Your Heart, Your Life: A Community Health Worker's Manual for the Hispanic Community

Session 5 Handout Cooking With Less Saturated Fat

Download Cooking With Less Saturated Fat (108k, 2 pages) handout.

• Beans
  Don't add oil, lard, or shortening!
  1. Cook beans in water until tender.
  2. Season with onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and, if you wish, ¼ teaspoon of salt.
  3. To thicken beans, mash and saute in skillet with a little water (without adding lard or vegetable shortening).
• Boiled Rice
  Don't add oil!
  1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, and add 1 cup of rice.
  2. Cover well, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Oven-Fried Potatoes (or Yucca)
  1. Boil yucca until tender. Peel yucca. If using potatoes, leave the skin on. Do not boil the potatoes.
  2. Cut potatoes or yucca in the shape of thick french fries.
  3. Arrange on a baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with vegetable oil spray.
  4. Bake at 350 °F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until done.
• Mexican Quesadillas
  Don't add oil!
  1. For each quesadilla, place a corn tortilla on a dry griddle over medium heat. When soft, put a small slice of low-fat cheese on half of the tortilla, and fold. Heat until the cheese melts.
  2. Remove from skillet, open, and add salsa, fresh tomatoes, and cilantro. Refold before eating.
• Ground Beef With Potatoes
  1. In a hot skillet, saute garlic and chopped onions in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add extra lean ground beef, and cook until brown. Pour off fat.
  2. Dice unpeeled potatoes, and add to ground beef.
  3. Season with a small amount of oregano, powdered cumin, black pepper, and, if you wish, ¼ teaspoon of salt.
  4. Cook until potatoes are tender.
• Fruit Shake
  1. Cut your favorite fruit—such as bananas, oranges, mangos, or strawberries—into chunks.
  2. Place in a blender, along with fat-free milk, vanilla, and ice.
  3. Blend until smooth.

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Information on this page is taken from the English print version of “Your Heart, Your Life, A Community Health Worker's Manual.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, NIH Publication No. 08-3674, Originally Printed 1999, Revised May 2008.

Last Updated March 2012