Nutritious Cooking Guidelines

Here are a few guidelines to follow for nutritious cooking:

• Roast, stir-fry or microwave your meals. Roasting and stir-frying reduces the fat content and the microwave-cooked food will retain more nutritional value.
• As noted earlier, eat more vegetables. Vegetables, especially the greens, such as spinach, contain much needed nutrients. You should have a minimum of five servings a day.
• Reduce your salt intake. Other herbs and spices can flavor your dishes and will be healthier.
• Instead of using oil or butter for cooking, use vegetable spray.
• Steam vegetables instead of boiling. The nutrients, AND flavor, will be improved.
• Skim fat from gravies and soups before serving.
• Substitute applesauce or bananas for some of the fat in cakes and cookies. This has the side benefit of  making them more moist!
• Have fruit desserts, such as cobbler, instead of cake, cookies and ice cream.
• Use lowfat varieties of foods like milk, butter, and yogurt.
• Don't forget the grains - cereals, brown rice, whole wheat or multi-grain breads. Besides the energy they give you, they'll help regulate your digestive system.
• You will also need some sort of protein every day to keep yourself fit and healthy.

Nutritious cooking is a family affair.

The sooner you get your children involved in daily meal planning, the sooner they will grow to appreciate the benefits of healthy eating. Most children prefer the raw vegetables to the cooked – and that’s the best thing for them! It also makes cooking your meals much easier! You can also cut veggies in interesting shapes to make them more appealing to children. As children grow, they become more interested in the fast food scene. So catch them before they get to that point with healthy, nutritious meals.