The desire to prepare and eat healthier foods causes many of us to invest a lot of money, time and effort, which often make us "give up" and go back to our old cooking habits and diet. Although the combination of the freshest and healthiest ingredients is probably the best way to improve the beneficial effect of food on your body, there is also a very large selection of tricks and small changes to help you prepare healthier and more nutritious foods, and these 30 tips below can be applied today!
Although this is quite a popular Middle Eastern salad and the base of most others, it turns out that it is not recommended at all. While this is not a combination that harms our health, it prevents us from absorbing the nutrients these vegetables have to offer. This is because the cucumber contains an enzyme that destroys the ascorbic acid, known as vitamin C, in the oxidative process. Therefore, try to avoid a combination of cucumber along with other vegetables containing vitamin C.
If you enjoy spoiling your family and guests with delicious pastries and baked goods, try using fruit puree instead of butter. This tiny change will reduce the amount of fat in the desserts, which will help you feel better even after you’ve eaten a piece of cake. The most recommended substitutes that will leave a great taste in your mouth are apple or pumpkin puree. You can also use delicate oils such as coconut or almonds, which are also a great substitute for butter in different desserts.
We often buy fish and don’t know if it is necessarily fresh. To make sure that the fish you are preparing is fresh, place it in a deep bowl filled with water; If it sinks, you can cook it without any worries, but if it floats it is best not to eat it.
Many times when we pour oil into a pan or a pot, we can’t control how much actually comes out of the bottle, but if you transfer the oil to a spray bottle instead, doing so will be much easier.
Although it’s easier and more convenient to splash or spray oil into a pan, it is highly recommended that you use stock instead to make your meals much healthier. Two tablespoons of beef, chicken or vegetable stock will suffice for regular frying. It should be noted that although these stocks contain fat, they are healthier than those found in oil.
The minced meat that you buy in packages may contain a lot of fat, so it is best to spend a few more minutes shopping and cooking meals, buying raw and unprocessed meat, grinding it at home and enjoying a more delicious meal that you know exactly what went in it.
While most of us have grown accustomed to coating different foods, such as chicken, with flour and breadcrumbs, it is important to remember that these are not the only two ingredients you can use to enrich your dish. Try coating your food with sesame seeds, ground nuts, chickpeas, lentil flour, oatmeal flakes and the like, and you'll find that even the healthier ones have great taste.
Of course, it is best to avoid adding salt to food or at least to reduce the quantities, but if salt is an essential ingredient in your recipe, it is best to add it after cooking or frying. This is because many nutritionists claim that salt that hasn’t been heated is healthier, which is why you should add it directly to your plate when the dish is ready.
Following the previous section, if you choose to add salt to your dish, you should opt for sea salt rather than conventional table or kosher salt. Sea salt also contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, iodine and other essential nutrients, as opposed to the simple salt also known as "sodium chloride".
Steaming vegetables is probably the healthiest and easiest way to prepare them, so if you don’t have to cook vegetables in water for example, for soup, and intend to eat them as a side dish or as a healthy snack, try steaming them.
After you’ve made your stock, it is recommended to pour the liquid into ice molds and freeze them. This method will allow you to easily add a few cubes of stock to the dishes you prepare in the future or use them for frying as recommended above, thus enriching the taste of your food. Moreover, freezing stock will allow it to last longer.
You can make healthier baked goods if you choose to replace wheat flour with other flour such as oat flour, buckwheat flour, coconut flour, and you may even prefer the new taste. In addition, those who are allergic to gluten will be able to enjoy these great substitutes, as well as a greater amount of fiber and other nutrients.
Sesame is rich in calcium, magnesium, and fiber and can be added to almost any dish, especially salads, so the next time you make a salad and want to add a little crispness and health, sprinkle some sesame seeds which will make your meal look good and taste even better.
Whenever you feel like indulging yourself in a delicious and healthy dessert, eat dark chocolate containing 70% cocoa or more. This informed choice will contribute to your brain health as well as better cardiovascular function. Click here to learn about 10 other health benefits of dark chocolate.
Pans and pots made of cast iron are best for cooking and frying. Cast iron does not emit hazardous materials during cooking, unlike other tools many of us use.
There is no question that we need to reduce our sugar intake, and we can do so easily by using healthier sweeteners. You can use honey, for example, to add a sweet taste to your morning drink, but you should know that adding it to a hot drink causes it to lose its health benefits, so you should do so only in cool drinks.
If drinking green tea is a habit of yours, you've already halfway done with this tip. Green tea is rich in essential antioxidants, and if you add a slice of lemon to it, it will help your body absorb them better.
Although you can fill a smaller plate several times and still eat more food than you should, the inability to stuff your plate in one go will probably help you reduce the amount you consume and control your portions more easily.
Set aside for a moment your regular seasoning and sauces that are high in sodium, with which you usually use to dress up your meat, and try marinating it in honey. The result will be sweet and much healthier.
Once you start eating your food more slowly and chew more often, your stomach will have more time to send a signal to the brain that it is full. In addition, the more you chew, the less is chewed, because chewing itself stimulates the nerve center in the brain that is responsible for the sense of satiety.
The next time you eat deep-water fish, such as mackerel, herring, sardines or salmon, you should pour some dry red wine into your favorite cup, which will not only intensify the taste of the fish, but it’ll also improve cardiovascular function!
You can keep vegetables fresh and nourishing over time by placing them on paper towels in the refrigerator. The paper towel will absorb the liquids and prevent the vegetables from rotting quickly. Make sure to change the paper towels daily to enjoy fresh vegetables for even longer.
Spice up the food you eat with spices such as hot paprika, red pepper, hot chili, etc., which will increase your metabolic rate and improve the digestive process in your body.
Reduce the number of sweetened drinks you consume and start drinking more water. An adult should drink 1.5 – 2 liters of water every day, which increases the metabolic rate and maintains a younger appearance over time.
Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, since at this time they contain the greatest amount of vitamins and nutrients.
There is no doubt that our body needs to rest during the night, and to this end, we should avoid eating close the bedtime. In addition, you should choose foods that will not make it hard for your body to digest to avoid the difficulty of falling asleep or insomnia. It takes at least 3-4 hours for your body to digest dinner, and if you still feel like snacking on something later, it's important to know which foods to consume and which ones to avoid.
Most of us are already aware of avocado's health benefits, and if you add it to the red meat you eat, you will enjoy a much lighter and healthier meal.
Broccoli is one of the healthiest vegetables you can find in most of our kitchens, and if you choose to spice it with mustard (preferably natural) it will help you absorb most of its nutritional value. The reason for this is that there are various Myrosinase enzymes in mustard that prevent the breakdown and loss of broccoli’s essential components during cooking.
Frozen vegetables retain a large portion of the vitamins and minerals that are found in them when fresh, which is why you should store them in the freezer if you don’t intend to eat them soon. Moreover, storing in the freezer will allow you to keep the vegetables for longer and prevent the rotting processes that may lead to throwing food into the trash and unnecessary waste.
Did you know that grains can be cooked not only in water or milk? The next time you cook different kinds of grains try to do it with green tea; Place a tea bag in a pot of boiling water, and the flavors that will fill your mouth will be wonderful next to the health benefits you’ll get to enjoy.
image source: Chrissy Wainwright
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