With summer all but faded, Americans are saying goodbye to one of their favorite picnic treats. Deviled eggs are hard boiled eggs that have had their yolks mashed with other ingredients and placed back into their egg-white “cups.” While they are a popular appetizer during the summer months in the United States, they are also love the world over. In France, these delicacies are called oeuf mimosa. Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany refer to this concoction as Russian Eggs (because they are filled with caviar and served with rémoulade sauce). No matter what they are called, they are an easy to make and highly delicious dish.

The concept of spicy stuffed eggs can be traced all the way back to Ancient Rome and by the 13th century these treats were quite common. In the 16th and 17th century this egg dish began to resemble the deviled eggs of today when it became common to combine just the yolks with spices such as cayenne pepper and mustard.

In fact, the term “deviled” did not come about until the 18th century. In 1786 this term was printed in reference to highly seasoned foods that were fried or boiled. By the 19th century it had evolved to describe foods that were hotly spiced. This most likely is the result of the cultural symbolism involving the devil and his fiery pit in the afterlife. Modern tongue now uses the term “deviled” in reference to foods that are dark, rich, chocolaty, and heavily seasoned (most likely because of the guilt factor when eating these delicacies).

While deviled egg recipes vary, today’s treat involves the hard boiled yolks being mashed with mayonnaise and mustard. Some people add paprika, or tartar sauce, or Worcestershire sauce to the yolks. Others add diced pickles, pickle relish, or corn relish to the mix. And, still others add sugar, salt, and/or black pepper. Other common ingredients include: cayenne pepper, chipotle, vinegar, green olives, pimentos, poppy seed, and minced onion.

Less common, but quite delicious, ingredients are: horseradish, cheese, wasabi, garlic, chutney, mushrooms, capers, sour cream, salsa, spinach, hot sauce, caviar, smoked salmon, and seafood.

Regardless of what you add to your yolks, all deviled eggs start with a simple “hard boiling.” Most people fill a pan of water and boil the eggs for 10 or more minutes, but end up quite disappointed when the yolk forms a “green shell.” To avoid the “greening” of the yolk, you must think of hard boiling as a misnomer. While the perfect hard boiled egg is boiled, it really isn’t boiled hard.

Place the eggs in a single layer in a sauce pan and fill the pan with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Heat the saucepan until the water just begins to boil then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove (to prevent further boiling). Cover the pan and leave the eggs to sit (12 minutes for medium size eggs, 15 minutes for large size eggs, and 18 minutes for extra large sized eggs). Then, run the eggs under cold water until completely cooled. The egg whites and yolks will be completely solidified without any “greening.”

There is also a trick to peeling a hard boiled egg without painstakingly picking off little egg shell bits. First, crackle the eggs shell by tapping gently all over. Then, roll the egg between your two hands to loosen the shell. You should be able to start at the large end and just peel the shell off.

Hard boiled eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week if they remain in their shells. If shelled, you must eat that egg in the same day. Of course, you will not have to worry about freshness if you devil those eggs because they will be eaten within moments of their creation.

Labels: Tips

Winter is right around the corner and it has you wondering how to save as much of your garden’s harvest before the frost hits. If your harvest is full of fresh herbs, then you are in luck. Many times, using traditional preserving methods of produce with the use of herbs will help retain, or compliment, the natural flavor of your harvest. While there are a plethora of herbs available, traditional herb gardens include: basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, sage, chives, and mint.

Preserving your garden herbs is much easier than other fruits and vegetables. Typically, herbs can be dried, made into a pesto, or infused into oils and vinegars. Drying fresh herbs is probably the easiest way to keep them for the long term. Just tie the herbs into a bunch and hang them upside down in a dark, cool place. It is important to only keep dried herbs for less than a year because over time they will begin to lose their flavor.

Making herbs into a pesto is the best way to freeze herbs. Fresh herbs normally cannot be frozen because the herbs will turn black in the freezer and will be too limp for use when thawed. Making the herbs into a pesto solves this dilemma. Pesto, by definition, is a mixture of herbs, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. For the purposes of herb preservation, though, the cheese should be left out of the recipe.

Any herb can be used to make a pesto. And, in most cases, the color of the herb can be saved if you blanch the herb before making it into a pesto. Blanching involves dipping the herb into boiling water for one full minute then immediately plunging it into an ice water bath.

After the pesto is made, freeze it in ice cube trays so that you will have pre-made portions ready for use.

Herbs can also be saved using oils and vinegars. To infuse the herb's flavor into oil, combine in a food processor a half cup of the herb and one cup of olive oil. Once processes, strain the oil to remove the bits of herbs. This oil can be stored for only up to one week (longer if lemon juice or vinegar is added) in the refrigerator. Oil tends to be a breeding ground for bacteria, so it is wise to not go beyond the one week limit.

Herb infused vinegar does not have the risk of bacteria growth because it is very acidic. Simply add the herb to the vinegar and let it sit. This flavor infused vinegar can be kept for a very long time.

The rest of your harvest can be preserved using several tried and true methods: salt, sugar, vinegar, rosemary, and bay leaves. While salt is technically a mineral, it has been used as a preservative for centuries, especially where meat is concerned. Salted meat can last for many years because the salt inhibits the bacteria growth that spoils the meat. It also protects foods from yeast and molds.

Sugar is also not an herb, but it is another natural food preservative. Sugar draws the water out of bacteria and microorganisms, thus killing them and/or inhibiting the growth. On a side note, honey (a natural sweetener), is bacteria free, thus anything sealed in a jar of honey will remain as fresh as when it was picked.

Vinegar kills the microbes that spoil food. It is here that your preserved herb garden can come into play. Matching up flavor infused vinegars with various produce will either compliment or save the flavor of your food. Vinegar (or flavor infused vinegar) can be used to preserve other items in the refrigerator. Cheese wrapped in a vinegar damp cloth will not dry out. Ham and bacon wrapped in a vinegar soaked cloth will remain fresh.

Rosemary leaves, when distilled, preserve the color and flavor of your produce. Bay leaves, when dried, are great for repelling insects from your dried goods. Place a bay leaf inside your flour, sugar, rice, oatmeal, or dried legumes canisters (and any other dried goods you have). Most insects, including ants, can’t stand the bay leaf’s fragrance.

Not only will growing herbs increase the value of your garden, they will increase the longevity of your foods and the quality of your meals.

Labels: Tips

It’s that time of year when everyone’s favorite pome fruit comes into season. While there is a variety or two available year round, most apple crops are harvested between late August to mid October. Apples flourish in the cooler/temperate regions of the world with China producing the most (41% of the world’s apples) and the United States coming in second for apple production.

The US produces about 4.6 million metric tonnes of apples a year. In fact, apples are only second to oranges as a valuable fruit crop. Fifty percent (50%) are eaten as fresh fruit; 20% are made into vinegar, cider, wine, juice, jelly, and apple butter; 17% are canned for applesauce and pie filling; and 13% are exported to other countries. The top three apple producing states are Washington State, Michigan, and New York. Following behind are Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California.

All varieties of apple are derived from a fruit tree native to Eastern Europe and South-western Asia. Apples are a member of the rose family (remember that roses make rose hips which is a fruit similar to apples). Their compartmentalized core is what classifies them as a pome fruit. Today there are over 7,000 varieties of apples available.

Everyone has heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” This is a very true statement. Apples contain a larger quantity of phosphates than any other vegetable or fruit. They also contain a very long list of antioxidants that have been proven to protect the heart and circulation. Containing about 15% of the recommended daily value of dietary fiber, apples also stand out in the areas of lung health. While not conclusive, they have been shown to protect against lung cancer and asthma.

When choosing apples at a store (or a farmer’s market), the desired flavor should determine the variety. In general, Red and Golden Delicious are sweet, Braeburn and Fuji are slightly tart, and Gravenstein, Pippin, and Granny Smith are the most tart (and retain their texture during cooking).

Choose apples that are firm with a rich color. Coloring of an apple can tell you a lot about how and where it was grown. Apples that have a slight blush to their skin (regardless of color) were grown in the sunshine (yellow or green apples with the slight blush are the best “eating” apples). Circular shadows in the color indicate that the fruit was not alone on the branch. Russet coloring around the stem indicates that the fruit hung upright and rainwater gathered there. Apples that were subjected to hail storms have russet colored spots.

When choosing an apple juice, select those that are “cloudy” instead of clear because they retain more nutrients and antioxidants.

Apples do not lose much of their nutritional and antioxidant levels during storage. After 200 days, the levels are similar to where they were when the apple was first harvested. It is the processing of apples that lowers these values. This is why fresh apples are always better for your health than apple juice.

Apples also ripen faster at room temperature than they do if kept in the refrigerator.

When eating an apple, it is important to not peal it. The valuable acids and salts in the apple are located just below the skin. But, if you are going to peel and/or cut your apple, placing the apple pieces in a bowl of cold water with a spoonful of lemon juice will prevent browning of the fruit. Apple slices also freeze quite well in plastic bags and containers.

Apples go back through much of human existence. While they vary in flavor and texture, their basic shape, taste, and nutritional value have remained unchanged through the centuries. And, despite advances in farming, apples are still mostly hand picked throughout the world.

Labels: Tips

The word diet has a lot of scary connotations. Many people associate it with food deprivation and look up the word as a death knoll to flavor and satiety. The actual definition of the word diet refers to food that is eaten, not eaten. A low-carb diet is a food plan where all of the complex carbohydrates are replaced with fats and proteins.

Ironically, for decades Americans have been taught to eat based on a food pyramid that emphasizes carbohydrates and keeps fat consumption low. The result of this mismanagement of food is that Americans are now the fattest people on the earth. Dieticians are only just beginning to see the error in their ways and have changed the “sensible diet” to weigh heavily on proteins, fats, and “good carbs” (high fiber fruits, nuts, green leafy vegetables).

There are a plethora of benefits from eating a “lo-carb” diet. Probably the most popular reason is that you can eat until you are full. Protein and fat increase satiety, so you are not very likely to leave the table hungry when eating lo-carb. A lo-carb diet burns fat, lowers the insulin in the body (diabetic friendly), reduces bad cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure.

Many people have tried, and succeeded in improving their health with following a strict lo-carb diet. But for some, the constant “carb counting” echoes the days of calorie-counting-food-deprivation. A low carbohydrate diet does not have to be that “clinical.” Just a few simple changes to how you shop and what you eat can have you “lo-carbing” like a pro.

High carbohydrate foods can be spotted at a glance: they all come in cans and boxes. That’s because any and all processing of food tremendously raises the carbohydrate count. Simply stated, if the food on your plate has ever passed through a factory, then don’t eat it.

The biggest change in your life will happen at the grocery store. When buying food, stick to the outer walls; never go up and down any aisles. All grocery stores keep their fresh produce, meats, and dairy (not, or least, processed foods) along the outer walls. The aisles are reserved for frozen, canned, and boxed foods (i.e. highly processed). Just be wary of the grocery store’s bakery. While the bakery is also along the outer wall, it is just a den of carbohydrate iniquity. Avoid it like the plague.

The next lifestyle change to make in a lo-carb diet is to increase your protein consumption. Chow down on all the meat you want. Roasted, fried, grilled, or boiled, you can eat your favorite meats to your heart’s content. (Note: remember that some lunch meats are highly processed and should be used less often than whole meats).

Avoid “diet” foods. While these foods have no carbohydrates, many of the chemicals in them have been proven to increase you cravings for carbs.

Never eat “white” food. White rice, white sugar, and white flour (and the foods made from these substances) are the most extremely processed foods on the planet and should be avoided.

You don’t need to stop eating the meal entrees you like; you just need to adjust your recipes a bit. Substitute spaghetti squash or eggplant for pasta. Zucchini, summer squash, shredded cabbage, and bean sprouts also make wonderful pasta substitutes.

Replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower. Celery root, turnips, and rutabagas are all successful alternative options for potatoes in your favorite recipes.

Grated cauliflower is an excellent replacement for rice. Shred the whole head in either a food processor or a hand grater then microwave (without water). Few people can tell the difference.

Avoid cereals and breads.

A healthy weight and diet can be had with very little effort and only minor changes to your eating lifestyle.

Labels: Tips

Whether you're a just learning how to cook or an expert in the kitchen, there are cooking questions that confound all of us. Some of these questions may be simple enough, still it can be difficult to find the answers to a certain question or there may be several correct answers to a question. We've collected some of these common questions, as well as the answers to such inquiries.

What staples should I keep on hand?
This answer depends on what type of cooking you do, but some very basic items are cooking oil, flour, salt, pepper, milk, butter or margarine and eggs. Pasta and bread are good to have around all the time for a quick meal as well. If you do a lot of Asian cooking, then rice and soy sauce are a must.

When I reheat my food in the microwave, what covering should I use?
There are several answers to this question and the answers depend on what you're reheating. For breads, a paper towel would be sufficient, while vegetables should be covered with wax paper. For larger, denser foods, a lid should be used.

How do I make the perfect vinaigrette?
A vinaigrette is a salad dressing made of oil and vinegar, plus an assorment of flavors and spices. A basic vinaigrette consists of 2 parts oil for every 1 part of vinegar, but it really depends on your preference.

How long can I keep meat in the freezer?
You really should consume fresh meat as soon as possible, but since this is hardly the case these days, meat can be stored up to a year in a freezer, providing it is kept at a constant 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celcius) never thawed out and re-frozen. However, the larger the cut of meat, the sooner it should be eaten.

Can I broil chicken/pork/beef instead of grilling it?
In principle, broiling and grilling are similar - cooking meat as close as possible to the heat source. The broiler in your oven might not heat up as much as a grill, so compensate by moving your food closer to the heat.

Why is my chicken breast dry?
Chicken meat is notorious for turning out dry. This is due mostly to overcooking, especially when baking chicken. Cooking times vary per chicken and even per oven or grill, so the best thing would be to watch the meat carefully to determine if it's cooked. There are also other methods to keep chicken moist - soaking it in brine, cooking with the skin on, coating in extra virgin olive oil, covering it while cooking - all of them work, just choose the one that works for you and recipe you're using.

How do I substitute dried herbs for fresh ones?
Dried herbs are much stronger that fresh ones, so you should keep that in mind when switch them. An easy way to remember this would be to change tablespoons to teaspoons when using dried herbs in place of fresh ones.

Help! My soup is too thick/thin!
Thick soups can easily be remedied by adding more liquid (such as water or broth), but be careful not to thin out the flavor as well. For too-thin soups, just take off the lid and some of the liquid evaporate. Adding some heavy cream and mashed potato flakes works as well. A mixture of flour or cornstarch and water will thicken a soup, but use sparingly or your soup will taste like flour.

Do you have any questions for us? Drop us a line and we'll answer it next time!

Labels: Tips

Reader's Digest publishes a list of "Things ____ Won't Tell You...", which is a compilation of "insider secrets" from different "professionals" from various industries. Checking out some of the words of advice, they are often insightful, though some can be pretty icky and may make you think twice about letting other people handle any of your food.

From "13 Things Your Waiter Won't Tell You"

- There are almost never any sick days in the restaurant business. A busboy with a kid to support isn't going to stay home and miss out on $100 because he's got strep throat. And these are the people handling your food.

- When customers' dissatisfaction devolves into personal attacks, adulterating food or drink is a convenient way for servers to exact covert vengeance. Waiters can and do spit in people's food.

- Never, ever come in 15 minutes before closing time. The cooks are tired and will cook your dinner right away. So while you're chitchatting over salads, your entrées will be languishing under the heat lamp while the dishwasher is spraying industrial-strength, carcinogenic cleaning solvents in their immediate vicinity.

From "13 Things Your Pizza Guy Won't Tell You" and "17 More Things Your Pizza Guy Won't Tell You"

- If I drop your pizza on the way, sometimes I'll shake the box to get the cheese to slide back on right.

- I probably break a speeding law once a day.

- Many delivery drivers are teenage boys, and most parents don't like their teenage boys driving around at night in downpours or blizzards. Yet these same people have no qualms about having other teenage kids deliver their pizza in these conditions.

From "Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share"
- I wish patients would take more responsibility for their own health and stop relying on me to bail them out of their own problems.

- One of the things that bug me is people who leave their cell phones on. I'm running on a very tight schedule, and I want to spend as much time with patients as I possibly can. Use that time to get the information and the process you need. Please don't answer the cell.

- Sometimes it's easier for a doctor to write a prescription for a medicine than to explain why the patient doesn't need it.

- Taking psychiatric drugs affects your insurability. If you take Prozac, it may be harder and more expensive for you to get life insurance, health insurance, or long-term-care insurance.

- In many hospitals, the length of the white coat is related to the length of training. Medical students wear the shortest coats.

- When a doctor tells you to lose 15 to 20 pounds, what he really means is you need to lose 50.

Labels: Tips

Ever wonder if you should throw out that slice of pizza from last night or if it’s still good? Sometimes a simple sniff (or even - blech – taste) test is not as accurate as you’d think it is. Germs can still be growing on our favorite food items, right under our noses and can cause sickness, especially to those most susceptible to infections. Real Simple Magazine advices that we should follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on common food items and their actual expiration dates. Some of their findings may surprise you:

Cooked Meat
Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days
Freezer: 2 to 3 months
Soup
Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days
Freezer: 2 to 3 months

Cooked Fish
Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days
Freezer: 4 to 6 months

For a complete list of items, go to the Real Simple website.

Labels: Tips

Earth Day may be over, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop “celebrating” it! Having an environmentally friendly meal is not just about the ingredients you choose in your meals, but can also be extended to what you do before and after. Here are a few earth-friendly (as well as frugal) tips so you can do your part to make everyday Earth Day!

• Let foods cool down naturally before placing them in your fridge
• Avoid opening the over doors while cooking. This can cool the temperature by 25 degrees, which can affect the cooking time of your food
• Aside from using the dishwasher only when it’s full, open the dishwasher door after it’s done cleaning and allow the dishes to dry naturally
• Unplug appliances when not in use
• Take advantage of natural light – open the windows to let this free resource in and avoid having to turn on the lights. If you’re already planning to do a renovation, consider adding skylights or arranging your working area so it gets the most amount of natural light during the day
• Natural cleansers can be found right under your nose – lemon juice and vinegar can be just as effective as any chemical-based soaps and detergents.

Got any other tips or ideas? Leave us a note!

Labels: Tips

A few times a year I'll have the pleasure of a visit from a dear friend of many years. Whenever she comes, we love to bake together. Last time she came during apple- and pumpkin-picking season, and we had a blast trying out different apple and pumpkin recipes.

This time, it was chocolate, fudge, and candy weekend.

The first picture shows the "cupcakes" - half of them made in cupcake tins and the other half in a popover pan. I only have one cupcake pan, and it was too late at night to do two batches in one pan.

The Chocolate Mint Cupcakes were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, the icing did not follow suit.

We should have used our powers of deduction to realize that unsweetened chocolate + butter + mint extract DOES NOT = sweet icing. However, we were blindly following the recipe.

Thankfully, we decided to test it out before icing all of our precious cakes. Yuck, bitter as anything!

First, we tried to add some powdered sugar. When that didn't work, we tried cream cheese. By this time it was very late at night so we gave up and left them until the next day. Just before we threw it out, we tried dipping in a few strawberries. Success!

If you find yourself with bitter frosting, try it on some strawberries. It just might save you from wasting a pan of chocolate.

We were out of butter, and didn't feel like making a trip to the store. So the next day we found this fantastic list of icing recipes.

We chose one, split it up in to several dishes, and colored each dish with a dot of food coloring. We had a blast decorating each cupcake with a design, and it made it much more fun than simple chocolate icing!

Labels: Desserts, Tips, Variations

If you’re looking to save a few bucks or just want to stay away from fast food during the lunch hour, then bringing your own lunch to work is a great alternative to eating out. But bringing your own lunch doesn’t necessarily mean that what you’ll be eating is instantly healthy. While pre-packaged food and microwaveable meals are the most convenient choices, they might not be right for you. While you don’t have to eat salad and soups everyday, making different choices when packing your lunch can make the difference.

1) Bring a balanced meal – that means you’ll need appropriate portions of lean protein, carbohydrates and fiber. Remember, you’re not even halfway through the day. You have to make sure that you’ll have plenty of fuel so you can power through until you clock out. Sandwiches made with wholegrain breads that have meat, plenty of vegetables and a slice of cheese compacts most of what you need in one handy meal, but don’t think that’s your only alternative. You can have a combination of beans, rice, pastas, hard-boiled eggs, fruit and even a serving of cereal, just to keep things interesting.

2) Make healthier choices – instead of packing chips, bring some carrot or cucumber sticks. Substitute fruit (fresh or dried) for candy bars. A handful of nuts can be an afternoon snack.

3) Drink water – it has no calories, no fat and is always good for you. Instead of reaching for that can of soda (diet or otherwise), just have a glass of water (and it’ll be free, if you just drink straight from the watercooler).

4) Keep dressings and condiments to a minimum – if you’re having a lean turkey sandwich with lots of lettuce, don’t slather it with mayonnaise; in fact, chuck the mayo altogether and use mustard or drizzle the bread with a little bit of olive oil.

Remember: Bringing your own food means you’ll have control over what it is you put into your body. Just make healthy choices and substitutions, and soon you’ll be a brown-bagging expert!

Labels: Healthy Ideas, Tips

This picture is my first try! It's not the best but boy am I proud of it! ;o)

Cake Decorating!! Most of us don't EVEN ATTEMPT to try making our own cakes because of the fear our time would be wasted and thinking it most likely will be a total disaster! I encourage you to GO FOR IT! TRY IT! Let what little artistic ability you have pierce through your stubborn mind! lol! ;o) Give it a whirl! You can do it!

What you need is a good butter cream frosting recipe, like this one, that you can adjust to different thicknesses, a standard cake recipe and a cake decorating kit found at Amazon or Michael's.

You will need colored frosting paste to color your frosting.

Go for it! You can do it! ;o) And if by chance you blow it the first time give it a second chance!

Labels: Desserts, Parties, Tips

Reader’s Digest came up with a very useful and interesting list of things you may or may not know when shopping at your local supermarket. Some of the advice given is certainly useful when selecting which products to buy (“Familiar produce turns over more quickly than exotic things”) or if you want to avoid any inconvenience (“If you hate crowds and lines, shop at dinnertime (5 to 9 p.m.) or even later”), others are quite enlightening (“The baby formula is locked up because thieves resell it on the black market”).

Here is the complete list (plus an additional list can be found here).

The article mentions that these tips may “change your family eating habits”. What do you think?

Labels: Tips

For many people these days, the battle of the bulge has been compounded by a battle of the shrinking wallet. Striking a balance between eating healthy and stretching the dollar is sometimes a losing battle, with nutrition waving the white flag of defeat. When faced with financial difficulties, it’s human nature to go for the quickest and cheapest source of energy, whether it be a quick trip to the fast food counter or a ready-to-heat microwaveable meal.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, you can still achieve your goal without going over budget. Planning, timing and common sense are all you need. Here are a few tips to help you along:

1) Stock up on frozen vegetables – believe it or not, they can be just as nutritious as fresh vegetables, at the fraction of the cost. Frozen vegetables are picked right when they are ripe. While re-heating them and serving them as-is doesn’t compare to the taste of fresh produce, adding them to stews or soups can be a great way to use them. Make sure you buy whole frozen vegetables, as pre-cut ones tend to be expensive.

2) Buy locally-grown, in-season items – if you must have fresh produce, choosing items in season will definitely lower costs. Also, try to find alternate sources of food, aside from the supermarket. Farmer’s markets or farmer’s roadside stands can sometimes be full of bargains, especially if the seller doesn’t have to travel too far. Don’t be afraid to venture into your local Chinatown, if you have one. It’s easy to be intimated, but the stores often sell the same produce as any big box supermarket, at a fraction of the cost.

3) Find alternate sources of protein – Beans can be a good source of protein, not to mention inexpensive, especially if you buy in bulk, instead of canned. Tofu is another alternative, though the best prices can be found in Asian supermarkets (pick up the non-branded ones, they’re just as good as the well-known brands).

4) Double a recipe, but control portions – Making double batches of a recipe and freezing half is a well-known trick to saving money, but this time, make smaller portions per meal. This will surely save you some time preparing dinner, as well as limiting your servings.

5) Don’t forget to exercise – a truly balanced weight loss plan includes regular exercise. There can be low-cost alternatives to gym memberships or expensive classes and equipment. Walking and running is always free, and your local YMCA will often have a no-frills gym with basic equipment for a small membership fee.

Losing weight and staying fit need not be expensive. With a little bit of effort and lot of planning, you can achieve your goals. If you have any other suggestions, please email us – we’d love to hear from you!

Labels: Tips

Today’s post is a round up of the best meal preparation and recipe videos from You Tube!

1) How to Cook the Right Food Portions for Elementary School Children

This one comes from ExpertVillage.com and Lisa Crone of Best Epicurean. This video is chock-full of ideas for those with school-age children. Lisa gives us some tips on how to measure for the right amount of food for kids in middle school and elementary, as well as making sure the portions are healthy and nutritious.




2) Raw Food Recipes: Healthy Cooking Tips for Quick & Easy Meals : Assembling a Vegan Spring Rolls

Eating raw vegetables is not only healthy for you, but can save you time when preparing meals! Nili Nathan shows us how easy it is to assemble these yummy vegan spring rolls.




3) Nutrition Tips for Healthy Living : Healthy Snacks & Quick Meals

Busy people will find these tips from wellness consultant Isabelle Simon useful. She shares with us some practical ideas one how to stay healthy, when you just can’t stay put!




4) How to Cook a Credit Crunch Busting Meal - Eggy Bubble and Squeak!

From across the pond, Vicki Nowak demonstrates how to make this delicious traditional British meal that’s easy to cook and easy on the budget.




5) How to Make Chicken Stock

Making your own chicken stock is healthy, cheap and it is a great base for sauces and soups. Derek Allen shows us how to make stock (and store it) from leftover bones – nutritious and economical!


If you want to share your own favorite videos, let us know! Leave us a comment or send us an email!

Labels: Tips

We asked Chef Max, who writes his own blog, for some professional tips we can use when cooking and preparing meals at home. He not only gave us some tips, but he also wrote an entire blog post about it! With his permission, we are posting his ideas here on the DinnerBeat blog as well! Thanks Chef Max!




1. Mise en Place- This is the number 1 reason restaurant Chefs can pull everything together as fast as they can and make it look so easy and taste so good. Mise en place is french (loosely) for having all ingredients and cooking utensils ready to cook. If you get halfway thorough a dish you are making and realize you have not chopped up an onion or do not have enough of an ingredient, you throw off the balance and timing of the dish. Prep everything ahead of time and lay them out on a pan or a section of your kitchen. It looks sexy when everything is set and you can then start putting the dish together. (O.k. I'm a food geek). These days when I cook at home a Barney or Wiggles video is part of my mise en place to keep the kids out of the kitchen.

2. Check through the recipe before cooking- Boring but necessary. Have you ever gotten part of the way through a recipe for dinner only to realize you need to marinate the chicken for 24 hrs?

3. Go with the flow- If the recipe calls for tomatoes, and the ones you bought from the store suck, change the dish. This is how 75% of new recipes are developed. In restaurants the daily special is "What do we have on hand that we need to use up?"(Not all restaurants do this all the time...)

4. Cut for a couple of meals - If you are cutting an onion or other hearty vegetables you can dice up the whole thing and save what you do not need for the next meal. By the third night I have every thing cut for a fast pasta.

5. Clean as you go - Again boring but very necessary. I am a virgo so this is probably hard wired into me, but it saved me countless times in the kitchen. It also reduced the amount of time my first Chefs would yell and curse at me. If you hate cleaning pull a Tom Sayer and enlist the help of one of your kids or friends. My daughters want to learn to cook so this is one of the things I have them help with. It’s really fun, trust me.

6. Cook with seasonal ingredients - When you cook items within their season they have more flavor and you look brilliant. Yes everything is in season someplace in the world right now, but if it had to be picked while it was unripe just so it could make it to your kitchen before it went bad, is it really in season? No restaurant should have a caprese salad on their menu in January.

7. Plan to use your leftovers - I roast off a chicken on Monday and make risotto on Tuesday with the leftover chicken and make a fast stock out of the carcass.

8. Sharp Knives - Get them sharpened or learn to do it yourself. This makes everything easier and safer. Plus when you cut yourself it heals better. Yea, the last one may be stretching it a bit but I was always told that. I don't know if it is really true and I do not want to think about knife cuts right now, it gives me shivers.

9. Toast your whole spices - Peppercorns, fennel, cumin seed, etc. Put in a dry pan on low heat until they start to pop. Shake the pan so nothing sticks or burns on one side. Cool on a plate or sheet pan. I do this with all my whole spices and then put them into pepper grinders. The heat brings out the essential oils and gives the spice a deeper bright flavor. If you only do one, do the pepper. You will never go back.

10. Fresh herbs - Thyme, oregano, basil are all easy to grow inside and make a big difference in cooking. Fresh is always preferred to dry herbs in cooking. Dried herbs are good for long cooking items like sauces or stews, but adding fresh herbs towards the end of the cooking time of any dish will liven it up and give it a very pleasant flavor profile.


If you have other questions or comments for Chef Max, he’s always willing to answer! You can email him at chefmax@mac.com.

Labels: Tips

Today I had the opportunity to try out a new trick that I learned from a friend (thanks, Jenny!). Have you ever had problems getting a toddler to eat her sandwich? Not again! This method turns an ordinary sandwich into a gobbled-up snack! Here's the procedure:

1) Take two pieces of bread and cut off the crusts.

2) Layer one slice of cheese and one slice of meat.

3) Squish the sandwich until it's as flat as possible. This is the most important step. If it isn't compressed enough, the pieces will separate. If you are having trouble getting it flat, you can put something heavy on top, such as a heavy frying pan, and let it sit for a while. Another alternative is to use a rolling pin.

4) Cut the sandwich into 1/2 inch squares.

This is a perfect on-the-go meal!

Labels: Picky Eater, Tips