Lifestyle Choices

What does cooking do to food? When properly carried out, it greatly improves the flavor. Cooking changes the chemical composition and often makes the foods more digestible. The heat helps to destroy many harmful germs. But do not overlook the fact that one serious type of food poisoning known as botulism may arise from the use of vegetables that have not been properly canned or preserved.

Under proper, germ-free conditions many foods can be preserved indefinitely, such as in canning. However, one should be careful when opening a can not to introduce germs into the food from outside. Carefully wash the container before opening it. (more…)

How should you cook in a healthy and conserving way and yet still be able to enjoy the results of your efforts? Consider in the first place whether the food, in fact, needs to be cooked for lengthy periods of time. A healthy diet depends to a large degree on foods that are as near to their natural state as possible, thus retaining their vitamin content and nutritional value.

Vegetables should be absolutely fresh, preferably young, and they should be prepared with the minimum of wastage. Fresh raw vegetables and fruit are highly nutritious and retain most of the minerals, vitamins, trace elements, and fibre often destroyed by cooking. They are also good for the teeth and digestion. You can eat the overwhelming majority of vegetables raw, after thorough preparation, which includes washing them thoroughly to remove any trace of possible pesticide residues. You should peel some vegetables, including commercially grown carrots, for the same reason. Raw root vegetables, potatoes apart, are excellent grated and have better, more distinct flavours than when cooked. Leaf and stem vegetables should always be perfectly fresh whether you intend to eat them raw or cook them, since the vitamin and mineral contents decline rapidly once they are harvested. (more…)

So far our main concern has been the importance of freshness in some of the foods we eat on a daily basis. But what about other invisible influences and procedures that contribute to the quality of what we select from the supermarket shelves? You may feel that you can soon enough tell if an apple is past its prime just by looking at it; what you can’t tell is whether it still has pesticide residues clinging to it - or whether it’s been irradiated.

With the ‘Green’ revolution meaning as much a change in environmental attitudes as the importance of including more salads in your daily fare, it’s not surprising there is increasing concern about how our fresh foods are produced, the extent to which chemicals (some of them deadly) are used, and the risk to our health these powerful agricultural weapons pose. The other major worry that has been added to the list of consumer concerns in recent years is the question of irradiation - who uses it and why, and how safe is it? (more…)

Keeping your GL low and your blood sugar level stable depends not only on what you eat but also on how you cook what you eat. Cooking encourages the carbohydrate in foods to be released faster. The longer you cook something and the higher the temperature, the faster the carbohydrate in the food is released. The best method is actually leaving the food raw, but steaming, boiling, poaching, steam-frying, waterless cooking, baking and grilling are all good, too, in that order. Avoid frying food as much as possible. Deep-fried foods are definitely to be avoided.

Steaming

The best way to cook green, leafy, less-starchy vegetables is to steam them, as this will preserve a lot of their vitamins, as well as enhance their flavour. The method can be used for most food, especially fish, but is less successful for starchy vegetables such as potatoes and parsnips, and is not ideal for red meat. (more…)

Meal-balancing means eating a combination of both carbohydrate and protein foods at every meal. It is an important concept, at the heart of the low-GL diet. Protein foods (such as fish, eggs, meat and dairy produce), or vegetarian proteins (such as tofu or pulses), have virtually no effect on blood sugar level, and we only need small portions to feel filled up. However, proteins are often high in fat, especially ‘bad’ fats rather than the omega-3 and omega-6 essential ‘good’ fats. Eaten on their own and in large quantities they are bad news for our health. However, eating them with low- GL starchy carbohydrates and non-starchy vegetables results in high energy, low blood sugar and optimum health, so you will feel less hungry for longer, lose more weight permanently and supply your body with the essential fats that it needs for good health. (more…)

Let’s take a look at the four major food groups:

DAIRYproducts provide calcium (for strong bones, teeth, and nails), protein, and riboflavin. Four daily servings are recommended for people ages 11 to 24.

Sample servings:

One cup of milk (skim, lowfat, or whole) One cup of yogurt

One ounce of cheese (more…)

How do you get the essential nutrients into your diet? Here are some super foods to eat that help maintain great health, increase immunity and make you feel good. They are packed with essential nutrients and powerful natural antioxidants, they taste delicious and add variety to your diet. They are some of our favourite foods, and we buy them regularly.

Fruits and vegetables

The best way to eat fruits and vegetables is straight from the tree or garden, when they haven’t lost any of their vitamins and minerals. This means that the produce is in season and you are obtaining the best nutrient value. Growers’ outlets or markets also supply good seasonal produce

There are endless ways to serve up your veges. We love leaving them raw and cutting them into small pieces to dip in hummus. Kids love this, too! Try different or unusual vegetables once in a while to add variety. When cooking vegetables, steaming is usually better than boiling, as it preserves more nutrients. For sauteing, use a little butter or olive oil. (more…)

Organic farming means that no harmful pesticides or fertilisers were used on the crop or soil, and it involves the rotation of crops so that soils do not become depleted or exhausted. Organic or free-range meat comes from animals that ate more healthy feed and were not treated with potentially dangerous hormones or other chemicals. There is some argument about whether organic fruits and vegetables contain a higher mineral and vitamin content than conventional foods. Nevertheless, you are sure to get foods free from chemicals and pesticides if you buy organic produce. Look for Certified Organic to make sure you get the best quality. (more…)

Taking a Dieter’s Tour of Restaurants

You may think that you must avoid certain types of restaurants or cuisine’s while you’re dieting. Not true. Keep reading if you want to be guided through various cuisine’s and food scenarios and find out what’s “safe” and what’s not.

Chinese

Depending on your order, you can get a healthy low-cal meal or a calorie nightmare in a Chinese restaurant; foods are either lean or fatty. Generally, the protein foods in Chinese cuisine - duck, spareribs, and pork-are extremely fatty, although you can also find chicken, shrimp, and lean beef.

Much of the food is deep fried - even items that may surprise you, such as vegetables in a simple stir-fry are sometimes blanched in hot oil instead of water. And the amount of oil in stir-fries can be staggeringly large. (more…)