Here are two simple tricks to determining whether or not the foods you are putting in your body are good for you. 1) how close to it's original state is the food? 2) what color is it? In fruits and vegetables, their original state of raw is the state in which you capture all of the nutrients the produce has to offer. Steam it, and you retain a lot of the benefit. If you over-boil it or cook it out of a can...not so much. And pay attention to color. A general rule is that the more colorful the food, the healthier it is (usually). For example, dark lettuce varieties are healthier than light green iceberg. Many eating plans talk about avoiding the white stuff (sugar, white bread, salt, white rice, white pasta). Switching to other alternatives is definitely a plus. We will talk about this later when we discuss food absorption, but here are your better options: whole grain bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta and as little sugar as possible.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
All About Color
Here are two simple tricks to determining whether or not the foods you are putting in your body are good for you. 1) how close to it's original state is the food? 2) what color is it? In fruits and vegetables, their original state of raw is the state in which you capture all of the nutrients the produce has to offer. Steam it, and you retain a lot of the benefit. If you over-boil it or cook it out of a can...not so much. And pay attention to color. A general rule is that the more colorful the food, the healthier it is (usually). For example, dark lettuce varieties are healthier than light green iceberg. Many eating plans talk about avoiding the white stuff (sugar, white bread, salt, white rice, white pasta). Switching to other alternatives is definitely a plus. We will talk about this later when we discuss food absorption, but here are your better options: whole grain bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta and as little sugar as possible.
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I would like to see some information on how to cook fresh vegetables without adding a lot of calories but making them taste good.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few of the things that I do with my steamed vegetables....
ReplyDeleteLemon and garlic are excellent ways to flavor foods without decreasing their healthiness. Add a touch of lemon juice and garlic to steamed broccoli. Try adding a little curry powder to your mixed vegetables. Perhaps you might like adding a little bit of dill to your steamed carrots. One option that is very tasty is to add a tiny bit of Italian salad dressing (extra virgin olive oil, not the vegetable oil kind) to a combination of steamed zuccini and squash. All of these add a nice burst of flavor while helping them retain their health benefits.
- Casey
Thanks Casey. Zucchini is one veggie that I love but have had a hard time spicing up. The old way I liked to make it was deep fried with flour, egg and Parmesan cheese.
ReplyDelete-- Dee
My mother would slice it and steam it and then serve it with Parmesean cheese sprinked on top. Its not bad that way and it is a lot healthier than frying it.
DeleteHi Laurel. Great idea on the Parmesan cheese. Parm is one type of cheese that I've been relying on for great flavor with relatively low calories. I use a touch of Parmesan cheese in my egg-white veggie omelets in the morning. It has a lot of flavor. Thanks for reading the blog!
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