4 Best Tips for Preparing Light and Low-Calorie Food

We will give you the four best tips on how to prepare light and low-calorie food. You will see that it's very simple and by changing a couple of details, you can enjoy a healthier and more nutritious diet
4 Best Tips for Preparing Light and Low-Calorie Food

Last update: 24 August, 2018

On many occasions, preparing light and low-calorie food can be a challenge. What begins as a healthy recipe ends up being a meal that has just a few healthy ingredients. This is because of how we may cook it, or because we add extra ingredients with many calories and few nutrients.

1. Cooking on the grill

The first thing you should do to prepare a light and low-calorie meal is to banish frying. Instead, get a grill. If you do not have one, we recommend that you buy one, because it is a kitchen must have.

In addition to healthy cooking, cooking on the grill is much faster than cooking with a deep fryer or a frying pan. This is because you do not have to wait for the oil to heat up. When cleaning it, you simply wipe it with a damp cloth.

If you’re used to eating battered foods, surely the idea of cooking on the grill seems boring? So that this does not happen, we recommend that you use spices such as rosemary, thyme or oregano. You will discover new flavors and you will want to repeat those meals.

2. Swap store-bought sauces for homemade sauces

It’s pointless buying healthy foods if afterwards, we are going to eat them with lots of sauces. This often happens with salads or meat or grilled fish. Our recommendation is that you make your own sauces such as the ones we suggest here.  As you can see, they are varied and can be prepared quickly with ingredients we have at home.

Homemade food: couple preparing sauce.

Another advantage is that they can be stored for days in the fridge, so you can store them just like store bought sauces. So you can enjoy the sauces without adding a large number of calories and sugars.

The same goes for hot sauces. They usually have a flour base that makes them unhealthy. If you usually make this type of sauce to accompany meat or fish, we recommend that you take a look at these.  The sauces we have suggested are much healthier and you can prepare them in advance, and warm them up when you are going to consume them.

3. Always keep healthy food in the freezer

Surely you can identify with the situation that we are going to describe to you next? You arrive home late and tired after a long day at work. You do not feel like cooking and you end up ordering food at home or buying some pre-cooked food.

To prevent this from happening, we recommend that you always have healthy food in the freezer. You can have it already prepared or chopped, so that cooking it is faster. Take advantage of those days when you have the time to cook and freeze a few portions.

Healthy food in the freezer.

You can cut strips of onion, green and red pepper, and freeze them in a bag. When you arrive home late and do not have time to cook, you just have to cook them in the pan, from frozen with a glass of water. After 10 minutes, when they are cooked, add two eggs and stir. It’s that simple to eat light, low-calorie food, even when you do not have much time.

4. Buy a spray dispenser for oil

Olive oil is a fundamental food in Mediterranean cuisine. Despite this, it must always be used sparingly since its caloric content is very high. To use just the right amount, we recommend that you buy a spray dispenser. You can find it in any household store.

Once you have it, you will ask yourself why you didn’t buy it earlier! You can take advantage of it for use in many types of meals. It’s also very useful to grease baking pans where sponge cakes or other cakes are made, because it provides just the right amount of grease.

As you can see, with only four small steps, your recipes will have more nutrients and a lower number of calories. Change your habits and keep enjoying your food, but in a much healthier way.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Castañeda Rieckhof, L. (2018). Estudio de prefactibilidad para la instalación de una planta productora de aceite de oliva (Olea europaea) extra virgen en spray. Universidad de Lima.
  • Sociedad Española De Nutrición Comunitaria. (n.d.). Guía de la Alimentación Saludable. Nutricioncomunitaria.org. Retrieved December 24, 2022, from https://www.nutricioncomunitaria.org/es/noticia/guia-de-alimentacion-saludablesenc

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.