Low fat cooking.

[mrs rubble]

Has anyone got some tips on low fat cooking?

I have stomach problems and need to keep to 20gm per day.

Can you make fritters using beaten egg whites and dry frying on a non stick surface? Would that work?

Any suggestions for substituting oils, butter etc?

[letsgetcoffee]

I think you'd be surprised how much you can do with so little oil. Pan frying, for example, is a place where less oil will actually result in more frying. Most people put so much oil/butter in the pan that they're getting closer to deep frying than frying + toasting, which is what they're usually actually trying to do when using a pan to fry something.

 

Non-sticks definitely require less oil, as do cast irons. With a cast iron, unless you wash it thoroughly between uses, you may absorb some oil from the last meal, but as long as you're watching your oil/fat intake before making the meal and keeping track of what you add to the pan, it's not going to be a problem.

 

There's different types of flavors/textures/mouth-feels that come from oil. If you're looking for creamy/fatty/buttery, try no fat cottage cheese. You'd be surprised how many meals, with a little cottage cheese, taste as good if not better than their fatty equivalent. Bean + rice tacos with cottage cheese sounds hella gross until you try it.

 

Best of luck!

[basil67]

Are good oils equally bad for you? What about extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil for example.

 

Anyway, you can do a lot with a little olive oil spray. In the bottom of a non stick pan to cook everything from chicken to omelette. Or for fries, spray par boiled potatoes or kumara then roast in an oven. Not sure about the fritter recipe you're describing...are you using the egg white to bind something else? I'd probably use a quick spray of olive oil in a non stick pan for that too. Are you avoiding egg yolk for any reason?

 

Weight Watchers recipes all use absolute minimum oil, so you may want to have a look at them. If you don't want to join, they do magazines and cookbooks.

[mrs rubble]

I think you'd be surprised how much you can do with so little oil. Pan frying, for example, is a place where less oil will actually result in more frying. Most people put so much oil/butter in the pan that they're getting closer to deep frying than frying + toasting, which is what they're usually actually trying to do when using a pan to fry something.

 

Non-sticks definitely require less oil, as do cast irons. With a cast iron, unless you wash it thoroughly between uses, you may absorb some oil from the last meal, but as long as you're watching your oil/fat intake before making the meal and keeping track of what you add to the pan, it's not going to be a problem.

 

There's different types of flavors/textures/mouth-feels that come from oil. If you're looking for creamy/fatty/buttery, try no fat cottage cheese. You'd be surprised how many meals, with a little cottage cheese, taste as good if not better than their fatty equivalent. Bean + rice tacos with cottage cheese sounds hella gross until you try it.

 

Best of luck!

 

Thank you for your reply. I had completely forgotten about cottage cheese- that will work so well in many things I want to try and make- excellent suggestion, & great tips.

[mrs rubble]

Are good oils equally bad for you? What about extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil for example.

 

Anyway, you can do a lot with a little olive oil spray. In the bottom of a non stick pan to cook everything from chicken to omelette. Or for fries, spray par boiled potatoes or kumara then roast in an oven. Not sure about the fritter recipe you're describing...are you using the egg white to bind something else? I'd probably use a quick spray of olive oil in a non stick pan for that too. Are you avoiding egg yolk for any reason?

 

Weight Watchers recipes all use absolute minimum oil, so you may want to have a look at them. If you don't want to join, they do magazines and cookbooks.

 

I'm not sure about oils- I'll have to do some research.

After I posted this I remembered we always cook our whitebait fritters in beaten egg whites and they work beautifully, I was thinking of zucchini or spinach fritters done the same way- I'm guessing it'll work especially with a little bit of added cottage cheese! The egg yolk has 4gm of fat, I'm trying to keep each meal to about 7gm- so one egg yolk is a fair portion of that.

I am without a gall bladder, have had hiatus hernia surgery and have half a spleen and have been suffering from my diet being to high in fat and drinking alcohol over the festive season.

I have given up all alcohol now.

Thank you for your reply.

[PogoStick]

using high quality non-stick cookware makes a ton of difference. Takes just a little cooking spray and pans clean up so easily. Remember you have other basic cooking options: baking, grilling, and microwave.

 

Also, can't you get some digestive enzymes from your Doc, like lipase, to help digest fats?

 

Coincidentally in recent weeks, I happen to be caring for a hospital patient with no pancreas at all so he is given a pill of digestive enzymes with every meal.

[truthtripper]

Yes, your doctor should give you enzymes to take with your food, as many foods contain naturally occurring fats. Certain fruits like papaya, kiwi, lemon, apricots, pineapple and avocado also contain enzymes which aid in fat digestion.