Cooking light is all about healthier cooking. Cooking light need not mean bland and tasteless food. It can simply mean taking an existing favorite recipe and substituting some ingredients for their lighter alternatives.
Thankfully, many staples are now easily available in low fat versions. From reduced fat Oreo cookies and cheddar cheese to milk and bread, you really do have many cooking light choices in several food groups. You can make your kids’ favorite mac n cheese and use skim milk instead of whole Vitamin D milk and use vegetable spread which has no trans fat as opposed to regular butter and you have already saved you and your family a lot of calories.
Lowering your calorie intake is important for a healthier life therefore you should concentrate on low fat dressings in sandwiches, for example, and tinned foods in water rather than oil. Fat free ranch is good for dips and low fat mayonnaise is a better alternative for sandwiches.
Bread can be a very unhealthy food, especially if you eat a lot of it. Go for a 100% whole grain bread because it is high in fiber and low in fat. Choose whole grain also when buying muffins, rolls and other foods such as pasta and rice. Whole grain foods help to protect against some diseases and can make you feel less lethargic. A great start to cooking light.
Switch the oil you use when you begin to cook light. Even if olive oil is more expensive, try using a little of it and use no-fat cooking spray instead. If you must use more oil and olive oil is burning a hole in your pocket, try canola instead. It is very price competitive and has lots of health benefits as opposed to corn or vegetable oils.
When baking use a low calorie sweetener in place of sugar. Line your baking tins with a no fat cooking spray and use dark chocolate instead of milk. All of these are good alternatives for cooking light.