Healthy Foods – Healthy Cooking Methods

If healthy foods are not cooked using healthy methods, their nutritional values ​​may be lost. For example:

• If barbecued meat is cooked too close to the flame, carcinogenic elements may occur, and B vitamins are lost due to the water dripping from the meat. For this reason, it is recommended to use wooden tongs instead of metal forks and to grill the meat without constantly turning it, provided that it is not too close to the fire.

• When legumes such as beans, chickpeas and lentils are cooked well, they become easier to digest and Thus, the protein value increases. On the other hand, pouring boiling water or adding soda / mineral water to cook quickly reduces the nutritional value.

• Eggs should not be consumed raw. Raw eggs are difficult to digest and prevent the absorption of a vitamin called biotin. It may also cause food poisoning.

• Egg should be boiled for a maximum of 8 - 10 minutes. If the egg yolk that is cooked or boiled for a long time becomes green around it, it becomes difficult to digest and its nutritional value decreases.

• Milk should never be consumed raw. It would be healthier to buy long-life milk or pasteurized milk offered with UHT technology. There is no need to heat or boil this sealed milk, it can be drunk cold.

• If milk is boiled for a long time, its vitamins decrease. After pasteurized and unsterilized milk swells, it should be boiled by stirring for 4 - 5 minutes. Then, it should be cooled immediately and placed in the refrigerator in a glass jar and used within 1 - 2 days.

• The boiling water of foods such as pasta and noodles should not be spilled, they should be cooked with as much water as it will absorb. If the boiling water is poured and then kept under cold water, losses of up to 80% in vitamin B1 may occur.

• Roasting noodles, rice and flour causes protein loss.

• Fresh vegetables should first be sorted, washed, then chopped and cooked with enough water. Green leafy vegetables can be cooked without adding any water. If too much water is added to vegetable dishes, vitamin loss increases.

• Adding soda / mineral water while cooking vegetables, green Adding lemon or vinegar to salads made from yellow vegetables and letting them wait reduces the value of vitamins A and C.

• Vegetables that can be boiled in their skins, such as potatoes, should be boiled with their skins after washing them thoroughly. After cooking, the shell can be easily peeled and its nutritional value is preserved.

• If fats are added to food after being burned (Example: Iskender kebab, manti, yayla soup), they contain carcinogenic elements.

• Reheating food should be avoided as much as possible.

On the other hand, the best storage containers are neutral containers that do not interact with food. Transition from container to food or from food to container negatively affects food quality. Materials such as metal, plastic, soil and glass are used to preserve food. Additionally, a container used for cooking (steel, enamel, pressure cooker, etc.) can also be used to store the remaining food. For a while, pressure cookers were not preferred by women because they carried the risk of explosion, but now, with the newly developed techniques, they are safer, easier to use and save time, as the lid part is included in the pot.

Healthy Nutrition Suggestions

In order to reduce the risk of food poisoning and prevent possible loss of nutritional value, the following recommendations can be given to people to buy, store and prepare healthy foods:

• Cooked foods should be kept in the room. It should not be left at temperature for more than 2 hours, and should be placed in the refrigerator.

• Meats should be frozen in flat-packaged quantities in one-table serving amounts. Frozen foods should not be re-frozen after defrosting.

• Thaw process; It should be kept on the lower shelves of the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in waterproof nylon bags and kept under cold running water, or in the thawing program of the microwave oven. It should not be done at room temperature, in water, on or under a heater, over low heat or in sunny places. Defrosted foods should be cooked without waiting.

• Canned food with lids facing outwards, even slightly, and broken, cracked and dirty eggs should not be purchased.

• Egg should not be consumed raw. Raw eggs are difficult to digest and prevent the absorption of a vitamin called biotin. It can also cause food poisoning. Eggs should be stored in the refrigerator without being washed, but they should be washed before use (including hands).

• Cheese made from raw milk should not be consumed, care should be taken to ensure that it is pasteurized.

• When milk, flour and sugar are cooked together while making a milk dessert, the nutritional value of the milk decreases. Clumping may be observed. Sugar should be added either close to or after it has reduced. When making diet desserts, the sweetener should be added last to the food.

• If tarhana is dried in the sun and milk - yoghurt is kept in a bright place, vitamin B2, B6 and folic acid will be lost. Tarhana can be dried in the shade or in the oven.

• If the greenish juice of yoghurt is poured, its vitamin value decreases. If yoghurt is put in a bag and filtered, and the filtered water is thrown away, vitamin loss will occur. Yogurt water can be used in soups and pastries.

• Soda / mineral water should not be added to make ayran to foam.

• Thin bread. If it is sliced ​​and fried, its nutritional value decreases. On the other hand, there is no decrease in the energy of the bread.

• Leavening the dough to make bread, buns and cookies increases its nutritional value.

• Stair. Breads can be made fresh again by exposing them to water vapor. If the bread will be kept for more than 2 days, it should be kept in the freezer.

• Seasonal vegetables and fruits should be preferred when purchasing. In this way, you will not experience any hormonal, nutritional or economic problems.

• Plucking vegetables such as spinach, purslane and lettuce by hand rather than using a knife to chop them minimizes vitamin losses. p>

• Frozen vegetables should be cooked without thawing.

• If the canned water is spilled, its vitamin value decreases. It can be used in making soups and sauces.

• The outer leaves of vegetables should not be thrown away unless they are rotten.

• The skins of vegetables and fruits should not be peeled deeply, they are too small. It should not be chopped into pieces.

• Rubbing the spinach with salt to remove its bitter water and squeezing the water thoroughly after boiling causes a lot of nutritional loss.

• After the fruits are cut or juiced. If it is kept waiting, its vitamin C value decreases. Even if squeezed fruit juices are kept in the refrigerator, their vitamin value decreases. It is beneficial to consume it within 5 minutes.

• When shopping in markets, easily perishable foods such as meat, milk, vegetables and frozen foods should be taken after dry foods.

• When buying frozen foods, those that are hard as a stone should be preferred, and those with ice crystals on them should never be purchased.

• Perishable foods should be placed in the refrigerator as soon as possible after purchasing them. The temperature of the refrigerator should not be above +4°C.

• It is necessary to store food in the refrigerator in moisture and airtight containers.

• Clog the refrigerator. It is wrong to prevent the airflow inside by filling the container.

• When defrosting or cleaning the refrigerator, it is necessary to keep frozen and perishable foods in containers filled with ice.

• Salt should be stored in a dry and cool place away from light. Preferably, iodized salt should be used and consumed within 3 months.

• Meat should never be cut on the board on which vegetables and salad are chopped.

• Cooked and Raw foods should not be brought together.

• Home canning should definitely be avoided unless heating conditions at very high temperatures and vacuum can be achieved.

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