Best way to cook vegetables without loosing its nutrients?

[003]

I have encountered many sources saying that when you cook vegetables, its nutrient content decreases because the heat kills them even when you just steam or boil them. I don't like to eat raw foods, so I have to cook them. But I only eat vegetables because of their nutrients, and not for pleasure.

 

[firelily99]

Generally I steam them or microwave them - both are good for preserving the nutrients. Pressure cooking them is also good but it is probably time consuming.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

One or two veg actually improve their nutritional content through cooking, simply because of what cooking does to them. these include kale which once cooked releases more calcium into the body than eating raw kale does.

The trick (with the exception of kale believe it or not) is not to overcook any veg and don't salt the water you cook them in.
I tend to part boil them, part steam them (by simply not putting enough water in the pan to cover the veg totally and keeping the lid on).

 

[Sweetkymom]

I either steam my veggies in the steamer or in the microwave. They taste wonderful and are as soft to eat. I don't like the smell of steamed broccoli but the taste is amazing!

 

[Food4thought]

Steaming vegetables is supposed to be the best way to reduce loss of nutrients.

I don't have a steamer but I often cook mixed vegetables in a big pan so the leafy ones on top get steamed while root vegetables on the bottom are boiled.

I don't throw away the water after cooking. I use it to make a sauce, or you could use it for gravy. That way you also get the nutrients from the vegetables contained in the cooking water.

 

[Jade]

I think steaming would be the best bet for keeping as much of the nutrients intact as possible. Boiling usually extracts all the color off of the vegetables, so I assume that's where most of the nutrients go as well which is down the drain. At least with steaming, you can still keep the vegetables looking bright so I imagine that a good amount of the nutrients stay in the food.

 

[LivetoErr]

We stream or roast our vegetables. Steaming is the best I believe.

However, I heard somewhere that frozen vegetables are actually the best because when they blanch them prior to freezing they lock in the nutrients. I have no idea how true that is but it does make sense. Of course, if they're over cooked they're gross and probably useless at that point.

 

[Enimrac]

The absolute best way to eat vegetables is raw. Absolutely no nutrients are lost when you eat them that way. Ofcourse you are going to want to wash the vegetables first before you eat them raw.