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COOKING MISTAKES THAT WE MAKE THAT PUT ON ADDED CALORIES

Posted by Corina on 24th Nov 2014

COOKING MISTAKES THAT WE MAKE THAT PUT ON ADDED CALORIES

It’s no surprise that restaurant and takeaways have hidden ingredients and calories. If you are watching your weight then think fresh you can’t beat home-cooked meals. Getting comfy in the kitchen is the first step. If you have been doing all the right things and you are still not losing those few kilos then it might be time to take a look at what you are cooking and how you are preparing your food. We have listed a few mistakes that people commonly make.

1. Using too much oil
Although Olive Oil is a good fat and better than most you may not know that one tablespoon means 120 calories. If you are not watching how much you are using it’s easy to use as much as four times the amount without even realising it. When stir frying things like vegetables it’s hard to stick to just one tablespoon as they soak up the oil quickly. To help prevent this from happening try steaming your vegetables first before adding to that stir-fry.

2. Working out serving sizes
Everyone knows how important it is to have controlled portion sizes butt at the end of a long day, taking the time to measure every ingredient can be annoying and time consuming. Although you may have arrived home late or it’s the weekend try not to be lazy with your measurement. It just takes practice before you know it you won’t even have to measure your portion sizes if you are not careful your healthy meal will soon turn into extra calories that you did not bargain for.

3. Being a slave to the recipe
When we lack confidence in the kitchen, it’s easier to follow recipes to the book. The down fall here is that we are not using our imagination to simply swap unhealthy ingredient for healthier ones. Example, try swapping cream for greek yogurt and you may find that using other options can add a fuller flavour to your recipe. Simple swaps can cut out a lot of extra fats that you simply just don’t need.

4. Snacking while you prep
Its hard not to snack on your ingredients while preparing your recipe a little carrot here and a little almond here can soon add up to extra calories and loss of appetite by the time your dinner is served. A good tip is to try chewing on some gum while you are cooking or even try sipping on a glass of water it does help.