Having a healthy diet does not mean having to sacrifice flavours. It also does not mean not being able to have your favourite dish. Having a healthy diet can involve cooking your favourite recipe but adapting it in such a way that it consists of more nutritious options. For example, using non-stick pans allow you to use lesser cooking oil. In addition, you might also want to consider steaming or microwaving your vegetables rather than boiling or stir-frying them in order to retain beneficial nutrients better.
There are many more ways, which we will share in this article, to cook healthier at home.
Use minimal fats
When cooking meat, always go for lean meats if possible or minimal fat at the very least. Also, use less-fat to no-fat dairy products as well as limit the use of processed foods to reduce the case of hidden fats.
Healthier food options such as soy, seeds, olives, nuts, avocado, and fish are highly encouraged to consume as they are rich in beneficial long-chain Omega 3 fatty acids, which are found to reduce heart disease and dementia.
If you have to use fats in your recipe, it would be best to use as little as possible or use monounsaturated cooking oils such as canola and olive oil.
Buying healthier food
Healthier cooking starts from the items you purchase when doing your grocery shopping. Note to get reduced or less-fat version of any food, for example, items such as yoghurt, gravies, cheese, salad dressings, and milk. You might also want to consider getting lean meat with minimal fats and skinless chicken breasts. Lastly, limit the amount of fast food, pastries and pies, processed meats, and snack consumption to a minimum as they all are highly fattening.
Low-fat cooking
When using oil, try using cooking oil alternatives such as cooking sprays to limit the amount of oil used or olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, or safflower oil. You might also want to consider cooking in a liquid such as wine or soup stocks. In the case you are cooking creamy dishes, use low-fat or evaporated skim milk or low-fat yoghurt rather than cream. When stir-frying vegetables, place the vegetable in the heated pan before adding the oil. This method helps to reduce the amount of oil that the vegetable will absorb as it cooks. You might also want to consider using pesto, chutneys, vinegar, and salsas to replace butter, creamy sauces, and sour creams.
Retain nutrients
Vitamins that are highly soluble in water can be easily destroyed in the preparation and cooking process. To minimise such losses, you might want to scrub them instead of peeling as most nutrients are found near the surface of the skin. You may also want to steam or microwave rather than boil them. Alternatively, stir-frying them is also good as it.
Reduce the amount of salt used
Salt is used to enhance flavour. However, excessive use leads to health-related issues such as high blood pressure. Some ways you can adopt to help you reduce your salt intake include using frozen or fresh vegetables instead of canned ones, reducing the use of processed meats such as bacon and ham, or minimising the amount of processed sauces such as soy sauce and tomato sauce.
Use herbs to add flavour
Culinary herbs can help to add colours and flavours to your dish. In addition, they are also high in health-protective Phyto-oestrogens. All in all, they are great alternatives to oil and salt. However, when using them, note that herbs and delicate and should be added in the last few minutes of cooking. It does not matter if you use dried or fresh herbs.
Conclusion
Healthy cooking goes a long way to our general health. As they said, health is wealth. Nothing is more important than looking out for our family’s health. So, take a little more time to ensure that every component of your cooking is healthy. Nevertheless, if you do not have the time to cook at home yet still want the assurance of healthy takeaways, then consider FattyDaddyFattyMummy’s tingkat lunch and dinner delivery. We offer a variety of healthy tingkat options, including our healthiest option called Love, Tingkat, which uses no processed or canned food and low sodium salt, among other healthy options. For more information, visit us at https://www.fattydaddyfattymummy.com/.