5 Ways to Keep Our Food Healthy - Washing & Chopping

Continuing the ‘How to Keep Our Food Healthy’ series, here are some tips on how to chop and cook food.

Washing & Chopping

As much as possible, wash the vegetables thoroughly using your finger and palms and then cut them. (The water used for washing & the peels can be fed to the plants your grow). Even leafy ones, after removing the roots, wash them thoroughly and then cut them. Because if a cut vegetable is washed it loses some of its nutrients and then again in cooking process.
Cut into medium sized pieces. This will help saving the nutrients for us in the cooking process.
As much as possible, cut vegetable just before cooking. Storing of cut vegetables though may sound convenient but not a healthy habit.

Do not overcook vegetables otherwise it will lose its important nutrients.
Partially cooked vegetables are always good. If it doesn’t suit your digestive system, then try to take a soup daily by grinding the partially cooked vegetable into nice paste.
Salt comes to our hands with added iodine. If it boils for long time it loses the sodium. Hence try using half salt for cooking and add the remaining salt after you finish the cooking.
Research articles say, ‘Cooked food stays good for only few hours’. But its not possible for all to follow this in busy life. Hence try to compensate it atleast during the weekends.
To avoid transfat, use fresh oil for frying every time. Do not let the oil smoke. The fried oil can be used for seasoning purposes (tadka). Use a shallow bottomed kadai then you may require only less oil for frying purposes.