Healthy Living: To cook or not to cook…

A NEW survey has found that 33% of young adults cannot prepare a simple dish. I have to say it does not surprise me at all, many people I meet in my clinic, no matter the age, have difficulty cooking. One man even said he finds it tedious to wait for a ready meal to heat up…

Who is to blame?

You might start looking at our instant gratification culture, or our education – nutrition and simple life skills such as cooking is not part of the curriculum.

People don’t know what the food that they eat has to do with how their cells and systems function, that food not only provides pleasure and calories, but the raw materials for our body, help to produce enzymes, hormones, secretions, etc.

The variety and quality of nutrients do matter. You wouldn’t put petrol into a diesel engine, would you? So why do you put the wrong foods in your body and expect it to run smoothly?

How about the parents?

I find they either show an example of providing quick fix ready meals, or the other end, doing absolutely everything for their children. Kids have no chores to do, and therefore, they don’t get exposed to learning simple cooking methods – or how to clean their clothes and their homes.

Since when did parents become the servants of their children?

You know the saying; give a man a fish and he won’t be hungry, but teach the man to fish, and he’ll never be hungry again.
Get the child ready for the road because you cannot get the road ready for the child.

Even as an adult, it’s never too late to learn simple cooking methods and a few tasty staple recipes. Check out cookery programs like Jamie Oliver’s 15-30 minute meals for ideas and inspiration. He made a proper little chef out of my husband! You can buy vegetables already chopped up to create a superfast stir-fry, or roast them while you finish up your work or go for a refreshing walk.

Flatten a chicken breast or cut them into thin slices so they cook in no time at all. Prawns, certain beef, and lamb cuts need only a few minutes also.

A quick veggie omelette is done in 10 minutes using spring onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. Get a slow cooker and batch-cook on weekends, freeze in batches your nourishing stews and soups, mincemeat sauces for pasta. Get a cheap steamer pot – chopped vegetables and fish are steamed under 10 minutes, just jazz them up with a dollop of herb pesto or harissa paste.

2023 popular plant based predictions by Nourish Health Food Stores

Even if you opt for ready meals, heat them in the oven, on the hob in a pot, or in the steamer pot. Don’t ruin it in the microwave!

Research shows that radiation generated from the magnetron element causes the polar molecules to rotate at the same frequency millions of times a second.

The violent change that microwaving causes to the food molecules forms new life forms called radiolytic compounds, found to cause cancerous changes, and deplete important nutrients leading to deficiencies.

This then causes deterioration in your blood and immune system.