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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 over cooking,
especially when boiling, can destroy some of the important
nutrients that make vegetables so important.
The best way to cook most vegetables 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 stove top 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 less high fat
toppings may be needed, so the microwave is a great way to make
nutritious and delicious baked potatoes.
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 keep 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, empty it into a bowl, along with
the juice it is packed in. Then add banana slices, apples slices
and strawberries. For extra color and taste, add some
blueberries, raspberries or raisins. The total prep time for
this great creation is all 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 and 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 vinegars, herbs and fruit juices are
novel approaches to salad dressing, in addition to the many
nonfat and low fat versions of commercial salad dressing.
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About the author:
Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
