Maintain a healthy weight and choose light meals

With economic development and the improvement of living standards, the incidence of obesity in my country has increased year by year, and has become one of the important risk factors threatening the health of Chinese people. Obesity is closely related to diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Maintaining a healthy weight, choosing a reasonable "light meal" mode, and a balanced diet can help start a healthy life.

Light meals are different from vegetarian meals and dieting

Many people think that light meals are vegetarian, but this is not true. Although vegetarian food accounts for a certain proportion of light meals, light meals are not absolutely vegetarian. Vegetarianism refers to a diet that only uses plant ingredients as food; and the ingredients of light meals include not only high-fiber and low-calorie plant ingredients, but also high-protein, low-fat meat, seafood and aquatic products. The term "light meal" was first introduced from Europe. In France, "lunch" means light meal. "Light meal" refers to a diet that is low in oil, salt, sugar, high in fiber and calcium, and does not burden the body.

Some people think that light eating is dieting, but this is not entirely true. Dieting not only emphasizes eating less food, but also requires eating less frequently. Excessive dieting can lead to gastrointestinal disorders, thereby harming the liver, kidneys, and heart. Light eating does not advocate dieting, and you don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.

Since light meals emphasize low fat and low calories, many people think that light meals are diet meals. The common point between the two is that they both advocate eating small meals frequently. However, light meals are free-to-mix meals controlled under a certain calorie content, while diet meals are often strictly controlled. A healthy way to lose weight should be light meals rather than diet meals.

Integrate light meals into people’s lives

Vegetarianism, as the name suggests, is eating grains and vegetables, and rejecting all meat. In the long run, it is easy to cause nutritional deficiencies, including vitamin B12, calcium, iron, iodine, and Omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients play a very important role in the human nervous system and the whole body. Light food does not reject meat, but compared to the frying, roasting, and grilling cooking methods of those big fish and meat, light food advocates the use of simple cooking methods, such as steaming, boiling, stewing, shabu-shabu, and blanching, which are simple but do not lose the original taste of the food.

The concept of light meals is simple, moderate, healthy and balanced. In addition to the necessary vitamins and carbohydrates, light meals also contain protein, which can make people feel full, so it is very helpful for people who eat less rather than dieting. Light meals are a diet pattern worthy of praise, especially for people with chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, constipation, etc. However, it is not suitable for some people with severe malnutrition, low immunity, and people with high energy and protein needs such as children and pregnant women.

The light meal choices for the elderly should ensure the total energy required for each day, a certain amount of carbohydrates; an appropriate amount of protein, of which more than 50% comes from high-quality protein in meat; limit the intake of saturated fatty acids, eat less salt, fat, and sugar, avoid spicy food, and also pay attention to the supplementation of vitamins and trace elements.

Boiling food helps to eat lightly

Blanching is a process that needs to be done before cooking many foods. It not only helps to remove food odors and harmful substances, but also shortens the cooking time. Blanching is not simply putting food in hot water. It involves a lot of knowledge, and the operation methods for each type of food are different.

When blanching vegetables, add a little salt and oil. Because water-soluble nutrients, such as B vitamins and vitamin C, are easily lost into the water. If you add a little salt to boiling water, the vegetables are in an environment with relatively balanced concentrations inside and outside the cells, and the speed at which their soluble components diffuse into the water will slow down. However, remember not to add too much salt, just add half a spoonful to about 500 grams of water. In addition, you can also add a little oil to the boiling water, which will form a protective film on the surface of the vegetables, which will isolate the air and help the vegetables maintain their bright color. In addition, when blanching vegetables, boil the water in the pot, and don't put too much water to submerge the vegetables. Finally, don't blanch for too long, and remove the vegetables when the color changes slightly. But some vegetables, such as green beans and fresh day lilies, must be blanched in boiling water for more than 5 minutes before cooking, and eat them until they are cooked through. This can avoid causing nausea, vomiting and other poisoning symptoms.

Blanching tofu in water before cooking not only helps to remove the beany smell, but also makes it firmer and less likely to break when cooking. Put water and tofu into a pot at the same time, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat, and remove the tofu after it floats to the surface of the water.

The principle of cooking meat is to drink the soup with cold water and eat the meat with hot water. Whether the meat needs to be blanched in boiling water before putting it into the pot depends on the quality and type of the meat, as well as the cooking method. Generally speaking, fresh chicken does not need to be blanched, and neither does high-quality fresh beef and mutton. However, for most pork, or beef and mutton of unsatisfactory quality, it is best to blanch them first. Putting them directly into the pot may affect the quality of the dish. If you only want to eat the meat, you can put it into the pot with hot water or blanch it for a longer time; but if you want to drink the soup as well, you must put it into the pot with cold water and blanch it for a short time to remove the blood.

Fish and shrimp should be put into boiling water. Fish and shrimp should be blanched in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes and then removed. This will not only keep the fish and shrimp fresh and tender, but also make the fish more complete when stewed.