Kitchen blunders that impact our diets

According to Shape magazine there are eight kitchen blunders that impact the quality of our diets:

You’re overloading on produce

Make a couple of trips to the grocery store each week to buy your fruits and vegetables. The vitamins and minerals in these foods begin to diminish as soon as they are picked. The longer you store them the fewer nutrients they will contain when you eat them. If you can't shop every few days pick up frozen produce. These fruits and veggies are harvested at their peak and are flash-frozen immediately. Because the produce isn’t exposed to oxygen, the nutrients stay stable for a year. Just be sure to avoid frozen products packed in sauces or syrups.

You’re too quick to cook your garlic

Science shows that if you cook garlic correctly, they may have the power to fight off cancer. Chop, slice, or crush your cloves, then set them aside for at least 10 minutes before sautéing. Breaking up garlic triggers an enzymatic reaction that releases a healthy compound called allyl sulfur; waiting to cook garlic allows enough time for the full amount of the compound to form.


The only time you eat avocados is in guacamole

Adding this green fruit to salads and sandwiches is an easy way to raise your nutritional bar. Avocados are exceptionally rich in folate, potassium, vitamin E and fiber. It’s true that they’re also high in fat, but it’s the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind. And half an avocado has just 153 calories.
One novel way to work them into your diet is to use them as a fat substitute in baking. Researchers wanted to see if avocado could work in the same way without affecting the taste. They replaced half of the butter in an oatmeal-cookie recipe with puréed avocado. Not only did this swap cut the total fat count by 35 percent (avocados have fewer fat grams per tablespoon than butter or oil), it also made the resulting treats softer, chewier, and less likely to crumble than cookies made according to the original recipe.

Don't skimp on seasonings

Herbs and spices not only enhance the flavor of your cooking without adding fat or sodium, but many of these fragrant ingredients also protect you from food poisoning. After testing 20 common seasonings against five strains of bacteria (including E. coli, staphylococcus and salmonella), researchers found that the higher the antioxidant value of the spice, the greater its ability to inhibit bacterial activity. Cloves, cinnamon sticks and oregano were the most effective at fighting off these food-borne pathogens. A separate study shows that rosemary, thyme, nutmeg and bay leaves are also antioxidant-rich. Adding half a teaspoon of herbs or spices to salads, vegetables and meats can give you extra peace of mind and boost your intake of disease-fighting antioxidants.

Don't peel to much of your produce

Most of the antioxidants and polyphenols in produce are located very close to the surface of the skin or in the skin itself. Most fruit peels exhibited two to 27 times more antioxidant activity than the pulp of the fruit. Many of us remove the skins from eggplant, bell peppers, peaches, apples and nectarines while preparing recipes, but we’re really just tossing away nutrients and fiber. Gently scrub potatoes and carrots rather than removing their skin, and use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to pare away as thin a layer as possible from fruits and veggies that must be peeled.

You’re simmering away vitamins and minerals
Boiling vegetables can cause up to 90 percent of a food’s nutrients to leech out. Minerals like potassium and water-soluble vitamins like B and C end up getting tossed out with the water. Try steaming, microwaving or stir frying to retain the nutrients.

Wash all your produce before eating it

Most of us remember to rinse plums and berries before noshing on them, but when was the last time you doused a banana, orange, cantaloupe or mango with water? Harmful bacteria can linger on the surface and could be transferred to your hands or even to the inside of the fruit when you cut into it. To clean produce, simply run each piece under the tap and gently scrub. Using your hands to rub fruits like oranges, bananas and peaches under water is sufficient. When you’re done, dry the items with a clean cloth or paper towel. It’s important to wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after you handle the items to further reduce the spread of bacteria. Also, throw out the outer leaves of greens like cabbage and lettuce before washing, as they’ve been handled the most and can have the highest levels of bacterial contamination.

Combine foods for maximum benefits

Pay attention to iron intake every day. Our bodies absorb about 15 to 35 percent of heme iron (found in meats and seafood), but just 2 to 20 percent of non-heme iron (from beans, whole-grain cereal, tofu and dark, leafy greens). Maximize how much iron you take in by pairing the latter group with vitamin C–rich foods and beverages, such as citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, strawberries and melons. Drinking tea or coffee at meals can inhibit how much iron we absorb by up to 60 percent. That’s because these beverages contain compounds called polyphenols that bind to the iron. Wait until you’ve completely finished your meal before putting the kettle on to boil.