Some people have realized that their cooking methods can decrease the quantity of nutrients their body derives from the food, while others completely ignore this fact.
However, if you care about your health and you are willing to modify your cooking methods to ensure you consume the complete nutrients from the food you eat, take a few minutes of your time to read this short guide.
In it, you will discover the top 5 cooking methods that preserve the nutrients in your foods.
Let’s jump right in…
1. Broiling
This method involves using high, direct heat to cook your food for a short period. While broiling is not a good way to cook veggies (they dry out easily), it is one of the best options for cooking tender cuts of meat.
However, you need to control the temperature of your oven broiler to prevent enzyme degradation and consequently, loss of nutrients.
Being able to control the temperature using the oven’s thermostat is one of the differences between broiling and grilling.
Also, the heat in broiling comes from above, but that of grilling comes from below.
Since broiling uses dry heat (no additional oil is required), it is very effective for small cuts of chicken and beef that have been basted during cooking or marinated before being cooked.
2. Using a microwave
A microwave is cooking with steam. Vegetables, fish, and chicken are the three most common foods that are prepared using a microwave. After microwaving them, the vegetables retain its color and nutrients, while the chicken plumps up properly. Other foods are cauliflower, potatoes, broccoli, and beets.
The most powerful microwaves are those with a very high wattage per square foot.
3. Using a pressure cooker
The vitamins and minerals in food cooked with a pressure cooker are preserved because this method requires very little water and time. The lesser the water and the cooking time, the less the amount of vitamins and minerals that are leached away.
Since the steam intensifies the flavors, there is no need for you to add oil, fat or any seasoning to improve the taste of the food. By allowing your pressure cooker to cool naturally before you remove the lid, you allow the steam to condense the small amount of liquid back into the pot.
Thus, you can consume the liquid with your meal and further reduce the loss of nutrients.
Your vegetables can be ready in about three minutes, your rice in five minutes, your whole chicken in 15 minutes, while your soups and stews may take a few hours.
Are you unable to choose a suitable pressure cooker? Check out these instant pot review which will help you find the best one to cook your delicious food.
4. Eating without cooking
Research has proven that eating raw foods can improve your health.
By eating raw foods, you consume natural vitamins, minerals and fibers since most of them are plant-based (fruits and vegetables) and no cooking is involved (which means no sugar or fat is added).
5. Steaming
This simply means using steam to cook food. Steaming preserves the natural nutrients in foods and there is no need for you to add fats when preparing your food.
Apart from microwaving, steaming is the most effective cooking method for preserving nutrients in foods. Since it doesn’t dry out delicate flesh, steaming is highly effective for fish, shellfish, halibut, cod, and snapper.
Conclusion
You just learned the top five healthy ways to cook your meals and preserve their nutrients.
And that means you can now eat with confidence that you are consuming the full nutrients of the foods you are eating. We don’t necessarily expect you to make drastic changes to your diet. Rather, it would be helpful if you start mixing up your cooking methods with the one shared in this guide.
Also, consider incorporating eating raw foods in your food schedule. If you need deep tutorials on using any of these methods, you can check out YouTube videos.
