Top 10 Cooking Basics

 

Article By: Jodie Shield, RD   Print   Email

 

You don't have to be a domestic diva to be able to cook your own healthy, delicious meals. Follow our top 10 tips for kitchen success.

With our 10 basic tips for using the greatest kitchen techniques, you'll be well on your way to success.

Tip 1. Invest in a set of cookware that has a non-stick finish. This will enable you to prepare foods with little or no added fat. In addition, you'll want to pick up some cooking spray, so you can coat your cookware with it for even less sticking potential.

Tip 2. Prepare meat, poultry and fish using low fat cooking methods such as broiling, grilling and stir-frying. And remember that both fresh and frozen vegetables taste great either steamed or cooked in a microwave.

Tip 3. Marinate meat, poultry, and fish in low fat marinades such as salsa, teriyaki sauce, orange juice or Dijon mustard. Marinades add lots of flavour without the addition of fat.

Tip 4. Fresh or dried herbs are excellent substitutes for butter or oil; their addition only adds flavour to your recipes. Try adding dill to steamed carrots, saffron to brown rice, corriander to baked fish and ginger to stir-fried chicken.

Tip 5. Remove the skin from chicken or turkey before you cook it. This is a great way to ensure your choice of meat is lean and healthy.

Tip 6. Skim and discard fat from hot soups, stews, or chilies. Or chill the soup, stew, or chili and skim off the solid fat that forms at the top.

Tip 7. For most recipes, you can trim the amount of fat called for by 25 to 50 percent without affecting taste or quality. For example, substituting skimmed milk for whole milk in mashed potatoes still makes for creamy comfort food. You'll be surprised how delicious soups can be without cream, or how good your vegetable casserole tastes made with reduced fat cheese.

Tip 8. Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg instead of sugar to fruit cups or beverages to help increase the sweetness.

Tip 9. Replace one-quarter to one-half of the ground meat or poultry in a casserole with cooked brown rice, or cooked and chopped dried beans. You'll cut back on fat and boost fibre.

Tip 10. Instead of flour, cornstarch or cream, try thickening sauces, gravy and stews with puréed potatoes.