Tips to Help you Start Cooking Healthier Meals
We all know eating healthily is important, but many people struggle to change their food and cooking habits. People often think that you need to be an expert in the kitchen to make healthy meals and/or worry that healthier food choices will not be as tasty and satisfying. The truth is that healthy cooking can be simple with the use of basic cooking techniques, and you will be amazed at some of the delicious recipes that you can find. So, if you are eager to start a better lifestyle, here are a few tips to help you to start cooking healthier meals.
Make a Plan
The key to healthy cooking is planning for the week ahead. This can help you save time and reduce food waste, but it will also help you manage portion control and avoid the temptation of slipping back into bad food choices because you haven’t got healthy options readily available.
Many people find it useful to cook up a big batch of something and then put the rest in containers in the fridge/freezer to enjoy another night of the week.
One of our favourite batch recipes is a vegan ragù that has a base of mushrooms, lentils and walnuts. It is wonderfully healthy, and it can be adapted to use in any recipe where you would normally use minced beef such as bolognaise, lasagne, shepherds’ pie, chilli con Carne, and many more. And don’t worry if you or any family members are not vegan: you honestly would not know the difference!
Shop & Stock Wisely
You also want to make sure that you are shopping and stocking up your pantry wisely. The British Heart Foundation provides a list of 16 heart-healthy staples that are always handy to have in the cupboard such as tinned tomatoes and a variety of pulses such as chickpeas, lentils, and quinoa. It is never too hard to knock something up when you have the staple basics, spices, and some form of protein at home. You can then pop out for fresh products periodically and/or use frozen fresh goods to prepare your meals.
Steam & Stir Fry
When it comes to actual methods of cooking, you will find that steaming and stir-frying are the healthiest options. Steaming uses no extra products like butter or oil and helps you to retain nutrients in vegetables. Stir-frying meat and vegetables is also a great way to retain the flavour and it is never too hard to knock up a tasty stir fry – just make sure that you have quality woks at home that you can use – and you keep the oil to a minimum!
Eat More Plant-based Foods
Most of us need to increase the amount of fruit and veg that we eat, but the consensus among health professionals is that a Mediterranean-style diet that is predominantly plant-based is the healthiest option. Diabetes UK, for example, confirms that this type of diet of associated with a reduced risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol and is a great option for people with diabetes as well as helping to protect people against type 2 diabetes.
Eating more plant-based food does not mean you need to become vegan or vegetarian if you do not wish to do so, but it does mean cutting back on meat, especially red meat. Why not try and have at least two vegetarian meals each week and on other days, instead of the meat being the biggest part of the meal, opt for a smaller cut and increase the number of vegetables that you are eating.
What should be avoided is highly processed meat products including sausages, bacon, ham, and burgers as these are classified as carcinogenic (cancer-causing.)
As with all foods, there is an increased range of vegan and vegetarian ready-meals in the supermarkets nowadays. However, this does not necessarily mean these are healthy options.
You’ll be amazed at how tasty and cost-effective a more plant-based diet can be, so why not treat yourselves to a few new recipe books.
Try Different Cuisines
People often get bored when they start cooking healthier meals because they only have one or two recipes. Therefore, it is an excellent idea to branch out and try different healthy recipes for different cuisines to keep things interesting, such as Chinese, Indian, Mexican and Italian. In India, for example, around 30% of the population are vegetarian and because of the country’s large population, this means that India contains more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined.