Beverages
Healthy Hints
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When buying canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, look for “no added salt”, “no added sugar” and BPA free cans.
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When buying canned legumes (lentils and dry beans), look for “no added salt” and BPA free cans.
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Add 4 teaspoons LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed and almond) to 1 cup whole wheat flour when making chapatis. LSA is rich in vitamins and minerals.
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Use sprouted (germinated) beans in cooking instead of dry beans. They are higher in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and are easily digestible. Sprouting is also known to boost iron and zinc absorption into the body and is well tolerated by people experiencing problems with flatulence. To sprout dry beans, wash and soak dry beans in water for 10 - 12 hours, drain in a colander, cover with a lid and leave for 8 - 10 hours.
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When drinking water with meals, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water. This may help optimise blood sugar levels, lowering the glycemic (blood sugar) response of the meal.
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Use brown basmati rice or brown rice instead of white rice.
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Use parboiled or brown rice for idli and dosae.
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Soak brown rice for 2 hours before cooking. This not only saves cooking time but also results in fluffy rice.
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Use urad dhal (split black gram) with skin and mung dhal (split green gram) with skin in cooking.
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Use extra virgin or cold pressed or unrefined oils (e.g. olive oil, peanut oil, mustard oil, flaxseed oil).
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Use an oil thermometer when deep frying. Most foods can be deep fried between 170° c to 190°c. If oil is not hot enough, food will be oily. If oil is too hot, food will be brown outside and uncooked inside.
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Garlic and onion: chop garlic and onion and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before adding to food or cooking. This ensures maximum synthesis of health promoting sulphur compound, allicin.