If changing poor eating habits is on your to-do list, then learning how to turnout a healthy meal at home is a good place to start. Even if you‘re not much of a chef, you should know the best ways to prepare your foods to get more nutrients into your system. Because let’s face it, when you eat out, you don’t know exactly know what’s on your plate.

Cooking healthfully is not only good for waist size management, but it’s ideal for people under care for such health conditions as diabetes, high-blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and must depend on low-cholesterol, low-sodium foods to stay healthy.

So, say goodbye to frying. Consider these healthier ways to cook your foods for good health:

Baking
Seafood, turkey, skinless chicken, lean meats are all delicious from the oven. Simply place the food in a baking dish, throw it in the oven for the recommended cooking time and you’re done. If necessary, use a non-sticking oil spray to baste the bottom of the dish.

Grilling
To grill outdoors, place the food on a grill rack above a bed of charcoal embers or gas-heated rocks. For smaller items such as chopped vegetables, use a long-handled grill basket, which prevents pieces from slipping through the rack. To broil indoors, place food on a broiler rack below a heat element. Both methods allow fat to drip away from the food.

Stir-frying
If you really must fry something, here’s your best option. Grab a large skillet or frying pan, and with a little oil as a base, throw in thin or small pieces of lean meat or chicken breast and your favorite vegetables. Stir until thoroughly cooked for a quick, healthy meal.

Steaming
Mostly used for vegetables, the steaming method cooks food using the steam from boiled water. Fill a pot with 1-inch of water, put a steamer or colander inside the pot, bring the water to a boil, then place the vegetables inside and cover the pot with a lid. Steam until veggies are tender.

Sautéing
Similar to stir-frying, sautéing is another way to cook food quickly. This technique calls for a small amount of oil in a sauté or frying pan or shallow skillet under a medium-temperature of direct heat. Add your chicken breast, lean meat or vegetable of choice in the pan, allowing enough space to cook evenly.

Use healthy substitutes for saturated fats. If your recipe calls for whole milk, substitute skim or low-fat milk. Use unsaturated oils such as olive oils instead of regular oils. Instead of sour cream, use ricotta cheese made from partially-skimmed milk. Experiment with fresh herbs for flavor, instead of sodium-heavy seasoning salts.