Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips Many modern cooks are concerned about preparing healthy, low-fat meals. Fortunately, there are simple ways to reduce the fat content of most dishes. Here are a few tips for adapting the recipes in this book. Throughout the book, you’ll also find specific suggestions for indi vidual recipes—and don’t worry, they’ll still taste delicious. When adapting recipes, it’s best to prepare a recipe just the way it’s printed the first time to get an idea of the flavor and texture.Then the next time you make the recipe, try substituting. For recipes calling for beef or pork, use a sharp knife to cut off excess fat. For recipes using chicken, use kitchen shears to trim excess fat under edges of chicken skin on breasts and thighs before cooking. Since chicken skin is fatty, cook the food with skin on for flavor, then remove skin before serving. Try using a vegetable oil spray on the skillet, rather than oil, before browning or frying foods. These sprays are available in lowfat and nonfat varieties When a dish combines meat and vegetables, experiment with cut ting the amount of meat in half and doubling the amount of veg etables. Another way to reduce fat in combination dishes is to use cut-up tofu in place of some or all of the meat, adding the tofu at the same time as the vegetables. There are many ways to prepare meals that are good for you and taste great. As you become a more experienced cook, experiment with recipes and substitutions to find the methods that work best for you.
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