10 Healthy Cooking Tips

Everyone recognizes the clear links between health and diet. Both the kinds of food you eat and the way you cook them influence your wellbeing. If you have any doubts about this, compare the damage junk food causes with the benefits of a diet rich in natural fruit and vegetables. Contrary to what some people believe, good health does not require you to deprive yourselves of tasty and satisfying meals. It only takes a little more thought about what ingredients you buy and how you prepare them. With so many natural food outlets and an abundance of recipes and healthy cooking guidelines, it is easier than ever before to eat well and stay in good shape.

Cook with olive oil

Healthy eaters try to avoid cooking with oil as much as possible, but if you do want to try some food, make sure to use natural olive oil. This is much healthier than corn oil and all the other popular commercial cooking oils. Even though it costs quite a bit more than the cooking oils most people use, it is worth the extra expense. Olive oil lacks the harmful substances found in cheaply manufactured oils. It also provides a valuable dose of the Omega-3 fatty acid that helps to lower blood pressure and thus improve heart health.

Resist the temptation to make instant meals

Modern urban lifestyles encourage people to economize on cooking and eating times. It is much easier to buy an instant meal packet from the supermarket than to prepare a nourishing meal. Pour boiling water over the contents of the packet, and you get a quick meal to quench hunger, but you get much more besides. Pause to think about the artificial colorings and other potentially harmfully substances you absorb from such foods. Is it not preferable to make that little extra effort to cook a meal with natural ingredients?

Go easy on that salt

Salt is one of the essential minerals our bodies require, and it also happens to be our favorite food flavoring, but you can have too much of a good thing. We all know how too much salt added in the cooking spoils the taste of the dish. It also triggers high blood pressure and other health issues. Wherever possible, use sea salt in cooking. Do your best to avoid having foods processed with salt. Also, instead of adding salt to that cooked dish, try substituting olive oil or lemon oil.

Flavor cooked dishes with traditional herbs

Many people have become used to tasting salt and oil in foods. Since nobody enjoys eating a bland dish, explore how traditional herbs provide a wide range of flavoring options. The most common use of herbs today is in the preparation of meat meals, but you can use them to good effect in soups, desserts, and salads. You might also want to use them in bread and other baked products, for example, garlic bread. For maximum benefit, add herbs to the dish just before it finishes cooking.

Put that frying pan away

The message that fried food is higher in calorie content has been widely propagated, but many find it hard to turn their backs on frying. Like it or not, incontrovertible evidence supports the message about the unhealthy nature of fried foods. Why fry that food when you have the much healthier options of boiling and steaming or cooking the dish in the microwave? These methods produce meals just as tasty as fried foods but with a lot lower fat content.

Use non-stick cookware

Expect to pay more for non-stick cookware that stainless steel pots and pans, but the health benefits justify the extra few dollars you have to pay. In addition to the healthiness of the foods you cook, it makes a real difference when you use the most hygienic cooking vessels. The fact that cooking in non-stick pots requires much less cooking oil is another good reason why it is better to use them. Besides these health benefits, non-stick pots and pans save time cleaning up the kitchen after meals.

Practice low-fat cooking

Nobody argues with the claim that low-fat cooking is the healthiest kind of cooking. There is no shortage of ways to reduce fat in cooking. For example, instead of making soup and source with cream, try to use low-fat milk. Another good idea is to lose less cooking oil. Instead of pouring oil from the bottle into the pan, use a spray or brush. If possible, aim to replace regular cooking oil with wine, or fruit juice, or at least cook in natural olive oil.

Replace pasta with vegetable substitutes

Fresh vegetables provide many of the healthiest cooking ingredients. Try to make these a mainstay of your meal plans instead of less beneficial foodstuffs. For example, find vegetable substitutes for pasta in your cooking. Some chefs recommend replacing spaghetti with spaghetti squash and making noodles out of zucchini. A look online and in bookshops soon reveals the wide range of vegetable recipes available. You should have no problems creating varied yet much healthier meal plans.

Maximize the nutrition value of cooked foods

Even those who make a point of cooking with the most beneficial foods lose valuable nutrition content in the preparation and cooking processes. A few easy to follow steps help avoid this sacrifice of essential vitamins and proteins. It is always better to scrub vegetables rather than peel them before cooking since their skins are often rich in nutrients. Taking care not to boil vegetables too heavily also helps to preserve their health-giving properties. It is a good idea to minimize the amount of water used for boiling them.

The advantages of home baking

Most households baked their own bread and cakes in times gone by. Now, most people buy these products at the supermarket to save time. Yet, home baking is always preferable from a healthy cooking perspective. Mass produced foods contain all kind of preservatives and artificial flavorings that healthy eaters prefer to avoid. Bake at home to retain full control of ingredients and ensure your food is completely fresh and unadulterated.