Smart prep: Cooking foods differently can increase their health ...

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Piling your shopping cart high with healthful staples like veggies,fish and lean meat? Great! Now, take it to the next level.
It’s what you do with those fantastic foods once you bringthem home that transforms them into real nutritional superstars.
Take the tomato: Eat it cooked instead of raw and you’ll getas much as 171 percent more of the cancer-fighting compoundlycopene.
"Even one little change in the kitchen can result in a huge healthpayoff," says Robin Plotkin, a Dallas-based nutritionist.
Follow these simple rules for cooking smarter and amp up thedisease-fighting power of every meal.
BAKE TOMATOES
Benefit
Younger skin (and cancer protection). Compared with fresh tomatoes,cooked tomatoes (and products like pasta sauce) contain morelycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Research suggests that lycopenemay guard the skin against damage from the sun’s UV rays.Baking tomatoes makes them more healthful and versatile, adding aflavorful twist to sandwiches, salads and pastas.
How to do it
Wash and dry 30 cherry or grape tomatoes and place in a smallbaking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake at 450degrees for 15 minutes.
Make it a meal
Baked tomato, mozzarella and roasted turkey sandwiches (2 servings)
Halve a small whole-wheat baguette lengthwise. Spread 1/2 teaspoonof Dijon mustard on lower half. Layer on 2 ounces sliced roastedturkey breast, 2 ounces reduced-fat sliced mozzarella cheese, and15 of the hot, baked cherry tomatoes. Cover with top baguetteportion and slice in half.
ROAST OMEGA-3-RICH FISH
Benefit
A slimmer waistline. Roasting a fatty fish, such as salmon, with abit of olive oil doesn’t increase its fat content, accordingto a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry . When researchers fried the fish, it absorbed the olive oil,increasing fat content by about 10 percent (and adding unnecessarycalories).
How to do it
Drizzle baking dish with olive oil. Select fresh fish fillets,about 1/3 pound per person. Roast fish skin side down in dish in450-degree oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 145degrees, or 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Properly preparedfish will flake easily with a fork (overcooking makes it dry).Remove from oven; serve immediately.
Make it a meal
Roasted fish fillets (2 servings)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly coat small baking dish with 1teaspoon olive oil. Place two 5-ounce fillets (such as salmon orlake trout) in dish. Sprinkle with the juice of a small lemon, 1clove crushed garlic and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper. Roast 10minutes per inch of thickness. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped freshparsley and serve with a grain of your choice, like quinoa or wildrice, and steamed veggies.
CRUSH GARLIC
Benefit
Healthier arteries. Crushing garlic cloves — and letting themstand for up to 30 minutes before heating them — activatesand preserves the garlic’s heart-protecting compounds,according to a 2007 study from Argentina. Cooking uncrushed garlicfor as little as 6 minutes can completely suppress its protectivestrength.
How to do it
Wash and peel the outer papery skins of a clove of garlic and trimends. To crush, place clove on a cutting board and lay the flatside of a wide knife against it, pressing down firmly. For easieruse in recipes, finely chop the clove, starting at one side. Crushagain: Press the flat side of the knife against the chopped garlicfirmly, then finely chop again. Let it rest for 30 minutes at roomtemperature. Scrape crushed and chopped pieces and juice fromcutting board into recipe.
Make it a meal
Garlic bean chowder (6 servings)
Heat 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil in large heavy pot. Add 1cup chopped onions, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped carrots and4 cloves crushed and chopped garlic. Saute 2 minutes. Add 2 1/2cups low-sodium vegetable broth, 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beanswith liquid, 2 teaspoons fresh basil, 1 teaspoon freshly squeezedlemon juice, 1 bay leaf and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground blackpepper. Cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat. Removebay leaf. Serve with salad and whole-grain flatbread.
STEAM BROCCOLI
Benefit
Reduced cancer risk. Steaming broccoli increases its content ofglucosinolates, compounds that fight cancer. Other cookingtechniques, like frying, reduce them, according to new researchfrom Parma, Italy.
How to do it
Clean and trim 1 pound of broccoli, cutting into florets. Bring 1inch of water to a boil in saucepan. Place florets in metalcolander over boiling water. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cookuntil tender, about 6 to 7 minutes (or you can microwave on high ina covered but vented dish for that time).
Make it a meal
Stir-fried shrimp and steamed broccoli (4 servings)
Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in large skillet. Add 1 pound peeledand deveined shrimp, 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1 clovegarlic (crushed), 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, 1/8 teaspoonground white pepper, and 1 teaspoon red curry paste. Saute 2minutes and stir in 1 pound steamed broccoli. In small bowl, whisktogether 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth and 1 teaspooncornstarch. Add to skillet; stir until thick. Remove from heat;shrimp should be opaque. Garnish with 1/3 cup unsalted, dry-roastedcashews.
SLOW-COOK MEAT
Benefit
Preventing inflammation linked to diabetes and heart disease. Whenmeats are cooked in liquid at moderate heat, they develop fewercell-damaging compounds known as AGEs (advanced glycationend-products) than when they are broiled or grilled. Researcherssay that switching to "wet" cooking methods can reduce AGE intakeby 50 percent.
How to do it
Trim visible fat from 1 pound of sectioned beef, pork or poultry.Place in slow cooker. Add 1 cup of liquid (like broth). Addvegetables and seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduceto low and cook 2 to 8 hours longer (depending on thickness andtype of meat) until meat reaches an internal temperature of 145degrees for beef, 160 degrees for pork and 165 degrees for poultry.
Make it a meal
Mango ginger chicken (4 servings)
Place 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins, 2 carrots (sliced), 2celery ribs (chopped), 1 onion (sliced), 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cupmango nectar, 2 cloves garlic (crushed), 1 1/2 teaspoons crushedfresh ginger, 1 teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 teaspoonreduced-sodium soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric in slowcooker. Cover and cook 1 hour on high. Reduce to low and cook 2hours. Remove 1/2 cup liquid to small bowl, stir in 2 teaspoonscornstarch, then add back to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 1hour longer. Serve with brown rice.