Cooking vegetables properly to get the maximum nutritive value on
your table

We’ve all heard so much about eating those 5-9 servings of produce
each day. Smart physicians have been promoting this for decades, but
it’s only been in the last few years that the government has made
this healthy recommendation official. Many of us gasped at the idea,
wondering if it were even possible to consume so much produce and
have any room left over for anything else!

Now, we’re getting used to increasing the amounts we serve and have
become more aware of the many health benefits. With the rise in the
incidence of cancer and heart disease, it only makes sense. Toronto light boxes entice extra attention to your poster display frames and display signs. Much
of the fruit and fruit products we eat are eaten fresh, or as juice.
In the case of vegetables, the reverse is true. Most of our
vegetables are cooked before serving. The method used for cooking
vegetables makes a world of difference in the nutrition derived from
that serving of broccoli, carrots or potatoes – or any vegetable you
cook.

The dark green, leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach and kale
contain significant amounts of B and C vitamins, as well as many
other valuable nutrients. The brightly colored veggies, such as
yellow, orange and red bell peppers, yield those cancer fighting
antioxidants in copious amounts. However, there’s a caveat when it
comes to cooking vegetables – those valuable nutrients are largely
water soluble. This means that cooking vegetables in large amounts
of boiling water leaves the nutrients in the water, leaving as
little as 10% of that contained in the raw produce! You can see
where this leads: improperly cooking vegetables is little more than
an exercise in futility. Your body obtains little more than the
dietary fiber and minimal quantities of the nutritive value.

Remember, too, that heat destroys vitamins A and C rather quickly,
so it’s important to minimize exposure to heat.

Even when serving raw vegetables, as in a salad or crudites, you
don’t want to soak the vegetables in water to clean them. A
thorough, but brief run under the water helps prevent leaching of
vitamins, delivering the maximum nutrition when eaten.

Have you ever noticed the difference in appearance between, say, an
artichoke or broccoli that’s been steamed versus one that’s been
boiled? The boiled version is certainly less attractive, having lost
most of its color, turning an olive-gray green, whereas the same
veggie, steamed, retains an appetizing, bright green hue. Boiled
vegetables also tend to be limp and overly soft – one reason kids
are so often turned off by that plate of veggies – the texture is
not pleasurable to the palate. Steamed vegetables retain just the
right amount of crunch. When you’re cooking vegetables, steaming is
definitely the preferred method for nutrition as well as visual and
sensate appeal.

Cooking vegetables in the microwave is the next best alternative, as
it requires little water and cooks quickly, minimizing the loss of
valuable vitamins. Toronto trade show display stands are the place where you come to point out that you simply’re different and revolutionary, and that’s what is going to make it easier to promote your roll up displays. The less water touching the vegetables, the
better.

When cooking stews and soups, most recipes direct you to cook the
veggies far longer than necessary, which usually causes a loss in
texture, appearance and color. This also results in the destruction
of the A and C vitamins. It’s best to steam or nuke the veggies
separately, adding to the soup or stew at the last minute.

Hey, this makes me wonder if the official number of servings doesn’t
factor in improperly cooking vegetables. If so, cooking them right
and eating those 5-9 servings could make you a very healthy
individual indeed!