Healthy eating recipes

 

It is true most often that an individual can perform better if there is an understanding behind the working of things. This applies to all the areas in life including cooking. Having a clear understanding of the effects of the basic nutrients on our bodies can bring about a perspective that is much healthier on the way we cook. An important fact to remember is that the method you choose for cooking can heavily influence healthy cooking. For instance, if you repeatedly use deep frying oil, the taste of the food each time will be the same, but will become less healthy each time you use it. The reason for this is that when oil reaches high temperatures a change happens to its chemical composition and the compounds that are newly formed become detrimental to health. Therefore, you can see how easily things can go wrong. 

Most people will often say that they care about living a healthy life. However, when it goes into deeper details, there appears to be multiple definitions for healthy living. Eventually, the professionals of the medical community have concluded that a guide for healthy eating could be made use of by individuals who care about their well-being, but do not know what the right and wrong kinds of food are. Therefore, in 1992, the food pyramid guide came into creation. The motive was to inform people to use less fats, oils and sweets in their diet, while increasing the quantities of other foods like pasta, rice, cereal, bread, meat, vegetables and fruits. To understand it better, the foods where made into different groups, and there was an indication as to the number of servings that was necessary for a healthy diet. However, the word ‘servings’ was understood by people differently with some having larger ‘servings’ than others and becoming overweight, while believing that they were consuming healthy meals and cooking healthy recipes. 

Later, a new and improved version of the food pyramid was released called ‘My pyramid - Steps to a healthier you’. This new version states that an overall healthy diet not only has a balance of the essential nutrients but also limits the consumption of other food components, thereby limiting the consumption of calories, cholesterol and fats. Previous food guides only advised on the intake of daily nutrients. As it has been proved by modern science that sugars, fats and bad cholesterol increased the chances of developing various diseases, the findings were added to the new food guides. 

There are five food groups that are the grain group, vegetable group, fruit group, meat and beans group, and milk group. The grain group represents the largest area of the pyramid. It includes pasta, tortillas, grits, crackers, rice, bread and breakfast cereals. Grains can be refined or whole. It is advised by the dietary guidelines for whole grains to make up for half of the intake of grains daily. All vegetables are not the same. Each of them will have varying quantities of nutrition. This is why they are divided into five subgroups which are, dark green vegetables (turnip greens, spinach, romaine lettuce, broccoli), orange vegetables (sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots), dry beans and peas (soy beans, lentils, tofu, white beans, black beans, kidney beans), starchy vegetables (green peas, potatoes, corn) and others like asparagus, eggplants, cucumbers, cabbage, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms. 

Like vegetables, fruits also have varying quantities of nutrients. Pears, plums, melons, papaya, pineapple, oranges, avocado, apples and berries are all considered to be very good for health and should be added to your daily diet. Fresh fruit juices are also very healthy but no sugar should be added. You should avoid taking carbonated fruit juices as they are not very healthy and also contain high calorie content. The meat and beans group includes all the meats (pork, veal, lamb or beef), game meats (venison or rabbit), organ meats (kidneys, gizzards, hearts, tongues, liver), poultry (goose, duck, turkey, chicken), fish, shellfish (crayfish, oysters, shrimps, octopus, calamari, mussels), eggs, dry beans and peas, nuts and seeds (walnuts, peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachio, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds). The milk group includes all milk that is liquid, cheese, yoghurt and desserts that are milk-based like milk puddings or ice cream. 

When preparing your healthy eating recipes make sure to use only oils that are recommended like olive, soya, or corn oils. There are plenty of easy and quick healthy eating recipes for kids you can find in books or on the Internet. Healthy eating recipes for children are essential as it helps in their development and growth. Instead of giving them candies and chips, you could give them some healthier snacks like vegetables and fruits. Healthy eating recipes for children can also be prepared by making use of the food guide pyramid for kids. Along with the healthy meals for kids, regular exercise should also be performed to create the perfect balance to good health. Make sure to avoid eating fast food as much as you can. Fast food is considered to be greasy and salty and so the value of nutrition will be very less. You could also try preparing some healthy eating recipes to lose weight. You could also make your own recipes by using foods that help in weight loss. Some of the effective foods for weight loss are sprouted pulses, curds, high fiber cereals, potatoes, oranges, and grapes. 

Although you can get food supplements without a medical prescription, it is best that you avoid taking these nutrients and vitamins if you have not consulted a health specialist as an excess can be just as harmful as a deficiency. What you should do is to include all kinds of food to your diet in correct proportions with reference to a food guide like the pyramid. Make sure that you eat enough of fruits and vegetables each day, reduce the amount of saturated fats, and control the quantities of carbohydrates. If you have any allergies to food or have cardiovascular problems make sure to seek the guidance of a health specialist to create a diet plan.