Baby food: the best cooking methods

Oily marinades as you wish, pizzas galore, ice creams galore all summer long… It’s over! We return to the kitchen, apron around our necks and frying pan in hand, determined to get back in the kitchen. Our goal: to raise the bar for the quality of our menus, and those of our children.

Our cuisine can now be summed up in two words: balance and dietetics. Culinary challenges don’t scare us and we don’t lack ideas for concocting simple and complete menus for our child. What could be better, for example, than a grilled steak accompanied by boiled green beans? Ouch, that’s where we stop!

The case is more subtle than it seems… Which is good for the line is not necessarily synonymous with good for health. The cooking method often makes all the difference and there are several to adapt depending on the food being cooked.

There is no doubt, cooking with water is super-healthy. You can go there with your eyes closed, not an ounce of grease or harmful substance on the horizon. On the other hand, the immersion of food in water causes the loss of vitamins and mineral salts. Nice, homemade mashed potatoes, except that all the nutrients get out!

Fortunately, there are ways to curb the great vitamin escape. First, we refrain from cutting the vegetables into small pieces before putting them on the fire. Thin slices lead to more exposed surfaces and therefore greater nutrient loss.

Another tip: rather than peeling the vegetables, we brush them! Because it is in the skin that is housed the maximum of vitamins. Then, we limit the cooking time as much as possible. A word of advice: we wait for the boil to immerse our foodstuffs and we cover the container: the temperature will increase more quickly.

And above all, let’s not forget to collect the water at the end. The nutrients haven’t gone far, they’re quietly splashing around in the pan! So that’s material to make an excellent broth by optimizing the vitamin intake of our baby’s lunch.

To limit the loss of nutrients, steam is the best way to cook. With this process, the food is not in direct contact with the water and the cooking is both excellent for health, dietetic (no added fat) and richer in nutrients than with any other mode. Cooking.

It’s decided, you opt for steam cooking. On the equipment side, you have the choice between appliances that produce soft steam, below 100°C (vitalizers, stainless steel pots with baskets with holes, electric steamers) and those who work under pressure (pressure cooker, pressure cookers). Both categories are equal.

With gentle steam, the food is subjected to a lower temperature and therefore has to cook longer. The pressure cooking mode heats the food more. The cooking time is therefore reduced, and the oxygen (source of degradation of vitamins and lipids) eliminated thanks to purge systems.

In the end, the result on baby’s plate is roughly the same. The original flavor of food is often so well preserved that theadding seasonings is unnecessary. However, some herbs can be of nutritional interest (antioxidant properties) and delight the taste buds!

But in terms of taste, some foodstuffs lend themselves less well than others to steaming, such as meat. However, do not abuse the oven, which proves particularly fatal to vitamins because of the prolonged heating time. Like grilling, frying, and other cooking in a dry environment at very high temperatures, baking in the oven also tends to alter proteins and fatty acids. You only have to see the blackened crusts forming on the surface of a roast beef: they serve as a den for the famous toxic compounds.

Stewed, the cooking is different from the oven, but just as delicious! And because foods simmer in their own juices, their goodness is better preserved.

Another idea for stewing: papillotes. You can concoct delicious fish, meats, vegetables, fruits, and compose a healthy and complete meal.
A tip: prefer parchment paper to aluminum, suspected of having negative impacts on health, especially on the nervous system.