Low Fat High Protein Alchemy

[scott123]

I despise low fat food.  At least, most of it.  There's a handful of dishes that I'm aware of that seem to create palatable gold from low fat lead.  They are:

Red sauce, lean beef and pasta

Sushi

Lean beef chili

Cocktail shrimp

Chicken teriyaki

 

I've spent a lot of time googling this, and most of the recipes lean towards the pretentious.  I'm looking for staple low fat high protein dishes.

 

Does anyone have any favorite low fat high protein dishes they can recommend?

 

[weinoo]

I don't necessarily understand the request.

 

You can certainly cook most any fish/shellfish for high protein/low fat results.

 

Pork tenderloin or loin chops are low fat and high protein. Pork piccata? Veal piccata? 

  

Beans.

 

What is the end result you're expecting from this experiment?

[Shel_B]

Boiled/steamed/poached eggs?  Pretty unpretentious, low fat, good protein percentage, simple, easy, inexpensive.

 

Chicken breasts can be prepared in numerous low-fat ways.  Sunset magazine's pepper steamed chicken is a favorite here and a nicely poached piece of chicken can be something very nice. There are many recipes and techniques for poached chicken.

 

Apple cider braised turkey thighs? I've had good results with that and my guests have liked the dish.

 

Over the years I've been making variations of turkey/bean chili, sometime with little or no oil.  Pretty simple, add herbs and spices to taste.

 

Variations of the Native Americans' Three Sisters Stew might be worth considering.

 

I'd be happy to send you these and other similar recipes.

Edited April 10 by Shel_B
Additional information (log)

[Alex]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I don't necessarily understand the request.

 

You can certainly cook most any fish/shellfish for high protein/low fat results.

 

Pork tenderloin or loin chops are low fat and high protein. Pork piccata? Veal piccata? 

  

Beans.

 

What is the end result you're expecting from this experiment?

 

Ditto. I mean, eggs are high-fat, at least by my way of looking at it> Shel, could you describe a bit more what "low fat" means to you in this context?

[liuzhou]

When I was rather ill last year, I received a number of human protein injections. I'm pretty sure they were low fat!

 

 

[AlaMoi]

the dear doctor exiled me to a low fat diet . . .

how much is low?  no answers . . . make it up as you go . . .

 

fish, poultry per se are very low fat.

beef can be low fat - you have to be picky.  ground beef 80/20,,, no.  92/93/95/x - yes.

steaks - trim the fat!  the marbling does bring fat, but it is minimal compared to a big ole fat cap.

USDA Prime vs Choice is the amount of marbling - you can see this with ye olde' eyeball!

pork - same idea - the meat proper is rather lean, but the typical fat cap is not - trim trim trim.....

 

salad greens - low fat. but brings up the point - the greens are fine, the creamy dressings . . . not so low fat!

 

how you prepare the fish/poultry/pork/beef is THE controlling factor to "fat consumption"

fish / chicken smothered in cheese . . . no, not low fat.

meatballs and spaghetti . . . . works until you put piles of parm on it.

grilled/broiled steak is not outrageous, unless you do the resto trick of ladling melted compound butter over it . . .

 

as for "dishes" - petty much all the vegetables are ultra low fat - sauted in butter,,,, oops!

potatoes are one of my fav - low fat, very filling/satisfying.

but baked potato with butter, sour cream, bacon bits . . . no so low fat.

Edited April 10 by AlaMoi (log)

[scott123]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

I don't necessarily understand the request.

 

You can certainly cook most any fish/shellfish for high protein/low fat results.

 

Pork tenderloin or loin chops are low fat and high protein. Pork piccata? Veal piccata? 

  

Beans.

 

What is the end result you're expecting from this experiment?

 

The goal is low fat food that I'm not acutely aware is low fat.  For instance, I can sit down to a few tuna rolls and be blissfully unaware that I'm eating a low fat meal.  Low fat chili isn't a fraction as wonderful as chili prepared with fattier ground meat and sauted vegetables, but I can sit down to a bowl and not be completely miserable. A piece of cod with lemon, though? Just kill me now.  A can of tuna without mayo?  Pure agony.  

 

I'm not looking for a list of low fat meats, I'm looking for ingredients/ways of preparation that can hide their lack of fat and make them less miserable.  

 

Tomatoes seem to be able, to an extent, and in certain dishes, make lean protein less torturous.  Gelatin is another ingredient that can help lean protein shine.  Homemade stock is a game changer for low fat cooking, but I just don't have the time. I have time limitations as well as budgetary concerns.  If I could afford it, I'd eat sushi three times a week.  But I can't. Filet mignon is tastier than the sum of it's fat, but it only goes on sale once a year- if I'm lucky.  Glutamates can help lean protein taste better, but it requires a bit, and while I'm not calling MSG an 'excitotoxin,' I do feel a bit weird as the dose goes up.

 

It would be easy to just say "fat is flavor" and accept the fact that I'm always going to be miserable consuming low fat food, but the existence of low fat foods that I'm not miserable eating challenges that paradigm. And, because this list is so presently small, I can eat these dishes so frequently that they end up becoming just as miserable as everything else.  So I'm trying to flesh out the options a bit.

[BeeZee]

Some of the things you've noted above gain "palatability" due to texture (raw tuna = unctuous mouthfeel "fatty-like") or strong flavor blanketing the protein (chicken teriyaki, shrimp cocktail) (shrimp may be low fat, but they are high in cholesterol, so I wouldn't lean too hard on those). What about the idea of developing a roster of highly flavored marinades and sauces to make the proteins more interesting? Fresh salsas/chutneys would be helpful, also. If working with something like chicken, poaching it keeps it moist, then you can add sauce/garnish. I bet if you find a vintage 1980's Weight Watcher cookbook (or something "Nouvelle Cuisine"), you'll find some ideas, since that era was all about low fat dieting.

[Maison Rustique]

Check out Pierre Franey's Low-Calorie Gourmet and Craig Claiborne's Gourmet Diet books. Are they completely low-fat? No. But they are definitely lower in fat and will give you some good ideas for how to cut fat and calories in your cooking. 

[gfweb]

The airfryer opens up some low fat options.  You can do a credible chicken parm without deep frying etc.

 

And if you tolerate a pat of butter at the end there are a lot of no fat meats (eg fish) that can taste nice if finished with butter.

 

Spices like Spanish paprika will cover up a lack of fat too.