How to cook for a healthier you
When it comes to healthy eating, sometimes how you cook is just as important as what you eat. There are definitely healthy, and less healthy, ways to prepare the healthy foods you buy.
When it comes to cooking vegetables, it is always best to use as little water as possible. That is because overcooking, especially when boiling, can destroy some of the important nutrients that make vegetables so important.
The best way to cook most vegetables is in the microwave, preferably in a special microwave vegetable steamer. Vegetables can also be lightly cooked in a microwave-safe bowl, using as little water as possible.
Vegetables can be cooked on the stovetop as well, but it is important to use as little water as possible when boiling vegetables. Vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are particularly susceptible to losing important nutrients.
Microwave ovens are also great for making other vegetables, especially baked potatoes. Baked potatoes get great in the microwave, with the skins getting nice and crispy and the flesh being very tender. Of course, this means that fewer high-fat toppings may be needed, so the microwave is a great way to make nutritious and delicious baked potatoes.
Delicious Meals
Grilling is another great way to make healthy, delicious meals. Grilling meats is a great, low-fat way to prepare meats, and it is a great way to make vegetables and fruits as well. Vegetable kebobs are great on the grill, whether combined with lean cuts of meat or made into a meal of their own.
Your oven’s broiler is another great way to create low-fat meals. Broiling is a great way to prepare all kinds of meats and seafood, and broiling is a low-fat cooking method as well. Broiling fish is a great, fast, and easy way to prepare this staple of a healthy low-fat diet while broiling steaks and chops keeps fat at a minimum while keeping taste at its highest.
The handy kitchen blender is another great way to create delicious snacks using healthy fruits and vegetables. Blenders are great for making fruit smoothies, and most recipes call for little more than crushed ice, fruit juice, and fresh fruit.
Some great, high-nutrition, low-fat, low-calorie meals require no preparation at all. For instance, it is possible to make a wonderful, and easy, fruit salad with just a can of mandarin oranges, an apple, some strawberries, and a banana. Simply open the can of mandarin oranges, and empty it into a bowl, along with the juice it is packed in. Then add banana slices, apple slices, and strawberries. For extra color and taste, add some blueberries, raspberries, or raisins. The total prep time for this great creation is of five minutes.
Fruit skewers are another creative, healthy, and easy meal or snack. Simply take shish kebob skewers and stack them full of melon slices, strawberries, red grapes, white grapes, and chunks of pineapple. Plain nonfat yogurt makes an excellent low-fat dip.
In addition to the above ideas, making your own homemade salsa is a great way to create a low-fat alternative to sour cream and other high-fat dips. Salsa can be made using healthy ingredients like tomatoes, mangoes, avocados, onions, cilantro, and lime juice.
In addition, perking up a plain salad is a great way to add even more fruits and vegetables to an already healthy diet. For example, use broccoli florets, carrot slices, slices of cucumber, green peppers, red peppers, and bean sprouts to add color, zest, and flavor to any salad.
Cucumbers, green peppers, broccoli, and carrots are also great additions to pasta salads and potato salads. Adding extra crunch and color is a great way to add zest to any meal or snack.
Even a plain green salad of lettuce and tomatoes can be enhanced through the use of colorful fruits and vegetables. Adding vegetables like carrots, bean sprouts, and spinach leaves, and fruits like mandarin oranges, apple slices, nectarine slices, grapes, apple slices, pineapples, and raisins, adds both beauty and taste to any salad.
Of course, salad dressing is always an important subject for those trying to follow a healthy lifestyle. High-fat dressing can sabotage even the healthiest salad, but there are many excellent, low-fat, and healthy choices when it comes to topping a salad. Using flavored vinegar, herbs, and fruit juices is a novel approach to salad dressing, in addition to the many nonfat and low-fat versions of commercial salad dressing.
DISCLAIMER:
This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.
Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA-approved they must be accompanied by a two-part disclaimer on the product label: that the statement has not been evaluated by FDA and that the product is not intended to “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”
