Make your meals even healthier with these easy tips and tricks!
If you're cooking at home, you're likely making a meal that is going to be significantly healthier than a restaurant dish. Cooking at home is one of the easiest ways to cut down on calories, even if you're making a hearty meal like cheeseburgers or pasta. However, if you're looking for even more ways to make your cooking healthier and convenient, there are a few healthy cooking hacks you can keep in mind for future culinary adventures. Here are some of our favorites.
ROAST YOUR ENTIRE DINNER ON ONE SHEET PAN: There are a few ways to throw a weeknight meal together. Frying and sautéing are two of the most popular, but if you're not careful, that method of cooking can cause you to add in more oil than the dish probably needs. An easy way to control the amount of oil you are using is to roast your dinner on a sheet pan in the oven. Plus, with this method, you can get all of your cooking done at once and clean minimal dishes later. It's a win-win.
ADD WATER TO A
PASTA JAR: While it is fun to make your own
marinara sauce at home, buying it in a jar is a lot easier for weeknight meals—and a lot of them are pretty low in calories and
filled with great, whole ingredients. But sometimes when you pour that jar of
sauce into your pot, not all of it will pour out. An easy way to get the rest
is to add a small splash of water, close the lid, and shake it up. Then pour it
back in. It will add just a splash more liquid to it, but we promise, you won't
even notice.
SAUTÉ YOUR
SPINACH: Spinach is known for having heat-sensitive
nutrients, meaning it will lose a lot of its health benefits when you cook
them. Boiling tends to have the harshest effect on the nutrients in spinach. If
you want to make the most of the nutrients in your spinach, sauté them quickly
and enjoy it while it's warm.
MAKE OPEN-FACED
SANDWICHES: We know that the bread of the sandwich is probably the most important aspect of the meal
because it holds all of the fillings together. But since a bottom slice can
hold everything sufficiently, why even bother with the top half? You can cut a
few calories and simply toast one slice of bread and top it with all of your
favorite sandwich fixings.
BAKE FRIES: Did you know potatoes are one of
the best appetite suppressants? It's true! They are a great source of satiety in
your diet—not to mention the myriad of nutrients it can give you. However, if
those fries you are making are dripping in oil (and likely a high amount of
saturated fat), they aren't the best for your body overall. But that doesn't
mean you can't enjoy fries! Instead, cut up the fries and roast them in the
oven with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper. You'll have a crispy snack or side
dish that will make you feel full, without all of the excess oil and calories.
DOUBLE-UP ON
VEGGIES: Eating healthy doesn't mean you're
only stuck with boring salads. You can actually enjoy some of your favorite
dishes like pasta, pizza, and even burgers. The trick is to pair your meals with lots of
filling vegetables to round out the meal. Pile your favorite vegetable toppings
on pizza and burgers. Toss together a serving of pasta with your favorite
roasted vegetables. Not only will this add a ton of nutrients and fiber to your
meal, but it will help you to feel full.
MAKE A ROUX FOR
CREAM-BASED DISHES: Cream-based pasta dishes may sound like an unhealthy meal,
but only if you drown it in cream and butter. Instead, you can make a thick,
creamy sauce by making a roux to lighten it up. To make a roux, you melt butter and sprinkle in some flour, whisk till
combined, then slowly pour in regular milk (not cream!) until the sauce gets
thick. Add in a bit of cheese, and voila! The perfect cream sauce.
SERVE MEALS WITH A
SIDE OF GREENS: Portion control is the key to cooking healthy meals, but we
know that can be difficult if you're used to feasting on your favorite dishes.
An easy way to portion control is to fill half your plate with a simple side of
greens. This could be any vegetable, but for one of our favorite healthy
cooking hacks is to simply toss a side of leafy greens with a small drizzle of
olive oil, salt, and pepper. Fill half your plate with greens and the other
half with your dish, and voila! Easy portion control that you didn't have to
think too hard about.
ADD CHIA SEEDS: Did you know chia seeds are loaded with dietary fiber? Fiber is one of the best nutrients to have in
your meals because it will help with weight loss and warding off autoimmune
diseases. An easy way to get your fiber in is to sprinkle chia seeds on some of
your meals—especially breakfast foods. Sprinkle it on a slice of toast with
peanut butter, add it to your yogurt or your overnight oats, or even make a chia seed pudding for breakfast for a big fiber boost.
MAKE YOUR OWN
GRANOLA: Not only is granola absurdly
expensive at the store, but most bags are loaded with added sugars. You can
avoid both altogether by simply making your own granola at home. Granola is
obviously a great topping for yogurt, but it can even go well topped on a scoop
of ice cream for dessert or a simple snack on its own.
SWAP WITH
WHOLE-GRAIN PRODUCTS: Another easy way to get fiber into your diet is to swap your
typical go-to carbohydrates with whole-grain (or whole-wheat) products. Some of the
easiest swaps include bread, buns, tortillas, crackers, pasta, pizza dough, and
more.
HEAT FROZEN
BERRIES FOR AN EASY JAM: Who doesn't love a good PB&J? It's a classic dish, but if
you're not careful, the sugar count can increase pretty quickly. Instead, add
1/2 cup of berries to a saucepan and heat it until the berries are broken down.
Add the heated berries to your slice of toast with peanut butter, and there you
have it! A healthier PB&J. This trick works well with all kinds of dishes
that you like to enjoy with jam such as oatmeal, pancakes, or muffins.
BAKE WITH OAT
FLOUR: Because oat flour is full of nutrients (including fiber) and naturally gluten-free, it's an easy choice for flour in
all of your recipes. To make it, all you have to do is blend up rolled-cut
oats! For 1 cup of oat flour, you blend up 1 1/4 cup of oats, and simply multiply
accordingly based on how many cups of flour you need.
FREEZE FRUIT AND
KALE FOR EASY SMOOTHIES: Do you have fruit going bad in the
fridge? Before it's completely gone for good, freeze it for later! Pack up 1/2
a banana, 1/2 cup of the fruit of your choice, and 1 cup of kale in small
freezer bags. When you're ready for a smoothie, blend that smoothie pack with 1 cup of almond
milk and either 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or 1 scoop of protein powder.
TOP SALADS AND
OATS WITH SLICED ALMONDS, NOT WHOLE: Nuts are a great topping for all
kinds of dishes—salads and oats especially. But if you're not careful, the
calories can add up quickly. Instead, buy a container of sliced almonds. One
tablespoon of sliced almonds is only 30 calories, while a mere 15 whole almonds
hit over 100 calories. With the sliced almonds, you get more opportunities for
crunch compared to the whole. Another win-win.
LEAVE THE SKINS
ON: Why peel potatoes, carrots, or even
apples when the skins give you a significant amount of nutrients? Unless the
recipe calls you to peel these items, leave them on, and enjoy the health
benefits that these natural vegetable skins will give you.
MICROWAVE GARLIC
FOR 7 SECONDS: Peeling garlic is one of the most inconvenient steps when
making a recipe with garlic in it. While you could shake it up in a mason jar,
an even faster way to slip those garlic cloves out of the peel is microwaving
them. Place the garlic cloves (peels on) in a small bowl, microwave for 7
seconds, and the cloves will slip right out of those peels when you grab them.
ADD A SPLASH OF
MILK TO SCRAMBLED EGGS: Fluffy scrambled eggs are easier to make than you think! However,
you don't need to drown your eggs in cream and cheese to get there. Instead,
simply add a splash of milk with two cracked eggs in a bowl. Whisk to combine,
then cook on the pan with just a small amount of butter. Continuously stir with
a rubber spatula until the eggs are just about cooked, then remove from the pan.
THICKEN SAUCES WITH PASTA WATER: If you made a roux that ended up being runnier than you
hoped, don't fret just yet—or add more flour than you need. Instead, use up a
bit of the pasta water that your pasta is cooking in. When the pasta boils in a
pot, the starch releases into the water, which can easily be used while you cook.
Splash a tablespoon (or two) into the pan with your sauce and stir. It will
naturally thicken.
COOK SHRIMP WITH
SHELLS ON: The last thing you probably want to
eat is dried-out shrimp—especially after paying a good price to get them!
Instead, buy shrimp with the shells still on them (which are typically cheaper)
and cook them in whatever sauce you are making with those shells. The shells
help to capture all of that juicy flavor and make an even softer, juicer piece
of shrimp.
LET PANCAKE BATTER
SIT FOR 15 MINUTES: Most pancake recipes call for you to put in baking powder, which is a
leavening agent. The baking powder is the key trick to making a fluffy pancake
versus a flat pancake. However, if you don't leave your pancake batter to sit
for a bit, it doesn't give your batter enough time to soak in the baking powder
and make it fluffy. So, after you whisk together your batter (but not too much,
those lumps create great air pockets for the pancake!), leave it for 15 minutes
while you get your pan and your toppings ready. This means that with fluffier
pancakes, you're likely to eat less of them, and not indulge on too many flat,
calorie-dense flapjacks.
BY: kiersten hickman, eat this, not that, AUGUST 25, 2020
Much Love,
Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit
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