Low calorie cooking has today become an integral part of healthy lifestyle. Cooking low calorie healthy foods not only helps you keep in shape, but also goes a long way in keeping you away from the several kinds of diseases.

For cooking the food the low calorie way, there is a need to bring about some changes in your cooking technique. Few techniques are;

1. You could use non stick pans for cooking instead of traditional cooking wares.
2. Pressure cooker could also be used for fast cooking of food and it preserves the vital nuterients of food also.
3. Instead of frying, opt for techniques like steaming, boiling, roasting and baking.
4. For making curries, you can braise the onions by adding water or stock in the pan, for lightly browning the onions.
5. Another way is to microwave them or simply boil them, so as to get rid of its raw taste.
6. If you want to fry, then avoid deep-frying. Rather stir fry onions, by using little oil.

Avoid the usage of coconut, as it is high in saturated fats. Use the oils that have unsaturated fats. These includes soyabean oil, sunflower oil, groundnut oil. Avoid the oils that have trans fats in their composition.

Other items that should not be used for cooking low calorie food are nuts, malai, cream, poppy seeds etc. Much effort does not required to convert a high calorie food into a low calorie one; rather it can be easily done by making simple modifications.

Usually dals are first boiled and then tempered with fried spices and this is what makes the dish high in fats. To make it more healthy and low in fat content, put all the tempering ingredients like onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic etc, to the dal, at the time of boiling only. And then later on, it can be tempered easily using very little oil.

Microwave ovens can help in low calorie cooking. There are various dishes that could be cooked in microwave instead of frying. Food could be reheated in microwaves. It saves their nutritional value.

Instead of frying koftas, prefer baking them instead. Make usage of non-fat milk, sugar free foods, low-cal margarines, and egg substitute for adding varied taste to the dish.

Go for skimmed milk only, as it contains very low fats and is very healthy because it contains all those vital nuterients that are present in the milk having cream. The main thing is that this milk contains all the essential nuterients like calcium which helps in building strong teeth, gums and are helpful in making bones strong and powerful. While preparing desserts, make usage of artificial sweeteners. Or use part sugar and part sweetener. The best is to avoid sweet sugary foods and rather replace them with fresh fruits, which are healthy and nutritious.

So, cook your food the low calorie way and lead a healthy lifestyle.