Innovations in Home Cooking

Your kitchen is stocked and you’re ready to go. Now it’s time to think about how you can add more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains to your day while watching your refined carbohydrates, sugar, and fat intake.

This week, try one or two of the ideas listed below to bring your favorite recipes in line with recommendations for a healthy diet. You can also find new recipes online such as Greek Chicken With Tomatoes, Olives and Feta, Tuscan White Bean Salad, and Crunchy Green Beans With Carmelized Onions.

Fruits and Vegetables

Add fresh or dried fruits like chopped apples, raisins, prunes, kiwi, or orange sections to green leafy salads.
Add chopped carrots, broccoli, or a mix of your favorite vegetables to soups, salads, meat loaf, and casseroles.
Make stir-fries or casseroles with lots of vegetables mixed in.

Beans and Peas

Add your favorite canned beans to soups, stews, and salads.
Season beans with onion, garlic, and herbs for added flavor.
Try different bean dishes: split pea soup, vegetarian chili with kidney beans or white bean chili, black beans over rice, bean tostados, and tacos, black-eyed peas with garlic and red pepper, or three-bean salad made with green beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans.

Grains

Substitute whole-wheat flour for up to half (or more) of the white flour called for in a recipe.
Add 1/4 cup bran or quick-cooking oatmeal to your meat loaf or casserole.
Make muffins using oatmeal, bran, or whole-wheat flour.
Try whole wheat pasta for a healthy fiber boost.
Use whole cornmeal when making cornbread.

Milk, Cheese, and Yogurt

Use evaporated skim milk instead of whole milk or cream in baked goods, sauces, and soups.
Use reduced-fat yogurt to replace all or part of the sour cream or mayonnaise in a recipe. Replace part of ricotta cheese with low-fat cottage cheese. Use a puree of cooked potatoes, onion, and celery as a creamy base for soups instead of dairy cream or half-and-half.
Sharp cheese gives extra flavor so that less can be used. This helps trim the fat.
Select yogurt or milk products without added sugar or flavorings. Mix in fresh fruit for a flavor boost.

Meats, Poultry, and Fish

Let vegetables, beans, rice and pasta be the stars of your main dished—use meats as the side dish.
Choose lean meats—look for the words "loin" or "round" in the name. Trim meat of all visible fat before cooking. Cook poultry with the skin on to keep it moist, but remove skin before eating to reduce the fat.
Choose canned fish packed in water instead of oil. Drain thoroughly before mixing with your favorite dressing or condiment.
Use low-fat cooking methods like roasting, baking, broiling, steaming, or poaching. Limit deep fat frying and sauteing in a lot of oil or margarine. Use either a cooking spray, broth, water or a well-seasoned cast iron pan to saute‚ meats.

Revised: 9/28/06