What do you cook with?

cekeys
cekeys Posts: 397 Member
edited November 9 in Recipes
Hello everyone,

I'd love some help with deciding what to cook with. It seems like adding things like vegetable oil (120 cals/tbsp), EVOO (120 cal/tbsp) or even butter (102 cals/tbsp) are just adding unnecessary calories to my daily intake, when i'd rather use those +100 cals on something else.

So what do you use to cook with or do you just plan accordingly?
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Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Do you fry everything?

    I bake chicken and fish in foil parcels in the oven - no oil needed.

    Or if I making a stir fry I can get away with very little oil, and add a splash of wine or stock or water to stop things sticking.

    For good quality meat, I sometimes rub a small amount of olive oil directly onto the meat, sear that in a griddle pan (the one with ridges on it) and then finish in the oven.
  • cekeys
    cekeys Posts: 397 Member
    Frying is more of a time saver than baking. My timeframe to cook is rather limited, so I'd rather eat at 8:00 than 8:30 if I can help it. Baking a piece of chicken just takes a lot longer than frying.
  • eayal002
    eayal002 Posts: 186
    If I'm cooking on a frying pan I use fat free cooking spray and a little bit of olive oil. I don't eat fried foods in veg or canola oil for a good reason. Didn't have time to cook yesterday bought some fried chicken (supermarket cafeteria) and good Lord did that make me sick.
  • eayal002
    eayal002 Posts: 186
    Frying is more of a time saver than baking. My timeframe to cook is rather limited, so I'd rather eat at 8:00 than 8:30 if I can help it. Baking a piece of chicken just takes a lot longer than frying.

    Do you have a crockpot or can you get one? You can prep your meal leave it cooking through out the say and it is better than frying it. Buy lean meats and let it cook slowly, you can make all sorts of meats there. Frying foods is just not the best but if you have to use the cooking spray with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil best way IMO to do it if you have to.
    Fries ect I have a small oven I bake them in.
  • LBachynsky
    LBachynsky Posts: 64
    Cooking spray.
  • newfieborn
    newfieborn Posts: 85
    I find that Olive Oil is the best and it is good for you. It contains some of the good fats.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I mostly cook with EVOO because I don't consider healthy fats unnecessary calories. Our bodies need fat and EVOO is a healthy fat. For higher temps like stir fries I like peanut oil.
  • krnlcsf
    krnlcsf Posts: 310
    Frying is more of a time saver than baking. My timeframe to cook is rather limited, so I'd rather eat at 8:00 than 8:30 if I can help it. Baking a piece of chicken just takes a lot longer than frying.

    what about cutting the chicken breast into 2 or 3 smaller pieces... then it would take a shorter time to bake? or if you can bake a bunch of chicken on the weekend to use throughout the week perhaps, and then you'd just have to prepare a side of veggies or salad and reheat the chicken.
  • cekeys
    cekeys Posts: 397 Member
    ... or if you can bake a bunch of chicken on the weekend to use throughout the week perhaps, and then you'd just have to prepare a side of veggies or salad and reheat the chicken.
    Do you mean freeze the chicken once its cooked? if not, how long should chicken stay good in the fridge?

    EDIT: for clarification.
  • bettyboop573
    bettyboop573 Posts: 610 Member
    Frying is more of a time saver than baking. My timeframe to cook is rather limited, so I'd rather eat at 8:00 than 8:30 if I can help it. Baking a piece of chicken just takes a lot longer than frying.

    Do you have a crockpot or can you get one? You can prep your meal leave it cooking through out the say and it is better than frying it. Buy lean meats and let it cook slowly, you can make all sorts of meats there. Frying foods is just not the best but if you have to use the cooking spray with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil best way IMO to do it if you have to.
    Fries ect I have a small oven I bake them in.

    agreed :) slow cookers will be your friend
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    Cooking spray, but if we do use oil we use EVOO sparingly and its actually good for you..
  • hope516
    hope516 Posts: 1,133 Member
    Frying is more of a time saver than baking. My timeframe to cook is rather limited, so I'd rather eat at 8:00 than 8:30 if I can help it. Baking a piece of chicken just takes a lot longer than frying.

    Do you have a crockpot or can you get one? You can prep your meal leave it cooking through out the say and it is better than frying it. Buy lean meats and let it cook slowly, you can make all sorts of meats there. Frying foods is just not the best but if you have to use the cooking spray with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil best way IMO to do it if you have to.
    Fries ect I have a small oven I bake them in.

    I agree with the crock pot suggestion! There is nothing better than coming home to your house smelling savory and a hot dinner! Try skinnytaste.com for yummy recipes. I can vouch for the crockpot taco chili! Amazing! :drinker:
  • cekeys
    cekeys Posts: 397 Member
    agreed :) slow cookers will be your friend

    I've got a crock pot, 2 in fact, but I have to leave them on for 10 hours while I'm at work. I'm worried my food will be overcooked or dried out.
  • 11Jayme11
    11Jayme11 Posts: 194 Member
    I dont cook with any oil... I find ways around cooking with it.. like oven baking or slow cookers... If something needs alittle juice when baking.. i usually use spray butter( 0 everything)!
  • renaconnor
    renaconnor Posts: 38 Member
    I'm weird but I cook everything in either low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium beef stock...it cuts WAYYYY down on my caloric intake.
  • sewerchick93
    sewerchick93 Posts: 1,438 Member
    I use toasted sesame oil... you do have to be careful with it as it does tend to burn if cook with too high a temp.
  • sharonfincher1
    sharonfincher1 Posts: 311 Member
    I live in California so my weather permits me to grill alot of my foods, but I fry what I want and just bite the bullet on the extra calories.
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
    In the UK we have something called Fry Light which is a 1 calorie spray, I'd be surprised if there isn't something similar over there?

    http://frylight.co.uk/indexfl.html
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    agreed :) slow cookers will be your friend

    I've got a crock pot, 2 in fact, but I have to leave them on for 10 hours while I'm at work. I'm worried my food will be overcooked or dried out.

    nope, the food will be delicious and amazing. I put my crockpot on at 5:20 in the morning and get home around 3 or 4 in the afternoon (nearly 12 hours) and it has always turned out beautifully :)

    Also cooking chicken on the stovetop WITH NO oil has never bothered me. I slice the chicken into little bits and toss it in a shallow pan. The chicken juices keep it from sticking to the pan (move it around a lot at first to help keep it from sticking) and it takes about 5-10 mins to cook up to white from pink. I usually cook an entire chickens worth at a time which is why it takes 10 mins, but if you only have a few ounces it will not take long at all :)
  • amuhlou
    amuhlou Posts: 693 Member
    I use olive oil but sometimes try to cut down the amount. I like what evoo does for food (browning = flavor) so I'd rather eat something I REALLY enjoy and earn back the calories with exercise if needed.

    Even with using oil, I've been able to stay around 1300 cal.
  • katy84o
    katy84o Posts: 744 Member
    I cook most of my stuff in broth too. I save all the ends of my produce, like carrots, celery, onion skins and so on. Once I get about a gallon sized bag full of veggies (i keep it in the freezer) I boil those with a gallon of water for 30 minutes then let it sit for a few hours. I put it in the fridge to cool. Then I freeze all of the fresh (salt free) broth in ice cube trays. Each cube is approx 1 ounce. When I go to saute or "fry" anything I pull out a cube or two. It's so easy and so cheap! It reuses the parts of the vegetables you would usually throw out. It adds crazy good flavors to whatever you are cooking, you never have to buy pre-made broth, and you don't have to worry about adding anything to your foods except extra nutrition!!
  • greengirl1978
    greengirl1978 Posts: 13 Member
    ... or if you can bake a bunch of chicken on the weekend to use throughout the week perhaps, and then you'd just have to prepare a side of veggies or salad and reheat the chicken.
    Do you mean freeze the chicken once its cooked? if not, how long should chicken stay good in the fridge?

    EDIT: for clarification.

    I bake a few chicken breasts in the oven at a time, let them cool slightly, and then shred them using two forks. I measure out portions (optional) and then throw a few of the portions in the fridge (good for a few days) and a few in the freezer for later use. Shredded chicken can then easily be reheated for variety of recipes such as chicken tacos, chicken and rice, pulled chicken sandwich, chicken pita...the list goes on. I hope this helps. :)
  • renaconnor
    renaconnor Posts: 38 Member
    I buy store bought broth/stock -- but I'm definitely going to try this!!
  • 5pmsomewherenow
    5pmsomewherenow Posts: 163 Member
    For saute, I use a blend of EVOO and Grapeseed Oil. The Grapeseed oil is also very heallthy and has a higher smoking point. I use a mister I got from Pampered Chef, to just spray a light mist onto the pan, or on vegetables I want to oven-roast at high heat.

    I don't consider EVOO as an unhealthy "waist" of calories, either. In fact, I make the Good Seasons salad dressings from the packet with a combo of cider viengar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, the packet of seasonings, and the BEST Olive Oil I have -- it's not low calorie, at about 100 calories per 1oz. serving -- but it sure tastes a heck of a lot better than ANY bottled salad dressings, and won't do me any harm.

    Crock pots are wonderful for workdays, and can definitely be on low for ten hours (sometimes even longer.) I use mine for these favs on days where I need it to sit for a long time:

    >>flat cut of corned beef, cooked in a can of lite beer
    >>Spagetti sauce, loaded with veggies & "rinsed" ground beef, tastes phenonmenal when cooked all day
    >>Spicy Chili, made with "rinsed" ground beef -- awesome!

    Someone also mentioned roasting a whole chicken -- I did that this past Sunday, because they were on sale ($6.51 for the whole, huge bird!!)
    >>I roasted it and we had part of the breasts for dinner.
    >>Then I pulled the rest of the breast and white meat off the bird for two new menus this week:
    -- indiv. chicken pot pies one night,
    --and loaded chicken nachos for the super bowl.
    >>All the darker meat went into a pot of soup for the weekend lunch.

    You can do it! It just takes a little planning, and it makes the week nights so much easier.
  • lapointes007
    lapointes007 Posts: 2
    Try cooking spray little bit of EVOO, or starting with veges that have their own liquid, mushrooms are great to throw in the pan first. and then cook seafood in their juices. Another is to brown chicken or meat in skillet in cooking spray and little EVOO and then finish "dry" in the oven. Also instead of cooking a large piece of chicken chop it into smaller pieces (less time in pan means less oil needed
  • sofitheteacup
    sofitheteacup Posts: 396 Member
    Cooking spray or a small amount of EEOO won't kill you. I find that I probably use a 1/2 tbs when I cook something,but more often than not I use the spray then add water if the pan gets too dry. There's a user on here, can't remember who, who blogged about a technique called dry frying, where you use small amounts of water to steam/fry. I'm sure you can find more info by Googling the term "Dry Fry".
    For me personally, that 50 cals or so is not something I'm going to obsess over.
  • greengirl1978
    greengirl1978 Posts: 13 Member
    I cook most of my stuff in broth too. I save all the ends of my produce, like carrots, celery, onion skins and so on. Once I get about a gallon sized bag full of veggies (i keep it in the freezer) I boil those with a gallon of water for 30 minutes then let it sit for a few hours. I put it in the fridge to cool. Then I freeze all of the fresh (salt free) broth in ice cube trays. Each cube is approx 1 ounce. When I go to saute or "fry" anything I pull out a cube or two. It's so easy and so cheap! It reuses the parts of the vegetables you would usually throw out. It adds crazy good flavors to whatever you are cooking, you never have to buy pre-made broth, and you don't have to worry about adding anything to your foods except extra nutrition!!

    YES! I make/freeze my own stock as well and use it for a variety of things. It is amazing what flavor you can get out of those bits and ends of veggies.
  • cekeys
    cekeys Posts: 397 Member
    Is it ok to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker or is that a no-no?
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Is it ok to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker or is that a no-no?

    Yup totally fine. I make my shredded chicken from frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker. It will take a few hours longer than normal but it's perfectly fine.
  • cekeys
    cekeys Posts: 397 Member
    Yup totally fine. I make my shredded chicken from frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker. It will take a few hours longer than normal but it's perfectly fine.

    I'm not worried about needing a few hours longer since I have to leave them in there for 10 1/2 hours.
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