Cooking To Lose Weight

It's no secret that the average American waistline is expanding at an incredible rate. Partly due to our on-the-go lifestyle, the convenience that Americans crave from their meals is having dire consequences, from rising levels of juvenile diabetes to the obesity epidemic that is rampant in America that's showing little sign of letting up. For those that are taking back their life and health, cooking to lose weight is one of the first steps of building a healthier lifestyle for their family. Hiring a personal trainer is also an important step to living healthier, but let's focus first on cooking.

Cooking to lose weight means understanding the basic properties of the foods you eat and the way they are prepared. Since weight loss while keeping the meals delicious and healthy is the goal, a few basic pieces of knowledge are all you need to get started. The use of fresh spices and herbs in cooking will make up for the cutbacks you need to make in unhealthy fats and carbohydrates like butter and sugar.

Beware of the so-called "healthy" fats and sugar substitutes since they still add calories to your meal. If you see a low fat product, check to see what was added to replace the fat and what calorie difference there is between regular and low fat. Typically, if fat is removed from a naturally fat-based product, like peanut butter, sugar will be the likely replacement, and the same goes for a low sugar product, fat is its likely replacement.

You can transform favorite meals into flavorful meals without adding calories and fat by simply learning to season your food well. This doesn't mean adding more salt to the dish. High sodium is another pitfall to avoid, as that can lead to high blood pressure later on. A pan full of roasted vegetables seasoned with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and fresh rosemary will be bursting with flavor, and the greater variety of foods you eat, the more satiated your body will feel.

Use in season produce since it is more flavorful than something grown out of season and it helps you save money. Crisp sliced cucumbers make a lovely summer-time snack, carrots are great for snacking and roasting, they work well in a vegetable stock along with celery, onions, garlic, and peppers. Another trick to give food flavor – especially for hearty grains like brown rice: cook the rice in vegetable stock with herbs and toss with roasted veggies. That'll give your side dish an extra serving of veggies and introduce more flavor into your dish.

With a few basic cooking techniques and a small investment in quality kitchenware, you will be able start your journey on cooking to lose weight. Even your time investment is minimal, many internet sites are devoted to healthy cooking, and there are many healthy cooking cook books on the market. Cooking is a simple art, one that only requires a little knowledge and a willingness to learn. Cooking to lose weight is going to save you time and money over eating out once you've learned a few fundamental cooking techniques.

Originally posted on: https://articlebliss.com/Article/823566/Cooking-To-Lose-Weight.html