Health is wealth so they say. As human beings, it’s our responsibility to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. And one way of taking of care of the people we love is through cooking good food. When it comes to cooking healthy food, it’s all about the ingredients. It’s a must to be able to get good ingredients packed with nutrients that every member of your family needs.

Cooking is both a simple and complex task. There is are many factors that can greatly affect your dish—whether for the best or for the worse. But, don’t worry, we already set aside the complex stuff for the professionals and saved you the simple techniques to learn.

It’s okay if you’re a beginner at cooking, these tips are simple and easy to understand. All it takes is the heart to pour out love and care on the food and the discipline to make these tips a part of your cooking habits.

 

Tip #1: Treat your Vegetables the Way It Should be Treated

There are many ways to cook your vegetables. You can fry, boil, and even bake them before serving. But, did you know that there are vegetables that lose its vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants when overcooked? Yes, that’s true. And that’s why others prefer to steam their vegetables instead. Steaming vegetables keeps more nutrients than boiling, stir-frying, or even blanching.

 

Tip #2: Always Rinse Your Vegetables

Ever wonder why there are fresh vegetables and there are canned vegetables? The differences are simple—the canned goods are already sliced and have a longer shelf life once left unopened. Since you’re a beginner, there might be something you are not familiar with yet. Canned vegetables have more Sodium compared to its fresh counterparts. The trick to lessen the Sodium is to rinse them in water.

 

Tip #3: Rinsing Your Meat is Not Recommended

We can’t blame you if you are scared of getting Salmonella or other bacterial infections from your raw meat. But, rinsing your meat is not really recommended. The truth is that rinsing your meat will only worsen the scare. First, the running water won’t remove anything these dangerous pathogens from your meat. Second, the running water will only spread the pathogens and contaminate your sink other kitchen surfaces it can reach. The only thing you could do is cook the meat thoroughly.

 

Tip #4: Take Care of Your Olive Oils

There are many types of Olive Oils. The common ones are Olive Oil, Virgin Olive Oil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Among the three, Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains most phenols than the other variants. Phenols are natural health-promoting plant chemicals that contain antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-clotting properties. However, heat, air, and light can heavily affect the flavour and even nutrients of the Olive Oil. When you have one at home, make sure to keep it in a dark container and away from sunlight and sunny countertops.

 

Tip #5: Salad’s Secret Ingredient: Good Fat

Salad dressing also adds a huge chunk of calories in your sumptuous Salad. That’s why others prefer to use fat-free dressings or a squeeze of lemon to keep calories in check. But, are you aware that these dressings prevent the body from absorbing the vegetable’s nutrients? This happens because there are nutrients that are fat soluble — or fat helps in the absorption of nutrients. Well, the good fat that is.

 

Tip #6: Taste Before You Season

Usually, cookbooks or recipes given to us by others always include seasonings. The common components are always salt and black pepper. Then, the rest, such as Paprika, Turmeric, and Thyme, are added based to your liking. In seasoning your food, always make sure to taste it before adding more since too much can distort the taste of the dish and it could also be bad for you. Take salt for example. A healthy person has a limit when it comes to sodium intake, which is only one teaspoon or 2,300 milligrams of sodium.

 

Tip #7: Oven Over Pan

Frying is cooking food in hot fat or oil in a pan. And do you ever wonder where the oil goes when you fry food on it? Food actually soaks up oil as it fries. Potatoes are one of the most oil-absorbent food when fried. Don’t fret if you have an oven at home. You can use the oven as an alternative to cooking your food. Oven-frying only uses a little oil but can still deliver the crunch you are looking for on fried food.

 

Tip #8: Overcooking Fresh Garlic is a No-No

Garlic has many benefits for us, and among its benefits is its power to reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. But you should be aware that you won’t get it’s the potential of its benefits if you overcook it. On cooking garlic, cook crushed or chopped garlic instead of whole cloves since it tends to lose its nutrients faster when cooking, and cook it as brief as possible.

 

Tip #9: Say Goodbye to Fat of Ground Beef

There’s nothing wrong in pan-frying your burger patties. As long as you pour off the fat, then you’re set to go. Well, that is you have no other choice. You can also use broiling pans to cook burger patties for it has slits and holes making it easy for excess fat to be drained away from the meat.

 

Tip #10: Mix and Match

Preparing and eating the same food every day will bore you and will limit your nutrient intake. Don’t stick to the same recipe and menu every day. Loosen up and explore new recipes or add new ingredients to the mix to spice up your meal. On the other hand, if you’re serious about recipe creation or nutrients and ingredients, you can take up commercial cookery courses in order to expand your knowledge of cooking and the culinary world.

Make a career out of cooking. MCIE provides career-focused training from industry professionals. For enquiries, contact MCIE today: Call: 1300 737 004 from Monday to Friday at 9:00 am to 5:00 pm or Email: email info@mcie.edu.au or visit the Contact Us Page: https://www.mcie.edu.au/contact/

Melbourne City Institute of Education (MCIE) is a vibrant and innovative registered training organisation, which offers a range of courses in Melbourne to help students to fulfil their career goals.

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