Cooking is the only way that can make our vegetables or meat tastier and there are several ways of doing it.

Our vegetables undergo a lot of ‘methods’ like frying, steaming, boiling, blanching, simmering, poaching in the process of dishing out a yummy recipe, that nourishes the body.

However, nutritionists recommend steaming or roasting veggies in a very little oil to retain all the nutrients. Slow cooking on low heat helps the veggies to break down into an easy-to-absorb form and retain all vitamins and minerals intact.

While eating raw vegetables as a part of salads or smoothies is fast catching up, there are certain veggies that provide you with better nutrition when cooked than eaten raw.

Let’s know the list of veggies that not only taste better but also healthier when cooked:

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are often used raw in salads but this vegetable’s nutrition profile doubles, only when cooked. Cooking tomatoes increases the levels of lycopene and other antioxidants, that play a crucial role in preventing cancer. Heating breaks down cell walls of tomatoes releasing lycopene and making it easily absorbable by the body.  

Asparagus:

Asparagus is rich in those compounds that effectively fights cancer. Cooking breaks down the fibre and absorb nutrients like A, B, C, E and K, besides helping in the absorption of vital nutrients and antioxidants.

Carrots:

Carrots taste good even if they are eaten raw as it goes well with dips and in salads. However, eat your carrot always cooked as the process releases beta-carotene an antioxidant that gets converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for good eye health, vision and to boost immune system.

Spinach:

Spinach is a wonderful leaf vegetable, all good nutrients packed into one. Though baby spinach leaves go well with smoothies and salads, it is always advisable to eat them cooked. Blanching fresh spinach leaves releases good amounts of iron and magnesium, making it not only taste better but also healthier.