1. Bake, broil, grill, stir fry, or microwave meats and vegetables instead of frying.

2. Before cooking, remove all visible fat from meats and skin from poultry.  Substitute lean cuts of meat in your favorite recipes.  Lean meats include chicken, turkey and pork. Lean red meats include the word "round" in the name of the cut such as "round steak" or "eye of round", etc. The word "sirloin" in white and red meats indicates that the cut is lean. Use tuna "canned in water" rather than "canned in oil". Try new things.

3.  Use non-stick cooking sprays instead of greasing cookware.

4. Season with herbs, spices and lemon juice instead of high fat flavorings or sauces. Avoid adding sour cream or white sauces to foods simply to make them more appealing to the eye- it adds more fat to them.

5. Add beans, fruits and vegetables to your favorite recipes to boost the nutrition quality of your meal.

6. For sauces and dressing, use low calorie bases (vinegar, mustard, tomato juice, fat free bouillon, fat free yogurt, fat free sour cream) instead of high calorie ones.

7. In recipes for baked products, the sugar can often be reduced 1/4 to 1/3 without harming the final product.  Cinnamon and vanilla can also give the impression of sweetness.

Low-fat Cooking Tools of the Trade

 The following equipment makes it easier for a person to prepare a meal that doesn't have unnecessary Calories added because of the need to add grease, lard or non-stick application. These tools are not required, but having the correct tool for the job makes the job easier.

• Non-stick baking sheets, loaf pans, muffins cups, skillets and pots (varying sizes with lids)
• Steamers--steamer racks, microwavable steamer
• Food processor or blender
  Plastic storage container--some clear and some colored
• Large skillet or wok with non-stick surface for stir frying
• Sharp knives
• Low fat Magazines:  Cooking Light (www.cookinglight.org),  Fast and Healthy

Low-fat Cooking Ingredients

 Refrigerator

• fruits and vegetables
• bagged salad or salad fixings
• low fat salad dressings
• low fat cheese and deli meats
• pizza dough crust
• small bagels
• light/fat free margarine
• skim milk
• low fat/ low calorie yogurt or puddings
• low fat flour/corn tortillas
• mustard
• egg beaters

• Low fat cuts of meats, poultry
• frozen juices
• frozen vegetables

• pasta
• rice
• pasta sauce
• ready to eat cereal
• whole wheat bread/pita bread
• low fat snack crackers
• canned tomatoes/sauces
• low fat soup
• canned beans and legumes
• canned fruits in natural juices
• vinegars

• Look for time saving devices/steps/products if time is short:  sliced vegetables, buying vegetables from the salad bar, frozen chopped vegetables, shredded cabbage, grated cheeses and/or complete salads in a bag. Chopped fruits and vegetables are available in the frozen food section. Grated cheese is available in the dairy/refrigerated section.
• Batch cook, freeze and reheat. Prepare a large volume of food. Place the uneaten portion in a freezer safe storage container, label the container with the contents and date prepared and freeze. Later, retrieve from freezer, thaw and re-heat.
• Prepare most meals on weekends or when you have the most time. Use the batch cook, freeze and reheat technique during the week or when time is tight.
• Planning your meals ahead of time for the week makes shopping and cooking a smoother process.

Examples:

Skim milk for whole milk

Yogurt in place of sour cream

Low fat white sauce in place of cream soup

Examples:

Sugar in baked products

Oil in baked products

Examples:

Nuts, olives, whipped topping