The Spring Festival is an important traditional Chinese festival, and a sumptuous family feast has become an important part of the celebration. However, in order to maintain the health of food, we need to pay attention to the cooking process of the food and minimize the intake of additives. Here are some practical tips for reducing your additive intake during the Chinese New Year.
Choose natural ingredients. During the Chinese New Year, try to choose fresh, natural ingredients and avoid relying too much on processed foods. Fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, and other raw materials naturally do not contain too many additives, which helps to maintain the original taste of food. You can choose local ingredients to reduce the transportation time of ingredients and ensure the freshness of ingredients.
Try to keep condiments and sauces to a minimum. Many condiments and sauces contain high amounts of salt, sugar, and additives, which are not good for health. In Chinese New Year cooking, you can try to reduce the use of these condiments and instead choose natural spices and herbs, such as ginger, garlic, coriander, etc., to enhance the taste of the food and reduce the dependence on additives.
Homemade seasonings. To ensure that your food tastes great, consider making your own seasonings instead of buying commercially available packaged condiments. For example, you can make your own soy sauce, ketchup, peanut butter, etc. By making your own products, you can have more control over the amount of additives you use and avoid unnecessary chemicals from entering your food.
Focus on low-temperature cooking. During high-temperature cooking, the nutrients in the food are easily destroyed, and a lot of seasoning is often required to enhance the taste. In contrast, low-temperature cooking, such as steaming, boiling, and slow cooking, can better retain the nutrients of the ingredients, reduce the dependence on additives, and present a more refreshing taste.
Choose foods with no or few additives. When buying commercially available processed foods, you can carefully look at the ingredient list on the food packaging and choose foods with no or fewer additives. Some additive-free products may be closer to raw ingredients, which is very beneficial for controlling the intake of additives.
Mix your food wisely. In the process of cooking, some taste defects can be compensated for by reasonable combination of ingredients, and the dependence on seasonings and additives can be reduced. For example, the natural sweetness of fresh fruit can be used instead of some of the sugar, or the flavor of food can be enhanced by increasing the use of spices.
The key to reducing the intake of additives during the Spring Festival is to choose natural ingredients, minimize the use of condiments and sauces, make homemade seasonings, focus on low-temperature cooking, choose foods with no or few additives, and mix foods wisely. With these practical tips, we can enjoy a delicious Chinese New Year meal while ensuring that the food is healthy and nutritious.
What to eat for the Spring Festival can be happy