Healthy Eating Tips
Read these 62 Healthy Eating Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Cooking tips and hundreds of other topics.
Yogurt vs. Mayo
Substitute half plain yogurt for mayonnaise in dishes like tuna, chicken or egg salad.
Olive Oil Uses
Use olive oil to fry scrambled eggs, omelets or fried eggs. Use instead of margarine or butter for healthier eggs!
Alternatives to Cooking with Butter
Butter can be eliminated from some recipes. When browning onions, hamburger, etc., you can spray your skillet with non-stick spray or use chicken or beef broth instead of butter. When baking, you can use reduced-calorie margarine instead of butter, but the texture will not always come out right. You've got to experiment a little. Non-fat margarines currently on the market do not bake well at all. Just remember...with baked goods, it's not always the calorie content per cookie or piece of cake, it's how many you eat! Remembering that has helped me maintain my weight better than any reduced calorie diet.
Lower Fat Cereal
Healthy eating tips: Another way to keep pounds off is to use skim milk and omit the sugar in your cereal. Its hard at first not but if you read the ingredients on the box, most cereals are made with sugar, and we don't need the extra pounds.
Tips to cut the fat from your cooking
Need more healthy eating tips? Cut back on the amount of Cheddar cheese a recipe calls for, and add a bit of lower-fat Parmesan cheese for flavor. Remove the skin from chicken, it reduces the fat substantially. When possible, substitute beans for red meat in a recipe. Prepare mashed potatoes with low-fat chicken broth instead of cream and butter. Choose Canadian Bacon instead of regular strip bacon.
Grease vs. Parchment Paper
Instead of greasing or oiling pans for baking, use parchment paper. Your food won't stick and there's no mess and unwanted fat or calories.
Evaporated Skim Milk
Evaporated skim milk is very low in fat, yet rich in taste and texture. Use it in place of whole milk or cream in cooking.
Low Fat Stir Frys
Stir frying in chicken stock rather than oil. This also adds more flavor.
Vegetable Dips
Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream for vegetable dips. Great taste, less calories and fat.
Low-Fat ground beef
When you cook ground beef or ground sausage, after you have cooked the meat, place it in a colander, and rinse under warm water. It doesn't effect the taste, and removes the excess fat.
Low Fat Sauteing
Instead of using fats and oils to saute, use defatted or low sodium chicken broth.
Spaghetti Squash
Looking for healthy eating tips? Spaghetti squash is great for any diet that you're on. It's also really easy to make. Cut it in half horizontally, scoop out the seeds, put saran wrap over it, then place it face down in a microwave safe dish with a little water. Microwave it for about 15 minutes. Use a fork to scrape out the "noodles." Substitute it for any noodle recipe!
Thickening Soup
Use pureed cooked vegetables to thicken sauces and soups rather than the more traditional high fat alternatives.
A Tangy Way to Cut Fat
To lower the fat in your favorite full-fat mayonnaise, combine it with an equal amount of fat-free plain yogurt for a reduced-fat “mayo” that adds tang to tuna, potato, and chicken salad, not to mention coleslaw.
Recipes with Milk
A quick change to a recipe to make it lower in fat is to use skim milk instead of whole milk.
Low Fat Baking
Healthy eating tips: Place a rack in the bottom of your pan so the meat or poultry doesn't sit in its own fat drippings. For basting, use fat-free liquids like wine, lemon juice, or soy sauce.
Removing Fat
Remove fat from soups and stews by wrapping ice cubes in cheesecloth or paper towel and skim over the top of the pot. Fat will also cling to lettuce leaves.
Better Peanut Butter
More healthy eating tips: Peanut butter is high in fat. To reduce the fat and still retain the peanutty taste, mix a little peanut butter with carrots. 1/2 C peanut butter to 1 cup carrots, sliced and cooked. Raisins can be added as an option.
Saute in Stock
Sauté in a small amount of stock instead of butter or oil to save fat and calories.
Egg White Substitution
2 egg whites can be substituted for 1 whole egg in most recipes to make recipe lower in fat.
Herbs for Low Fat
Herbs can add alot of flavor to lowfat foods. Use them both in your cooking and instead of the salt shaker at the table.
Vegetable Oil Substitute
Substituting half applesauce for vegetable oil in baking reduces the fat content.
Vegetables Add Flavor Not Fat
Roasting meat and especially vegetables, brings out wonderful flavor without adding fat or calories.
Casserole Toppings
Top casseroles with whole-wheat bread crumbs or wheat germ instead of buttered crumbs.
Blue Cheese
While it is a high fat food, blue cheese has such a concentrated flavor that you use just a tiny amount to add a lot of flavor to otherwise bland dishes.
Cutting Cholesterol
Cut down on cholesterol by using more vegetables and less poultry or meats in soups, stews and casseroles.
Skim Fat Off
It's easy to get almost all the fat out of stocks or soups by simply chilling them until the fat solidifys. Then simply skim it off the top.
Low Fat Steak
To have the lowest amount of fat in your steak, choose the meat carefully and trim all visible fat.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature. These have been shown to increase blood cholesterol levels. They are primarily found in animal products such as butter, milk, cream, and lard. Some plant foods, such as palm oil, coconut oil, vegetable shortening, and some peanut butters have large amounts of these fats
Frozen Smoothy
Use frozen fruit rather than ice cubes when making smoothies. This allows for a thicker texture without watering down the final product.
Lower Fat in Canned Tuna
To remove oils or salty liquids, drain tuna, then add water to the can, drain again to rinse. This also works for salmon and sardines.
Healthy French Fries
Healthy eating tips: Oven fry your frozen french fries in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to one large flat pan or cookie sheet (with sides.) Coat the fries with the oil. (Placing them in a large zipper bag with the oil will work great!) Spread out on the pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, then put fries on bottom rack. After bottom of fries are brown, broil until the tops are brown.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Healthy eating tips: Polyunsaturated fats tend to lower blood cholesterol levels. They are usually liquid at room temperature. Fats such as sunflower oil, corn oil, and soft margarines have large amounts of polyunsaturated fats.
Healthy Meatloaf
Add finely chopped vegetables, (mushrooms are my favorite,) to your favorite meatloaf recipe. For an even healthier meatloaf, substitute lean ground turkey for part or all of the ground beef, and you'll have a wonderful, low fat, juicy meatloaf.
Low Fat Meatloaf
For a lower-fat meatloaf, use very lean meat and substitute nonfat frozen egg product for eggs (1/4 cup = 1 egg).
Cutting Fat Out of Cheesy Recipes
Healthy eating tips: For recipes that call for cheddar cheese, there are low-fat and non-fat varieties available. The low-fat varieties work well in recipes. However, the non-fat cheeses usually do not melt very well and aren't great for cooking.
Fresh/Frozen Peas
Healthy eating tips: It takes about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of fresh peas to make a frozen pint.
Low Fat Substitute
You can substitute applesauce for half the amount of vegetable oil called for in a baking recipe.
Alternative to Bacon
Healthy eating tips: If you've never tried turkey bacon, you're missing out! Regular bacon is made entirely of fat, with no nutritional value whatsoever. Turkey bacon is not a pork product, it is made from turkey meat. Turkey bacon contains little fat (it is usually about 97 percent fat free). It still doesn't have a lot of nutritional value, but it is relatively low in fat and will give you a little protein. It tastes considerably different from regular bacon, but it is very good!
Low Fat Mashed Potatoes
Use chicken stock instead of butter or milk when whipping up mashed potatoes.
Low Fat Soup
Healthy eating tips: To remove as much fat as possible from soup, I drop in some ice cubes. The fat clings to the ice, then just spoon the cubes out before they're melted. Or if you have time, refrigerate your soup, then skim off fat on top.
Bulgar (Cracked Wheat)
Bulgur or cracked wheat is available in most supermarkets or health food stores. It has a nutty flavor and is an excellent substitute for rice.
Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats have been shown to decrease cholesterol levels. They can be liquid or solid at room temperature, and can be from plant or animal sources. Olive, peanut, and canola oils are high in this fat.
Tasty Ideas with Fresh Fruit
Fresh fruit can be served without sugar and still have a great taste. Always remove the skin from peaches, apples, and similar fruit before eating. Cut fruit into bite size pieces and splash with lemon or lime juice before eating. This adds a tangy flavor to berries and mixed fruits. Top fresh fruit with ricotta cheese and chopped nuts for a flavorful dessert. When adding fresh cherries, remove pits and then cut in half. Fresh fruit mixed with yogurt and granola is another tasty treat. A simple ambrosia recipe would use fresh pineapple, oranges, chopped nuts, sour cream and grated coconut. Mix the pineapple, orange segments, chopped nuts and sour cream and add the grated coconut. Chill and serve with whipped cream if desired. Whipped cream or sour cream is another great topping for fresh fruit to give it that extra wow factor.
When preparing fresh fruit, always wash it even with the skin on or off. Rinse in colander and drain. Remove skin with potato peeler instead of knife. Cut fruit on stable surface, like a cutting board. Try mixing different fruits for a new taste in fruit salads. Try some new fruits you never had before to give your diet the fresh fruit variety it needs. Try blood oranges, star fruit, cranberries, kiwi, guava, or lychee.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Alicia Bodine |
