10 Common Cooking Habits That Make Your Food Less Healthy & 10 That Make It Better
10 Common Cooking Habits That Make Your Food Less Healthy & 10 That Make It Better
Game-Changing Habits
Despite changing your diet and incorporating healthy meals, you may find the scale isn’t budging. This is because you may be adding extra calories or ruining the nutritional value of your meals by preparing them incorrectly. Luckily, this article goes over common pitfalls in healthy cooking, as well as pro tips to make the most of any meals.
1. Deep-Frying Everything
Most people get their mouth watering when they hear the words “deep fried.” Although tasty, crispy, and delicious, it’s not the most healthy way of preparing food. Too much oil can increase the chance of heart problems.
2. Overusing Salt
Salting your food is important to bring out the flavor. There is such a thing as too much salt, though. Excessive use of salt on your food can cause increased blood pressure and other complications.
3. Relying on Pre-Made Sauces
Although convenient, pre-made sauces are jam-packed with sodium, sucralose, and artificial preservatives. Looking for the healthier options in the supermarket doesn’t take too much effort, though. Even better is making the sauce yourself using a simple Google search for ingredients.
4. Not Balancing Meals
A well-balanced meal is super important when it comes to living long and healthy. It’s easy to forget this sometimes, as many people have too many carbs and fats in their diets due to the convenience of fast food. Adding protein and veggies is a great way to ensure there’s enough of everything in a meal.
5. Using Nonstick Cookware Wrong
Nonstick pots and pans are amazing for cooking. There are a few rules to follow while using them, though. Many people don’t know that overheating them can cause toxic fumes to be released, as well as scraping them with metal utensils releasing flakes of the non-stick coating into your food.
6. Ignoring Portion Control
Portion control is a very important step in a healthy diet. It’s easy to get hooked on a yummy dish or a convenient snack. Overeating is a dangerous thing that can lead to many issues along the way.
7. Using Artificial Sweeteners
Using artificial sweeteners is a necessity for some people with diabetes. Although no harmful results have been found in using them in moderation, overusing them in large quantities consistently is a different story. This can lead to gut health issues, according to some studies.
8. Overloading with Cheese
Cheese is a great addition to many dishes. It’s gooey, stretchy, and very delicious. Just make sure you aren’t overdoing it, as cheese does have plenty of saturated fats and adds calories to your dish.
9. Microwaving in Wrong Plastic Containers
Microwaving food is a great way to use up leftovers from a big dinner or even heat up frozen meals. When you are doing this, though, make sure to use a BPA-free and microwave-safe plastic container. Some plastic containers release toxic fumes that are extremely harmful when inhaled.
10. Skipping Fiber-Rich Ingredients
Fiber is super important in our diets. There are many options to choose from when it comes to getting your fiber in. Neglecting to add this to your diet can lead to digestive and heart problems.
Now that we have discussed what not to do, here are some pro tips to making healthy cooking a breeze.
1. Using Fresh Ingredients
It’s always better to go fresh when it comes to ingredients. Whether it’s a nice garden salad, juicy steak, or even juice, fresh is more nutritious and delicious.
2. Cooking with Healthier Oils
Fried food is usually on the less healthy side of the scale. There are some oils, though, that are actually good and recommended to use. Olive and avocado oils are rich in heart-healthy fats, when used in moderation, of course.
3. Steaming Veggies
Steaming your veggies not only eliminates the oil aspect of it but also is better for your health. While stir-frying or boiling are definitely an option, there is one more key benefit to steaming. This preserves more nutrients and flavor in the veggies.
4. Choosing Lean Proteins
Proteins are important for our health. There are so many options to choose from and so many different ways to prepare them. Choosing a leaner option is a very healthy way of getting the proteins you need, without the saturated fats that come with it.
5. Using Air Fryers
Air fryers are an amazing invention that has taken over the home-cook way of preparing food. It’s a very fast and convenient way of making food and reheating leftovers. You retain the crispiness of a deep-fried dish, without any of the unhealthy fats and oils.
6. Baking Instead of Frying
Another great way of preparing food is baking it in the oven. This alternative to frying or even deep-frying is way healthier. It reduces the fats and oils while keeping your food crispy and delicious.
7. Storing Herbs Properly
Storing ingredients properly is key to prolonging their shelf life and keeping them fresh and delicious. Make sure you have containers in cool areas when storing herbs. This goes especially for homemade herbs, as they tend to have a shorter shelf life.
8. Batch Cooking Healthy Meals
Cooking in bulk is a great way of having healthy food prepared and ready to go. This way you can avoid ordering something unhealthy. Simply make a week's worth of lunches, pack them up, then reheat when needed.
9. Using Fresh Citrus
Fresh citrus is extremely healthy and packed with vitamins. Using bottled or artificial lemon or lime juice is not even close to the real deal. It only takes a bit of time, but it makes all the difference.
10. Measuring Ingredients
Make sure you measure your spices correctly. Adding too much of anything can be unhealthy in one way or another. A pinch of salt is just a pinch, and a teaspoon is not the same as a tablespoon.
