Ways to Preserve Nutrients When Preparing Food

You may have heard that eating whole foods is healthier than eating processed foods, but just what exactly are processed foods? Technically, any food that has been altered in any way from its original state is a processed food. This means that even foods that are cooked or frozen are technically processed. When you prepare your food, you might be stripping nutrients away from it and not even realize it. Here are some tips you can use to preserve the nutrients in your food when you are preparing it.

Eat Raw Food

The easiest way you can preserve the nutrients in your food is by not cooking it at all. Foods that are eaten raw contain all of their nutrients. Of course, only certain foods can be eaten raw. You certainly don't want to eat raw meat. You can, however, eat all of your fruits and vegetables raw.

Don't Peel Your Produce

A lot of people like to peel their fruits and veggies, but the peels often have the most nutrients in them. So, instead of peeling your potatoes or carrots before you cook them, just leave the peels on. You can also invest in a nice juicer so you can juice whole fruits and vegetables with the skins on - you probably don't want to bite into an orange or banana peel.

Try Not to Alter Your Food

Remember, just about anything you do that alters a food from its original state is going to reduce the nutritional value of the food. Avoid dehydrating fruits, and blanching vegetables before you cook them. Always try to keep your food intact and don't mix only certain parts of a food with only certain parts of another food.

Cook Your Food Fast

There's a big difference between fast food and fast cooking. Whenever you cook something, the less you cook it, the less you'll damage the nutrients. You should never cook your vegetables to the point that they become soggy and lose their color. That is a clear indication that they have lost their vitamins and minerals. However, keep in mind that some foods, like meat, need to be cooked for a certain amount of time before they are safe to eat.

Eat Your Food Fresh

It's always best to eat fresh food instead of frozen or canned. Most studies suggest that freezing food does not damage the vitamins in the food, but some people believe it does kill other important nutrients.