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Healthy cooking doesn’t mean that you have to pay outrageous amounts of money for a gourmet chef or those overly-priced cooking utensils, or even those expensive cookbooks. Healthy cooking also doesn’t mean that you have to cut out all of the foods that you love to eat.

Essentially, many foods are very healthy. What makes them unhealthy is how people prepare and cook them. Preparing meals healthfully means that you are able to eat all of the food that you like to eat without having to feel like you are ruining your dieting plan or your health.

Cooking healthfully can be done very easily at home. You don’t even need to waste time finding a recipe! Here are some tips that can help you turn your meals into healthy, wholesome food or everyone.

Techniques for Healthy Cooking

Despite what you may think, cooking methods aren’t created equal. A food can be filled with all of the essential vitamins and nutrients before it is cooked, but after it is cooked the wrong way, all of the nutrients disappear. The question stands, how can you cook delicious food while keeping all of the essential vitamins and nutrients in the food?

There are many ways that you can cook your favorite foods in a healthy manner. These methods will allow you to keep all of the natural nutrients and flavors of the food without adding salt or unnecessary fats.

One way to cook food in a healthy way is Asian stir-fry. With stir-fry, small pieces of food are cooked in a large wok or a non-stick frying pan. If you use a wok, you might need to use a little bit of cooking spray because you will be constantly tossing the food, so you want to make sure that it is not sticking to the pan and causing you any sort of hassle. This works perfectly, especially if you are cooking a meal that includes noodles, rice, vegetables, and small pieces of meat.

Many times when people cook vegetables, especially Americans, they lose the nutrients that they have because salt and butter is added. When a vegetable is cooked the right way, there is hardly any need to cover up the taste with salt and fat.

Another great way to cook healthily is to use a roasting pan when cooking meat. When you use a roasting pan, all of the fat is able to drip off of the food while cooking. For more details www.apples-recipes.com .This way, your meat isn’t soaking in all of its fats and juices while you cook it. If you want to find a way to keep your meat tasty and full of flavor, baste it with wine or lemon juice instead of using its own drippings.

If you use these tips in the kitchen, you are sure to be on your way to a healthy cooking lifestyle that you will enjoy.

Remember when summer seemed to stretch endlessly for you when you were a child?  Did you savor the promise of adventure that each new day held?

Now that you are “the parent”, perhaps you’ve forgotten that the gift of summer is time…unstructured, simple time.

Even if you are a working parent, you can create space for your child to have unstructured time and:

Rejuvenate and relax Get bored and discover something new to do Make new discoveries about themselves Savor and strengthen family relationships

Ideas for savoring those lazy days of summer:

Nature! Be outside in new ways:

Get up early and take a walk in pajamas. Who is up at that hour?  Are there workers?  What are they doing? Have an all-day, out-side day…do everything outside…eat, sleep, read, play.

Eat! Summer is a perfect time to change the way you eat – even if only for a day.

Make popsicles and have them with dinner! Picnic on the living room floor, on the porch, or in the backyard. Try some new foods, try a new recipe.

Music! Many communities have free summer concerts.

Take a picnic. Meet friends, make new ones. Be sure to dance!

Books! Have a Book Festival!

Grab pillows, blankets, make a fort and bring out the “old” children’s books that your kids may have outgrown.  They love reading them again.  And this time, maybe they’ll be reading them to you! Libraries – visit often and take part in their summer reading programs. Be sure you have a stack of books for yourself. Read cartoons, comic books, and magazines, too.

Art! Summer is a great time to explore free-form art:

Sidewalk chalk – Decorate your sidewalk…and your neighbor’s (ask permission, of course).  Invite them to join you.  Decorate the neighborhood! Washable markers make great body paint.  Draw on each other and then wash it all off under the sprinkler. Have lots of paper around…make little books, hang butcher paper on the side of the garage for a mural, envelopes and funny stickers for letters to grandma, make paper airplanes and have a flying contest. Papier mache’ (from very inexpensive powdered wallpaper paste) is a great way to create 3-dimensional forms, use found objects and paint the finished ‘creature.’ Paint or collage rocks.  Paint smooth rocks to liven up the garden.  Older children enjoy cutting out magazine pictures.  Mod Podge attaches pictures and also protects them from weather.  Add glitter paint, sparkles, googly eyes and gems for truly spectacular art!

And after all that, they may still say, “Mom, I’m bored!” That’s great!  Bring it on!  Let it happen!  Listen to their complaints (with interest but do not solve their dilemma).  Kids need to experience boredom…out of it comes creativity, innovation and a belief in their own capabilities.

And yes, the kids will argue and fight.  Keep an ear out for danger, otherwise, let them work it out – outside!  They are learning how to negotiate and navigate social relationships.

Be sure to take some time for yourself this summer, too.

You can clean the house in September!

Enjoy!

Read more at www.the-parenting-magazine.com Lunch Box

www.karenrothnutrition.com Today I am talking about one of Americas favorite foods. Pizza! We have a love hate relationship with pizza, because it tastes so good, but we know deep down most pizzas contain a thick crust of refined carbohydrates and trans fats, while the toppings ranging from cheese to sausage are loaded with fat from unhealthy animal sources. So I want to share with you some of my ways of turning this delicious temptation into a healthy meal without sacrificing flavor. This is an easy fast recipe to making your pizza. I start with a flour tortilla. I’m lucky enough to be able to find raw uncooked flour tortillas at my Whole Foods market. If you have a health food store, look for them there. Because starting with the crust is where you can save on a lot of harmful fat because you cook it yourself. You simply heat 1 tortilla in a non stick pan until its cooked on both sides. No oil needed. The tortilla is 120 calories. Once cooked, place on a pizza pan while you prepare the toppings. Next sauté fresh or frozen vegetables with a little olive oil and crushed red pepper for some heat. Any vegetable will do. I always have in my freezer, a bag of frozen spinach and artichoke hearts. Both great pizza toppings. Other favorites are chopped onion, tomato, mushrooms, broccoli florets and asparagus tips. Very few calories in this topping. The pizza sauce is important. I use a fresh one made that I find at my local Trader Joes that is made from fresh tomatoes and …

A lot of people are becoming health conscious already. They prefer to prepare their own food to make sure they are eating just healthy foods. They would not know what ingredients are used in commercial foods.

Then again, many of us are busy with our works and personal lives. It is often easier to resort to buying food outside rather than go to the ordeal of preparing our own food in the kitchen. Good thing though that there are now many quick recipes that will only take around 10 minutes to do. These are easy to make and promises to be very healthy.

You could also adapt a few tips on how to make preparations much easier and quicker. The first tip is to use all the possible convenient products available to you. It could be frozen mixed veggies, pasta sauces and many more. It requires little cooking. You could toss them up together in a matter of few minutes with hardly any cooking needed.

Ready the ingredients beforehand if you are thinking of a recipe already. Also prepare the utensils and other items you will need. You could easily cook after coming home if you have all these prepared already.

Think of recipes that only have a few ingredients. These are easier to prepare. You could also use leftovers instead of buying in the grocery. You save time and money. Recipes are not necessarily strictly followed. You could always deviate and make use of what you have in your refrigerator. Just experiment and see what will taste good for you. Be sure to write down what you have used so you could prepare it again next time.

Salads are generally easy to make, plus it is very healthy. Most are made from vegetables and fruits. It could be topped with a dressing or just seasoned to taste. It may also be an appetizer for your main meal.

Green or garden salads are mostly made out of green leafy vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers and cabbages. It may also be topped with mushrooms, carrots, peppers, onions, celery, avocado, and radishes. You could make your own vinaigrette dressing or just buy ready-made in bottles.

Another kind of salad is the entrée. It has toppings like chicken or sea foods. The most common type of green salad known worldwide is the one we called the caesar salad. This is very healthy and offers a complete meal at the same time. You have meat and vegetables already in one dish.

Dressings added to salads vary in different cultures. Vinaigrettes are common in Southern Europe but Asians adopted it too. Mayonnaise is often used in Eastern Europe. Crème Fraiche is the well known Denmark’s salad dressings.

Other salad dressings are light edible oils. It may be soybean oil, olive oil and corn oil. Vinegar and cheeses can also be added to complement the taste. There are lots of ingredients that can be made salad dressings. These salad dressings are added to salad to add some flavors to the vegetables or fruits. These are needed because some of the vegetable are taste less. We need something to make it a little sweet or sour to make the salty taste of the fruit or vegetable less.

Salad garnishes also add flavor. It could be bacon bits ( an imitation), beetroot bell peppers, mushrooms, anchovies, sunflower seeds, shredded carrots and many more.

In this video, Betty demonstrates how to make very basic (but super tasty) salmon cakes. This is a very easy recipe, inexpensive, quick, and healthy! You can’t beat that!!! Ingredients: 15.75 oz. can pink salmon (drained) 2 eggs, well beaten 2 tablespoons dried chopped onion 1/3 inner packet of saltine crackers, finely crushed olive oil for sauteing Beat the 2 eggs well. Add the drained salmon, 2 tablespoons dried chopped onion and the 1/3 inner packet of finely crushed saltine crackers. (You can crush the crackers by placing them in a zip-lock plastic bag, closing it, and going over the bag with a rolling pin, until all crackers are well crushed.) Stir these ingredients together until they are completely mixed. Put about 1 tablespoon of olive or other cooking oil into a skillet on the stove. Bring it to medium heat, and start adding the salmon cakes. You may drop them by spoonfuls, and flatten them out (quickest), or use your hands to form them into circular patties. Keep the heat at a level where the patties are frying well. Turn the patties as they become golden on the bottom side. It will only take about 5 minutes (or less) per side. Transfer the cooked salmon cakes to a tray with paper toweling to absorb any extra oil. Then, place the salmon cakes on a serving dish. Serve while hot! This is one of those recipes you’ve just got to have in your collection!

Read more at www.the-parenting-magazine.com Children Cooking

Dinner and A Movie…

In.

This is an easy tip that could actually end up being your number one choice for the perfect date night.

If you are used to eating out every weekend and you and your significant other practically live at the movie theater…this is the tip for you. A movie ticket runs anywhere between $7.00 to $9.00 per person depending on where you live, and dinner out can run anywhere from $30.00 to $50.00 per couple, so the quickest way to save money is by cutting that in half. A movie rental cost about $4.00 to $5.00 per movie, and you can purchase everything you need to make a fabulous dinner in for about $20.00-$25.00.

Just do a search of fabulous recipes on a budget and you’ll be surprised what you will come up with to make a great dinner. If you can just commit to watching a movie and eating dinner at home, even one or two nights a week, you will be amazed at the savings, as well as, how it will improve your relationship. Picnic Lunch Date With Friends. Everyone loves to hang out with their friends, especially over great food.

Instead of meeting the girls for lunch at a restaurant, why not have a picnic at a local park.

Everyone agrees to bring something to share, and then you can all get together and enjoy the fresh air and each other’s company. When it cold outside, maybe you could move these gathering to someone’s house that is close by and easy access for everyone.

Kick Your Driving Habit.

Do you feel like your always running out for something? Well, why not commit to getting all your errands done in one trip!

This will save you a ton on gas and time. By keeping a running list, you will be able to get everything done in one trip, and be able to really enjoy your down time once you actually get through your front door. The best way to save money is not to spend money at all! Look for things you can do that are still fun, but that don’t cost a cent other than the gas to get there. Go for a hike at a nearby state park, have your friends over for a game night, or volunteer at a local organization.

These are all great ways to spend your time and save some real cash.

As you can see, these are only a few things you can do to save money.

They are all easy to do, and you might even have some fun doing them.

You will be amazed to find out that the statement, “quantity doesn’t equal quality”, is true when it comes to only doing things that cost money. By doing things that save you money or don’t cost money at all, you are increasing the quality of time you are spending with the people you care about.

Introductory video from Truvida or True Life Foods that promotes healthy living through the Truvida Choice . Video summary: We can make healthier food choices and reduce our risks of suffering from serious health conditions like heart disease and diabetes, but we must be committed to our decision to change. The Truvida Choice is abotu making a series of small changes. Eating less is not enough. We need to exercise more, drink plenty of water, and add fiber to our diet. And here’s where Truvida can help. We’d like to introduce you to the most amazing, great tasting granola cookie you’ve ever tasted. That’s right, a granola cookie. High in fiber, six years in the making. Our cookies contain whole ingredients. If we couldn’t pronounce it we didn’t use it. And to maximize the benefits of a high fiber food, we created a proprietary blend of oat fibers, rice fiber, and fibers from the Konjac root, a plant used in Asian recipes for over 2000 years. With the Truvida Granola Sunshine Square, you can eat cookies and lose weight. How great is that? [For more information, or to order a sample cookie, go to www.mytruvida.com/affiliates/tbrundage.]

Watch as 3-yr.old Safira demonstrates how to make her favorite healthy lunch.