When dieting to lose weight, it's clearly best to follow a low-fat eating plan. Not only do high-fat foods foil your weight-loss efforts, they increase your risk of health problems such as heart disease. The American Dietetic Association recommends limiting your fat content by choosing low-fat foods and low-fat cooking methods for the healthiest diet. Therefore, traditional fried foods -- those prepared with lots of high-saturated-fat oils, butter or shortening -- should be avoided when dieting. But don't lose heart if you love fried dishes. There are ways to adapt frying to make it more diet-friendly.
Step 1
Choose stir-frying as your method of frying vegetables, shrimp, beef, chicken or tofu. Stir-frying is a healthy cooking method, says the Franklin Institute, because it requires only a small amount of oil. The high heat combined with the minimal oil cooks food fast, without allowing ingredients to soak up too much fat, which makes stir-frying a diet-friendly cooking technique. Use a skillet, saute pan or wok to stir-fry.
Step 2
Use small amounts of heart-healthy fats when cooking. You need to cut calories and fat for your diet to be successful; however, some types of fat are heart-healthy and necessary in small amounts for optimal physical functioning. These fats are called unsaturated fat or essential fatty acids, and examples include olive, canola and safflower oils, says the Harvard School of Public Health. Even so, since fats are high-calorie, you should limit them when dieting. Try 1 tbsp. of one of these healthy oils to saute or stir-fry your meat, fish, poultry, tofu or vegetables.
Step 3
Fry with wine, vinegar or broth instead of fat to keep calories down. These substitutes work fine for sauteing foods that you would normally fry in butter, oil or shortening, and add additional flavor as well.
Things You'll Need
- Skillet, saute pan, griddle pan or wok
- Olive, canola or safflower oil
- Cooking wine, vinegar or broth
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