When you're trying to lose weight and save money at the same time, it may seem impossible to have the best of all worlds, but cooking up easy, inexpensive, low-fat and healthy meals is actually quite simple. Just cooking your own meals saves you money over eating out. And with a few easy tips and tricks, you can cut your cooking costs and the fat in your food.
Techniques
A few simple cooking techniques can free you from expensive ingredients and decrease the fat in your foods. By cooking from scratch, you can avoid pre-packaged mixes. Techniques to learn include broiling, which allows you to quickly cook cheaper cuts of meat with less fat. So does braising, otherwise known as "low and slow," which utilizes long cooking time in liquid with very little prep time.
Tools
For quick and easy but healthy cooking, invest in good, sharp knives and nonstick pans and skillets. Money spent up-front will help you cut costs and fat in all of your cooking, plus time. For example, a salad spinner allows you to chop, wash and dry whole heads of greens in a very short amount of time. A slow cooker can braise meats and vegetables while you're at work during the day.
Foods
Certain food choices can decrease fat, cost and time spent in the kitchen. Use nonstick sprays in place of oils, Canadian bacon or smoked turkey for regular bacon, applesauce or prune puree for half the fat in baking, and fat-free half and half or evaporated skim milk in place of cream. Steaming a head of broccoli is inexpensive and quick with no fat, unless you add a little for flavor.
Recommendations
Now that you have some basic cooking techniques and tools, you can seek out recipes that bring all of these fat- and money-savers together. Or, alter your favorites or new recipes by substituting ingredients to decrease the cost and fat content. Substitute in-season fruits and vegetables, many of which are interchangeable. Cooking allows you to utilize leftovers for multiple meals, providing you with healthy meals while further decreasing your per-serving cost.
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