|
Healthy cooking doesn't
mean that you have to become a gourmet
chef or invest in special cookware
- just use basic cooking methods
to prepare foods in healthy ways.
Baking. Besides breads and desserts,
use this method to cook uniform-sized
pieces of vegetables, fruit, seafood,
poultry or lean meat. Place food
in a pan or dish surrounded by the
hot, dry air of your oven. You may
cook the food covered or uncovered.
Baking generally doesn't require
that you add fat to the food.
Braise.
This method involves browning the
ingredient first in an open or covered
pan on top of the stove, and then
slowly cooking it with a small quantity
of liquid. In some recipes, the
cooking liquid is used afterward
to form a flavorful, nutrient-rich
sauce.
Enhance.
Creating meals using spices and
herbs is one of the best ways to
add color, taste and aroma to foods.
Choose fresh herbs that look bright
and aren't wilted. Add them toward
the end of cooking. Add dried herbs
in the earlier stages of cooking.
When substituting dried for fresh,
use about one-third the amount.
Grill and
broil. Both of these cooking
methods expose fairly thin pieces
of food to direct heat. To grill
outdoors, place the food on a grill
rack above a bed of charcoal embers
or gas-heated rocks. For grilling
smaller items, use a long-handled
grill basket, which prevents pieces
from slipping through the rack.
To broil indoors, place food on
a broiler rack below a heat element.
Both methods allow fat to drip away
from the food.
Poach.
To poach foods, gently simmer ingredients
in water or a flavorful liquid such
as broth, vinegar or juice until
they're cooked through and tender.
The food retains its shape during
cooking. For stove-top poaching,
choose a covered pan that best fits
the size and shape of the food so
that you use a minimum amount of
liquid. You can also poach foods
in foil packets in the oven or on
the grill.
Roast.
Like baking, but typically at higher
temperatures, roasting uses an oven's
dry heat to cook the food. You can
roast foods on a baking sheet or
in a roasting pan. For poultry,
seafood and meat, place a rack inside
the roasting pan so that the fat
in the ingredients can drip away
during cooking.
Saute. This
method quickly cooks relatively
small or thin pieces of food. If
you choose a good-quality nonstick
pan, you can cook food without using
fat. Depending on the recipe, use
broth, nonstick cooking spray or
water in place of oil.
Stir-fry.
A traditional Asian method, stir-frying
quickly cooks small, uniform-sized
pieces of food while they're rapidly
stirred in a wok or large nonstick
frying pan. You need only a small
amount of oil or nonstick cooking
spray.
|
