At first glance one might not think a shortage of water
around here could be possible. We are surrounded remember, or at least by the
salt water of the sea. Considering the wild fires in Labrador, water
conservation order continuing this summer for St. John's, and Botwood currently
with a complete ban on outside water usage – needless to say water is on a lot
of our minds lately, or at least it should be. The conservation order and ban
apply actually to the outside use of water, but you know it doesn't hurt to be
careful about how we use the water inside our homes as well. One place we use
some of the most? Yup, the kitchen. Preparing, cooking, and cleanup can sure
use a lot of H20. Saving a little water might be good for the city and
environment, but I'm here to let you know it can also be good for nutrition
too.
One of our traditional means for cooking food, and still
quite popular today, is to boil. Boiled veggies for jigg's dinner and turkey
dinner, boiled pudding, boiled salt meat, etc. It may come with the advantage
of being a lower fat cooking method, but it can also have a few downsides too.
Boiling uses larger amounts of water and isn't the best for retaining maximum
amounts of nutrients in food. Vitamins, namely C and the many B's, and the
mineral potassium, are some essential for life nutrients that are often leached
into boiled cooking water. We eat the food, and often throw the water out. I'm
not sure why we tend to do that, perhaps a form of habit. But let's put it this
way, consuming only boiled veggies and pouring cooking water down the drain is
akin to checking 649 numbers and tossing the ticket out before checking the
tag. Nutritionally speaking anyway. The
water can be used for other foods. Water in which vegetables were boiled can
make a nutritious sauce, gravy, stock, stew or soup. Or with a little planning,
you can do what we did the other night and reuse the boiled veggie water to
then cook rice or pasta.
There are some other things to keep in mind. Cook with the
least amount of water as possible. If you use lots of water and boil for long
time, you’re going to lose more nutrients than if you boil quickly and use
relatively little water. Consider this example. When you cook 1 cup of cabbage
in about 4 cups of water, the leaves can lose as much as 90% of their vitamin C
content. Reversing that ratio, so one cup water to 4 cups cabbage, and you can
hold on to about 50% of that vitamin C. Also, if you can leave the skins on
your vegetables, whenever possible, this is really good. The most nutrient-rich
part of a vegetable is often right under the skin. If you have to peel, try and
so it as thinly as possible, say using a vegetable peeler instead of a paring
knife. Try and cook vegetables whole as often as possible. Opening the flesh of
the vegetables to hot water can leave nutrient-rich parts exposed, and then aid
in nutrient loss. Microwaves believe it or not, can be a quick kitchen tool to
help you use less water and maximize nutrition. Frozen vegetables usually do
not need any additional water, and fresh can usually be cooked with a
tablespoon or so. Another benefit
with the microwave is the convenience and simplicity, and we all know how easy
prep can go a long way in helping us eat healthfully.
Other water saving kitchen tips? Wash fruits and vegetables
in a pan of water as opposed to water running from the tap. Allow foods enough
time to defrost in the fridge as opposed to running cold water. Cook foods over
low heat and in covered pots and pans, or perhaps use foil to reduce moisture
loss. Last but not least, keep covered drinking water in the fridge as opposed
to letting the tap run for it to get cold enough. Obviously water shouldn't be
conserved at the expense of cleanliness but perhaps there might be one extra
thing each day you can do that will result in saving water and notching up
nutrition. Don't worry if the savings of water, or nutrient boosts seem
minimal. Every drop counts, especially when it's multiplied over many households and many
days.
As seen in The Telegram July 2, 2012
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