Cooking Informational Cards

Cutting the Fat...Not the Taste
You may want to start out using recipes that are designed to be low in fat. As you and your family begin to accept these dishes, you can try some of the following substitutions in your own recipes:

Instead of:	Use:
Adding 1/2 cup oil and 2 eggs to pre-packaged cake and brownie mixes	1/2 cup applesauce or 1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 cup oil in quick breads, muffins and cookies	2/3 or 3/4 cup oil OR 2/3 or 3/4 cup lowfat yogurt, applesause or prune puree*
Salt pork or ham hocks when cooking greens	Smoked turkey when cooking greens
A lot of fat in refried beans	Less fat in refried beans
Ground beef	Lowfat or lean ground beef
Oil or lard or shortening to brown meat	Nonstick cooking spray or a nonstick fry pan
Oil or butter or margarine to saute or stir-fry vegetables	Water or broth or a nonstick fry pan

*To make 1 cup of prune puree: Blend 8 ounces dried pitted prunes (1 1/3 cups) and 6 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. Makes 1 cup of puree. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 2 months.
Note:If you find that your quick breads, muffins and cookies are too dry when you replace all of the butter, margarine or oil, try adding a little of the fat.

Source: Colorado State University Cooperative Extension; Cornell Cooperative Extension; Iowa State University Cooperative Extension Service and the California Prune Board.

• Start with a small amount. You can always add more next time but you can not remove it.
• If cooking for a long time,add seasonings during the last 45 minutes or use part of the seasoning at the beginning of cooking and the rest later in the cooking.

• Store in plastic bags, glass jars or stainless-steel containers, not cardboard. Keep in a cool, dry place out of sunlight. Do not keep over the range or near hear.
• Refrigerating or freezing seasonings keeps them fresh longer.
• Do your seasonings still have flavor? For whole species, crush a small amount and sniff to see if it smells fresh. Check ground seasonings every 6 months. Sniff to see if they smell fresh.

• Buy small amounts in the "bulk" section of the grocery stores or co-ops or buy in plastic bags at grocery stores and transfer to an airtight container or plastic bag.

1cup of regular white or brown rice needs 2 cups of water for cooking

1. Put rice and water into saucepan. Heat until it starts to boil.
2. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir.
3. Cover pan and simmer (do not stir) for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender. All water will be absorbed by the rice.

Makes 3 cups of rice

Note: Brown rice will need 45-50 minutes to cook until tender.

Bright ideas You can make a fluffier rice by cooking it as you do pasta. Add 1 cup regular rice to 3 quarts boiling water; stir once. Return water to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 12 minutes or until tender; drain. If using brown rice, follow the same instructions but simmer 35 minutes. When cooking rice, adding salt to the water is not necessary. You can add a taplespoon of dried herbs to the water for a new flavor. You can reheat rice by putting in a saucepan and adding 2 tablespoons of water for each cup of cooked rice. Cover and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until hot. You can also reheat rice by microwaving: cover the rice and heat on HIGH for 2-3 minutes. If rice is too firm you may not have cooked it enough, you may not have added enough water, or the saucepan cover was loose causing water to evaporate. If rice is too mushy you may have cooked the rice too long or added too much water to the rice. If rice is sticky you may have held the rice too long before serving or you stirred the rice during cooking.

1 cup of regular wild rice needs 3 cups of water for cooking

1. Bring water to a rapid boil. Add rice to the water.
2. Return water to boil, stir. Reduce heat to simmer.
3. Cover pan and simmer 30-45 minutes or until kernels puff open.
4. Uncover, fluff with a fork. Simmer 5 additional minutes.
5. Drain liquid from the rice.

Makes about 4 cups of rice

Recipe sources: Some information from Eating Right is Basic, Michigan State University Extension, and Betty Crocker supermarket magazine, Pasta Rice & Beans, used by permission of General Mills, Inc.