| It's a proven fact that a healthy diet can help | | | | (for example potatoes and carrots) or size together. |
| preventing your risk of numerous diseases, from high | | | | Steaming goes quicker than cooking in water and is |
| cholesterol over obesity, arteriosclerosis and heart | | | | much healthier since it retains a much higher amount of |
| disease to stroke, heart attack and diabetes. But what | | | | nutrients. |
| many don't know is that eating healthy foods is not | | | | Fat-Free Cooking Method #2: Stewing |
| enough. | | | | Foods can be stewed either in on the stove in a |
| The healthiest vegetables won't give you much good | | | | closed pot, or in the oven wrapped in foil. Adding fat is |
| when you store them for weeks of hot summer | | | | not needed, but for hard vegetables like pumpkin or |
| weather in your kitchen or cook them until they | | | | carrots it's good to add some water or stock. Foods |
| dissolve in the cooking water. Cooking foods in water | | | | with a high water content, for example mushrooms, |
| is still a very popular method, especially for vegetables, | | | | marrows or tomatoes, don't need additional water. |
| because it's often believed to be the quickest way of | | | | When you use hard foods, stewing takes a while, but |
| getting the food done. But it's certainly not the | | | | you can speed things up by cutting the vegetables into |
| healthiest method, since water soluble nutrients are | | | | smaller pieces. |
| drawn out of your veggies and thrown away with the | | | | Fat-Free Cooking Method #3: Microwaving |
| water, leaving your food with less nutrients than it | | | | Microwaving is quite a controversial cooking method. |
| could have. | | | | It's very popular, but there are also many who say it's |
| The secret of getting the maximum benefits from your | | | | health-harming. But authorities consider it safe since |
| healthy foods is to cook them in a way that retains | | | | there is no scientific proof of microwave cooking |
| nutrients best. Further, they should use little to no fat to | | | | having negative impact on our health. In fact, it's |
| prevent adding excess calories. Here are some much | | | | retaining nutrients better because of the shorter |
| healthier and fat-free cooking methods that will help | | | | cooking times. Also, microwaving doesn't require any |
| you to make the most out of your food: | | | | fat. It can be a great option for single people but is |
| - Steaming | | | | barely practical for cooking large amounts of food. |
| - Stewing | | | | These three cooking methods allow you to prepare a |
| - Microwaving | | | | great variety of healthy meals that contain no other fat |
| Fat-Free Cooking Method #1: Steaming | | | | then the one in your meat. Also, nutrients are retained |
| Steaming requires a special pot with a sieve insert and | | | | very well, giving you more health benefits with every |
| a firmly closing lid. The bottom part of the pot contains | | | | meal. These cooking methods are especially beneficial |
| the water for the steam production, whilst the food is | | | | for people with weight problems or high cholesterol |
| lying on the sieve insert which does not touch the | | | | levels, since they allow you to cook with a minimum of |
| water. Foods are cooked in the steam rising from the | | | | fat, but even healthy people should make use of them |
| water. For best results, steam foods of similar texture | | | | to maintain their health and prevent illness. |