A heart-healthy diet is likely to conjure up thoughts of bland, cooked food. A heart-healthy diet, on the other hand, is one that is interesting, flavorful, and colourful because it should contain a lot of deep-coloured vegetables and fruits, coarse grains like millets, legumes of all kinds (including soy, nuts, and seeds), low-fat dairy, as well as some portions of fish or poultry.
Vegetables and fruit are among the items that are necessary to maintain heart health but are consumed in far lower amounts than is ideal. In addition to consuming a variety of components, cooking affects a dish's flavour, texture, colour, digestibility, absorption, and nutritional value.
Healthy cooking techniques including stewing (cooking in a closed skillet with a modest amount of simmering liquid) and steaming (enclosing the food in steam created by boiling water) receive high marks. Sauteing or stir-frying (tossing food in a tiny amount of fat in a frying pan) are acceptable and healthful forms of frying, according to experts.
Short cooking time: No matter the cooking method, overcooking should always be avoided. The nutrients, as well as the food's colours and textures, are destroyed by overcooking. The favoured cooking techniques are those that need less time, such as pressure cooking and microwaving.
Minimal use of water: Use only as much water as is necessary when cooking in it. As a result, fewer water-soluble nutrients will be lost. Use any remaining water in a sauce or gravy if possible. Also, avoid cooking with baking soda when using vegetables. They might keep their colour, but the amount of vitamin C decreases.
Prevent extremely high temperatures: Dry heat techniques like grilling, baking, broiling, and frying require special attention to this. A chemical called acrylamide, which has been connected to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease can be created during cooking at extremely high temperatures (over 180 degrees Celsius). Such molecules develop as a result of the fat that drips at high temperatures onto the meats, paneer, and potatoes.
Use a mix of cooking oils: One of the most frequently asked questions about nutrition concerns the best types of cooking oils for our health. In addition, multi-source cooking oils offer greater heat stability and low-absorbance technology, which are advantageous for high-temperature cooking techniques like baking and frying.