Transform your traditional and beloved unhealthy recipes into healthier yet enjoyable alternatives. Changing the way you prepare food and adjusting the ingredients you commonly use in the preparation process can help you make healthier foods. Replace certain ingredients, take care to avoid contamination, add more nutritious ingredients and use healthier cooking methods. Arming yourself with healthier food preparation habits will give you the ability to reduce your weight, avoid chronic illnesses and live a healthier life overall.
Step 1
Rinse all fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking with them. Washing helps remove excess dirt and any pesticides that were applied in the growing process. Avoid pesticides entirely and buy organic fruits and vegetables.
Step 2
Cut raw meats on their own cutting board and use a knife that you will not be using on any other foods. Wash your hands after touching raw meat. Clean all the surfaces that raw meat has touched with soap and water. Never place cooked meat on something that has been contaminated with raw meat. Use separate utensils to work with raw and cooked meats.
Step 3
Remove excess fat and skin from meat before it is cooked. This will help to decrease the amount of saturated fat, calories and cholesterol in your food.
Step 4
Flavor your foods with herbs and spices and avoid the use of salt, butter and margarine. Flavoring your food with herbs and spices will decrease your sodium, calorie and saturated-fat intake.
Step 5
Increase the amount of vegetables you use in your recipes. Prepare double the amount of vegetables for each recipe. Increasing the vegetables will increase the nutrients in your meal and help you get the necessary daily minimum of five servings of produce.
Step 6
Use nonstick cooking pans to prepare your meals. Nonstick cooking pans will allow you to decrease the amount of oil you need to prepare your foods. You can easily sautee or stir fry your meals in a nonstick pan by spraying a small amount of cooking oil in to the pan.
Step 7
Use other healthy cooking methods to prepare your foods. You can bake your food in the oven without adding fat or oils. Food can be grilled or broiled, allowing any extra fat to drip off. Also, by setting a metal rack in a roasting pan, you can roast foods and allow any extra fat to drip away similar to what happens when you grill. Steaming is another healthy way to prepare your foods. Steam your foods by placing them in a perforated basket that sits above a steaming liquid. The liquid you use to steam foods can be water, or to add more flavor, you can use broth.
Step 8
Determine the ingredients that you can switch out for healthier alternatives. Replace refined white flour with whole-wheat flour. Use olive oil instead of other vegetable oils or butter. Substitute agave nectar or brown rice syrup for sugar. Replace oil in baked goods with an equal amount of applesauce. Replace whole-fat milk products with nonfat or nondairy options such as soy milk.
Things You'll Need
- Herbs
- Spices
- Olive Oil
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