COOKING ANALYSIS

METHOD

DESCRIPTION

Steam

Steaming is a good method for cooking vegetables without using fat. Try this method for frozen and fresh vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, carrots, spinach etc.

Use a vegetable steamer or colander to hold vegetables. Place steamer in pot with a little boiling water and cover. Cook until the vegetables are just tender to preserve colour and vitamins.

Microwave

Microwaving food causes the water molecules present in the food to vibrate, and this movement creates the heat which cooks foods faster than most other methods. The microwaves bounce off the oven walls and into the food. You don't need to add fat to meat, poultry, or fish, and you use little water for vegetables.

Micro-cooking is an excellent way to retain vitamins and colour in vegetables.

Braise

Braising is used mainly for meats that need longer cooking times to become tender. Root vegetables are also good braised.

COOKING ANALYSIS

METHOD

DESCRIPTION

Barbecue

Barbecuing foods on a rack or a spit over coals is a fun, lower fat way to prepare meat, poultry, fish, and even vegetables. Barbecuing gives a distinctive smoked flavour. Trim fat from meat to prevent flare-up of flames and to reduce calories. If seasoning food with a sauce, try one with less salt, sugars, and fat. Many people prefer to eat barbecued food which is slightly burnt on the outside. However, burnt food has the potential to be carcinogenic - when it comes into direct contact with the throat and digestive tract it damages cells, lending to an increase in harmful free radicals. To minimise damage from barbecued foods, ensure that the barbecue is very hot - the coals should be white-hot and glowing, with no flames. Avoid using firelighters - foods cooked directly in their flame may become coated with the chemical contained in the firelighters.

Stir-Fry

Stir-Frying is quick and easy, requires relatively little fat and preserves the crisp texture and bright colour of vegetables. However, stir-frying is still a form of frying. Nutrients may be lost and fats are chemically altered. However, the quantity of oil used is minimal in comparison, and the food cooks fast, because the wok ensures an even distribution of heat. If the food is cooked quickly and moved around all the time, damage is

COOKING ANALYSIS

METHOD

DESCRIPTION

Broil (Grill)

Broiling is a quick way of cooking foods under direct heat without added fat. It's great for poultry, fish, and tender cuts of meat.

Use a broiling pan or rack set in a shallow pan to allow fat to drain away. If basting, use lemon juice or broth for flavour. Vegetables like onions, zucchini, and tomatoes can also be broiled.

Roast Or Bake

Roasting takes somewhat longer than other methods, but requires little work on your part. Poultry and tender cuts of meat may be roasted. The fat content of the food is relatively undisturbed, as long as the oven isn’t too hot. However, if fats are allowed to burn, they become potentially carcinogenic. The browning that is synonymous with roasting is due to carbohydrates, the form of sugars, reacting to the heat. Some water soluble vitamins (B and C) are inevitably lost during roasting. It is estimated that approximately 25% of B vitamins are lost through roasting, although the longer the food is cooked, the greater the vitamin loss. The same is true of temperature - the higher the temperature, the greater the nutrient loss.

COOKING ANALYSIS

METHOD

DESCRIPTION

Boil

As a rule of thumb, remember that boiling vegetables destroys approximately 40% of B Vitamins and 70% of Vitamin C. The greater the amount of water in the pan, the greater the nutrient loss. This loss is further heightened when the vegetables are cut into small pieces, as a greater surface area is exposed to the water and the heat.

Starchy or root vegetables such as potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, lima beans, and turnips are often boiled.

Frying

Both deep and shallow Frying produce foods that are palatable and attractive, yet potentially damaging. Although the food is cooked quickly, the extreme heat depletes the nutrients and disturbs the sensitive oils contained in foods such as oily fish. Cooking oils all have what is known as a ‘smoke point’. As oils are heated towards their smoke point, their chemical structure is altered creating an abundance of free radicals. Free radicals can be countered by eating foods rich in antioxidants. However, antioxidants are easily damaged by the high temperatures involved in frying.

Vitamins that are soluble in water (B and C) and fat (A, D, E and K) are lost during frying. Frying meat or poultry decreases its vitamin B content by as much as 30%.

COOKING ANALYSIS

METHOD

DESCRIPTION

Raw Food

This is by far the best way to benefit from all the available nutrients. That doesn’t mean that you should eat meat or grains raw, but rather that you eat some raw vegetables, fruit, nuts or seeds every day. The benefit of raw foods is that they contain their own digestive enzymes, which lessen the demand on the pancreas and cells of the intestinal lining to produce these enzymes. They are also abundant sources of fibre, which encourages the removal of toxic waste and excess cholesterol from the body.

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