Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips

Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips 1
The Mexican food at U.S. restaurants is often loaded with fat. Many popular dishes that U.S. cooks prepare at home are high in fat as well. But authentic Mexican cooking doesn’t need to be high-fat to be tasty. You can modify recipes and cooking methods to cut or eliminate fat.

Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips 2
Did you know that salsa, a favorite Mexican condiment, has no fat at all? Mexicans serve many different kinds of salsa to add flavor to almost any food. Offer it alongside tacos and other snacks or slather it over main dishes just before serving for a burst of color and taste.

Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips 3
Several recipes in this book call for frying some of the ingredients. Frying typically adds fat to a dish. Cooks can reduce this fat by frying
in a smaller amount of oil or in a nonstick skillet with cooking spray instead of oil. Instead of frying tortillas for some dishes, toast them in the oven at 325°F or in a dry frying pan until crisp.

Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips 4
Many traditional Mexican ingredients, such as meat, cheese, and sour cream, are high in fat. In Mexico’s countryside, these foods may be expensive, and people may not eat them every day. Families skip these ingredients or reduce the amounts when cooking everyday meals. U.S. cooks can do the same. In addition, you can use lower-fat substitutes. Turkey, tofu, and fish are all much lower in fat than beef or pork. Cottage cheese or plain yogurt, drained in a strainer lined with cheesecloth, both make good substitutes for sour cream.

Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips 5
Lard is an important ingredient in many Mexican dishes, but it is high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Medical research has shown that a diet high in these two kinds of fat can lead to heart disease. Health-conscious cooks may want to substitute vegetable shortening,
canola oil, or olive oil for lard. (These ingredients have the same amount of total fat but a much lower proportion of saturated fat and no cholesterol.) Some dishes may look or taste a litte bit different as a result, but they will still be delicious.

Category: Cooking The Mexican Way