For Life Style
Fat-free Indian Cooking
-By Mridula Baljekar
Could you ever imagine cooking Indian food without a drop of oil? Well, now there is a way! My revolutionary cooking method will give you the chance to enjoy delicious Indian meals, packed with taste, flavour, health and vitality, but without any added fat!
I am not suggesting that you exclude fat altogether from your diet. Indeed, some fat is essential to the body. Fat enhances the flavour of any food, not just Indian. Fat is also an important nutrient and a high source of energy. It is also a carrier of fat-soluble vitamins. Fats and oils help enhance the characteristic aroma, taste and texture of most food.
It is knowing which type of fat to include and which to avoid, or consume in small quantities that is the first and most important step in following a healthy diet.
There are three crucial types of fats that affect our diet. These are:
Saturates (present in animal fats and cooking oils such as palm);
Mono-unsaturates (found in cooking oils such as sunflower, rapeseed and olive) and
Poly-unsaturates (found in oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and herrings).
According to guidelines set out by the Health Education Authority, saturated fat is not really needed in our diet. High intake of this fat can create high blood cholesterol which can lead to coronary and heart diseases. Reducing saturates in our diet is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
By reducing or avoiding saturates, we automatically reduce the energy supply to our body. This gap can be closed by using more of the two beneficial types of fats: Mono-unsaturates and poly-unsaturates (omega-3 fatty acids), which are believed to be beneficial to the heart. Although you will certainly benefit from an oil-free diet, I do not claim that the recipes in my book ‘Fat-free Indian cooking’ are the answer to a slimmer’s dream. By ensuring that no added fat is used in the recipes, you have taken the first and foremost step to following a healthy diet. Neither is my book a manual for healthy eating, but you can safely use it as a guide.
My aim is to give you the chance to enjoy Indian food without added fat. Sensible control on calories is essential to keep well. Fat contains more calories per gram than any other groups of food. Cutting down on fat, therefore, must top the list of priorities in formulating a healthy eating routine. If fat, which is naturally present in food is enough to enhance the flavours of spices, why add more?
Remember, risk follows fat. My book offers you no fat, no risk and great taste!
www.mridula.co.uk
