Low-Fat Cooking: Tasty Summer Meal Treats
July 27, 2007
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When the weather gets warm, no one wants to slave over a hot stove cooking heavy meals. During the summer, less is more. Use these ideas to help you create lower fat recipes your family will appreciate and enjoy.
Summer low-fat cooking should be easy and tasty. Whenever you can prepare portions of meals in advance, doing so will decrease your time in the kitchen or at the grill. Adding many nutritious vegetables to the mix will also lower your family’s cholesterol and weight.
Salads are a quick summer meal that is loaded with nutrients. But, a simple plate of lettuce and cucumbers won’t fill them up. Whatever you can put on a sandwich, you can put on a salad. Turn that plain salad into a fiesta. Go southwestern one night, by adding black beans, shredded cheese, grilled chicken strips, and corn to your salad. If you prefer steak, add a few lean strips of sirloin, onions, baby spinach, and mushrooms to a bed of bowtie pasta. Finish it off with a little low-fat vinaigrette dressing.
White rice has been a staple of meals for a long time, but there are healthier alternatives. Instead, using whole grain brown rice or couscous to a dish requiring white rice will add less carbohydrate. If your family likes seafood, fix a dish of paella using couscous instead of saffron rice. Add shrimp alone without the mussels. The addition of saffron powder will bring that familiar aroma to your lower fat dish.
If lunch is to be a sandwich, put away the sliced bread. Reaching for bread alternatives like pita pockets, whole wheat tortillas, and flatbreads make sandwiches less bulky and healthier. Use bread crumbs to coat boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders for a crunchy chicken wrap sandwich. Pita pockets are good for chicken and egg salad sandwiches. They hold everything in without getting soggy and you can add other veggies if you desire.
Grilling is an easy way to create lower fat dishes. Cook a few steaks and chicken breasts on the grill. When they are done slice them into strips that can be stored in the fridge for use that week in salads, fajitas, pasta dishes, casseroles, and breakfast omelets.
The grill is also great for making kabobs. Cube some chicken or beef and offer that along with shrimp as possible kabob meats. Vegetables for kabobs include onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. You can even add fruits like pineapples to the skewer. Let the family design their skewers for the grill.
Summer cooking doesn’t have to be boring to be healthy. A few minor changes to your favorite dishes and you’ll get the nutritional value you need without sacrificing taste.
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Posted by admin | Filed Under Food & Drink
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How to finally bring a hot meal to the table every night of the week - even if you work full time or think you have the craziest schedule on earth!