Recipes

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Recipes

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Overview

An essential part of becoming a Healthier You is making healthy choices. Cooking at home is one sure-fire way to plan and keep track of calories, portion sizes, nutrients, and all of that other good stuff. Unfortunately, many people avoid cooking at home either because they feel that their cooking skills aren’t up to par, don’t have the time, or prefer the taste and quality of meals eaten out. This doesn’t have to be the case! If you are one of those people, don’t worry—we can help!

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Healthy cooking tips**At the Store**

• Choose lean cuts of meat such as beef round, loin, sirloin, pork loin chops, and roasts. All cuts with the name "loin," or "round," are lean. "Select" grade meat is leaner than "prime" or "choice."

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Healthy cooking tips**At the Store**

• Choose fish, shellfish, and poultry (take off the skin) often. They are lower in saturated fat.

• Buy low fat and nonfat versions of dairy products.

• Read food labels and choose those foods that are lower in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

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Healthy cooking tips**At the Table**

• Use less of all fats and oils, especially butter, cream, sour cream, and cream cheese, which have a lot of saturated fat.

• Try nonfat salad dressings.

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• Gradually replace whole milk with 2% fat milk, then 1% fat or skim (nonfat) milk for adults and children age 2 and older. They may not even notice!

**In the Kitchen**

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• When cooking, replace fats that contain saturated fat, such as butter and lard, with small amounts of unsaturated fat such as vegetable oil, corn oil, soybean oil, olive oil, peanut oil, or canola oil.

• Broil, roast, bake, steam, or grill foods instead of frying them, or stirfry with just a little added oil or broth.

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• Trim all fat from meat before cooking. Remove the skin from chicken or turkey.

• Spoon off fat from meat dishes once they have been chilled in the refrigerator and the fat has hardened on the top.

• Use skim milk or lowfat milk or evaporated skim milk when making "cream" sauces, soups, or puddings.

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• Substitute lowfat yogurt, sour cream, or cottage cheese for sour cream and mayonnaise in dips and dressings.

• Substitute two egg whites for each whole egg in recipes. (The cholesterol and fat are in the yolk not in the white.)

• Try lemon juice, herbs, or spices to season food instead of salt, butter, or margarine.

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Cooking the Healthful Way

Serving healthier meals to children in child care facilities participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program is a challenge.

Planning meals that follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans nutrition guidelines and preparing food with good nutrition in mind is important. To cook healthier meals, you should:

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• Use standardized recipes.

• Select recipes that follow the principles of the moderate use of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium.

• Develop new recipes if needed.

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• Read labels on pre-prepared food products and select those that follow these same nutrition guidelines.

• Select lower fat cooking methods.

• Learn to properly prepare each food on the menu so that it smells, looks and tastes good to children.

• Make food fun!

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A plan is needed to reach the goal of healthier meal preparation. The plan begins with the menu and the recipes. It is important to follow the plan carefully.

**Get started**

• Plan the work to be done.

• Get all supplies and equipment ready.

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• Cook all foods using the correct methods.

• Serve all foods at the peak of quality.

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Cooking the Healthful Way**How to use a standardized recipe**

A recipe tells us how to make a certain menu item. There should be a standardized recipe for each item on the menu. Even foods that are pre-prepared should have a recipe or directions for preparation on file to make sure they are prepared properly. A recipe tells us the ingredients needed, the amounts needed, and how to combine them.

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Cooking the Healthful Way**How to use a standardized recipe**

A standardized recipe is a recipe that has been tested and results in a consistent product each time. Recipes are standardized only after you have tested them in your own kitchen. A recipe should be adjusted to the equipment available in your kitchen and the taste preferences of the children in your center. When followed exactly, a standardized recipe insures a good product and a specific number of servings and consistent nutritive value every time the recipe is prepared.

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Cooking the Healthful Way**Tips for recipe selection and development**

• Make changes gradually when lowering fat, salt and sugar in the menu so the meals will be acceptable to children.

• Try different herbs and spices as seasonings to replace flavors lost when fat, salt, and sugar are reduced.

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• Select cooking methods that require less fast such as baking, broiling, grilling, steaming and boiling.

• Try new fat-reduced products to replace high-fat products such as mayonnaise and sour cream.

• Use a little as one-half of the sugar in baked products.

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• Select more whole grains and legumes for lower fat meals that add lots of flavor and nutrients.

• Serve healthful desserts made from grains and fruits.

• Make as many foods from scratch as possible to control the amount and kind of fat, salt and sugar added.

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• Follow the recipe! Resist the temptation to add a little extra fat, salt or sugar during cooking.

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