7 in 7 - Monday - Healthy Cooking Tips (5)

Some ideas taken from: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/healthy-cooking-tips (since we finished the first article )

Eating healthy food doesn’t mean giving up your favourite foods. Your favourite recipes can be adapted easily to provide a healthier alternative. For example, non-stick cookware can be used to reduce the need for cooking oil. Vegetables can also be microwaved or steamed instead of boiling to keep valuable nutrition.

There are many ways to make meals healthier. Limit fats, sugars and salt and include plenty of vegetables, fruit, grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy in your cooking. Foods with added fats, sugars or salt are less healthy than food in which these are found naturally.

Keep fats to a minimum
Choose lean meats and reduced-fat dairy products and limit processed foods to minimise hidden fats. Nuts, seeds, fish, soy, olives and avocado are all healthier options because they include the essential long-chain fatty acids and these fats are accompanied by other good nutrients.

If you add fats when cooking, keep them to a minimum and use monounsaturated oils such as olive and canola oil.
Shopping for healthy food

Low-fat cooking begins when you are shopping:
• Choose the reduced or low-fat version of a food if possible – for example milk, cheese, yoghurt, salad dressings and gravies.
• Choose lean meat cuts and skinless chicken breasts.
• Limit fast foods, chips, crisps, processed meats, pastries and pies, which all contain large amounts of fat.
Low fat cooking

Suggestions include:
• If you need to use oil, try cooking sprays or apply a small amount of oil with a pastry brush.
• Cook in liquids (such as stock, wine, lemon juice, fruit juice, vinegar or water) instead of oil.
• Use low-fat yoghurt, low-fat milk, evaporated skim milk or cornstarch instead of cream in sauces or soups.
• When browning vegetables, put them in a hot pan then spray with oil, rather than adding the oil first to the pan. This reduces the amount of oil that vegetables absorb during cooking.
• An alternative to browning vegetables by pan-frying is to cook them first in the microwave, then crisp them under the grill for a minute or two.
• Use pesto, salsas, chutneys and vinegars in place of sour creams, butter and creamy sauces.


Questions:
1. Is there anything new listed above that you might try?
2. Any recipes to share?
3. FUN: What is your favorite and most often used way to cook? Grill, oven, microwave, stove top, crockpot or???

1. I do look for low fat dairy, but sometimes in other products, they seem to be over manufactured. I'm working toward lowering fat by the suggestions also included in the article quoted - alternate ways of adding flavor such as the salsa which is suggested. Using smaller amounts of higher fat items also works. I'll often use less cheese than listed in a recipe or, depending on the recipe, eliminate it. Sometimes seems like excessive cheese or other high fat ingredients are used just to make sure the recipe is "good" and "amazing" - fine for special dishes, but not so good for everyday dining. I once cut back sour cream in a recipe by half (by mistake) and it was still fine in our opinion.

2. I'm trying a new reicpe today (off work today, so some extra time to try this). It's a slow cooker breakfast quinoa recipe, with fruit, intended for breakfast but it'll be my lunch today. If it turns out good, I'll post the recipe. I plan to freeze some as well.

3. I'd say my stovetop, oven are tied and slow cooker is next. Microwave for reheating and for some recipe steps - heating water, cooking turkey bacon, things like that. I don't grill outdoors, but have a grill/griddle that I use as well.

I'm also going to to a small test batch of roasted beets, using canned beets. We'd like to try these at school. I've roasted fresh beets, never canned. My boss is supposed to be trying as well, we'll see how they turn out.

Cathy - I know the item you are talking about for angel food cake. Didn't have one, recall using a serrated knife, but, yes, it is easy to crush the tender texture of the cake. The cakes were always from am mix. My mom didn't really enjoy cooking or baking very much.

1. Is there anything new listed above that you might try? I do use a lot of those ideas when I cook.  When I brown or roast veggies, I put them in a bowl first along with a measured amount of oil and toss them to get the oil distributed over the veggies.

2. Any recipes to share? I'll post my breakfast cookie recipe below. In fact I think I'll make it for breakfast.  I haven't had it for awhile.

3. FUN: What is your favorite and most often used way to cook? Grill, oven, microwave, stove top, crockpot or??? I use the stove top a lot, but I also cook frozen veggies in the microwave, and roast things in the oven.

Monster Breakfast Cookie

1/3 cup oats
1 Tbsp corn meal
1/3 cup instant nonfat milk powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Splenda
1/4 cup no sugar added applesauce
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash salt

Drop onto baking sheet sprayed with PAM. ( I use parchment paper)
Flatten into round cookie shape. Bake at 350 for 20 mins until golden.


Core Pancakes
Servings: 2
1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Yellow corn meal plain
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 packet Equal sweetener (I use 1T Splenda)
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, or 1 egg

Let the mixture stand for about 20 minutes to soften the cornmeal and oats, then cook in a non-stick skillet sprayed with some non-stick cooking spray.

I rarely use much oil in cookiing. I add a tsp of oil to my oatmeal to meet that guideline. Sorry no recipe to share.