Smarten Up Your Food Prep!

Another Fantastic tip courtesy of The FIRM, the makers of my very favorite DVD series!  Keep reading for all their fantastic advice and sign up for The FIRM Newsletter while you're there, and get tons of great tips delivered right to your inbox.  Smarten Up Your Food Prep

When preparing your meals, there are a few important concepts to keep in mind. By employing these techniques, you will lower your overall fat intake and also be incorporating more healthy fats.

• When sautéing vegetables or meats use an olive oil based cooking spray. Avoid butter or margarine. If more ‘oil’ is needed opt for olive or canola.
• Bake or broil meats, poultry and fish with flavorful marinades. Avoid deep frying or breading/sautéing your chicken or fish.
• Always measure your oil when cooking. Even healthy oils have 120 calories/tablespoon, and that can add up really quickly.
• Always try to skim the fat off of your soups, sauces and gravies. The best way to do this is to refrigerate the soup or gravy and allow the bad fat to harden at the top and then you can easily skim it off! You’d be surprised how much fat you can avoid by doing that little trick.

Dressings and Sauces
Condiments, such as salad dressings and sauces, can add a lot of flavor to a dish, but you need to watch out for the fat. Cream based sauces and salad dressings are often filled with saturated fat, trans fats and calories; so be sure to read the label. You are better off with olive oil based vinaigrettes and sauces. The calories will still be high, but at least the fat is most often a healthy fat. That said, you should still read the label as many vinaigrette dressings will have mayonnaise or other saturated fats. When in doubt, it’s best to make your own salad dressings and sauces from known healthy ingredients such as olive oil, vinegars and mustards.

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