The healthy cooking tips thread

Thought it might be a good idea to provide healthy ways of cooking foods for people who are curious. These tips should help:

* Preserve the nutrients and colours in veggies. Cook them quickly by steaming or stir-frying, or microwaving.

* Use herbs, vinegar, tomatoes, onions and/or fat-free or low-fat sauces or salad dressings for better health, especially if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

* When you cook once, make it last longer by preparing enough for a few other meals. Freeze it and have a ready-made meal for the next time you're too tired. Also this can save money on the basis of buying in bulk.

* Prepared seasonings can have high salt content and increase your risk for high blood pressure. Replace salt with herbs and spices or some of the salt-free seasoning mixes. Use lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chilies to add flavour.

* If you have to use flour or have grain-based products (bread, etc), use whole-grain variants.

* Another way to decrease the amount of fat and calories in your recipes is to use fat-free milk or 1% milk instead of whole or reduced-fat (2%) milk. For extra richness, try fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk.

* Kitchen towel is your friend. Make use of it whenever you are cooking anything that has a higher fat content. If you have to have a burger or a sausage for example, cook it via a grill, then once done slice in half and put on kitchen towel, get another piece of kitchen towel and press down, squeezing out and absorbing a fair bit of the fat from it. This tip also applies to barbecues - if you're at a barbecue, ask for some kitchen towel/napkins to help reduce the amount of fat intake. Obviously this doesn't mean you can eat loads, be just as controlled as normal - but it makes when you do eat them slightly less bad for you.

* Also, a george forman grill is also your friend here.

* Choose the reduced or low-fat version of a food if possible – for example milk, cheese, yoghurt, salad dressings and gravies.

* If you need to use oil, try cooking sprays or apply a small amount of oil with a pastry brush.

* Cook in liquids (such as stock, wine, lemon juice, fruit juice, vinegar or water) instead of oil.

* Use low-fat yoghurt, low-fat milk, evaporated skim milk or cornflour instead of cream in sauces or soups.

* When browning vegetables, put them in a hot pan then spray with oil, rather than adding the oil first to the pan. This reduces the amount of oil that vegetables absorb during cooking.

* An alternative to browning vegetables by pan-frying is to cook them first in the microwave, then crisp them under the grill for a minute or two.

* Don’t automatically add salt to your food – taste it first.

* Add a splash of olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice close to the end of cooking time or to cooked vegetables – it can enhance flavours in the same way as salt.

* Reduce your use of soy sauce, tomato sauce and processed sauces and condiments (for example mayonnaise and salad dressings) because they contain high levels of salt. Some manufacturers now make low-salt/sugar variants - if you can live with them, try these.

* Avoid added oils and butter; use non-stick cookware instead where possible.


Feel free to add your own tips here