Food forms one of the most essential components of human life. Its right intake is therefore essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. By enhancing our awareness about issues of health, we can reduce the risk of heart attack. We can do so by making small changes in our cooking style. Department of Hospitality Management – JIMS Vasant kunj-II, organizes workshops and practical sessions for students for healthy cooking techniques, roles and characteristics of ingredients, which are very important for a healthy living.
Choose foods carefully
Convenience (store bought) foods (snacks, sweets, baked goods, fried foods, red meat and processed meats) can be high in saturated fat. Saturated fat can raise cholesterol. Always choose foods which are low in fat and high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
These foods include:
-Fresh vegetables
-Whole grains
-Nuts
-Avocados
-Plant-based oils (like olive, peanut and safflower oils)
-High omega-3 foods: Sea food, soya products flaxseed, chia seeds.
Heart-Healthy Cooking
Make a habit of preparing as many meals at home as possible. If we cook at home, we always select fresh ingredients which means we have control over what we’re eating. A few cooking methods like broiling, baking, roasting, steaming, or grilling foods helps cut down on calories and unhealthy fats because we tend to consider the amount of oils and butter we use while cooking. Always try using fresh herbs and spices for flavor instead of butter, oil, margarine or lard. Remove visible fat from meat and poultry. Always choose lean meat and peel the skin off poultry before you eat it. We , at JIMS-VK-2, teach our students about the cuts and their uses while in preparation of dishes.
Steaming, a healthy and tasty cooking method
Steaming is a popular method in the oriental cuisine and holds numerous benefits.
Steaming is cooking by moist heat. Of ancient origin, steaming holds endless benefits. Steaming is traditionally used by the Eastern populations, in particular by Chinese and Tibetan. While using traditional steaming methods of cooking, ingredients like vegetables, meats and fish, it is necessary to use the typical bamboo basket placed on a pot of boiling water. This allows slow cooking and results into extremely pleasant to taste food. Now-a-days, you can also use a steamer pot which is easily available in market for the healthy cooking lovers.
The benefits of steaming
For a healthy diet, steaming is perfect! Light and nutritious, the steaming method of cooking allows you to cook vegetables, cereals, meat, and fish while keeping intact their nutritional properties. Baked at a temperature ranging between 65 °C to 100 °C, the foods will remain juicy and tasty. Moreover, steaming fully eliminates fats from foods, ranking among best cooking methods for dieting!
Tips for steaming technique
If you are thinking of implementing steaming as your preferred cooking method, please keep in mind that:
- Foods should be placed carefully in the basket; avoid lifting the lid during cooking.
- If you have vegetable broth, soup, or boiling water of legumes already prepared, replace water with one of them. This will ensure more flavor to the dish and save time and energy!
- Meat and fish can be arranged on a bed of lettuce, cabbage, seaweed, or herbs to acquire flavor while being protected from intense heat.
- The cooking water can also be flavored with herbs: sage, thyme, and rosemary.
- Always keep an eye on the water. It should never touch the food during cooking.
- The amount of water should not exceed half the volume of the pot.
In our practical sessions, our students practice all of the cooking techniques for healthy cooking; they implement these personally and professionally as well in their cooking habits. This makes the Department of Hospitality Management the best Hotel Management Department in Delhi.
Chef Rajesh Kumar.
Department of Hotel Management
Jagannath Institute of Management Sciences,Vasant Kunj-2