Cooking Veggies

Is microwaving veggies okay? I know boiling them can lose most of the nutrients, but I'm curious about some simple guidelines for cooking veggies without needlessly destroying their health value.

Good question. Your on the right line of thinking. I would start by lightly cooking, for example; put asparagus in the pan for 5-6 min. They will only be about 80% cooked but thats the best way for nutrient absorption and I think veggies that have a little crunch taste better that soggy dead ones. The microwave is like the death-star for vegetables, its okay but lightly steaming, pan, oven or on the grill with a steak are better options. 

Thanks Jeff. I don't want to rely on the microwave, but it's sometimes the best option during late nights at the office.

Do what you gotta' do to get it done. If that means microwave veggies is all you have then thats okay, you are still meeting your veggie goal and thats all that matters. 

 

Optimal and reality don't always align

The basic guideline to cooking vegetables is to lightly soften it without getting it to change color. that means quick cooking and quickly removing it from the heat.

The BEST way to cook vegetables like asparagus/ broccoli / bok choy/ carrots/ etc is simply to add it to boiling water for a few minutes until it is still al dente, (crispy but not raw). After that, immediately drain the vegetables through a strainer and into a container full of water and ice. This STOPS it from continuing cooking and preserves its bright color (i.e. nutrients). From here you can do any quick cooking you want whenever you are ready to eat it. either by a light saute or back into a boiling water to heat it up.

 

Also what Jeff said regarding asparagus in the video is most correct, the reason for cutting off the bottom tips is because its so fibrous it is simply not edible. Try leaving the bottom on one spear one time and try to eat it, it will all make sense after that.

Is there an echo in here?.....

 

Just kidding! Good call Jared, its called blanching and yea its great its just a few extra steps. More of an advanced cooking method but vey good. 

I get carried away, cook/chef for many years

I'm a big fan of the steamer basket.

Hi, I thought that microwaving vegetables is one of the best methods of cooking them. You don't need water so nutrients won't leak into the water and you heat them quickly, so there is less time for some nutrients to decompose so you retain more of them.

 

Here's an article which says so:

 

http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/microwave-cooking-and-nutrition

 

I am not sure if that is a reliable source though.

It says "the cooking method that best retains the nutrients is the microwave" but it appears they are only measuring heat sensitive nutrients so this a a manipulative argument to start. The closer to raw they are the more Vit C they will have where as the more cooked they are they will have more lycopene.