July 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Jonathan T. Teng
If you are looking to slim down then summer is the perfect season to do it. This is the time when you look at recipes with least amount of fats. Techniques like grilling are most used during this season. You can eat many fruits too in order to substitute some meals.
However, I was really tempted to try something different when I had guests all throughout the weekend. After we munched on some pancakes and waffles on the first day, I decided to break the slim summer tradition by preparing something different for breakfast.
If you hate carbohydrate or food rich in fats and want to lose some weight… sorry guys! This dish is definitely not for you…
It is very simple to prepare; potato cake forms the base and is topped with grated cheese and egg. These are the only ingredients in this simple dish.
1) Toss the potatoes with onions after they are chopped. You can also use bell peppers, garlic and chilies while tossing. You can remove the bacon and just brown the potatoes in olive oil.
2) I prefer using the standard cheese. Gruyere or Cheddar cheese is what I use. But it is up to you which cheese you are going to use. If you wish to give the dish some kick, you could add Parmesan or pecorino Romano.
I prefer topping the dish with cheese after the eggs are broken on the potato cake. If I do it this way, I get cheese over eggs in its rare form with the yolk in its natural form.
You may wish to take the other way by adding cheese on the potato cake first and then adding the eggs. You will get superbly cooked eggs in a nest of melted cheese.
– Cheese, Eggs & Bacon Potato Cake –
~ 3 or 4 potatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds
~ 6 to 8 eggs
~ 1 cup shredded cheese, like Gruyere, Emmenthal or Cheddar
~ 1/2 pound slab or other good bacon, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
~ Salt and pepper to taste
Put bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat; while fat is rendering, peel and grate potatoes (shredding disk of a food processor works great).
When bacon is about halfway crisp, spread it evenly in pan, and put potatoes over it; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press the potatoes down with a plate almost as big as pan, and leave plate in place for about 5 minutes.
Remove plate, and continue to cook, undisturbed, so potatoes form a cake, and adjusting heat so potatoes brown without burning. When potatoes are brown, slide cake out onto a plate, invert it onto another plate, and slide it back in, cooked side up.
Turn on broiler while potatoes brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on potatoes and carefully break eggs into the cheese. Broil until cheese melts and eggs are set, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.
Yield: 4 to 8 servings.
About The Author
Jonathan writes for Secret Recipes - The place where he reveals how you can quickly & easily duplicate over 600 Restaurant Copycat Dishes in your own kitchen. Also Check: Quick Easy Recipes
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July 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Jonathan T. Teng
Crab meat is what comes to my mind when I think of a dish which is luxurious in all terms. You may end up spending a fortune (close to $40 a pound) gulping down a few crab cakes. And once done, you will be left wanting for more.
Cooks on the East and West Coast now have access to great fresh crab meat, and if you can resist eating it straight from the container or tossing it with a little mayonnaise, it can make a full meal. Fresh crab meat makes the pasta sauce so luxurious that no other dish can provide this with so little work.
Recently, I found fresh crab meat for less than $20 a pound from Maine. It costs more or less the same if you are looking for crab meat from Maryland. “Jumbo meat” is the more expensive than “claw meat” and “lump lump”. Just shop around you”ll get some fresh crab meat at some really attractive prices.
If you intend making a pasta dish, you will get the claw meat for $15 a pound. Jumbo lump is a bit more costlier at $25 a pound. If you wish to buy freshly picked Dungeness crab, you can look at the West Coast fish markets where it sells for $25 a pound.
You can also use crab meat packed in tins or containers if you can”t get fresh ones. They are often pasteurized and packed in containers and then refrigerated. It costs almost the as fresh meat but it is picking up in terms of popularity with crab meat eaters.
It’’s a second choice but no a terrible one. The fresh crab meat has some intense flavor which may not found in crabs in containers or pasteurized crab.
It’’s very easy to cook the crab meat. Here is how you do it:
1) Use crab meat, garlic, olive oil and a chili or two.
2) Turn off the heat when the garlic turns “gold” not brown.
3) As soon as the garlic starts coloring, you can add a cup of cherry tomatoes.
4) Continue cooking till the tomatoes collapse.
5) Just heat the crab meat. Ensure that you are not cooking the crab meat as it is already cooked before picking.
There are lot of pasta shapes which you can use with the crab meat. I have not found the right pasta shape, but it doesn”t really matter. Just make sure that you shop for the right crab meat instead.
–Pasta With Crab–
~ 1 pound pasta
~ 1/2 pound crab meat, or more
~ 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
~ 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
~ 2 dried red chilies, or to taste
~ 2 tablespoons slivered or minced garlic
~ Salt to taste
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Put oil, garlic, chilies and a pinch of salt in a saucepan large enough to hold cooked pasta and turn heat to medium-low. Cook, shaking pan, until garlic just begins to color; turn off heat.
When water boils, cook pasta. When it is just about done, turn heat under oil back to low and add crab; stir once or twice. Drain pasta (reserve a bit of cooking water), and toss it in crab sauce to coat. If mixture seems a bit dry, add reserved cooking water or more olive oil. Stir in parsley, adjust seasoning, and serve.
Yield: 3 or 4 servings.
About The Author
Jonathan writes for Copycat Recipes - The place where he reveals how you can quickly & easily duplicate over 600 Secret Restaurant Recipes in your own kitchen.
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By Jim Corkern
A food called red yeast rice in English has been a favorite dish in Asian countries for a long time and is a traditional part of Peking duck. Traditional Chinese medicine has used the dish for over 1,000 years in order to help the body keep up a good circulatory system and heart.
In China, its use has been noted as far back as the Tang Dynasty of China back in 800 A.D. There might be a good reason for this use, since recent research has shown that red yeast rice is quite good at assisting in lowering a person’’s cholesterol. Just what is red yeast rice?
Red yeast rice is made by fermenting a mold called monascus purpureus on top of rice. There is a unique process that is used to separate the naturally occurring ingredient called mevinolin and this somewhat similar to other drugs that doctors give their patients to fight high cholesterol like Lipitor and Zocor.
While everyone needs cholesterol in order to have a healthy life, having too much of it as most people know can lead to problems. Our livers produce about eighty percent of the cholesterol that the body needs and the other twenty percent comes from the food that we eat.
What the red yeast rice does when you eat it is block the enzyme that exists in the liver to induce the production of cholesterol. Unsaturated fatty acids in the red yeast rice could also possibly add to the beneficial attributes of it.
The possibility of its medical uses has only recently been noticed in western countries, even though it has been used in Asia for centuries.
An extract of one of its natural ingredients, mevinolin, is often sold over the counter as a dietary supplement of sorts to be used for controlling cholesterol. You do not need a prescription for this supplement and some people are taking advantage of this.
It is not recommended to eat red yeast rice or take the dietary supplement of mevinolin if you have already been prescribed a drug for high cholesterol such as Lipitor or Zocor.
What about the mold that is used to make the dish? Monascus purpureus is a purplish-red mold in the family Monascaceae and it is used mainly in Asian dishes for color, however it can also impart a pleasant flavor to the food, as well.
About The Author
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
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By Jim Corkern
In Japan, koji has been used to make sake for hundreds of years and what might be the surprising thing is that it is actually a kind of mold. The scientific name for the mold is Aspergillus Oryzae and it creates a few different enzymes as it reproduces and these are what cause the starches in the rice to turn into sugars that feed the yeast cells that produce both alcohol and carbon dioxide. Without the addition of the koji, the Japanese alcoholic beverage of sake cannot exist. There are other beverages in Asia that have been known to use koji, but the ways they are brewed are very different.
Sake is produced differently than a beverage such as wine, so it might be useful to explain just how different the production methods are. Wine is created from fermented grapes that already have sugar (or glucose) in them and sugar is what yeast has to eat. Even though there are other kinds of sugars in existence, the yeast cannot metabolize them and so when wine is made, the yeast is put into a liquid that already has sugar in it.
Sake is brewed somewhat similar to beer, but it is not malted. It is made from steamed rice that has had its husk removed and the rice is milled in order to remove the outer covering. It is not uncommon for a rice to be washed down to 50 percent or even less of its former weight in order to get to the innermost part of the rice, which does not contain all of the proteins, amino acids, and fats that can give the sake an unwanted flavor or smell.
Aspergillus oryzae has a very powerful affect on the final product and its cultivation is taken very seriously. It is produced in a different room in the brewery that is known as the koji-muro. When it is ready, it is added to more steamed rice. Later on in the batch, it is put into a large tank where the rice, yeast, water, and koji will continue to ferment. One account says that a brewer presented a bottle of sake with an apology, saying that they had rebuilt their koji-muro the year before and that the cedar wood used in the walls was not as ready as they had thought. The cedar could be tasted and smelled in the sake.
Koji is what gives the rice its unique flavors depending upon what kind of rice it is cultivated on, the pH level of the water, the mineral content of it, and many other things are what make koji one of the most important ingredients of sake.
About The Author
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
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water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
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By Craig Chambers
No cook or chef, whether professional or just beginning, would be complete without a collection of great cooking tips. I have always loved finding an easy solution to a problem that makes the meals I cook better or saves me money. Over the years, I have collected these gems of knowledge from many people including my grandma, gourmet chefs of five star restaurants and the locals from the countries I have visited.
I have not only used these great ideas but have also awed friends and family with solutions to little problems everyone encounters in the kitchen. You will find that there are cooking tips for everything from preparing a meal to using substitutes in recipes. These tips will save you time, money and a lot of hassle. You may also find that once you think about it you have many of your own ideas that you can add to your collection simply by writing down.
There are many places to find great cooking tips and only requires a little investigating. Many people have great ideas that you will find very useful and a good way to start your collection is by asking your friends and family. Many people have come up with their own ways to prepare a meal faster, better or cheaper and you will benefit greatly from the experience of others. I have found that some of my most valued tips have come from the unique ways others do things.
The internet is also a great place to find helpful information and you will find great tips such as adding a little sugar to your pancakes to make them brown faster or putting your unripe fruit in a paper bag in a dark cupboard to ripen. By doing a little research and asking others for their ideas, you will soon acquire a collection of helpful kitchen hints and will have a wealth of knowledge available at your fingertips.
You will find many cooking tips that save you time in preparing a meal. I save a lot of time by chopping vegetables ahead of time or buying them precut. Buying prepared foods such as mashed potatoes, rice, or bagged salad instead of trying to make everything from scratch also reduces the time spent in preparation. I also like to use disposable paper or plastic plates, cups and utensils when appropriate.
This makes cleaning up after a meal or party very easy and allows you more time with your guests when entertaining. Another great tip my mom once gave me and one that has saved me many trips to the store, is to keep a running grocery list in the kitchen and write down the items I need throughout the week to avoid running to the store over and over again.
The more you look, the more simple solutions to every day kitchen problems you will find. For example, you can easily salvage an overly sweetened dish by simply stirring in a half teaspoon of vinegar to balance the flavors. I have used this tip for a number of dishes that I thought were ruined and managed to create a great meal. Another one of my favorite cooking tips is coating the inside of the pot lid when cooking pastas, custards and milk to keep the pot from boiling over.
This saves you the hassle of having to clean up a mess and possibly ruining the meal or dessert you are making. Cooking timers can also help prevent a pot from boiling over or a meal from burning and allow you to turn your attention to the task at hand and prepare other items. Because you will come across so many great tips, it is a good idea to write them all down or include the appropriate tip along with the recipe in your recipe box. Before long you will have a valuable collection of ideas and many great cooking tips.
About The Author
Craig Chambers is a cooking enthusiast who enjoys sharing cooking tips and offers extensive free cooking guides, tips and resources on his website www.cookingyourbest.com
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July 28th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By faye bautista
According to an issue of Travel+Leisure magazine, Virginia is one of the five up-and-coming wine destinations worldwide. Parts of Italy, Chile, Spain and New Zealand rounded out the Top Five. Virginia is home to over 100 wineries and there are wine trails that make tasting trips easy to plan.
These regions have a mix of restaurants, lodging and other attractions, he said, such as the Boar’’s Head Inn in Charlottesville. “The idea is there’’s a critical mass of stuff,” he said. “I think of it as great places to stay, a terrific local cuisine and wines worthy of seeking out to visit.” These regions don”t match Tuscany or Napa Valley, but they are emerging as wine tourism destinations, he said. “These are places that are the next echelon,” Schoenfeld said. “Now the idea is where to go next with places that will surprise you.”
This is a welcome boost for the state’’s wine industry after crops were slammed by a storm late last month. Many grape crops were ravaged by pounding hail and strong winds during a storm, and farmers will have to determine if any of the vines will survive.
Texas ranks fifth among wine-producing states. It’’s becoming a hot industry down there and consumers want to drink more and more homegrown vino. The popularity has piqued the interest of many people who are considering getting into the business, but growing grapes is not all wine and roses.
From The Southwest Farm Press:
“A lot of people associate owning a vineyard with some kind of Napa Valley lifestyle, but it’’s not for the faint of heart, especially while you”re getting through the start-up period.” he said. “Anyone getting into this business needs to realize it’’s the ultimate hands-on farming operation. There’’s a lot of work to do in the field, plus you have to be aware of weather, plant disease and many other factors beyond your control.” The eclectic mix of growing environments in the North Texas region pose greater challenges than other areas of the state, added Fran Pontasch, Extension viticulture advisor for that area. “Every limiting factor (to wine-grape production) can be found in the region,” she said. “Low pH, high pH, heat. It pretty much depends on where you are. That’’s why site selection is so important.” Pontasch counsels newcomers to viticulture to have their soil and water tested before planting, she said.
Each region presents its own challenges, but for those with a passion, it can be a great way to spend your life!
While Idaho, has been known for a long time as one of the states in the U.S. that isn”t that easy to get a drink in. In fact, they only recently lost one of their last “dry” counties, so they are bursting at the seams it seems. Now that they can drink, they can also start planting their own vineyards and making their own wine along the Snake River Valley. This river goes through a pretty large portion of the state, so this is a pretty big deal.
From Idaho Wine Industry Gets Major Boost:
It’’s a first for the state of Idaho that could bring in big dollars. The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has designated Idaho’’s Snake River Valley as an American Viticultural Area, or AVA. That distinction brands the southern portion of the state as America’’s next great wine region.
As of April 9th, Idaho’’s Snake River Valley will take its place among 236 AVA’’s in the U.S.A. a third of which are in California. “It’’s an exciting time,” said Ron Bitner, owner of Bitner Vineyards and the acting director of the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission, “We are finally going to take off and be part of the Idaho culinary experience.”
The AVA extends along the Snake River, east to west, from the Twin Falls area into Oregon. Several factors make this region prime for growing grapes.
About The Author
The author writes about Bare Foot Wine and blogs at hhttp://www.celebrate-wine.com/.
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By Josh Stone
It starts with the cacao tree, which is about as far away from a Hershey bar as you can get. It is a small evergreen tree native to the deep tropical regions of South America, ranging from far southern Mexico to the Amazon. You pick a big, green, almond-shaped melon off of this tree and split it open. If you are lucky enough to have found one of the five in one hundred cacao tree pods to produce cacao beans, you find about twenty to forty of them inside.
These beans don”t taste even remotely like chocolate at this point. They have to be washed, laid out in the sun to ferment and harden, dried, and shipped off to be cooked, ground, and processed before they can even be used as an ingredient.
The cacao bean’’s first use is shrouded in the legends of the tribal customs of Mesoamericans, Amazonians, and Aztecs, and decorated with rich myths involving Mayan gods and sacrifices to Quetzalcoatl. It was a food, a tonic, a gift from the volcano gods, a medicine, a shaman ritual. It is written about in the most ancient carved stone hieroglyphics on the walls of crumbing temples.
It was even used as currency. Not just a back-up currency, but the main unit of wealth amongst the native South Americans. Two hundred beans was a male turkey; one hundred beans was the daily wage of a laborer. A mere three beans bought an avocado. No less than 980 canoe-loads of the cacao bean were the annual demanded tribute of taxes collected by the Aztec empire.
None other than Christopher Columbus himself first discovered the cacao beans, though he described them as “almonds” which he at first mistook for rabbit droppings. Columbus captured a canoe filled with these artifacts, but the crew dumped it out as worthless garbage. The Spanish explorer Cortez was the first to knowingly encounter cacao, which was consumed by the natives as a drink during Cortez’’s meetings with Montezuma.
Cortez was the first white human to get a sip of the tasty concoction, and even he only got that lucky through being mistaken for a white prophet prophesied by their legends. This time cacao beans made it back to Europe, introduced to the royal court of Spain in 1544. Chocolate had at last been introduced to the New World.
It spread like wildfire across all of Europe within a century, being used for everything from the basis of liqueur to a medicinal tincture. As a beverage, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called “xocoatl”, flavored with vanilla, which you would expect, and also flavored with chile pepper and annatto, which is alarming. It was believed to be a stimulant, and hence used to fight fatigue. This is now known to be from the compound theobromine, which is like caffeine and is found in chocolate.
Other drink combinations involved a maize paste, assorted fruits, and honey. Coming up to 1689, the physician Mans Sloane developed a chocolate drink which was originally intended for apothecary use, but the recipe for it was eventually bought by the Cadbury brothers. The first modern commercial interest in chocolate began.
In the scheme of things today, two thirds of the cacao bean harvest comes from Ghana, the Ivory Coast and other counties along the African equator. Cacao is also cultivated in the rain forests of Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and other parts of Central and South America, as well as the Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The manufacturing of chocolate occurs mostly in countries such as Switzerland, France, Belgium, Italy, England and the United States.
A percentage of about 70% cacao beans is considered necessary to call candy “chocolate”, although there’’s no accounting for chocolate flavoring, cocoa extract, and artificial flavoring. The cheapest chocolate candy commonly sold in the United States bears about as much resemblance to cacao-based chocolate as it does to car wax, being mostly sugar and fat. Milk chocolate usually contains up to 50% cacao.
White chocolate contains only about 33% cacao. The mass-produced chocolate contains much less cacao - as low as 7% in many cases - and are made with fats other than cocoa butter. Currently, mass-manufacturers such as Hershey and Nestle are lobbying the United States congress to remove the restriction against calling something with no cacao content “chocolate”. That 7% is just killing them!
Other chocolate manufacturers in Europe boast up to 88% cacao bean content, and one hard-core Swiss chocolate and confectionery company founded in 1845, name of Lindt, boasts a bar that is 99% pure. The Lindt chocolate is an interesting experience, best taken in very small quantities rather than in fistfuls like the average candy binger. It really separates the true chocolate gourmand from the casual sugar-craver, as it is actually quite bitter and strong.
But what, you didn”t think there was just one kind of bean, did you? Oh, no, wine snobs know their grapes, coffee addicts know their beans, and as a chocolate fancier, you”ll never get anywhere without knowing your cacao. The three main cultivated varieties are Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario.
Criollo is the rarest and most expensive cacao, native to Central America and the Caribbean islands. Forastero is the wild and cultivated cacaos which are native to the Amazon basin, but can be cultivated in places like Africa. Trinitario is just a natural hybrid of the other two varieties.
Nearly 95% of the chocolate you find in the world is of the Forastero variety, so seeking out the other will be quite a hunt. Cacao is naturally hard to cultivate; it grows only in a narrow band limited to twenty degrees north or south of the equator. A single night of below-sixty degree temperatures kills a cacao tree.
To settle an old dispute: yes, eating chocolate really does feel like falling in love. The consumption of a chocolate piece releases both dopamine and serotonin in the brain, the exact same two chemicals which the body rewards the brain with during passionate love. This is a marked effect of the chocolate itself, not the sugar and fat.
About The Author
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July 26th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Shannon N Jefferson
Chicken Wings Recipes are the one of the fastest and famous dish among children. Here are below 3 easy and fast ways to cook them. For food lovers, here is a very exciting way to do home cooking and to eat as you like with little money spend.
Hot Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients:
1 x Oil for frying (optional)
1/2 cup of Melted butter
2 1/2 lb of Chicken wings
6 oz of Tabasco sauce or hot sauce
Instructions:
At the joints, separate the wings into two parts. Fill a large pan with half oil then heat it up to 360F. For about 10-15 minutes fry the wings until it becomes crispy. Heat the oven to 450F before you start cooking. Display the wings on a baking sheet and let it cook until 45 minutes.
For the sauce, mix up the hot sauce or Tabasco together with melted butter and mix it thoroughly. When the chicken are ready, cover it with the sauce you have just prepared above, and serve as quickly as possible.
Serves: 2-6 people
Mandarin Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients:
20 Chicken wings
3 Eggs
6 tb Water
Cooking oil
1 cup of Sugar
1 1/2 cup of Cornstarch
1/2 cup of Catsup
1/2 cup of Slivered almonds, walnuts
1/4 cup of Water
1/8 teaspoon of Garlic salt
1/8 cup of Soy sauce
3/4 cup of Vinegar
Remove the tips and split the wings at first joint. Clean it well with water and dry it on a paper towel and put some garlic salt on it. Combine eggs, water and cornstarch; turn it into a kind of soft batter. Deep fry the wings in oil after dipping the wings into the batter.
For the sauce, in a pan, cover all wings equally. Mix up water, soy sauce, sugar, catsup, vinegar and boil them all together and at random turn the mixture. As the mixture thicken , on a medium heat add the wings and cook them. Stir in way that all wings are covered totally with the sauce.
Honey Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup of Honey
1 Garlic clove crushed
1/2 cup of Soy sauce
2 lb Chicken wings, disjointed & tips discarded
2 tablespoon of Ketchup
2 tablespoon of Vegetable oil
Freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees then with pepper, season the chicken. In a cooking dish, place the chicken. Mix together soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic and oil until well mix together. Cover the chicken with the mixture. Cook for about 40-50 minutes until the wings are cook and the sauce is thick.
About The Author
Shannon N. Jefferson gets her recipes from http://quickrecipesdy.info/ so be sure to stop by and check for new updates. She also loves to eat awesome restaurant recipes at: http://secretrecipesdy.info/
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By Ksana Vera
Bulimia nervosa, generally known as bulimia, is a psychologically stirred eating disorder whereby a person experiences regular phases of binge eating (overeating) which is followed by a compensatory act like purging, fasting or exercise. Bulimia tends to affect young women more frequently and is stimulated by psychological concerns like lack of control, self-esteem etc. It is potentially harmful and can lead to several health-related issues like dehydration, malnutrition, insomnia, diabetes, anemia, arthritis, depression, hypertension and many others.
Although bulimia is hard to diagnose during the early stages, it should be dealt with immediately and regularly to ensure a speedy and permanent recovery. It is essential to treat bulimia such that its symptoms do not return with time; this requires the careful consideration and selection of the most effective treatment method among several like self-recovery, therapy, anti-psychotics, inpatient programs and anonymous centers.
A recent study was conducted on the influence on brain chemicals on our moods. According to this study, an irregular level of a brain chemical called serotonin is primarily responsible for causing bulimia. Serotonin causes our bodies to rely on external sources for its supply; as a result, one may binge on the available food to quench this desire.
Although antidepressants are available that help to balance out the levels of serotonin, its side-effects make it a less preferred alternative.
Dr. Judith Wurtman, the director of the Program in Womens Health at the MIT Clinical Research Center (CRC), spent 17 years studying the correlation between food, mood and brain chemistry. Relying on her comprehensive study, she remarked that biochemical differences are prevalent between people who binge and who do not binge. On the basis of this finding, she asserts that it is essential to target this difference for the treatment of bulimia. In this manner, bulimic people can be helped to get rid of their self-esteem, guilt and anxiety issues.
Dr. Wurtman bases her theory on the consumption of carbohydrates and starchy foods; she says that serotonin can be produced in the brain when carbohydrate-rich foods are eaten. Certain people have the habit of eating sweet and starchy foods when they are tensed or anxious; they do this in an attempt to self-medicate. Similarly, moods can greatly be regulated by achieving a serotonin balance in the brain which is possible with the consumption of carbohydrates.
Serotonin, in this manner, forces the individual to take in carbohydrates and this helps to regain composure; Dr. Wurtman expresses this in simple words. She said that when produced in sufficient quantity, serotonin makes people feel less anxious, less depressed, more alert, more emotionally stable. But, on the other hand, when it is not available in sufficient quantities in the brain, it sets up feelings of emotional discomfort, depressed feelings, anxiety, inability to focus, and an irresistible craving to eat sweet and starchy foods.
About The Author
Ksana Vera,recovered bulimic. Her voice carries a weight and authority with it that many others cannot offer. At her website you will discover how you can end your problem with Bulimia once and for all.http://www.cureforbulimia.com
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By Stephanie Foster
There are some days when kids just don”t want to be out from underfoot. Or you just have too much going on with them that day, and despite being home it’’s really hard to find a way to get dinner cooked.
No parent ever claimed that it was easy every day.
If you”re wanting to provide your family with a home-cooked meal every day you have to figure out how to make it work. If you plan ahead and have a few tricks up your sleeve, you can do it.
Rule 1: Plan ahead.
You don”t always know when the kids are going to be difficult. But that doesn”t mean you can”t plan ahead. Knowing early on what you”re going to make for dinner or lunch can keep you from making rushed decisions and allow you to make healthier meals for your family.
If you can plan your weekly menu on a convenient day for your shopping, you ensure that you will have the ingredients you need for each meal. There are few things when you”re cooking more frustrating than to think you know what you want to make and realizing you”re out of a vital ingredient.
Rule 2: Chop early, chop often.
Think about the various fruits and vegetables you buy. How often do you need to chop them for dinner or even just for snacks? Wouldn”t your life be easier if they were ready to go when you needed them?
Don”t bother buying them chopped from the grocery store. They cost quite a bit more that way as a rule. Instead, chop them up at home. Find the time and get it done. Having fruits and vegetables ready to eat or cook with means that you”re more likely to eat them.
Rule 3: The slow cooker is your friend.
I love my slow cooker. I can start dinner at a time convenient to me. First thing in the morning or just 4 or so hours before we need to eat. The flexibility is wonderful when you aren”t sure how you”re going to get time to cook at dinnertime.
This is especially useful if your kids are in a lot of activities that run right up to dinnertime. You can save a lot of money if you don”t feel like you have to eat out every time just because it’’s so late. The slow cooker will keep dinner warm for you.
Using a slow cooker isn”t the only time you can start dinner well in advance. Soups can simmer for hours and need only occasional attention. Think about the meals that have longer cooking times but aren”t all that hard to prepare.
Rule 4: Keep the kitchen organized and clean.
With kids it’’s easy to have dishes stack up. Take a few moments and load the dishwasher or wash the dishes after every meal. It just adds to the stress when you”re trying to cook and the kitchen is an absolute mess.
Rule 5: Know when to use the microwave.
Sometimes the microwave just adds to the chaos. It’’s incredibly easy to use and convenient most times, but other times it’’s one more thing to do when practically everything else is ready.
Decide which is really easier for you. Throwing the potatoes in the microwave just minutes before you need them or throwing them in the oven an hour earlier. Steaming vegetables in the microwave or steaming them on the stove. The faster method sometimes is better, other times adds to the last steps of cooking a good dinner. Which works best for you?
Rule 6: Let the kids help when possible.
Younger children in particular love to help cook. While you can”t have young children stirring a pot on the stove, they can do things such as help to make the salad if the vegetables are chopped for them.
Older children may be at the point where they should be learning to cook, chop or just set the table. Assign chores and make a routine of it. They may complain and it may be harder for a little, but if it’’s a routine there will eventually be less for them to complain about. It’’s just a part of how they can help keep your home running smoothly.
Rule 7: Use your freezer.
No, don”t put the kids in there. When you can, make double recipes and put the excess in the freezer for another night. You”ll have to learn what freezes well; some vegetables really don”t do so well after being cooked then frozen. But you can make extra of just the meat part of the meal if you like and have a much easier time preparing dinner another night.
About The Author
Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.homewiththekids.com/blog/ about being a stay at home mom. She shares more cooking tips at her site.
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