{"id":6516,"date":"2014-11-17T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T12:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/natural-organic-blog\/?p=6516"},"modified":"2014-11-17T14:35:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T12:35:00","slug":"top-benefits-steaming-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/blog\/top-benefits-steaming-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Benefits of Steaming Your Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nothing beats a heaping helping of tender, crisp fresh produce on your dinner plate – but of course there are few things worse than a mushy spoonful of limp, lifeless and colourless veggies, which will most likely prompt the younger members of your family to put up a fight about eating their greens! By steaming your food instead of boiling or frying it however, you can avert these dinnertime disasters and enjoy meals that are not just better-tasting and better-looking, but richer in nutrients too. We’ve just added a fab new stainless steel steamer<\/a> to our online store’s cookware selection, and to celebrate this awesome new arrival, we thought we’d spotlight the benefits of steaming for all our green gourmets out there. Plus we have a few handy tips to make you a steaming sensation in the kitchen!<\/p>\n

\n

Steaming 101<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First of all, what is steaming? Simply put, it’s a cooking technique where hot steam is used to conduct heat into the food; that means the food doesn’t come into contact with water, as it would when boiling, or with cooking oils and fats, as it would when frying.<\/p>\n

\n

Top Reasons to Steam More Meals!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are several key factors that make steaming a healthy and economical way of cooking:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> <\/em>There’s no need to add fats or oils when steaming; this keeps your meals heart-healthy and keeps the number of calories you’re consuming to a minimum.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong><\/em> Steamed food retains more of its original vitamins, minerals & enzymes, which would otherwise leach out into the cooking water used when boiling.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> <\/em>Steaming softens the fibres of vegetables and fruits, making them more easily digestible, so your body can absorb all that nutritional goodness more easily.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> <\/em>Steamed foods retain their original structure and colours, so they stay crisp and look much more appetizing; no more limp, mushy or colourless meals.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> <\/em>Steaming is a very versatile cooking method, suitable for most types of vegetables, fruits, starches or meats.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> <\/em>Makes it possible to cook a variety of foods quickly over one heat supply; this saves on energy and costs, making it a more affordable and eco-friendly way to cook.<\/p>\n

Did You Know?<\/strong> <\/em>When steamed, it loses only about 11% of its flavonoids, and retains a whopping 81% of vitamin C! Comparatively, it loses 66% of its flavonoids when boiled, and up to 97% when microwaved.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"kitchen-craft-steamer\"<\/a>

Kitchen Craft Universal Steamer<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Spice it Up: Get Steam-Savvy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you think steamed foods sound boring, think again! Here are some great tips for adding a little special “zing” to your steamed vegetable dishes, no matter what flavour you’re in the mood for.<\/p>\n

1. Classic:<\/strong> <\/em>Toss the vegetables in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil<\/a>, freshly ground black pepper and salt before adding them to the steamer.<\/p>\n

2. Herby:<\/strong><\/em> Add whole sprigs of fresh herbs – parsley, lavender, basil or thyme – to the vegetables while steaming them. Remove before serving.<\/p>\n

3. Citrus infusion:<\/strong> <\/em>Grate a little lemon zest over the vegetables, or add fresh lemon juice\/ lemon slices to the water underneath. Great with broccoli, green beans and squash.<\/p>\n

4. Sweet:<\/strong> <\/em>Add a splash of red wine vinegar<\/a> or balsamic vinegar<\/a> to enhance the flavour of “sweet” vegetables before steaming. Works best with carrots and sweet potatoes.<\/p>\n

5. Exotic:<\/strong><\/em> Toss Asian vegetables in a mixture of sesame oil<\/a>, white pepper and a little soy sauce<\/a> before steaming, for a fabulous stir-fried flavour.<\/p>\n

Happy cooking faithful fans!<\/em> Be sure to check out our new Kitchen Craft<\/a> selection for more stylish culinary tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing beats a heaping helping of tender, crisp fresh produce on your dinner plate – but of course there are few things worse than a mushy spoonful of limp, lifeless and colourless veggies, which will most likely prompt the younger members of your family to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop Benefits of Steaming Your Food<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out about the health benefits of steaming your meals, plus a few handy tips on how to be a steaming sensation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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