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3 Ways To Start Cooking Light

By: Greg Spence Healthier cooking is all about how cooking light can improve your health without producing boring or unattractive food. Today, more emphasis is being put on reducing our calorie intake and eating foods that are better for us. In order to achieve this we need to look at cooking lighter which need not be difficult.

Cooking lighter is easier today as many of our staple foods now have a light version. For example, cheese is now being made with alternative milk such as goats milk, skimmed milk is also used now too and these alternatives do not affect the flavor at all. Butter can be eliminated by substituting with low fat spread to reduce calorie intake significantly. It is important to make sure that you are eating the right fats and avoiding trans fats where possible.

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.

Bread can be a very unhealthy food, especially if you eat a lot of it. Go for a 100% whole grain bread because it is high in fiber and low in fat. Choose whole grain also when buying muffins, rolls and other foods such as pasta and rice. Whole grain foods help to protect against some diseases and can make you feel less lethargic. A great start to cooking light.

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.

If you are into baking, try using Splenda, a no calorie sweetener instead of sugar and try unsweetened apple sauce instead of vegetable oil. Line your baking pans with no fat cooking spray instead of butter and use semi sweet or preferably dark chocolate.