How to Replicate a Healthy Dish

It is a very strong perception that taste does not go hand in hand with health. Our go-to snacking options have trans fat, refined flour, fried potatoes, sugar, and whatnot that very smoothly pass the demarcations of a healthy proportion. But wait, it is not impossible to quench your palate and hunger by keeping pace with your health.

A balanced diet means to include all five food of food in well-defined proportion. A little switching and swapping can help you eat your favorite recipes guilt-free.

When it comes to frying try to:

• Avoid deep frying or reduce the amount of oil you put in your dishes by parts.
• To lower the fat content prioritize steaming, baking, grilling, boiling, air frying, or braising rather than frying them.
• Use nonstick cookware even if you are struggling with flipping and flopping you will still have to use marginal quantities of oil.
• Not oil to lower the fat content, choose to microwave or steam to help the vegetables and food items retain their nutritional constituents.
• Cook in fruit juices, vinegar, water, lemon juice, or stock instead of oil.
• Instead of butter, creams, and sauces that are very creamy use chutneys and salsas.
• You can use skimmed milk or cornstarch to thicken the soups and sauces instead of cream.
• To cook the vegetables add oil on the vegetables rather than vegetables on oil. The amount of oil that vegetables absorb while cooking will reduce and the taste will persist.
• You can even cook them in the microwave.

Shop:

• Plan your meals and shop accordingly.
• Make sure your pantry is full of healthy snacking options that are easy to prepare so that you do not jump to quick unhealthy eating options by any chance.
• Shop for seasonal fruits and vegetables with dry fruits, and whole grains.
• Add nuts and seeds with dry fruit to your daily routine.
• Choose to eat at home, and prepare your favorite dishes with customizable options. For example -prepare soup with lesser milk or fat content, choose healthy options for cheese, use curd and yogurt, and many healthier dairy alternatives.
• Choose to munch on fox seeds, quinoa, and salads rather than pastries, chips, and processed foods that contain loads of fat.

If you are a vegetarian minimize processed foods as they have loads of hidden fats. Nuts, seeds, and avocados as they have essential long-chain fatty acids that are required by our body and have a good amount of nutrients. For cooking, you can use canola oil or olive oil, they are readily available in any departmental store near your house.

Retain the nutritional value :

• Water soluble vitamins like vitamin B complex and vitamin C get destroyed under high thermal exposure. This happens when we prepare and cook them.
• To minimize the nutrient loss firstly avoid peeling them. Since many nutrients are found close to the outer covering of these vegetables and even fruits they get lost when we peel them, scrubbing is the better and more feasible alternative to that.
• Steam vegetables instead of boiling them to reduce the high degree of thermal exposure.
• Do not over-boil the vegetables.
• Instead of vegetables that involve deep frying, choose to have stir-fried options.

Reduce salt

Nearly all snacking options even sweets have some amount of hidden salt that triggers the problem of high blood pressure which in turn is the cause of many chronic diseases.

• Add salt to the steps, and taste the food.
• Add vinegar, olive oil, or lemon juice which enhances flavors just as salt.
• Do not use canned or pickled vegetables, dehydrated soup mixes, or instant kinds of pasta.
• Reduce eating salami, frankfurters, chicken loaf, ham, corned beef, etc, these have high salt.
• Use iodized salt, which is essential in the synthesis of thyroid hormone.

Add herbs

Herbs fulfill the taste of salt and oil. These herbs are delicate in flavor so remember to add them in the last stage of cooking.

• Choose dried herbs over fresh herbs as they are four times more flavor.
• You can use herbs and spices for dressing desserts, soups, and drinks you can also include coriander and lemongrass to add that taste factor to your recipe.

Apart from this, try to avoid or reduce screen while you are having a meal. Allow your senses to indulge in the process and conclusion of it so that your brain gets ample time and signals to know when you are full. These are small changes that will lead you toward the fulfillment of bigger goals.