Published on : 17 June 20204 min reading time
Don’t you design the kitchen to be fat-free? For you, preparing vegetables necessarily means pan-frying them with oil and salt. The same goes for meats that you cook with butter. The result is cholesterol, saturated fats in your body and a poor lifestyle that can have consequences on your health, particularly an increase in cardiovascular risks. However, it is possible to cook without fat by revising your habits and without losing flavour.
Steaming
Start by reviewing your cooking methods. Butters and cooking oils weigh heavily on the scale. To avoid the use of fats, it is recommended to use steam cooking, which preserves the taste of the food. So, you need to invest in suitable equipment such as pressure cookers or multi-stage steamers, where you can cook fish or vegetables at the same time for a 100% healthy meal. You’ll see your extra pounds and unsightly love handles melt away! On the menu, salmon, green beans and carrots.
With aromatic herbs
To avoid the use of oil, butter, salt, give preference to aromatic herbs. Very often, we adopt the fat reflex because we find the dishes too bland. Opt for parsley in salad dressings, chives in your pasta, thyme and rosemary for fish cooked in court-bouillon, or basil to accompany your tomato salads. Aromatics allow you to flavour your dishes without affecting your figure.
With spices
To season dishes and enhance flavours, you can indulge yourself by testing spices, which tend to burn calories from your body. Spices for couscous, oriental, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, tandoori blend, there are many flavours to enhance your preparations: couscous, pasta, curry rice, so many ways to enhance your recipes by leaving the oil in the cupboard. A way to introduce your palate to other flavours! And to burn calories.
With a wok
Some kitchen utensils are real slimming allies. Buy frying pans that don’t stick, this will avoid filling the bottom with oil. Invest in a wok that allows you to prepare succulent julienne vegetables without an ounce of fat. To give a slightly candied appearance, you can add water instead of oil. The Asian trend is all the rage and makes it possible to combine health and eating pleasure.
En papillote
You don’t know how to prepare your fish? They tend to be bathed in oil. You just have to test the papillotte. There are different possibilities: either the silicone fish papillotte (a little expensive to buy), but profitable if you are a fish lover, or the use of aluminium or baking paper. In this way, your fish will cook without any fat. You can eat without feeling guilty.
On the barbecue or grill
For meat or fish, you can opt for the barbecue reflex (outdoors in the summer), or electric barbecue at home in the winter. In the same way, the grill of your oven allows you to evacuate the fats contained in certain foods such as oily fish like mackerel or salmon. You can also invest in an electric griddle that allows you to arrange small pieces of vegetables and meats.
In a bain-marie
It is not always easy to reheat a dish without adding a little oil to make it more creamy. You can very well cook potatoes, reheat gratins in a bain marie in hot water. All you have to do is place a pan or container in boiling water for your vegetables to cook. The advantage? Your vegetables all retain their crispness, colour and vitamins. They stay tasty. Allow a little time for cooking, however, and prefer low heat! You can also opt for the steamer, which uses the principle of a bain-marie.
Steaming
Another cooking method that allows you to do without fat. Steaming to prepare bundles of green beans, carrots, potatoes all golden. This cooking by poaching can be accompanied by a bouquet garni and a defatted cube. You can also add lemon to give a little acid taste to your preparations and simmer or even caramelize your vegetables and meats. You thus obtain soft vegetables guaranteed zero fat and your meat has a mouth-watering candied aspect.