Good Advice

Cooking 101 – Cooking Tips
Eating Healthy When Eating Out
Food Psychology – How why you eat is just as important as what you eat
Aisle Education: Tips for the grocery store
Drinking on the Job – How to Stay Hydrated
Learn Your Labels – A Twelve Step Program
The Secrets To Success

Cooking 101

Winter is here, and it’s a perfect time to warm up our. Cooked foods are easier to digest and a comfort for those cold months ahead. However, don’t take out the pots and pans just yet until you learn the best and healthiest ways to heat up those meals.

The following methods are my most recommended for cooking meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables because they tend to remove fat and require little or no additional oil in the cooking process. Not only will you’re your foods taste delicious, but your arteries will thank you later. The best cooking methods are:

• Roasting
• Broiling
• Braising
• Steaming
• Wok Cooking
• Baking
• Broiling
• Grilling

Quick Cooking 101 Tips:

• Trim all visible fat from poultry (choose white meat) and remove the skin before cooking
• Use a rack to drain fat when broiling, roasting or baking.
• Keep moist by pouring water, lemon juice, low sodium tomato juice, or low sodium bouillon instead of basting with drippings.
• Prepare soups, stews or casseroles one day ahead. After refrigeration, the fat will harden for easy removal.
• Cook vegetables to tender crisp; overcooking vegetables leads to mushy, nutritionally depleted vegetables. Steaming is a good method.
• Cook pasta to al dente.
• Use spices and herbs to flavor dishes instead of salt; citrus and vinegars work nicely as well.
• Two egg whites can be substituted for a whole egg in recipes.
• In baked goods, applesauce, prune puree, crushed pineapple, or nonfat yogurt can replace the fat (butter, oil or margarine).
• Sautee foods with canola, olive, or sesame oil (remember portion sizes). Use oil (1 tablespoon is acceptable for 4 servings, 1 tsp for 1 serving) or Pam cooking spray in cooking instead of margarine and butter.
• Vegetables, poultry, or fish can also be cooked in low sodium broth, vinegar, water (poaching) or light marinade.