Anyone interested in Fat Free?

[JM123]

Hello,
I am a newbie here.
I am looking for tips & suggestions for everyday cooking in a fat free way.
If you are someone I can look upto, please say hello.
Thanks

[jfain]

Welcome JM123 I don't think it's possible to do all completely fat free cooking. There is fat in olive oil, avocadoes, nuts and even oatmeal. I make it a point though to do low fat cooking. If you are interested in some low fat recipes I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I think low-fat can be very useful, while fat-free can be dangerous & unhealthy.

[JM123]

Thank you for your prompt replies jfain and chubbyalaskagriz.
Me being of Indian origin, and Indian food being naturally fat heavy, I have been experimenting in my own way to cook indian in a fat/free, low-fat way whereever possible.
I will definitely like learn more from your experiences. Please suggest.
Thanks

[chubbyalaskagriz]

In the states most manners of lower fat cooking revolve around better managing the oils used- and the use of leaner proteins. Those with severely limited preferences even tighten up consumption of nuts, avacados and dairy.

As an overweight person I have lost weight multiple times by restricting fat levels. Low-fat cooking is a fantastic way to reduce weight and increase health. It can also lead to inventive and ingenius ways to change the way one thinks about certain foods, and food preparation.

Managed well and properly, fat restriction has so many incredible benefits. But in my opinion, if that restriction includes complete elimination- that can lead to undesired results.

Here we have a fantastic and popular monthly peridoical called "Cooking Light". Have you ever seen a copy, JM123? Here is there website: CookingLight.com - Eat Smart. Be Fit. Live Well.

[jfain]

I LOVE to cook Indian food. The flavors are so vibrant and this actually makes it easier I think to take out the fat and still keep the flavor. My suggestions would be to use olive oil or soy butter instead of ghee. At the end when the recipe wants you to use a little yogurt to thicken try low fat or fat free greek yogurt. It's so thick you don't need as much to do the job. Greek yogurt is also delicious in raitas. You are lucky Indian cooking has so many wonderful vegetarian dishes you can prepare. I would focus mostly on those. For meat dishes instead of the usual whole pieces of meat with skin and bones try substituting boneless skinless chicken breast or do a fish curry.

What are some of your tricks for lightening up Indian foods?

[JM123]

Thanks for the cookingLight link Chubbyalaskagriz.

[JM123]

Hi Jfain,
Thank you for your quick suggestions.
I have been trying to cook entirely oil free, e.g. dry roasting spices, creating a spice emulsion with water and adding to boiled/steamed vegetables, cooking mostly with some water or in the own juices of the vegetables etc. I am blogging my successful recipes. But I should be honest in saying that the taste is a tad less, however, not much far away from the original. And suprisingly enough,though i love the food, I do absolutely hate the flavour of ghee, so never really use it.
Thanks

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

We welcome you to our forum JM! I am not into fat-free, I try and use healthy fats such as Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Cannola Oil and use it sparingly. These are healthy oils and they should not be omitted from your foods as our bodies need healthy fats to operate properly. Not only do they add flavor but they are very important on many levels. Please feel free to share all your in-put and recipes, but just remember to omit all dietary fat is not necessary for optimal health!

[JM123]

Thank you cook Chatty Cathy for your reply. Yes, I agree with you, and hence try and include oils raw, like drizzling olive oil over salads etc. As I read somewhere the frying process converts all the good fat in the oil into transfats! I need to cut off the transfat, due to health issues. Any alternate suggestions how to achive the same?
Cheers