Did you know that fat is an extremely important nutrient? It's our body's main energy source. We couldn't live without it. The problem is that in our modern diet we eat way too much fat, and we have a tendency of eating the wrong fats. This causes problems like arteriosclerosis (possibly resulting in heart attack or stroke), high cholesterol and obesity.

If you want to prepare a healthy meal to prevent the above problems, there are basically two things you need to consider to use fat in a healthy way:

The less fat the better.
Vegetable fats are healthier than animal fats.

These facts lead to 5 rules how to cook meals with a healthy fat content:

Use fat sparingly
Prefer healthy fats
Choose low-fat foods
Prefer cooking methods that use little or no fat
Use equipment that requires little or no fat

1. Use fat sparingly

This is most likely the most important rule for a healthy meal. The less fat you add the better. Forget about adding oil to your pasta water to prevent the pasta from sticking together, it anyways doesn't work. And you don't really need to add a lot of butter to your rice to give it a nice taste. Rather use spices to add some flavor. Think twice if you really need to add this amount of fat. If you don't, then leave it.

2. Prefer healthy fats

In most recipes, animal fats can easily be replaced by the healthier vegetable fats. Use a good margarine instead of butter and a blend of vegetable oils for all frying and roasting. Olive, canola and rapeseed oil and any products derived from them are the healthiest options. Olive oil also reduces the bad cholesterol levels. It tastes great with many vegetables (e.g. grilled potatoes, stir-fried marrows, peppers, mushrooms and carrots) and salads.

3. Choose low-fat foods

Animal products like dairies, eggs, meat (especially beef), poultry and fish contain mainly saturated fats which are rather unhealthy for our body. Processed foods and pastry also belong into this group. Cut these foods to a moderate amount, choose lean meats and low-fat dairy products, and eat larger portions of low-fat foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and grain products as well as legumes.

4. Prefer cooking methods that use little or no fat

Frying in oil is certainly one of the unhealthiest cooking methods. Rather stir-fry or bake your food in the pan which uses way less oil. Steaming, stewing and baking in the oven can even do without added fat. There is, for example, a special type of chips that is specifically designed for oven-baking instead of frying (it's usually labeled "oven-bake chips").

5. Use equipment that requires little or no fat

Non-stick pots, pans and ovenproof dishes are an excellent asset for fat-reduced or even fat-free cooking, and there is a wide range available. Make certain you buy good products that will live up to the promise they make (the cheaper ones often lose their non-stick coating rather soon). There are also other types of cookware that have the same effect of denying the need of added fat to a great extend. A steamer is another option you might want to consider.

Now, if you follow these five rules explained above, your meals will contain less fat in general, and they will focus on the healthier fats, meaning your whole meal will be much healthier, and so will you. Always remember that nowadays there is barely a chance that you might not get enough fat. Even if you use it as sparingly as described here, you will still get sufficient. The secret to using fat in a healthy way is, as I mentioned before: as little as possible (that applies to both the fat your foods contain and the fat you add to them), and if you have to use fat, then choose healthy fats.

Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition and quick cooking. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Is your life so hectic that preparing healthy food often seems impossible? Then visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com TODAY and get your FREE fast cooking tips and much delicious quick easy recipes!

Do you have a wife and children at home? Well what is your plan and program to take care of the health of your family? Have you thought you have done your duty by purchasing the life insurance and health insurance certificates for your kids and your sweetheart? If it is so, you are wrong and misguided. You must remember a simple but effective maxim that prevention is better than cure. That means you need to take the extra measures which will protect you and your family members from the onset of the diseases and malnutrition. You must decide to cook food at home.

There are a number of advantages of cooking the food in your kitchen. At first you will have the option to purchase the fresh vegetables and other cooking ingredients from the market for cooking purpose. You will have to buy the fresh and cost effective ingredients for making the fantastic food. Those who prefer the processed food have been severely damaged by a number of diseases. Of late, World Health Organization has made an official declaration that people must take care of the food items which they consume for increasing the resistance power and reinforcement of the body.

There are many guys who suffer from the brunt of the physical discomfiture, illness and other deformities due to the over consumption of the foodstuff which is laden with high graded chemical and synthetic color, ingredients and very strong spices. This processed or canned food will do a lot of damage to your body if you maintain the regularity to take the food everyday. On the other hand, the fast food or continental cuisine/dish in the hotel, restaurants and bars will give you the artificial flavor and taste. However there is no assurance about the quality of the products.

You need to concentrate much on the family healthcare and therefore it will be your first priority to choose the foodstuff which is very essential for keeping the health of your kids in good condition. If you have child, please make the special dietary projects which will make your kids competent, bold and efficient. The regular intake of the nutritious food and the health drinks will accelerate the competency level of your child and they will protect their bodies from the attack of the diseases. Always talk to the healthcare consultants to make the special plan for preparing the food items.

Now it will be your best effort if you browse the online sites to accumulate the information and data to know in details how to design the dietary program for making the food items for your kids and wife. Go to the departmental store and collect the brochures and information booklet to get familiar to the different types of home based food items for your family. You need not purchase the chemical components and adhesives for adding them up to the food which you will prepare at home.

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One of the best ways I'm aware of to get your kids interested in eating healthy, balanced meals is to get them involved in cooking them. Kids of any age can help or even cook entire meals. The key is to start as early as possible getting them involved and to keep them active in the kitchen. The reason this works so well is that for one you get your kids exposed to all kinds of different foods and secondly, you are getting them to prepare the food and the pride they take in making something will get them to eat healthy foods they normally wouldn't touch.

Toddlers and preschoolers are great at stirring dry ingredients and helping you measure things. If you can't find anything for them to do, keep some play cooking utensils around and have them "cook" alongside you. School aged kids can prepare almost anything that doesn't involve a lot of heat or splashing oil. Encourage them to make their own sandwiches using a blunt knife. Ask them to peel eggs, toast bread or chop softer ingredients with a blunt knife. Put them in charge of washing the salad, setting the table and the likes. With some adult supervision they can even cook simple meals like spaghetti or scrambled eggs.

As your kids get older and more comfortable around the kitchen, encourage them to plan a healthy meal for the family and do the majority of the cooking once a week. Even kids who usually don't care much for healthy foods like steamed vegetables or baked salmon, will gladly eat it when they made it.

When it comes to snacks, keep your fridge and pantry stocked with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and encourage your kids to come up with fun snack ideas including those. You can have them create fancy peanut butter sandwiches with whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter and plenty of dry and fresh fruit that they can use to make sandwich faces or just come up with a gourmet sandwich topping.

Keep some yogurt on hand and have the kids mix it with a bit of mayonnaise or sour cream and some dip mix to make a fancy (and relatively healthy) dip they can enjoy with some raw veggies like celery, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

Give it a try and have your kids help with meal preparation, have them make suggestions on what to cook and let them pick their favorite healthy snacks. Before you know it everyone in the family will enjoy healthy and balanced meals and all the whining about having to eat broccoli or fish will stop. Best of all, you can feel good about providing them with the healthy, nutritious foods their growing bodies need.

Start getting your kids to eat healthier today by having them help around the kitchen and don't forget to get them outside for a game of tag or some other exercise as well. If your child isn't eating very healthy right now, start by offering some bananas or apple slices with peanut butter. Getting kids to eat fruit is usually easier than vegetables.

With all the things we have to do every day, like working, shopping, cleaning etc., cooking our own healthy meals often becomes a challenge that makes many give up. We then seek our refuge in fast food that we pick up on the way home and ready-made meals out of the freezer which are neither good for our budget nor for our health when we eat them too often.

But did you know that there are some great shortcuts you can take to prepare meals in less time? Half an hour can be all you need to get a tasty and healthy meal on the table. Let me explain to you how to cook faster by using foods which take less time to prepare!


Focus on little and easy-to-prepare ingredients
Base your meals on foods that are ready for use

Trick #1: Focus on little and easy-to-prepare ingredients


It can be quite challenging to handle a wide variety of ingredients when you are in a hurry. To keep the overview, rather stick with a small number of ingredients, about 3 to 5 for the most.
Also make sure you choose foods that are quick and easy to prepare, that is for example everything that does not need to be peeled, does not have pips or seeds to remove and is cut very easily, like marrow, mushrooms or tomatoes.
Thirdly, use foods that don't take long to cook (even if you cut larger pieces to save time), e.g. leek, aubergines and peppers.

Trick #2: Base your meals on foods that are ready for use


Buy fresh foods that are already cleaned and cut so that you just need to cook them.
Canned or frozen fruit or vegetables are another great asset for fast cooking. Canned foods just need to be warmed, which is an issue of minutes. Frozen foods can be cooked straight from the freezer and are done in about half the time as if you would use the same amount of fresh food.
Foods that can be eaten raw are also marvellous if you don't have much time. Think for example of a green salad with cucumber slices and pieces of pepper. Or add canned pineapple pieces and chopped walnuts, or shredded tuna and cherry tomatoes.
Left-overs often make you create great meals. Try to plan left-overs that can help you. If you have grilled chicken filet one day, prepare enough so that you can cut it up for a salad or pasta sauce. Cook more potatoes than you need so that the next day you just need to bake them quickly.
These are two simple but powerful tricks that you can apply easily. Fast cooking is not magic, all it takes is to know some basic rules and techniques, and you can prepare healthy meals yourself in little time, leaving you and your family healthier and with more time and money to spend on other things you enjoy.

Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition and quick cooking. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Is your life so hectic that preparing healthy food often seems impossible? Then visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com TODAY and get your FREE fast cooking tips and much delicious quick easy recipes!

One common mistake that people make is waiting until the last minute to make their appetizers. What you might not know is there are a number of make ahead appetizers that can be created that will save you time and will give the appearance that you were in the kitchen all day making these delicious recipes. Something you do need to consider is that when you are preparing these dishes, you will need to note the length of time that they require to sit if they are chilled to ensure the best possible flavor.

Many times when you have the make ahead appetizers that are available, you will find that they offer a simple base to the dish with a series of different spices to give them flavor. Some common choices you will find include items like deviled eggs and even salsa. They are good when they are served last minute in a pinch, but they will have an even better flavor if you take your time to explore the options you have with them in advance.

It is important that as you make your selections for an event that you verify there is enough room in your refrigerator. Be sure you can securely place each dish in here and then pull it out without creating a mess in the process. If you find that this is a problem, you will want to consider some different options instead. Just be sure you take a few moments to consider all your different options as well. Many times, you will find that these dishes may not be as simple as you would like them to be. Pay close attention to the directions and determine if the dish you are making is going to be one that you end up enjoying at the same time.

Above all, do not be afraid to make several versions of one item in advance. This will give you the chance to explore the different flavors available and can help you to determine which one you think your guests will enjoy more and at the same time will leave you having more time to spend with your guests as well. This can be an important thing to consider when you do not want to spend half the night serving food instead of socializing.

Remember that while your choices might seem limited at first, if you browse through all the different make ahead appetizers you find there is going to be one that really stands out. Be sure you take your time and never just assume a recipe is going to be perfect either. Many times you will need to make adjustments and taste the dish to ensure that it turns out perfect in the process.

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