During this pandemic, people are increasingly concerned about their health. Various efforts have been made, from exercising regularly, maintaining food intake, and taking supplements to improve the immune system and avoid diseases, especially coronavirus infections. Meeting nutritional needs is important in maintaining a healthy body and sports performance. Sports lovers are naturally very concerned with the choice of food to be consumed so their nutritional intake is fulfilled and their sports performance is better.

However, it turns out that not only the selection of food ingredients needs to be considered in fulfilling nutritional intake but also how to cook it. Cooking method will affect the amount of nutrients that are absorbed by the body. Kachimeshi is a nutrition balanced and delicious meal program that can help athletes and sports enthusiasts achieve their best body performance. Kachimeshi will not only discuss the type of food, the amount, and the time to eat. On this occasion, Kachimeshi will discuss the best cooking method to maintain the nutrition content of food.

1. Vegetables

Vegetables are a source of vitamins and fiber. Especially water-soluble vitamins such as vitamins B and C can be broken at high temperatures. Vegetables can be served raw such as salads, karedok, and others. But not everyone likes vegetables that are served raw, and not all vegetables are also suitable to be served under this condition. Vegetables can lose their vitamin content in two ways: they dissolve when boiled and heated at high temperatures. Boiling can remove 70% of the water-soluble vitamin content in vegetables.

The key to cooking vegetables so that their vitamin content is not spoiled is a short cooking time and not using a lot of water. Therefore the steaming method is the healthiest way to cook vegetables. If the dish must be cooked by boiling, you should use a little water and make sure to cover the pot to reduce cooking time and nutrients lost during the boiling process. Soft vegetables as leafy vegetables to maintain their nutritional content, they can also be cooked using the sauteing method. Using a little oil will help retain vitamins and antioxidants that are easily damaged by heat, and cook until wilted and the stems remain crisp. Cooking vegetables should not be too long. Perfectly cooked vegetables should be brightly colored and crispy, not mushy.

2. Fruits

Fruits can be enjoyed without the cooking process. Fruits are packaged naturally by the skin. Some of the skin fruit can be eaten after washing, such as apples and grapes. Fruit with hard skin must be peeled and cut. Once the fruit is cut and exposed to air, its nutrition content slowly begins to disappear. In addition, if you leave it for too long after cutting the fruit, it will turn brown and unattractive. We recommend eating the fruit immediately after cutting it.

3. Meat

Beef, chicken, and fish are food sources of animal protein. Protein compared to vitamins and minerals is quite stable in heating. But the higher heating temperature can reduce the protein content in the food. In addition, the protein content of animal foods cooked at high temperatures can react with heat from cooking utensils and create carcinogenic compounds that can cause cancer. The cooking method does not have much effect on the protein content of animal foods compared to temperature. But we should still avoid cooking with the deep frying method because it can increase the amount of fat in the food. In addition, when viewed from the temperature and duration of cooking, the grill method is recommended for this food if nutritional content is maintained. When grilling, it is best if the meat is cut into small pieces so that it does not require a long duration of heating and high temperatures.

4. Egg

Eggs are the easiest source of protein to get compared to other protein sources such as meat, fish, and chicken. It's also easy to cook and relatively cheaper. The healthiest eggs are enjoyed by cooking until cooked. In addition to increasing protein absorption, the cooking process also kill the Salmonella enteritidis bacteria that usually stick to egg shells. Perfectly cooked eggs have protein content absorbed up to 91%, higher than half-cooked eggs that are only 51%.

The cooking process with high temperatures in general will reduce the nutrition content of foods, including eggs. For Healthy cooking avoid adding oil, long cooking methods, and high-temperature heating. There are many methods for cooking eggs that are commonly used, such as boiling, poached, frying, and baking. The boiling method is the best way to maintain its nutritional content by the duration of boiling eggs for 12-13 minutes so that the eggs are cooked perfectly.