Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat; get'em healthy and cook'em right.

Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat; how healthy are they?
It all starts with how they were raised, but ends with how you cook them.

Today most of the beef and poultry and a lot of the fish is factory farm-raised where the animals / fish are fattened up with huge quantities of soy, grains and other stuff that is not their natural diet.

Then they’re given unhealthy doses of hormones, antibiotics, and “who knows what else”. If you're cooking chicken, fish or meat that was raised like this, take note. It wasn't healthy for the animals or fish, and it isn't healthy for you.

--CLICK ON THE ORANGE RSS BUTTON (upper left) to subscribe to Gigi's FREE Weekly Tips and Recipe Ideas for: Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner & Snacks But, if you're cooking chicken that is free range (being feed what nature intended), or beef that is grass fed, or wild fish, it’s a different story.

When animals / fish are healthy and allowed to eat the diet they were meant to eat naturally, free of stress and chemicals, their meat is very good for us. Even beef, if only eaten occasionally is actually a very healthy food.

So you've bought your healthy chicken, fish or meat, now here's how to cook it healthy.

Grilling: Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat.

Grilling can be a very healthy way to cook meat, poultry and fish. Grilling works best with meat that is lower in fat to prevent flare-ups and charring which is what causes damage to the meat, poultry and fish. Plus an indoor grill can make grilling convenient any time of the year.

*NOTE: Minimize your consumption of grilled and barbequed meats. Meats cooked at high temperatures (charred) create cancer-causing chemicals. So eat it rare. The compound responsible for increased cancer risk pops up most in well-done (charred) meats. But if you don’t like rare meat, cook it low and slow with indirect heat and avoid charring.

Broiling: Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat.

Broiling meat, poultry and fish is similar to grilling except that the heat comes from above the meat rather than below. Broiling your meat, poultry and fish is a healthy way to cook because the cooking time is short. Just like grilling, broiling works best for meat, poultry and fish that is lower in fat.

*NOTE: Just like with grilling, meats cooked at high temperatures (charred) create cancer-causing chemicals. So eat it rare. The compound responsible for increased cancer risk pops up most in well-done (charred) meats. But if you don’t like rare meat, cook it low and slow with indirect heat and avoid charring.

Pressure Cooker cooking: Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat.

Pressure cooking is a healthy way to cook meats, poultry, and fish because it speeds up the cooking time. The less time foods are exposed to high temperatures, the more nutrients are preserved. Pressure cooking is especially good for tougher cuts of meat or for making hearty soups and stews. If you haven't used a pressure cooker in a while, don't worry, modern pressure cookers are easy to use.

Stir Frying: Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat.

Stir frying is a healthy way to cook meat, poultry and fish because stir frying uses a short cooking time, and adds very little fat. Stir frying is also convenient because you only need one large pan, or better yet, a wok, some are even electric.

Steaming: Cooking chicken, cooking fish, cooking meat.

This is probably my favorite way to cook. Steam is very hot and cooks fast, and clean so it keeps maximum nutrients with out any risk of charring. Just get a bamboo steamer or go modern with one of the stainless steel varieties. You can't go wrong with either.

Fish can go as it, but poultry and meat will need to be sliced into pieces about 1/2" thick. When you put them in the basket make sure no pieces over lap.

Test the meat with a thermometer. Heat poultry until it reaches 165 degrees F, beef to 165 degrees, pork to 160 degrees and fish to 140 degrees.

*NOTE: Only eat red meat once a week at most, no matter how you cook it and limit your portion to about 8 oz.

The only problem with cooking healthy is that it can be sometimes hard to find healthy chicken, fish and meats in a typical grocery store. In fact, it’s a challenge even at health food stores. I've had the best luck ordering online from reputable sources.

But if you’re going to eat chicken, fish or meat, it’s worth the effort to make it healthy chicken, fish or meat.

Smiles…Gigi

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