Steaming: methods of cooking using steam

The benefits of steamed dishes

One of the main advantages of steam cooking is the absence of oil. Thanks to this, the calorie content of food is reduced. Steaming “melts out” excess fat from the food itself. As a result, the total energy value of the dish may decrease by 100-150 kcal.

Food cooked in a double boiler is useful for people with gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis), athletes and the elderly. Often the first complementary foods for infants are also steamed.

Steaming preserves most of the beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Neither stewing, nor boiling, nor baking can compare with so many nutrients. For this reason, a steam diet is often prescribed to patients during the rehabilitation period or after surgery.

Steamed food is easy to digest and has minimal impact on the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. A similar principle of nutrition is recommended by doctors for pancreatitis.

Products prepared in this way retain their natural taste, color and structure, which is very popular among fans of organic cuisine.

However, one cannot fail to mention the disadvantages of this cooking method, namely:

• Do not use overripe or too soft-textured vegetables and fruits;
• it is almost impossible to cook mushrooms and pasta (from soft wheat varieties) deliciously;
• all ingredients must be of high quality, free of harmful impurities and pesticides, since during steaming, unlike cooking, harmful substances do not disappear.

Interesting! Steaming reduces the percentage of fat in the dish, which means the content of bad cholesterol decreases.

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Steamed diet dishes. Steamed diet: menu for weight loss

Food from a steamer is delicious and varied dishes prepared in a simple way. This diet is beneficial at any age. The steamed diet has no contraindications or adverse reactions of the body. It can be followed for medicinal purposes, for body shaping, or chosen as a dietary style.

Basic rules of the steamed diet

This program should last at least 3 weeks. There are no special restrictions on the amount of food consumed, but it is recommended to adhere to the daily calorie intake. Eat any dishes prepared by steaming or in a slow cooker. To lose weight, the main thing is to adhere to the following rules:

• Steamed food for weight loss is prepared without butter or vegetable oil.
• When preparing porridge, salt should be replaced with soy sauce.
• You should avoid store-bought ketchups, mayonnaise, and mustard.
• You need to eat in small portions - eat every 2-3 hours, do not allow yourself to feel hungry. The serving size should be 250–300 g.
• All steamed desserts can only be eaten until 13:00. Replace sugar with honey or stevia.
• Eat proteins and carbohydrates separately. Combine fish and meat with steamed vegetables, porridge with fruits or herbs.
• Fatty, fried foods, salty, smoked foods, sausages and other “unhealthy” foods should be excluded.
• Follow the correct drinking regime - at the rate of 30 ml of liquid per day per 1 kg of body weight. The break between eating and drinking should be at least half an hour.

Advantages and disadvantages of the steam diet

With this type of food preparation, the products undergo heat treatment without losing their beneficial properties and appearance. The steam diet is recommended for diseases of the stomach, liver, kidneys, and for nursing women to prevent allergies in children. It is also used for weight loss. Its advantages:

• The steam diet for weight loss has no contraindications.
• All dishes in the diet are low-calorie, but a person will not feel hungry, because there are no restrictions on serving size.
• Food from a steamer is varied, tasty, and easy to prepare at home.
• With such a diet, weight comes off gradually, without stress to the body, and then does not return, unlike “quick” ways to lose weight.

A diet with steamed dishes is not suitable for everyone. Disadvantages of the diet:

• Slow weight loss. If your body weight is more than 100 kg, you can lose 2-3 kg per week. If the norm is slightly exceeded, they lose weight by 0.5–1 kg in 7 days. This rate of weight correction is not suitable for those who expect instant results.
• Difficulty organizing meals at work. You have to cook the food at home in the kitchen and take it with you.
• The need to wean yourself from the usual menu - store-bought sweets, sausages, fried foods and smoked products.

After just a week on the steam diet, you can notice weight loss and feel a general improvement in your well-being. Adherents of the diet note that they do not experience bloating, heaviness in the intestines, or heartburn.

Healthy food for weight loss

The recommended diet is based on low-calorie protein and carbohydrate foods:

• lean meat and fish;
• dairy products - cottage cheese, hard cheese, milk, kefir, yogurt, sour cream no more than 10% fat;
• eggs - 1 piece/day;
• cereals;
• pasta from durum wheat;
• bread – preferably unleavened, whole grain, made from wholemeal flour;
• inconvenient baked goods without yeast - biscuits, dry biscuits;
• vegetables;
• fruits and berries, as well as desserts made from them without sugar - jelly, compotes, marshmallows, mousses;
• weak tea, chicory;
• honey – up to 3 tsp. per day;
• stevia is a sugar substitute.

Prohibited Products

During the diet period, the diet should not contain heavy foods that contain cholesterol and simple carbohydrates:

• fast food;
• animal fats, dairy-vegetable spreads;
• fat meat;
• sweets, chocolate;
• yeast baked goods;
• coffee, cocoa;
• alcohol, kvass, carbonated drinks;
• mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, hot spices.

How to cook

Even if you don’t have an appliance such as a steamer at home, you can steam dietary dishes using an oven, stove or multicooker.

In a steamer

A steamer is a household appliance that is very easy to use. In most cases, all modes are indicated on the body, so the owner can only add water, add food and select the desired cooking method.

However, before cooking, you need to understand a few nuances that will help extend the life of the appliance and make dishes tastier and healthier:

1. Do not add spices, herbs, herbs or broth to the water poured into the tank (this will damage the heating element).
2. You can place food in the steamer only after the water has boiled.
3. Its level should be at least 2-3 cm below the bottom of the lower basket.
4. The mode is selected depending on the type of product. So, fish cooks on average 20 minutes, vegetables and rice - 25 minutes, and meat - 35-40 minutes. Cooking time can be adjusted depending on the volume of food and the number of dishes being cooked at the same time.
5. Food should be cut into uniform pieces and placed loosely to facilitate steam circulation. If it is not possible to cut the ingredients evenly, then the smallest ones should be in the upper basket, and the larger ones in the lower basket.
6. Place meat and fish in the lower bowl, and vegetables in the upper bowl, as they cook much faster.
7. Vegetables can be cooked with their skins on. This way they will retain more vitamins.
8. Scallops and shrimp are cleaned before placing in the steamer; other seafood can be added unpeeled.
9. All spices are added only at the end of cooking.

The steamer can also be used to defrost food, reheat lunch, pastries and bread. This device will successfully replace both a regular saucepan and a microwave oven.

Interesting! The steamer can be used as a sterilizer for children's dishes or home canning.

In a slow cooker

Steaming in a slow cooker is not at all difficult. Water is poured into the bowl of the device, a special basket is placed on top, into which food is placed, after which the mode is selected and the timer is set. However, there are a number of nuances that can reduce cooking time and enhance the taste of the dish:

1. Instead of cold water, it is best to pour hot water into the thicket. This will shorten its heating time.
2. When cooking green vegetables, cabbage and salads, you must choose the minimum time, otherwise the products will lose their color.
3. You can put frozen foods into the multicooker.
4. As in a double boiler, it is best to add salt and use spices at the end of cooking.

Unlike a double boiler, in a multicooker you can use any liquid instead of water: broth, tea or wine.

On the stove

The steam cooking method was actively used even before the invention of the steamer and multicooker. To prepare healthy and wholesome dishes, all you needed was a stove, a saucepan and a colander:

1. The required amount of water (slightly less than half) was poured into the pan, which was brought to a boil.
2. A colander was placed on top, into which food or prepared dishes were placed.
3. The pan was covered with a lid.
4. And over low heat the dish was cooked for the required amount of time.

Instead of a colander, today you can use a steaming insert, which is sold in stores. It is equipped with a special handle and legs, and the folding compact petal structure allows it to be stored in a cutlery drawer.

How to cook fruit in a double boiler

Fruits cooked in a double boiler are perfectly digestible. They can be given to young children and people with serious digestive problems. They taste a little like baked ones, but they have much more benefits.

Most often steamed:

• apples. Cut into halves or quarters, place on a tray, cook for 20-30 minutes depending on size. Any variety is suitable, but the juicier the fruit, the tastier the resulting dessert will be;
• pears. Cut into quarters or smaller slices, cook for 30-40 minutes;
• bananas. You can cook with or without the peel. In the first option, cut the banana in half and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove the skin before use. The fruit is cut into slices and will be crushed into puree. In this case, 5-7 minutes of cooking time is enough.

Advice. Try seasoning prepared fruits with cinnamon, vanilla sugar, honey or other food additives.

Steam diet: what, how and when to eat

The steam diet is not fast. You can lose weight with it, but you shouldn’t expect instant results. If all restrictions are correctly followed, you will lose 1-1.5 kg per week.

The steam diet is absolutely safe, so you can stay on it as long as you like. The minimum recommended period is 3 weeks. By following simple rules, you can improve the effectiveness of the steam diet:

• eat 5-6 times a day;
• the weight of one serving should not exceed 200 g;
• do not combine carbohydrates with proteins;
• remove sugar from your diet, replacing it with stevia and honey;
• set daily calorie limits;
• observe drinking regime;
• engage in moderate physical activity.

All food and drinks should be warm, but not hot, as this affects the digestive processes.

During the period of restrictions, it is necessary to exclude alcohol, fast food, butter and milk fat substitutes, mayonnaise, pastries and bakery products, fatty meats and fish from the menu.

Recipes for dishes in a water bath.

Water bath device.

Culinary processing sometimes requires cooking the product in a water bath. To set up a water bath, you need two pans, one smaller than the other, so that the smaller one can be placed inside the larger one, on its bottom, on an inverted saucer or pieces of wire. The food to be cooked is placed in a small saucepan. Water is poured between the walls of both pans so that the water does not reach the edge of the smaller pan by about five centimeters. Then both pans are covered with a lid and put on fire. As it boils, water needs to be added. This is how the food is cooked until done. Most often, porridge and all kinds of stews are cooked in such a water bath.

New potatoes in a water bath.

• Small young potatoes;
• Salt;
• butter;
• dill greens.

Place the prepared potatoes in a saucepan, top with a tablespoon of butter, sprinkle with finely chopped dill and parsley, and salt; close the lid and place the dishes in a water bath (in another large bowl with boiling water).. Simmer until tender (time depends on the amount of potatoes, usually about half an hour).

Cottage cheese Easter in a water bath.

• 1 kg of cottage cheese;
• 5 eggs;
• 1.5 cups sugar;
• 100 g butter;
• 200 g sour cream

Grind the cottage cheese until the mass is homogeneous. Stir in softened butter, sour cream, and eggs. Boil the mixture in a water bath, preventing the water from boiling. When the mass becomes dense, stir it and cool slightly. Place in a mold on damp gauze, place a weight, and keep in the cold for 10 hours.

Main conclusions

Losing weight with steam food is not difficult, but you should not expect immediate external changes. The main advantage of the diet is the overall health of the body:

1. The steam diet has a positive effect on the functioning of all systems and organs.
2. The calorie content of steamed food is 150-200 kcal lower than when fried.
3. You can also steam on the stove, in the oven and in the slow cooker.
4. There are many recipes for dishes in a double boiler for weight loss: from soups to desserts.
5. During the steam diet, it is important to follow the principles of fractional nutrition and drinking regime.

A steamer is a universal assistant in the kitchen, allowing you to implement all the principles of a healthy and balanced diet.

Comment on the article, share the best recipes for a steamer and your experience of losing weight on a steam diet.