Cooking Without Nutrient loss

[NatureMom]

I make very careful food choices, but then probably destroy half their worth by the cooking methods I choose. How best can I preserve the nutrient content of my food, and still eat it cooked?

 

[ceenis]

I think this is why I am a bad cook I always worry about this too and I wonder if adding more will help, so say you double ingredient one, you still get "as much" as you need after some is cooked off.

 

[CindyJ]

As far as vegetables go, I believe steaming them is the best way to go. I know a nutritionist told me that if you leave you veggies in water, that leaches many of the nutrients out of them, so that's something you want to avoid as well.

 

[jason]

CindyJ is correct. If you cook veggies in water, they lose nutrients. The longer in the water the more you lose. You will want to do any cooking quickly. I like my veggies crisp though, so I do not cook often. What I like to do is put a little oil in a pan, just enough to coat it, and get it nice and hot then add the veggies. After a few minutes I season and pull them off.

 

[SuzyQ]

As long ago as 2000 scientists discovered that cooking some vegetables was better than consuming them raw. Carrots release more antioxidants when cooked, for instance.

 

[Natural]

If the vegetables lose their nutrients in the water, will we still get the nutrients if we drink the soup of the vegetable? Maybe vegetable soup is the best recipe we can make if we can still get the nutrients in the soup.

 

[Treehugger]

Raw fruits and veggies are some of the best natural vitamin sources. If you have to cook them the best way to do it without losing nutrients is to steam them.