Healthy Cooking Tips

• Grill, steam or bake instead of frying.
• Grill fruits or vegetables.
• Bake or broil fish.
• Make up a batch of brownies with applesauce instead of oil or shortening.
• Use whole grains in mixed dishes such as barley in vegetable soups or stews, bulgur in casseroles, or brown rice in stir fries.
• Vary your veggies – it’s easy to go dark green. Add frozen chopped spinach, collard greens, or turnip greens into a pot of soup
• Microwave a sweet potato for a delicious side dish.
• Get your calcium-rich foods. Use fat-free or low-fat milk instead of water when you make oatmeal, hot cereals, or condensed cream soups, such as cream of tomato.
• Trim visible fat from meat and remove skin from poultry.
• Broil, grill, roast, or poach meal, poultry or fish instead of frying.
• Know your fats. Use some vegetable oil instead of butter for cooking and baking.
• Plan some meals around a vegetable main dish, such as a stir-fry or soup. Then add other foods to complement it.
• Stock up on frozen vegetables for quick and easy cooking in the microwave.
• Grill vegetable kabobs as part of a barbecue meal. Try tomatoes, green peppers, and onions.
• Have fruit for dessert, such as baked apples, pears, or a fruit salad.
• Lower the sodium. Rinse canned foods, such as tuna and canned beans, to remove some of the sodium.
  Use spices instead of salt. Start by cutting salt in half.
• Add vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms or tomatoes to your egg or egg white omelet.
• Look for fruit without added sugar or syrups and vegetables without added salt, butter, or cream sauces.