Shopping and Cooking

Some healthy tips to remember while shopping and cooking for healthy cooking are:

• It is recommended that a person eats in every two to three hours for maximum health benefits. Small frequent meals are a sure shot formula for good health.

• Boiling, grilling, steaming and baking are better cooking options than frying or gravies. 

• While shopping for meats, ensure that the butcher gets rid of the fat layer from the meat portions.  

• Minced meat is not recommended as the butcher finds it more profitable to mince the fat content of the meats.

• Sausages and salamis are highly preserved, so need to be avoided. Instead fresh lean portions of meat should be purchased.  

• Any food product that has white refined flour, sugar, salt, preservatives, artificial colour, artificial flavours and so on need to be avoided.  

• Low calorie need not mean good for health. It may be high on salt or preservatives.

• Fresh fruits and vegetables should not be stored for more than two days. Even refrigeration dehydrates them and causes loss of nutrients.

• Avoid products that are high in fats, especially saturated fats.

• Vegetable oils are all cholesterol free. Only foods from animal sources contain cholesterol. In any case deep frying should be avoided. It is high on bad calories and frying destroys essential vitamins and minerals.

• While shopping for foods, check for the expiry date. Especially foods that are perishable and have short shelf lives need to be had fresh. Avoid purchasing canned and preserved fruits and vegetables.