It is not all that easy to eat healthy as one is tempted to eat tasty sumptuous food in restaurants. Eating healthy means one has to restrict oneself to healthy foods that help in maintaining the body system.
Yet one must prefer home-made cooked food as it will be very nutritious and add to one’s well-being.
In fact, it has been observed that those who cook at home add-on fewer calories and have healthy nutritious food as compared to those who eat out. Many people tend to survive on junk food as they feel cooking at home is a tedious affair.
Healthy cooking prevents obesity and one can maintain the good weight. One can manage diseases well and even chronic diseases such as diabetes etc. Even children also benefit healthy wise by having home-cooked food. Mothers must encourage their children to eat at home.
Cooking is indeed a talent that anyone can incorporate into their daily routine.
In order to cook healthy, one need not focus on restaurant type of dishes. Cooking at home can be a simple affair but healthy and nutritious. The simple food cooked at home can be tasty and filling as well.
Cooking can be fun also and one will feel proud in taking care of one’s family. Quality time can be spent in cooking meal at home and also one can save money as well.
Table of Contents
1. Shopping Wisely
Prior to cooking one has to plan out one’s grocery list and here one has to be judicious in purchasing sensibly. One must purchase nutritious food at reasonable prices so that one can save money. One must shop for seasonal fruits as well as vegetables.
• One does indeed need to go for whole-grain food items rather than refined grain products such as white flour, white rice, white bread as well as regular cereals.
• Whenever possible, one can go in for organic products.
• One can also purchase herbs and spices for seasoning.
• One can buy low-fat dairy products such as skim milk as well as low-fat yogurts cum cheese.
• Buy whole-wheat cereals and oats in order to fix a quick breakfast.
One has to check out one’s pantry and then prepare a list of items that are required before going to the local market. Before going to the market, check your pantry and refrigerator and also prepare a list of things one needs. We must stick to one’s list rather than go in for temptations. Stick to one’s list to resist impulse buying. , of course, must be on healthy choices.
2. Choose the Right Cookware
For healthy cooking, one needs to h the proper cookware. Bad cooking can affect one’s health. One must prepare food properly.
It was found that aluminum cookware was actually made from scrap metal in countries around the world thus posing a serious health hazard.
It is better to avoid making use of aluminum as well as painted or decorated pots and pans, which are made of lead as well as silver toxic materials. This can indeed cause severe digestive disorders.
Glass, stainless steel as well as cast iron cookware are very safe to make use of. Cast iron cookware supplies help in reducing the risk of anemia, muscle weakness, sleep problems, menstrual pain and several other issues.
3. Replace Salt with Herbs
One body requires sodium as it is important to regulate volumes of fluids in one’s body and also helps in the uptake of various other nutrients into the cells. Consuming too much salt is not good for health.
It is advisable to reduce sodium intake to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease, a stroke and coronary heart disease in adults.
One need not compromise on the taste of the food. Avoid processed salt. Make use of other alternatives such as Celtic or Himalayan sea salt. You can also use pepper, herbs, and spices to add flavor to one’s dishes.
4. Use Sugar Alternatives
Excessive sugar is not good for health. It leads to weight gain as well as obesity, diabetes as well as heart disease.
Some foods do contain natural sugars, while others tend to contain added sugars. Of course, occurring sugars are rather found in foods such as fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Added sugars are sugars as well as syrups used during preparation or processing of foods, or added at the table.
One can replace sugar with healthier options such as dates, maple syrup, jaggery as well as coconut sugar, to name a few.
5. Use Smart Fats
While cooking one does require a little bit of fat. Making use of excessive fat is not healthy as well as using the wrong fat. Unhealthy fat does cause diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, high cholesterol levels, and cancers of one’s reproductive system, colon as well as the gallbladder.
Have unsaturated fats, and avoid saturated fats such as butter.
One can make use of healthy cooking oils such as extra-virgin olive oil, which does contain omega-3 as well as 6 fatty acids as well as vitamins E and K. Olive oil that can help reduce one’s risk of heart disease, diabetes, asthma, arthritis as well as cancer. It does make one’s skin as well as hair health.
One can use canola, coconut, sunflower and safflower oils which are considered to be healthy.
Make use of sort of fat in moderation because all fats are loaded with calories.
6. Opt for the Right Cooking Method
One must cook right for a healthy meal.
Cooking food in oil is indeed a very common affair. Too much oil adds calories and excessive body fat.
Fried food intake involves the risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure, diabetes or hypertension. It is better to avoid deep-frying and try oven-frying or other healthy options such as pan roasting, steaming, baking, grilling, braising, boiling or microwaving one’s food.
Microwave or steaming of one’s vegetables does help retain the nutrients.
7. Make and Your Own Sauces, Dressings Condiments
When preparing a healthy plate of salad or a sandwich, most of us end up making a big mistake by adding sauces and dressings bought from the market.
Most sauces, dressings, and condiments that are readily available in the market are loaded with fat, salt, sugar and several toxic elements. It is better to make one’s own sauces, dressings as well condiments.
One can have a creamy salad dressing without unhealthy fats, puree an avocado, adding some herbs and other flavorings and naturally one’s salad dressing is ready.
Avocados contain several vitamins, copper, iron, protein potassium, fiber, as well as omega-3 fatty acids that do help promote brain as well as heart health, preventing arthritis, protecting against cancer, aid digestion and nourishes one’s skin.
One can also make dips and marinades thus making use of Greek yogurt, vinegar, and other fruit- and vegetable-based purees.