I posted this in another thread and thought maybe you could all help me put my head on straight.
Cooked vegetables do not FEEL right to me, especially if they are re-heated. I make myself feel like they're healthy if they're freshly cooked.
I don't know what the deal is. I made a taco turkey meat and cabbage dish the other night. It was phenomenal and we had leftovers. I'm now unlikely to eat the leftovers because now I'm convinced they have no nutrients. I'm currently eating leftover butternut squash and it feels wrong, like I'm eating nothing or worse, because it's sweet it must be unhealthy.
But it doesn't matter how I FEEL about it, right? My body still knows I'm putting nutrients into even though I can't get past this.
I realized in that other thread that the reason I have these issues is probably because my mom always boiled our vegetables for a half hour in a full pot of water and even as a young child I knew that meant the nutrients had all been cooked out. I KNOW better than this now. I know my cooking methods are correct, but I just can't get past the notion that vegetables should be raw. And I don't find them filling when they're raw.
That's really interesting, Eliana! I can totally get why you have that feeling.
I think if you keep on eating them cooked, but always tell yourself "this is nutritious because I did not OVER cook it" that in time you will get past it. In fact, remind yourself that *some* vegetables, like tomatoes, are actually healthier when cooked because cooking releases nutrients that would otherwise stay locked in their cells.
I'd only do this if you truly enjoy and want to eat cooked veggies, though. Don't force yourself to eat something you don't like. And raw veggies ARE good for you but I get that they are not as filling, too.
I PREFER the taste of fresh veggies. I like them hot and still crisp. But I can't have fresh veggies every day because it isn't practical for me, so I rely pretty heavily on frozen (I REFUSE to eat canned veggies. ~gag~). Anyways = as far as nutrition goes, it depends. Boiling you veggies is definately going to take out all those water soluable vitamins.
Steaming (either on stove or in microwave) or roasting is a good way to go.
As far as fresh vs. frozen - a lot of frozen veggies actually have MORE nutrients in them than fresh. The problem with fresh, is that they need to be picked before they are ripe, so they can make it to the store and sit on the shelf waiting for someone to buy them before they go bad.
Frozen veggies can be picked right when they are ripe. (If you want the most nutrients - look for bags that say something about being flash frozen and picked ripe)
Over-ripe fruits and veggies sometimes have even MORE nutrients than just ripe produce does.
I am not entirely sure about re-heating. I am sure it breaks down the nutrients on some level... but it still HAS to better than 1/2 hour boiled veggies (another ~gag~). (my mom ALWAYS microwaved veggies. period. then it was salt and butter to put on top. no wonder I thought I hated veggies!)
I probably can't help you because I don't like cooked veggies, and it's not a nutrients thing. I love fresh veggies and eat those a lot, but I just can't stand the texture of mushy vegetables. I do need to start trying some of those awesome roasted vegetable recipes though - someday soon!!
I really like vegetables. There aren't too many I don't like. I like more cooked than I do raw. I pretty much stick to raw carrots and celery. That's it. And those I don't like cooked. LOL! Cauliflower I'm afraid of. It's too close to broccoli and when I was a kid I was allergic to broccoli unless it was cooked to death. Now I can eat raw broccoli but since I was never exposed to cauliflower as a kid, I'm afraid of it. Now it's raw spinach that I'm allergic to. I can eat it cooked though.
I DO eat veggies. I eat a lot of them! But they don't feel like they count.
eliana, it DEFINITELY matters how you feel...i know some people who don't eat any leftovers...if i were you, i would just make enough so there are no leftovers whenever possible
* Eat it -- don't reheat it. Holding and reheating cooked vegetables results in additional losses of micronutrients. Cooked vegetables have only 75 percent as much vitamin C after 24 hours refrigerated as freshly cooked; two-thirds as much in 48 hours.
Cooked vegetables reheated after two or three days have only one-third to one-half as much vitamin C. Losses of folic acid range from 30 to 40 percent in vegetables to 65 percent in meats, after cooking. One-third of the niacin and riboflavin of meat may be destroyed during cooking. Vitamin C losses on a steam table may be as much as 96 percent. Mashed potatoes held after 45 minutes lose more than 70 percent of their vitamin C and 50 percent of their thiamine, pantothenic acid and vitamin B12.
I went and searched and found my "feeling" is actually correct. This makes snacking on veggies hard, at least for me. I'm not always around my handy toaster oven for roasting some delicious vegetables.
Alton Brown had a segment on this. Basically, yeah, you lose some of the nutritional value through cooking BUUUUUT... Without adding heat your body couldn't absorb some of the nutrients anyway. Cooking breaks down the very tough cellular structure of veggies enabling you to consume and use the other good stuff in them.
Alton Brown had a segment on this. Basically, yeah, you lose some of the nutritional value through cooking BUUUUUT... Without adding heat your body couldn't absorb some of the nutrients anyway. Cooking breaks down the very tough cellular structure of veggies enabling you to consume and use the other good stuff in them.
I was just coming back to the computer to respond your other thread and saw this one...
Anyway. I never, ever worry about getting the utmost nutrition from the veggies I eat. I have to eat them the way that I thoroughly enjoy them. Because if I don't thoroughly enjoy them - I won't eat them - and then I'll get ZERO nutrients. I eat plenty of both raw, cooked and rarely re-heated veggies as we rarely have leftovers.
I figure some I'm getting optimal nutrition, others not as much. But I'm covered. I must be doing something right, because my blood tests show I meet all my nutritional requirements, accept for Vitamin D - the sunshine vitamin.
Hehe, do you ever wonder if there's more nutrition in a chocolate brownie (cooked) or a chocolate bar (uncooked)? Just kidding.
And I think I saw Dr. Oz say recently that certain veggies do benefit from being cooked as opposed to raw (didn't mention re-heating).
I could see where these thoughts could drive you batty. Convenience IS important to a degree and can't be overlooked. I'm not talking about the convenience of eating a frozen pizza, which is obviously more convenient (quicker) than preparing butternut squash. But the convenience of making veggies for multiple meals. For me, there's only so much micro-managing of my nutrients I'm willing to do. And again, I'm not suffering for it, I can guarantee you that.
It's about balance. Look at the changes you've instituted and how you've transformed your life. Eat your veggies. Anyway you can. They all count. It's all good.
I know that I shouldn't really say this, but I'm going to anyways.
Sure, there may be a way that is better. Sure, you could lug a toaster oven around with you 24/7 in order to make sure you have the best cooking option ever. Sure, you could always buy organic, in-season, fresh picked veggies.
But if you weren't eating reheated veggies, what might you be eating? A fast-food burger and fries? A quickie meal of a cheap pizza? Are the veggies the absolute best nutrient wise possible? Maybe not, but they are a heck of a better choice than many others. Maybe there is only 30% of the total nutrients left...but they are still there, just in a smaller form.
I actually always thought (and also come to think of it learned in all my biology and nutrition classes) that cooking many vegetables (obviously not to death) was better than eating them raw (except in terms of fiber) because, cooking broke down the cell walls that normally our own digestive juices can't normally break down (only herbivores like cows usually have this capability naturally), allowing us to benefit from the healthiest, rarer nutrients and antioxidants (vitamin C whilst important, is somewhat ubiquitous, and a deficiency is rare these days unless you're actually quite malnourished).
So really, eating cooked vegetables is not really bad and if they weren't overcooked in the first place, a little re-heating is unlikely to turn them into chaff. So please eat your cooked and re-heated veggies in health!!!
Does it matter how I FEEL about it?
I love fresh veggies and eat those a lot, but I just can't stand the texture of mushy vegetables. I do need to start trying some of those awesome roasted vegetable recipes though - someday soon!!
It's too close to broccoli and when I was a kid I was allergic to broccoli unless it was cooked to death. Now I can eat raw broccoli but since I was never exposed to cauliflower as a kid, I'm afraid of it. Now it's raw spinach that I'm allergic to. I can eat it cooked though.
