Weight loss: 5 cooking mistakes

5 cooking mistakes that pack on the pounds

 

Preempt the impulse to go in for a second helping by putting leftovers away as soon as possible.

Story highlights

• Olive oil is a good fat, but a single tablespoon clocks in at 120 calories
• Taking the time to really learn healthy portion sizes will save you calories
• Resist the urge to taste-test while prepping your food

It's no secret that restaurant dishes are loaded with hidden ingredients and calories. That's why home-cooked meals are a good idea for anyone watching their weight.

Conquering the kitchen is a great first step, but if you haven't eaten out in months and the scale still won't budge, it might be time to take a closer look at your cooking habits. Below, a few mistakes that could be derailing your weight-loss plans.

Using too much oil

Yes, olive oil is a "good" fat. But the kitchen staple is also crazy-dense calorie wise -- a single tablespoon clocks in at 120 calories.

That may not sound like a lot, but if you're not paying attention, it's easy to use as much as three times that amount. Sticking to that single tablespoon allowance can be especially hard with vegetables, since they tend to absorb oil quickly. A helpful trick? Lightly steam your veggies (or protein) to cook them through before adding them to a stir-fry .

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Estimating serving sizes

We all know the importance of portion control, but at the end of a long day, taking the time to measure each ingredient out can seem painfully time consuming. Instead, we eyeball serving sizes -- a practice that could potentially add hundreds of hidden calories to an otherwise healthy meal.

Avoid paying the price for weeknight laziness by taking the time to really learn what healthy portions of grains, fish and produce look like.

Health.com: 25 ways to cut 500 calories a day

Being a slave to the recipe

If you lack confidence in the kitchen, it's tempting to follow recipes to a T. But by blindly sticking to the ingredient list, you're missing out on valuable opportunities to make healthy tweaks.

For example, if a recipe calls for one cup of cream, try substituting half of that with Greek yogurt, or even pureed avocado. This simple swap cuts calories and fat without sacrificing on texture or taste. (Try these other seven healthier baking swaps.)

Snacking while you prep

Resisting the urge to taste-test while prepping your food can seem impossible, especially when you're starving. And while a little snacking never killed anyone, a handful of walnuts here and a slice of avocado there can really add up.

To avoid ruining your appetite (and your meal), try chewing gum or sipping a glass of sparkling water while you cook.

Still munching? Time for some tough love: for every bite you take, put a little less on your plate.

Health.com: 20 snacks that burn fat

Leaving leftovers up for grabs

Picture this: dinner was delicious, you're comfortably full and you know you should be satisfied. That is, until you go to do the dishes, and the pot of pasta on the stove starts calling your name.

Pre-empt the impulse to go in for a second helping by putting leftovers away as soon as possible. In this case, that old adage holds true -- out of sight, out of mind.

 

There's an endless stream of information detailing which foods to eat - and not eat - if you want to lose weight, but just as important as knowing what to eat is knowing how to cook.

Bigger cuts of vegetables have less surface area to pick up oil.

We all know that certain cooking techniques - like boiling - can eliminate important vitamins and minerals from our food, but some techniques can also actually add calories to dishes.
For example, on its own, eggplant is a fiber-rich and low-calorie food, but when it is sautéed or fried, it absorbs oil like a sponge.
Potatoes also fall victim to unhealthy cooking techniques; roasted potatoes are a filling accompaniment to any meal, but mashed potatoes add in usually generous amounts of milk and butter, and often have their fiber-rich peels removed, making you more likely to go in for another helping.
It's not just what you eat, it's how you cook it: nine kitchen techniques to aid weight loss.
There are, however, cooking methods that preserve the nutrient content of food, speed up cooking time, and also avoid adding calories.
These healthy kitchen techniques can help you to lose poundage and manage your weight, without robbing you of flavorful, satisfying food.
Here are nine kitchen techniques to aid in weight loss.
Click here for the It's Not Just What You Eat, It's How You Cook It: 9 Kitchen Techniques to Aid Weight Loss Slideshow.

Written by The Daily Meal