How To Cook Your Way To Health

Low fat cooking has been given a negative spin in the last several years. For years beforehand we were told that eating low fat foods would help the US population lose weight and become healthier. But the opposite has occurred. Americans are continuing to gain weight at an alarming pace, even with the widespread consumption of low fat products--mostly in the form of low fat cookies and other processed foods. Most low fat processed foods have a high amount of sugar to compensate for removing fat from the food. People thought the food was healthier and they ate more than they should have. The sugar in the food did not decrease the calories in the food. The low fat craze also turned into a food marketing campaign to sell more processed food products. Food companies realized that Americans would buy up low fat products -- and eat them.

What would have been better for Americans was to stop buying the processed foods and learn to like fruits and vegetable based snacks/meals. These are naturally low fat and full of important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If the public had learned that the most effective way to lose weight and increase health was to consume these naturally healthy foods perhaps the obesity epidemic would be slowing. Health professionals should have emphasized teaching Americans how to cook at home, because in order for people to eat more fruits and vegetables people need to know how to cook. There is a hidden, and growing, epidemic of people who cannot cook for themselves. People with no time or money to cook find it easier to buy their foods from a fast food restaurant or a meal in a box. But it does not have to be this way. Cooking can really be as quick--sometimes quicker--as take out. Low fat cooking, in particular, is really about making fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain the base of your diet.

A plant based diet is really not hard to follow, but you do need a good source of recipes. There are many websites that have hundreds of good recipes. Choose easy recipes that that take 30 minutes or less to prepare and don’t use a lot of unfamiliar ingredients. Chicken recipes are always a good start. Boneless chicken breasts are naturally low in fat and are a fast protein to cook. Make sure the recipes have vegetables either topping the chicken or in the sauce. Avoid red meat such as beef whenever possible. Red meat is high in saturated fat which has been implicated in increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Next you need to learn to plan meals for the week. This is not as hard at it sounds, but does take some thought before going to the grocery store. Try to buy food that is on sale in the bulk meat section. The store sometimes has family size meat packages that go on sale. After you bring the packages home, break them down into 4-6 servings and freeze. This helps keep the cost down and gives you a protein source. 

Third, focus on in season produce to also keep costs down. Seasonal produce is always cheaper than out of season produce. There are many great recipes for seasonal produce online. Check your grocery circular for which fruits/vegetables are exceptionally low. A great money saving idea is to buy a large amount of on sale produce and freeze in servings of 4-6 for use throughout the year. This technique also works if you go to the farmer’s market or pick you own farm and bring home a large amount of produce from this trip.

Lastly, aim to make one or two vegetarian meal a week. This is a sure fire way to not only save money but to learn how to eat a more plant based diet. There are many vegetarian recipes/website that can give you ideas on what to make. Not only does this keep your grocery bill down but it also helps your health because you are eating more vegetables and whole grains. 

Healthy Action Step: Work towards learning to cook dinner at least twice a week. As you start to become more comfortable, increase cooking dinner to three times a week.

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