5 things you can do today in the kitchen to make healthier choices

When working with clients to make healthier choices, I always start by looking for simple changes that can be made right away that can make a big difference overtime; and fit into their lifestyle. Often, these simple changes are easy swaps that you can make in your everyday cooking that take minimal effort while still creating delicious meals. They’re also helpful strategies to use when eating out or buying takeaway.

So, what can you do today to create healthier meals?

Try dry frying, air-frying and/or baking

Whether your goal is to manage your heart health (like high cholesterol or blood pressure), eat less overall energy (calories), or make healthier choices — dry frying and baking allows you to fry or bake your foods with no added fats/ oils. This method of cooking means that you won’t be eating the added energy or fat that you get with typical frying methods. If you do try dry frying, make sure you have a non-stick pan to avoid any damage to your cookware (speaking from experience… it’s not ideal!).

Poach or Sous-vide your protein

Just like dry frying and baking, poaching and sous-viding is another way that you can cook your proteins without any extra fats or oils. Poached proteins like chicken are wonderful additions to salads! You can even poach your meats in a curry sauce by adding small pieces of chopped meat and simmering until cooked through.

Pay attention to fats

When you do cook with fats, we recommend using heart-healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) over butter and fats like lard or ghee. EVOO is known for its heart-healthy benefits like reducing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol, whereas animal fats are high in saturated fats. EVOO is also ideal for all kinds of home cooking and on top of this, vegetables (like tomatoes and eggplant) will have more antioxidants after being cooked in EVOO. When choosing an EVOO, make sure that it is an Extra Virgin and not just “olive oil” as plain olive oil is more processed.

Other oils like avocado oil and macadamia oil are also great sources of healthy fats but are best to be used as a salad dressing rather than using in cooking.

Cooking with heart-healthy oils

EVOO is a great oil to use in all kinds of cooking, but here are some ideas for you to start working with

• Drizzle over roasted vegetables
• Use in stir-frys
• Use when grilling lean meats
• Use in baking instead of butter
• Use as a salad dressing

Trim the fat

Animal fat is high in saturated fat which, when eaten often and in larger amounts, has been linked with raising LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, increasing risk of developing heart disease and some cancers. By trimming the visible fat from meat before cooking, you’re removing that extra saturated fat that our body doesn’t need.

Get spicey (and herb-y?)

Using punchy flavours like herbs, spices, onion, garlic and citrus in cooking is a great way to add great flavour without the need for salt. Salt (or sodium) is found in most packaged foods that most of us will eat daily (such as bread, sauces, soups). So, reducing salt where we can is a simple swap in the direction of healthier choices.

Tips for using punchy flavours:

• Add fresh sprigs of rosemary along with whole cloves of garlic to roasted veggies for delicious full flavours
• Add a vinegar such as balsamic or apple cider to roasted potatoes to mimic salty flavours without any of the salt
• Use infused extra virgin olive oils for added flavour
• Dried oregano, basil and thyme in pasta sauces or Italian inspired meals
• Dried cumin, coriander and paprika are great for a Mexican inspired meal
• Add fresh parsley or coriander to salads for a fresh and delicious addition