Best cooking Methods for pregnant women in Nigeria. Some cooking methods are better than others.choose cooking methods that won’t expose your unborn child to carbon or heartburn.
Best cooking methods for a pregnant woman are cooking methods that do not completely destroy the nutrients in the food. Cooking methods that do not introduce excess sugar to the food and do not need too much salt.
Smoking is not a good cooking method for pregnancy. Why? Smoked food most times contain carbon. We know that carbon is deadly, has bad side effects that are neither good for the baby or the pregnant mom. If you must eat or cook food by smoking, be careful and do it minimally.
When you cook with smoked fish, try your possible best to wash the smoked fish very well with clean water and some salt. Scrub the skin with salt to remove dirt and smoke, then rinse with plenty of water. Only use smoking as a method of cooking when there are no other cooking options.
Frying method is what every pregnant women should avoid if they can. Fried foods can cause heartburn. That affects both the pregnant mom and the unborn child. If you must fry, let it not be deep frying. Just grease the pan and stir fry. Deep fried foods like akara, puff puff, buns, egg roll and fish roll should be eaten only when you have no other options. Fried foods are not really healthy or nutritious. The oil succeeds in turning them from living foods to dead foods with little or no nutrients left.
LIST OF BEST COOKING METHODS FOR PREGNANT WOMAN:
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STEAMING:
Steamed foods are great for everyone especially you the pregnant mum. When foods are steamed, their nutrient is retained. Foods like moi moi are excellent as the steaming helps it not to lose nutrients while cooking.
There are many other Nigerian foods that can be steamed aside moi moi; To cook yam by steaming, we cut into very small pieces for easy cooking. When yam is steamed, it tastes very good and nutrients are not destroyed by a boiling pot of water. Plantain too can be steamed. It’s the size you cut that matters.
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BAKING:
Baking is an excellent method of cooking. Baked foods are good for pregnant women. We can bake almost everything from vegetables, fruits, fish, baked chicken and other meats. It’s not only cakes that can be baked. As a pregnant woman, try to bake your fish wrapped in foil. Bake ripe plantains wrapped in foil or baking paper. Plantain cakes, Bake chicken and even seafoods. They taste wonderful and nutrients are also retained. You can bake in a cooking pot after wrapping with foil or baking paper.
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ROASTING:
Roasted foods are good for pregnant women. Roasting foods over coals gives them a lovely taste. You will enjoy roasted fish, roasted meats, roasted corn, roasted yam, roasted plantain, roasted sweet potatoes. Cooking foods over coals is done along streets where people just roast and sell these street foods. You can also roast foods at home. Have you tried roasted yam or plantain with peppered palm oil? This is a delicacy loved by most pregnant women in Nigeria. Roasted plantain (Bole) with some sauce is good. Try roasting foods instead of frying. Roast your plantain or yam instead of frying and they’ll serve you much more nutrition. Roasting fish after seasoning is better than frying or smoking.
See How to Roast Plantain On A Stove. -
BOILING:
Boiling your food is also better than frying or smoking. Boil and enjoy fresh.
Finally, as you get ready to welcome this lovely bundle of Joy, check out our BEST CEREALS FOR BABIES TO EAT FROM 6 MONTHS IN NIGERIA
Have you seen the list of four Nigerian foods to avoid during pregnancy? and GRILLING FISH AND CHICKEN IN A PAN ON THE STOVE.
The picture posted above is that of chicken being grilled on a pan instead of frying. GRILLING is the fifth method of cooking safe for pregnant women.
We wish you a very safe delivery!