Healthy Cooking Technique: Poaching

Poaching is a healthy cooking method that involves gently simmering your food in water or broth until it is cooked through.  This technique allows you to cook without using fat while still keeping your food moist and tender.  Poaching works best with foods that are rather delicate, like eggs, chicken, salmon, and pears.  This simple cooking technique can be especially helpful on busy weeknights when you don’t have too much time to spend cooking. 

One of the best ways to change up your regular dishes is by incorporating a new way of cooking.  If you haven’t tried poaching before, give it a try with one of these recipes:

Eggs. There’s more to eggs than just scrambled and over easy.  This Sweet Potato Hash with Poached Eggs recipe makes a delicious breakfast, lunch, or even dinner!  

Chicken. Poached chicken can be used in so many different ways.  You can toss it into soup, use it to make fajitas, add it into chili, or use it to make chicken salad. Here is a simple recipe for Poached Chicken. 

Salmon. Salmon is often baked and grilled, but it also tastes great poached. This Quick Poached Salmon with Dill Mustard recipe is elegant and easy to prepare.

Pears. Poached pears make a delicious, healthy dessert for any night! This Poached pears recipe will end the meal on a sweet note. 

If you’re a Health Advocate member with access to the Wellness Coaching program, reach out to your Wellness Coach for more healthy cooking tips!

Not just for chestnuts: Roasting is a great winter cooking technique

There are many different ways to cook your favorite dishes, and some techniques are healthier than others.  Roasting is a healthy cooking technique that can be used to prepare some of your favorite winter dishes. This method of cooking uses the oven’s dry heat to cook the food.  Roasting is an ideal cooking technique for large cuts of meat, such as a turkey, and dense vegetables like squash, potato, and parsnip.

Here are a few healthy roasting techniques to keep in mind:

·        When roasting foods (like a whole chicken) that produce a lot of drippings, use a roasting pan with a rack.  The rack allows the fat to drip off of your food. If you don’t have a roasting pan with a rack, you can place an oven-safe cooling rack in your roasting pan as an alternative. Make sure to spray the rack with cooking spray to prevent the meat from sticking to the rack.

·        If your recipe calls for basting, use lemon juice or low-sodium broth instead of the pan juices.

·        Roast vegetables separately from your meat so that they don’t get coated with fat drippings. 

·        If you choose to make gravy using the pan juices, skim the fat from the top to cut fat and calories.

·        Use lemon juice, herbs, or spices to season food instead of salt, butter, or margarine.

Try one of these healthy recipes that involve roasting:

·        Roasted Vegetables: This Roasted Vegetables recipe can make a delicious side dish.  You can modify this recipe to include your favorite seasonal root vegetables. 

·        Roasted Chicken: Try this Simple Roasted Chicken recipe for dinner and use the leftovers to make Healthy Chicken Salad for lunch.

·        Roasted Brussels Sprouts: This Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe is a winter favorite!

·        Eggplant: This quick and easy Olive Oil Roasted Eggplant with Lemon recipe can be served as a main dish or a side. 

Roasting may sound complicated, but it’s actually very easy to do. Impress your family and friends during the winter months with delicious, seasonal roasted foods. And if you’re a Health Advocate member with access to the Wellness Coaching program, reach out to your Wellness Coach for more healthy cooking tips!