8 Unhealthy Cooking Mistakes to Avoid

It's past time to recognise more of these cooking blunders and avoid them in the future to avoid any potential consequences.

Did you know that the food we prepare, no matter how tasty or healthy it is, can turn unhealthy if prepared incorrectly? Our body and overall health are directly proportional to the meat we prepare, the seasonings we apply, and the oil we use to fry things. No matter how skilled a cook we are, there are occasions when we unknowingly make mistakes that result in unhealthy cuisine. Cooking veggies until they are soggy, for example, destroys all of their nutrients, whereas stir-frying them preserves them. It's time to recognise more of these cooking blunders and prevent them in the future to avoid any negative consequences.

Here are some common cooking blunders that make your meal unhealthy.

1. Excessive seasoning and dressing usage

To our salads and sandwiches, we all like to add a touch of seasoning and condiments like soy sauce or mayonnaise. But have you ever considered that their excessive use can be quite harmful to your health? These dressings have a lot of sodium in them, which might cause water retention.

2. Putting honey in a hot environment

Honey has a long history of being thought to have medicinal effects, and it's an excellent sugar and artificial sweetener replacement. Honey is a natural sweetener that tastes best when eaten uncooked. Its therapeutic benefits can be lost if it is exposed to high heat. Honey's quality can be harmed by cooking. It becomes harmful as it loses critical enzymes and minerals. Furthermore, heating it to 40 degrees Celsius triggers a molecular shift that renders it bitter.

3. Excessive heating of healthful oils

While some vegetable oils can be heated to a specific degree, some beneficial oils, such as olive and coconut oil, should never be exposed to high temperatures. When heated over their smoke temperatures, these oils contain nutritious components that can be damaged. Sunflower oil, for example, should always be used for sautéing, frying, and roasting. Extra virgin oil or flaxseed oil are great for flavouring or pouring over prepared foods.

4. Fry your meal

Fried meals may taste good, but they're full of dangerous trans-fats. Fried items, such as veggies and lean meats, become unhealthy 'yummy' treats. Furthermore, these foods have been associated to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Air fryers, which use only a teaspoon of oil to fry any item, are widely available these days. Make sure you use air-fryers if you want to go healthy while still enjoying fried dishes.

5. Using the incorrect cooking utensils

It's just as vital to know what ingredients go into a dish as it is to know what cookware you use to prepare it. Teflon, which is found in non-stick cookware, is claimed to include a man-made chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, which has been linked to health issues, particularly in the liver. It's better to get back to fundamentals and cook with cast iron, glass, ceramic, or stainless steel cookware.

6. Seasoning the food with uncooked salt

Some of us have a habit of adding salt on food to make a dull dish taste better. Consumption of unprocessed salt, on the other hand, has been related to heart disease and kidney difficulties. Dr. Harjeet Kaur, a dietitian and nutritionist at Amandeep Hospital, believes that "It is thought to be particularly damaging to the circulatory and nervous systems. It also throws the delicately balanced lymph system into disarray."

7. Cooking vegetables for an excessive amount of time

Cooking veggies until they get soggy might deplete their nutritional value. To get them just right, don't boil them for too long, since this can leech the nutrients out of them. Lightly stir-frying is one of the finest ways to maintain nutrients. If you want to eat them in soup, blanch them in hot water instead. Check to see if your vegetables are still firm and crisp.

8.removing the peelings from the vegetables

Are you aware that the peels of some vegetables contain more nutrients than the plants themselves? Vitamins are abundant in the skins of potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, and apples, which offer you with additional minerals and vitamins. The peels are high in fibre, which is beneficial to your digestive tract.