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How To Make Your Food Healthier? Here Are Some Tips

A picture taken, of A Green Salad.

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It is important to eat nutritious food. Well, do you know any tips or tricks to improve the nutrition level of your food? Do you know how you can make your food healthier? This can be very useful when you have kids who need extra nutrients to ensure proper health.

Don’t Cook

Uncooked food is the healthiest. Food automatically loses nutrients the moment you cook the food. The food that is boiled in water will lose nutrients to the water which will then get evaporated. Food that is fried will react with the oil and become less healthy. Keep it raw and you will be eating very nutritious food.

The idea of eating raw vegetables for breakfast, lunch or dinner may not seem appetizing. This is where you should try to make as many salads as possible. Even the blandest vegetable mixed with a bit of vinegar and lemon sauce should be enough to create a tasty salad.

Keep it wet

Sprouts are very good for health. Ordinary pulses will become a lot healthier if you allow them to germinate. The best part is that you do not have to do anything to facilitate the germination process. Just provide a moist environment for the sprouts to grow and you will automatically enjoy healthier food that has been kept overnight.

You have the option of cooking these sprouts or adding them to the salads. Whichever way you choose, make sure that the nutrients are not lost because of the cooking or the preparatory process. Stick to these tips and you will find that your family is fitter, healthier and eats better.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Food, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

Donating Does Not Have to Hurt

For some reason, many people think that donating to charity is a pain. They put it off, they make excuses to avoid doing it, and they tell themselves they have nothing of value to donate that they could possibly part with. None of this is true, because there are a myriad of reasons to donate, and there are plenty of things that you can donate that are not going to affect your life at all.

  1. Canned Food: There is bound to be canned food that you bought but do not want to eat. The shelf life on most canned food is long enough that you can donate things that have been sitting in your pantry for a while. Make sure to check the dates on everything before you clear out your pantry.
  2. That Old Junker: If you have a car in your possession that you are not using, why not donate it to a worthy cause such as Kars for Kids?
  3. Books: Books from children that have left home, textbooks a college child no longer needs, and your collection of read-and-forgotten paperbacks can all benefit a charity that can resell them and donate the proceeds to families in need.
  4. Clothing: If it doesn’t fit, donate it. Clothing your children have outgrown can benefit a family that has no clothing to sustain them. Go through your whole home and purge clothing, towels, blankets, pillow cases, and other items that you no longer need.
  5. Your time: Everyone has a little time to donate. Give a weekend of your time to charity.

These are just five: How many ways to donate can you come up with on your own?

Filed Under: General, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

Vegetarian destinations you should not miss

There some good vegetarian destination where you can get some really mouth-watering vegetarian food.
Singapore is a country with a lot of people from India. Which means, that a culture of vegetarianism will be present. And you can expect to see vegetarian restaurants and eat delicious vegetarian food. You will plenty of street food vendors selling vegetarian snacks. Food courts will have specialized vegetarian restaurants. Little India is the place where you get genuine vegetarian food. Little India is like its name, a mini-version of the country of India. You can most of, if not all, the vegetarian food made in India here. A famous south-Indian food specialtyrestaurant is Saravana Bhavan.

Like India, Thailand too is a favored destination for vegetarians. Exotic Thai food is the flavor of many people across continents. And the best thing about it is, that some of these are purely vegetarian. Thai people sure do know how to cook a great looking, and great tasting vegetarian dish.

Chiang Mai in Thailand is the place that’s famous for Thai vegetarian cuisine. Restaurants with no roof are common here. You can sit in the open-air as your relish a vegetarian dish. Open air restaurants have yellow boards to identify them.
You wouldn’t believe this, but Vancouver is a vegetarian destination. That’s because Vancouver has a lot of vegetarians. Quite interestingly, and inexplicably. Vancouver likes to consume its food naturally. Its environment is suitable for fresh food harvesting. This culture of natural food has made Vancouver realize the importance of vegetarianism.

Vancouver is a place that offers fusion food. Traditional non-veg food carriers like burgers or pizzas are stuffed with vegetarian food.

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Fresh, Frozen, or Canned – Comparing Choices in Produce

Animated .gif pictures of vegetables

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Vegetables pair well with so many meals. There is a lot of controversy over the health benefits of fresh versus frozen versus canned vegetables. While each has its own positives and negatives, the general consensus is that you can obtain the same nutrient content as long as you vary the types of veggies that you eat.

Frozen Vegetables

Frozen veggies are great because they keep well in the freezer, they are easy to steam and they seem to retain as many, and sometimes more, vitamins than fresh vegetables. They are often flash frozen shortly after being picked, so there is little chance of degradation and nutrient loss.

Fresh Vegetables

Fresh vegetables are nice because they are often crisp and palate pleasing. The down side is that fresh produce does not keep very long. Unless you use it within 3-10 days it will often wilt, spoil or turn to mush.

Canned Vegetables

That leads us to canned veggies. When vegetable are canned, they will last for a very long time, often years. Canned vegetables are easy to add to soups and casseroles and they can even be eaten directly out of the can. This is great if the power is out as you will always have a source of energy within reach that you don’t have to cook or refrigerate.

Whichever form you buy your vegetables in, simply make sure you always have a variety on hand. Produce should fill approximately 2/3 of your plate for each meal; this ensures you are getting your RDA of vitamins and minerals.

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Sneaking Vegetables into Everyday Foods

Half a chocolate Bundt cake 2

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It is hard to make sure that you children are getting a truly nutritional diet. While there are some kids that would prefer fruit over candy and vegetable over chips, there is also the other group who simply say “I don’t like that.” The good news is that you can add fruits and veggies to your meals without the kids ever having a clue!

  • Next time you prepare an Italian dish with a marinara sauce, pour the can of sauce into the blender prior to putting in a sauce pot. Throw in steamed chopped broccoli, butternut squash and other vegetables that you find you kids don’t like to eat. Blend, blend, blend. Continue cooking the meals as you normally would and the kids won’t even notice your “secret” ingredients.
  • Chocolate cake is a terrific way to add fruits and vegetables to a diet. Instead of adding oil, butter, water and milk, simply use shredded zucchini, apples and carrots along with the juice that runs into the bowl as you shred. If the mixture still seems a bit thick, pour in a bit of applesauce. Bake and then drizzle with a bit of melted milk chocolate. Your kids will rave!
  • Mashed potatoes are another food that you can add special touches to. Steam some cauliflower and mash it in to the taters. The flavor and consistency will not even have a noticeable change. You can do the same with carrots and sweet potatoes for a colorful addition to your meal.
  • Make smoothies as a special treat. Use frozen bananas as you “ice cream” base. Add frozen orange juice concentrate along with fresh or frozen berries of any kind and drink up!

Once you see that your children will eat the veggies in this form, you will begin to recognize other foods that you can add pureed produce to without your family balking at the thought.

Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

Vegetarian Surprise

Diane Nolan’s daughter Katie came home for Thanksgiving with five loads of dirty laundry and the news that she was now an ovolactate (egg and dairy) vegetarian. Diane told Katie to do her own laundry, and then started to change her menu plans for the holidays. As a busy working woman and mother of active children, Diane appreciates the convenience, quality, and economy of canned vegetables. And she certainly made good use of canned vegetables for this cooking challenge.

Diane decided to leave their traditional dinner menu alone and just add a vegetarian dish using canned beans. She adjusted one dish – Grandma’s scalloped corn made with canned cream corn, onion, saltines and milk – and made a small dish for Katie without the bacon topping. Diane’s husband Paul and sons Matt and Mike, devoted carnivores, could have all the bacon.

Katie added stuffed pablano peppers made with canned black beans, corn, tomato sauce, and rice topped with cheese to their special meal. The men of the family liked the peppers so much; they requested them for dinner later in the week.

The next day, Diane changed family favorite four-cheese lasagna by simply omitting the meat. Canned tomatoes, consistently in high quality, made the sauce as good as ever and no one complained about the change.

Katie made heuevos rancheros for Sunday brunch – even making her own low fat refried beans using canned pinto beans and canned diced tomatoes for the base of her homemade salsa. And when Katie made a pinto bean casserole using canned pinto beans, whole corn, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, even her Dad admitted there might be something to this vegetarian cuisine.

Filed Under: Caloric Intake, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

The Casserole Queen

Louise and John Hanson traded in their five-bedroom house for a RV with what Louise calls the “smallest kitchen in the world”. She still turns out amazing meals using her recipe file and a well maintained pantry of canned foods.

Their 26-foot RV has a small gas oven and very small gas refrigerator with a freezer big enough for four ice cube trays. Louise does have a pullout style pantry, containing a variety of canned vegetables.

Louise learned to cook while living in married student housing at the University of Minnesota. She was dubbed the “Casserole Queen” forty years ago and has never abdicated.

Instead, she has expanded her cooking repertoire to include Cuban, Mexican and Italian dishes, and canned vegetables are part of almost every dish she prepares. For their RV park’s Christmas potluck dinner, Louise made Arroz Morro, a Cuban dish using canned black beans and tomato sauce with rice, cumin, garlic, broth oregano, and apple cider vinegar. Their Mid-Western friends were very impressed.

John has just been diagnosed with Diabetes II and has been advised to include a variety of beans in his diet because beans are digested slowly and help stabilize blood glucose levels. Canned beans, chilis, tomatoes, and corn are the basis of many of their new favorite recipes. John still doesn’t know that several of his favorite bean dishes are really vegetarian – and he doesn’t miss meat at all.

Louise uses canned vegetables because they don’t require special storage conditions, the quality is consistent, and they are available throughout the year. Her adventurous spirit needn’t wait for any growing season!

Filed Under: Caloric Intake, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

Home Uses for Commercial Refrigeration

For large families, it is important to have plenty of food. With the higher demands of food needs, most large families find that they do not have enough storage, or they do not have the proper storage, in order to maintain foods that need refrigeration. This can be a dilemma for many, and result in shopping trips more than once a week. For many, commercial refrigeration would be a good solution. This would allow larger families to make bulk purchases of refrigerated goods and provide an attractive and functional way to store the foods.

Many find purchasing food in bulk results in lower prices on food. Also, purchasing larger quantities eliminates repeated trips to the supermarket. There are some strategies for buying food in bulk so that families can save money, be afforded the best types of foods, and also get the most amount of product. Large families tend to need this option, and therefore find that any way to make the process easier is beneficial. For instance, purchasing two gallons of milk rather than one can be the difference of $2.00 dollar savings, as well as the saving for eliminating gas and time from another outing.

Another way to help families maintain proper food supplies is by freezing foods so they are available for use later on. If a family finds that they are freezing a lot of food such as sauces, vegetables, or meats, they may find that a separate freezer may fit their needs. This will help to ensure that the items that need freezing that have been purchased in bulk will have an extension of time for use later on when the family is ready. This can be a great benefit for many as they find sales or deals and choose to stock up.

Filed Under: Caloric Intake, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,

Canned Vegetables

vegetables

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Eat your vegetables! Like it or not, Mom was right. The United States Department of Agriculture now recommends adults eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day for optimum health.

You may assume fresh vegetables are most nutritious, but unless you pick your own, it can take over two weeks for vegetables to get from the field to the supermarket. And during that time, many nutrients can be lost. As a matter of fact, up to 50% of the least stable nutrients can be lost during transit.

Canned vegetables are a great option for most families. Vegetables are canned immediately from the field so few nutrients are lost. Vegetables don’t become woody and tasteless, either. Most important, quick canning preserves the vitamins and nutrients like phytochemicals that protect you from heart disease and cancer.

Canned vegetables are easy to use, can be combined with other ingredients in tasty casseroles for quick dinners and can please even the pickiest eater. Because canning makes the contents stable, you can purchase canned vegetables when they are on sale and store them for long periods.

In case nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day sounds a bit daunting to you, a serving is only half a cup. That means two and half to three cups of vegetables and one and half to two cups of fruits a day.

You know when you purchase canned vegetables that you are getting a healthy, tasty, and consistent product. Canning makes vegetables available and affordable year around.

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Are You a Carnivore?

Ever hear someone refer to themselves as a carnivore? Chances are they probably are not. Often people misclassify themselves as a carnivore to indicate that they are not vegetarians and thus include meat and other animal products in their diet. However, the strictest definition of the word carnivore is that which consumes rarely anything but meat.

This is not to say that some people would not fit into the classification of facultative carnivores but in reality, the human race is more aptly considered to be omnivore. Interestingly, this is the case more due to the choices that people have made rather than the manner in which our physical makeup would dictate. There are numerous indications that the human body is more intended as an herbivore which would make us solely a plant-eater.

First of all, a human’s mouth is more designed for plant eating. We do not have the larger mouth, teeth type and spacing nor jaw type that true carnivores have. Humans have carbohydrate digesting enzymes in our saliva which carnivores do not. Our facial muscles structure is different, our jaw action is different, and how much we chew is different.

Secondly, our intestinal track is far different than that of a carnivore. Carnivores have a short track so that meat which is prone to rotting can be eliminated quickly. Humans have an intestinal track that is far longer. Even the stomach is different. Carnivores have a large, single-chambered stomach that facilitates eating a larger meal but less often; humans in comparison have a smaller stomach requiring daily consumption.

Add this to these facts that our stomach acidity, kidneys and liver are all that of an herbivore, not a carnivore, and one can readily see that our physical makeup is much more that of an herbivore. These facts are why some are opting for vegan or vegetarian diets even without the humanitarian reasons.

Filed Under: Caloric Intake, Processed Foods Tagged With: , ,
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