Due to the busy work schedules, many people resort to eating ready meals prepared at fast food joints. Most of the foods prepared by these joints are not healthy. Some contain high amounts of saturated fats. Others contain high amounts of calories and salts thus contributing to high cholesterol levels and illnesses. Some people also buy processed foods from the grocery store with the belief that these foods are healthy as advertised by the manufacturers.
Most people go this route due to convenience and taste. All this convenience can be achieved by preparing a pressure cooker while maintaining a healthy diet. With a pressure cooker, the cooking time is reduced by almost 90%. The food has also greater digestibility while offering maximum nutrient retention.
Health Benefits of Using a Pressure Cooker
– Superior Nutrient Retention
A pressure cooker reduces the time spent during cooking. This means that less heat sensitive nutrients will be lost. Research has shown that spinach and amarantha prepared through pressure cooking have a high retention of beta carotene and vitamin C. Research published in the Journal of Food Science indicates that broccoli prepared with pressure cookers retained almost 90 percent of vitamin C. Boiling retains only 66% while steaming retains 78%. In bananas, pressure cooking breaks down the banana cell walls thus more bio availability of nutrients.
– Significant Reduction In Health Harming Compounds
In pressure-cooking, foods stay moist since they are cooked through steam under pressure. The food is thus better tasting and succulent. With pressure-cooking, cancer causing compounds such as acryl amide are eliminated. These compounds are mostly produced through other methods that involve high heat.
– Promotes Digestibility
Boosting the digestibility of food is a key factor in determining uptake of nutrients in the body. Cooking meat can prove to be a problem through normal cooking methods. Since a pressure cooker combines steam and pressure, it becomes easy to break down the tough meats making them tender, easy to chew and easy to digest. Some legumes contain proteins that are hard to break down. Using a pressure cooker, it becomes easy to break down these proteins and easy to digest while eating. Read pressure cooker reviews and learn more about the various types of pressure cookers over at benefitsofjuicing.net.
Other Benefits of Using Pressure Cookers
– Saves Cooking Time
With pressure cookers, cooking time is reduced by more than 70%. This gives allows time to concentrate on other duties.
– Cooler Kitchens
Normal pans and pots produce heat that rise upwards. Although some of the heat is directed away through the chimney, some of it is retained which leads to build up. With a pressure cooker, the heat and steam is retained, does not escape and this means a cooler kitchen.
– Less Cleaning Requirements
Cooking using stovetop pots leads to spills and residues normally builds up on stoves, floor and walls. Steam and oils that escape the cooking pots settle on surfaces. This build up of cooking residue calls for thorough cleaning after cooking is completed. With a pressure cooker that has a secured lid, these splutters and splashes are avoided and the only cleaning to be done is the single pot (up to date pressure cookers are analyzed based on their quality on http://www.pressurecookertoday.com).
Cooking with a pressure saves us time and meals prepared are healthy. It also helps in saving costs associated with energy.
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