Apple slices in apple juice to prevent browning instead of lemon juice which can affect the taste
Artificial sweeteners are a no-no.
Nutrasweet/ Aspartame- Routine consumption may create a buildup of methanol in the body, leading to neurological & other problems.
Baking soda- 1T BS to ¼ c vinegar, if fizzes, still good
Basil herb
stabilizes blood sugar levels.
Loses most of its taste when dried. Instead blend in food processor w/ pinch of salt & enough olive oil to make a paste. Freeze spoonfuls on plastic wrap lined pan & store in plastic bag, drop into sauces.
beets- Cut off greens leaving 1” to stem, plastic bag, fridge 2 weeks. Keep skins on when cooking. Bake w/ olive oil, S&P, 375 degrees for 45min
butter- almond or peanut
www.rwood.com/Recipes/Homemade_Almond_Butter.htm
Makes about ¾ cup.
While almond butter can be made from raw nuts, roasting the nuts just prior to making the butter considerably enhances both flavor and aroma. To roast the almonds, spread them in a thin layer on a baking sheet at 300°F for about 20 minutes. Stir a couple of times to assure even roasting.
1 cup roasted almonds (or any nut incl peanut)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon unrefined vegetable oil
Combine the almonds and salt in a food processor, blender, meat grinder or nut butter machine and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the oil and continue processing until the almond butter reaches your desired degree of smoothness, adding more oil if necessary. For chunky butter, stir in ¼ cup chopped almonds. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.
Variations: Substitute Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts for the almonds. Or combine two or more of these nuts in any proportion.
-Note: I have tried this finally in my little blender. It’s quite good actually! Chunky as it doesn’t blend it as well but I like chunky PB. It works better tho if you use a coffee grinder to chop the nuts (don’t add the oil or salt till after). I also used 2T not the 1T of olive oil.
Can opener, manual & electric- to run smoother, run piece of waxed paper thru
Chocolate pudding
1 box silken tofu
1/4 c cocoa
1 t vanilla
dash salt
1/4 c sugar
Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
coffee maker, to clean- use ¼ c WV, 8-10c water, let run thru cycle.
cutting board, to not slide-
place wet paper towel under or use a non-skid rubber pad (also useful for jars tip)
dum dums end & beginning so no waste
9-07 We were watching Unwrapped on Food network & they had 'bout treats. You know the Dum Dums lollies, the ? ones that are a mysterious flavor. They revealed what it is. & WHY it changes. When they make one flavor, the machine keeps moving even w/ the 2nd flavor right behind. The little bit where the 2 meet is kept to be the ? flavor, so there's no waste!
fridge temp should be 40 deg
fruit
www.thefruitpages.com/contents.shtml
Has vits, minerals, cals, fiber, etc of fruits.
high fructose corn syrup
Did you know that most foods contain HFCS?? From bread to ketchup to crackers. I love ketchup but found out it hurts my heart (the sugar intolerance). So my husband helped me come up with a ketchup recipe.
HFCS is manmade & considered a toxin. It’s best to eliminate any & all artificial & preservatives from your diet. Think of it like this, your body can’t process artificial stuff & only thing it gives you is obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure. The body can’t metabolize or break down these unnatural ingredients. Why are they used? ‘cos they are cheap. Pure & simple.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. I’m not a cook; my husband is! But these recipes like the ketchup & hummus are quick & easy to throw together.
hummus
1 can (19 oz) juice drained (too salty otherwise), 2t minced garlic, 2t onion powder, 1 oz lemon juice, 1 oz olive juice, w/ sauted red peppers, celery, onions.
The red peppers compliment it quite well. I also cut up tomatoes & mix that in. I either use chips or use it as a sandwich spread. I have also used it as dressing for my salad. Same thing as a sandwich, just w/o the bread!
ice Cool tip for ice-cold beverages. To make ice cubes last longer, boil a pot of water for 5 minutes, carefully pour into ice-cube trays & freeze. Normally, ice cubes contain trapped air that causes them to melt in minutes, but boiling the water first releases the air, resulting in dense crystal-clear cubes that stay cold for up to 40 min. longer.
Place warm drinks in ice filled cooler & shake on some salt. Sodium lowers melting point making cubes even colder.
jars, to open-
use a non-skid rubber pad (also useful for cutting board tip)
ketchup
29 oz tomato sauce, 12 oz tomato paste, 1 ½ T onion powder, 1t salt, ¼ t black pepper, 1/8 t stevia, 1 oz ACV (apple cider vinegar), ½ t garlic juice.
No oils, just heated all up, stirring, simmering 'bout 10 min. Just to get flavors to meld together.
Have also just put it in my blender & I prefer that method.
We figured be $3.50 for 44 oz. At Sam's Club it's 'bout $2 on average, but that's for bulk & regular ketchup. At a regular store, it'd be 'bout $3. But this is all natural, no HFCS, no sugars. & I had priced no sugar added organic ketchup in the store & it was $4 for a small jar!!
Lavender herb
cut when 2/3 of the little purple flowers are open then they won’t drop off the stem. Bundle & tie, & keep in a dark place to preserve color. Use fallen blooms for sachets & potpourri.
maple syrup real, contains zinc & manganese for healthy immune system & lowers cholesterol
meat
Better for the animals...eating (in the pasture) what nature intended
Better for the environment...harmony between the land & the animals
Better for farmers/ranchers...living & working in a healthy sustainable atmosphere
Better food...grassfed foods are lower in saturated fats & higher in essential nutrients
Better for you...nutritious grassfed foods support better overall health.
milks
I have the SoyaJoy soymilk maker (is in Links section). It’s around $100 but it pays for itself. Soybeans are roughly $1/#. Tho I have tried almond milk & that was DELISH! But it’s $6/#. Rice milk was okay but didn’t like the little chunks. Peanut milk had a weird taste but some have liked it.
Humans are the only creatures who drink another creature’s milk. & we are the only creatures who CONTINUE to drink milk later in life. Cow’s milk is not good for you. All the antibiotics, pesticides, HGH’s in them. WE ingest those too. Look around at all the antibiotic-resistant strains of viruses out there.
If you must have cow’s milk, buy organic & preferably from a local farmer.
Okara
1 oz = 22 cals Lasts 3 days in fridge. Makes 2 oz okara from soymilk
www.motherearthnews.com/Whole-Foods-and-Cooking/1983-09-01/Okara-A-Meal-for-the-Asking.aspx good info
portion sizes
I had copied & use for myself. Helps give an idea. Anybody have any others to share? I like esp. the t. & T. using your thumbs-
3 oz cooked protein- size & thickness of palm of average hand or size of deck of cards, palm pilot
1 oz cheese- size of 4 dice
1 ½ oz cheese- 9V battery
1 med banana- cell phone
1 pancake or waffle- 4” DVD
1 t- top of joint of thumb or 1 die
1T, little more than- thumb
average piece of fruit- size of average fist or baseball
1 serving of pasta/rice- baseball
1 small bagel or med. baked potato- computer mouse
3 oz cooked fish- checkbook
1 c- fistful
3 oz. meat, ½ c- palm of hand
2 TSP peanut butter = one peep
¼ cup dried fruit = 1 golf ball
½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cereal = 1 tennis ball
1 ½ ounces natural or 2 oz. processed cheese = 2 small chocolate eggs
1 medium piece of fruit = 1 baseball
1 cup milk or yogurt = 1 baseball
½ cup cooked or raw cut up fruits or vegetables = 2 peeps
1 cup leafy vegetables = 2 tennis balls
1 small muffin = 2 peeps
1 ounce lean meat or fish = 1 egg
½ ounce nuts or seeds = 4 jelly beans
1 cup ready to eat cereal = 1 baseball
1 cup grapes, cherries, or berries = 1 baseball
Meat, fish, poultry 3 ounces = palm of hand
Mixed nuts 1/4 cup = 1 layer on palm
Cereal/popcorn 1 cup = 2 cupped hands
Cooked pasta 1/2 cup = 1 rounded handful
Cheese 1 ounce = 1 thumb
Butter/oil 1/2 teaspoon = 1 fingertip
Ice cream scoop is ¼ cup
pot- place metal spoon in so pot doesn’t boil over
potatoes-
To get extra crispy, dip towel dried spuds in egg whites then add seasonings. As fries blacken, the whites harden for crispiness.
steel wool- Sharpen scissors by cutting a pad into pieces, freeze in plastic bag between uses, can’t become rusty if frozen
stevia
look in Links section for more info
tofu
Firm or regular- good for cooking
Soft- scrambled egg substitute & dips
Extra firm- for crumbles
Silken- liken to yogurt (Shelf life is 2-3 days in cold water in fridge)
From ‘This can’t be tofu book’ by Deborah Madison
Trans Fat
Fat in processed food raises risk for ticker troubles
By null HealthDay News , This article is courtesy of the HealthDay news service.
We all know that donuts, muffins and frozen pizzas destroy your waistline. But now you can also see what these fat substances are doing to your arteries.
Since Jan. 1, the FDA has required food labels to display the amount of so-called "trans fat" in the products.
Trans fat, which extend a product's shelf life, are known to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease, raising LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels.
"As people settle down and focus on healthy eating they can live with, they will be able to focus on the big picture," said Karen Collins, a dietician and nutrition advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research. By checking food labels for trans fat, consumers will be able to make healthier food choices, she added.
"Trans fats were the missing part," she said. "Consumers could see the amount of calories, sodium or saturated fat in a food, but were left guessing on the trans fats."
When looking at the new food labels, it's important to pay attention to recommended food portion sizes and only eat the amount suggested, Collins pointed out.
"There are two pieces to the new food labeling," she said. "One is to make good food choices, and the other is the amount of food you eat."
If food has less than 0.5 grams of trans fats, food companies don't need to list it as an ingredient, Collins said. In that case, you can look for the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated," which indicate the presence of trans fat, she noted.
Links:
www.foodsafety.gov for latest info on preventing food poisoning
www.soymilkmaker.com SoyaJoy soymilk maker
www.nowfoods.com Stevia. It’s an acquired taste but it’s natural. This is where I get mine from.
www.stevia.com stevia info
www.stevia.net stevia info
bravenet.com