Thursday, July 23, 2009

Easy Pointers To Make Recipes Healthy

By Chris Lee

Finding an alternative to unhealthy recipes is vital if you want to live a healthier lifestyle. There are many ways that you can transform your recipes into healthy ones. First of all, if you want to ensure that you are preparing healthy meals, then you must buy healthy foods. The worst thing that you can do if you are attempting to make healthy recipes is to add unhealthy ingredients. Ensure that you plan ahead and buy the healthiest ingredients for each of your recipes.

Timing is the second tip. If you find that you have time on your hands, then you can prepare some healthy meals ahead of time. You can cook recipes up ahead of time and freeze them for later use. This will ensure that you always have a healthy meal handy that you can heat up quickly. In cases where you simply do not have time to cook, this can be a healthy eating lifesaver. Instead of stopping for fast food, you can simply microwave one of your healthy meals.

The third healthy tip is to always search for fresh ingredients. Dishes taste much better and are healthier when the ingredients are fresh. Use fresh herbs and spices and the freshest meats you can find. Fresh ingredients ensure that you are getting more health benefits in each bite. Using fresh vegetables is better to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients and vitamins out of them.

Cooking or canning vegetables strips away some of the nutrients. The fourth tip is about choosing healthy meats. Not necessarily the type of meat that you choose, but the actual cut of meat. Whenever possible, you should substitute fish or chicken for beef and/or pork. However, if your recipe calls for beef then you simply need to use beef. If you cannot substitute, then you need to search for a lean cut.

Many people believe that ground beef is all the same. This is simply not true. If you need to use ground beef, then choose a ground chuck that contains less fat. You can determine how lean the cut is by checking the label on the meat package. If you are confused, then simply ask someone in the meat department for help in choosing a lean cut of meat. Finally, the fifth thing to keep in mind to make your recipes healthy is to avoid heavy creams and sauces when you can. Check for substitution possibilities when creams, sauces and gravies are concerned. Be sure that you learn and understand how to substitute healthy ingredients for unhealthy ones.

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