Cooking Light: 3 Simple Ways To Start
Greg Spence
Cooking light is all about healthier cooking. Cooking light need not mean bland and tasteless food. It can simply mean taking an existing favorite recipe and substituting some ingredients for their lighter alternatives.
Thankfully, many staples are now easily available in low fat versions. From reduced fat Oreo cookies and cheddar cheese to milk and bread, you really do have many cooking light choices in several food groups. You can make your kids' favorite mac n cheese and use skim milk instead of whole Vitamin D milk and use vegetable spread which has no trans fat as opposed to regular butter and you have already saved you and your family a lot of calories.
Opt for low fat mayonnaise or even zero fat alternatives like fat free ranch dressing and Miracle Whip as condiments for your dips and sandwiches. Use tuna packed in water instead of oil and you can see that by making small changes, you are saving calories left, right and center. And remember, just as calories add up, they also count when you are saving them in different ways.
If you eat a lot of refined white bread then you will not be getting the fiber you need and your fat intake will be high. When choosing bread go for the oat-based alternative or the 100% whole grain variety. Just because bread is brown does not mean it is healthier for you. By taking a true whole grain alternative your body will get an increased intake of fiber and lower amounts of fat.
Switch the oil you use when you begin to cook light. Even if olive oil is more expensive, try using a little of it and use no-fat cooking spray instead. If you must use more oil and olive oil is burning a hole in your pocket, try canola instead. It is very price competitive and has lots of health benefits as opposed to corn or vegetable oils.
When baking use a low calorie sweetener in place of sugar. Line your baking tins with a no fat cooking spray and use dark chocolate instead of milk. All of these are good alternatives for cooking light.
About the Author:
Learning to cook light is easier than you might imagine. Learn more about healthy cooking here.
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