Often we cook our food in ways that end up destroying the nutrients – the very things we need in food- by either overcooking it or simply cooking it the wrong way.
It really defeats the purpose of going through the trouble of preparing a meal. Let’s see how we can remedy this and enjoy more nutritious foods, cooked just right.
Why Do We Cook Our Food?
Most of us like our food cooked, except of course if it’s a salad, or a fruit. When it comes to meat, poultry, fish and other seafood, certain vegetables and even fruits, flour, etc, cooking is a main part of their preparation before we consume them. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons we have to cook certain foods.
Meat, fish, poultry: We cook these before consumption to firstly kill off the harmful bacteria in them. Cooking these food items usually also involves the use of other ingredients such as herbs, spices, sauces, etc, that help bring out the lovely tastes and flavours of your cooked food and make them palatable.
Fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and spinach: Certain fruits and vegetables have nutrients in them that, when activated through cooking, are made more readily available and digestible. These include lycopene in tomatoes and all those carotenoids in carrots, and other nutrients in spinach, sweet potatoes, and peppers.There are also some vegetables that are quite inedible when raw, such as pumpkin or moringa, for instance, or kale, which is naturally tougher than most greens – cooking these will make it easier for consumption.
Tubers and root vegetables: Carrots, potatoes, yam, etc… these generally have to undergo some form of cooking before consumption to improve their taste and of course, to soften them up a bit!
Grains: Except for our breakfast muesli, most times we consume our grains cooked. Whole or processed, we have them in our bread, in our rice cooker, in our steamer… you get the picture.
Flour: Would you down a spoon of flour? Surely not! Whatever we intend to do with it in our kitchen, it will surely involve some sort of cooking – baking, saucing, marinating, thickening, etc.
THE BEST WAYS TO COOK
There are so many ways to cook our food, but if we’re not careful, we may also be cooking away all the important nutrients in them as well, leaving us with meals our body can’t use for proper nourishment. Depending on what you’re cooking, there are ways to cook foods without destroying their nutritional value. According to healthland.time.com, the following are suggestions on how to cook what. Check them out and decide what’s the best way to cook your food.
- Steaming
Cooking anything from fresh veggies to fish fillets this way allows them to stew in their own juices and retain all their natural goodness, without having to use cooking oils. All you’ll need is some seasoning to bring out the flavour of your steamed food. Steaming is the best way to cook certain vegetables, such as broccoli, for instance. As opposed to other cooking methods, steaming helps to preserve the carcinogen-fighting glucosinolates in broccoli that are important to help fight off cancer cells. If you haven’t been a fan of the steamer pot before this, it’s high time you did! - Poaching
Poaching involves cooking the food in hot water that’s just below boiling point – just be sure not to overdo it, or you might end up losing the nutritional content of the food you’re poaching. It’s a great way to cook fast-cooking foods such as eggs and fish, and even vegetables that are too tough to be eaten raw. - Microwaving
It may not be what we’ve been made to believe all this time, but microwaving your food may be a healthy way to cook after all. For one, it cooks your food from the inside out by activating the molecules in food, generating heat and getting them to cook. This method has been known to dry out food though, but this can be prevented by splashing on a bit of water before heating, or placing a wet paper towel over your dish. Microwaving omits the need for using additional oils for cooking, and it can be used to cook practically anything from veggies and rice to meat and eggs. Studies suggest that this cooking method may just be one of the best ways to preserve nutrients in veggies. Note: Ensure you use a microwave-safe container for this. - Broiling
Broiling entails cooking food under high, direct heat for a short period of time. Broiling is a great way to cook tender cuts of meat (remember to trim excess fat before cooking), but may not be ideal for cooking veggies, since they can dry out easily. - Stir-frying
Combined with a modest amount of good cooking oil such as olive or coconut oil, stir-frying could be a healthy way to cook bite-sized pieces of meat, grains like rice and quinoa, and thin-cut veggies like bell peppers, julienned carrots, and snow peas. Your food should not be cooking in the pan for too long though, or some of their nutrients may be destroyed by the prolonged heat.
Grilling: The Good And The Bad
In terms of flavorsome cooking, grilling has got to be one of our favourite – think BBQ nights with the aromas of our favorite cuts of meat cooking over an open fire! Depending on how well you prep your food, grilling imparts a smoky flavor while keeping meats and veggies juicy and tender. Still there is, unfortunately, a downside to grilling. Research suggests that regular consumption of charred, well-done meat may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. Cooking at high heat can also produce a chemical reaction between the fat and protein in meat, creating toxins that are linked to the imbalance of antioxidants in the body and inflammation, which can lead to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The solution? Make barbequed meals a once-in-a-way thing, and when it’s time for grilling, use lean cuts of meat, and try not to overcook dark meats.
