About Fats - Cooking and Flavoring
The Gourmet-O-Matic tm considers fats for two main purposes - cooking and flavoring.For cooking, fats are rarely recommended. Frying is the least acceptable way to cook a healthy meal and is generally unnecessary. An exception and example is the use of a small amount of oil to sauté an onion (though there are ways to "water sauté.")
Here are the preferred Gourmet-O-Matic tm methods for cooking meals:
Baking
Boiling
Braising
Broiling
Crock-Pot or Slow-Cooking
Grilling
Microwaving
Poaching
Rotisserie Cooking
Sautéing
Searing
Steaming
Frying is distant from the others and the preparation method of last resort. You should almost never have to prepare foods according to the method of last resort.
Flavoring is a different matter. Fats, in particular oils, can be used effectively, sparingly and creatively to make gourmet dishes.
This is generally accomplished by substituting one oil for another. For example, substituting sesame oil for vegetable oil in a salad dressing tilts the flavor more towards an "Oriental" style. Add a few edamame (soybeans) and/or sliced water chestnuts and some mandarin orange slices to the salad and you are there. A similar Oriental-style result can be achieved by tossing a vegetable side dish in a light vinaigrette that includes sesame or peanut oil.
We will deal with flavoring substitutions with oils at The Gourmet-O-Matic tm Oil Substitutions Page.
The FitnessMed tm Guide To Healthy Eating explains how to prepare meals using the different cooking methods.
The strategies used by The Gourmet-O-Matic tm can be found in Dr. Applebaum's meal strategy guide, The FitnessMed tm Guide To Healthy Eating. That book contains recipes for over 1 trillion (yes, with a "T") meal combinations.
All of Dr. Applebaum's books can be found here.