Green healthy cooking does not mean you have to give up your favorite foods. You can easily adapt your favorite recipes to make healthier options. Nonstick cookware, for example, can be used to cut down on the use of cooking oil. To preserve valuable nutrients, vegetables can be microwaved or steam cooked instead of being boiled.
There are many ways you can make your meals healthier. Reduce fats, sugars, salt, and increase the amount of fruits, vegetables, meats, and low-fat milk in your green healthy cooking. Foods high in added fats, sugars and salt are less nutritious than those that are naturally found.
Green healthy cooking Limit fats to a minimum
To reduce hidden fats, choose lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Limit processed foods. Because they contain the essential long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, these fats can be accompanied with other beneficial nutrients, such as avocado, nuts, seeds, fish and soy.
Avoid adding fats to your cooking and instead use monounsaturated oils like olive or canola oil.
green healthy cooking food shopping
- Shopping is the best time to start low-fat, green healthy cooking
- If possible, choose the reduced-fat or low-fat version. This includes milk, cheeses, dressings, gravies, and yoghurt.
- Select lean cuts of meat and skinless chicken breasts.
- Avoid fast food, chips, crackers, processed meats and pastries, as they all contain high amounts of fat.
- Low fat cooking
Some suggestions:
- You can use cooking sprays to reduce oil consumption or oil brushing to apply oil.
- Instead of using oil, cook in liquids like stock, wine or lemon juice, juice, vinegar, or water.
- Low-fat yogurt, low-fat milk and evaporated skimmilk can be used in place of cream for sauces and soups.
- Instead of adding oil to the pan before browning vegetables, heat a pan and then spray it with oil. This will reduce the oil vegetables absorb while cooking.
- You can also brown vegetables in pan-frying by cooking them in the microwave and then grill them for a minute or so.
- Instead of butter, cream sauces, and sour creams use pesto, salsas, and chutneys.
Maintaining the nutrients
Water-soluble vitamins can be easily damaged during cooking and preparation.
To minimise nutrient losses:
- You can scrub vegetables instead of peeling them. Many nutrients are close to the skin.
- Instead of boiling vegetables, microwave or steam them.
- You can boil vegetables with a little water, but not too much.
Incorporate more stir-fry recipes into your diet. Stir-fried vegetables can be quickly cooked to preserve their crunch and other nutrients.