3 Healthy Cooking Methods To Try at Your Restaurant
The restaurant industry is always changing, often from factors that are outside of our control. One such industry-changing factor was the emergence of COVID-19. The pandemic made a lot of people think seriously about their health and how they were taking care of their bodies. Those personal reflections encouraged many to exercise more and eat healthier. If restaurants want to survive, they must keep up with those trends and start offering healthier food.
If you want to offer healthier food options in your restaurant, consider changing your cooking methods. Keep reading to learn about three healthy cooking methods you can try at your restaurant.
Cooking Method One: Steaming
Depending on the food your restaurant serves, you may already have experience steaming food. Steam is a popular cooking method for delicate meats like fish and hard vegetables like brussels sprouts. But if you really want to add healthier options to your menu, you need to use steam for more than the occasional meat or vegetable. Steam softens the food being cooked—which happens with other cooking methods like boiling—but steam is unique because you don’t put the food in contact with the hot water. That separation allows the food to seal in all its valuable nutrients, which would otherwise be lost if you boiled it.
Cooking Method Two: Grilling
There’s a lot of debate about whether a grill is better than a flattop when it comes to the color and flavor of food, especially meat. However, one thing grills do have over cooktops is that they produce a healthier product. Grills are designed with slats that allow excess fat to drip out of food, whereas a flattop keeps all that fat on the surface with the food. Grilling also offers superior flavor thanks to the wood or charcoal that powers the grill.
Cooking Method Three: Modifying
Our last suggestion for a healthier cooking method isn’t to change the method you’re using, but to modify the recipe. Look over your ingredients and consider cutting out excess salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats. While minimizing sugar or salt for something you’re planning to deep fry won’t make it much healthier, using more nutritious ingredients will always make a difference in your food. Your customers will appreciate your consideration when they review your menu and find options that are good for them and will contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
Steaming, grilling, and modifying are three excellent healthy cooking methods that your restaurant should try. As the world becomes healthier in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants can do their part to make healthy eating delicious and healthy living easy. Carefully consider your restaurant’s cooking methods and the ingredients you choose if you want to be part of that positive change.
