Chef Sanjeev Kapoor wants us to rethink what \u201chealthy food\u201d means. In a conversation with India Today Television, he spoke about changing eating habits, the pressure that has pushed home cooking to the back burner, restaurant hygiene, frozen food and one ingredient he believes we need to cut down: stress.<\/p>\n
For Kapoor, the biggest food problem today is not simply what is on the plate. It is how we think about food. \u201cFood is in your face,\u201d he said, pointing to the constant stream of dishes, brands and food trends online. As people are exposed to global cuisines and food delivery, home-cooked meals can start feeling like a luxury.<\/p>\n
Kapoor said longer working hours, rising expectations and both partners in many families needing to earn have made cooking less of a priority. People who have someone cooking at home often want a break.<\/p>\n
He believes there is a large market for genuinely home-style food, but says \u201chome-style\u201d is not always the same as food cooked at home.<\/p>\n
FROZEN DOESN\u2019T MEAN UNHEALTHY<\/p>\n
One of Kapoor\u2019s strongest messages was about frozen food. \u201cFrozen by its nature is not bad,\u201d he said, explaining that freezing can preserve food without adding preservatives or additives.<\/p>\n
But how food is thawed matters. If cooked food is frozen, Kapoor recommends dividing it into small batches. When needed, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it thaw there.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot outside. Not underwater,\u201d he said, warning against sudden temperature changes. Once something has been thawed, he said, it should not be put back into the freezer.<\/p>\n
THE REAL PROBLEM MAY BE OUR FOOD HABITS<\/p>\n
Kapoor also spoke about repeatedly heating cooking oil. He explained that food particles left in oil can burn and form carbon when the oil is repeatedly reheated. Filtering the oil and avoiding repeated heating, he said, are important.<\/p>\n
He urged consumers to look beyond marketing claims on packaged foods. Labels such as \u201czero cholesterol\u201d can sound impressive while offering little useful information.<\/p>\n
LESS SUGAR, SALT AND OIL<\/p>\n
Kapoor backed calls to reduce sugar, salt and oil, linking moderation to India\u2019s growing burden of diabetes, obesity and other lifestyle-related problems.<\/p>\n
Yet his approach is not about banning favourite foods. Asked about cheat meals, he said, \u201cEvery day is a cheat meal,\u201d adding that he eats everything and believes in moderation.<\/p>\n
His most striking advice was perhaps about the mind. When asked which ingredient people should cut down on, his answer was: “Stress.” He also highlighted the mind-gut connection and said food should be enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthy food is indulgent,\u201d Kapoor said. \u201cIf you are not enjoying food, it\u2019s not healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
For him, food comes down to one word: \u201cLife.\u201d<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Princy Shukla<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Aug 22, 2026 17:15 IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chef Sanjeev Kapoor wants us to rethink what \u201chealthy food\u201d means. In a conversation with India Today Television,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[254838,254842,254836,103,1350,137636,61,60,254840,446,254839,254835,254841,254837],"class_list":["post-601404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-cooking-oil-reuse","tag-diabetes-obesity-india","tag-frozen-food-safety","tag-health","tag-healthy-eating","tag-home-cooked-food","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mind-gut-connection","tag-nutrition","tag-packaged-food-labels","tag-sanjeev-kapoor-health-tips","tag-stress-and-diet","tag-sugar-salt-oil-reduction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}