Recipe Makeover - 1/3: General Cooking Tips
Quick Tips » Eating Smarter » Recipe Makeover - 1/3: General Cooking Tips
1. Reduce the oil: If the recipe calls for 1 cup oil try 2/3rd of a cup. This works best for quick breads, muffins & cooking. It may not work as well for cakes.
1 cup oil = 1900 Calories, 2/3 cup oil = 1300 Calories
2. Sauté or stir fry vegetables using water or wine.
3. Or Steam or microwave vegetables instead of sautéing.
4. Select lean cuts of meat.
5. Bake, broil, grill, poach or microwave meat, poultry or fish instead of frying.
6. Remove chicken skin before eating. You can leave it on during cooking to help add flavor and retain moisture.
7. Reduce Butter &margarine by ¼.
1 Stick (4 oz) Butter/Margarine = 800 Calories, ¾ Stick (3 Oz) = 600 Calories
8. Replace Full fat cream cheese with low fat or no fat cream cheese. Full Fat Cream Cheese, 1 Cup = 800 Calories. Low Fat Cream Cheese, 1 Cup = 550 Calories
9. Brown meats in non-stick pans or use cooking sprays.
10. Delete an ingredient: If there is an ingredient that you use for appearance such as frosting or coconuts & nuts, delete it. Coconuts and nuts add a lot of calories to the total: ¼ Cup Nuts = 125 Calories
11. Use fresh ingredients where possible instead of dried ones. This enhances the flavor and reduces the effect of any
missing ingredients.
12. Use a bulb baster or fat separator to remove liquid fat.
13. Instead of basting meat or vegetables in oil, use wine, fruit juice, vegetable juice or fat-free vegetable broth instead.
14. Using non-stick pans or spraying meats with non-stick cooking spray further reduces the amount of calories added to your food.