How to Cook: Low Fat

How to cook low fat? That’s a hard question to answer. Low fat means different things to different people, but here are a few rules that might help.
Low fat rule 1: Right size portions

No one needs more than ¼ pound serving of any kind of meat, fish or poultry. So, make sure you don’t cook more than “1 serving” per person and then you won’t eat too much fat.

Low fat rule 2: Meat
Concentrate on meats that aren’t too fatty to begin with: chicken, ground meats, light meat. Lean ground meats and roasts are far better than a brisket, which is known for its high fat content. White meat on poultry is much leaner than dark meat, so choose a chicken breast rather than a thigh when possible.

Low fat rule 3: Applesauce
If you are baking cakes, cookies, breads, etc. and you want to make them low fat, just add applesauce instead of the fat, ounce for ounce. So, if the recipe calls for ½ cup vegetable oil, add ½ cup applesauce instead. The baked goods will be slightly heavier in texture when eating them, but  certainly healthier.

Low fat rule 4: Eggs
Eggs are not low fat, but if used in the right way, they can be. The yolk of an egg holds all the fat, so if your recipe calls for 2 eggs, just separate the eggs and discard the yolks, using only the whites. You will need to use 3 eggs instead of 2 when doing this for the recipe to be good. (so use 1½ times the amount of eggs called for).

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The Science of Cooking

So in this post, I’ll try to help you understand better the science of cooking, about ingredients and how they go together. How does someone come up with a good recipe? Are there rules to follow? Not necessarily, but there are guidelines.

Have you ever tasted a biscuit that has a bitter aftertaste? What is causing that? Well, if you look at a recipe before you make it, you can tell if it will be bitter or not. There should be about 1 t. baking powder to every cup of flour. So if the biscuits have 2 c. of flour in them, and 3 t. baking powder, then you can see they will be bitter. Cut the baking powder down to 2 t. or maybe 2 ¼ t., but no more than that. Now try the recipe again and you’ll probably like it much better. Happy Cooking!

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