If you don’t cook your food properly, it can drastically decrease its nutritional value and cause serious health issues. Similarly, despite the numerous health benefits of fruits and vegetables, the way you cook them can either reduce or increase their levels of vitamins, nutrients, and other valuable ingredients.
Here are some of the healthiest ways to cook your food.
Steaming
Even though some nutritionists would argue that eating raw vegetables is the best way to retain their nutritional and vitamin levels, steaming vegetables can actually be healthier. Steaming vegetables like carrots, cabbage, peppers, broccoli, spinach, and leafy greens, doesn’t produce fats or calories. In addition, steamed vegetables contain more antioxidants than raw vegetables.
Roasting
Not only does roasting give your food that rich, tasty flavor, but it can also boost the nutritional value of certain foods. Since food is roasted in dry heat, it allows the fat to drip away, eliminating excessive salt and potentially harmful components. Roasting meat or vegetables at a lower temperature and over a longer period of time also allows for minimal loss of vitamin C.
Sautéing
Sautéing is a healthy way to cook meat and vegetables. While sautéing does require oil, olive oil or sunflower seed oil can enhance the food’s antioxidant capacity. It’s also practical for preparing grains, such as rice or quinoa.
Poaching
Poaching is a much better alternative to boiling as it requires less water. This cooking method is typically used for eggs, fruits, and fish. However, since the food is cooked at a lower temperature, this can result in a loss of vitamins.
Pressure Cooking
Cooking your food in an instant pot or a pressure cooker is quick and easy. It’s a form of moist heat cooking suitable for meat, vegetables, soups, and chilis. Not only does pressure cooking help retain the food’s nutritional value, but it also leads to minimal oxidation of cholesterol.
Get the Most Out of Your Food
There are numerous ways to prepare and cook your food, but steaming, roasting, sautéing, poaching, and pressure cooking are some of the healthiest. These cooking methods help retain and even increase your food’s nutritional value.
