A MOMS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO COOK HEALTHY MEALS FOR THE FAMILY

Nowadays, we find ourselves stuck at home for long stretches of time. So much so that we rarely get to dine in at restaurants or bring take-out food home anymore. It doesn’t help that ordering food from online delivery services isn’t budget friendly in the long run. And because of this, the pandemic has brought out the inner chef in a lot of us. Taking the steps towards cooking for the family is one thing, but cooking healthy food is a whole other challenge. We supermoms want to feed our families the right food because family health is the top priority. So how do we cook healthy food? And how do we maintain a healthy lifestyle at home? Here is a step-by-step guide on making nutritious food for your family.

 

Step 1: Map out your meals
The good news about cooking at home is that you are in full control of the ingredients you put in your food, unlike at restaurants where what is served is what you get. At home you can be the head chef of the family, which means you get to control the weekly family menu. When planning out the meals for the week, write out a detailed menu and a shopping list which includes all the ingredients and food items needed to make each meal on the menu.

 

Step 2: Mindful Shopping
Healthy cooking begins with the food items and ingredients that you bring home. Buy healthy food choices such as fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, dairy products, fish, lean meats, and oatmeal. Avoid food products with high-fat content, high-sodium content, high-sugar content, and processed foods in general. If you’re unsure about the product, you may read the nutritional facts label, compare it with other products, then choose the item that has a lower amount of fat, sodium, and added sugars.

 

Step 3: Select The Cooking Process
There are many different approaches to cooking your food. Your favorite meals can be adapted so that they can have a lower fat content. You can steam, bake, grill, braise, boil or microwave your foods, instead of deep frying them all the time. Using a non-stick frying pan can also help reduce the amount of oil used in cooking, while an air-fryer can totally cut out any oil needed for some recipes.

 

Step 4: Limit Some Ingredients
Three ingredients come to mind when it comes to unhealthy cuisine: salt, sugar, and fat. We need to limit the usage of these three ingredients in our meals in order to keep our family healthy. It’s okay to use them, but just don’t use too much. Filipino food may have a lot of salt and sugar, however there are a lot of healthy alternatives in Pinoy cuisine such as sinigang na isda, pinakbet, tinolang manok, lumpiang ubod, ginisang munggo, laing, ginisang sitaw, gising-gising, ensaladang talong, and so much more!

 

Step 5: Preserve the Nutrients
When cooking veggies we want to retain their nutrients and not destroy them through overcooking. We can retain their nutrients and their crunchy texture by blanching, steaming, microwaving, or stir-frying our veggies rather than boiling them in a pot of water.

 

Step 6: Herb it up!
Adding culinary herbs in what we cook can help add flavor and color to our meals. The right combination of herbs and spices can elevate the flavor of a dish without having to use a large amount of oil and salt. Herbs are not only great for meat dishes, they also work well in breads, soups, salad dressings, and desserts. Some examples of local herbs and spices that are easy to find would be tanglad, malunggay, luya, sili labuyo, dahon ng laurel, garlic, pandan, sampaloc, pepper, and wansoy.

Doing all the cooking and cleaning for the family can be tiring and it can often take a toll on our health and our looks, that’s why we supermoms need to have proper nutrition. And when speaking of proper nutrition, it always helps to add the right supplement of vitamins and minerals to our diets. For us supermoms who cook and care for the family day in and day out, a healthy combination of Vitamin C (500 mg Sodium Ascorbate), Zinc (27.5 mg Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate, equivalent to 10 mg elemental Zinc), and Vitamin E (22 I.U. d-Alpha Tocopheryl Succinate) could help give us a strong body and healthy skin. These vitamins and minerals can all be found in Fortima, and when paired with exercise and a healthy diet it can help us supermoms achieve our lakas and ganda goals. With this supplement we can also build a stronger immune system to keep us healthy and give us a stronger resistance against colds and viruses.

Cooking healthy food for our families doesn’t mean saying goodbye to all of our favorite meals. It just means that we have to adapt our ways of cooking so that we may promote wellness, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and avoid any sicknesses. When keeping our families healthy, we must not forget to keep ourselves healthy too. We supermoms could benefit from supplements like Fortima in our diet, so that we can continue to have the strength and energy needed to take on the challenge of cooking healthy meals for our families.

Click here to learn more about Fortima and head on over to our Lazada flagship store or Shopee to try Fortima today.

SOURCES:
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/15891/10-secrets-to-cooking-healthier/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/healthy-cooking-tips
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/cooking-skills/shopping/grocery-shopping-tips
https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/fat-salt-sugars-and-alcohol
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/portion-control
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cooking-nutrient-content#boiling-simmering-and-poaching