Does healthy eating stress you out? Choosing healthy foods is an important part of eating right, but cooking them in a healthy way matters too. The best kind of diet is one you can stick to — and that means finding ways to lighten up and add nutrition to your favorite recipes, instead of abandoning them.
The first step to healthier cooking is to take recipes as suggestions. Before you start chopping and mixing, scan the recipe for unnecessary calories. Look for excess cheese, butter, oils, and sugar.
Here are some tasty, healthy ideas to help you makeover your favorite recipes:
1. Sauté—the skinny way!
Use a couple of tablespoons of low-sodium vegetable broth instead of oil or butter in your stir-fry or as the base for a sauce. This method adds nice flavor and a little moisture—and you’ll save calories to use elsewhere. To reduce unsaturated fats, serve your broth-sautéed veggies with a side salad, and pour an olive oil-based dressing over the top.
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2. Say no to skin.
Three ounces of chicken breast with skin has almost 150 calories; three ounces without skin has 50 fewer calories. Tasty as it might be, the skin contains mostly heart-unhealthy saturated fat. You can cook with the skin on to retain moisture (add fresh herbs or citrus zest underneath it to really bake in some flavor), but remove the skin before you enjoy your meal to save calories and saturated fat.
3. Squeeze on the citrus.
For a powerful flavor punch with minimal added calories, use citrus on steamed veggies instead of butter, or on a salad instead of a dressing. It’s even great on fruit salad in place of sugar and adds some zip when squeezed onto a pasta salad. Don’t forget to use the flavorful zest of citrus fruits, too! Wash a lemon, orange, or lime, then use a zester or grater to add the zest to dishes such as baked seafood.
4. Be choosy about cheese.
When using a mildly flavored cheese, such as Monterey Jack, you need more cheese to taste it. But with a cheese with intense flavor, you can use less and still get the desired effect. Try a reduced-sodium feta, sharp Cheddar or aged Parmesan next time. Light cheese wedges such as The Laughing Cow brand are useful when you’re watching fat and calories, too. Try mixing one of these soft cheeses into scrambled eggs or noodle dishes instead of loading up on shredded mozzarella.
5. Go low on sweet.
Recipes for treats like cookies, muffins and cakes tend to contain more than enough sweetness. In general, you can cut about a quarter of the sugar from most baked good recipes without affecting the overall results. As you skimp on sugar, play with calorie-free flavorings like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla or almond extract to help dial up the flavor.
6. Believe in brown.
Swapping out “white” foods — white flour, white rice, regular pasta — for whole-grain alternatives like whole-wheat flour, brown rice and whole-grain pasta won’t help you cut calories. But the fiber in them fills you up faster and keeps you full longer, making you less likely to go back for seconds or feel hungry an hour later.
7. Pump up the veggies!
You can easily reach the recommended five servings of fruits and veggies when you’re cooking at home. Veggies can complement any dish on your menu, adding nutrient-packed bulk for few calories. Add chopped asparagus and mushrooms to your next omelet, red peppers (or a frozen stir-fry mix) to baked casseroles, or any kind of beans to a pasta salad. Add fresh or frozen spinach to pasta sauces and soups, and broccoli to your casseroles. The opportunities for adding veggies are endless for almost any dish!
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8. Cut the cream.
When using cream, sub fat-free half-and-half for any heavy cream. The switch gives the soups a creamy taste and velvety texture without all the saturated fat of heavy cream. This works well in pasta sauces, too.
9. Make your own marinade.
Marinate lean meats in vinegar and citrus combos (with a bit of oil added) rather than a pre-made oil-based dressing. You can also try a fruit juice or wine. These agents will still tenderize and flavor the meat, and a mix of herbs and spices will bring out the flavor! (You’ll also save sodium by not using the store-bought varieties!) Try cutting the meat in strips before dousing it to really let the marinade take effect.
As you can see, there are endless ways you can boost the nutrition and reduce the calories of almost any recipe. Get creative and experiment in the kitchen. You may find you like these new ways of cooking just as much—or even more!