Low-Fat Cooking Tricks

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True or false: Healthy, low-fat meals take too long and are too complicated to make on a regular basis. False! And the clever cooking tips that follow prove it. Sure, brown rice and dried beans, for instance, do take their own sweet time to cook, and certain calorie-conscious recipes involve lengthy ingredient lists. But there are still plenty of quick-'n'-lean dishes (dozens of which can be found in this book) that can save you prep time and skim fat from your favorite meals.

And we are talking about skimming fat, not eliminating it altogether. After all, as Marie Simmons, author of several cookbooks, including The Light Touch, points out, "You can't just leave out the fat completely, because fat tastes really good! But you can compensate. If a recipe, say, calls for ¼ cup of olive oil, instead of leaving out the oil, use just 1 tablespooon during cooking and then maybe add another ½ tablespoon at the end, so you still have that good taste."

Rodale Press nutritionist and registered dietitian Anita Hirsch, who teaches healthy-cooking classes, says that her students are always worried that recipes won't turn out well if they cut back on fat. "But then," she says, "they'll make a dish with half the usual oil, and later they'll tell me their husbands ate it and didn't know the difference! That's the ultimate test."

Here are some easy, fat-trimming ideas that can help you create fabulous food at home any night of the week.

Get ready for super soups. In preparation for whipping up easy soups or quick sauces, stock your fridge with canned broth--it adds instant flavor to almost any dish. And by keeping your cans chilled, you can scoop off the solidified fat at a moment's notice.

Take stock. For a near-instant, completely fat-free stock, pour boiling water over porcini, shiitake or other dried mushrooms. Soak for about 15 minutes. Strain the broth, which has a surprisingly meaty flavor, and use it as the liquid ingredient in pilafs or to add depth of flavor to stews or sauces.

Fry not. Poaching fish instead of frying saves fat grams galore. To poach a fish fillet without a recipe or an endless list of ingredients, just grab that can of crab boil that's probably hiding in the back of your spice cabinet. Shake this savory blend of spices into a frying pan half full of water, add your fish and simmer until done--less than ten minutes for thin fillets.

Or, if you're cooking your fish in the oven, skip the butter and baste with a little lemon juice, orange juice or spicy vegetable-cocktail juice for tangy taste appeal.

Sauté sans oil. Sautéing is fine, says Hirsch--as long as you monitor the oil you use. "Use a no-stick pan, and start out with as little oil as possible." You can always add a bit more later or fat-free chicken broth.

Alternatively, "sauté" your food in a few tablespoons of a tasty, nonfat liquid such as wine, tomato juice or fat-free chicken or beef broth.

Think juicy. If you're used to sautéing your veggies in a pan coated with a half inch of oil, here's a better way. Bring out their natural flavor by cooking them in a no-stick pan over a low flame in a mixture of a little oil plus water, advises Simmons. "Some vegetables are already about 90 percent water," she says, "and at low temperatures you can easily coax out those juices."

Serve special spuds. Who needs fat-packed french fries when you can make delicious, nutrient-rich yam or sweet potato "fries." Cut the unpeeled potatoes into thick slabs (about ½ inch), then dredge them in a mixture of low-sodium soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Grill or broil until crisp and golden.

Fix low-fat pizza, pronto. "If I'm in the mood for pizza, I simply take some crushed canned tomatoes--not prepared pasta or pizza sauce--and put a little of that on a pita, top it with part-skim mozzarella cheese, some sliced raw mushrooms, a sprinkle of oregano and a pinch of grated Parmesan, and pop it in the oven for a couple minutes. It's very satisfying and sensible," says cookbook author Jim Fobel, author of The Whole Chicken Cookbook.

Don't wait for rice. When you haven't got 45 minutes to watch a pot of brown rice boil, try one of these quick-cooking, superhealthy grains instead. Each of these should cook to perfection within 5 to 12 minutes after your water boils: quick-cook brown rice (10 minutes), quick-cook barley (12 minutes), bulgur (7 minutes), couscous (5 minutes).

Spray it again, Sam. No-stick vegetable oil sprays, including flavorful butter and olive oil varieties, are a boon to waist-conscious cooks. Use them for whipping up everything from frittatas to stir-fries for impressive fat savings.

Think virgin. If you're going to use oil, suggests Simmons, opt for the extra-virgin kind. "It costs more," she concedes, "but the flavor goes further, so you'll use less."

Get in tune with tuna. To whip up a terrific luncheon salad in no time, toss a can of beans with a can of water-packed tuna (both rinsed under cold water to remove the sodium and canning liquid). Add chopped peppers and onions, minced parsley and any other fresh herbs you like. Dress with vinegar and a bare splash of oil. For extra zip, sprinkle on some capers or cherry tomatoes. Voilà! A low-fat, warm-weather salad.

Veg out. Everybody always says to steam vegetables until they're al dente, but Fobel has another opinion: "When they're slightly well cooked--a little more tender than al dente--they'll be moister and juicier, and you won't miss the butter on them."

Mind your milk. Drink or cook with two glasses of whole milk every day for a year and you'll be saddled with a whopping 12 pounds of dietary fat. Switch to the same amount of 1 percent milk and you cut your fat intake by a third. Better yet, skim milk, which, at two glasses daily, adds up to a mere 0.1 pound of fat by year's end.

Trim down meat. Simplify the task of trimming visible fat and skin from meat. First stick the raw beef, pork or chicken in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. When blasted with cold air, fat quickly hardens and slices off easily.

Shed the skin. "Some people will remove the skin from chicken before they cook it, but then they're not happy because the chicken tastes dry," acknowledges Hirsch. "If you want to cook it with the skin on, just be sure to peel it off before you eat it."

Be a little saucy. You can pare fat calories from muffins, cakes and other home-baked goods by swapping the cooking fat for applesauce. This trick works best in recipes with other wet ingredients, like skim milk or fruit. Just exchange one part oil, butter or margarine for one part applesauce. For example, instead of using 1/3 cup of oil and two whole eggs when preparing lemon cake from a mix, substitute 1/3 cup applesauce and three egg whites and save 4.5 grams of fat and 40 calories per slice.

Fix fat-busting burgers. Dieters don't have to give up hamburgers, says Hirsch, but you can prepare the beef a lower-fat way. "I use shredded vegetables such as carrots, onions and green peppers to replace some of the meat." Better yet, try ground turkey or ground chicken for your burgers, or any other recipes that call for ground beef.

Skinny up your potato salad. Rather than make your favorite potato salad recipe with mayonnaise--or even with yogurt, which is too watery--make it with yogurt cheese, advises Simmons. "Put the yogurt in a fine strainer over a bowl overnight--all the whey comes out, so what remains is much thicker."

Achieve pasta perfection. Pasta dishes don't have to be loaded down with oil or cream to taste great. For a delicious instant pasta primavera, toss some dried pasta into boiling water. About three minutes before it's done, throw in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables--they'll take just a short time to thaw in the boiling water. Drain well and toss with a smidgen of olive oil and a dusting of grated Parmesan.

Prepare fruit in a flash. Keep peeled and sliced fruit in your freezer, to whip up a yummy, fat-free fruit dessert at a moment's notice. Store the fruit in plastic bags, and then puree the pieces in a food processor until smooth. All different kinds of fruit work tremendously well this way--berries, peaches, plums, bananas, mangoes, papayas and kiwis, just to name a few.

Be spicier. You won't miss the taste of butter or oil on your veggies, fish or meats if you learn to cook with herbs and spices. To simplify your spice rack, buy seasoning blends. Supermarkets carry everything from authentic (preblended) curries to multiherb seasonings and pumpkin pie spice. There are even blends targeted to fish, chicken, meat and vegetables. With these premixed spices on hand, you can spice up your meal in a flash--and keep it low in fat.

Another tasty idea for salads or recipes calling for vinegar: Add a splash of fruit- or herb-flavored vinegar.

Fight Fat! Want to save loads of fat and calories from your everyday meals? No sweat! Here are the quick-'n'-easy ways to lop off fat and calories. Just follow the guidelines below. Instead of . . . Use . . . Savings 1 cup whole milk 1 cup skim milk or 1 cup 1% milk 8 g. fat, 64 cal. 5 g. fat, 48 cal. 1 cup cream 1 cup evaporated skim milk 60 g. fat, 392 cal. 1 cup sour cream 1 cup nonfat sour cream or 1 cup nonfat yogurt* or 1 cup low-fat yogurt* or 1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese whirled in blender with 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 39 g. fat, 256 cal. 40 g. fat, 289 cal. 37 g. fat, 272 cal. 38 g. fat, 249 cal. 1 whole egg 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute 5 g. fat, 47 cal. 6 g. fat, 54 cal. 1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder + 2 tsp. vegetable oil 4 g. fat, 63 cal. 1 cup cream cheese 1 cup pot cheese 72 g. fat, 672 cal. 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese 1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese 30 g. fat, 268 cal. *In recipes where a yogurt sauce is to be cooked, stir in 1 tablespoon cornstarch for every cup of yogurt to prevent separation.