Natural food contains natural, rich nutrients that can provide the human body with various nutrients, these are the “real food”; some traders in order to make the food can be preserved for a long time, or in order to obtain more profits, may add some “non-food” ingredients in the process of raw materials or preparation, packaging, storage and sale, and make the “real food” lose its naturalness.
The easiest way to identify “real food” is to go to a fresh food supermarket and ask for fresh food that will gradually deteriorate in its natural state, such as eggs, fish, meat, etc., which should be placed on the freezer instead of on the room temperature counter.
These eggs, fish, meat, etc. must be produced in the traditional way, not in large quantities to reduce costs. For example, real eggs must be produced by insect-eating, grain-eating hens, and real beef must come from grass-fed, full-grown cattle. To meet these conditions can be considered “real food”.
Grasp the following “pick your food” principles to help significantly reduce the risk of food safety hazards.
6 principles for choosing real food
1、 Seasonal food
The so-called seasonal food is the most suitable for growing and maturing ingredients in the current season, because the timing and location can match, not only fresh, good flavor, high nutritional value, and the ability to prevent seasonal pests and diseases, so, without a lot of fertilizer or pesticide spraying, you can produce large quantities and cheap prices. Therefore, most producers do not go through the trouble of adding non-food additives, so the risk of health hazards can be greatly reduced.
2、Locally produced ingredients
Locally produced food is the most suitable for the local climate, environment, water quality and other characteristics, the food grown can reduce the long-distance transportation process, in order to preserve freshness and add chemical substances, or poor storage conditions, resulting in food nutrition loss and other phenomena, at the same time, also in line with the spirit of energy saving and carbon reduction of environmental protection.
3、Understand the source of ingredients
Before buying food, it is best to understand the source of ingredients, you can select fruits and vegetables with proof of origin, and once you find a quality business, then promote the good reviews, so that not only for their own food safety gate-keeping, but also to achieve the meaning of common supervision.
4、Check the food label
Most people rarely look at the food label when buying food, at most only pay attention to the expiration date, but this is often easy to unknowingly, let the additives invade. Therefore, when selecting food ingredients, it is necessary to carefully check the food label, and try to select the type and content of additives less goods.
5、Reduce the frequency of eating out
If you can’t cook every day, you should at least try to cook for yourself one day a week, and after you get interested in cooking, you can increase the number of days a week. In this way, you can reduce the risk of eating out for years, but also to avoid the attack of food safety risks.
6、Diversify your choices
Simply put, it is what food to eat, but nothing in excess. The more diverse the food, the more balanced the nutritional intake, the better for health. Because of this way of picking food, you can eat a variety of nutrients, not paranoid in a few particular favorite foods, you can reduce the risk of eating harmful substances, but also because of the many types of nutrients, so that can play a synergistic or complementary role to avoid the preference for high sugar or high-fat food, resulting in obesity or blood lipids and other health hazards.
How to choose protein ingredients?
It is recommended that adults have 3 to 4 servings of fish, meat, beans, eggs, and 1 to 2 cups of dairy food daily.
Selection principles
- Certified stores
Choose a butcher with clean equipment, better with refrigerated equipment, and pay attention to the meat certification label – the Health Inspection Bureau slaughter health certification label, or the CAS good food label certified by the government agency, in order to have more protection.
- Fresh-looking meat
The shape of fresh meat is complete and shiny, and it is flexible and slightly moist to the touch but not sticky. If the meat of pigs, cows, or chickens becomes dark, dull, and has obvious mucus and odor on the surface, it means that the meat is not fresh or the pig is dead.
Do not eat neck and offal
Do not give special preference to the neck, wings and offal of poultry, or the neck meat, offal and fatty parts of livestock, as these are the areas where animal drugs are injected or where antibiotics, hormones and harmful substances are more likely to remain.
- Do not buy assembled meat
Try to choose more original meat and other ingredients, rather than food that has been ground and reconstituted and can no longer be seen in its original form, such as meatballs, dried meat, fish balls, fish paste, dumplings, etc. Because the more food processing procedures, the higher the possibility of adding spices, meat powder, coloring, bleaching agents, preservatives, etc. in the process. If you really have to buy, you should be careful to choose food produced by a reputable manufacturer.
- Clean the surface of the eggs
Eggs that have been contaminated with chicken manure are most likely to have salmonella on them, so choose well-packaged, washed eggs or eggs that are not dirty on the surface.
- Read the label of bean products
Dried beans and other bean products are the main source of protein for vegetarians, so when buying them, it is best to choose those with complete packaging and clear labels. If you are accustomed to buying from traditional markets, do not choose dried beans or tofu that are too brightly colored or that claim to keep for a long time, because in the past, health authorities have caught unscrupulous operators using the industrial color “soap yellow” to color dried beans to make them look bright and presentable. Hydrogen peroxide, commonly known as “hydrogen peroxide” to bleach and preservative, both of these substances can cause liver damage.
Storage method
1. Wash, drain, and pack in plastic bags or containers according to the amount of food used in a meal, and then place in the refrigerator. If it will be finished within 2-3 days, you can put it in the refrigerator first. If it is more than 3 days, it is better to put it in the freezer, and it should be finished within 1 month, and do not thaw it repeatedly to avoid deterioration or affect the taste.
Fresh eggs can be kept at cool room temperature for 2 to 3 days. If you buy a large amount of eggs and cannot finish them within 1 to 2 days, you should put them in the refrigerator with the pointed side down and the blunt end (where the air chamber is located) facing up to improve the freshness of the eggs, but it is still recommended to consume them within 2 weeks.
2. Tofu has a high water content and is relatively perishable, so it should be stored at a low temperature and consumed as soon as possible. If you are worried about preservatives or coloring additives in soy products, you can soak tofu in warm boiling water before cooking or boil it in boiling water before cooking. Boxed tofu bought at the supermarket should also be placed in the freezer and consumed as soon as possible.
3. Seafood has high nutritional value, not only is it low in calories and less fat than pork and beef, but it is also rich in good protein, especially fish protein that is easily absorbed and utilized by the body, and contains calcium and vitamin D and many other nutrients. However, the cholesterol and protein content of seafood is not low, so it is not suitable for people with hyperlipidemia and gout to eat too much.
How to choose seafood ingredients?
Selection principles
◆Fish
1、The fish should have clear eyes and elastic flesh
When buying fish, it is best to observe carefully that the eyes of the fish are clear, the color of the gills is dark red or light red, the smell is not fishy or drugged, the flesh is flexible enough, and the stomach is not bloody or ruptured, if these conditions are met, it can be considered good fish.
2, the color of the fish should not be too dead white
In the past, health units have been detected, unscrupulous operators to peroxide (carcinogenic) and other bleaching agents soaked? The fish, bomb fish, four broken fish and fish balls, making these fish products have a better appearance. Therefore, if you see the color of fish products too dead white, do not buy.
3. The water quality of fish should be clear and transparent
If you go fishing in a tourist fish farm or eat live fish in a restaurant, you should pay attention to the water quality of the fish you keep, which should be clear and colorless. If the water is green or blue-green in color, it is likely to be adulterated with malachite green (an industrial dye that is carcinogenic and remains in the body) and other chemicals.
4, choose fish with less skin and fat
The reason is that PCBs, dioxin and heavy metals such as mercury, copper, zinc and lead are all lipophilic and these harmful substances tend to accumulate in the skin, fat and offal of fish.
5、Rapidly frozen fish is better than chilled fish
Fish that are frozen on ice as soon as they are caught are more likely to have bright eyes and firm flesh, and the amount of bacteria in the fish is reduced and no longer reproduces. As for chilled fish, the fish is soaked in crushed ice water and not frozen, and then transported to the market for sale, the freshness and safety control, more prone to problems.
◆Shrimp
1、Pick the shrimp that are frozen quickly is better
2, the surface of the shrimp is not sticky and slippery
If the surface of the shrimp is slippery to the touch, it may be bleached with sulfite, it is best not to buy. Because the shrimp soaked in sulfite, the shrimp head is less likely to become black, it seems fresher, but in fact, the shrimp head becomes black, is a normal phenomenon of enzyme metabolism, does not affect health, but the risk of allergies caused by sulfite.
◆Crab and shellfish
Crabs and shellfish should be picked alive
The freshness of crabs and shellfish decreases quickly when they are dead. Also, if the shells of shellfish are not closed, it is better not to buy them.
Preservation methods
1. When shopping at the market, it is best to buy vegetables and fruits first, while seafood and meat that are more perishable should be bought last and cooked or stored in the refrigerator as soon as possible after purchase.
2. It is best to buy in small quantities and eat them while they are fresh. If you don’t have time to go to the market often and must buy seafood ingredients in large quantities for use, you can use the amount you want to use each time and pack it in batches in plastic bags or boxes, and thaw it quickly under water before use (soak the well-packaged fish or shrimp bags in tap water for about 10 or 20 minutes for fish and 4 or 5 minutes for shrimp) to best retain freshness.
3. buy fresh fish to make sashimi, should first freeze storage, because the low-temperature freezing method, can kill most of the parasites and bacteria.
4. If clams need to be placed in a dark place, use 1 tbsp. of salt water for every 250 c.c. and let the clams spit out the sand for 2 to 3 hours; for smaller clams, do not add salt water, but use water or add a few drops of vinegar to spit out the sand. If you want to keep the oysters or clams fresh for longer, you can drain them and wrap them tightly in plastic and place them in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.
How to choose vegetable ingredients?
Vegetables are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and other healthful elements that not only help the body eliminate toxins, but also improve constipation, beauty and slow down aging. Adults should consume at least 3 to 5 servings (half a bowl of cooked vegetables is 1 serving) of vegetables every day, so don’t neglect to select some delicious, nutritious and safe vegetables when choosing cooking ingredients.
Selection principles
◆Fresh vegetables
When shopping, try to buy vegetables that are plump and crisp, dark in color, and complete in appearance, even if there are some insect bites, and choose vegetables with a sense of weight.
◆Seasonal vegetables
If you know how to choose vegetables in season, it is better because the nutritional value of vegetables in season is higher and the price is also cheaper.
◆Choose vegetables with less chemical fertilizers and pesticides
It is better to identify the organic produce label or grow in a safe farm, and buy from several stores or vendors to spread the risk.
◆Buy more kinds of vegetables, but not too much
The more types of vegetables there are, the more nutrients you can consume. Therefore, when buying vegetables, you should always change the color of the vegetables and buy a few more types according to the actual consumption, but don’t be greedy for cheap and buy a big bag of single vegetables for storage.
Preservation methods
1, most of the leafy vegetables are not durable, and loofah will be fibrous after a long time, so you should cook them as soon as possible after purchase, otherwise you should wrap them with paper and put them in plastic bags (no need to seal them completely), so that the vegetables will not grow bacteria and mold due to moisture condensation. Most leafy vegetables should be refrigerated for no more than 1 week. For mustard greens, string beans, leeks, cabbage and green onions, etc., wrap and place in the freezer for about 2 weeks.
2, durable root vegetables, such as whole winter squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, can be placed in a cool place indoors, stored for 10 days to 2, 3 weeks; and cabbage, cabbage, onions and peppers, can also be placed in a cool and ventilated place for 2, 3 days and then refrigerated, the benefit is to accelerate the cracking of pesticides at room temperature into substances that are not harmful to the body.
3, if you want to extend the shelf life of vegetables, then place vegetables, as far as possible to its growth posture to place, such as leafy vegetables to upright storage, taro, carrots and potatoes, etc., do not wash the residual sand and soil first, to the original condition of direct preservation is better.
How to choose fruit ingredients?
Fruits are rich in vitamin groups, pectin, fiber, etc. Adults should consume 2 to 4 servings per day (each serving is about the size of a fist).
Selection principles
◆Weight: If the fruits are the same size, the heavier ones will contain more water and have finer tissues.
For example, apples and guavas should be light and crisp, watermelons should be calm and steady, pineapples should have a fleshy sound, and cantaloupes and melons should not make any sound.
◆See the appearance: choose the one with natural bright color, full shape and tender smooth skin. If it is a melon, it is better to pick the one whose tip has not fallen off and the cut is not yet black; if there is a fuzzy fruit such as kiwi, it is better to pick the one with longer fuzz; if it is a fruit with texture, such as cantaloupe or watermelon, it is better to pick the one with obvious texture and even distribution.
◆With the color: pick fruit and pick vegetables, we should always change and diversify the intake of various fruits, the best green, red, yellow, white, black five colors of fruit, can take turns to buy.
◆Pick more C: If you eat two servings of fruit every day, at least one of them should be rich in vitamin C, such as kiwi, strawberries, oranges, guavas, blueberries, small tomatoes, oranges, lemons and so on.
Preservation method
1. fresh grapefruit, willow, citrus, hard tomatoes, apples, etc., placed in a cool environment, can be stored for at least 2 weeks; mango, cantaloupe, pineapple about 1 week. Tender strawberries, cherries, blueberries and grapes are not easy to preserve, so it is best to eat them as soon as possible. Papaya or kiwi fruit, mangoes, avocados, etc. that are not yet ripe are best kept at room temperature, but if the skin is soft or cut open, they must be frozen in the refrigerator.
2. Bananas are usually kept at cool room temperature, but if they are ripe, they should be refrigerated in order not to attract fruit flies.
3. Papaya, bananas, apples, sakas, mangoes, etc. will release “ethylene” during the ripening process. Ethylene will accelerate the ripening and aging of fruits and vegetables, so when refrigerating such fruits, they must be packaged separately from other vegetables and fruits and avoided in the same container to avoid early aging and decay of other fruits and vegetables.
4. the fruit is best to eat now cut, too early cut in the refrigerator, easy to oxidation or contamination; however, if you have cut, do not eat all the necessary to put in the refrigerator to reduce the growth of bacteria.
Recommended reading:
Should we wash or cut the vegetables first to avoid losing nutrients
Life’s Common Sense: fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables all have nutritional value
