Reduce Fat & Cholesterol: Easy Cooking Tips

Get Rid of Visible Fat before you cook
- Cut off all visible fat from your meats.
- Take the skin off chicken and turkey.
- Do it before you cook the meats – if you do it after, some fat inevitably will enter the meat.
Consider fish instead of meat
- Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat. Some fish, such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which may offer protection against heart disease.
- But don’t forget to trim the skin or any visible fat off first
Use a Rack to Drain Fat
- Even after you cut off the fat, use a rack with your meats elevated so any additional fat can drip off.
Broil instead of Pan-Frying
- Try using your oven set to “broil” instead of pan frying in damaging, cholesterol elevating, and fat-causing oil. It crisps your food without the extra fat and calories of oil.
Use just the egg whites
- Cut out fat and cholesterol by baking all your recipes without the yolks.
Sauté foods in cooking spray
Try to use a fat free cooking spray to sauté your foods
- Or at least choose vegetable oils (except coconut and palm kernel oils), olive oil, and soft margarines (liquid, tub, or spray) because the combined amount of saturated fat and trans fat is lower than the amount in solid shortenings, hard margarines, and butter.
Avoid cooking with full-fat options
- If there are reduced-fat, low-fat or non-fat options available, take that option. Especially for dairy including milk and cheese.