Taking your meals into your own kitchen is one of the easiest (not to mention, cheapest!) ways to lose weight. Problem is, unless you've been schooled in the dos and don'ts of healthy chef-ing, it's easy for your cooking habit to pack on the pounds, says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, M.P.H., author of The One One One Diet. So before you whip up another "healthy" meal, make sure you aren't making these far-too common cooking mistakes:
Using the Wrong Oils
Pouring the wrong oil into your pan can do worse than make your eggs taste like olives. "When an oil heats past its smoke point, the fatty acid profile has degraded, producing toxins, free radicals, and even trans fats," says Batayneh. She recommends using walnut or olive oil for salad dressings since they both can burn at high temperatures.
Thinking One Serving Size Fits All
You might be able to put away as much food as your partner, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Baking Without a Roasting Pan
Baking is a great way to keep your dishes low-cal. But unless you set your meat on a rack, it's just going to sit in and soak up its own grease, thwarting your weight-loss efforts, says Batayneh. Next time you pop some steak, pork, poultry, or even fish in the oven, make sure it's on a roasting pan—or at least a wire rack in the bottom of your baking dish.
Skipping the Spice Rack
"We usually rely on sugar, salt, and fat for flavor, which can up the calorie count of a dish dramatically," says Batayneh. "Using spices instead allows a cook to cut out those added sugars, oil, butter, or salt—and over time, you'll also retrain your taste buds to not crave those salty, sugary, fatty additions." Plus, herbs and spices pack a powerful punch of health-boosting, fat-fighting nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Using Too Much Oil
Healthy fats can help you lose weight, but not if you act like their calories—all 120 per tablespoon of them—don't count.