Fatty foods may as well be the roots of a number of diseases. Medical experts conclude that people who eat fatty foods are more likely to suffer from heart related diseases compared to those who don’t. With this in mind, low fat cooking is gaining popularity for health conscious people.

Aside from that, low fat food can also help you keep your weight down and remain fit. Recommended daily fat intake should be kept at 30% at a max. With reduced fat on your body, you have the ability to fight off stress and you’re your body away from illnesses.

Low fat cooking need not to be coming from boring recipes. You can still spice up your meal and create delicious food even when keeping your foods low fat.

To get you started with your low fat diet, here are some cooking tips:

Non-stick frying pans

Avoid using oil any way you can possibly can. You can use non-stick frying pans so you can avoid adding fat to your food. It would be best to fry food at a minimum.

Woks

Woks are great utensils for low fat cooking. You can make a lot of stir-fried meals using woks.

Stir-frying

When preparing stir-fried foods, cut on the amount of meat and add more vegetables. To bring out the flavor in your food, you can add beef, chicken or vegetable broth.

Cooking oil sprays

Cooking oil sprays are great alternative to using fat. You can use vegetable oil sprays or olive oil sprays. Using this method can also lessen the amount of oil that you use compared to the typical way of pouring fat to pans. A light mist from cooking oil sprays would be enough to keep your food from sticking to cooking pans.

Meat and chicken

Lean meats are best for low fat cooking. If you were to use meat and chicken, trim off the fat and skin. Make sure to prepare a low fat marinade if you intend to grill any kind of food. If you are to cook them with sauce cut down on pan juices and add thicken the sauce with corn flour. Skim milk is recommended for white sauces.

Desserts

Whipped cream can be replaced with a mix of yogurt and ricotta. Most recipes would require using two or more eggs. You can replace one whole egg with two egg whites to cut on fat.

Fish

Fish is one of the foods that are very low in fat that you can turn up to a hearty meal anytime. See to it that you prepare a fishmeal at least every week. Fish contains Omega3 fatty acids that are good for the heart.

Vegetables

Vegetables are low fat and are good for your body. Steaming and putting your vegetables in the microwave are two of the best ways that you can enjoy your vegetables. You can also toss your vegetables for a delicious salad but remember to use non-fat or low fat dressings.

With the tips above, you are free to eat delectable foods and you are assured of good health as well.

The maintenance of your cooking woks is necessary so as to make sure it will last longer. There are things you can consider when taking care of your precious woks.

Woks are bowl-shaped pans utilized for traditional Chinese cooking. Hence, Chinese cuisine has become internationally known due to its developed dishes as well as “advanced cooking techniques”. Woks are then considered as one amongst the main efficient types of cooking pans.

Aside from this, woks issue heat throughout the pan and it gets very hot, making them great for certain stir-fry cooking dishes. The stove that you will use in cooking plays a major role on the outcome of these dishes.

Usually, a wok has a rounded bottom because it is originally used for big “cast iron stoves”. It also has two actual handles on both sides, suitable for carrying and lifting them. Modern woks are made of aluminum, copper and stainless steel. Instead of side to side handles, woks today commonly possess one long handle like a skillet. It makes woks easier to move and use. Woks can easily take away the need for potholders. Fourteen-inch cooking woks are also estimated as the most versatile kitchen utensil.

Stainless steel cooking woks are not good heat conductors because all the food gets stuck unto the metal. It also makes the presentation of dishes look bad.

Tips on how to take care of your cooking woks:
Once you find your cooking wok, it is significant to take proper care of it. You must season your wok before using it for the first time. This is in order to remove the oil on the wok and to prevent it from rusting. You need to also clean your wok immediately after each usage in order to keep it clean and to avoid corrosion.

In cleaning your carbon steel wok, you need to wash the wok in hot water, softly scrub, or lift off away food particles with a nonmetallic scrubber. Wash the wok and then dry the exterior and interior potions with paper towels. When you finish drying your wok, place it over medium heat, and then swab the inside of the wok with a little amount of vegetable oil. This will keep your carbon steel wok free from rusting.

As a warning, do not pour oil directly onto your hot wok during the time you are cleaning it. This can cause fires since the wok is very hot. Several people like it better to have the oil added earlier. Thus, to let it heat up with the pan.

Do not spill the vegetable oil if the wok is very hot. This is since it can spark as so-called “grease fire” very easily. A wok must never be washed with detergent. Chefs recommend cooking wok users to make use of a bamboo brush in order to keep it clean in between seasonings.

Tips for buying a cooking wok:
It is a fact that there are quite a number of different kinds of cooking woks available in the market these days. Carbon steel woks are considered as the best because of its high quality. Aside from this, it is also able to last up to several years. You also have an option in choosing a cooking wok that possesses a round bottom. These are also termed as flat cooking woks. If you are cooking with the use of a western electric range, the best choice would be a flat bottom cooking wok.

The size of the cooking wok is another significant aspect you should consider when buying frying pans or wok. Since woks are made with a variety of sizes, the appropriate size of the cooking wok depends on the preference of the user or on the size of the gas stove.

A wok is a piece of utensil used for cooking which is made from stainless steel, iron, copper or aluminum, having a handle on both sides. It has different features for different cooking styles.

Good quality woks have heavy features so that it can maintain heat. Woks come in different sizes for different recipes.

• Stir-frying – This is considered as the classic way of cooking with the use of a wok. It gives off a smoky flavor because of the cooking technique, which is stirring. For the preparation, make sure all the ingredients are ready.

• Deep-frying – For this technique, make sure that there is enough oil in the wok. Aside from this, maintain a medium-high heat, which ranges only up to 375 degrees. It has a built in structure that can maintain the heat. After this, you only need to wait until the food turns golden-brown. Hence, use a wire strainer in removing the food out of the wok. This is for draining the oil. Another option is to place a paper towel on the plate. Doing so will help absorb excess oils.

• Steam – With steaming using a wok, most people often use bamboo steamers. A bamboo steamer is a round basket that holds the food over the steaming water. In order for the steam to come out, the lid should be tightly closed. Then, place the bamboo steamer in the wok and fill it with some water. The water should be half inch below the steamer. After this, cover the wok and let the water boil over high heat. The duration of the steaming process depends on the particular recipe. Next, carefully remove the bamboo steamer from the wok. Another way of steaming is with the use of a so-called “wire streamer”. This is a good way of braising and smoking food. All you need to do is to place the rack inside a wok and add 1 inch water below the rack. Make sure the water does not touch the rack. You need to then arrange the food which can be steamed in a heatproof plate. You will then put the plate on the rack of the wok. Lastly, cover the wok and maintain medium-heat or as directed in the recipe.

Hence, the curved shape of this utensil acts as its main advantage. This can make the large foods shallow fried. The other spices are automatically deep-fried even with a small amount of oil. Aside from using gas, you can also make use of electric heating elements for woks. Although usage of gas can provide even heat at the bottom of the wok, the electric stove is much needed in a household kitchen. The electric stove can also provide a concave induction along the cooking surface. It can also respond quickly to the changes in temperature. A type of wok that is perfect for a flat round electric stove is the one with the round flat bottom. People are now enjoying the benefits and efficiency of using a wok.

A wok is a utensil used for cooking. It has special features for different cooking styles. It is made of stainless steel iron, copper or aluminum along with a handle found in both sides.

Woks are traditionally used in Chinese cuisine. Chinese recipes have different techniques in cooking. Due to its concave curve structure, heat is being distributed evenly. It is perfect for stir-frying as well. Aside from this, it has a hot spot on the bottom, giving more heat in very low to medium-high fire. This makes it perfect for deep-frying. Wok even has features that can be used for steaming foods.

Woks are also used in restaurants due to their very fast attribute of increasing temperature, allowing the cooking of food even in a short span of time. Although there are various types of pans in the market today, the wok may be the chefs’ first choice.

Chefs can cook with their own style and technique. This piece of art wok makes cooking very easy. The lower arm will then exert a large amount of force since this part is quite heavy, especially if it is used in stir-frying. It’s easy to stir while cooking because the edges make the food seem to push up onto the sides.

Woks have different handles, depending on the brand and type. A wok that has a single handle will help the chef toss the food. It also requires a large amount of arm and wrist strength in order to produce this.

At current, the most common material used in making woks are carbon steel and cast iron. These materials are more costly as compared to the traditional ones. A non-stick wok which is covered with Teflon is the most used variety. Aluminum is also the best conductor of heat. Plus, this makes it much easier to clean. Although it’s the traditional way, aluminum is still soft and can get easily damaged, making it durable for steaming. This is especially because of its lid.