10. Don’t Overcook Your Vegetables
When raw, vegetables are a veritable nutrition powerhouse but after they undergo the cooking process, they lose some of their goodness – so make sure to never overdo it. Thiamin, niacin and folate are particularly sensitive to heat but in general, the longer you cook your veg, the more it leeches the vitamins and minerals from your food.
There’s another good reason to veer away from overcooking veg – as they not only turn to mush and taste soggy, they’re harder to metabolise, as our bodies have a difficult time digesting overdone food. To avoid over-egging things and serving up stringy vegetables, watch your cooking times and make sure you’re around to keep a check on things, the goal is to ensure that veg tastes edible but not too mushy or soft.
Certain cooking methods lend themselves to producing better flavours, such as air frying, or roasting – but you still need to be careful, to make sure you don’t end up burning your veg. Remember, some vegetables take longer to cook than others and as a general rule, the more water a vegetable contains, the quicker it will take – which is why spinach, broccoli and asparagus will always cook faster than root vegetables like beetroot or parsnips!
