Eating nutritious food can improve the energy levels in your body and helps you to keep it healthy. But the wrong methods of cooking can impact the whole nutrition chart of a vegetable or fruit.
One might not know but vegetables suffer nutrient loss during cooking. Similarly, cutting fruits can also take away half of the nutrients. Incorrect method used for cooking (including, prolonged exposure to heat or water) makes your food to lose nutrients like vitamin B1, vitamin C, and polyphenols.
But don’t worry, if you are ready to learn how to preserve nutrients while cooking. Here are some cool tips that you can use to keep the nutrient inside your food, making it go to waste.
1. Wash First Than Move To Chopping
This is the first rule of the kitchen, and if you like to wash your vegetables and fruits after chopping than you are doing it all wrong. Chopping first and washing afterwards can take away vital nutrients from the food.
[Also Read: Use These 5 Cooking Rules On How To Make Healthy Noodles]
2. Go For The Big Chunks And Avoid Chopping Small
Although fine chopped small pieces of vegetables look good, you should never chop them too small. Opt for the big chunks to preserve nutrients, as this will make sure fewer nutrients come in contact with air and get destroyed.
3. Secret Of Vegetables With Roots
All the vegetables that have roots, such as potatoes and carrots should be always boiled with skins on. This helps to retain the nutrients inside your food. The skin over these vegetables helps to move the nutrients to the centre of the vegetable.
4. Soaking Is Not Good
As most of the nutrients in vegetables are water-soluble, if you left your chopped vegetables soaked in water for a long period of time, almost 40% of nutrients and minerals will be lost. Try not to use this method, but in case it is necessary, use the remaining water to make the gravy or soup.
[Also Read: These Flowers Can Take Your Cooking Up A Notch (Edible Flowers List With Pictures)]
5. Longer cooking time kills nutrients
As most of the vitamins are sensitive to heat and air, cooking them at high temperature and that too for a long time destroys a lot of nutrients from your food. Try not to overcook food, it’s not going to make it taste better.
In Conclusion:
If you are trying to get back in shape and aiming for a healthy body. Your food is the first thing you need to pay attention to. It’s good now you know how to preserve nutrients while cooking vegetables.
Eat healthy, stay healthy, don’t let all the goodness of vegetables go to waste.
