Enjoy your food with less fat
Following your favourite chef's recipe may be cause for a health disaster, as a new study revealed that more than three quarted of the 904 analysed contained high levels of undesirable nutrients, particulary saturated fats.
Eating too much of this type of fat contributes to heart disease and obesity.
Prompted by the new findings, along with evidence indicating that the UK currently consume 20% more saturated fat than is recommended, Fat Information Service experts have developed 10 easy to follow rules that can be applied to any recipe to help make it healthier by reducing the saturated fat content.
Dr Emma Derbyshire, nutritionist and independent advisor to FIS, comments: “Celebrity chefs are great for inspiring people to cook fresh meals and try different types of foods. The problem is that their recipes are generally far too high in saturated fat and calories to be eaten regularly, making them better suited for treats and special occasions.
“The ‘recipe rules’ developed by the Fat Information Service aim to address this by introducing simple changes that people can make to any type of recipe to make it healthier and allow them to include it as part of their regular diet.
“These simple steps to cut down on the amount of saturated fat, such as adapting recipes by swapping less healthy ingredients with lower sat fat ones, and using healthier cooking methods, could potentially save thousands of lives and years of living with heart disease."
The Fat Information Service Recipe Rules:
1. If the recipe includes cream, replace with lower fat fromage frais, natural yoghurt or crème fraiche
2. Swap whole milk for semi skimmed or skimmed milk
3. If you are using cheese to flavour a dish or a sauce, opt for a strong tasting cheese and use a smaller amount of it. Alternatively, try a reduced fat version
4. Swap butter for vegetable oil based spreads or margarine
5. Use unsaturated oils such as olive, sunflower or rapeseed oils instead of butter, lard or ghee
6. Wherever possible grill meat and poultry instead of frying it and cut off any visible fat or skin before cooking
7. Use a non stick pan to avoid adding extra fat when cooking
8. Add less meat to stews and casseroles and replace with pulses and extra vegetables instead
9. When making a pie opt for just one crust – either a lid or a base – as pastry is high in saturated fat - (also try to make pastry with
Vegetable oil based spreads or margarine instead of butter)
10. Grill, bake, poach or steam rather than frying and roasting
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