Choosing the right foods are one big part of creating healthy meals. The other half of it is preparing it the right way. If you’re not careful you can turn a healthy recipe into a glutton’s dream. Just to save you some frustration and extra pounds, here are 5 cooking mistakes to avoid at all costs.
1 – The Hungry Prepper
When your getting ready to start cutting, pealing, seasoning, and baking…..only have out what you need.
If you’re hungry then eat a quick snack before you start, so you’re conscious about what your eating, and how much. There’s nothing more detrimental to dieting than a mindless eater.
Cooking while your stomach is growling will quickly take your mind off of how much you’ve been snacking. By the time your meal is finished you won’t even be hungry anymore!
I’m not proud of this but I’ve been totally guilty of this a few times, so I know from first hand experience.
2 – Too Much Oily Goodness
Oil is a great addition to any meal. You ALWAYS want to pick the healthier choices, but even too much of those can be bad.
Oils are necessary in cooking, but you only need a certain amount. Anything after that is just added calories.
3 – The Recipe Isn’t Written In Stone!
Think of a recipe as more of a suggestion than anything. While you’re following along, be on the lookout to make some healthy improvements.
Just as an example. Whenever the recipe calls for cream cheese…..a perfect substitute for that is greek yogurt. It has a bunch of nutritional health benefits.
4 – Be Mindful Of Serving Sizes
The serving sizes mainly apply to how much you should put onto your plate, but you still should have some basic knowledge on how to measure stuff while you’r in the kitchen.
There’s some easy shortcut secrets to learn, so you don’t even need a measuring cup. Really all you need is your hands….and I’m pretty sure you’ll have those with you.
Just remember these:
- 1 Fist is about 1 cup
- The bottom two clenched fingers are about 1/2 cup
- The space of your thumb is about 1 table spoon (tbsp.)
- The area of your index finger is about 1 teaspoon (tsp.)
- The Palm of your hand is about 3 ounces (oz.) of meat
- 1 cupped hand is about 1 ounce (oz)
5 – Don’t Miss Out On Leftovers
When you’re done serving the food, put the rest into tupperware containers.
First of all, it saves you money on food for later, and doesn’t waste all your time spent on the meal that you just made.
Second, it prevents you from eating the rest of the food just because it’s there. Just seeing the food laying there will make you think that you’re not satisfied, even though your body doesn’t really need anymore. Remember…”out of sight, out of mind”.
I hope these 5 cooking mistakes to avoid at all costs help you in your kitchen endeavors. These tips can really save you a lot of unnecessary calories. If you liked this article, please share on facebook with your buddies. You’ll probably also be interested in 6 “healthy” foods that will trick you.
About Adam Pegg
