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It is now time to plug the book. My text book for this class is
Techniques of Healthy Cooking, Second Edition, by the Culinary
Institute of America. The book cites seven principles that assist
in preparing food in a healthy manner. Let's take a look:
Principle #1: Select ingredients with care
Hmmm...this is not necessarily buying all of your ingredients in bubble
wrap. No, the emphasis here is the selection of the actual food.
When you are planning a menu, be sure to include a variety of foods.
Variety is the spice of life, right? Choosing fresh ingredients
is a major plus as well. Why? Because when foods are frozen, canned, dried,
etc., they lose some of their nutrients.
Principle #2: Store all foods with the goal of preserving
as much of their nutrient value as possible
Putting food on the shelf or in the freezer isn't going to increase it's
value. In actually, you may eventually have a nice little science
experiment if you forget where you put the food. The longer you
store a food, the more nutrients you can lose. Your best strategy
is to buy fresh foods and use them as quickly as possible. If
you do have to store the foods, then make sure that they are stored at
the proper temperatures so they retain all of their natural goodness.
Principle #3: Incorporate a variety of plant-based
dishes on the menu
We get much of our vitamins and minerals from fruits, veggies and grains.
Including a variety of these on the menu helps to entice you to eat them!
Principle #4: Manage the amount of fat
This is a popular one. Reducing your fat intake is a biggie.
Fat gets into our diet in a couple of different ways. First,
it can be included as an ingredient - like butter in a croissant dough.
Next, it can enter the picture in the food preparation method -
sautéing in oil or deep frying. And yes, we can ladle it
on when we butter our biscuits or toast in the morning
Principle #5: Serve appropriate portions
Portion size is often key. The trick is to not deny yourself the
flavor of the foods you love, but just moderate the amount that you eat.
Keep the food pyramid in mind when portioning out foods.
Principle #6: Reduce salt intake
Did you know that you can have somewhere around 2500 mg of sodium per
day? Guess how much a teaspoon of salt is...2200. Eeek!!! And
when you start paying attention to how much salt is in the foods that
we buy (it helps with preservation) you really wonder! So the alternative
is to flavor your foods with herbs, spices and explore combinations of
foods that share flavors!
Principle #7: Offer a variety
of beverages - alcoholic and nonalcoholic - that complement the food
Ok...you don't want to drink the SAME thing at EVERY meal...or maybe you
do. But occasionally, you may experience a little burn out. So
you know what they say - variety is the spice of life! And the spice
of your meal too! (And just as an aside, be sure to drink water
at each meal as well...it takes less time and effort for the body to digest
and it is healthy for you!)
Next.. .
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