Tips for Healthy Cooking

Tips for Healthy Cooking

When cutting back on sodium, fat (particularly saturated and trans fats) and cholesterol, how you cook is just as important as what you cook. People with heart failure and their families don't have to give up taste or the foods they love. Often minor changes in how favorite foods and recipes are prepared can make a big difference.

The first goal for many people with heart disease is to reduce the amount of salt they eat. This is usually more important than controlling saturated fat and cholesterol consumption. If you usually add salt while cooking, simply put the salt shaker out of reach. Don't season meats and vegetables with prepackaged mixes, which often contain a lot of salt. Don't fry foods in oil, which adds unwanted fat and calories. Instead, try some of these healthier techniques:

• Stir-fry. Use a wok to cook vegetables, poultry and seafood in vegetable stock, wine or a small amount of oil. Avoid high-sodium seasonings like teriyaki and soy sauce.
  
  
• Microwave. This is a good alternative because it's fast and doesn't add fat or calories.
  
  
• Roast. Put a rack in the pan so the meat or poultry doesn't sit in its own fat drippings. Instead of basting the meat with pan drippings, use fat-free liquids like wine, tomato juice or lemon juice. When making gravy from the drippings, use a gravy strainer or skim ladle to remove the fat.
  
  
• Grill or broil. Always use a rack so fat drips away from the food.
  
  
• Bake. Bake foods in covered cookware with a little extra liquid.
  
  
• Poach. Cook chicken or fish by immersing it in simmering liquid.
  
  
• Sauté. A pan made with nonstick metal or coated with a nonstick surface is a terrific investment, because it lets you use little or no oil without having food stick. You also can use a nonstick vegetable spray, a small amount of broth or wine, or a tiny bit of oil rubbed onto the pan with a paper towel. When necessary, use liquid vegetable oils that have no more than 2 g of saturated fat per tablespoon.
  
  
• Steam. Steam vegetables in a basket over simmering water. They'll retain more flavor and won't need any salt.

Make favorite recipes healthier by substituting ingredients to cut down on the content of fat (particularly saturated fat). You and your family probably won't even notice a difference in taste. This table can help you get started.

When your recipe says . . .	. . . Try this instead
Whole milk (1 cup)	1 cup fat-free or nonfat milk plus one tablespoon of unsaturated oil
Heavy cream (1 cup)	1 cup evaporated skim milk or 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup plain low-fat cottage cheese
Sour cream	Low-fat cottage cheese plus low-fat or nonfat yogurt (fat-free sour cream is also available)
Cream cheese	4 tablespoons margarine blended with 1 cup dry low-fat cottage cheese; add a small amount of fat-free milk if needed
Butter (1 tablespoon)	1 tablespoon polyunsaturated margarine or 3/4 tablespoon polyunsaturated oil
Shortening (1 cup)	2 sticks trans-free polyunsaturated margarine
Egg (1)	1 egg white plus 2 teaspoons of unsaturated oil or commercially made, cholesterol-free egg substitute
Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce)	3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 tablespoon polyunsaturated oil or margarine. Carob is sweeter than cocoa, so reduce sugar in recipe by 1/4