Saturday, August 05, 2006
Healthy Cooking Tips
I had healthy cooking forced upon me when I found out that I had Type II Diabetes, and that my diet could either be my enemy or my friend. While I didn’t have much choice but to modify my menu, I quickly learned that the basics my mom and dad had taught me in the kitchen weren’t to far off from where I need to be, and that it was just a few modifications to (relatively)good tasting and (relatively) good for you food.
One of the keys to healthy cooking was to start with ingredients as fresh or as close to fresh as possible. Going to the butcher or farmers market daily would be ideal…and completely unrealistic. Buying good cuts of meat and then putting them in the freezer, or buying frozen vegetables instead of canned ones are the next best thing. It’s not a knock against canning, it just that their are more natural nutrients left in your vegetables in the frozen bag then after they have been through the canning process.
Sneak vegetables into as many dishes as possible. If you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket, put in a handful of frozen broccoli pieces or some frozen green peppers and onions, and quickly mix them in you cooked rice, along with some pepper of your favorite spices. Green peppers, onions, and okra are a staple for black eyed peas.
Spice is the key to making the bland better. As you’ll see, I’ve got about 12 different ways to make baked chicken (and counting), and the difference is what I decide to bake my chicken in that day. Spices like pepper and hot sauce help me to get over the blandness of me dropping salt almost completely from my cooking, and no salt substitutes help make it easily to get over my love for Tony Chachere's
Le Gourmet Chef
One of the keys to healthy cooking was to start with ingredients as fresh or as close to fresh as possible. Going to the butcher or farmers market daily would be ideal…and completely unrealistic. Buying good cuts of meat and then putting them in the freezer, or buying frozen vegetables instead of canned ones are the next best thing. It’s not a knock against canning, it just that their are more natural nutrients left in your vegetables in the frozen bag then after they have been through the canning process.
Sneak vegetables into as many dishes as possible. If you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket, put in a handful of frozen broccoli pieces or some frozen green peppers and onions, and quickly mix them in you cooked rice, along with some pepper of your favorite spices. Green peppers, onions, and okra are a staple for black eyed peas.
Spice is the key to making the bland better. As you’ll see, I’ve got about 12 different ways to make baked chicken (and counting), and the difference is what I decide to bake my chicken in that day. Spices like pepper and hot sauce help me to get over the blandness of me dropping salt almost completely from my cooking, and no salt substitutes help make it easily to get over my love for Tony Chachere's
Le Gourmet Chef
