Choose Healthier Types of Fat and Cooking Methods
Kimberly recommends trying different ways of cooking foods, such as baking, broiling, grilling, stewing, steaming and poaching to add variety.
Also, replace solid fats (such as butter, shortening or lard) for liquid fats (olive oil, avocado oil, or canola oil) in recipes and for sautéing.
Hold the Salt
Cook foods at home so you can control the amount of salt and the sodium content.
To add flavor, Kimberly suggests experimenting with different herbs and spices to add flavor without adding sodium.
Cut Back on Saturated Fats
“Less legs!” is the rule of thumb. Typically, the less legs an animal has, the leaner it is. For example, a cow has four legs, a chicken has two legs and fish don’t have any legs. Using this logic, poultry is leaner than beef and would therefore be a smarter choice.
Eat more Omega 3’s
Aim to eat at least two 4-ounce portions of fatty fish each week, such as salmon, lake trout, canned light tuna (in water), mackerel and sardines.
Increase Dietary Fiber
Choose whole grains instead of refined grains whenever possible and make half your plate non-starchy vegetables.
Church Health offers a free cooking class series - Cook Well, Be Well - to help people build cooking skills and learn to cook and eat healthier. Register for classes at churchhealth.org/CWBW.
This is Jennifer Chandler with The Weekly Dish. Bon Appetit!
