Preparing your meal at home is always a better option. Everyone wants to eat healthily but how many of us actually follow?
Most of us think that eating healthy involves unappealing foods that don’t taste good. If you choose the right ingredients and properly combine them, healthy eating can become appetising, flavorful and also more nutritious. Nutritionist Payal Rangar, Wellness & Health Coach shares some valuable hacks to increase the nutritional value of food:
Blanching:
Blanching is an amazing way to help enhance the nutritional value of food while minimizing the loss of the quality of food. Blanching is the technique of boiling food and then immediately stop the cooking process by submerging it in an ice bath. This method works well for vegetables that you want to remain slightly crisp or raw. Your vegetables will fresh-looking and stay vibrant because the colours and nutrients will be preserved.
By changing your cooking process:
By changing the way you prepare your favourite dishes, you can make them healthier. Baking your food is healthier because it needs less oil than sauteing and air fryer instead of deep frying. Avoid overcooking your food and use less oil and lower heat. Try to alternate between roasting, stir-frying, sautéing, and some items, like vegetables, being eaten raw.
Swap your food:
Swapping your food in a healthy way is the best option to stay healthy.
Instead of a creamy dressing on your salad, choose vinegar or just squeezed lemon juice for enhancing the taste.
While cooking you can use ghee or a little oil in place of butter.
Choose fresh produce food over processed food.
Use unsweetened fruit juices or natural sweeteners like honey and jaggery instead of refined white sugar.
Fill your plate with veggies:
Vegetables should make up at least 40 to 50 per cent of your plate. Vegetables are naturally low in fat. They provide your diet taste and variety. They also include essential minerals, vitamins, and fibre. The health benefits and amount of vitamins and nutrients in food depend on how it is prepared.
