This year you have decided to eat healthy. You shop for the healthiest ingredients. Buying healthy foods is only half the work, cooking with these in a healthy way is equally important.

Here are some tips to get you started on healthy cooking.

Tip 1: Ditch the bottle of oil, pour your cooking oil into a clean spray bottle and spray your pan while sautéing vegetables, small cuts of meat or boiled pulses. More often we tend to use far too much oil when we pour it from a bottle (including oil bottles). This easy tip will save us a lot of calories.

Tip2: Cut down on salt. We love salt in our food; the Indian diet feels incomplete without salted sabjis, curries, namkeens (namak- means salt in Hindi) and not to forget rich oily pickles. And we wonder why we suffer from high blood pressure! In addition, we consume processed food and junk foods which are all high in salt. Cut the junk! For your main meals season your food with garlic, lime juice, pepper, curry leaves, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, herbs and spices.

Tip 3: Go green. Greens are powerhouses of vitamins and minerals and they contain healthy fiber that keeps you full. Add them to sabjis, paranthas and salads. An added bonus is that they are low in calories, yet due to their high moisture content they keep you full. Cut down on that extra cup of rice or that chapathi and have a bowl of lightly steamed greens or a healthy garden salad instead. Do not fry greens using a high flame. Wash them well and steam them covered with a lid to retain their nutrition.

Tip 4: Plan meals ahead. Make sure your meals have a healthy source of carbohydrate, protein and vegetables (either cooked or raw). Avoid one dish meals which don't contain vegetables. Change from fried rice to a healthy boiled brown rice with soy chunks and stir fried vegetables instead. Planning saves you time and prevents you from cooking healthy food in an unhealthy way.

Tip 5: Use healthy cooking methods like pressure cooking, boiling, grilling, baking, sautéing, roasting for cooking vegetables, eggs and meat. These methods help retain the nutrients and save time while cooking.

Tip 6: Enjoy eggs. For eggetarians and non-vegetarians egg whites are a good source of healthy protein. Boiled egg whites or omelettes made of egg whites on a non-stick plan require minimal oil. Eggs are excellent sources of protein to build muscle and lose weight as they take longer to digest thereby keeping you full.

Tip 7: Healthy fats. The truth is healthy fat does not make you fat. Unhealthy fat and overeating or eating too many high calorie foods make you gain pounds. Your body needs healthy fat for healthy skin, brain, heart and nervous system. Fish contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids, just make sure you do not deep fry your fish or cook it in oily or rich gravy. A fistful of nuts is loaded with nutrients, healthy fat and protein. Here again, do not have nuts that have been fried or salted and since they are high in calories, just a fistful will do. Have as a healthy snack or lightly toast them and sprinkle over salads.