Are you aware that the way you eat your cupcake could be wrong? Unbelievable right? Most of the time, we eat food without giving much thought to how it should be eaten, cause let’s be honest, no matter how you eat, it’s all going to end up in our tummy! But if you’re one of those who treat eating as an experience and want to savour dishes just the way they are supposed to, then this article might be just for you! So keep on reading and learn about those dishes that you may have been eating wrong all this time!
1. Chinese Food
Chinese noodles are a convenient and tasty option for a quick lunch or dinner. If you’ve ever ordered a Take out Chinese noodles and got it delivered in a box, then rushing to find a plate to serve is not needed at all. The package can be neatly opened and spread like a plate and be discarded once the noodles are eaten. This trick makes life a lot easier as there are fewer dishes to wash!
2. Pomegranate
Pomegranate is a delicious tropical fruit used in various dishes like salads, fruit bowls, Bhel, Dabeli, and many more. But deseeding a pomegranate can be quite a challenge. The most efficient way is to cut up the pomegranate into quarters and deseeding it easily into a large bowl. Discard the pith. In case of any leftover pith, you can put the seeds into a bowl full of water and watch the tiny pieces of pith float to the top.
3. Boiled Eggs
Removing the shells of a boiled egg can be pretty tedious, especially in the groggy morning when you’re running late for work. However, the trick to this is super easy: add a teaspoon of baking soda in the water and place the eggs for boiling. The alkaline properties of baking soda will help loosen the egg from its shell.
4. Chicken Wings
Ever ordered spicy hot chicken wings only to leave some of it behind stuck in the bones? It’s painful to leave out some juicy meat! Well, next time, don’t be afraid to use your teeth and scrape out the meat stuck between bones. Sure, you might get some looks, but who cares when the chicken is so delicious?
5. Soup Dumplings
If you are a Chinese food enthusiast, then you’re probably already familiar with dumpling soups. But haven’t you ever felt eating the dumplings causes the soup trapped within it to spill around? There’s a solution! Whenever you are about to pop in a delicious dumpling, take a tiny bite and suck in the trapped soup before relishing the rest of the dumpling.
6. Sushi
For those who revere Japanese cuisine, eating sushi is a must. But you’ve been dipping the wrong side in soy sauce all along! Most people dip the rice side in the sauce, which makes the rice absorb too much soy making it an overbearing taste. Instead, you are supposed to dip the fish-side, which doesn’t absorb as much sauce as the rice.
7. Pistachios
Pistachios are a delicious and nutritious afternoon or evening snack. They are even gifted to people during festivals within a big box of dry fruits. Although most pistachios are easy to open, there will always be some stubborn pistachios that make us fight with our fingernails and teeth. If that happens, take one of the discarded shells and insert it between the slight opening in a tough pistachio nut and twist it. And just like that, it should crack open!
8. Pasta
Pasta is loved by so many. Red sauce, white sauce, pink sauce: our mouths begin to water just at the thought of having some delicious, freshly-made, and warm pasta. But did you know about this hack to cook the pasta right down to the perfect texture? Once your pasta is boiled and ready, drain your pasta by running it under some cold water to prevent it from becoming overcooked and mushy. Then drab a hint of olive oil and mix the pasta on a light hand, and your pasta will never stick to each other again!
9. Avocados
Avocados are a great way to obtain healthy fats, potassium, vitamins A and E, and many other goodies. They are used widely in salads, especially in Guacamole and Keto-based diets. Getting the flesh out avocados is extremely easy. Just cut the long side of the avocado into two halves, remove the seed and use a sturdy spoon to scoop out the flesh.
10. Cupcake
Most of us eat a cupcake with the frosting side up, munching on it in bites. But has the frosting ever stuck to your nose, fingers and made the eating experience messy? If yes, then you’ve been eating it all wrong! A cupcake is supposed to have its bottom half part broken and kept atop the frosting, just like a sandwich. So the next time you order your favourite cupcake, you know what to do!
11. Burger
Burgers are a delight, the first choice for a snack when having a hunger pang, or a fantastic option when looking for a light lunch. But dealing around the sauces can get messy as they stick to our hands and keep us looking for a tissue. So the easiest solution is to eat your burger upside down. The top bun is thicker than the bottom and hence can accommodate the patty, veggies, and sauces well by absorbing them more than the bottom bun does!
12. Toast
A freshly toasted slice of bread is a favourite and go-to breakfast dish for so many, especially students and working professionals. But there’s a better way to relish your toast toppings. Just eat your toast upside down and feel the jam, butter, nuts, or fruit toppings hit your taste buds the moment you start eating it!
13. Almonds
Almonds are a fantastic source of vitamin E. They nourish our skin and hair which is why it is used so widely in cosmetic and skincare products. But did you know the almond skin is not supposed to be eaten? This is because the skin inhibits our bodies from absorbing nutrients. That’s why almonds should be soaked and their skin peeled before consuming them. Soaking them in hot water makes peeling off the skin easier.
14. Green Tea
Milk Tea is famous in India; every household enjoys a cup of hot tea in the morning and evening with some biscuits. But milk may not be a good choice for tea since milk protein tends to get bound to the catechins in the tea. This makes it challenging for our body to absorb the nutrition. So naturally, black tea is the better option for optimal nutrition absorption.
15. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are added raw between sandwiches, burgers, or chopped finely to make salsa and salads. But the nutritional benefits of tomatoes are higher when cooked. This is because tomatoes contain “lycopene,” which, when heated, transform into a more absorbable form. So the longer you cook, the better nutrition you get. So make sure you’re cooking your tomatoes as much as possible.
16. Garlic
Garlic is a great vegetable that adds mouth-watering flavour to the dishes it is used in. But did you know that you are not supposed to toss the garlic in a pan immediately after chopping it? This is because garlic contains Allicin, an enzyme that gets activated with exposure to air. Activated Allicin has anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties. So the next time you chop or grind some garlic, let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.
17. Whole Grains, Pulses, And Beans
Whenever we make rice, pulses, or grain-based dishes, we wash them thoroughly several times until the water runs clear. This is done not just to clean the grains off of any dirt, insects, or other unwanted particles but also to remove a layer of Phytates, a compound found on grains, pulses, and beans that inhibits the body’s ability to absorb nutrition. So if you’re someone who doesn’t wash or soak their grains, you’re missing out on nutrition!
18. Yogurt
Yoghurt is the most commonly available probiotic food in India. Most families end their meal satisfactorily with a good serving of yoghurt. But have you ever noticed the thin liquid that forms along with yoghurt? It is whey protein, which is used in many milk-based protein powders. So instead of draining it out, drink it too; you’ll get a good dose of protein!
19. Carrots
What do you usually do when you wish to cook some carrots? You chop them up and cook, right? Wrong! Cutting up the carrots and cooking them only after usually destroys their nutrients as the heat breaks down the carrots’ cell walls. Alternatively, cooking it first and then chopping preserves a lot of its nutrients.
20. Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are a refreshing way to beat the heat. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice or a few slices of orange as a mid-morning snack feels revitalizing. But don’t throw the peels away, as they have four times more fibre and flavonoids, which help fight disease. What you can do instead is grate these peels to create “zest” and add this zest into your desserts or salads. You could soak the peels in water and drink that water for detox or marinate meat in these peels for a more flavorful and softer texture.
