut out unnecessary fat.

Non-stick saute pans, grilling pans and saucepans also make the cleanup process faster and easier. If you can save time in the kitchen, you're going to be more likely to continue the habit of healthy cooking at home.

Kitchen scale. A digital kitchen scale is a great way to measure portion sizes and ingredients. During the cooking process, you can cut calories and fat by using exact portions of each ingredient. Measuring with cups and spoons leaves room for error. A digital scale, however, will help you to measure your items with precision.
 
An inexpensive kitchen scale will also help you determine portion sizes after the meal is prepared. Food-tracking systems provide the exact amount of food you've eaten. With a kitchen scale, getting the right measurement is simple and easy. 

Cut calories with basic substitutions.

Applesauce. Baking your own cookies and treats is generally healthier than purchasing pre-packaged varieties in the store. Many store-bought baked goods contain trans fats that add calories and contribute to high cholesterol and heart disease. But even the home-baked varieties can be full of fat. For healthier cooking, try substituting applesauce for oil or butter. 

Swapping applesauce for oil will cut fat and cut calories, but it can also change the texture of your finished product. The substitution generally works best in muffins, bars or cake recipes. Some cookie recipes may also work, but they may require some experimentation. To begin, swap equal amount of applesauce for oil. Make adjustments as needed. Look for low-sugar varieties of applesauce for best results. 
 
Chicken stock. In savory recipes, chicken stock is a great substitute for oil, cream or butter. Stock helps keep foods moist and prevents food from sticking. For example, when preparing sauteed vegetables, a restaurant chef might add olive oil or butter to the pan to add flavor and aid in the cooking process. But by using chicken stock instead, you cut fat and cut calories.

You'll also find that chicken stock will help give your starches a creamy texture. For instance, hold the cream and butter when preparing mashed potatoes and add low-salt chicken broth instead. Whip the potatoes and add salt to taste. Making hummus? A healthy cooking tip is to skip the tahini, which is loaded with calories. Instead, add a small amount of olive oil and chicken stock to get a creamy spreadable consistency.

White beans. One of my favorite weight-loss tips is to use white beans. Creamy soup recipes often call for cream or whole milk to achieve the thick texture that diners enjoy. But pureed white beans can do the same thing without adding significant calories or fat.

The next time you prepare your favorite cream soup, such as squash, carrot or potato, prepare the recipe as indicated in the original recipe. At the end of the cooking process, when the cream is added, take one can of white beans and puree the beans using a food processor or blender. Add small amounts of the puree to your soup until it meets the consistency you desire. This healthy-cooking tip will help cut fat and calories while adding healthy protein to your soup.

Cook in bulk but control portion sizes.

·         Cooking in bulk saves time. You can complete a week's worth of cooking in the same time it takes to prepare a day's worth of meals. But often, storing the food in large containers can lead to overeating. If you're starving at mealtime and need to scoop a serving of soup out of a large pot, it's easy to take too much.

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Avoid that scenario altogether by dividing the large recipe into single servings when you finish cooking it. Then, assemble the items into complete, low-calorie meals. For example, cook a pot of healthy, creamy soup, along with a batch of sautéed vegetables and a low-fat baked treat. Divide each recipe so that a single serving of each is neatly packaged and stored together in your refrigerator. At mealtime, take only the packages you need. It's easy, convenient and quick.

It may seem like a lot of work to practice healthy cooking at home. But these weight loss tips will help you cut fat and calories from each of your meals. As you get used to these tips for cooking, you'll learn to save time, you'll feel better about the food you eat and you'll find greater success cutting calories and maintaining your weight loss.