Properly Preparing Your Food: Low Temperature Cooking Guidelines

What method of cooking do you use when prepare your food? Conventional methods of cooking such as in high temperature frying and grilling not only destroys nutrients, but can result in several chemical changes in your food. These chemical changes can be carcinogenic, toxic to your body and increase the risk of diseases such as cancer.

Whenever you cook, use low temperature cooking guidelines. Preparing your food this way will also give your food more texture, taste and flavor.

Low Temperature Cooking Guidelines

Use a glass casserole dish with a cover. (The cover is very important.) The tighter the cover fits, the better. The size of the casserole dish should be appropriate for the amount of food being cooked, that is, the casserole dish should not be too big.

Cook your food at 225F degrees, NO HIGHER!

As a starting point, allow 12-15 minutes of cooking time per each 4 ounces of food being cooked, but decrease or increase the time if desired.

This method of low temperature cooking will conserve more of the naturally occurring moisture of your food, plus, your food will not stick to the cookware. Cooking at 225F, you will never need oil or butter. Most importantly, your food will be easier for your body to properly digest, and you will be conserving much more of the nutritional value of your food!!!

Other recommended methods of cooking are: crockpot cooking, searing, or steaming your food. NEVER USE A MICROWAVE OVEN, even for defrosting.

Cooking your animal proteins at high temperatures, such as in frying and grilling, and the pasteurization of dairy, produces many volatile, disease promoting carcinogens. Some of these are:

• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
• Heterocyclic Amines
• Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE’S)

Steaming, Crockpot Cooking & Low Sautee

These are other recommended methods of cooking. When steaming most vegetables, you should first boil the water and then place your steaming device in the pot with your vegetables. Set your flame to a very low heat and place the cover on your pot. Cook your vegetables for no more than 5 minutes! Anything longer will result in excessive nutrient loss. If you are steaming tough root vegetables like beets or carrots, these should be steamed for at least 10 minutes.

Crockpot cooking is also a very good method as using a slow and low method in a containment vessel prevents excessive nutrient loss and gives the food far more flavor and a moister texture. Find time in your busy schedule to use a crockpot.

If you are going to sautee any food, it should be done at a very low heat. The best fats to use is coconut oil and butter. These are the most stable under heat. Olive oil has a much lower smoke point. I also recommend adding a small amount of water after 1-2 minutes during sauteeeing to help lower the surface temperature.

Credit: Jim Marlowe