How to cook vegetables, pasta, and meats to preserve their health benefits

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Simple rules to help you make your food healthy.

It cannot be said unequivocally what is more important in food - a small amount of calories or a high content of vitamins. It all depends a lot on your personal definition of health. Journalist Ashley Hamer has compiled healthy food guidelines to help you with different approaches to healthy eating.

Vegetables

Vegetables are healthy on their own, and the way you prepare them depends on what you want to get. If you need a low-calorie meal, do not add oil when cooking: a tablespoon of this product contains on average 110-120 kilocalories. So instead of frying, boil vegetables, steam or grill them. And add less dressing to salads.

If your primary concern is preserving your vitamin C, microwave it. This vitamin degrades quickly when exposed to high temperatures, and food is cooked the fastest in the microwave.

To preserve the nutrients in carrots, zucchini and broccoli, it is best to boil them. Don't neglect frozen and canned vegetables. Like fruits, they begin to lose nutrients after being plucked. Therefore, frozen foods can be even healthier as they are chilled immediately after harvest.

Pasta and other carbohydrate foods

Carbohydrate foods are healthier to eat after they have cooled. Scientists found this out by conducting an experiment with pasta. Those participants who ate them not immediately after boiling, but in a heated form, jumped much less in blood sugar.

This effect is due to the fact that when cooled, the usual starch contained in the products turns into resistant (indigestible). It is more resistant to digestive enzymes and acts like fiber rather than sugar in the body. While ordinary starch is quickly broken down into simple sugars and absorbed by the body. Because of this, the level of insulin in the blood rises and the feeling of hunger returns faster.

So take your time to eat pasta, potatoes, or legumes as soon as they are cooked. Refrigerate them to make them healthier. Reheating will not affect the structure of the starch.

Meat

If you are looking for a low-calorie protein source, choose fat-free meat. For example, skinless chicken or fish. Fat itself is not harmful, but it is high in calories - nine per gram. This is almost twice as much as in proteins and carbohydrates (they contain four grams).

For the same reason, use as little oil as possible when cooking. Delicate types of fish can be boiled or steamed with herbs. For denser fish and chicken, bake in the oven or grill. Just don't overdo it: overcooked parts are unhealthy and can possibly cause cancer.