You can cook good tasting, heart healthy meals for yourself or family by simply using ingredients and cooking methods that are lower in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Although there are many cookbooks and magazines that offer heart healthy recipes, you do not have to throw away your favorite recipes just because you have been told you need to eat heart healthy.
Low Fat Cooking Methods
Broil or Roast
- Place meat on a rack so the fat can drip off.
- Remove the skin from chicken or turkey before you eat it.
- Low Fat Frying
- Use a nonstick pan and a cooking spray or wipe your frying pan with an oiled paper towel. Cook thoroughly and drain off any fat.
Braise or Stew
- Braising means to cook in liquid either on your stove top or in your oven on low heat.
- Remove skin and visible fat before eating.
- To use the cooking liquid for a sauce or gravy, allow the liquid to cool. Once cool the fat will rise to the top and harden and you can scrape it off. Use the remaining liquid and thicken with flour or cornstarch.
Baking
- For cookies, muffins and cakes replace half of the oil or shortening with applesauce or fruit puree. For example recipe calls for ½ cup oil, use ¼ cup oil and ¼ cup applesauce.
Convenience Foods
- Make your own convenience foods, low fat soups and casseroles. Cook ahead and freeze in small batches for those times when you do not feel like cooking.
- Read the Nutrition Facts labels on frozen dinners and choose those with less fat and sodium. Make sure the dinners have vegetables, fruits and grains. If they do not, add them on the side.
Heart Healthy Recipe Changes
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When your recipe calls for:
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Try this instead (lower fat choice):
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- ¼ cup egg substitute or 2 egg whites
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- Equal amounts skim or 1% milk
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- Equal amounts evaporated skim milk
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- Nonfat or light cream cheese
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- Nonfat or light sour cream or yogurt
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- 2 tbsp bacon bits or 1 oz. lean ham or Canadian bacon
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- Low sodium or broth bouillon or broth
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- Ground skinless turkey breast
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- Low fat cheese or use less of a very strongly flavored cheese.
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*Some recipes may change in texture or consistency when you use these changes.