These healthy cooking tips from fellow health-minded bloggers and nutrition experts will get you started in the kitchen creating your own nutritious meals in no time at all!
After losing 40 pounds more than 20 years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen looking for ways to save calories, and improve the nutrition in the foods we eat. To that end, I returned to school to earn a certification in wellness and nutrition and have spent many hours in cooking classes improving my healthy cooking skills.
But by far my greatest teachers have been fellow food bloggers, healthy recipe developers, and nutrition experts. After 6 years of writing about all things food and nutrition I’ve made friends with many of these cooking experts who are here to share their healthy cooking tips and recipes with us.
I’ve shared my ideas with you over the years on my Lighten Up Your Recipes page, with my favorite healthy cooking tip being the use of fruit purees in my baked goods in place of half the cooking fat. Unsweetened applesauce always works well, and jars of pureed organic baby food is terrific – think carrots and plums. This Whole Grain Apple Walnut Bread is an example of my use of unsweetened applesauce.
But that’s enough about my healthy cooking tips, let’s hear how my fellow cooks skinny up and healthify their meals!
Let’s start with Kalyn Denny. I’ve been following Kalyn’s Kitchen since the beginning of my blogging career. Kalyn says she had no idea how her life would change when she started Kalyn’s Kitchen in 2005 as a place to store the recipes her friends were asking for. She has since retired from teaching elementary school, become a full-time blogger, and now spends most days cooking, photographing the food, writing recipe posts, and sharing on social media. In addition to her main blog, Kalyn also authors Slow Cooker from Scratch, a website that features slow cooker recipes from other bloggers.
Kalyn’s Kitchen Gremolata
“I am such a fan of using fresh herbs in cooking, and in the winter when fresh herbs are less available you can still get parsley at a reasonable price at any grocery story. I love the fresh flavor that Gremolata adds to foods, so it’s something I make and use often.”
Kalyn is sharing her How to Make Gremolata as her healthy cooking tip.
Cookie and Kate Best Vegetarian Chili
Kathryne Taylor of Cookie and Kate is a vegetarian cook who believes cooking should be fun, and I completely agree! Here are a few of Kate’s healthy cooking tips:
“To make your meals super flavorful without adding lots of salt or fat, try adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of fresh herbs. They go a long way!
I love to cook in cast iron pans, which are non-toxic and add a little extra iron to my meals. They require a bit of getting used to, but I think they are worth it!
I love to make big batches of soup and freeze extra portions for later. I just portion out the soup into small mason jars, leaving about an inch of room for expansion as the soup freezes. Then I wait until the soup has cooled completely and put the jars in the fridge (wait to screw on the lids until the soups have completely frozen).”
Kate’s Homemade Vegetarian Chili looks amazing and would be a perfect candidate for a freezer meal!
Fearless Dining Gluten Free Acorn Squash Cookies with White Chocolate and Caramel
Up next is Sandi Gaertner from Fearless Dining. Sandi is a gluten free mom and “nutrition ninja” who develops amazing gluten free dishes on her blog. Sandi says . . .
“My biggest, best healthy cooking tip is to add pureed sweet potato or other winter squash in my cookies. It keeps them super moist, and adds great nutrition. And a bonus, my kids have NO idea!”
Check out her Gluten Free Acorn Squash Cookies with White Chocolate and Caramel. I’m drooling just looking at them!
Toby Amidor’s Whole-Grain Banana Pancakes
Toby Amidor, MS, RD is a nutrition expert and author of The Greek Yogurt Kitchen: More Than 130 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Day. Toby can be found at Toby Amidor Nutrition and shares these tips from her kitchen.
“In my recipe Whole Grain Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes from my cookbook The Greek Yogurt Kitchen, I lightened up these buttermilk-like pancakes in several ways:”
- I use 50:50 whole grain pastry flour with unbleached all-purpose flour to help up the fiber
- I use a combination of nonfat plain Greek yogurt and nonfat milk to add protein and calcium and it can replace buttermilk (so it cuts calories/fat)
- I only use 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips which serves 8— it’s a portion controlled amount that still allows you to get some of the benefits of dark chocolate
- I added bananas for fruit and fiber, which helps the pancakes make you feel more satisfied
- I use nonstick cooking oil instead of butter to “grease” the pan
EA’s Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad with Peanut Dressing
EA Stewart, MBA, RD is also an expert on all foods healthy and shares her work at The Spicy RD.
“One of my favorite healthy cooking tips is to “Enjoy the clouds while you’re eating the rainbow!” meaning, onions, mushrooms, and garlic are just as nutritious as all the rainbow colored fruits and vegetables I also recommend eating, and should be included in your daily diet, not only for their health benefits {i.e. cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, gut health, and more}, but also because they are delicious!
I add chopped {sauted} onions to almost every savory dish that I cook, and I find the key to getting my kids {my son mostly) to eat them, is to chop them up very finely in my food processor. I don’t believe in “sneaking food” so he knows they’re in there, but when they’re super tiny, they become a lot less objectionable.”
Check out EA’s Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad with Peanut Dressing for an example of eating the rainbow.
Everyday Maven’s Homemade Mayonnaise
I met Alyssa Brantley of Everyday Maven a few years ago at a food conference and have been a fan of her work ever since. Alyssa is a whole foods blogger and recipe developer who develops “real food recipes for the everyday family.”
Alyssa’s Tip: Make your own homemade mayo. It literally takes 3 minutes with an immersion blender (which is less than $30) and you can not only control the quality of the ingredients but infuse spices, herbs and more in seconds. Once you taste 3-minute homemade mayo, you’ll never buy a jar again!
Food Faith Fitness Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies
Taylor Kiser of Food Faith Fitness is a fellow Seattleite (so is Alyssa) who believes like the rest of us that healthy, nutritious food can and should taste good. Taylor has 3 tips for us:
Did you know you sub avocado for half the butter in cookies? This way you’re getting an extra boost of heart-healthy fats, and you won’t even notice the difference!
Have you ever tried coconut sugar? It’s a super-simple un-refined swap for brown sugar in recipes. Simply sub it in equal parts for the amount of brown sugar in a recipe. Check out these Crockpot Paleo Cookies as an example.
Love the taste of peanut butter, but not all the fat? Try powdered peanut butter! It’s got all the great taste and protein, but half the fat and calories. I love using it in baking to add some peanut butter taste! Recipe to try are these Oatmeal Breakfast Bars.
Bobbi’s Creamy Asparagus and White Bean Soup
Bobbi Burleson of Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen says “she I doesn’t believe in denying yourself because you will eventually crumble and then probably eat more of whatever it is that you were craving than you would have if you had just had a bit of it to begin with.” In my experience, I would have to agree. Bobby has an amazing weight loss story (160 pounds!) that is truly inspiring.
This is how Bobbi saves calories and bumps the nutrition in her creamy soup recipes: One of my new faves is to sub white beans in cream soups to get that silky creamy base without using cream! Like in my Creamy Asparagus Soup. So good!!
My Delicious Blog’s Kale Salad with Strawberries
Nicole Coudal of My Delicious Blog has 4 Sure-Fire Tips to a Great Kale Salad. Nicole Coudal is a food blogger in SW Florida who specializes in tasty and healthy dishes using the fresh fish she catches, as well as, the abundant produce from her coastal home. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
Nicole suggests as her healthy cooking tip to use creamy nut based salad dressings on kale salads as they stick to the leaves better. And speaking of leaves, smaller bites are better. While you’re at it, give the kale a little massage with olive oil and salt to remove the wax coating and tenderize. Then add crunch and texture with nuts, croutons and fruit.
Try this offering from Nicole and you’ll be eating kale salad in no time flat – Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing and Strawberries.
David’s Lightened Creamy Penne with Broccoli
David Crowley blogs over at Cooking Chat about “mostly healthy food that tastes great, and wine pairings to go with it.” Healthy food and wine? Right up my alley! David published the Collards & Kale Cookbook, a collection of 20 recipes featuring healthy greens.
Healthy Cooking Tip: use silken tofu to create a lightened creamy pasta sauce. Check out this Lightened Creamy Penne with Broccoli recipe.
Healthy Cooking Tip: use turkey bacon to provide smoky flavor without the fat as he did in his Smoky Maple Bacon Dip.
Diane’s Homemade Greek Yogurt
Diane Williams of Homemade Food Junkie says gardening and cooking from scratch is her passion.
Diane makes her own Greek yogurt, something I’ve always wanted to try. Greek yogurt is so expensive, but totally delicious, especially with homemade granola. Healthy Steel Cut Oats Granola Recipe delivers a nutritionally balanced, chewy textured granola. I added dark chocolate chunks, dried figs, cherries, and coconut flakes. This is a High- Fiber, Low- Sodium, Vegetarian, Dairy- Free, Gluten- Free Granola. Just right for a healthy start to your day.
Laura’s Roasted Chicken Nuggets
Laura over at Your Guardian Chef is on a mission to encourage busy families to eat healthily, through discovering and sampling new stylish and delicious recipes, and suggesting ideas on gourmet cosmopolitan cuisine. Laura says . . .
“Most of you are familiar with the delicious Milanese, a fried breaded cutlet. Prepared as the chicken nuggets, the meat is coated with flour, egg, breadcrumbs then fried, delightfully …. full of calories. Less known but equally delicious is the Palermitana, a roasted breaded cutlet. This is my preferred option and I apply the same cooking principle to the chicken nuggets. You still get the crunchiness and nuttiness of the breadcrumbs coat, but because it is not fried and it does not have eggs, its calories are reduced to roughly one-third. The secret of its flavor is in the breadcrumbs which are mixed with basil, garlic and, if you dare, 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese. The meat is seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The olive oil will help the breadcrumbs to stick into the meat. It is a very small amount and will not have a big impact into the overall calories counting. They are cooked directly over a heavy hot iron pan and they do not require any additional fat for cooking. The breadcrumbs will prevent the meat from sticking to the pan. They can also be cooked in the oven on a parchment paper, fat free.”
Italian food lovers should be sure to check out these slenderized Italian classics too!
Angie’s Roasted Cauliflower with Anchovy and Croutons
Angie of Angie’s Recipes and I have been chatting back and forth for years now. She’s a very creative cook and I’m always wishing I had her bread baking skills.
Her tip is to “have plain cauliflower soup every single day because it doesn’t have heavy-loaded carbs like sweet potatoes and parsnips. While this recipe isn’t cauliflower soup, these roasted cauliflower florets look like a terrific use for a head of cauliflower.
Paleo Flourish Magazine’s Raspberry and Liver Chili
Louise Hendon is the co-founder of Paleo Flourish Magazine. If you follow a Paleo-inspired diet plan Louise has this healthy cooking tip for you.
Liver is one of the most nutritious foods around, but many people dislike the taste of liver. For example, just 1 oz of beef liver contains 178% of your daily value of Vitamin A, 329% of Vitamin B12, and 200% of copper. So, the trick is to hide it in foods like chili. For example, most people who have tasted this raspberry liver chili recipe didn’t realize it contained liver at all.
Wow! I feel like I’ve written the book on healthy cooking today!
My hope is that you’ll find a healthy cooking tip or two you can add to your repertoire of kitchen skills, and if you have a tip you’d like to share, don’t be shy and leave a comment! We’re all learning together, and I thank my fellow food bloggers and nutrition experts for their willingness to participate in this fun project!
~Kristi
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