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Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’

Suggestions For How to Make Quick Yet Nutritious Meals

April 3rd, 2010 No comments

One of the biggest problems that many parents face is how to make quick, healthy meals for their children on a low budget. As many a working mother will tell you, after spending all day slaving over a hot computer, the last thing you feel like doing is making a three-course meal for your family with tons of dirty dishes.

Actually, all you’d really like to do is sit down with a good book and a cup of cocoa and let someone else fix supper! As “instant meals” are generally expensive and full of excess calories and sodium. The best solutions are tasty, nutritious meals that don’t take too much time to prepare.

One low-cost way to feed the family is by preparing chicken meals. The chicken wings can be used to make a soup while the rest of the parts go into the oven with some chopped onion, potatoes, and some spices added on top for flavor.

Now you can relax with a book or spend time with your family while the chicken is baking in the oven. You can also complete some of your other chores like laundry and cleaning while the meal is in the oven.

A lot of people are vegetarians and if you are also one of them, then all you need to do is replace the chicken with pasta. Children are usually fond of pasta or spaghetti. To ensure that they eat healthy, just add vegetables to the tomato gravy. Add some cheese and spices and you have a perfectly healthy meal.

Another option is creating a pasta sauce, which is something that can be made with many variations. Just by adding a few things like olives and mushrooms, you can create a different type of pasta meal. You could use chopped tomatoes instead of just tomato paste.

You can also prepare meals with eggs which is an easy and economical way to feed your kids. One delicacy in the Middle East called”Shakshuka,” eggs fried with onions and tomatoes, is a popular meal in most homes, especially when it is served with rice, which makes it a fast and nutritious meal.

For every working parent, “quick and easy” is the name of the game when it comes to making good, healthy meals for their children at little cost.

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Adding Some Variety To Your Vegetarian Life

March 31st, 2010 No comments

After you design a healthy vegetarian diet, you are only restricted by your imagination. It’s vital to incorporate a large choice of whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits in numerous meals, as well as seeds and nuts.

Variety is the spice of life, and it can guarantee your vegetarian diet is nutrient-dense, attention-grabbing, and fun! Aim for variety, even after you serve favorite entrees repeatedly, by serving completely different snacks and desserts.

Be artistic in coming up with meals. Boost your consumption of beans and vegetables by eating these foods at lunch time rather than just for dinner. Set a goal to serve a vegetable every day for lunch and two for dinner. Arrange a meal around a vegetable. A baked potato will be a hearty entree; serve it with baked beans, a sauce of stewed tomatoes, or a few tablespoons of salsa. Or make a straightforward meal of sauteed vegetables and pasta.

Attempt new foods often. Experiment with a variety of grains such as quinoa, couscous, bulgur, barley, and wheat berries. Strive for fruits and vegetables that are fashionable in several international cuisines, like bokchoy. Intensify the positive. Focus more on healthy foods that fit into a vegetarian set up rather than foods to avoid.

If you are unsure of how to incorporate a new food into your vegetarian diet, ask the manager at your native grocery or health food store for concepts on how to organize it. The internet is an excellent source for brand new recipes and preparation ideas. But be sure that you are building your menu on a robust plant food base. Make this the core of your diet.

Don’t stress about obtaining enough protein. As long as calories are sufficient and the diet is varied, vegetarians easily meet protein needs. Grains, beans, vegetables, and nuts all give protein. Vegetarians do not need to eat special mixtures of foods to fulfill protein needs. But, it is important to concentrate on fat. Even vegetarians will get an excessive amount of fat if the diet contains giant amounts of nuts, oils, processed foods or sweets.

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Old Fashion Beef Stew Recipe That The Whole Family Will Ask For Again And Again

March 29th, 2010 No comments

Every household has a beef stew recipe. It is easy to make because you only need some water or broth, beef, and vegetables to make a basic stew that will feed a large family. It is dinner in just one pot. A nice crusty bread or dumplings made in the stew are all you need to make a nutritious feast.

Once man learned how to make fire, he quickly learned how to cook. Stew was a great meal even back in Biblical time when a bowl of it was traded for a dowry in the book of Genesis. Lamb and fish were the ingredients used by Romans to make stew. The first recipe to ever be recorded was during the fourteenth century. Stews are all different depending on the area and what is grown in the region.

When the weather gets cold, there is nothing better than a piece of bread and some stew to sop it up in. Stew is economical because a cheap cut of beef can be used instead of the expensive stuff, because it will tenderize from the extended simmering period it takes to make stew. If you only have a little bit of meat, you can still feed a multitude by adding more vegetables. A large family can feast on stew.

Stew is a peasant food because the ingredients do not cost a great deal. There are however, more expensive stews on some menus in expensive restaurants. Boeuf Bourguingnonne is found in French Restaurants and Beef Burgundy is a gourmet type of stew. Sirloin or eye of round can be used, but if you do not have the money, a top or bottom round will do just as well. The beef is chopped into cubes or strips then browned. Liquid is put in the pot and it simmers for about one to two hours. Stew is thickened so that it makes a gravy, while soup is not and stays more liquid.

Chop about two or three pounds of beef making strips or cubes and then cover it and put it aside. Put some oil in the bottom of a large pan or Dutch oven. Crush two cloves garlic and saute in the pan. Peel and chop up two to three onions and put them in the pot. Saute until they look translucent. Put the cut beef in and be sure that it is browned on all sides. It does not have to be cooked all the way through because it will cook during the simmering process. Pour in four cups of beef stock or broth and heat to a boil. Chop one cupful of carrots and about three fourths cup of celery and add to the pot. Put the beef chunks back in and put in one bay leaf.

Once the stew comes to a boil again, switch the heat down to a simmer. Put on a lid and let it go for twenty minutes. While it simmers peel and chop four large potatoes. When twenty minutes elapses, put the potatoes into the stew and add half teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme.

Let the pot simmer for thirty more minutes but keep an eye out to make sure the liquid does not get low. If it does add water or more broth and get it up to a simmer again. When there is only about ten minutes left on the timer, taste the stew and see if it needs salt or pepper. Also remove the bay leaf. To make the stew thicker combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with water to make a thick paste that will still pour. Put this in and stir the stew. It should start to thicken in about 3 minutes, and if it does not, in 5 minutes add a little more cornstarch and water. Stir constantly or the cornstarch can clump up and make lumps. Serve your stew to your family and friends with some bread to make a great dinner on a cold or not so cold night.

We do not know about you, but we cannot turn down a good beef stew recipe. For those cold, sick feeling days, the chicken soup recipe will hit the correct place.