Skinny-Size It. Molly Morgan
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Vinegars
To add great flavor to sauces and dressings, keep a variety of vinegars in your pantry, including balsamic vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar and rice vinegar.
Oils
The quality of oil varies, and you definitely get what you pay for. For example, extra-virgin olive oil is more expensive than other olive oil versions because it comes from the first press of the olives and is the most nutrient rich and has a rich olive flavor! In comparison, light olive oil is a more processed oil that is lighter in flavor (but has the same amount of calories and fat). In addition, oils have different smoke points (the maximum temperature to which they can be heated before they break down) and flavor profiles.
The best oils for baking, oven cooking and stir-frying are canola oil, grapeseed oil, extra-virgin olive oil and peanut oil. The best oils for light sautéing, for making sauces and for cooking over low heat are sesame oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil and coconut oil. Keep on hand oils that are suitable for all these tasks. If I were to pick my top two favorite oils, they would be extra-virgin olive oil and sesame oil.
Specialty oils, such as fish oil and flaxseed oil, offer health benefits but do not hold up well when used with heat, so stick to adding these only to smoothies and/or drizzling on a finished recipe. When it comes to these oils, if some is good, more is not better. In large doses (over three grams per day), both fish oil and flaxseed oil can have a thinning effect on the blood and can cause bruising, nosebleeds, nausea and other health issues.
Meat substitutes
There are two meat substitutes that are Skinny staples: tofu and tempeh. Several varieties of tofu are commonly available, including:
Silken tofu: has a soft texture and a high water content, and is excellent in smoothies and dips and as a swap for eggs.
Firm tofu: has been slightly pressed but still retains some water, and is perfect for stir-frying and sautéing.
Extra-firm tofu: is well pressed and has less water, and thus is suitable for marinating and grilling.
Tempeh is made through a natural fermentation process that binds soybeans, and this fermentation process results in a higher protein, fiber and vitamin content. Four ounces of tempeh contains twenty-two grams of protein and twelve grams of fiber. The firm texture of tempeh makes it excellent for marinating and using on sandwiches.
Dairy and eggs
Many foods from the dairy aisle, like plain nonfat Greek yogurt and light cheddar cheese, are essential Skinny ingredients, and once you start working them into your recipes, you won’t turn back. Generally, when it comes to dairy foods, such as yogurt, cheese, cream cheese and cottage cheese, always select low-fat (1 percent) or light products. Typically, I do not suggest fat-free dairy products, because they often don’t melt or perform as well in recipes. One exception to that rule, however, is plain nonfat Greek yogurt. Because of the way Greek yogurt is made, the nonfat version holds up well in recipes and you almost don’t realize that the fat isn’t there.
When it comes to eggs, paying extra for omega-3 eggs is worth it, as these eggs provide a boost of heart-helping omega-3 fats.
Butter or margarine? Both are high in total fat: butter is high in saturated fat, while margarine, which is made with vegetable oils, is lower in saturated fat. It really comes down to your personal flavor preference. Since both are high in fat, a limited amount of either should be consumed. If you do choose margarine, make certain to choose a brand that meets two criteria: it has zero grams of trans fat and it does not have partially hydrogenated oil, a trans fat, listed on the food label. This is important because food-labeling laws allow companies to declare on the Nutrition Facts panel that foods with less than half a gram of trans fat have zero grams. To be certain that a particular food really has zero grams of trans fat, you should review the ingredient list, looking for the words “partially hydrogenated oil.” If the words “partially hydrogenated oil” are listed, this means trans fat and although a food may contain less than half a gram of trans fat per serving, over time that amount adds up, and the goal is to avoid trans fat completely because of its negative impact on heart health.
Flavor boosters
There are ingredients, such as dried herbs and spices, that add great flavor to recipes, and you will want to keep these in your Skinny cupboard. Having a variety of dried herbs and spices on hand is a must. These include dried basil, celery seed, cilantro, cinnamon, cumin, dry mustard, ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley, paprika, black pepper and white pepper. If you make a Skinny-Size It recipe or one of your own that you feel needs more flavor, before you reach for the salt shaker, try adding an herb or a spice, as it will boost the flavor without adding sodium.
Table salt or sea salt? The biggest difference between table salt and sea salt is in how they are processed. Table salt is mined from salt deposits and then processed, while sea salt is made by evaporating ocean water and usually not processed. Both have the same amount of sodium by weight, which keeps the playing field level. When it comes to adding some salt to a recipe, my personal preference is to add sea salt because the coarser texture packs a bigger sodium taste and can result in less overall salt added for the same taste impact.
A word on sodium: A majority of sodium intake comes from processed foods; in fact, about 75 percent of sodium comes from processed foods or from the salt added to foods in restaurants and other food service locations. Basically, all Americans consume more sodium than they need, with an average intake of about 3,400 milligrams per day. The goal for healthy adults is to consume 2,300 milligrams or less sodium per day. The goal for adults who have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes, and for those who are African American, is to have 1,500 milligrams or less sodium per day. Note: if you are very active for more than one to two hours per day, your sodium needs may be higher because of your rate of sweating. All the recipes in Skinny-Size It skip salt or skimp on the amount of added salt to keep the overall sodium content low. Another key is adding the salt to a dish just before serving, which keeps the salty taste at the top of the dish, instead of dispersing it throughout the dish when it is added during cooking.
Other flavor boosters to keep on hand that are healthier alternatives include lite soy sauce, light coconut milk, low-sodium broth and liquid smoke.
Nuts, seeds and dried fruit
Some Skinny-Size It recipes contain nuts and seeds, which provide healthy (unsaturated) fats and crunch, as well as dried fruit, which lends sweetness. These include walnuts, almonds, raw cashews, sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried mango and raisins.
The nuts, seeds and dried fruit you include in a recipe is up to you, so keep on hand those you like best.
The sweet stuff
Skinny-Size It recipes skimp on the amount of sugar added. Making salad dressings and sweet sauces, such as barbecue sauce, from scratch allows you to control the quantity of sugar added. It is a good idea to keep a mix of sweeteners on hand and to select the one that works best in each recipe. Sweeteners include granulated sugar, pure maple syrup, agave nectar, honey and brown sugar.
Is agave nectar a health food? Agave nectar is a mix of fructose (90 percent) and glucose (10 percent), though the amounts of each vary based on how the sugar is processed. Agave nectar is produced from aguamiel, that is, the sap of the agave plant, and is processed until it reaches more or less the consistency of maple syrup. It has a very light taste, and one of its perks is that it is about one and a half times sweeter than table sugar. However, it also has more calories compared to