Adding more variety through fruits and vegetables to your diet is a simple yet effective way to live a healthier lifestyle. However, eating raw fruit and veggies isn’t exactly appealing to anyone who wants to make a positive change in their life. Unless you want to eat everything in a mushy smoothie form, you should learn how to prepare these ingredients to give the most nutritional value possible.
Improving your diet by serving foods and vegetables the right way
Although there’s nothing wrong with eating fruits and vegetables raw, it’s not everyone’s idea of a healthy lifestyle change. In reality, preparing these food items in a specific way can bring out more nutrients for your benefit. How you cook your food has a significant impact on how much nutrients you’ll receive from them.
If you want to turn over a new leaf, these six healthy fruit and veggie options can revitalize your lifestyle:
1. Baked sweet potatoes
Instead of sticking to bread and rice, why not swap them out with baked sweet potatoes? These sweet treats are rich in fiber, calcium, and magnesium, giving you strong and healthy bones. By baking them, you can enhance their starch and sugar content, giving you more value for your money for every bite.
2. Raw garlic
A staple in several dishes, we’re not recommending that you eat it on its own. Instead, you can mix it in stir-fried vegetables. However, we recommend that you add them only after you’re done cooking the dish. This allows its antioxidant properties to be more effective in controlling your blood pressure levels.
3. Fresh grapes, apples, and blueberries
Eating fruit fresh is usually the best option, especially for apples, grapes, and blueberries. They’re low in fat and calories but are packed with plenty of vitamins to strengthen your immune system. Don’t fall into fruit-flavored drinks’ claims since they only contain a minimal amount of actual organic ingredients and generally contain high sugar content.
4. Cooked carrots
Carrots contain natural chemicals known as carotenoids. These give the popular veggies their distinct color. Steaming carrots or lightly roasting them is the best way to maintain their nutritional value while retaining their taste and flavor.
5. Steamed broccoli
You can add them to salads and noodles to add a healthy amount of glucosinolate to your meal. It’s a compound that prevents several types of cancer while adding a dynamic taste to your dish. Like cooking mushrooms, you must pay extra attention to your steaming to prevent them from turning burnt or soggy. It’s best to cook them in batches to ensure that they are cooked equally before serving them to eat.
6. Pressure-cooked mushrooms
Fungi are low in calories but offer plenty of fiber and antioxidants. Additionally, they can fit in several dishes involving fresh and cooked ingredients. Quick cooking-them through a pressure cooker raises the amount of antioxidants in some mushroom strains. However, be mindful about using too much heat since it can ruin the mushrooms’ texture.
Conclusion
Besides the few nutrition options above, you can discover tons of other healthy food items and cooking styles. You’re never too late to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Although you can be conscious at first, it’s important to remember that your progress is your own, and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. The sooner you get over what others think of you, the better you’ll think and feel about your physique.
Investing in your health is a personal achievement you should do for yourself. However, that doesn’t mean you should go through this journey on your own.Subscribe to our online newsletter at The Skinny to receive informational content on the latest fitness and nutrition tips today!
