Cooking with Penny Power – A Cookware Option

By GuestPoster | Published: September 8, 2011

And by “penny power” I’m talking about copper!

There are so many different types of cookware out there to choose from. Stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron, and Teflon to name a few. All with their own pros and cons. If you’re main concern is ease of cooking, you’re probably focused more on the non-stick properties in cookware. I happen to look for something that will give my cooking a nice and even heat. That “something” is copper.

Why Copper?

I use copper bottom cookware when I want evenly heated cooking because copper is a fantastic metal for heat transference. When heat hits the copper, it spreads quickly. I don’t know if you’ve ever cooked food that was a little over/under done on one part, and fine on the other. This happens when you have uneven heat. Part of your pan is hotter than other parts, so your food isn’t all cooking at the same temperature. Copper fights that process with its high conductivity.

The nice thing about copper bottom cookware is that the copper is in direct contact with the flame. The down side of that is that the copper will tarnish faster because of the exposure to air and heat.

Stealth Copper

This isn’t quite as cool as it sounds, but it is still interesting. If you don’t want tarnished cookware, but you’re interested in the cooking power of copper, you’re in luck! There are models out there that have copper inside. All Clad Copper Core pots have just that…a copper core. The copper is in between layers of stainless steel (which is easier to clean), but still transfers the heat in an even manner. Instead of getting the heat directly from the flame, it just gets it from the stainless steel layer.

Cooking isn’t really cooking if there isn’t heat involved. Making sure you’re using that heat to the highest capacity just makes “cents” (Get it? Penny power!).

Posted in Cooking | Comments closed

The Bodum Grinder

By GuestPoster | Published: August 29, 2011

With the Bodum bistro electric burr coffee grinder we have just about the best coffee grinder currently on the market. In fact it can also be used for grinding up all manner of spices as well. And this is exactly what a lot of people use it for.

The great thing about the Bodum bistro burr coffee grinder is that it is suitable for all styles of kitchen. Thanks to the numerous colors that are available we will find that we can choose one that fits in with our color scheme perfectly. From bright orange to more subdued colors the Bodum grinder fits all homes.

Why it is the most popular coffee grinder though is down to just how well it is made. This is not an item that is going to break easily and it is one that will be used daily for many years to come. The setting are infinitely variable. We have 14 grinding settings so we get he exact results that we want each and every time.

We also have total control of the length of the grind so we can stop any time that we would like.

But the real star is the coffee catcher itself. Normally these are made of plastic which is not ideal. Static builds up and this means a lot of the grind is lost to the counter top rather than falling smoothly in to the vessel. Bodum uses glass for a perfectly smooth finish so that there is no mess to clear up afterwards. And the silicon band around the glass vessel means that even if you have wet hands the chance of dropping it is very unlikely.

We simply grip the silicon band and have a perfect grip even with wet hands.

If you are a coffee lover then you know the taste difference when you grind the beans yourself. And the Bodum grinder is about as good as it gets.

Posted in Coffee | Comments closed

Healthy and Easy Juicing Recipes

By GuestPoster | Published: August 20, 2011

Do you want juice which is extremely tasty, nutritious and easy to make? Well, we have some ideas you might want to try out. We have juicing recipes which you will absolutely love. You get tasty and nutritious juice which you can drink together with your meals or on their own at any time of the day. I can guarantee that the while family will keep asking for these juices.

The Body Cleanser Juice Recipe

This is a juice which is especially made for people who would like to flush out the toxins from their system. You can use 3 parts of apples and carrots and a single part of ginger. This juice will revitalize you and will give you glowing skin. This is actually prescribed by physicians because it makes your skin a lot better. Aside from being very beneficial to the skin, this juice is also very healthy.

The Glowing Skin Juice

This is great for people who would like better skin. All you need are green apples, carrots and a tomato. Green apples is recommended, do not substitute with red apples. Not only does this juice make your skin look healthy, it also makes your breath smell good too. If you want to eliminate bad breath, this should be on top your list. It is wrong to buy juicer and not make this juice.

The Cholesterol Buster Juice

This is good for people who are trying to lose weight and keep a healthy body. Aside from its calorie busting properties, this juice is also known to fight cancer. All you will need is celery, cucumber and apple. This is a must have for people who are over 30 years old. Drink this juice every other day and you will never have to worry about your cholesterol levels getting so high. This can also improve problems with the stomach and headache. This should also be on top of your list if you want to avoid problems with cholesterol.

Posted in Recipes | Comments closed

Eat Tasty Squid Despite High Cost of Living

By GuestPoster | Published: August 9, 2011

Cooking fresh seafood at home is something most people enjoy. There’s no doubt that there are higher costs of living today, and home cooking offers a price conscious alternative to an expensive restaurant meal. A squid meal (calamari) in an upscale eating establishment can cost you some serious cash but cooking it at home doesn’t have to be expensive at all.

Cleaning seafood prior to preparation can be a challenge if you have never done it before. one of the most interesting things to clean is squid, because most of us did not grow up eating it or knowing how to do the prep for this type of food.

Here are some simple steps for preparing your squid for cooking:

- Thaw it. Much squid comes frozen these days in five pound blocks. You can place the entire box on a cookie sheet to thaw, or in a bowl of water.

- Once you have the amount of squid you plan to clean, place it into a four cup class measuring bowl of water.

- Treat each squid individually. It does not work to try to clean more than one at a time.

- Place the squid on your worktable or a large plate.

- Cut off the tentacles and place them into your finished pile after removing the circular beak which is not something you can eat.

- Now pull the remainder of the head and the body out of the tube. This is guts and gore and not anything you would want to eat. Discard.

Place your knife on the spiney bone and hold it as you pull the squid away from it. Discard the clear bone that was inside the tube body.

- Rinse out the tube and push out any soft white-ish gooey substance inside, which you will discard.

- Once you have all your cleaned squid, it is time to give it another rinse in clear cool water.

- The cleaned pieces can be cut to your preference. You can cut the body into strips or rings, or flat filets.

Chop a bit of parsley for garnishing your prepared dinner. One of the best ways of preparing your squid is to simply saute it quickly in butter in a good cookware set.

Posted in Recipes | Comments closed

Breakfast For Vegetarians

By GuestPoster | Published: July 24, 2011

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, providing us with that extra boost of energy to go to school and work. Every country has it’s own tradition of breakfast and these meals will usually contain meat. This is fine for meat eaters, but will not be able to accommodate a vegetarian. Vegetarians are well aware of the benefits of eating raw fruits and vegetables. This article will help you to understand what breakfast meals appeal to them.

Sweet Potatoes For Breakfast

Sweet potatoes are generally made for lunch and dinner, but vegetarians make exceptions. Sweet potatoes satisfy our taste for sweets just like a regular breakfast meal and are very healthy. They are rich in beta carotene which is a major antioxidant and are great immunity boosters.The fiber or roughage present in sweet potatoes helps retain water. This maintains water balance in the body.

Scrambled Tofu For Breakfast

Tofu is popular these days amongst vegetarians because it is highly adaptable. This is the perfect supplement to any breakfast meal that would usually contain meat. When vegetarians have tofu for breakfast they usually crumble it up, drain the water and saute it with spices and vegetables. Tofu is high in protein, calcium and well known for its ability to absorb new flavors through spices and marinades.

Vegetarian Burritos For Breakfast

Burritos are another meal that can be adapted with whatever you have taste for. Vegetarians love burritos because they are filling and can contain a variety of vegetables and sauces. Typical vegetarian burritos will include a tortilla, taco sauce, vegetable oil, spices and their favorite veggies. Because of their versatility breakfast burritos continue to provide vegetarians with amazing vegetarian recipes.

Becoming a vegetarian has it’s health benefits and it’s becoming quite obvious these days. Many restaurants and fast food chains are adding vegetarian meals to their menus. Breakfast is an opportunity for a vegetarian to try out easy healthy breakfast recipes. When you become a vegetarian you will still have an abundance of tasty meals to choose from, so give it a shot and reap the health benefits.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments closed

Lemon Cod with Zucchini Quinoa Salad

By GuestPoster | Published: July 23, 2011

If you would like to improve your diet, one food you may wish to try is quinoa. Often referred to as a grain, quinoa is actually a seed that is related to spinach. It is gluten free and offers the body a rich source of vitamins and nutrients. Dieters will be happy to learn that it is loaded with slow burning carbohydrates. Of course, the reason most everyone talks about quinoa is the protein. Not only is it high in protein but the protein is often referred to as the perfect plant protein. This is because quinoa contains all nine of the essential amino acids that the human body requires. Most plant come up short on at least one!

When cooking quinoa, there are a couple of things that you will want to know. First, although this is not often in quinoa recipes, it is important to rinse the quinoa before cooking. The outside of the quinoa seeds is covered in a bitter substance called saponin. Rinsing the quinoa is enough to remove it but if you are also concerned about phytic acid, you should rinse the quinoa and then soak it for eight hours prior to cooking. If phytic acid is not a concern – and it generally isn’t in the absence of digestive issues – then you can go ahead and cook right after rinsing.  To cook, bring water to a boil and then add the quinoa. Cook for 10 minutes and then drain. Return to the pan and cover. Allow to steam for 10 minutes.

Once you have your cooked quinoa, here is a great recipe to try!

Lemon Cod with Zucchini Quinoa Salad

2 zucchini
Sea salt
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup cooked quinoa
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2.5 ounces arugula
24 ounces cod fillets

Directions

Use a box grater, grate zucchini. Place in a colander and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to two hours. Place in a clean dish towel and squeeze out excess liquid.

Place zucchini in a medium bowl and toss with grape tomatoes and cooked quinoa. In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice 2 tablespoons parsley, 2 cloves garlic, sea salt and pepper. Combine zucchini quinoa mixture with arugula and toss with dressing.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add remaining olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes per side.

Combine remaining parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over fish and serve fish on the side of the salad.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments closed

Delicious frosting ideas for banana cake

By GuestPoster | Published: July 23, 2011

There are few snacks so delicious, so moist and tasty as a wonderfully fat slice of banana cake. Whether topped with toasted walnuts, maybe with a tot of rum in the cake batter or just plain and simply brilliant, tucking into it is a joy. If you want to add an extra element of taste and texture, what type of frosting should you go for though? Here are a few ideas to tempt your taste buds.

Classic cream cheese
If you want to keep it classic then you can’t go far wrong with cream cheese frosting. It gives your banana cake recipe that beautiful slightly savoury edge that complements it so perfectly. You’ll need:

200g cream cheese, room temp
1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

Simply beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence until you have a lovely smooth paste to smother your delicious banana cake with. You could also add a tablespoon of mashed banana or some shredded coconut to the mix for an extra dimension of flavour.

White chocolate cream cheese frosting
If you have a sweet tooth, then how about the addition of white chocolate to your cream cheese frosting?

170g white chocolate, chopped
225g softened cream cheese
55g softened unsalted butter
15g sour cream

Gently melt your white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water then remove from the heat to cool slightly.

Mix the cream cheese, butter and sour cream together in a food processor then add the melted white chocolate and combine everything thoroughly. You’re ready to start spreading your tasty white chocolate concoction!

Nutella frosting
Here’s one for you chocoholics – step away from the simple chocolate cake recipe and try a sumptuous banana cake with this frosting. You must love Nutella, surely? Nutella and bananas – absolute winning combination! You’ll need:

½ cup Nutella
50g softened butter
2 big tablespoons condensed milk
3 cups icing sugar, sifted

Beat the butter and Nutella together until mixed well then gradually add the icing sugar. Once your mixture is smooth, add the condensed milk and continue to mix until you have super sweet and glossy frosting.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments closed

Clean Eating Crepes – Healthy and Delicious

By GuestPoster | Published: July 19, 2011

Most of us would like nothing more that to have all of our favorite foods be good for us too. Unfortunately, in many instances this just is not the case. However, did you know the cocoa powder is actually very good for you? It works in the body to halt the overproduction of cytokines, a protein that causes inflammation. Internal inflammation in the body has been linked to the development of chronic disease such as heart disease and cancer. It has also been linked to the visible signs of aging. So, you can enjoy cocoa powder on your clean eating diet guilt free

Cocoa powder is great in cookies and hot chocolate, but here is a recipe for crepes that really takes things to the next level. It is a perfect healthy solution for weekend morning or even when you have company As an added health bonus, the blueberries help improve your body’s ability to produce glucose to burn as energy, also known as your insulin sensitivity. So, you can enjoy these clean eating crepes no matter how strict your fitness goals

Clean Eating Crepes

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried with a paper towel
  • 1 banana, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon natural almond butter


Directions
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg whites. Add in the whey protein powder and whisk until smooth.

Heat a small non stick skillet over medium heat. Add egg mixture and cook for two minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together coconut palm sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and natural almond butter. Stir in blueberries and banana. Top center of crepes with fruit mixture and fold over. Cook for one more minute on each side. Serve immediately!

Who knew eating clean could be so delicious?

Posted in Recipes | Comments closed

Quinoa Recipes: Tasty Waffles For Breakfast

By GuestPoster | Published: July 13, 2011

There are a lot of reasons why you may want to consider making quinoa a regular part of your diet.  Those trying to stay away from high glycemic carbohydrates will be happy to know that quinoa is low on the glycemic index.  Additionally, it is packed with very high quality protein!  While most people think the protein story with quinoa ends here, this is actually far from the truth.  In addition to being high in amino acids, quinoa is considered a “complete protein”.  In fact the World Health Organization has compared the protein quality of quinoa with that of dehydrated whole milk.  The benefit to quinoa of course, is that it lacks all of the fat and cholesterol you will find in dairy and meat products.

The good news is that adding these tiny seeds to your diet doesn’t have to be boring like so many other foods that are considered healthy!  In fact, it can be incorporated into all of your favorite dishes.  If you are looking for a quick breakfast recipe, try making these quinoa waffles ahead of time and then storing them in your freezer.  Pop them in the toaster and you have an almost instant breakfast for you or your children!  Serve with your favorite maple syrup and fruit and you are all set.  My boys even like these topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream for dessert!

Quinoa Waffles

  • 2 cups quinoa flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cups ground flax seeds
  • 1 T agave nectar
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups almond milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup walnut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the quinoa flour, baking powder, salt, and  ground flax seeds in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine agave nectar, eggs, almond milk, water, walnut oil and vanilla extract.  Add to dry mixture to form a batter.

Preheat waffle pan and lightly grease.  Following manufacturer’s directions, pour batter into pan.  Cook for approximately six minutes, or until waffle iron gives a ready signal.  You may refrigerate cooked waffles for up to four days, or freeze for a month.

There are plenty of great quinoa recipes out there and it’s well worth learning a few and incorporating them into your daily diet on a regular basis.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments closed

Gluten Intolerance and Gluten-free food

By GuestPoster | Published: July 11, 2011

According to latest research carried out in the US, five out of every hundred people living in the US suffers from Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Foods that contain rye, wheat or barley are those that gluten intolerant people should avoid all the time. You can forget all those great looking baked goodies in your local grocery store, as these contain high level of gluten. All fresh vegetables, fruit herbs and spices are gluten free, so are almost all fish, seafood, unprocessed meat and dairy products. Even your favourite fruit smoothie drink is gluten-free, so you can enjoy it every day. If you are ever in doubt of product and its ingredients, check the label or search the internet first.

When it comes to shopping for a gluten free food, you have more options than you have had few years ago. Many big chain supermarkets, local grocery stores and online retailers offer variety of healthy food, especially selected for the people suffering from Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Getting into habit of gluten free diet is not so bad as you may think. In fact, once you get used to this diet, you will no longer crave for the food that contain gluten. You will find out very soon, that there is a suitable substitution to almost any food containing gluten.

Check the online forums and communities with people suffering with same gluten intolerance, and don’t be afraid ask them for advice as to what kind of food you can eat or what food is gluten free. Many of the people on these forums have been on gluten-free diet for quite some time and they will be able to answer your every question. They may even help you give you some good recipes, such as Alfredo Sauce recipe with your favourite pasta that you can try at home. Gluten free, of course.

If you are type of person who loves eating out, these forums will also be very helpful when searching for restaurants serving gluten free food. You may not know this yet, but there is number of restaurants across the US that serves your favourite meal in gluten free option.

Posted in Health | Comments closed