Indian Food: The Top Ten Tips For Healthy
Cooking
With only a few simple changes, you too can enjoy tasty dishes, but without any of the guilt! Here are ten ways to adapt the food you eat into healthier versions:-
1. Use natural low-fat yogurt instead of cream
This wonderfully healthy, and much tastier, alternative to cream, gives curries a rich, thick and creamy consistency. You can also use it as a tenderizer for meat. If you’re adding it to hot food, try using goats’ milk yogurt as this won’t curdle. If you really want to be a health buff and help your body, try using a probiotic natural low-fat Live Yogurt full of healthy bacteria to help digest your meal more effectively.
2. Choose a better cooking
oil
Use oil sparingly, but when the recipe absolutely demands it, use
Olive oil or Corn oil as a better alternative to other oils which
are high in saturated fat. Corn oil contains high levels of
polyunsaturated fatty acids and helps lower cholesterol. Olive oil
used cold or at a low heat helps prevent gallstones and colon
cancer and also offers protection against heart disease by
decreasing LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol) and raising HDL (‘good’
cholesterol). Olive oil is a great alternative to butter because it
literally tastes like ‘melted butter’. Remember to cook over a low
heat to reduce the chances of burning.
3. Use a non-stick frying pan or
try grilling
You don’t need to cook with as much oil when you use a non-stick
pan. Or even better…try roasting, broiling and grilling meat
instead of frying or sautéing in butter; these are all low-fat
cooking methods which drastically reduce the chances of using high
amounts of oil. If you must fry then make sure to drain off and
blot the excess oil with a paper towel to remove any excess
fat.
4. Choose the leanest cuts of
meat
You can easily reduce your fat intake and maintain a healthy body
weight by making sure you choose the leanest cuts when buying meat
and by trimming off all visible fat before cooking. When using
lamb, try buying spring lamb as it is both leaner and quicker
to cook, giving a great flavour. You can also find the leanest cuts
of beef by looking for the word "round" or "loin" at the end of the
name e.g. tenderloin.
5. Try the Balti Cooking
Method
This is a great way of cooking healthier Indian dishes. Balti
cooking using small amounts of oil to rapidly cook with a stir-fry
method in a karahi (wok-shaped pan), over a high heat, allows you
to adapt your food and make it healthier without sacrificing
the taste. Remember to use a non-stick karahi or wok when using low
amounts of oil.
6. Skim off any extra
oil
You can easily reduce the fat content of the food you eat by
measuring the oil you’re using when cooking instead of pouring it
straight from the bottle; this makes you aware about exactly how
much oil you’re consuming, compared to how much you
actually need to use. Also, why not try skimming off any extra
fat from the finished dish? Oil rises to the top so you can easily
remove it, making your food healthier and helping you to maintain a
healthy body weight.
7. Stop adding extra salt to your
food
Too much salt can give you high blood pressure (hypertension) so
cut back whenever and wherever you can. Try not to add extra salt
to your food during cooking and at the dinner table. Instead, use
tangy alternatives to bring out the flavour of your food without
the salt; try using either lemon juice, lime juice, fresh or dried
herbs (e.g. amchoor), balsamic vinegar or rice wine vinegar to add
that extra flavour to your food without harming your health.
8. Use fromage frais instead of crème
fraiche
Crème fraiche can easily be substituted by the healthier, and
almost fat-free, fromage frais. This is great for transforming
wickedly delicious dessert recipes into angelically innocent and
virtually fat-free adaptations.
9. Use brown rice instead of
white rice
Feel full for longer by eating brown rice instead of white rice.
Brown rice is more easily digested and has more nutritional value,
containing less carbohydrates and more fibre than white rice.
Whereas white rice contains mostly carbohydrates, which quickly
convert into sugar in the body and make us feel hungry again after
a short while. Brown rice also helps prevent colon cancer and
stomach and intestinal ulcers.
10. Reduce the amount of sugar you
eat
When eaten too often, sugar-laden snacks and sweets are a recipe
for disaster in any diet or weight-loss programme; too much sugar
leads to weight-gain and may eventually cause type 2 diabetes.
Instead, try eating fresh fruit, which contain natural sugars that
satisfy sweet cravings without overloading the body’s metabolism.
This will also help towards you enjoying the daily servings of 5
fruit and vegetables recommended for better health. You can also
add cinnamon to the food you eat as this spice can help people with
type 2 diabetes to maintain lower blood sugar levels and can also
benefit others by minimizing their risk of developing insulin
resistance and Type 2 diabetes.
By Shahena Ali, as featured in 'Eastern Eye' Newspaper
Transforming basic ingredients into healthy & deliciously indulgent dishes.
Tailor-made Food & Nutrition Advice to meet your lifestyle and needs.
Look younger, prevent ageing and achieve your perfect
complexion and ideal figure with an easy to follow eating
plan.
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28th January @ 14:56Getting That A-List Glow With The Food You Eat
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Beauty products and spa treatments are all well and good for creating instant allure, however, for long-term benefits and to reveal a sleeker more transformed look to your face and body, nothing beats eating and drinking the right foods for giving you that glamorous inner and outer glow.
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