Common Kitchen Mistakes

There’s something empowering about going to the supermarket to shop for your weeks meals. Rather than putting yourself at the mercy of your favorite delivery or take out restaurants or succumbing to the lure of drive-through, you’re taking dinner- and your waistline- into your own hands. But while you may be tossing the freshest , most wholesome foods into your carts , many of you are storing and preparing them in ways that rob them (and your bodies) of the very nutrients were seeking. Nutritionists and food-safety experts point to 4 typical kitchen mistakes that negatively impact the quality of your diets. Fortunately, you can sidestep all of them easily. Follow this advice to make your next meal healthier.


Mistake # 1

You’re overloading on produce

Sure, making one big supermarket trip at the start of the week seems like a no-fail way to eat vegetables and fruits all week. After all, if those greens, apples, and berries are around, you’ll eat more of them and therefore get more nutrients, right? Wrong. The vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables begin to diminish the moment they’ve harvested, that means the longer you store produce, the fewer nutrients it will contain. After about a week in the fridge, foe example, spinach retains just half of its folate and around 60 percent of its lutein (an antioxidant associated with healthy eyes), concludes a study in the journal of food science. Broccoli loses about 62 percent of its falconoid (antioxidant compounds that help ward off cancer and heart disease) within 10 days, according to a study in the journal of Agricultural and food chemistry. You’re better off buying smaller batches at least twice a week, if you can’t shop every few days, picking up frozen produce. These fruits and veggies are harvested at their peak and are flash-frozen immediately. Because the produce isn’t exposing to oxygen, the nutrients stay stable for a year, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Just be sure to avoid frozen products packed in sauces or syrups. These additions can mean extra fat or sugar, and sometimes they’re high in sodium as well


Mistake # 2

You’re too quick to cook your garlic

Legend has it that these pungent little bulbs can ward off vampires and witches, but science shows that if you cook them correctly, they may have the power to fight off an even more frightening villain: cancer. Chop, slice or crush your cloves, then set them aside foe at least 10 minutes before sautéing. Breaking up garlic triggers an enzymatic reaction that releases a healthy compound called allyl sulfur; waiting to cook garlic allows enough time for the full amount of compound to form.


Mistake # 3

You’re an over-peeler

Most of the antioxidants and polyphenols in produce are located very close to the surface of the skin or in the skin itself. A study published in the journal nutrition Research found that most fruits peel exhibited two to 27 times more antioxidant activity than the pulp of the fruit. Many of us remove the skins from eggplant, bell peppers, peaches, apples and nectarines while preparing recipes, bur we are really just tossing away nutrients to fiber. We recommend gently scrubbing potatoes and carrots rather than removing their skin, and using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to pare away as thin a layer as possible from fruits and veggies that must be peeled.


Mistake # 4

You’re simmering away vitamins and minerals

Boiling may seem like a simple, no-fuss way to prepare vegetables without adding oil, but this cooking method can cause up to 90percent of a foods nutrients to leech out according to the American institute for Cancer Research in Washington D.C.

Minerals like potassium and water-soluble vitamins like B and C end up getting tossed out with the water .To keep these essentials from draining away during the cooking process, try steaming (use a minimal amount of water with a steamer basket), microwaving, or stir –frying.A study from the University of Essex in England showed that when certain vegetables were prepared using these techniques, most of the nutrients they contained were spared and stir- frying scores even more points when you’re cooking vegetables the oil you use in stir-frying them can increase the amount of the antioxidant you absorb by up to 63 percent, according to a study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. You don’t need to use a lot of oil; even just a tablespoon will do.

FOOD AS FAT-BURNERS

PEARS:
Why you need them: Pack the fruit bowl with pears if you want to lose kilos reports a study out of the university of Rio de Janeiro. In the study , which was published in the journal Nutrition, women who also ate three pears a day consumed fewer total daily calories and lost more weight than who didn’t. Rich in fiber (one pear packs 15% of your daily recommended amount), pears help you feel full and keep you from overeating.

Best way to work them in : Eat a pear before a meal to help curb hunger. Forget the peeler; because most of the fruits beneficial fiber is in the skin.

ALMONDS:
Why you need them: Eating a handful of almonds a day, along with a healthy diet , might help you zap fat, suggests research published in the International Journal of Obesity.
Diet-study participants who ate almonds daily for six month lost 18% of their body fat .
Those who followed a diet with the same amount of calories and protein but swapped almonds for an equal number of calories in complex carbs (like wheat crackers) lost only 11%.

Best way to work them in: They are a great as a snack or chopped and added to your favorite meal.

DARK CHOCOLATE:
Why you need it: Dark chocolate, and other foods high in antioxidants, may help prevent the accumulation of fat cells in the body, a precursor to heart disease and obesity, according to new research from Taiwan published in the journal of agriculture and food chemistry .

Best way to work it in: Melt a half ounce of dark chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds and spread it on a small piece of whole-wheat bread.

GREEN BEANS:
Why you need them: They are loaded with resistant starch , a powerful fat burner (one half-cup serves up nearly 10 grams of resistant starch).
If you eat green beans and other foods rich in resistant starch at just one meal a day, you will burn 25% more body fat than you would otherwise , according to reserchers at the university of Colorado.

Marinate Meat for Healthy Grilling

It’s enough to make your mouth water .The smell of a sizzling steak on the grill on a summer evening, as friends gather around the barbecue.

Then a pesky thought buzzes your brain. Can grilled meat cause chemicals to form?

That substance that forms on meats cooked a high temperatures (such as from grilling, frying, or broiling meat) includes compounds that researchers say are “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. “ The compounds are known as HCAs, or heterocyclic amines. Some research has shown that eating more HCAs increases your risk for several cancers, including colorectal, stomach, lung, pancreas, breast and prostate cancers.

But researchers at Kansas State University and (the food Science institute) believe marinades may hold the key to healthier grilled meats.


Here's how their study was carried out:

Researchers marinated round steaks for an hour in a specific marinade. The meal was coated on all sides and turned several times. Steaks were then grilled for five minutes on each side.

They also tested f steaks with no marinade and those with marinade made only with lemon vinegar and olive oil.
When the meat was tested for total HCAs , the marinated steaks had a 72% reduction in the bad compounds.

Add herbs and spices which are rich in antioxidants to increase the results and reduce the chemicals even more.
Add thyme, rosemary, chives, paprika, red pepper, oregano, black pepper, garlic and onion.