Tips to make your cooking healthier

In Nutrition, the most important and sometimes the most difficult step is to put theory into practice. The main meals arise as a problem and dilemma, when thinking about healthy options. When we talk about healthy cooking, apart from choosing the food, the processes they go through (including how they are prepared and their seasoning) make all the difference in the final result.

The truth is that all it takes is small tricks to turn the most familiar options into healthier ones, without having to become a true chef or step hours on end around pots and pans.

 

Tips

• To add flavour to food, avoiding adding too much salt and/or fat, you should leave the food in a rich marinade with aromatic herbs, spices, garlic and onion.

• To ensure that the dish has an intense flavour at the same time, use a variety of aromatic herbs, as well as ingredients that intensify the flavour without adding more calories, such as peppers, leeks and tomatoes.

• Avoid adding high-calorie sauces, such as cream or mayonnaise. Opt for low-fat yoghurt sauce, natural tomato sauce or preparations in which milk replaces fat. 

• In preparations which have sauce, the ideal is to discard the sauce, since it is the part which contains the added olive oil and the food’s own fat (especially in meat dishes).

• When using animal protein, namely meat, before cooking, all visible fat and skin should be removed from the different pieces.

• Opt for grilled dishes, where no fat is added, whether it is olive oil, butter, oil or coconut oil. This type of preparation without fat allows the food to cook in its own juices and at the same time makes it lose some of the fat in its composition.

• Saving on fats added to food also means avoiding frying rice and adding butter or sautéing pasta after it has been cooked. It is an addition which does not increase the volume of the dish and, on the other hand, significantly increases the calories in the meal.

• Opting for whole grain cereals (rice and pasta) helps to lower the glycaemic load of the meal and promotes prolonged satiety.

• Steaming vegetables will preserve the nutrients they contain and help maintain their flavour. If you opt to cook in water (by the traditional method), reuse the water for a soup or to cook rice or pasta.

• When seasoning vegetables, ease up on the addition of olive oil, use vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon, aromatic herbs and spices.

• For the quick options, avoid pre-prepared foods (for example, frozen hamburgers, fish fingers, among others), as they have low nutritional interest and high caloric value, making the meal inadequate.

• Opt for canned fish (tuna and sardines) in water and if the preparation requires it, add a little olive oil. It maintains the nutrients of the fish and avoids large amounts of fat.

 

By following these small steps, you will make your meal much healthier and more nutritious, no matter want you are looking for. Besides, in some cases you can even save time in the kitchen, making your daily routine easier.

Nutritionist, Jacinta Mendes
3341N