10 Tips for Making a Healthier Meal

10 Tips for Making Healthier Meals

Who says family meals aren't any fun when you're trying to get healthier? Dinner-time doesn't have to prove a dieting-dilemma. Keep these healthier-meal-making tips in mind. You'll find your weight loss efforts don't have to fall by the wayside when you pull up a chair to the dinner table.

1. Times are Lean
   These days, meat is much leaner than it has been due to trimming efforts on the part of meatpackers. Beef labeled as "loin", "round" and "extra lean" are your best choices. According to The Wisconsin Beef Council, cuts like top round, tenderloin or sirloin qualify as lean, healthy selections.

   Roasting, baking, grilling, braising and broiling are healthy meat-cooking methods. Use non-stick pans and choose cooking sprays over oil or butter during preparation. Another way to reduce fat is to strain cooked ground beef and rinse it with hot water. (Drain it well before you continue the recipe.) Be sure to keep portion sizes in check.

2. Be Choosy About Chicken
   Sure, chicken is a great American dinner mainstay, but many of us turn a potentially diet-friendly staple into something considerably less than healthful. Say no to fried patties, chicken fingers, nuggets and franks. Switch to broiling, roasting, baking or steaming. Use a non-stick pan with cooking spray, broth or wine.

   Keep in mind that dark meat contains about twice as much fat as white meat. Also, chicken skin is fattening. You can remove the skin yourself before cooking, choose skinless varieties, or take off the skin before you eat it. Basically, however you choose to avoid it ... just make sure you do.

3. Trim Up that Turkey
   If you're preparing a turkey, why not cook the stuffing separately? You will reduce its fat content by preventing the turkey fat from soaking into the dressing. Try to use less butter or margarine when preparing the stuffing. Don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy with a gravy separator or by refrigerating it. Leave the drumsticks for the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save quite a few calories.
4. It's Getting Steamy in Here ...
   Serve steamed vegetables instead of heavy casseroles or cheese-based dishes. Steaming or microwaving veggies means you don't have to add any fat during preparation; choose lemon juice, herbs, or vinegar over margarine. Use herbs and spices or imitation butter sprinkles as seasoning instead of butter, oil or cheese.

   If steamed vegetables don't suit your taste buds, reduce the amount of oil you use if you saute them. Broth or flavored vinegar makes a great substitute for oil.

5. Go for Grains
   Whenever you have the chance, choose whole grains as your bread choice. For example, you could choose whole grain breading for stuffing preparation; whole grain dinner rolls; whole wheat bread for sandwiches; and wild rice instead of white.

   All types of white bread are high in refined sugar and pack in more calories than grains. These refined sugars are some of the "bad carbs" we hear so much about these days. If you still crave white bread occasionally, choose a "lite" or diet version, which will save you a few calories.

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