Eight tips to make all your meals low-fat

Who has time to put together a decent brown-bag lunch —let alone a healthy gourmet meal every night? Instead reserve one afternoon on the weekend to make a week’s worth of smart lunches or dinners. To get the biggest bang for your prep-time buck, make a few healthy tweaks to your big-batch favourites: trade ground beef for lean ground turkey or double up on veggies.

We’re all about convenience, but when so many processed and prepackaged foods come loaded with trans fats, excess sugar and salt, and other ingredients we can’t even pronounce, it’s time to get back to DIY. “No matter what you cook at home, it’s going to be healthier and fresher than the store-bought or restaurant versions,” says registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer. Tomato sauce and salad dressing are two easy things to do yourself, but there are lots more to consider, including cookies, croutons and salsa. Or try one of our {chatelaine.com/fromscratch}[easy] for staples like jam, pesto or pickles.

No matter the recipe, we guarantee that you use more than necessary when you free pour the olive oil, eyeball a tablespoon of butter or guesstimate a cup of grated cheese. That’s why it’s important to measure every single time, even when you’re just pouring some oil in pan. Tip: Keep a 1/2-teaspoon measure beside your olive oil—it will help remind you to use it. 

Follow the lead of Jamie Oliver and let the natural flavours of ingredients shine through. When you smother a dish in cheese or fancy sauces, you’re doing nothing but adding calories. Instead, use fresh herbs and spices to season fish and meat or simply drizzle olive oil and sea salt on veggies like broccoli, asparagus or cauliflower.

Try these three tricks to make over any meal.

1. Use whole grains in place of refined ones: Trade white pasta and flour for whole-wheat, white rice for brown and rice noodles for soba.
2. Choose lean proteins: think chicken, extra-lean beef, legumes, tofu and low-fat dairy.
3. Replace fake foods with the real thing: Use leftovers for sandwiches instead of salty cold cuts. Brew hot chocolate with real cocoa powder instead of a ready-made mix. And opt for regular cheddar instead of processed slices.

Bake your own cookies and take a pass on the guilt! We packed whole grains, protein, heart-smart omega-3s and fibre into these bite-sized wonders. And yes, they’re bursting with flavour!

Sure, baking, grilling and roasting are great ways to keep calories under control when cooking, but poaching and steaming are the true secret weapons of healthy home cooks. Why? Because both are easy ways to avoid oil or butter during cooking, without compromising flavour.

When you use high-quality cookware, you instantly need far less oil, no matter what you’re cooking.