There is more and more interest in eating right, but paradoxically, people eat more and more poorly.
time available to cook and eat is minimal and we think we lack the necessary resources to give a positive twist to our diet and, incidentally, that stressful life.
However, Healthy eating is not at odds with fast cooking. Of course, spending time in the kitchen and giving more importance to food would be ideal, but in everyday life time and quiet seem to be scarce commodities.
What is not about is eating anxiously and in a hurry industrial convenience foods that get out of trouble but that do not meet the requirements of a healthy, natural and varied diet.
Nor should we forget this even if it is cooked quickly, spending time chewing, savoring and digesting a meal is the best formula to benefit from food.
Plan and shop to be able to improvise
to eat well it is important to plan a little and have food available Allow some improvisation.
- They should not be missing in the weekly shopping cereal or pasta; legumes, tofu or seitan, and vegetables and fruits.
- To have in hand Natural preserves or vacuum-packed products such as artichokes, beans or beans are also very practical.
- If included nuts, seeds and algae you can enrich the mineral content of dishes with little effort.
- of soy sauce and misothey will give them flavor and also strengthen the intestinal flora.
- it is interesting make an outline of what you plan to eat in any case to guide the purchase: how many times pasta, rice and legumes. Fruits can be counted by pieces.
- Y if a lot of fresh produce is bought, it can be kept in portions in the refrigerator so that they are easy to identify and fuse at the right time.
Practice time-saving habits in the kitchen
A good habit is to choose a time of day to prepare things in advance. For example, preparing a cereal while you eat dinner or watch TV, soak a legume when you leave the house to cook it at night, or make a broth while watching a movie.
- The food is then portioned into individual portions and stored or frozen. If you cook a little more than you need on a daily basis, you can even save what’s left for another occasion or freeze it for later.
- There is nothing wrong with eating the same food two days in a row if it is prepared a little differently: rice with vegetables for lunch and rice salad (with leftovers) for dinner the next day.
- Salads are quick to prepare and easy to digest. It is convenient to make them as varied as possible: introducing nuts, cheese, tofu, cereals, legumes or fruits is a good way to complement them.
- Cut and packed vegetables allow you to have a colorful and delicious salad in minutes. Obviously, fresh, freshly cut produce is best, but this is always preferable to not eating any vegetables at all.
- Frozen vegetables are a good option if you don’t have time to wash and cut them. They should be prepared directly frozen, or in boiling water or steamed. Then they are sautéed with nuts, garlic, fried, boiled or grilled in the oven.
- You don’t have to give up sweets either.: fruit alone or mixed with yogurt; chocolate-dipped nuts; a quince cheese; some pancakes filled with jam; fruit baked or fried in butter; chocolate cereal balls … they are easy recipes for delicious desserts that will end a delicious meal.
Prepare light but quick dishes
To get nutritious and delicious dishes, it is not necessary to spend hours in the kitchen. Find out how to speed up your recipes with healthy snacks.
- pasta. Fresh is cooked first, but dry allows you to improvise: boiled and mixed with walnuts and garlic, a seitan and tomato sauce, soy sauce, a walnut and parsley pesto, or just olive oil and grated parmesan.
- RICE. It can be stored for two or three days in the refrigerator. To regenerate it, it is boiled or steamed.
- Rice noodles. Put them in boiling water, cover and turn off the fire. After 5 minutes, they are drained and sauteed with vegetables in a wok. Egg is added, mixed and dressed with soy sauce.
- couscous. It is ready in ten minutes and can be reheated overnight by adding a little water or broth. It is accompanied by vegetables or legumes.
- Bread. A good whole grain loaf, covered with a cotton cloth and wrapped in a plastic bag, stays fresh in the refrigerator for about four days. It can be used for sandwiches or as a base for one instant pizza with tomatoes, mushrooms, vegetables and cheese.
- egg. Scrambled or in an omelette with leftover vegetables, cheese or spices, they are a nutritious and easy source. A couple of eggs cracked in a clay pot with salt and a little oil are immediately boiled in the oven. Try it on the basis of boiled or sautéed spinach.
- Vegetables. For quick cooking, they can be cut into thin strips if fried or sliced if grilled. Zucchini, sliced and floured, takes a few minutes. Eggplant cut into very thin slices is left for a few minutes in salt, washed and grilled. Sliced mushrooms and sliced asparagus are also sautéed immediately.
- Legumes. Natural or vacuum-packed cans provide the necessary plant protein and can be added to vegetables, grains or salads. Dried ones can be cooked in a pressure cooker or add a piece of kombu seaweed to the water to shorten the cooking time. They can also be frozen in portions for a meal or use leftovers for a soup or stew.
- expressed croquettes. With leftover cereal, croquettes can be made by adding vegetables or legumes and mixing them with eggs and breadcrumbs.
- oatmeal. They allow you to make quick soups: chop vegetables (onions, celery, leeks, carrots), fry, add water, bring to a boil, add flakes and finish with some miso or soy sauce.
Have cookware to save time eating healthy
With the right utensils and a few tricks that speed up cooking, you can save time without affecting the nutritional quality of the food.
- two pans In the everyday kitchen, a wok or a deep pan will serve to prepare light fries in an instant. A pan will allow you to cook not only fish, but also some vegetables such as asparagus, mushrooms, eggplant slices or zucchini.
- Fry in a pot. With a low and slightly wide pot (about 24 cm) food can be fried in small quantities while keeping the temperature of the oil more stable. The most recommended oil for frying is olive oil, which can withstand a higher temperature.
- steamer. It allows you to prepare vegetables in a short time and reheat some preparations. In the lower part you can prepare soups and creams.
- microwaves. It is used for heating and thawing, but it reduces the vitality of the food. To roast vegetables or potatoes it is better to use the oven. with good pyrex trays.
- helicopter. A good cutting board and a good knife allow you to cut vegetables for frying or roasting later, but an electric chopper makes the job easier if a small cut is needed. The smaller the cut, the faster the cooking will be.
- Pressure cooker. It allows cooking to be shortened and is ideal for pulses or broths, although it is less natural than normal pressure boiling.