There are dozens of ways that people can work on clearing their mind. You can meditate, participate in yoga, write in a journal, the list goes on and on. One way that you can clear your mind that often gets overlooked is by cooking food in a healthier way. This does not mean that you have to completely change your diet because that is a little too difficult for some people. Rather, you can keep eating the foods you like but if you are able to slightly modify the way that you are cooking those foods it can make huge differences for your mental health and help you have a clearer mind in the long run. Here are a few ways that you can cook differently in order to clear your mind and live a better life.
1. Instead of Salt, Use Spices
While people cook it is almost out of habit that we will grab the salt and just throw it in. Some people will even salt their dish before trying it because they are so used to it. Salt is awesome because it can turn a rather bland dish into something quite tasteful. The only problem with salt is that if you have too much of it, it can be unhealthy for you. The reason that salt can be unhealthy for you is because of the sodium that is in salt. Too much sodium can be unhealthy. Instead of using salt to flavor a dish, you can make a conscious decision to buy some herbs and spices that naturally have good flavors. By using herbs and spices rather than salt you can avoid the sodium altogether while still having a delicious meal.
2. Prioritize Fruits and Vegetables
This does not mean you need to have the main dish be a salad or a bake potato. What you need to do in order to prioritize fruits and vegetables is just plan to have them with every meal. Often when you make a meal you are so focused on the main dish that you forget to plan for a side and by the time you have cooked the main dish you are ready to eat and you don’t want to have to worry about putting together a small salad or a side of fruit. If you can plan in advance what sides will go with your main dishes then you can integrate fruits and vegetables into your diet more.
3. Find Another Way to Cook
There are so many different techniques and ways to cook food. You can grill, bake, fry, toast, etc.. The tricky part is that some way to cook are definitely more healthy than others. For example, baking is often more healthy than frying because you are not using as much butter or oil. Now the only problem with baking over frying is sometimes you cannot get the texture that you want. Luckily new kitchen gadgets have made it so that we can cook in a healthy way and achieve the same results as if we cooked the food in an unhealthy way. Air fryers are a prime example of how you can have food with a fried texture but use little to no oil. Over the years many air fryer recipes have come out to replicate cooking our favorite unhealthy foods in a healthy way.
4. Cut Out Cream
Cream is an ingredient that is often used to give a nice thick and rich texture to dishes such as pasta or soups. As good as cream is, it really is not that healthy for you because of all the fat. One tip to cut out cream while still keeping the thick texture in your soups and sauces is to use flour. If you use low-fat or skim milk and whisk in flour it will thicken up and be similar to cream. By doing this, you are avoiding the fat that comes from the cream but you are able to enjoy the dish as it would have been.