Eating a healthy diet doesn't mean
rabbit food. You can still enjoy all of your favorite foods, like beef, pasta, pork, rice,
and desserts. However, you must change the way you cook and serve them to keep your fat
consumption low and increase your intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It's quite
easy, if you keep these five basic guidelines in mind:
- Start by selecting low-fat ingredients
- Plan less meat, more vegetables, fruits, and grains
- Cook with less fat
- Add herbs, spices, and fruit juice for flavor
- Serve more meatless meals
1. Start by selecting low-fat ingredients:
Choose leaner cuts of meat and poultry, and trim off the fat before cooking. When you
buy ground beef, make sure that it is 90 percent lean. Most of the fat in poultry lies
just under the skin, so remove the skin before eating the meat. Switch to lower-fat dairy
products, and select from part-skim, nonfat, or reduced-fat cheeses. Yogurt is a good
alternative to cream and is available in nonfat varieties. Use reduced-fat sour cream and
evaporated skim milk in place of heavy cream. Oily fish contain more of the omega-3 fatty
acids, which have a protective effect on the heart, so you can eat any fish you like.
However, you should buy water-pack tuna--it contains just a trace of fat compared to 7
grams of fat in oil-packed.
2. Plan less meat, more vegetables, fruits, and grains:
Change the emphasis of your menus, and make meat just one part of the meal instead of
the centerpiece. When you cook a steak, for example, serve potato, one or two vegetables,
salad, and bread. Keep the servings of meat small--about 4 ounces per person. This reduces
your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol and increases intake of vitamins and fiber.
3. Cook with less fat:
Instead of frying foods in fat, rely on methods that require little or no oil, such as
grilling, broiling, roasting, and oven-frying. Drain off any fat after cooking and skim it
off the top of stews. Cook fish and poultry in parchment paper, which requires just a
touch of oil for flavor. If you prefer to fry food, invest in a nonstick skillet so you
can cook either without fat or with a very small amount. When stir-frying, use the minimum
amount of oil and heat until very hot. The oil spreads farther, so that you'll need less.
Instead of using oil when sauteeing, cook onions or garlic in a little reduced-sodium
stock over low heat.
4. Add herbs, spices, and fruit juice for flavor:
Add herbs and spices to savory dishes so that you don't need salt or sugar. Use
vinegar, fruit, or shredded citrus peel to accent the flavor of fish and meat recipes.
Serve grilled meats and poultry with simple homemade salsas instead of salt, prepared
sauces, or gravy. Replace the flavor lost when you cut down on fat by adding more fruits
and vegetables to casseroles and stews. They will boost the vitamin and fiber content as
well as reducing the need for seasoning. Spice up pasta dishes with a dash of Parmesan
cheese. Cut back on the sugar in baked goods by mixing in fruit juice, nuts, and seeds
instead. They add texture as well as flavor.
5. Serve more meatless meals:
Cut down on saturated fat and cholesterol by getting more protein from plant sources,
such as grains and legumes (dried beans, lentils, and peas). They are much lower in fat
than meat and an excellent source of dietary fiber. However, grains and legumes must be
properly combined. Unlike the protein in meat, which contains all 20 of the amino acids
needed for good health, the protein in plant foods is incomplete. Grains, for example, are
low in lysine and high methionine, while legumes are typically high in lysine but low in
methionine. The solution is simple. Serve grain and legumes together, so that the strength
of one makes up for the deficiency in the other.
