Food is a source of immense pleasure for everybody. But the thoughts of all those unhealthy fats and disease-causing ingredients making way into our systems can cause us to cringe at the sight of foodstuff. However, it absolutely does not have to be that way. Developing some habits of healthy-cooking can go a long way in preventing several diseases. Some of the must follow tips are mentioned below.

Go Natural: Make maximum use of such foods which have least sodium content. Include herbs, tomatoes, vinegar, salads and onions abundantly in your diet.

Go Fat Free: While baking, make use of plain low-fat yogurt or fat-free sour cream. Salad dressings and sauces should have minimum amount of fat.

Salty may mean "Not-Healthy": Try to replace a part of the salt that you usually add to your recipes with herbs, spices, flavored vinegar or citrus juice. These things can even aid you in cutting your salt intake to half! Meat and sauces can be made to taste good while cutting on salt by adding onion powder or garlic or paprika.

Go for Low Sodium: Processed, canned and preserved foods are often very high on their sodium content. Instead you could try ‘low sodium’ foods or frozen stuff. Make it a habit to study the contents labels on foods and chose those that have lesser sodium content.

Don’t overcook: Cooking food for longer durations or at high temperatures destroy the nutrients in them. Steam or stir fry the vegetables to preserve nutrients. Use a non stick pan while grilling or stir frying.

Use healthy cooking methods: Probably the best method of cooking is microwave cooking as its short cooking time prevents nutrient loss. Some of the other methods of healthy cooking include roasting, poaching and stir frying. Badly cooked food can be the source of several diseases, some even as serious as cancer. Meats are best cooked by grilling on an open-flame but to a minimum degree as charred food can produce cancer-promoting compounds.

Top on the fiber: Refined products lack fiber which is very essential as a food ingredient. In order to increase fiber content in your daily food, make use of whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, barley, whole wheat flour and cornmeal. Experiment with various vegetables in salads, add grated fruits and vegetables to sauces, include some vegetables in casseroles, and to soups and stews. Red or yellow peppers can be used to enhance the flavor. Vegetable salsa can be a great substitute to heavy gravies in order to accompany meat or poultry.

Use healthy cooking oils: Use oils like olive or canola as they are healthier than other oils. Drain excess oil while cooking and blot fried food on paper towels.

Thus by carefully selecting all the food ingredients and developing the right cooking techniques, you can make a marked difference on your nutrient intake and develop habits of healthy cooking and healthy eating.