The main aim behind cooking and eating should be boosting flavors in the body and cutting the calories from the body. It is not important to become a famous or gourmet chef and spending money on purchase of expensive cookwares and luxury kitchens but a smart person can use basic techniques of cooking and can make food in healthy and tasty ways to fill the stomach. Following are some basic techniques to remain healthy with the help of healthy cooking.
Count the Calories:
While cooking, limit the fat calories in your body, which should not be more than 20 to 35 % consumption of daily total calories. There should not be excessive fat consumption in the body as it results obesity, diabetes and other critical conditions. Fat calories are nothing but calories of fat origin. The calories in food come from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. One gram carbohydrate and protein contains 4 calories, where as one gram of fat contains 9 calories. This is the reason why two different types of food have different type of calories, though they may be served in same quantity. A high-fat food has always more calories compare to a food which is low in the fat and high in protein or carbohydrates.
Lets take an example of ½-cup serving of vanilla ice cream which contains:
- 178 total calories
- 2 grams of protein (2 grams times 4 calories = 8 calories from proteins
- 12 grams of fat (12 grams times 9 calories = 108 calories, or 61%, from fat)
- 15.5 grams of carbohydrate (15.5 grams times 4 calories = 62 calories from carbohydrate)
Compare this with the same serving size (½ cup) of cooked carrots which contains:
- 36 total calories
- 1 gram of protein (1 gram times 4 calories = 4 calories from protein)
- 0 grams of fat (0 grams times 0 calories = 0 calories from fat)
- 8 grams of carbohydrate (8 grams times 4 calories = 32 calories from carbohydrate)
In this way it makes a lot of difference when considering the total calories in the food. So maintaining a daily calorie intake is the first and important technique for planning a healthy cooking.
Eat more vegetables and fruits:
Vegetables and fruits are the base of nutritional source in your body. Try to cook and eat more and fresh green vegetables, salads and fruits. Nature has gifted us unlimited variety in vegetables and fruits, pick up them as per your taste and preference. Choose common vegetables such as spinach, methi, peas etc to make tasty and healthy soups, gravies and vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Choose common fruits such as apples, bananas, etc. You need not to buy the expensive and extra-ordinary veggies and fruits.
Meat as a source of protein:
It is true that meat plays a very important role when it comes to consume proteins in the body, but this is also true that meat is a big source of saturated fat. It is advisable to eat small amount of lean meat, fish and poultry and try to fill up the rest of your meal with whole grains and healthy vegetables.
Less consumption of oil:
Be smart and choose smart fats in your cooking. It is better to attempt unsaturated fat like olive oil. Try to use minimum quantity of saturated fats like butter, cheese, ghee etc. Any ways it is advisable to use unsaturated fat wisely because all fats are surely loaded with lots of calories.
Importance of whole grains in healthy cooking:
Whole grain like brown rice, lentils, whole wheat kernels (berries), etc should be more in quantity in daily routine of healthy cooking, as they have more fiber, vitamins B, Zinc, magnesium and other various types of nutrients which works great in your brain and body.
Less use of dairy products:
Dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cream, cheese, etc are good source of calcium in your body, but also dangerous sometimes. Try to replace whole milk dairy products with the low fat or non fat products to cut the saturated fat from your diet. It is not that difficult to make tasty and healthy food without these saturated fats.
Do not ignore sodium:
The USDA’s dietary guidelines has recommended that you should not consume more than 2,300 mg, that is about 1 tsp of salt on daily basis. It is important to watch sodium intake in the body whether you suffer the problem of high blood pressure or not.
Replace the sugar with sweeteners:
Any type of sugar that may be corn syrup, brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup or honey should be avoided as they do not have any nutritional value. Try to replace them with the sweeteners as they are good optional substitutes.
Use of fresh herbs and spices:
You can enhance the flavors in your recipes by adding healthy ingredients such as fresh herbs, citrus and lots of flavorful spices. If you are able to cook good and in a healthy way then you need not to feel deprived.
Cook healthy, eat healthy and remain healthy:
Make sure while cooking you have to cook delicious and wonderful recipes, which should satisfy you and to whom so ever you serve. Be conscious about the food decisions and not about compromising and killing your wishes. Eat everything, but eat wisely and in proportion. Do exercise on daily basis, make a routine of daily exercise like eating is your daily routine. Today people are turning to healthy food habits as nobody wants to get hunted by obesity and weight problems. Many people have been focusing to the healthy food and low fat cooking, as they are trying to balance their diets.
Since many years people have been adopting bad habits of eating, avoiding the exercise, lack of meditation and poor diet systems, which causes over weight and obese. Now many have realized that this type of lifestyle can not be continued to achieve better health and is not acceptable at all. People have truly meant that “Health is Wealth”.
Now its on you to decide whether you want to cook and eat healthy food in your home or while dinning outside. In your house you can use healthy ingredients for cooking and can avoid fattening foods. Outside in the restaurants, the meal contains 1,000 to 2,000 calories and 50 to 100 grams of fat. (A normal person’s recommended daily intake of calories is around 2,000).
This is the fact that the roots of cooking and serving healthy recipes lies within your control. So learn healthy cooking recipes, live a better life, feel yourself healthy and happy and enjoy life through eating and cooking healthy and nutritional food.
