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Low-Fat Simple Cooking
By D La Pierre Ballard

Copyright (c) 2011 by D La Pierre Ballard
08-DEC-2011

Low-Fat Simple Cooking works because simple food is really good.

Please feel free to quote or copy from this webpage.
Also, feel free to link to this webpage.
This webpage is purely for educational purposes.
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Basically what Low-Fat Simple Cooking amounts to is the following:

It is low-fat because only vegetables, whole grains and
beans are cooked, and they are cooked totally without the addition
of any oils or other fat. Of course, white rice, white flour and
sugar are not used because they are not whole grain.

It is simple because the cooking method is to use a 2.5
or three quart glass covered baking dish to cook the various
vegetables, whole grains or beans for two, three or four hours in
the oven at 300 degrees F. Water is added at the beginning of the
cooking and sometimes more is added later if needed.

Every thing is cooked in the same type of baking dish at the same
temperature 300 degrees F. Only the cooking time is different for
different things. Simple here also means slow and gentle with
plenty of water. It is best to preheat your oven for half an hour
or so.

Sometimes seasonings are added at the beginning, during or at
the end of the process of cooking. Seasoning, of course, is up
to your own taste and preferences.

Low-Fat Simple Cooking works because simple food is really good.
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CHAP: Low-Fat Simple Cooking: the Vegetables, Whole Grains, Beans
Updated 2011/10/24, 2011/10/13, 2011/09/20, 2011/08/26, 2011/06/14,
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Black-eyed peas

Black-eyed peas are one of the real staples along with pinto beans
of southern cooking. Black-eyed peas are especially good on New
Years Day to bring prosperity for the coming year. They are also
good on all of the other days, too! You can buy them in a one pound
package. Wash them and pick out any that are bad. Cook covered with
at least three times as much water as peas. Cook them for two hours
or more. A can of diced tomatoes is good in them. Enjoy them with
your favorite seasonings.
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Brown rice

Always use whole grain brown rice. Put a pound of brown rice in
the baking dish. Add about three times as much water as rice. I
like to add a can of diced tomatoes for seasoning for more flavor.
Cover and cook for two hours at 300 degrees. The secret to cooking
really good brown rice is to use plenty of water and cook the rice
until it clumps together. Season the brown rice to your taste. I
use crushed dried chili peppers and soy sauce, or I use salsa.
Usually, I like to add water at the end of the cooking as the rice
may have turned out a bit dry.
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Cabbage

Cabbage is inexpensive and delicious when cooked with the Low-Fat
Simple Cooking method. Wash it and cut it up in the cooking
dish. About half cover it with water. Cook for two hours. Other
vegetables are good cooked with it.
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Garbanzo beans

I had always heard that garbanzo beans or chick peas were hard
to cook. They cook fine but need to cook a little longer than
some other beans do. Put a one pound package after washing and
sorting into the cooking dish. Add about three times as much
water as beans. Cook for three hours. Water will probably need
to be added after two hours. A can of diced tomatoes is good to
add for seasoning along with your other favorites. They will
come out very tender and tasty.
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Grits or Polenta

Grits are a breakfast staple in the south. Pour them into your
baking dish with twice as much water as grits. Cover and bake them
for two hours at 300 degrees in a preheated oven. Season them to
your taste. I prefer soy sauce or hot sauce. I am not as big on
grits as I am on oats. Still, once in a while they are pretty good.
And, remember, just because grits have traditionally been a breakfast
food does not mean they cannot be eaten at other times too.
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Lentils

Lentils are one of the easiest beans to cook. Put a one pound
package of them after rinsing in the baking dish. Then add about
three times as much water as lentils. Cover and cook for two
hours. A can of diced tomatoes is wonderful to put in them. When
done, season them to your taste.
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Pinto beans or kidney beans or black beans

Low-Fat Simple Cooking people stand in awe of the humble pinto
bean. Actually, kidney beans, red beans, black beans and white
beans are just about as wonderful! These beans come in one pound
packages. Wash them and sort out any that are bad. Cook them
covered with three times as much water as beans for two hours.
If needed add more water. Then cook for another hour or even
more. I like to add a can of diced tomatoes somewhere in the
process. They are simply wonderful to eat then or to refrigerate
and rewarm later. Season them to your taste. I like crushed
dried chili peppers and soy sauce as well as salsa to season
mine. An onion chopped up is good in them, too. Here again, if
the beans end up a bit dry at the end of cooking just add some
water.
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Oats

Oats are one of the best kept secrets of Low-Fat Simple Cooking.
Best are the whole grain rolled oats or the whole grain steel cut
oats rather than the instant oats. Oats need about three times as
much water as oats to cook in your baking dish. Cover and cook them
for two hours. Have some with your preferred seasonings. Put the
rest in the refrigerator as they are even better warmed over. When
cold they have a rubbery texture but do not be put off by this.
Oats like grits are very good at any time, not just for breakfast.
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Potatoes

Potatoes are very inexpensive and are a favorite with nearly
everyone. They are wonderful cooked using the Low-Fat Simple
Cooking method. Scrub them and trim off any bad spots. Then
cut them up before putting them in the baking dish. Add
enough water so that they will not cook dry. I like to cut up
an onion to add to the potatoes to add flavor. Cover and cook
for a two hours. Then they are moist and ready to eat with
your favorite seasonings on them. If you like your potatoes
in baked potato style, just do not cut them up!
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Split green peas

Split green peas can be bought in one pound amounts. Rinse
them, put them in the baking dish with about three times as much
water as peas. Cover and cook for two hours. Split green peas
cooked in this way are fantastic. Season them to your taste. I
use crushed dried chili peppers and soy sauce to season mine.
Split green peas cooked with the Low-Fat Simple Cooking method
are just about my favorite thing to eat.
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Squash, summer

All kinds of summer squash are wonderful when using the Low-Fat
Simple Cooking method. Wash them, cut them up and put them in
the baking dish with plenty of water. Cover and cook them for
two hours. Season with your favorite seasoning. I like to
cook onions, peppers or potatoes with them.
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Squash, winter

Winter squash such as acorn squash or pumpkins are pretty
tough and need to be cut up very carefully. Also, they need
to have their seeds removed. Wash them, cut them up and put
them in the baking dish with plenty of water. Cover and cook
them for two hours. Season with your favorite seasoning.
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Sweet potatoes

Here again we have a real staple of Southern cooking. Scrub
them with a vegetable brush and maybe cut the ends off. Put them
in the baking dish, cover half-way with water and cook for two
hours. Other vegetables are good cooked with them in the same
dish. Plain sweet potatoes are terrific by themselves or with
other vegetables. They are really good hot or cold and rewarm
wonderfully well. To me they taste overly sweet, but I can still
eat three or four of them cooked this way during the day.
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Turnip greens

Turnip greens cook very nicely using the Low-Fat Simple Cooking
method. Cut them up and put them in the baking dish with enough
water so they will not cook dry. Cover and cook for two hours.
Throw in an onion with them for more flavor and maybe a cut up
potato or two. Many of our vegetables cook very nicely together.
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CHAP: Low-Fat Simple Cooking: Seasonings
Updated 2011/10/13, 2011/09/20, 2011/04/08, 2011/03/29, 2011/03/14,
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Seasonings

Some of the following seasonings are good to add during the
cooking process and some are better to add once the cooking is
done. Different people will prefer different seasonings. I
especially like the following seasonings:

Chili peppers, dried and crushed, this is my favorite seasoning

Hot pepper sauce, there are many good brands that are fat free

Lemon or lime, a squeeze from half a lemon or lime is terrific

Onions, chopped or sliced, yellow or white or purple or green

Peppers, green, poblano, jalapeno, chili and many others

Salsa or picante sauce

Soy sauce, I prefer the "less sodium" soy sauce

Tomatoes, canned, I prefer the no salt diced tomatoes

Tomato paste, canned, I prefer the no salt tomato paste

Vinegar, balsamic, tarragon, red wine or apple cider

Whole flax seeds to add some crunchiness and other goodness
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CHAP: Low-Fat Simple Cooking: Thoughts
Updated 2011/04/13, 2011/04/08, 2011/03/29, 2011/03/26
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Very slow gentle cooking with plenty of water sure produces
good things to eat. That, of course, is the Low-Fat Simple Cooking
method.

When you open your oven door, you lose lots of heat and need to add
to the cooking time. If I take a dish out of the oven to add water
or seasoning then I usually add at least half an hour to the cooking
time.

When the 2.5 to 3 quart cooking dish is full, it takes about an
hour for the food in it to get hot and begin cooking even in a
preheated oven. Sure, a higher temperature ie 325 degrees can be
used but that means a loss of gentleness to the whole process and
less simplicity.

Cooking food at 300 degrees and with plenty of water makes the
cooking time somewhat inexact since an extra half hour or hour
will not hurt anything. In fact a little extra cooking time just
makes the food better. Just make sure the food is in plenty of
water.
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CHAP: Low-Fat Simple Cooking: Advantages to this Method
Updated 2011/04/08, 2011/02/12, 2011/02/05
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There are lots of advantages to Low-Fat Simple Cooking. Until I
started cooking the Low-Fat Simple Cooking method I was not
aware of the many advantages to that method.

The glass covered baking dish can go into the refrigerator to
save the food left over for another time. There is no need to
change the food to a different container for the refrigerator.
And, of course, the Low-Fat Simple Cooking method produces good
vegetables, whole grains and beans that are especially good
warmed over!

Since this method is low-fat, the baking dish when emptied is
much easier to wash than using other methods of cooking. It
works so well for me that just about as soon as I get it washed
I am ready to cook in it again!

I have three of these glass covered baking dishes and most are
in use all of the time. I would like to have another one or two!
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CHAP: Low-Fat Simple Cooking: Salads and Fruit Require No Cooking
Updated 2011/10/24, 2011/10/13
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Green salads and fruits do not need cooking before eating.
These make a wonderful supplement at any time to the fare of the
Low-fat Simple Cooking method. They are the staples that the
Low-Fat Simple Cooking person eats when eating in restaurants.

Of course, fresh green salads consisting of greens and other
fresh vegetables are eaten without added oils or other
non-method condiments. However, a splash of vinegar on a green
salad might be good.

In restaurants sometimes a baked potato or a baked sweet potato can
be ordered without any condiments. Sweet potatos are good without
anything at all added. Baked potatos can be enhanced with vinegar,
hot sauce or mustard depending upon your tastes.
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