5 Tips for Deliciously Healthy Cooking and Baking

Most of the questions that friends have asked me over the years when it comes to cooking and baking have one thing in common: how to combine taste with health.

I am going to attempt to answer 5 of those questions with some healthy and tasty tips!

1. Can you use olive oil in cookies and cakes and will they taste good?

The answer to those questions is yes and yes! You can replace butter or margarine with olive oil. The secret is to beat the olive oil with an electric mixer until it turns white. In the process, it will also lose its distinctive odor. That can take up to 20 minutes but it's well worth your trouble.

2. Is there a healthy topping for ice cream?

Chocolate and fudge syrups add empty calories to ice cream. You can surely do without them. Try making this topping instead: wash well and quarter half a pound strawberries. Put them in a bowl and add 2 tbsp water, one tsp sweet liquor of your preference and finally, one tbsp sugar. Put the lid on the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When it's ready, you will have a mouth-watering syrup as well as delicious strawberries to top the ice cream with.

3. Can you have something that's as tasty as ice cream but with fewer calories, much less sugar and very little or no fat at all?

Here's an extremely easy solution:

One cup (8 oz) low-fat or no-fat plain yogurt

Your favorite jello (mine is strawberry)

Prepare the jello (following instructions on the package) and put it in the fridge until it sets. Put the jello in the blender with the yogurt and beat until they turn into a creamy mixture. Yum! You can also add fruit pieces in the cream.

4. Can you have something as sinful as cake and cookies when you're trying to avoid or lower bad cholesterol (also known as LDL)?

We've already explained how you can use olive oil instead of butter but what about eggs? When you follow any recipe that calls for eggs, use only the whites. It's the yolk that's full of cholesterol while the white part of the egg is pure protein. It is also the part that helps dough rise so you don't really need the yolk. Just use 5-6 egg whites instead of 4 whole eggs. You'll hardly notice the difference.

5. Finally, what do you do when you have one of those husbands that put salt on everything? How you can help them cut back on salt despite their stubbornness? Try seasoning with lemon juice and interesting spices (like paprika, curry etc.) when you cook! It works great on chicken, pork, fish and vegetables! For raw vegetables, vinegar is another good option.

Bon appetit!