Tips and Tricks
Ways to Cut Calories While Preparing Foods
Trim all the fat from meat before cooking.
- For pan-frying, use a pan with a nonstick finish to eliminate or reduce the need for fat.
- If frying in a regular pan, sprinkle the bottom with salt or use very little fat.
- To render more than fat by frying, broil meat that you normally would pan-fry, even as a first step to stews. If meat is browned in a pan, drain off all fat before adding other ingredients.
- When preparing soups, stews, or meat in sauces, allow time to refrigerate the mixture until the fat congeals and can be entirely removed and discarded.
- Rather than sauteing vegetables in butter, margarine or oil, cook them in a small amount of water with herbs or in bouillon.
- For meat glazes and other uses, choose juice packed canned fruits instead of those packed in heavy syrup. You can also use unsweetened juices and applesauce.
- Use tuna fish that has been packed in water rather than in oil or wash oil off packed tuna.
- For salads and marinating or basting poultry or meats, use a bottled low-calorie dressing. Marinating before cooking also eliminates the need for using fat.
- When broiling or baking fish, use wine, bouillon, or lemon juice instead of butter.