Over the years, some foods have developed a bad reputation and undeservedly so. Remember eggs – they told us eggs were terrible for us and then told us that eggs are great for us (I never stopped eating them, so it didn’t matter to me)? There are a lot of other things that people say are bad for us – which may not be so. Equally, some of those ‘healthy’ foods may be bad for us.
Health ‘experts’ have been warning us against this much-maligned tuber. However, potatoes are full of good quality starch and contain folate, potassium, B vitamins and fibre. Plus they are a cheap source of nutrition available readily. Opt for baked or boiled potatoes. Dont deep fry them or smother them in cream, salt, cheese and other additives.
This is supposed to be junk food that everyone is supposed to avoid. Yet pizza can be made quite healthy. Opt for a thin crust, topped with things like grilled chicken, veggies, real tomatoes or puree, corn etc. and then use low fat cheese to make this treat healthier.
I simply love ghee and this is the one cooking medium I take the trouble of making at home. It was shunned for many years but seems back in fashion now. It is a great source of healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamins. The only thing to keep in mind is to use this in moderation.
Maybe popcorn gets a bad rap because it is consumed mindlessly in vast quantities while watching a movie? Or maybe because it is often loaded with salt, butter, caramel, cheese powder and so on. Devoid of these, popcorn is great. It is crunchy, satisfying and has a lot of fibre.
They tell you it has the ‘goodness’ of X apples or Y oranges. But it also has a lot of added sugar. That is why packaged juices are best avoided. If possible just eat the fruit or make the juice at home and drink it along with the pulp to get all the benefits.
The term salad could hide a whole host of unhealthy ingredients. It could contain croutons which is basically deep-fried bread, cheese, mayo and other high-fat dressings, along with artificial flavours and other additives. Plus veggies that that aren't properly cleaned could carry parasites which is something else that one needs to beware of.
Chocolate isn't bad for us. It is the sugar, fat and other additives it contains, that are bad for us. Chocolate actually contains antioxidants and beneficial nutritional elements that could increase immune function and even protect cardiovascular health. Opt for good quality dark chocolate and you could be doing your taste buds as well as your health a favour. On the whole dark chocolates available in India still tend to be too sweet, but Amul has, in my opinion, some of the finest dark chocolate options available in India.
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