FOOD SPECIAL ......................... POT OF DISASTER

POT OF DISASTER 

Snacking on veggies and feeling virtuous? You may be ruining it with error-ridden cooking

So you follow, quite literally, a rather colourful diet. That your plate is always filled with a variety of vegetables and you may think that you have done your mind and body a huge favour. But mind you are reaping the health benefits only to a limited extent ­ even if you're consuming the minimum recommended two-and-a-half cups of produce daily. There is a good chance that you may be making these seven common slip-ups in an attempt to make the food more scrumptious and easy-to-eat.

COOKING TOO MUCH

Overcooking veggies is a sure shot way to suck out all its nutrients.What it does to your greens is that it makes them soft, mushy and bereft of any colour, and leaches out all its vitamins and minerals. Juhu-based nutritionist, Sheela Tanna, explains, “Many of the nutrients from vegetables can get leached during cooking.So do not cook them for too long or in too much water. If you use less water, you will help protect the water-soluble vitamins.“

Tanna recommends blanching (quickly cook vegetables in boiling water, and remove them when they're still crisp) veggies, to help preserve the colour and nutrients.The same principle applies if one has to steam or microwave vegetables.“If you must boil, drink the cooking liquid if possible, by preparing soups or stews out of them, or blanch your veggies,“ she says.

MICROWAVING INCORRECTLY

This may be a quick and easy method to warm up that cold curry lying in your fridge since morning. But heating the grub in the oven has a tendency to easily overcook your veggies. Besides, nuking the food with plastic wraps can introduce harmful toxins into the food. These toxins are carcinogens and can be detrimental to your endocrine system. So opt for glass dishes or special vessels designed for the microwave. 

TURNING UP THE HEAT

Even though you are in a mad rush, running 15 minutes behind schedule, avoid turning up the heat to get the food on the plate quickly. For centuries, traditional Indian food preparation methods have prescribed how slow food cooking is the best way to reap several benefits of vegetables (retains its nutrient value, doesn't burn). Heating the food at a higher temperature causes the food to emit a burnt flavour and destroys its antioxidants.

SCRAPING THE PEELS

One thing everyone does to their carrots, potatoes, cucumbers is to peel them before cooking. But this one is a debatable. On one hand, a majority of nutrients from veggies are hidden in their skins. They contain high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, including some that are unique to the outer layer of the vegetable and not found in its flesh. On the other, we are using several fruits and vegetables that are grown with the help of pesticides and chemicals. And we definitely don't want to ingest them into our system. 

OVER-GRILLING

Grilling is a healthy option because you don't need to douse your vegetables in oil or other artificially coloured sauces. However, the high temperature of the grill can reduce nourishment. When veggies are charred, it promotes carcinogen production. To avoid this, don't cook your veggies until they have grill marks. 

DOUSING THEM IN OIL

Including low-fat, low-cal and oozing with nutrients foods such as spinach, fenugreek, tomatoes and onions in your diet can make you spring like a child on a trampo line. But adding too much but ter or oil can boost the calorie content fast. Many oils become oxidative when cooked at certain tempera tures, promoting inflam mation in the body, and butter has plenty of saturated fat and cholesterol. A good option in which case is to cook in vegeta ble broth, water, or a dash of homemade ghee. 

OPTING FOR ANY OIL

So certain cooking oils claim to be cholesterol friendly and heart healthy. But much research and evidence goes to show otherwise. For one, processed seed oils like soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil and a few others ­ although they aren't vegetables, these oils are commonly referred to as `vegetable oils' and are commonly used in kitchens ­ contain large amounts of biologically active fats called Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are harmful in excess.

The unsaturated fats in these oils oxidize at high heats and become toxic. “And when oil smokes, it's actually oxidizing and turning rancid, and oxidized oils are carcinogens,“ says Tanna.

For sautéing, Tanna refers the greener, grassier extra virgin stuff where you want a more pronounced olive oil flavour, like marinara sauce.Rich in heart-healthy fats, olive oil of any kind works well for this medium-heat, stove top cooking method.“

MM 24JAN15