{"id":140964,"date":"2022-06-25T02:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-25T09:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/?p=140964"},"modified":"2022-06-24T11:26:37","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T18:26:37","slug":"the-most-nutritious-ways-to-cook-your-vegetables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/articles\/the-most-nutritious-ways-to-cook-your-vegetables\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Nutritious Ways To Cook Your Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Nutrition labels or facts don\u2019t always give you the whole story. The preparation tends to dictate the nutritional value of a certain food. In the case of vegetables, many nutrients become lost or more available in regards to preparation. Choosing the right method for your vegetables may help you preserve more nutrients, which only benefits your health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you choose the right cooking method for your vegetables? This comes down to the vegetables that you want to cook, as certain vegetables have more nutrients available after specific preparations. A vegetable that is water-soluble may need a different cooking method than a vegetable that is fat-soluble. Below, we detail the most nutritious ways to prepare your vegetables<\/strong>, according to dietitians.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw preparations are very popular for vegetables, especially the ones in the Brassica family. These vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, and more. They exhibit potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer compounds called glucosinolates. Some vegetables in this family also contain myrosinase, an enzyme that offers protection against bacteria and other harmful organisms. These compounds are released when you chew, chop, or crush them, and cooking actually destroys those beneficial enzymes. If you cook these vegetables, the body struggles to use glucosinolates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients in your vegetables<\/strong>, steaming is the best cooking method. According to a 2013 study, steaming is the best way to preserve the most vitamin C in vegetables<\/a>. When you steam your vegetables, the nutrients are retained to a larger degree because the food doesn\u2019t contain water or other cooking liquids. As a note, steaming is not the same thing as boiling, which we will cover later in this article.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you saut\u00e9 vegetables in a pan, it is best to do so gently over a lower heat. When you cook over a lower flame, you decrease the likelihood of losing some of the water-soluble vitamins in your veggies. Use a flavorful oil or neutral oil<\/a> with a smoke point of 350\u00ba F or above when you saut\u00e9 vegetables. The best oil for saut\u00e9ing vegetables is extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil. These oils may increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients, especially fat-soluble vitamins.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roasting is a dry-heat cooking method that doesn\u2019t require water or oil. If you want your vegetables to retain B vitamins<\/a> and vitamin C, roasting is your best cooking option. Because you don\u2019t need liquid for roasting, there is no significant water-induced loss. Roasting and baking are common cooking methods for zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, bell peppers, squash, and parsnips.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may seem like an odd preparation method, but dietitians say that microwaving is a nutritious way to cook vegetables. Microwaving does, however, result in lower vitamin C levels in the food, but this is no fault of the microwave. Vitamin C breaks down under heat, of which microwaves produce a great deal. Microwaving doesn\u2019t destroy as many nutrients as other cooking methods because it is a fast way to cook food. <\/p>\n\n\n\nKeep It Raw<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Steaming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Saut\u00e9ing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Roasting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Microwaving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Boiling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n