Ten Low-Calorie Cooking Techniques
If losing weight is your goal for the new year, dieting doesn’t necessarily mean eating bad food. You can reformulate standard cooking methods to make them low in fat and low in calories, and some foods can be used as substitutes, making them great and healthy for others. Every cook concerned with calories should use the following tricks:
Sauté onions and garlic in a low-fat way: When a recipe calls for onions and garlic to be cooked in oil, use a nonstick skillet and 2 tablespoons of water instead of the oil. Use low heat and cover the pan to get the natural juices out of the onion and garlic.
Make and use yogurt cheese: Put a 16-ounce bowl of plain low-fat yogurt (made without gelatin) in a cheesecloth-lined colander or in a filter-lined coffee pot. Place it over a bowl in the refrigerator and let the yogurt dry for 8 to 24 hours, depending on how “cheese” texture you want. Use well-drained yogurt as a cheese substitute.
Make your own vinaigrette:Use 1 part oil; 1 part of a tasty and calming vinegar, like balsamic; And one part strong black tea or citrus juice, such as orange or grapefruit.
Roasted garlic: Roasted garlic is an unscented butter that can replace mayonnaise in potato, pasta, and chicken salads. It’s also delicious spread on bread instead of butter or oil. Bake a head of garlic, trimmed to expose the cloves and covered in foil with 1 teaspoon water for 45 minutes in a 400°F oven. Unwrap and cool until easy to handle, then squeeze the garlic from the skin.
Use aged cheese:The stronger the flavor, the less you need. When a recipe calls for a light cheese, such as mozzarella or Monterey Jack, whose flavor often disappears when cooked, substitute aged cheddar, asiago, or imported Parmesan, or an old, smoked cheese, such as smoked Gouda.
Roasted vegetables:Roasting vegetables in a hot oven will caramelize the natural sugars they contain. Set the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut larger vegetables in half or chop into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange in a single layer. Spray it lightly with a pump bottle filled with olive oil to keep it from drying out. Cook according to the following suggested directions:
Beet halves: Roast 1 hour to 1-1/2.
Winter squash slices: Roast for 8 to 12 minutes.
Carrots: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.
Green beans and red pepper slices: Roast for 12 minutes.
Onion halves: Roast for 30 minutes.
Sweet Potato Slices: Roast for 15 minutes.
Sliced zucchini or summer squash: Roast for 5 to 8 minutes.
Eggplant slices: Roast for 10 to 15 minutes.
Use sun-dried tomatoes instead of bacon: To replicate the delicious richness and smokyness that fatty pork adds to soups, stews, and pizzas, use sliced sun-dried tomatoes, softened in a little hot water.
Replace fruit with fat in baked goods: You can’t remove all the oil or butter from baked goods and still have something worth eating. But you can reduce the fat to about a quarter of the original amount and replace the rest with peach pie filling (lekfar), apple butter, or apple juice.
Brown Butter for Less Use: Heat a little butter in a frying pan until it becomes fragrant and begins to turn brown. Few drops of corn on the cob, eggs, or vegetables taste as if you used much more.
Roasting nuts for more flavor: Preheat oven to 350°F and toast nuts—on a cookie sheet in a single layer—for five minutes or until fragrant. Move them to prevent burning.