TIPS FOR HEALTHY COOKING

TIPS FOR HEALTHY COOKING

TIPS FOR HEALTHY COOKING

• Go easy on fat, sugar, and salt in preparing foods.
For example, make Oven Crispy Chicken (p. 37)
instead of fried chicken or make Baked Cod with
Cheese (p. 28) instead of fried fish. You don’t have
to leave out all the fat, sugar, or salt—just limit the
amount you use.
• Flavor foods with herbs, spices, and other lowfat
seasonings instead of using rich sauces and gravy.
Look for ideas about what seasonings to use in
some of the recipes in this booklet, like Baked
Meatballs (p. 20), Baked Spicy Fish (p. 29), and
Turkey Chili (p. 39).
• Make homemade desserts sometimes to save
money and serve additional healthy foods to
the family. For example, try a fruit crisp, like
Peach-Apple Crisp (p. 65), or a pudding like
Rice Pudding (p. 67).
• Remove skin from poultry before cooking to lower
the fat content. For example, try Baked Chicken
Nuggets (p. 34), Chicken and Vegetables (p. 36),
or Oven Crispy Chicken (p. 37).
• Always follow food safety rules in the kitchen
to make sure that the food you prepare for your
family is safe. See the next page.

KEEP YOUR FAMILY’S FOOD SAFE

Clean—wash hands and surfaces often:

• Always wash hands with soap and warm running
water before handling food.
• Always wash cutting boards, knives, utensils,
dishes, and countertops used to cut meat with
soapy, hot water right away—before you use them
for other foods.
• Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen
surfaces. If you use cloth towels, dishcloths, or
sponges, wash them often, and every time they
have touched raw meat, poultry, or seafood juices.
Use hot soapy water or the hot water cycle of the
washing machine.

Separate—don’t cross contaminate:

• Store raw meat, chicken, turkey, and seafood in
a sealed, wrapped container in the refrigerator.
• Keep raw meat, chicken, turkey, and seafood away
from foods that will not be cooked and foods that
are already cooked.
• Never place cooked food on a plate or cutting
board that previously held raw meat, chicken,
turkey, or seafood.

Cook—cook to proper temperatures:

• Use a food thermometer to make sure meats,
chicken, turkey, fish, and casseroles are cooked to
a safe internal temperature.
• Cook roasts and steaks to at least 145° F.
• Cook ground meat to at least 160° F.
• Cook whole chicken or turkey to 180° F.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not
runny. Don’t use recipes in which eggs remain raw
or only partially cooked.
• Cook fish until it flakes easily with a fork.

Chill—refrigerate promptly:

• Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, not on the
kitchen counter. You can also thaw foods under
cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes.
Or, use a microwave oven.
• Refrigerate or freeze leftover foods right away.
Meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, and egg dishes
should not sit out at room temperature for more
than 2 hours.
• Divide large amounts of leftovers into small,
shallow containers for quick cooling in the
refrigerator.
• Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below. Don’t
pack the refrigerator. Cool air needs to circulate
to keep food safe.