Here’s an easy and neat idea, instead of marinating your meats in oil-based marinades, try something different and use one that is wine or fruit-based. Majority of marinades are loaded in oil, which means it’s loaded in fat and calories. How do you tell? Well if it’s a store bought marinade, look at the ingredients. Remember they are listed from highest quantity ingredient to lowest, so if oil is listed within the first 5 ingredients, it may be a good idea to not place it in your cart! Look for a marinade that is high in spices and relies on wine, vinegar, or diluted juice. Here are a few recipes for healthy, low-cal marinades you can try at home:
Rosemary-Red Wine Marinade
- Makes about 1 cup, Total Time: 10 min, Prep Time: 10 min
- Nutritional Information (per serving): 5 Calories, 0 g Fat, 0g Sat Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 49 mg Sodium, 0g Carb, 0g Fiber, 0 g Sugar, 0 g Protein
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup(s) red-wine vinegar
- 0.33 cup(s) dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 clove(s) garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon(s) salt
- 0.5 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Combine vinegar, wine, oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Use 1/2 cup to marinate chicken thighs, beef or lamb. Reserve remaining marinade for basting.
Pineapple-Chipotle Marinade
- Makes about 1 cup, Total Time: 10 min, Prep Time: 10 min
- Nutritional Information (per serving): 9 Calories, 0g Fat, 0g Sat Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 100 Sodium, 2 g Carb, 0g Fiber, 0g Sugar, 0g Protein
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup(s) cider vinegar
- 0.33 cup(s) frozen pineapple juice concentrate
- 2 tablespoon(s) molasses
- 2 tablespoon(s) chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon(s) canola oil
- 2 teaspoon(s) salt
Directions
- Combine vinegar, pineapple juice concentrate, molasses, chipotles, oil and salt in a small bowl. Use 1/2 cup to marinate chicken, pork or shrimp. Reserve remaining marinade for basting.
Tips & Techniques
Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. You can also find them dried with other chiles or at melissas.com and ground in the spice section of many supermarkets.
Estelle L. Benoit, RD, LDN
Source: realage.com, eatingwell.com