5 more Low Fat Cooking Tips

Here are some more of my low-fat cooking tips. Click here for last fortnights tips.

1. Reduce the oil content of your food! And if you can't, look for alternatives. I love risottos, and find you need to use a little oil for flavour and to aid the cooking process. But I usually don't need the full 2 tablespoons it might ask for! So I'd reduce it to 2 teaspoons. A friend gave us a sachet of a curry-mix he recommended. It asked for 1.5 cups of oil!!!!!!!!! 1.5 cups!! Can you believe it? Needless to say, the packet is in the bin. The jars usually have a much better content of oil, or make your own (I'm yet to perfect my own pastes, they don't taste right).
2. Use spices and herbs to flavour your food, rather than sauces. Use a dry marinade with herbs, lemon juice, pepper and chilli, rather than one with oils, and other sauces. Not only will you be reducing your grocery budget by not buying those expensive marinades, it's also better for your waist.
3. Use a little water to cook your food in, rather than oil or butter. Onion will cook just as well!
4. Make your own mince. Do you really know what your butcher puts in his mince? You probably don't want to know! Try making your own, even in a food processer. You'll reduce the fat content, and you know what is in it. Cut your meat into small chunks or strips first.
5. Use the following rule for dishing up your food - 1/4 meat, 1/4 carbs, 1/2 vegetables.