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| TOTAL HEALTH RECIPES |
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Healthy Heart
COOKING
HEALTHY AT HOME
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STasty, nutritious 'cooked-at-home' meals can be a nice reward at the end of an
active day instead of opting for quick take away meals. By getting organized,
filling the shopping cart with wholesome foods, and then cooking wholesome low-fat
meals in quantity, you'll be making a sound investment in your health and fueling
your active lifestyle. The way you cook is just as important as what you choose
to eat. The fact is, some cooking methods are better than others for cutting cholesterol,
fat and calories while enhancing the nutritional value of your diet. As a rule
of thumb, avoid all cooking methods that allow food to cook only in fat. Instead,
try some of the following healthy cooking techniques discussed below…
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- Steaming
: Steaming is a fat free method of cooking food, which keeps the natural flavour,
colour and texture intact. It involves cooking food in a steamer basket over boiling
water. The moist environment prevents the food from drying and hence no oil is
required for cooking. Vegetables steamed only for a few minutes (until they are
tender but still crisp) will retain more nutrients than those boiled in water
for a longer time. Since the food does not come in contact with the water, more
vitamins are retained. Try adding herbs to the steaming water to add more flavour
to the food.
- Pressure
Cooking: This is one of the most effective ways of cooking. Food can be pressure
cooked without the necessity of adding fat. Also, pressure-cooking decreases the
cooking time by half, thereby reducing the loss of nutrients. Pressure-cooking
traps the steam inside the utensil because of the tight lid and as the pressure
builds up, the temperature rises and forces the steam into the food. Season the
pressure-cooked food with a good combination of spices, to compensate for the
flavours usually lent by fat.
- Boiling:
Boiling entails cooking the food in hot water over a high flame. Boiling in most
households is used as an alternative method to pressure-cooking, especially for
vegetables. As this method does not make use of oil, it is a healthy option, but
it leads to a loss of water-soluble vitamins like vitamins B and C. So if you
happen to choose this method of cooking, the best way to preserve these nutrients
is to cook them in a large volume of ready boiling water. This will help to speedup
the process of cooking, leaving less time for vegetables to leach out valuable
vitamins. The remaining water can be used to make soups, stocks or gravies.
- Stir-Frying:
Done in a Chinese wok, this method relies on the same principle as sautéing.
However, if you do not have a wok, do not panic. Use a broad and flat bottom non-stick
pan for stir-frying. It is a technique of browning foods quickly over high heat
in a very small amount of hot fat. High temperatures and constant movement of
the food keeps it from sticking and burning.
When stir-frying, it is important
that:-
a. The pan is very hot so that the food browns well without absorbing
the fat.
b. The pan is shallow and large enough to hold the food without crowding,
so that the food browns quickly.
c. The food to be cooked is completely dry,
to prevent it from stewing.
Try one of the recipes like Carrot, Cabbage and
Baby Corn Stir-Fry and Oriental Soya and Baby Corn Stir Fry and you will discover
for yourself that this method is definitely a fat saving one. - Baking:
Baking involves the cooking of food by dry heat in an oven. Baking converts the
water content of the food into steam, which combines with the dry heat of the
oven to cook the food. A word of caution here! Mind you, baking for healthy heart
does not include calorie and fat laden cakes, pastries, pies and other sweetmeats.
Baking can be made healthy by avoiding the use of fatty ingredients like oil,
butter, ghee, nuts, sugar etc.
All
the recipes mentioned in the above text can be found through the search
option.
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