Healthy Cooking Basics

Can you cook healthier and still balance a busy family life ?  Of course you can – below are some tips on how to integrate eating better with cooking for a family.

A basic mistake many people make when trying healthy cooking for the first time is attempting recipes that are too complicated for the average cook.  To make low-fat recipes, take dishes you are familiar with and try substituting or removing ingredients to create a lower fat version – pan-fry or sauté instead of deep fry, try low fat cheese or skim milk instead of whole.  You can even “fry” chicken by breading it with low-fat bread combs and baking it in the oven with a little olive oil instead of vegetable oil or shortening.  Making these simple healthy cooking changes will give you more confidence in the kitchen and will allow you to branch out and try more complicated dishes or new ones, to add to repertoire of low-fat , healthy meals.

Another way to commit to healthy cooking is to practice meal planning.  This is where you map out your day and make sure that you have your main meals and snacks laid out, with healthy choices available to you – either by bringing items from home or by strategic menu ordering at restaurants.  This way you won’t be starving at any one particular mealtime and likely to scrap the healthy eating habits and dive in into a caloric blowout.  You can always carry bags of snacks with you – carrot sticks, or a handful of almonds to tide you over between cooking times, so that when you head in the kitchen you’ll be prepared to keep your commitment to healthy cooking.

Don’t forget that healthy cooking can be fun.  Just because veggies are good for you doesn’t meant they have to taste bad.  Toss them into a low-fat stir fry for a quick and healthy Asian inspired meal, or try veggie tacos or wraps instead of the traditional high-fat meat options.  And you definitely don’t have to skip dessert when you’re on the healthy cooking kick. Experiment with low-fat recipes that use natural sweeteners like honey or poached or grilled fruit to create rich-tasting and satisfying desserts.

And don’t forget to get the whole family involved in healthy cooking.  The family that cooks together will eat together, since everyone has been involved in the process.  Let the kids scout out low-fat and healthy recipes in cookbooks or on the web and shop for and prepare the meal together, for a fun family experience.  Healthy cooking doesn’t have to be boring.  It can taste great and be good for you too.

Enjoy you’re new healthy eating habits.