It’s not unheard of for people to turn over a healthy leaf at the start of a new year. After a holiday season filled with social engagements and diet-busting meals, it’s no surprise many celebrants view January as a time to right the dietary ship.
Home cooking provides an opportunity for people to gain greater control over what they eat, and it’s well known that certain methods of cooking are healthier than others. But Healthline notes that nutrient content is often altered during cooking. For example, a 2017 study published in the journal Food Science and Biotechnology noted that vitamin C is a water-soluble and temperature-sensitive vitamin, which means it is easily degraded during cooking. As a result, researchers behind the study noted that elevated temperatures and long cooking times have been found to cause substantial losses of vitamin C.
Such knowledge is undoubtedly useful, but individuals may wonder what they can do to ensure the meals they prepare remain as nutritious as possible, even after they’ve been cooked. When preparing meals, individuals looking to maximize the nutritional value of each meal can consider these tips.
Consume the liquid left after cooking vegetables. It’s commonplace to drain pots and pans of water after using them to cook vegetables. However, when doing so, individuals might literally be pouring nutrients down the drain. In a 2016 interview with CNN, registered dietitian and author Elaine Magee noted that boiling vegetables causes water soluble vitamins like vitamin C, B1 and folate to leach into the water, thus denying people some of the nutritional content of these healthy foods. Though it might seem unusual, consuming the water that vegetables are cooked in can ensure no nutrients are poured down the drain of a kitchen sink.
Consume cooked vegetables within a day or two. Healthline notes that exposure to air after cooking can decrease the vitamin C content of vegetables. This is something for people to keep in mind, particularly if they like to prepare meals in advance due to hectic schedules that leave little time for daily cooking. Consume cooked vegetables within a day or so of preparing them to avoid losing out on nutrients.
Avoid pre-cut fruits and vegetables. Some grocery store produce aisles feature an array of pre-cut fruits and vegetables. Though such offerings are undeniably convenient for time-pressed individuals who want to eat healthy, they also might not be as nutritious as shoppers hope. According to Verywell Fit, heat, oxygen and light are the three factors that lead to nutrient loss. When produce is uncut, the interiors are of the food are protected from oxygen and light. Once cuts are made, such as when apples are sliced, then nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E might be lost.
