3 Tips for Healthier Cooking Methods

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Cooking has become a hobby for most of us in this time of 2020: Where we are all stuck at home for most parts of the day. We have started becoming creative in new ways to save ourselves from boredom attacks! Now, you suddenly have the urge to finish all the arts and crafts projects that have neglected for the last 6 months, we finally get our green fingers into the garden and move around the furniture you've been meaning to do.  And, of course: We spend more time in the kitchen cooking up a storm! But, how can we still put our health first? How do we ensure our cooking methods won't end up sticking to our hips? We must enrich our minds to learn what to choose and what to avoid... By sticking to these 3 easy tips, you will definitely be on the track to staying healthy!

Tip #1: CHOOSE THE METHOD

The actual method is the biggest influence of how healthy your meal will be: IF you choose to deep fry EVERYTHING - the recipe will not be as healthy as when you choose to pan-grill some items while leaving others raw... You get where I'm going with this! 

Mix and match various methods in your meals to get exciting flavors! Pan-grill your chicken breast; pair it with steamed broccoli and oven-roasted pumpkin slices... Yummy! Here are some methods you can include:
  • Steam - This works for most vegetables, fish and some meats
  • Boil - This works for our starches like rice, pasta and vegetables like carrots, potatoes
  • Oven-roast - This works excellently for most foods: Meat, chicken, vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato and so on, fruit - for a healthy dessert
  • Leave it raw - Various vegetables can be left raw and still taste wonderful! For example carrots, green beans, spinach, butternut, onion and mushrooms. Remember to wash it very well before eating it! 
  • Pan-grill - Use smaller amounts of oil, but still get that great texture. Choose less processed oils: Olive oil, canola oil, raw/pure sunflower oil. Avoid cooking with butter, avoid trans fats.

Tip #2: CHOOSE THE FLAVORINGS 

By choosing how you flavor your food, you also have a choice to make the meal healthier! Here, the biggest culprit is SALT and PRESERVATIVES. Avoid using salt but stock up on flavor! How can you do that? 
  • Use herbs and spices; plus get the correct pairings of which foods to flavor with which herb/spice.  Here are some great herb-food combinations to remember!
    • BASIL - Most vegetables especially anything with tomatoes
    • MINT - Lamb, salads, homemade ice tea
    • ROSEMARY - Butternut, potatoes, chicken, stews, lamb, pork
    • THYME - Chicken, eggs, vegetables
  • Boost the taste using natural flavorants like: Onion, garlic, tomato, peppers, chili, black pepper and white pepper etc. 
  • As mentioned above, by using different methods, you can also change the flavor: Grill the onions this time; next time use them raw... This grants you different flavors!

Tip #3: CHOOSE THE SAUCE 

Most sauces are hidden fat, salt and high energy culprits. We usually forget to count them as part of the meal, forgetting that they are usually packed with unhealthy ingredients. Here are some tricks to choose the healthiest way to use sauces in your meals! 
  • Avoid cream based sauces or highly processed sauces. These sauces are unnecessarily high in saturated fat. 
  • Choose to rather make your own sauces for cooking, using lots of vegetables; or choose vegetable-based sauces (tomato or onion based sauces)
  • Avoid double-saucing: Limit adding sauces both while you're busy cooking AND afterwards while eating. Make your own salad dressings and pasta sauces. 
Follow these easy, simple tips the next time you're in the kitchen! And spend your days as healthy as possible. You can pop over to our recipes to find exciting cooking inspiration for the next meal!


For more inspiration and cooking tips, you can get your Easy Wholesome Recipes E-book here! 

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