Low-Fat Cooking for A Low-Fat Lifestyle

Fat is in the news again. Especially, we are being urged to purge something called trans fats from our diets. Cities such as New York have even started banning restaurants from using trans fats.

What are trans fats? Although some trans fats occur naturally--primarily in certain animal-based food products--most of them are made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and stabilizes the flavor of foods, but at a health cost, scientists have learned.

Trans fats raise the level of bad cholesterol in your body, increasing your risk for heart disease, much the same as saturated fat does. Now, some dietary fat is good and necessary for us, but to the extent possible it should be the unsaturated, non-hydrogenated kind.

Trans fats are most frequently found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, cookies, crackers and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oil. As a response to the growing recognition of the health risks of both trans fats and saturated fats, low-fat cooking is again coming into vogue in the home kitchen.

Low-fat cooking is a good idea for all parts of your meal--yes, even dessert. The problem for those of us who love to cook (and eat!) is that fat carries so much of the flavor that we love in our favorite foods. The challenge is to find ways to add back in the flavor and texture that are lost when you take out the fat. A great way to do this is with seasonings. Each dish will require a different combination of seasonings to make it taste its greatest. Be prepared to experiment.

Another tip: Low-fat cooking is nearly impossible unless you use nonstick pans, which do not require oil for cooking. So, before you change to a low-fat lifestyle, make sure your kitchen is stocked with the proper type of cookware.

As for cooking methods, try grilling or baking the things that you used to deep-fry. Other good low-fat cooking methods include braising and poaching. Steaming vegetables in the microwave is a good example of low-fat cooking.

The benefits of a low-fat diet are many. You cut your risk not only of heart disease, but also of obesity with its many attendant complications. Starting your children on a low-fat diet builds a foundation for healthy eating habits as adults.

As for low-fat recipes, the Internet is chock-full of them. Most restaurants nowadays offer healthy, low-fat choices on their menus; check out some of the books and ebooks of "secret" restaurant recipes if you want to learn to make them at home.

Yes, a low-fat lifestyle can present challenges. But it can be an enjoyable adventure as well, for both you and your family.