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Practical Tips for Healthy Preparation and Cooking
Some cooking methods add a lot of extra fat to the food that we eat, which can promote weight gain. Here is some information about ways to alter high fat cooking methods so the food is lower in fat and healthier for us.
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HIGH FAT METHOD
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LOW-FAT METHOD
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Deep Fry
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Roast in the oven, spray food with cooking oil to help it go golden and crispy
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Shallow fry/Sauté
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Brush or spray pan lightly with oil, or use stock liquid. Non-stick pans are excellent for dry frying.
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Roasting meat
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Place meat on a rack within the pan so it is not sitting on the bottom in the fat. Add a small amount of water to the pan to keep meat moist.
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Roasting vegetables
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Half cook vegetables in microwave if you have one. Place vegetables on a tray, spray with oil and roast in oven. Do not sit vegetables in roasting tray with meat as they will absorb the meat fat
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Boil-up / stew / soup
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Trim fat from meat before cooking. Change boil-up water half way through cooking. After cooking allow to cool and skim fat from surface.
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It is a good idea to try and reduce the amount of fat we eat, as this can help us to maintain a healthy weight or to lose weight if necessary.
Visible Fat - Visible fat is the fat that we can see on our food - fat on meat, skin on chicken and fat on the top of boil-ups are some examples.
" Choose leans cuts of meat where possible.
" Trim any visible fat off meat before cooking, and remove the skin off chicken.
" Skim the fat off the top of boil-ups, stews and casseroles before serving.
" Drain the fat off tinned meat, such as corned beef, by boiling the tin in water and pouring the fat away, before using it.
Added Fat - Added fat describes the fat that we add to our foods - butter, margarine, oil and coconut cream are examples.
" Limit use of butter or margarine - spread only thinly, or use other moist toppings instead, such as low fat mayonnaise, chutney or mustard pickle on sandwiches. Avoid adding butter, margarine or oil to cooked vegetables.
" Use 'lite' coconut milk in cooking, or dilute regular coconut milk with low fat milk
" Use 'lite' evaporated or condensed milks in dressings, light mayonnaise and no oil salad dressings.
Hidden Fat - Hidden fat describes the fat that 'hides' in food - fat that we cannot see and we don't always know is there. There are many sources of hidden fat, such as dairy foods, cookies and cakes, chocolates, nuts, sauces, pastries and takeaways.
" Use low fat dairy foods - such as trim milks, Edam cheese, half fat cheddar, cottage cheese or low fat yoghurts.
" Limit intake of high fat savoury snacks such as potato chips, noodles, pies and sausage rolls. Try lower fat options, such as rice crackers with dip, savoury muffins, toast or a sandwich.
" Mayonnaise, salad dressings, pasta sauces and simmer sauces can all be high in fat. Choose the low fat or light variety of sauces, toppings and dressings. Use tomato based sauces instead of creamy ones.
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