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Healthy eating is important, and it’s also important for your food to taste good. Too many people think healthy food is boring and tasteless, but that’s just not true at all! It’s all about flavor and freshness, and you can find plenty of healthy substitutes for your favorite foods that may not be the best for you to eat all the time. Check out these tips for healthy cooking:
1. Healthy fat:
It’s true that too much fat isn’t good for you, but there’s bad fat, and then there’s good fat, which you need to eat for a healthy heart and brain. So skip butter and margarine and sub with olive oil, which is tasty and full of omega-3 healthy fat. You need healthy fat for a healthy body, and you need fat for good flavor in your food, but a little does go a long way. You can use less oil by replacing some of it with cooking spray, wine, or broth.
23. Bake don’t fry:
You can still enjoy treats like fries- if you bake them! Slice up potatoes or any other veggies and toss with a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and your choice of herbs or spices and bake at 400° until brown and crisp. This is delicious!
3. Limit salt:
You can add flavor with less salt by using herbs, spices, or lemon juice.
4. Use lean meat:
Fatty meat has the fat that’s not so great for you, so switch to leaner cuts of meat or chicken breast.
5. Swap ground meat for turkey:
Turkey is leaner than meat and ground turkey is an excellent substitute for fattier ground meat.
6. Eat more plant proteins:
You don’t have to cut out meat altogether to eat healthier, but it’s a good idea to eat less animal protein and more plant based proteins like legumes and nuts. Search on Pinterest for recipes you’ll love.
7. Lettuce wraps:
I’m the last one to tell you to cut out carbs, but to reduce calories and get in some extra vitamins, use lettuce in place of wraps, tacos, or bread.
8. Eat whole grains:
When you do eat carbs, make sure they’re the right ones so you’re not just eating empty calories. Go for whole grain bread, brown rice, and quinoa. They’re full of nutrients and they’ll keep you feeling full longer.
9. Greek yogurt:
Greek yogurt is rich in protein and calcium; use it as a lower fat, lower calorie alternative to sour cream and mayo.
10. Make creamy soup without cream:
Here’s a basic recipe: Sauté an onion and a few garlic cloves until soft, add a vegetable of your choice (I like zucchini, butternut squash, cauliflower), cover with some broth and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper and blend it up for a delicious creamy soup that is actually all vegetable! And that’s just the basics- you can switch up the veggies and the seasonings for some really yummy soup.
11. Plan in advance:
Stock your fridge and pantry with healthy ingredients and you’ll always be ready to cook a healthy meal. Cook more than you need and store the extra in the freezer so you’ll have a healthy meal ready to go even when you’re too busy to cook.
12. Prep in advance:
Wash and chop veggies so they’re all ready for you to start cooking.
Healthy cooking (and eating!) isn’t hard at all!