4 Healthy cooking techniques to help make healthier meals
When we talk about food and nutrition, it’s not only the food we eat but the whole process starts from procuring the raw food items and their cooking methods. Cooking methods play an important role in health & nutrition as it helps in better absorption and digestion of the food we eat. However, wrong cooking methods can also lead to destruction & denaturing of the nutrients.
Principles of Cooking and Cooking methods in Nutrition
Principles of cooking and cooking methods are different from nutritional perspectives. Different food sources and their relationship with cooking methods are different. Fruits, nuts, and some vegetables can be eaten raw while grains, hard vegetables & spices need to be cooked for better palatability, digestion & absorption.
What are the objectives of cooking?
- Cooking aids in nutritive importance to food
- Cooking improves the flow of digestibility
- Cooking kills bacteria or germs and keeps our food safe.
- Cooking enhances the flavor, taste, and aroma and it also changes the appearance and makes the food more appealing
The best cooking methods to get all the benefits-
- Steaming:
Steaming basically means cooking the food with steam generated by the water. This method can keep intact in food and cooks the food well. While steaming, the food gets enriched with Iron and helps in increasing the absorption of it. Apart from nutrition, the taste and color also get enhanced.
2. Sautéing:
This method can save you lots of nutrients as the vegetables are lightly cooked with low fat. Sautéing makes the food soft yet crispy and keeps the digestive issues away.
3. Blanching:
We usually boil the vegetables & throw away the water that can drain the vegetables of their nutrition values. Blanching is an advance way of putting the vegetables in boiling water for 2 minutes and soaking them in ice-cold water immediately. This retains the nutrients and the color of your vegetables.
4. Baking:
Besides breads and desserts, you can bake seafood, poultry, lean meat, vegetables and fruits. For baking, place food in a pan or dish, covered or uncovered. Baking generally doesn’t require that you add fat to the food which may help reduce consumption of fat.
Healthy cooking doesn’t mean that you have to become a gourmet chef or invest in expensive cookware. You can use basic cooking techniques to prepare food in healthy ways. These hacks can help you acquire the maximum nutrition food can offer. Cook the right way to avoid nutrient damage and to up your health status.
References-
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/healthy-cooking/art-20049346
- https://www.nestleprofessional.us/sites/g/files/gfb131/f/media/nutripro_magazine_healthy_cooking_methods.pdf
- https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_pRVkS6nUPEC&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
