From my experience I can say that fat has a bad reputation. Of the hundreds of people I have seen, and do, in the office, few are those who do not blame their weight problems on fat. It is said to be very fattening and our desire is to eliminate it from practically everything we eat. However, this is a mistake.
Of the total calories you can consume per day, 30% must come from fat. "Why if they get fat?", You think. Because they are essential: they give us energy, promote the absorption of certain vitamins (A, D, E and K), nerve transmission and prevent skin aging, among other reasons.
How to know how much fat to eat
Get fat, they get fat only if you consume them in excess. Therefore, as I tell my patients, the key is to consume them in their proper measure. The first thing you will think if I tell you this is what do I mean by "in its proper measure"? How much is this? Well, taking into account that we should consume about 60 or 70 g of fats a day between those of animal origin and vegetables, this would be equivalent to a chicken breast, a salmon fillet, three tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of walnuts al day, for example.
It seems easy to say about 3 tablespoons of oil a day, but do it? "If I make the chicken in the oven, the grilled salmon and the sauce for the vegetable cream, will I have it for the salad?", You might think. It depends. If your hand falls asleep holding the oil can while you dress the salad, you add half a finger of oil to the frying pan for the stir-fry and the chicken "nothing" in the oven soaked in oil, surely not. You will have passed by.
Use the spray oil
Therefore, more than measuring the ingredients, it is important to take good practices. In this case, this would be equivalent to dressing the salad with cooking spray, which spreads it well without adding too much. Or "paint" the salmon with oil instead of grilling it. Or make the chicken without oil, just with a lemon and spice marinade. Or lift the pan to cook the onion from the sauce so that you can only use a tablespoon of oil.
How to eat a low-fat diet
But since man does not only live on breast and salmon and doctors never tire of repeating that the diet should be as varied as possible, there are other tips that I have accumulated over the years that can also help you diet is lower in fat. These types of recommendations seem more useful to me because they suddenly solve many doubts that may arise and that, if not solved well, can destroy the effort of following the proposed meal program.
In the consultation you will hear me say, for example, that if you are going to make an omelette, put one yolk for every two whites. This way you avoid half the fat and cholesterol. Or that you eat loaf bread better than sliced bread, which has more fat (and sugar) than traditional bread. The same goes for roasting.
Choose loaf bread instead of mold
I also propose, depending on the case, to take oat flakes instead of the typical breakfast cereals , even if they are light. Oats are still less fat.
And, of course, I always advise lean cuts of meat. For example, the pork tenderloin is lighter than the beef steak. And the steak is leaner than the hamburger. In the case of birds, the breasts are lighter than the thighs.
And when the meats, of whatever type, have the fat in sight, my advice is to remove it before cooking. This way the food will not "soak" in fat during cooking.
I also usually recommend that the meat be marinated. You just have to let it rest with spices, aromatic herbs and lemon before cooking. Why? Because this culinary technique helps to eliminate part of its fat. It also works for fish.
How to make roasts, fried foods and soups less fatty
Roasts seem like a good option if you cook the piece in the oven on the grill and with a tray underneath. This way, the fat released by the food will accumulate on the tray and will not impregnate the food. I also like steam and papillote, because the food cooks almost without oil.
Nonstick pans are ideal for low-oil cooking. You can put a few drops and spread it well with an absorbent paper, for example.
When frying, use very hot oil.
If I have to put you on a diet, I'm not going to recommend fried foods. But if you are in the maintenance phase (or you have to make an exception for whatever reason), I will tell you to fry with the very hot oil, because that way the food soaks up less fat and, afterwards, let it rest for a few minutes on paper absorbent to remove part of it.
Ah? At this point, let me tell you that sunflower oil, corn oil, whatever … is fattening just like olive oil.
I will also advise you to defat the broth and the stew. The easiest thing is to let them cool from one day to the next. You will see how a layer of fat forms that can be easily removed with a spoon.
And what else do I usually say? Well, don't suck the seafood's head off. You can safely eat the meat of the prawns, but not the head, where the cholesterol is. And than dairy, better than skimmed. A bowl of whole milk contains 9.5 g of fat. On the other hand, if it is skimmed, it will only give you about 0.50 g. The same happens with the rest of dairy products (yogurts, cheeses, etc.).
In this article we have talked about fresh food that you cook. In another I will tell you the secrets so that your purchase of prepared or precooked products (which must be punctual) is also low in fat.
And if you lack ideas when it comes to cooking, don't miss the daily menus for a low-fat diet.
