Healthy cooking methods are really important when you decide to lead a healthier lifestyle. You can transform healthy foods into unhealthy meals during preparation. How? Add too much salt or overload your meal with fats and you will lose the health benefit! You can use several preparation techniques to reduce the amount of fat in your meal. Once you make the change, your tastebuds will adjust. You will also manage your weight better and reap the health benefits of having more nutritious meals.
How To Cook Healthy
STEAMING
Steaming is an excellent healthy cooking method as it does not destroy nutrients in the food during the cooking process. You can steam food over boiling water by placing it in a sieve-like container and leaving it over the pot of boiling water until lightly cooked. You can season the water for the aroma and flavour to infuse into the food.
STIR-FRYING
Asians have long been using stir-frying in their cuisine, as a way to retain the texture, colour and flavour of vegetables during cooking. This healthy cooking method prevents over-cooking the food and preserves the nutrients. The key is to use only a little cooking oil, and to first add a little water to the wok in order to prevent the oil from becoming too hot. Toxins called acrylamides are released when oil is heated to very high temperatures. These are known toxins and carcinogens.
GRILLING & BROILING
A favourite healthy cooking method is barbecuing. You can grill food either outdoors on the BBQ, or indoors in an oven or griller. Food prepared this way with direct heat allows fat to drip away. It is well-loved for its charcoal or smoke flavour and is a healthy low-fat way of cooking, although you need to take care not to char the food, as this can produce carcinogenic by products. It is best to grill food at lower temperatures.
ROASTING & BAKING
Baking and roasting can be another healthy cooking method if you restrict the amount of oil you use and lightly spray the food with olive oil instead. If you use a rack in the tray it allows the fat to drip off. Another technique you can use to limit the fat content is to baste with lemon juice or vinegar while cooking rather than the pan juices. You should also roast vegetables separately to prevent them getting coated with fat from the meat.
POACHING
Poaching is another healthy cooking method, similar to steaming. It is beneficial because it gently cooks food in hot liquid that is not quite at boiling point. This method therefore preserves nutrients in food. It is a good way of cooking eggs, fish and fruit.
Low Fat Cooking Tips
Cooking healthy meals can be easy if you get into the habit of reducing the amount of fat you use in cooking.
- Use non-stick cookware which eliminates the need for oil or fats
- Do not deep fry food. Stir-fry, bake, or grill instead
- Do not add extra oil or fats to food when roasting, baking or grilling food
- Use cooking oil sprays instead of oil or butter
- Use less oil than the recipe calls for when making curries or casseroles
- Choose healthy oils such as olive and canola oil in place of saturated fats such as butter
- Substitute evaporated milk or low fat yoghurt for coconut milk and sour cream in recipes
- Trim excess fat off meat cuts before cooking
- Skim fat off stews, sauces and gravies during the cooking process
- Drain fat drippings off after cooking, before serving the food
- Cut back on cream, cream sauces and oily gravies when cooking
Dangers Of Deep Fried Food
One of the worst methods of cooking is to deep-fry foods, as this produces trans-fats which can cause heart disease. In addition the food soaks up the fat and becomes laden with calories and this is really bad for your weight. Hot oil also results in toxins being released into the food. Use the healthy cooking methods outlined above instead for healthy living.