Cook For A Healthy Diet

Safefood

How you cook is as important as what you cook when it comes to keeping your food healthy.

Here are 10 tips on how to keep your cooking healthy:

  • Steam, bake, grill and boil instead of frying, deep frying or roasting.
  • If frying, use non-stick cookware and don’t add any oil or fat.
  • Use only very small amounts of healthier fats such as olive oil or rapeseed oil instead of butter or coconut oil.
  • Trim all the fat from meat before cooking. Remove the skin from poultry.
  • Don’t add salt. Use herbs and spices for flavour.
  • To reduce nutrient losses, steam or microwave vegetables. If boiling use a small amount of water and don’t over boil. Cooked vegetables should still be firm.
  • Cut vegetables into large chunks instead of smaller pieces before cooking. This helps reduce nutrient loss.
  • Scrub instead of peeling potatoes. The skin contains lots of nutrients.
  • Use low-fat milk instead of cream when making sauces.
  • Use low-fat yoghurt instead of sour cream or mayonnaise in dips and dressings.

Useful resources

Your dietitian will look at any food and drink provision for staff including: canteen or...
This course is about eating well and keeping healthy if you’re staying at home more since...
Cancer Focus NI, Keeping Well vans are mobile drop-in units which bring health checks,...
Vital Nutrition’s Healthy Shift Workers workshop provides employees with a practical plan...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
BDA will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
This course will provide you with some information about sport and exercise nutrition –...
Vital Nutrition’s Jane McClenaghan is known for her down-to-earth, practical approach to...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
We will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
Fat is an essential nutrient in our diet but may often be thought about negatively and...
Vital Nutrition specialises in developing bespoke, tailor made nutritional programmes to...
Certified by the AfN. This course is for those with an interest in nutrition and would be...
Cancer Focus NI can provide a wide range of presentations to meet the needs of your...
This course is for midwives and aims to explain the science behind the different types of...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Taste Buds is a resource that helps children aged 8 to 11 enjoy learning about the...
Do you want to eat in a way that helps you reach your ideal weight, gives you boundless...
This course will provide you with the basic nutrition knowledge and practical tools...
The Quick Fit programme offers positive steps to improve your health through diet and...
This course is aimed at pharmacists and aims to explain the science behind the different...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Your Work Ready dietitian will visit your organisation. They will ask what you want, see...
This course will provide you with the basic knowledge to help you adopt a healthier and...
Are you often too tired to cook? Not organised enough to have breakfast and lunch sorted...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
We will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
This course would be of particular use to health professionals and students wanting to...
Here at Vital Nutrition, we work with schools all over Northern Ireland to help inspire...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Vital Nutrition offers a complete range of corporate health and workplace wellbeing...
This course provides caterers, food service providers and catering students with the...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
MediaWise is a FREE media literacy resource, designed by primary school teachers and...
Certified by the AfN. This course is for those who already have a basic knowledge of...
Fun, fast food for less. This is a practical six-week nutrition programme aimed at...
This course is aimed at practice nurses and aims to explain the science behind the...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Develop healthier eating habits, be more active, and get on track to start losing weight...
Our free Easy Meals app is a great way to eat foods that are healthier for you. You’ll...
Food diary, exercise tracker and diet coach
Nutrition scanner
Use this calculator to check your body mass index (BMI) and find out if you are a healthy weight. Or, use it to check your child's BMI centile.