Make your everyday home food healthier

home food

You swear by home-cooked food yet your weight refuses to budge. In all probability, your ghar ka khana is not as healthy (read: low calorie) as you feel.

Healthy cooking doesn’t mean you need to train under a gourmet chef or buy expensive ingredients, cookware. It all ultimately boils down to the calories you are consuming. There is not much science involved in modifying homemade recipes to suit your calorie intake. Celebrity chef Rakhee Vaswani shares some tips:

Use healthy fats: Are you cooking your food in dollops of olive oil just because you feel it is saving you hundreds of calories? Here is some news for you. Olive oil also has the same amount of fat as other oils. Yes, it is a healthier option in comparison to your refined oil or butter (unsaturated fat is better quality than saturated) but you are consuming high calories if you don’t watch out for the amount of fat you use while cooking. Ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, mustard oil are some of the healthy oils you can cook with but do watch out for the quantity you use.

Pick whole grains: Instead of using white maida or white rice, opt for quinoa, multi-grain or brown rice. Brown rice or bran has its bran intact, which is a big factor in weight loss. I use barley atta to cook my white sauce instead of maida and no one can make out the difference. It is all about choosing the right alternative to the traditional way.

Cook with fresh vegetables and fruits: Last but not the least, cooking with fresh vegetables is always better than packaged or long stocked vegetables. Experts suggest having 4-5 vegetables and fruits every day. Moreover, try and accommodate as many colours in your diet.

Be generous with vegetables: Agreed meat is a rich source of protein but always make sure when you are cooking it, you load it up with varied colored vegetables. Not only is it healthy, it gives you all the required nutrients.

Use low-fat dairy: Cream does make your dish look and taste lovely but you can have the same effect with skimmed milk or greek yogurt.

Replace cashew with almonds: A lot of Indian dishes include cashew paste to enhance taste and texture both. And this element is considered crucial, especially when you are cooking a special meal. The same texture and taste can be attained using grated almonds. This will cut down on the calories of that dish.

Control portions: Eating healthy and controlled portion is key to cutting calorie intake. If you are cooking chicken for the family, don’t be too generous with your portion.

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