Tips in Preparing Food With Steam for Healthier Life
Living a healthy lifestyle must be one of the most difficult goals of the 21st century. Our lives are riddled with so many unhealthy options that it can be disturbing. Fast food, instant meals and too much of anything is the bane of this goal. It does not help that exercising is also almost nonexistent for so many people around the world.
Many factors can be blamed for this one, but most experts point to the development of technology. It has made a lot of tasks easier without even lifting a finger for effort. However, there is another facet that is not discussed as much: home life in conjunction with lifestyle choices.
Everything starts at home. Our parents are the ones who have trained us to become the best person that we can be. However, there are times when they do not also know what’s good or not for them. The children will just blindly follow, and this results in a cycle that can be difficult to break as this article says.
This includes eating habits, which can be influenced by other factors like culture and locally available choices. However, you can still learn to eat healthily even if this was your situation. You just need to have more discipline with yourself, a hunger for learning, and being a better individual. Check more information about food for health on Five Guys Daphne.
The Diet Trend
There are many types of diet that you can follow. Along with exercise, most of them prove to be effective at weight loss and being healthier. However, not all of them might work for you so you may need to know more about your body first before embarking on such a journey.
You can go and seek out a professional dietician to formulate a diet plan that would suit your needs. In contrary to popular belief, dieting is not about starving yourself. It is choosing better options for your well-being. It all starts with food preparation.
One of the most popular ways of cooking healthy is steaming. It is an age-old concept, and many ancient civilizations use this technique. However, it is still particularly popular in Asian countries. Steaming is a way of indirect cooking; this means that you are not exposing the food item straight to the fire.
Instead, it uses the evaporation from boiling water to cook anything that you want. As it is a gentler type of cooking, it usually takes a long time before cooking something. However, the end product is still as delicious as anything else.
Now, what makes this healthy? Well, the cooking process does not involve any kind of oil. This means that you are not frying anything, which decreases the fat that you are going to eat. Also, it is perfect for vegetables because it is not as aggressive as stir-frying and grilling. You are retaining the freshness of the vegetable along with most of the nutrients.
Unfortunately, not all people like this technique because it results in a bland meal. However, you can circumvent that outcome by doing some extra steps to your steamed meal.
Few Things to Remember
1. Get A Steamer
Now, you can make a makeshift steamer with just a big thick-bottomed pot and a smaller bowl placed at the center upside down. This will act as your steamer stand inside. However, it would be best to buy a steam cooker, especially if you are going to cook a lot of meals. It usually has several functions to control the temperature as well as a basket that can hold more items.
You will also be saved from the hassle of using the makeshift one since it can be quite dangerous. With steamers, you can easily get your meal with minimal risk of burning yourself.
2. Know About Water And Its Efficient Use
Speaking of which, you do not need a lot of water for steaming. Using more of it increases the cooking time, and you would not have the right temperature as well. This is why a steam cooker is great since you can choose the temperature that you want.
After all, you do not want to overcook anything when steaming because it can taste horrible. Also, you need to wait for the water to boil before putting in anything. This helps in cutting the cooking time as well.
3. Add Flavors To The Boiling Water
If you want to decrease your salt intake but still want to have a delicious meal, then try to experiment with herbs and spices. You do not need to mix it with your food as you can add this to the water. The steam it creates will flavor your food and help it taste better as well.
However, you need to choose the right herbs, especially fresh ones. Some of them are not ideal for rapid boiling. For starters, choose the ones that are hardier like root parts, fruits, and harder leaves. They would not wilt easily, and they can still impart their flavor.
Keep The Lid Tightly Closed
Remember, steaming is all about temperature control. Once it is too high or too low, it can affect the flavor and cooking time of your dish. If you are using a makeshift steamer, then choose a pot that has a tight-fitting lid. Otherwise, this is where the steamer comes in.
Most of the time, electric steamers do have tighter lids than the stove-top ones. However, the latter is so much better for cooking in bulk since they come in bigger sizes. You may also need to wrap the lid with cheese or cotton cloth to tighten it and trap the steam.