Vegetables are probably the most important part of our diet. No I'm not advocating we all turn vegetarian, I also happen to think that meat is an important part of our diet too, however a large portion of the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function come from the vegetables we eat. Even the Atkins Diet tells you to eat a lot of them and most people think of that as purely a meat diet. Yet how do you cook them properly without turning them into a tasteless mush like most people seem to?
Below are three tips to help you cook your vegetables to perfection:
Don't cook them for too long: This is something I see time and time again, people who boil their vegetables for anything up to 30 minutes. Remember you can eat most vegetables raw so you only really need to give them a quick boil to soften them up a bit and warm them up too.
Try boiling your vegetables for just 10 minutes at the most and you will find they are a lot crispier and more tasty too. Not to mention they will be more nutritious as you aren't boiling out all the goodness into the water.
Don't be afraid to use frozen vegetables: The problem with fresh produce is it can go off quickly, which can often lead you to use it when it is past its best. The great thing about frozen produce is that it was frozen when it was fresh from the harvest, so it is as fresh as you can get, and it will keep nicely in your freezer for as long as you need it to.
Obviously you need to adjust your cooking time for frozen vegetables though, you need to thaw them and then cook them at the same time, but as long as you start with boiling water then 15 minutes should be more than enough. In fact with peas I find 10 minutes is fine.
Consider investing in a steamer: I know that a steamer is another thing you have to store on the counter, and something else you need to clean, but they are well worth it. These cook with just steam so they don't leech out the nutrients from the food and they don't allow the food to absorb a lot of water and start to get soggy. Instead you just get great tasting cooked vegetables that are crisp and tasty every time.
Hopefully those tips will help you to cook your vegetables better so you can enjoy them more and get the most nutrients possible out of them.
Below are three tips to help you cook your vegetables to perfection:
Don't cook them for too long: This is something I see time and time again, people who boil their vegetables for anything up to 30 minutes. Remember you can eat most vegetables raw so you only really need to give them a quick boil to soften them up a bit and warm them up too.
Try boiling your vegetables for just 10 minutes at the most and you will find they are a lot crispier and more tasty too. Not to mention they will be more nutritious as you aren't boiling out all the goodness into the water.
Don't be afraid to use frozen vegetables: The problem with fresh produce is it can go off quickly, which can often lead you to use it when it is past its best. The great thing about frozen produce is that it was frozen when it was fresh from the harvest, so it is as fresh as you can get, and it will keep nicely in your freezer for as long as you need it to.
Obviously you need to adjust your cooking time for frozen vegetables though, you need to thaw them and then cook them at the same time, but as long as you start with boiling water then 15 minutes should be more than enough. In fact with peas I find 10 minutes is fine.
Consider investing in a steamer: I know that a steamer is another thing you have to store on the counter, and something else you need to clean, but they are well worth it. These cook with just steam so they don't leech out the nutrients from the food and they don't allow the food to absorb a lot of water and start to get soggy. Instead you just get great tasting cooked vegetables that are crisp and tasty every time.
Hopefully those tips will help you to cook your vegetables better so you can enjoy them more and get the most nutrients possible out of them.
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