Cooking Tips & Tricks

Mary Elizabeth's

Tips and Tricks

Keep on Hand…

Buy this…	Instead of this…
1% or skim milk	High fat milk
Olive oil or Extra virgin olive oil (very inexpensive at Aldi’s)	Vegetable, canola oil
Fresh fruits & veggies (buy what’s on sale – that’s the stuff in season with the best flavor)	Cookies, cakes, packaged meals (if it says just add water – don’t get it)
Cooking spray	Oil for deep frying
Sweet potatoes	White potatoes (buy some, just not exclusively)
Lots of chicken, turkey, fish And lean cuts of red meat	High fat meats
Low fat cheese (not fat free – that stuff is nasty and full of chemicals)	Regular cheese
Wheat bread, bagels, and tortillas	White bread, bagels, and tortillas
Peanut butter	Nothing – just have peanut butter on hand – it’s great
Low fat butter	Regular butter & margarine
Oatmeal and cream of wheat, Unsweetened shredded wheat	High sugar cold cereals
Honey	White sugar
Brown rice	White rice
Turkey bacon	Bacon
Turkey smoked sausage or ham	Sausage or ham
Simply fruit preserves (jelly made without added sugar NOT sugar free, the sugar free stuff doesn’t taste good and is just full of chemicals anyway)	Jelly
Whey protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)	There’s not a bad counterpart to this.  It’s just a good item to have, so it made it on the list.
Greek yogurt	Sour cream

Cooking methods​

Baking

Baking meats uses no extra fat or a very minimal amount (just a trace – not enough to add lots of calories).  Here are ways to do it:



Line a pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and cook at high heat (400°-450°)



Line a pan or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray, then cook at high heat



Bake in a pan with 2 inch high sides and add a small amount of water to the pan to keep the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Also, if you do dark meat, it will make a nice juice at the bottom of the pan.  Cook your meat slowly for an hour or so for 350°-375°.

Broiling

Coat your meat in a spice rub or a marinade and broil it.  There’s no fat involved and it is DELICIOUS.  This is especially good for fish.

Grilling

Another fat free way to cook meat – marinade it and enjoy the smoky flavors

This is also a great way to enjoy veggies.

Poaching

I don’t use this a lot, except for eggs, but some people swear by it.

Steaming

Steam cooking meat is a great way to cook without fat and keep all the tenderness and moisture

There’s no need to buy a steamer if you don’t already own one.  Just cook the meat in a covered saucepan with an inch of water to make steam.

Sauteed

Instead of frying or deep frying (never EVER deep fry), steam cook your meat till almost done.  Then heat a tablespoon or two of EVOO in a good hot skillet.  Season the meat and finish cooking in the hot skillet.  This will give you that delicious fried taste without the countless fried calories and cholesterol

Roast

You can never go wrong roasting – just be sure to add enough water to the pan, so that you make a yummy juice J

Veggies taste great roasted too – just be sure to add a little olive oil so they don’t stick to the pan

Crock pot cooking

Slow cooking anything always makes it taste better.  The flavor is fantastic when the herbs have had all day to sink into the meat.  Add veggies to piggy back them on the delicious meat flavor.