HEALTHY EATING: TIPS & LINKS
It seems many recipes my family enjoys contain higher in calorie and fat ingredients. Incorporating healthy eating into our lives, we've discovered taste is not sacrificed by using lowfat and fat free products while lowering fat and calories. Rather than go through and manually change the higher in fat and calorie recipes on my page, I will share the tips I use to cut back and make our favorite dishes healthier.
Don't forget to check out the healthy eating links I've collected, too. Great articles, recipes, tools and calculators plus lots more.
I have compiled our favorite healthy recipes in my Healthy Recipes section.
Check out my Lowfat Menus & Snacks, too!
TIPS
*Use light or fat free sour cream, or plain nonfat yogurt.
*Use skim milk. If you can't drop to skim, use 1% lowfat milk.
*Use lowfat buttermilk.
*Use fat free half and half.
*Use canned evaporated skim milk in place of cream.
*Use reduced fat cheeses (including cottage, ricotta and cheese slices), and/or a less amount of flavorful cheese like Sharp Cheddar.
*Use light or fat free cream cheese.
*Substitute half of the fat in baking with unsweetened applesauce.
*Eat fat free yogurt instead of lowfat or regular (Yoplait brand is delicious).
*Use reduced fat 'cream of' soups, or make a fat free white sauce using flour and skim milk and flavor with fat free chicken bouillon and desired herbs/vegetables.
*Use egg substitute instead of regular eggs, especially in baking (unless egg yolks are specifically required).
*Use reduced calorie spread, and/or experiment cutting back amount of butter.
*Choose lowfat or fat free cereals with minimal sugar.
*Use fat free flour tortillas.
*Use whole wheat products.
*Substitute brown rice for white as often as possible.
*Saute' or cook in a nonstick pan with nonstick cooking spray.
*Stir fry in broth or water.
*Use sugar free or low sugar jams and preserves.
*Use lite or fat free mayonnaise (sparingly)...double up on mustard.
*Use lowfat or fat free frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.
*Use lite chocolate syrup (such as Hershey's).
*Use light or fat free frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip).
*Use lite or fat free salad dressing, or use only half of the serving size of regular.
*Use lean meats and extra lean ground beef and turkey.
*Cut back on meat in recipes and make up the difference with veggies or grains.
*Incorporate more lean seafood and beans into meals.
*Enjoy homemade muffins and cookies made with healthy ingredients.
*Reduce the amount of sugar in recipes.
*Thicken with cornstarch rather than flour.
*Use fat and sugar free pudding and gelatin mixes.
*Use sugar free or reduced calorie syrup.
*Use reduced fat and calorie crackers, chips and pretzels.
*Use salsa instead of sour cream or guacamole with Mexican food.
*Use reduced sodium products.
*Limit use of higher in calorie and fat ingredients like nuts, coconut, avocado, certain dried fruit and chocolate.
*Get in "5 a Day". Try sliced or chopped fruit in cereal and oatmeal or on a low calorie bagel or English muffin. Make a fruit smoothie. Add a piece of seasonal fruit to your lunch. Eat 1 cup of salad greens with dinner. Always have a vegetable side dish on your plate with either lunch or dinner. Snack on baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips and sugar snap peas.
*Drink 8 glasses of water a day (64 ounces total). Crystal Lite or other sugar free decaffeinated beverage(s) counts toward half of your water intake.
*MEASURE everything, until your eyes are fully trained to know what a serving size is.
*If you're trying to lose weight, keep track of your calorie and fat intake (keep a calculator handy). Keep a food journal. It doesn't require much time and may prove to be an invaluable tool. Weight loss boils down to this: don't eat more calories than you burn.
*Limit fat intake to no more than 30% of calories.
*Menu plan your meals and shop accordingly.
*Keep healthy snacks on hand. Avoid temptation by not having it in the house!
*Splurge on a must- have treat occasionally...it's important to satisfy that craving periodically.
*Last, but not least, exercise! =) Make it fun by finding something you enjoy, or can at least tolerate. The links below have excellent ideas and tell you how many calories you burn, too.
*Don't treat healthy eating as a diet because it's not. Look at it as a healthy way of being...for life.
LINKS
Better Homes and Gardens-Healthy Eating
Calorie Chart - Foods Sorted Alphabetically
Prevention.com - Weight Loss and Fitness
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