Good eating is all about portion control. So many restaurants serve large portions now that Americans think they have to have large portions. Large portions are good only if the food is low in calories and nutritious. When you cook in your own home, be very aware of how you cook and the portions. Cook light with healthy foods.
Cooking light does not only depend on the ingredients but also the oil that you use. In fact, the oil can change the caloric and fat content of the dish. You see, even if all your ingredients are healthy, for instance, vegetables; but if you use oil that is based on animal fat, you will still have a not so healthy dish.
These guidelines will help you to cook light and healthy when you prepared home-cooked meals. First, you need to use vegetable oil when cooking, so that your meals don’t add a lot of fat and calories. Corn oil and palm oil are the most popular vegetable-based cooking oils. They contain lots of the so-called ‘good’ cholesterol that can help to protect your heart, and they cancel the effects of the ‘bad’ cholesterol contained in animal fats.
You should never put any artificial coloring, flavors, and other chemicals in your food if you can avoid them. They make any dish that you serve less healthy, and can lead to kidney and liver ailments in the future because of all the added salt. You also should avoid batter frying and deep fry mixes. They do not add any nutritional value to food, but greatly increase the calorie total for any dish.
In order to have a healthy diet, you should replace some servings of meat with vegetables and seafood. It is best to have meat for only one or two meals a day. Your family will still gain the protein they need, while reducing harmful fats and cholesterol. White meats, such as turkey or chicken, are more healthy than red meats, such as pork and beef. Turkey and chicken contain less cholesterol than red meats. If you must serve a red meat, choose pork because you can quickly remove the fat from the meat. It is difficult to remove fat from beef since the fats are distributed throughout the meat.
Cooking for less: One way to eat light is to psych yourself to also cook light, not only in caloric and fat content but also in the number of servings. This is especially true if you are cooking for dinner. Cook less rice and more of the dishes. Do this gradually though. Drastic change in food intake can cause health problems. This is also not recommended if there are young children. With young children, it is important that you provide them with all the food that they need for growing up. This does not mean though that they should overeat but neither should you put them on a diet unless said so by a doctor.
No comments yet.