Healthy Cooking

Burgers 5 to 8 minutes on each side (10 to 16 minutes total)

Chicken breast 4 to 6 minutes on each side (8 to 12 minutes total)

Fish (1/2" thick fillet) 2 to 3 minutes on each side (4 to 6 minutes total)

Fish (1" thick steak) 4 to 6 minutes on each side (8 to 12 minutes total)

Lamb chops 6 to 8 minutes on each side (12 to 16 minutes total)

Pork chops 6 to 8 minutes on each side (12 to 16 minutes total)

Pork tenderloin 6 to 9 minutes on each side (12 to 18 minutes total; keep turning meat)

Shrimp 3 to 4 minutes each on side (6 to 8 minutes total)

Steak 6 to 9 minutes on each side (12 to 18 total)

Healthy Cooking

Instead of cooking with all-purpose white flour, try a variety of whole grain or nut flours. Here are some of my favorites: buckwheat, coconut, whole wheat, bean and almond.

Healthy Cooking

Instead of refined sugar try agave, raw honey, organic maple syrup or stevia.

Healthy Cooking

Instead of butter or margarine try olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil or coconut oil in moderation. A spray can work best.

Healthy Cooking

Avoid heavy fatty sauces or sugary marinades. Instead use dry rubs and fresh herbs to flavor your food. You'll save a ton of calories and benefit from all the healthy properties in your seasonings.

Healthy Cooking

Always remove the skin from your meats. Most of the excess calories, fat and toxins are in the skin, so be sure to take it off before cooking your food.

Healthy Cooking

In savory dishes, replace the fat or cream in recipes with vegetable broth. It's healthier and will save you tons of calories.

Healthy Cooking

In baked treats, replace butter with applesauce and replace anything calling for sour cream with non-fat yogurt.

Healthy Cooking

Use iron cookware. This way you won't have any toxic metals from other types of cookware leaching into your food. Instead you'll get a boost of iron, which us women can never seem to get enough of.

Healthy Cooking

Go organic whenever possible to save exposing you and your family to antibiotics, hormones and nasty pesticides that can be lingering on conventionally grown foods. If you can't afford this, try choosing almond, rice or coconut dairy substitutions to avoid hormones and antibiotics. Have more bean-based meals instead of meat. Choose thick-skinned fruits and vegetables like oranges and melons. These absorb fewer pesticides than thin-skinned fruits such as berries or plums.