Displaying 1 - 10 of 31 entries.

The Advantages of An Organic Diet

  • Posted on May 17, 2012 at 5:31 pm

Food recalls and not quite knowing what’s in the food you feed yourself and your family is one of the many challenges faced when preparing meals. Many people feel, however, that going organic is one sure-fire way to provide healthy, safe meals for the family.

Labeling for products that meet the USDA-NOP s...

Labeling for products that meet the USDA-NOP standards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

When you consider going organic, one of the many benefits is that the impact on the earth is less than with other types of foods. Even the animals that are being raised organically are healthier, life stress free lives and graze on land that hasn’t been treated with chemicals.

 

Organic farmers attempt to farm and till the earth using fewer water and energy resources than do other farmers. The soil on which they grow stays rich in nutrients and moisture because they carefully manage the land and rotate the crops from growing season to season. This also eliminates the need for controlled burns – which release chemicals into the air.

 

Most of the food you purchase at the grocery store is from industrialized agricultural operations and in many cases these farm giants drive the organic farmers out of business. In most instances these farmers are able to sell their crops at a lower price and they also are known for snapping up the land in great chunks.

 

Farmers, other than the organic farmers, see animals as a source of income rather than as living creatures. Many of these animals are placed in small, cramped stalls and are raised with no freedom of movement or access to fresh air. They may also be fed food that has been chemically enhanced to promote growth.

 

If you’re looking to live a cleaner, more chemical free lifestyle and to feed your family foods that you feel good about, look to organic foods. These foods are typically easy to find at the grocery store and at farmer’s markets.

 

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Controlling Portions With Ease

  • Posted on April 24, 2012 at 10:40 pm

Individuals who are either on a track for weight loss or simply want to get healthy need to learn to control portions. There are some easy ways to incorporate portion control into your daily eating and living habits and with this, you will be on the path toward a healthier lifestyle. Learning and living portion control is easy once you learn how to read labels and understand what a true portion is.

Many people simply don’t know what a correct portion size is. For example, when you have a bowl of cereal, chances are you’re getting a portion that is several times larger than the suggestion portion size. A cup of cereal is the average portion size, but unless you’re measuring it, chances are you’re eating too much. Get in the habit of measuring your portions before you eat.

Studies have shown that people who practice portion control lose more weight than people who don’t measure and check portions before sitting down for a meal. Another weight loss measure is to not skip meals. When you’re starving when you sit down for dinner, chances are you will overeat.

Keeping a kitchen scale or measuring cups in the kitchen within easy reach are the best ways to make certain you’re eating the correct portions. If a package of pretzels says you can eat ¾ of an ounce you can measure them one time and learn that it is XYZ number of pretzels.

A serving of meat should be 3 ounces but if you’re eyeballing that it’s hard to decide the correct size without a scale. A good rule of thumb though is that a three ounce serving size is the size of a deck of cards. A cup of cereal is about the size of your fist. Check packages for suggested serving sizes then measure or weigh them if you’re concerned with maintaining a healthy weight.

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Cooking Month

  • Posted on March 4, 2012 at 6:10 pm

Welcome to Cooking Month! March is known by many as Cooking Month and what a fabulous time to put to use your knowledge of healthy eating. Research shows that although 85% of Americans are aware of practical eating habits, less than 50% of people put these skills to use while preparing meals. If you are unable to prepare the foods that you know are good for you then the knowledge is not useful.

It has become a way of life for us to demand easy and fast meals. Making a few changes in this mindset would help people realize that, in fact, they do have the time required for healthy cooking. Because we are now used to convenience, we tend to reach for packaged and processed foods rather than wholesome foods we could prepare ourselves.

It seems many people, now days, do not even know how to use their stoves. While studies prove that 72% of meals were made at home in 2011, this information is misleading. Within our society, opening a package of processed food counts as a meal prepared at home.

This mindset has wreaked havoc on our health. Processed foods are simply not good for us. Many people are facing weight issues that can be easily addressed through preparation of wholesome foods. Furthermore, the preservatives to prolong the shelf life of foods, is not prolong our own lifelines.

Take the challenge this March and cook your meals. Yes, I mean actually cook. Give yourself the goal of cooking your meals from scratch for the month. Or, begin smaller and try a week to see how it goes. You are sure to notice benefits in the taste of the foods you prepare and the way you feel.

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Conversation Heart Cookies: The Perfect Valentines Day Treat

  • Posted on February 8, 2012 at 5:40 pm

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with some tasty and darling cookies that mimic those well-known hard treats of the holiday. You will need:

2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted (and a little more for powdering your surface)
1 tsp. vanilla extract, pure
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
1 stick, or 4 oz., softened, unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
Royal Icing
Gel-paste food coloring (colors such as lemon yellow, red, peach, leaf green, rose, and violet)

To make the cookies, mix together the baking powder, salt and flour in a large bowl. Cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, and mix on low speed. Slowly add flour mixture, a little at a time, beating until mixed in. Separate dough into halves, flattening each half to form a disc shape. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least one hour). Dough can be refrigerated overnight.

Place oven racks at lower third and top third of oven, and preheat to 325 degrees. Place one disc of dough on counter top to rest at room temperature (about ten minutes). Lightly flour a working surface and roll dough to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Cut cookies with heart-shaped cookie cutter then freeze cookies until very firm (about 15 minutes).

Bake cookies for 14 to 16 minutes, switching from top to bottom and rotating half way through. Allow to cool on cookie sheets placed on wire racks.

Separate royal icing into small bowls. Color each batch using food coloring. Put one color of icing into a pastry bag. Outline the edge of each cookie, then fill in the middle with icing. Allow icing-covered cookies to dry overnight, uncovered.

Use stamp letters to make typical conversation heart messages. Some examples are LYLAS, UR A QT, and BFF. Sqeeze a small bit of red, gel-paste food coloring onto a folded paper towel. Press stamps into red paste and stamp cookie.

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Lighten Up This January With Chicken And White Bean Soup

  • Posted on January 5, 2012 at 4:35 pm

It is so easy to grab a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken for dinner while grocery shopping. But, why stop there? Use this chicken as your base and half of the preparation for this delicious, Italian-inspired soup. Pick up a nice bottle of red wine and a loaf of freshly baked Italian bread while you are at the store and you will have a full meal.

This recipe yields six, 1 ½ cup servings. It will take twenty-five minutes to prepare and also works as a fabulous make-ahead recipe. You can refrigerate the soup covered for up to two days after preparation.

The ingredients you will need are: 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil; 2 leeks, light green and white parts only, cut into rounds ¼-inch thick; 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or ¼ tsp. dried sage); 2 14-ounce reduced-sodium cans of chicken broth; 2 cups of water; 1 15-ounce can of rinsed cannellini beans; and 1 2-pound rotisserie chicken, boned and shredded (about 4 cups) with skin discarded.

To prepare, begin with a Dutch oven and heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook leeks in oil until soft, stirring often. This will take about 3 minutes. Add sage and continue cooking about 30 seconds, until mixture becomes aromatic.

Add broth and water to mixture and stir. Cover, and increase heat to high. Bring liquid to a boil, then stir in chicken and beans. Cook uncovered, about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally until soup is heated throughout. Serve hot with a side of warm bread.

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Christmas Sugar Cookies

  • Posted on December 16, 2011 at 3:57 pm

Anytime you make this batch of delicious cookies for someone, include a copy of the recipe. It has been my experience that people will be asking for the recipe after tasting these cookies.

The ingredients you will need are:
2 cups of white sugar
1 ½ cups softened butter
4 eggs
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder

To make cookie dough, cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Beat vanilla and eggs into the mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture a little at a time. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for a minimum of one hour, or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).  Take a portion of the dough. Form it into a ball. Roll the dough out on a floured surface.  Roll dough to an even thickness of ¼ to ½ inch.  Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet, placing one inch apart. Bake on middle rack for 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Top with thin icing. Simply combine confectioners’ sugar and milk. Make the consistency fairly thin so that you can paint the cookies with the icing using a clean paint brush. You will want the icing to spread easily, although you do not want it too thin or it will dampen the cookies and run off of the cookie sides.

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Tips On Cooking The Perfect Turkey

  • Posted on November 21, 2011 at 6:37 pm

Whether you have cooked the Thanksgiving turkey for years, or this is your first time, you will see how easy it is to prepare a juicy and tender turkey. Try the Open-Pan Roasting Method.

Begin by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Take turkey out of bag and drain juices. Rinse the turkey and pat dry using paper towels. Prepare the pan by placing a turkey lifter over the full length of a flat rack two to two and a half inches deep in a roasting pan. Use the wings to hold the neck skin in place, by tucking them back. Be sure turkey is thawed, or fresh. Place breast up atop the turkey lifter. Lift one loop over the breast and wings, and the other loop up on top of the drumsticks. Ensure that loops remain on turkey instead of over the edge of the pan throughout the roasting.

Lightly brush the skin with vegetable oil or cover with cooking spray. This helps to keep the skin from becoming dry. Place an oven-safe thermometer in the thigh muscle, at the lower part. Do not allow the thermometer to touch the bone. When cooking a stuffed turkey, wait until the thigh is up to temperature then move the thermometer to the middle of the stuffing. Stuffing should reach 165 degrees to be done.

Put turkey in the pre-heated oven and cook at 325 degrees. After the turkey is 2/3 cooked, Use foil to loosely cover the breast and top of drumstick. Begin checking for doneness around thirty minutes prior to recommended end of the cooking time.

Before cutting into the turkey, allow it to stand for 15 minutes to seal in the juices. After the 15 minutes, remove stuffing and place into a bowl. Then carve turkey and enjoy your feast!

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Apple Pie – Perfect For A Fall Day

  • Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:26 pm

Ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 tablespoon butter (not margarine)
¾ cup white granulated sugar
6 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1- 9 inch, double crust pie pastry recipe

Begin by preparing your crust. This will be a double crust pie, so plan accordingly. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Next, get your fall-fresh apples. Rinse the apples and dry with a paper towel. Quarter each apple, and then cut out the seeds. Using a sharp knife, cut the peeling from each apple quarter. Continue slicing peeled apples thinly. Measure 6 cups of apple slices. Set aside.

Combine cinnamon and granulated sugar in a bowl. Sugar will be varied in this recipe. The deciding factor is the tartness of your apples. More sugar will counter-act the tartness. Therefore, consider using more sugar if you are using a tart variety of apple, such as the green Granny Smith type, or a Fuji variety. If you are baking your pie using a sweeter apple, such as a Honeycrisp, you will want to use a lesser amount of sugar.

Line a pie plate with one of your pasty crusts. Arrange the apples in your pastry-lined pie dish, until the bottom of the plate is filled. Sprinkle the apples with a portion of your sugar and cinnamon mixture. Continue by layering more apples atop these, creating layers. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over each layer. Using small pieces of butter, dot the top layer. Cover pie with your other crust.

Place pie in oven on the lowest rack. Set timer for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes. Pie can be served warm or cold.

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Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches

  • Posted on September 23, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Making breakfast sandwiches ahead of time and then freezing them will make for hassle-free mornings where your family is still well-fed. A bonus is that your kitchen will not be full of breakfast dishes when you return home at the end of a tiring work day. To make each sandwich, you will need: 1 slice of bacon, 1 slice of sharp American cheese, 1 large egg, and 1 high fiber English muffin.

Begin by cooking the bacon, to your desired taste (crunchy, soft, etc). Do this for all of the bacon you will need all at once. Bacon can be fried in a pan on the stove, or cooked in the oven for 10 to 11 minutes at 400 degrees.

Next, cook the eggs on a griddle or pan, without allowing them to touch. You will want to break the yoke then cook until it is set. Or, you could cook the eggs until the yoke is hard, if you prefer not to break the yoke. Flip the eggs and allow them to cook for thirty additional seconds. Then, cover each egg with cheese and let it sit for one minute.

Assemble the breakfast sandwich by placing one egg with cheese in-between the slices of an English muffin. Do not toast the muffin first. Insert a slice of bacon into the English muffin as well. Let the sandwich cool slightly. Then wrap sandwiches individually with plastic wrap. Put wrapped sandwiches in a large freezer bag, labeled with name and date.

To reheat, remove from the freezer and unwrap the plastic wrap. Wrap the sandwich loosely in a paper towel. Microwave the sandwich for one minute, checking to see if it will need additional heating. Once heated, enjoy on the run or at home with a cool glass of orange juice!

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Salmon Burgers – Perfect For A Hot Summer Night

  • Posted on August 24, 2011 at 6:29 pm

Salmon burgers are a perfect summer celebration meal. They can be prepared in a snap, they are light and flavorful and packed with health benefits we all desire. When combined with fresh basil and chopped red onion, salmon burgers become a succulent meal and are under two hundred calories. Encompass your burger in toasted focaccia bread and you have a gourmet burger in under ten minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (1 burger per serving)

Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 (1-pound) skinned and chopped salmon fillet
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tbsp. hot pepper sauce
• Lite Cooking spray
• 4 focaccia bread rolls, sliced and toasted

Preparation

Mix chopped red onion, salt, sliced basil, pepper and chopped salmon. In a separate bowl, mix egg white and pepper sauce. Combine egg white mixture with salmon ingredients. Mix to thoroughly combine.

Separate mixture into four equal parts, using bowls or plates. Form each portion into a patty shape, leaving patties one-half inch thick. Coat a non-stick skillet with the cooking spray and place on stove top over medium-high heat. Gently place salmon patties in skillet, taking care not to break patties apart. If patties do not fit in skillet without touching, cook in batches. Heat patty for three minutes, then flip to cook for an additional three minutes. Toast focaccia roll. Serve patty on toasted roll.

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