You can cook healthy meals for yourself and your family without sacrificing any of the delicious entrees that you love. And you’ll be helping to reduce the damage to the environment as well.
Start by buying local produce that is in season so it’s fresher. It’s usually grown without the additives that are needed in goods that are shipped from around the world or across the country and you’ll be supporting your local agriculture industry as well. As well, you’ll be reducing the environmental impact of the fuel needed to transport items from afar.
Operators of most small farms use organic methods, with no artificial fertilizers, resulting in a superior taste, and reducing pollution. Livestock raised outdoors and fed natural grains and grasses produce quality meat, eggs, milk etc. and the farmers ensure the animals are stress-free, resulting in a tasty, tender product.
Frying causes the foods to absorb extra calories and fat, so try alternate methods of preparing food, such as broiling, grilling and baking. An excellent site at www.cookinglight.com/cooking offers tips on keeping the delicious taste while preparing meals without frying, and recipes from turkey dinner to chocolate cake using light ingredients and methods are also available. If you must fry, use cooking spray in your cookware instead of oil or shortening. Prepare stir-fry by using chicken broth instead of oil. Cutting back on the amount of meat in a recipe, such as lasagne, is just as tasty made with half a package of ground beef and reduces fat.
You need eggs in your diet, but you can cut back on some of the cholesterol found in the yolks by substituting egg whites for half of the whole eggs, available at your local grocery store. You will enjoy the same tasty omelette or soufflé but be much more healthy. And when shopping, be environmentally conscious and purchase cloth bags to cut down on the use of highly-polluting plastic bags.
When baking, the finished product will not be affected if you cut back a little on the amount of oil, and if a recipe calls for butter or shortening, you can substitute vegetable oil, which is healthier. Applesauce can also be used in place of oil in some baking, and it also adds sweetness so you can cut back on sugar. A little experimenting will tell you which of your favourite recipes can be modified. Using skim or one percent milk can also shave off fat grams and calories. If your recipe calls for white flour, you can safely substitute about one-third to one-half of the quantity with whole wheat flour which contains the bran and wheat germ that has been bleached out of white flour, adding nutritious ingredients to baked goods.
Eat at home as often as you can so you can control the ingredients and the cooking methods. Use tuna packed in water, substitute pork bacon with turkey bacon, replace buttermilk by mixing an equal amount of skim milk with one tablespoon of vinegar, and use no-sugar jam spreads, which actually have more fruit. See http://hubpages.com/hub/Low_Fat_Cooking_Tips for more ideas and for low-fat, low-calorie recipes. And look at your favourite recipes and determine how you can modify them to reflect the 21st century and the new awareness that will help you and your family enjoy good health for many years to come.
