Freezer Cooking – A Great Way to Save Money on Your Monthly Grocery Bill

Some people call this once-a-month cooking, once-a-week cooking, or freezer cooking. The names may be different but the concept is the same. You block out one day and do the bulk of your cooking for the designated time period.

This can really be a great money saver for those families who don’t feel like they have enough time to cook on weeknights and consequently eat out frequently. This is also great because you can build your weekly cooking around the sales, buying in bulk, or those items you are able to use coupons to buy for pennies.

If this is the first time you’ve ever done this, I suggest planning on cooking for one week. Carve out a day where you know you can cook with minimal interruptions. Continue reading “Freezer Cooking – A Great Way to Save Money on Your Monthly Grocery Bill”

A Compact Refrigerator Can Bring Health Benefits

Do you live in an apartment or dorm room? or do you enjoy traveling and want to save time, money and live a healthier life? If so, a compact refrigerator or mini fridge can be the answer you’re looking for. Many people already know about some of the benefits that a compact refrigerator provides, but many people do not realize that owning a mini fridge can provide health benefits as well. Did you know that owning a compact refrigerator could help you eat less, spend less and waste less?

When determining one’s refrigeration needs, a consumer can easily assume that purchasing a smaller appliance will save space and be more energy efficient, which is true statement, but many do not realize the health benefits that a compact refrigerator can bring. One health benefit from owning a mini fridge is that it can prevent consumers from purchasing large quantities of food at a time, thus eliminating the possibility to overeat. Consumers who purchase small amounts of food and beverages will be inclined to eat less, thus saving inches on his or her waistline. In today’s society, purchasing just enough food that one individual or a small family can consume is also an excellent money saver as well.

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How To Vacuum Seal And Freeze Food In Canning Jars

I want to cook soups and freeze them in canning jars and have ordered a product online that will vacuum seal these jars for me. I have never canned but I found online that there are canning jars that I can freeze in. I know that I must leave space in the jar for expansion. Do I wait until the soup is cooled off before putting it into the jars? Must I purchase these jars online only? Would the canning jars that they sell at Ace, etc. not be advisable for freezing?

All standard canning jars (Ball and Kerr) can safely be placed in the freezer. Jars take up a lot of freezer space and are somewhat dangerous because they can and do break easily. Cleaning glass out of a freezer would be about the last thing on my list of things to do.

A better method for freezing soup (and many other foods) is to quick-freeze it in user-friendly amounts first. I use 1-cup plastic containers for soup so that I can use 1 for one serving (nice for lunch for one), or I can pull out more if I need more servings. After they are frozen I pop them out of the plastic containers and stack them and seal them with my FoodSaver in a bag. They fit better in the freezer. You can do the same thing in inexpensive 1-quart plastic freezer containers if you need larger amounts than 1-serving sizes. Continue reading “How To Vacuum Seal And Freeze Food In Canning Jars”

5 Reasons Having a Mobile Pizza Party Is the Best Idea Ever

Who says you can’t serve pizza in your party? In fact, hiring a mobile pizza company to do the catering for your party is the best idea you can ever think of. Here are some of the reasons why you should definitely consider serving pizza on any party or get-together.

Why Pizza is the Best Party Food Ever
1. Everybody loves pizza
Sure, caviar and steak made from Kobe beef may be some of the best and fanciest foods out there, but you don’t see many people, kids specially, lining up for them. Pizza is just one of those rare foods that children and adults love equally. If your guests are a mix of people from different age groups, then it certainly is a must that you serve this all-time favourite.

2. Pizza is a great comfort food
Many of us grew up eating pizza. In fact, many people consider it as their ultimate comfort food as this great Italian invention is often tied to some of our best and happiest memories. Continue reading “5 Reasons Having a Mobile Pizza Party Is the Best Idea Ever”

5 Reasons to Make Your Own Baby Food

Many parents feed their infants store-bought baby food, and why not? They are convenient, cheap, and come in an assortment of flavours for a baby to enjoy.

When I was pregnant with our first son, I decided to do some research about the food I would be putting into his mouth when the time came. I drew some interesting conclusions.

For a mom that is exhausted from frequent feedings and diaper changes, it’s easy to aim for options that are both quick and convenient. While we definitely deserve rest and quality ‘me time’, a few extra minutes to purée won’t only save money and time in the long run, but also help our babies to grow healthy and strong, and develop a pallet for food they will soon be eating in solid form.

Better Health Choice Continue reading “5 Reasons to Make Your Own Baby Food”

A Recipe for Salisbury Steak With French Fried Onions and Tasty Sauce

Salisbury Steak is an elegant hamburger with seasonings and sauce. Though the steaks resemble hamburgers, the flavors are quite different. In fact, families may adapt the traditional recipe to suit their tastes. Some cooks form the patties into ovals instead of rounds.

I’ve made Salisbury Steak many times. One recipe, which I only made once, called for the addition of a can of deviled ham, which added a smoky flavor to the patties.

Myra Waldo’s historic work, The Complete Round-the-World Meat Cookbook, published in 1967 and still on my book shelf, contains an entire chapter on ground meats. According to Waldo, the hamburger has become a symbol of America. The ground meats chapter contains recipes for Mexican burgers, Burgundy burgers in wine sauce, Danish Beefsteak, Finnish Beef Patties, Italian Pizza burgers, Russian Hamburgers with Heavy Cream, and yes, a recipe for Salisbury Steak.

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The Procedure to Make Basic Gelatine Jelly

1) To make 1 litre of gelatine desert gel, you will require about 20gm (1 sachet) of Halal gelatin. Soak gelatine in about 700ml water (not boil water) and stir until swells. Add about 160gm sugar or to taste. Heat up the solution until gelatine and sugar dissolve. Add flavoring and coloring. Done! Simple isn’t it? Try to do it couple of time just to make you get use to it, and later on, try to do this simple task that I prepared for you. And practise with this one…

2)Simple task :-

Ingredients

1 sachets of Halal gelatine (6 teaspoons)

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The Benefit of Beans, Peas and Lentils

The word is out, beans are in! Legumes(beans, peas and lentils) are not only nutritious but delicious. Though beans have often been neglected in the Western diet, they have long since been an important part of traditional diets around the world. Many people in North America are discovering that beans are not only tasty, easy to prepare, economical but are good for you. Legumes are an important food source. They are an excellent source of protein, are low in fat, high in fiber, loaded with complex carbohydrates and have many essential micronutrients.

We do not know the exact relationship between diet and disease however it has become accepted that healthy eating can improve our chances of preventing diseases such as heart disease, strokes and some forms of cancer. Substituting beans, peas and lentils for foods that are high in saturated fats and refined carbohydrates is likely to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research is showing that plant protein helps protct the heart by lowering blood cholesterol levels in many people. Continue reading “The Benefit of Beans, Peas and Lentils”

Benefits of Healthy Eating For Kids

Children’s growth and development depend very much on the foods they are fed and the benefits of healthy eating for kids is detailed in this article to alert parents to the dangers of neglecting this aspect of the child’s development. Balanced, nutritious meals are a must for every growing child because the benefits transcend into adulthood. Poor diet leads to obesity and a host of medical and psychological problems for the child.

For those of us not aware of it there is a good guide pyramid, which can help us better understand the different food groups. All of our food is divided into grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and meats, beans, poultry, fish and nuts. Your child gets a balanced diet when all the food groups are covered. There are some groups where the intake needs to be lesser than the others, such as the oils and meats.

The benefits of healthy eating for kids will not be felt if you blindly follow the food groups. For example an apple in its natural state will do more for your child’s well being and overall good health than an apple pie with sugar would. Continue reading “Benefits of Healthy Eating For Kids”

How to Start a Keto Diet Plan

The keto diet plan is a high-intake, high-fiber, sufficient-potassium diet which in medicinal circles is often used primarily to treat childhood epilepsy in very young children. The keto diet forces your body to use up fat instead of glucose for energy. This results in reduced hunger and allows you to stick to a reasonable diet even when you are highly hungry. It can be practiced by anyone, even if you have had a heart or kidney disease or diabetes in the past.

The keto diet plan is not designed for long-term weight control, as it puts a lot of emphasis on fats. The ketogenic diet pyramid is based around eating a wide variety of different carbohydrates and proteins. A lot of people don’t like the idea of eliminating carbohydrates from their diet and would rather focus on proteins, so the use of the MOST PROBABLY IMPORTANT carbohydrates are typically ignored in the process. By eliminating certain carbohydrates you can achieve ketosis easily, however this can be quite hard at first as your body gets accustomed to the absence of the carbohydrates you were once consuming. Continue reading “How to Start a Keto Diet Plan”