Elementary knowledge of chemistry and medicine would be useful to any responsible cook. It is on this knowledge that the rules of food compatibility are based, so it will help you make your food the healthiest and safest. It turns out that not only the taste of the dish, but also its usefulness or harm to health depends on how and what certain ingredients can be mixed with. What should be mixed and what shouldn’t?
Foods that should be mixed
Roasted meat with broccoli
Everything is simple here. Roasted meat is one of the main carcinogens on our table, so it increases the risk of developing cancer of the stomach and intestines many times. Broccoli, in turn, lowers this risk and is capable of removing harmful carcinogens from the body.
Fried fish under the marinade
Marinating can also protect fish and meat dishes from the formation of carcinogens. Meat and poultry should be pickled in vinegar, tomato paste and a mixture of spices 30-60 minutes before cooking, and fish can simply be watered with soy sauce or a prepared marinade while frying.
Liver with potatoes
Beef and pork liver are the best natural sources of iron. We need this mineral for normal blood formation, as well as for transporting oxygen throughout the body; but, unfortunately, it is iron deficiency that occurs most often. Firstly, we get very little of it with food, and secondly, only about 8% of the received iron is absorbed by the body.
Therefore, the compatibility of iron-containing products must be given special attention. Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron, and the latter, in turn, is found in citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes and potatoes. Choose for yourself which of these products are more suitable for dishes from liver, but tomatoes and potatoes seem to be the simplest and most obvious options.
Figs with milk
Medium and high fat milk contains a large amount of calcium, which supports the health of our bones and teeth. Figs, in turn, are rich in magnesium, another vital mineral that, among other things, provides normal absorption of calcium.
Therefore, use this recipe: 5-6 dried figs should be boiled in 2 cups of milk; take this broth as a sweet liquid treat. Tasty and healthy, it treats sore throats and protects against colds.
Sweet pepper with vegetable oil
Vitamin A, found in yellow and orange vegetables and fruits, is fat-soluble, that is, it is absorbed in the presence of any fats. That is why carrot juice is recommended to be consumed with a small amount of cream; but if you don’t have a juicer, such a drink will be an expensive pleasure. There are more affordable – and no less tasty – ways to get a dose of vitamin A: for example, rub carrots on a grater and add a little raisins and a spoonful of sour cream. Or cut sweet pepper, cabbage and onions into thin slices. The salad is seasoned with salt, sugar and vegetable oil.
Fried eggs with onions and tomatoes
It’s not just tasty and satisfying: onions and tomatoes are some of the few suppliers of selenium to the body. This mineral is important for maintaining sexual health, especially for men: there is evidence that it is lost with every release of seminal fluid.
Most effectively, selenium is processed by the body in combination with vitamin E, and they must both arrive in the body simultaneously. Eggs, herbs and vegetable oil are excellent sources of vitamin E, so fry eggs and add the named ingredients. Just keep in mind: tomatoes and onions must not be fried beforehand, and eggs should be held in a pan for no more than one or two minutes. Too long heat treatment destroys both selenium and vitamin E.
Mushrooms with arugula and nuts
Sulforaphane has a triple beneficial effect – anti-cancer, antidiabetic and antibacterial. But it is mainly found in cabbage and (in the largest quantities) in arugula, a rather expensive and peculiar taste of greens. To save yourself from the need of absorbing kilograms of it, the beneficial effects of arugula can be enhanced as much as 13 times (!) by just adding it to the salad in combination with mushrooms and cashew nuts. These products contain selenium, which greatly improves the absorption of sulforaphane.
Foods that should not be mixed
Cutlets with olive oil
Having seen enough advertising, many housewives hastened to replace sunflower oil with olive oil because the latter does not contain cholesterol and helps lower its level. To begin with, no vegetable oil can contain cholesterol as such. As for the beneficial properties of olive oil, they “disappear” as soon as the miracle oil gets into the pan.
Therefore, do not waste your money in vain and add olive oil only to salads. Cutlets should rather be steamed or baked in the oven, since carcinogens are formed when frying in oil.
Rye bread with coffee
A sandwich with rye bread or whole grain bread is an excellent breakfast rich in vitamins and minerals. And a cup of coffee is full of antioxidants that protect us from cancer and premature aging. The only trouble is: caffeine prevents the absorption of many useful substances, which means that all your efforts to eat properly will go down the drain.
Alcohol with cola
Even young ladies who take care of their figure sometimes allow themselves to drink “a little”. But at the same time, they do not forget to count calories… and dilute strong drinks with diet cola, soda, etc.
From the point of view of losing weight, it may be true, only such “sugar-free” soda is very quickly absorbed in the intestines and brings alcohol there just as quickly. As a result, the number of ppm in your blood is noticeably higher than after drinking a sweet cocktail. You also get drunk harder, and the hangover will certainly be tougher.
Peanuts with beer
This bean (peanuts belong to the legume family rather than nuts) combines a large number of vitamins of groups B, E, PP and D, as well as minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, manganese, phosphorus and iron. However, alcohol destroys most of these beneficial substances, so if you are used to consuming peanuts only as a beer snack, drop this habit.
Kiwi with milk and yogurt
This tropical fruit seems to be an excellent addition to granola, cereal, milkshake or yogurt. Kiwi slices are often used to decorate cakes, so why not put it on top of cream?
The answer is simple: nature itself made these culinary combinations impossible. The fact is that kiwi contains a special enzyme, under the influence of which milk protein decomposes and becomes … very bitter. It brings no harm, but the dish, of course, will be hopelessly spoiled.
