There are lots of healthy foods out there and you can’t go wrong with fresh, seasonal produce.
But did you know that the way you prepare them may actually up the nutritional benefits of some of your favorite foods?
We often cut our carrots, since looking like Bugs Bunny has never been our thing. Even those store bought baby carrots have been put through a machine to shave them down into smaller, more manageable bites. Studies have found that cutting carrots increases the surface size allowing some of the vital nutrients to seep out. Cooking them increases the bioavailability of the antioxident rich carotenoids. Wash and peel carrots and toss them whole into soups, stews or roast them in the oven, to get the most benefit from eating them.
Garlic contains a compound called allicin, which has antibiotic properties, and is thought to decrease blood pressure.Allicin does not naturally occur in the garlic bulb, but is produced when the garlic is crushed, or finely diced. Allicin is a bit flightily, and begins to degrade the moment it is created. Cooking helps that process along, and microwaving destroys it completely. For maximum health benefits, add a little finely diced raw garlic to cooked food, if the flavor is not too strong for your taste.
Broccoli is a popular vegetable, and can be an effective cancer preventer. How you cook it however, determines just how much of those cancer fighters are present. Steaming is the only method that preserves or possibly increases those properties. Frying and boiling were found to be the worst. Find steamed broccoli a bit dull? Researchers also found that adding spicy foods upped the cancer fighting ante. Go ahead and steam it, and toss it in a spicy sauce!
Eating your vegetables, no matter how they are prepared is a win. Knowing how to get the most from them is a triumph!
photos: Glasshouse Images
Check us out at indigojonesnyc on instagram.
Want to see what we have been pinning? Take a look at our Pinterest page!
Tweet along on Twitter.
To keep up with the latest, show us some “like” by liking our Facebook page
Tags: broccoli, carrots, garlic, health benefits, healthy foods, how to prepare vegetables to get the most nutrients, vegetables
Indigo jones 
Leave a Reply