‘Avoid oily and fried foods’ is an advice that anyone with high cholesterol generally gets from their healthcare providers. Doctors generally advise minimizing oil consumption for people with high cholesterol, mainly because excessive intake of unhealthy fats (like saturated and trans fats) can worsen cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. No-oil cooking using an air fryer and microwave oven has become common. Many kitchen appliances and cooking techniques also help you cook vegetables, fish, and meat without adding even a drop of oil, which is good for healthy eating. These are some of them. 

Steaming
Steaming food is a popular cooking method that preserves the taste, aroma and nutrients in the food items. Idli, puttu and idiyappam are some of the popular steamed breakfast items. You could also steam meat, dish and veggies easily to enhance its flavour and nutrients. Pressure cooking is an effective method that destroys bacteria while cooking the food items to perfection. Food cooked in pressure cooker is safe to consume and helps in saving time, fuel and energy. Boiling food items in plain water or milk requires no oil. Rice, dal, meat, tubers and eggs could be boiled like this. Boiling is an easy method of cooking that makes food tasty, safe and easy to digest. However, the vitamins that dissolve in water would be lost in this type of cooking. 

Nonstick cookware
Nonstick cookware with Teflon coating is suitable for cooking without oil. Non-carbonising Teflon and Nonstick ceramic are apparently the safer versions. The coating that doesn’t contain PFA (Per and Poly Fluro Alkyl Substance) is safer than other kinds of coating. But, the nonstick coating might come off and exude a toxic fume if the temperature rises above 5000 Fahrenheit (2600 degrees Celsius). These fumes contain dangerous chemicals that increase the risk of cancer. Eggs, dosa, chapati and appam could be cooked in nonstick pans without rubbing oil or greasing the pan. 

Roasting
Peanuts could be roasted in hot pan without adding a drop of oil. Roasting is a method that improves the texture and flavours of the food items. However, dry roasting peanuts or chickpeas may lead to protein loss. 
Grilling
Papad, fulka and chicken could be grilled directly over the flame without adding oil. Grilling could also retain the flavour and aroma of the food items. A delicious rub made of pepper powder, salt, coriander, curry leaves and chili flakes could be added while grilling meat and fish. 

Toasting
Turning a food item warm or crisp by placing it between two hot plates is called toasting. Sandwich breads could be taasted to add the perfect crunch and texture. 
Solar heater
It is a safer method that uses sun rays for cooking. 
Microwave oven
You could bake or cook delicious food items without adding any oil in microwave oven. However, make sure to use only oven proof vessels like oven safe cookware, glass bowls, silicone and microwave safe vessels. 

Food cannot be cooked in metal, aluminium or steel cookware without adding oil as it would get stuck to the bottom. Meanwhile, cooking in ceramic cookware can be time consuming as aluminium paint cannot be applied on them. In ceramic cookware, heat is distributed from over and under the food item. Convection oven has fans to circulate hot air around food to create an evenly heated environment. These are perfect for baking without adding oil or butter. Meat, fish and vegetables could be easily cooked in the oven without losing its taste and nutrients. Although microwave oven is commonly seen in households, it is mostly used for reheating the leftover food. Microwave oven is the perfect appliance to reheat or warm food items that could get burned easily if cooked in other ways. Meanwhile, micro plastics may get mixed in the food if plastic vessels are used in oven. 

High heat in microwave oven could destroy bacteria, but the heat may not be evenly distributed. Although cooking in oven requires no oil, it could lead to loss of water from the food as well as vitamins that get dissolved in water. 

Trendy air fryer
Cooking in an air fryer can reduce the calorific value of food items by at least 70 – 80 per cent. Besides, this appliance is equipped with the technology to remove the natural fats from the food, especially meat, while cooking. Making crunchy veggie chips in an air fryer is easier than in the oven. Instead of oil, add pepper powder, garlic, salt, curry leaves and coriander to vegetables and meat to enhance its taste and flavour. Moreover, it is possible to fry, bake, roast, grill, reheat leftover food, dehydrate and roast in an air fryer without adding even a drop of oil. However, cooking in an air fryer cannot be considered the healthiest cooking method as the polyunsaturated fats that are good for health are lost. Besides, too much-oxidated byproduct of the cholesterol in food isn’t great for health. Moreover, you might also notice changes in the natural taste and aroma of some foods when cooked in an air fryer. 

Having food items with fewer calories helps with weight loss and is great for heart health, too. Besides, the nutrients are also preserved to a certain extent. An air fryer is an appliance that makes a sound, but it isn’t loud enough to cause any sound pollution. 

Although no oil is required to cook food using the above cooking methods and techniques, oil could be added in tiny amounts for the fat. Including food items like avocado, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, and fish varieties like Indian salmon, sardines, and mackerels that are natural sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in your regular diet increases the good cholesterol and improves the heart health.

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