Low Fat Cooking Tips

Use the healthy, low fat cooking tips below to begin cooking delicious, healthy alternatives to traditional fat-filled recipes. If you start cooking with fresh herbs and heart-healthy ingredients rather than heavy creams and oils, you will not sacrifice much at all in terms of taste.

There's a huge misconception with healthier, low fat cooking and eating that you have to suffer eating bland, tasteless foods in order get healthy. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, and I’ll prove it to you.

Here are some healthy, low fat cooking tips to get started:

• Use nonstick cookware to sauté or brown foods so that you don't need to add fat, such as vegetable oil or butter. Fat-free cooking sprays or filling a spray bottle with olive oil also are good options

• Utilize healthy cooking methods: Grill, broil, poach, roast, or stir-fry your foods instead of frying them. Use smoked or salt-cured meats sparingly, and trim excess fat and skin from beef, pork, and poultry

• Substitute ground chicken breast and ground turkey breast for ground beef

• When you do eat ground beef, choose grass-fed ground sirloin, or look for 95% or 96% lean on the package

• As a healthy alternative to frying, coat meat with egg whites then bread crumbs or crushed corn flakes and bake it in the oven

• Cook fish in parchment paper or foil to seal in flavor and juices

• Sauté vegetables in a small amount of low sodium broth or water instead of butter or oil

• Substitute lower fat dairy products, such as reduced-fat cheeses, fat-free sour cream, and fat-free yogurt, for their higher fat counterparts

• Use fat free yogurt (I prefer Greek style) in place of mayonnaise or sour cream

• To enhance a food's flavor without adding salt or fat, use onions, fresh herbs (see below), spices, flavored vinegars, fresh peppers, garlic or garlic powder, ginger, lemons, limes, sodium-free bouillon, or even small amounts of reduced-sodium soy sauce

• Season vegetables with herbs and spices instead of salt

• Instead of eating potato chips, substitute pretzels, pita chips, or raw fruits and vegetables instead

• Rinse canned foods, such as tuna and vegetables, before using to wash away some of the excess sodium

• Replace sugar in baked goods with Splenda, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla or fruit to enhance sweetness

• When cooking with oils, use small amounts of heart healthy oils such as olive oil - it contains "good fats" that may help lower your total blood cholesterol if used in moderation

* Be sure to prepare for low fat cooking beforehand by choosing the proper foods at the grocery store. Use this printable healthy food list each time you go to the store.

* If you insist on eating out, make sure you check out our Restaurant Nutrition Facts page to learn about the healthiest menu options at a variety of restaurants.

Here are some of my favorite fresh herbs and foods that pair extremely well with them:

BASIL
Tomatoes, low-fat mozzarella cheese, chicken, pasta sauce, fish

CHIVES
Potatoes, tomatoes, chicken

CILANTRO
Salsa, chicken, beef, Mexican food

DILL
Carrots, sugar snap peas, fish, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes

MINT
Fruit salads, tea

OREGANO
Peppers, tomatoes, pasta sauce, Italian food

PARSLEY
Pasta sauce, potato salad, tabbouleh

ROSEMARY
Chicken, fish, lamb, pork, potatoes, soups, stews, tomatoes

SAGE
Pork, chicken, beef

TARRAGON
Chicken, eggs, fish, soups

THYME
Chicken, beans, potatoes, tomatoes

These are just a few healthy cooking tips and suggestions for cooking with fresh herbs. Experiment by combining different foods with fresh herbs.

Next: Healthy Cooking Methods

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