Are you a beginner or know how to cook, these amazing cooking tips are for you. In this special article you will learn some amazing healthy cooking tips.
Also you will learn how to set up your kitchen in a healthy way, So that you can everyday cook healthy at home.
You may have heard all the time about eating healthy food. The way healthy eating is important, cooking healthy is also equally important.
WHAT DOES HEALTHY COOKING MEANS ?
Healthy cooking means cooking your food in the most healthy way. This include choosing healthy utensils, oils, butters, preparing your food etc.
If you choose unhealthy oils or utensil to cook your food you may not get all the nutrients from your food. Even these can be harmful for your health.
So, not only eating healthy is important, cooking your food in a healthy way is also very important. Now let’s get to the tips
HEALTHY COOKING TIPS :
TIP 1 : Setting Up Your Healthy Kitchen
Setting up your healthy kitchen does not mean you have to renovate your kitchen. It simply means adding some healthy items to your kitchen.
These healthy items will help you to cook your food to get all the nutrients. Let’s see what things you can add to your kitchen :
- Cast iron pan
- Clay pot
- Glass storage containers
- Stainless steel pressure cooker
- Stainless steel saucepan
The above list may be big but you don’t have to buy everything at a time. You can start with 2 or 3 things. These are the best healthy options to cook and consume your food.
Tip 2 : Choosing the Right Food
Always pick fresh vegetables and fruits, make sure to always buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. Those fruits and vegetables which are not in season are kept in cold storages.
These cold storages leads to loss of essential nutrients, taste, texture and color from food. So, always bring fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season.
Also avoid buying imported foods because these foods are also kept in storages for months. Always buy those which are in your region. Fresh foods always taste better and good for your health.
Tip 3 : Wash Before Peeling and Cutting
Wash fruits and vegetables properly before peeling and cutting them. If you wash them after peeling and cutting it leads to loss of nutrients, such as water soluble vitamins.
Make sure to clean your kitchen’s surface, utensils and your hands before washing them. After washing dry them in a clean utensil.
Pro tip – never wash your fruits and vegetables in advance if you want to store them. Washing them in advance for storage can lead to bacterial growth due to moisture.
Tip 4 : Using Healthy Utensil
Whenever you cook your food, it is important to use a healthy utensil. These can be stainless steel, iron, clay utensils etc.
Avoid using aluminum because aluminum melts into your food and causes various health issues. Aluminum also reacts with acidic foods like tomatoes, which makes your food toxic.
Also try to avoid using non-stick utensils. Non-stick cookware on over heating can lead to release of toxic chemicals into your food. If you want a durable cookware then non-stick is not a good option.
After some time the coating of non-stick cookware rip of which is again harmful for your health if you continue using it.
So, what are the healthy swaps ?
Below are some of the healthy options you can use, also these have long durability when kept with care.
If you want to use :
Aluminum pressure cooker – Use stainless steel cooker instead
Non-stick pan – Use cast iron pan instead
Non-stick sauce pan – Stainless steel saucepan instead
Tip 5 : Stop Over Heating and Over Cooking
Cooking your food on high heat and for very long time, kills most of the nutrients from your food. This happens because of the chemical reaction that occurs while cooking. It also makes your food to digest harder.
What things you can do to avoid loss of nutrients from your foods ?
1. When you boil your food, the nutrients releases into water. All the nutrients get waste if you throw away the water.
So, the best thing you can do is to steam your food instead of boiling it. Steaming helps to cook faster and keeps all the nutrients intact.
2. Deep frying also leads to loss of nutrients from food due to high heat. So, instead of deep frying you can simply sauté or stir fry on low heat in a cast iron pan.
So, remember always cook your food on low heat in a healthy utensil. Also you must close the lid while cooking. It helps to cook food faster and keeps nutrients intact.
Tip 6 : Using fresh herbs :
Food taste so good when you add fresh herbs in it. There are some herbs that you can easily grow in your kitchen. These are parsley, basil, chives, mint, oregano, rosemary etc.
These herbs are filled with so many health benefits and fill your kitchen with amazing aroma. Also having greenery in your kitchen creates a very positive environment.
TIP 7 : Using A Clay Pot
Of course you need water for cooking and drinking purpose. Having a clay pot for water is the best thing you can switch to get a naturally clean mineral water.
There are so many health benefits of consuming water stored in a clay pot. It helps to boost metabolism, purifies water naturally, has natural alkaline properties and clay naturally has minerals.
It also helps to cool water naturally and you don’t need to consume water from refrigerator. Clay pot water is also gentle on your throat because of maintained temperature.
Tip 8 : Healthy Serving
After preparing your healthy food, it’s time to serve it. The best thing is to use a glass plate or bowl to serve hot food. You can also use clay plates or bowl for serving.
Never use plastic plate or bowl to serve hot or cold food, because on high temperature and very low temperature plastic releases into food and makes it toxic.
TIP 9 : Storage
Many times we have leftover food or prepare food in advance to work faster the next day. If you want to store your food in refrigerator, then use glass containers, never use plastic containers or bags.
The way plastic releases into food on hot temperature the same way it releases into food even on very cold temperature.
It is best to store your dry foods like grains, lentils etc in glass containers. Glass containers does not produces any smell in your food the way plastic does after some time because of toxic chemicals present in it.
FINAL WORDS :
Above are some of the tips that you can follow to cook your food in the most healthy way. These tips are super easy to follow and helps you to get the most of the nutrients from food.
