Changing Recipes to be Healthier

Home-cooking can be good for you or it can be fattening and unhealthy. Quickly browse through your favorite recipe books and in some cases you’ll soon see how the calories and fat can mount up.

That is not to mention all the salt (sodium chloride) in some recipes, although it has a role to play, too much can be harmful.

But don’t despair, there are simple changes you can make to recipes that can help you reduce bad fats, calories and the salt. This will help you stay fit, trim and healthy. Here are a few ideas to start you off.

Apple sauce instead vegetable oil: If you are baking bread, cakes, muffins or quick bread, try swapping oil with applesauce, like for like on quantity. You can often do the same thing with butter. If you still like the taste and texture that the vegetable oil adds, you can substitute half of the applesauce for the oil. This simple change reduces bad fats and calories. Alternatively, try using olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

Egg substitutes: There are several brands of egg substitutes that you can use in place of eggs in many recipes. Some can even be scrambled – check the instructions. Egg substitute should be lower in fat and calories. If you are intolerant of eggs, check the label carefully for “allergy information”. However, do remember that eggs in moderation are good for you, being a complete protein.

Broth for flavor and moisture: Instead of adding oil to your vegetables or rice, use broth. Chicken, beef and vegetable broth will all add a great flavor to your dishes without adding calories. If you are using bouillon cubes, try adding two to the cooking water. If you are worried about your sodium intake, be sure to buy low-sodium broth and bouillon cubes instead.

Reduce the amount of salt you add to food, or “low-sodium” salt which is based on potassium instead of sodium. While many people enjoy the extra taste from added salt (sodium chloride), in excess it can raise your blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease. The Blood Pressure Association, a UK based blood pressure charity, believes that reducing salt intake to 3g a day could prevent around 20,000 stroke and heart attack deaths in the UK each year. Low sodium salts can reduce sodium intake by about 60% yet maintain all the flavour. Potassium is also essential for good fluid balance and muscle function.

Use lean ground turkey instead of ground beef: Lean minced turkey is tasty and cooks just like minced beef. Depending on the quality (some are better, and some are really bad) minced beef has a lot of fat. Although you can drain off the fat, it’s never completely removed. Minced turkey instead is leaner and has few calories and fat grams than minced or ground  beef.

Low fat cheese and dairy: A very easy switch you can make is to use low fat cheese and dairy products in your cooking such as low or no fat sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt and ricotta cheese. In recipes, you will hardly notice the different. Remember that some low fat or fat free cheese does not melt in the same way as ordinary cheese, but you can use it if you are just using a little in tacos or other recipes.

Use natural yoghurt instead of cream – reduces calories and is better for you because it helps provide healthy gut bacteria. Natural yogurt is something of an acquired taste, but if you do it gradually you’ll soon get to the stage where you don’t notice it. Honestly!

Making the switch to low fat, low calories and low sodium does not have to be hard. You can use these tips to make your recipes better for you.

Please add a comment to share your own favorite tip for changing recipes to be more healthy.

RECIPE FOR WATERCRESS SOUP

Serves: 4
Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

15ml/1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small stick celery
350g/12oz potato, peeled and diced
600ml/1pt chicken or vegetable stock
3 (85g) bags watercress
150ml/1/4pt milk
pinch of nutmeg
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and celery and sauté over a medium heat for 5 mins until pale golden. Stir in the potato and stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 mins or until the potato is tender.

2. Stir in the watercress, cover and cook for a further 5 mins or until the watercress is wilted. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Return the soup to the rinsed out pan add the milk, nutmeg, lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Gently reheat until piping hot and serve with crusty bread.

Cook’s note:
There are lots of variations to this lovely soup.  For Fresh Pea and Watercress Soup, just sustitute 400g of frozen peas for the potatoes.  Also delete the celery, nutmeg and lemon juice.  Serve with a sprig of mint.

Per serving
calories:    167
fat:    5.5g
saturated fat:    0.8g
carbohydrate:    19.5g
protein:    11.1g
fibre:    2.7g
salt:    0.91g

Recipe courtesy of http://www.watercress.co.uk where you can find more delicious ways to eat watercress.

To remind yourself why eating watercress is such a good idea nutritionally, check out my earlier post on watercress.

Recipe: Baked chicken with lemon carrots

Baked Chicken with Lemony Carrots, Garlic and Potatoes
Serves 4
Per serving: 432 calories, 15.1g fat, 3.6g saturates, 11.1g sugars, 0.88g salt

Ingredients
1 kg chicken thighs, chicken breasts on the bone or drumsticks
500g carrots peeled and cut into batons
3 tbsp olive oil
A little soft butter
3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into slices
2 lemons
2-4 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme or 1tsp mixed dried herbs
Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400oF/Gas Mark 6. Smear an ovenproof dish liberally with the butter, layer the potatoes and garlic on the bottom of the dish and season well, then top with the carrots and slice one of the lemons in thin slices over the carrots. Add the herbs and drizzle with 2tbsp of olive oil and pour over 2tbsp of water.
2. Lay the chicken pieces skin-side down on top, squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle over the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 20-25mins in the oven and then turn over the chicken, spoon a little of the pan juices over them.
3. Turn the oven down to 180DegC/370DegF/Gas Mark 4 and continue to cook for a further 25-30mins until the chicken is well browned and the potatoes cooked through.

OK – the picture’s a bit extreme, but you know what I mean.

We’ve all done it – pick up a bargain in the supermarket with no clear idea of which meal to incorporate it into, and then a week later you find it and wonder if you should eat it or not.

Check out the informative table on “How long will food last”? and read why you should probably be far more careful than you already are!

Consider a situation where you made a switch to whole grain breads.  While many doctors and dietitians will uncategorically recommend this type of bread, it may be causing you an enormous amount of harm. In particular, you may be unable to digest gluten, or have something of an allergy to it.   According to the Healthy Urban Kitchen manual, excess reliance on grain products can also rob your body of vital nutrients.

In some cases, you may find that the foods most suitable for your body are not the ones found in a conventional healthy eating guide.  For example, you may have been told to cut beef out of your diet at all cost.  Today, many people are suffering from mood swings, depression, and edema because they have eliminated beef from their diet.   While commercial beef may be filled with hormones and other additives, there are many good sources of grain fed beef.  Chances are, if you switch to these products, you will regain the advantages of eating beef, without suffering from the side effects of meat additives.

Each year, people spend billions of dollars on diet plans, medications, and expensive  health foods.  Today, you can eliminate all of that clutter from your budget and refrigerator.  When you take the time to find out which natural foods are best for your body, you will lose weight, and regain your sense of well being.

Click Here To Get Your Hands On A Healthy Eating Guide

While individuals may gain healthy eating benefits from certain foods, almost everyone must consider the condition of the modern foods supply. In particular, commercial meats are notorious for being filled with antibiotics and hormones.  While meat products provide essential proteins and other nutrients, your body still pays a very high price when you eat these meats.  Surprisingly enough, switching from commercially raised beef to commercially raised chicken is not the answer.

Do you make use of local farm markets to obtain grain fed beef and other meat products?  If not, you are probably spending a fortune on organic foods from your supermarket.  Aside from being cheaper, when you buy from a local farmer, you will also be helping to support a valuable community asset.  Today, when you read the Healthy Urban Kitchen Manual, you will learn how to find and make use of a number of hidden and healthy food sources.

Unfortunately, a healthy diet is no longer as simple as following a series of recipes in a book.  In order to be successful, you need to know a number of details about the modern food supply, as well as the nutrients that your specific body needs.  If you do not feel healthy, the least you can do is start working improve your diet based on modern information.

Click Here To Find Out More About Healthy Eating Benefits