How Do I Start Cooking Healthy?
But, I can’t cook?
If you can stir, grate or chop then, you can cook! Heck, you can probably spread, stir and pinch too! Suddenly, you are a better cook than you thought. Cooking delicious dishes can be simple and involves very modest skills. In fact, you can start cooking healthy foods at home faster than you can cook a frozen pizza. With just a few minutes, you can chop and create a mouth-watering, healthy dinner using just fresh plants and herbs. Here are our Top Ten Healthy Salads to get you started.
6 Easy Tips to Cooking Healthy
- Take a moment, read a recipe.
- Allow yourself time to chop and cook.
- Stop adding salt. You don’t need it.
- Use little, or no oil. Every tablespoon is at least 100 calories, but offers no satiety.
- Add more vegetables, fruit or whole grains into your favorite recipes.
- Remember, the best chefs also make mistakes.
Pro Tip: Healthy cooking classes are part of the core all-inclusive program at the Pritikin Center. Learn more about the Pritikin Cooking School.
Healthiest option – fast food
Eating out is fast, convenient and tasty. But is it a healthy choice? When researchers compared those who ate less than three home cooked meals a week to those who ate more than five, it was evident that cooking healthy food at home resulted in better health. This study also noted a higher diet quality was linked to lower rates of overweight or obesity.
How do you make healthy tasty?
Let’s start with salad. Salad may not sound exciting, but with the right ingredients it can be a flavor explosion. Garlic, peppers, onions and herbs enhance the depth of flavors in a salad. Or, add roasted vegetables to change each forkful into a sweet, rich and satisfying bite.
As you start to cook healthy you will realize you can do more than make a delectable salad. “If you can stir a pot, you can cook! The only person holding you back is yourself,” notes Vincenzo Della Polla, Executive Chef at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa.
Learn to cook healthy
Transform the way you cook at the Pritikin Cooking School with the help of the fun and friendly chefs, such as Della Polla. “Many people think Pritikin is a crazy new way of cooking, but we simply help you inject more vegetables, fruit and whole grains (farro, quinoa, bulgar) into your everyday recipes.”
The food you learn about in lectures at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa is the same food you’ll learn to prepare in cooking school and enjoy while eating at the gourmet dining room. This integrated approach eliminates confusion and promotes success. By the time you return home you’ll be prepared to start cooking healthy. During your stay at Pritikin, you’ll develop healthy habits that will transform your lifestyle and your taste buds. Cravings for salt, sugar and added fat will be a thing of the past.
Who’s cooking, good looking? You are! You can start cooking healthy, delicious food today.
References
- Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health. Int J Beh Nutr Phy Activ 2017 Aug; 14.