Week of March 30, 2008

Easy Quick Stir-fries

Stir-frying is an easy way to prepare healthy meals. Vegetables and meat are cooked at medium-high heat in a small amount of oil. You must stir constantly because the foods cook so rapidly. After cooking, toss with your favorite sauce in the same cooking pan or wok.

Stir-frying uses high cooking temperature, so choose an oil with a high smoke point - canola and peanut oil are good choices.

Here are a few pointers to make your cooking experience a success.

• Before you start, combine sauce ingredients and have ready.
• Have all ingredients cut up before you begin.
• Meat that is partially frozen can be sliced more easily and thinly for quick and even cooking.
• To assure even cooking time, cut vegetables in a uniform size. Add firmer vegetables that need slightly longer cooking time to the pan first.
• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet or wok. When the oil shimmers and gives off a waft of steam, you are ready to go. If the oil emits a darker smoke, the oil is too hot and will give your dish an off-taste.

Week of March 16, 2008

Low Fat Cooking Methods - Braising

Braising is a cooking method where meat or vegetables are first browned in a little oil, then slowly cooked in a tightly covered pot with some cooking liquid over low heat for a long period of time.

This method of cooking is great for tough cuts of meat but also works well with chicken, fish and/or vegetables. You can braise in a crock pot, pressure cooker, large saute pan or the most often used cooking vessel for braises, a Dutch oven.

You can braise just about any meat, fish or vegetable you want and be as creative as you like with seasoning, but there are some ingredients that are better for braising and some you want to cook using other techniques like grilling or roasting.

Fish that braises will are firm fish like shark, swordfish but tender filets like tilapia or even cod will just fall apart on you. If you do braise a more tender cut like flounder, be sure to shorten the braising time.

When braising fruits and vegetables, you want to stay with the hardier varieties. Squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, parsnips, carrots, beets, cabbage and onions are great braised alone or along with meat and chicken. In the fall try braising meat with firm pears and apples and in the summer, try braising chicken with pineapple.

Week of March 9, 2008

Choosing a Healthier Cut of Beef

Lowering the amounts of saturated and transfats in your diet does not mean that you have to totally give up beef if you are smart about the cuts you use.

Government food-labeling laws determine which cuts of beef can be called "lean" or "extra-lean" based on fat and cholesterol content. Here is a breakdown of the leaner cuts.

Nutritional Labeling Lean Beef	Definition A 3.5-ounce serving that contains less than: • 10 grams total fat • 4.5 grams saturated fat • 95 milligrams cholesterol	Cuts included • Round steak • 95% lean ground beef • Chuck shoulder roast • Arm pot roast • Shoulder steak • Strip steak • Tenderloin steak • T-bone steak
Extra-Lean Beef	A 3.5-ounce serving that contains less than: • 5 grams total fat • 2 grams saturated fat • 95 milligrams cholesterol	• Eye of round roast • Top round steak • Mock tender steak • Bottom round roast • Top sirloin steak

Additional tips for decreasing the fat content of beef include:

• Select beef that is labeled "Choice" or "Select" instead of "Prime" - which usually has more fat.
• When buying ground beef, look for packages with the lowest percentage of fat - 10 percent or lower. Most grocery stores offer several types of ground beef with varying percentages of fat by weight.
• Choose beef with the least amount of visible fat (marbling).
• When preparing beef, trim off any visible fat.
• Think Small - Keep portions to around 4 ounces, which shrinks to about 3 ounces after cooking. This doesn’t sound very much, but beef is very rich and packed full of important vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, vitamins B6, B12 and niacin. You don’t need a 12-ounce steak to benefit from these nutrients. They’re all there in a 4-ounce portion.
• If you can get it, choose grass-fed beef, which is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered heart-healthy.

The problem with opting for the leanest cuts of beef is that, without the tenderizing effect of all that marbling, they can be tough. Be sure to choose the appropriate cooking method for the cut of beef. Often lean cuts benefit from a moist cooking method such as braising, which helps break down the structure of the meat, making it fork tender.

Week of March 2, 2008

Easy Thickener for Salad Dressings

If you are eating salads to loose weight, the last thing you need is a calorie laden dressing for your salads. Here is an easy way to thicken salad dressings without adding fat and extra calories. Use xanthan gum, a white powder available at health food stores. You will see this ingredient on the labels of many food products that use it as a natural thickener. For most dressing recipes, use 1/8 teaspoon or less. For best results, mix it with other dry ingredients (like spices and seasonings) before adding to liquids.