Food

Awesome Appetizers- Roasted Artichoke

June 12, 2020 By lyndsinreallife 2 Comments

Appetizers ensure meals, gatherings and parties go off with a bang. If you’ve got a house full of people, or you’re keen to make sure you have time to socialize, it’s hugely beneficial to find some simple, delicious appetizers you can rustle up in advance to impress your guests and get your evening or lunch party off to a flying start. If you love to entertain, or you’re always on the lookout for ideas and inspiration for family feasts or social occasions, here’s an awesome new appetizer to add your recipe collection.

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Roasted Artichoke

Artichokes are not the most frequently-used vegetable, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be a part of your repertoire. Artichokes are delicious, and once you get the hang of preparing and cooking them, it’s easy to turn this humble vegetable into a crowd-pleasing dish your family and friends will love. This roasted artichoke dish is ideal for small gatherings, family nights in and dinner parties, and it will go down a treat!

Instructions

The first step is to learn how to roast artichoke. Once you’ve purchased your artichokes from the store, you’ll need to prepare them to go into the oven. Take your artichokes and cut the stems, peeling away the tough outer layers until you reach the lighter-colored flesh of the vegetable. Carefully trim the sharp edges of the leaves, removing roughly ¾ of an inch of the tip. Cut your artichoke in half lengthways and use a paring knife to take out the choke.

When your artichokes are ready to roast, place them in foil and add a drizzle of olive oil and a crushed garlic clove. Close the foil parcel and place it inside the oven for approximately 40 minutes.

How To Serve

There are endless options when it comes to serving roasted artichoke. You can leave the artichoke as it is, using the cooking juices with a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper, some dill and a teaspoon of honey added to create a vibrant vinaigrette dip. Alternatively, you can add additional ingredients, such as crumbled feta cheese or capers, to enhance the Mediterranean flavors. To enjoy roasted artichoke, you’ll need to allow time for the leaves and petals to cool, so that you can gently peel off the leaves with your fingers and discard the inedible part of the petal. Add to a platter with the vinaigrette dip or serve as a delicious pre-dinner morsel if you’re hosting friends.

Tips for Buying Artichokes

When you’re buying artichokes, it’s best to shop in season. The optimum time for cooking with artichokes is between March and May and October and November. Spend a little time perusing the produce aisles and look for artichokes that are heavy and large with tightly-packed dark leaves. Gently press the artichoke in your hands. A fresh artichoke should make a subtle squeaking noise.

Are you planning to get friends or family together, or are you searching for a simple, nutritious, delicious appetizer for a special occasion or a leisurely weekend lunch? If so, why not give this recipe a try?

Thank you for reading!

Food

Spice Up Your Life With These Favorites

February 20, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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Spices can add huge amounts of flavor to any dish. Many spices also have powerful health benefits – they’re packed with nutrients and often have anti-inflammatory properties that can help to numb pain. Here are just a few notable spices and how you can incorporate more of them into your diet!

Chili

Chili is great for the heart and can help alleviate many types of pain from migraines to achy joints. Of course, too much of it can be painful on the tongue (and just as painful when it comes out the other end), so it’s worth always using it with moderation. There are countless ways to use chili in cooking from seasoning chicken to giving pasta dishes a kick. It’s particularly common in oriental dishes such as curries and stir fries (as are many of the spices on this list).

Ginger

Ginger is great for the gut and can help beat stomach pain and nausea, while also fighting inflammation elsewhere in the body. There are lots of tasty ways to consume ginger, like in cakes, and also as a tea. Ginger can also liven up many savory dishes – just check out this amazing shoyu chicken recipe. You can also eat ginger with fish.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a root vegetable within the same family as ginger. It has a long list of impressive health benefits and is believed to be able to reduce the risk of cancer, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. Turmeric is often used in curries and can also be added to stews and chicken dishes. You can even mix it into rice or sprinkle it on scrambled eggs.

Garlic

Garlic is a favorite spice used in many forms of Mediterranean cuisine including pasta and garlic bread. As well as keeping the vampires away, garlic can reduce blood pressure and improve the immune system. Smelly breath is one of its less friendly side effects, but it’s worth putting up with for the added explosion of flavor and health benefits.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice found under the bark of the cinnamomum tree. It’s thought to have antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties, helping to fight off illness. The spice is commonly found in sweet foods such as cakes and cookies – especially around Christmas. Too much cinnamon can damage the liver, so make sure to consume it in moderation (although if you’ve tried the cinnamon challenge, you’ll know just how hard it can be to eat large quantities of cinnamon).

Paprika

Paprika is made from ground peppers, but tends to be a lot less fiery than chili. Its health benefits include lowering cholesterol, preventing inflammation, and improving eye health. Paprika can be sprinkled over pretty much anything – much like salt or black pepper. It tastes particular good sprinkled over deviled eggs or potato salad.

Cloves

Cloves come from the flower buds of a clove tree. They’re full of antioxidants and are great natural painkillers – rubbing cloves on your gums is still a popular way to ease a toothache. Cloves are very versatile and can be used to glaze meat, liven up rice, or give sweet snacks a kick (they’re commonly used in food like pumpkin pie, alongside cinnamon and ginger).

•What spices are your favorite? Comment below!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Making A Meal Of It: Learning How To Host A Dinner Party

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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Hosting a dinner party can be a daunting task for a lot of people. If you don’t like cooking or lack the experience to handle something like this with confidence, it can be hard to relax and enjoy the evening you’ve put so much time into. Of course, though, an event like this doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. To help you out with this, this post will be offering some useful tips which will make the process of hosting your dinner party much easier. There’s no need to worry about the meal you’re making; you just need to have a good time.

Planning Ahead

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they are hosting a dinner party will be failing to plan ahead. It’s all too easy to think that it will only take a couple of hours to prepare your meal, but this is rarely the case, and you need to be planning at least a couple of days ahead. Any food which can be prepared ahead of time should be done before the big day. Not only will this save you time when it comes to making the main meal, but it will also help you to avoid being held up by mistakes or missing ingredients. Of course, though, you have to be careful to make sure that the food you serve is nice and fresh.

Following Recipes

Cooking isn’t easy for a lot of people, and many people struggle when they decide to go it alone with their food. Reading recipes used to be the only real option to help with this, though this has changed in recent times. Recipes are still crucial to your cooking experience, but you don’t have to read them; you can watch them, instead. A dessert like Sopapilla Cheesecake can look very challenging to make when you see the end results. But watching a video of it being made, though, you will see how simple it really is, and there are loads of other meals and desserts which can be cooked like this.

Putting The Work Down

Finally, as the last tip to consider, it’s time to think about what you’re going to do once you’ve finished cooking. With any luck, your time in the kitchen will be just about over by the time you have people coming through your doors. This will give you the chance to rest, relax, and enjoy the work you’ve done to make everyone a great meal. It can be easy to stress or worry about this, but you won’t be able to enjoy yourself if you’re feeling tense. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t created the best meal in the world, as it will soon be eaten, and you can get on with having fun.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling much better about the idea of having people over for a dinner party. People struggle with work like this all the time, but it’s important to remember what you’re doing this for!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Make Your Desserts Healthier

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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A great dessert can be the perfect way to round off a meal or celebrate a special event. However, you needn’t abandon your healthy eating regime simply to enjoy a good dessert. If you want to avoid harmful additives, tons of sugar and unhealthy fats, take a look at these top tips for making your desserts healthier and tastier.

Switch to dark chocolate

If a recipe calls for chocolate, don’t automatically reach for a bar of white or milk chocolate. The added fat and sugar content will make your dessert less healthy than it could be. Instead, substitute it for good quality dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa will have less sugar than other options, which means your dessert will be healthier than you expect. What’s more, you’ll get the delicious taste and texture of chocolate without the sugar overload.

Use sweet fruits

Rather than relying on lots of sugar or sweeteners to flavor your desserts, use sweet fruits instead. Raisins, figs, and pineapple are all widely used in desserts, partly because of their sweetness. With a homemade date bar recipe, sticky cinnamon figs or a skinny pineapple cheesecake, you can enjoy a decadent dessert, without unnecessary sugar or calories.

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Steer clear of cream

Adding cream to a dessert automatically increases the amount of fat it contains. If you like adding a dollop of cream to your dessert, try flavored yogurt or natural Greek yogurt instead. With a range of options available, you can opt for a low-fat addition to your dessert or choose a flavor that complements the dish. Depending on what you use, switching out cream for yogurt could save you hundreds of calories and a good deal of fat too!

Have dessert on the go

When you’re planning your meals, be sure to incorporate desserts you can eat on the go. As well as enjoying a sweet treat after a meal, you may crave something sugary in the afternoons. By having sweets and desserts on hand, you’ll always have something healthy to snack on. Fruit bars and no-fat cookies are a great option, so plan ahead and keep a batch in the freezer for when you need them.

Try whole-wheat flour

When recipes call for plain flour, try using whole-wheat instead. As plain flour is refined, it tends to be less healthy. By switching to whole-wheat, you’ll make your desserts healthier and increase their fiber content.

Using whole-wheat flour, rather than plain, can alter the texture of your dessert a little bit, in most cases, you’ll barely notice the difference. Practice in advance and you’ll have a good idea of how to make the switch before you are serving your guests.

Choosing Healthy Desserts

When we are treating ourselves to a tasty dessert, it’s easy to choose things you know you love. However, you could be missing out on something even better! Be open to trying new dishes and flavors and you’ll find there are a wide range of healthy desserts to enjoy.

Thank you for reading!

Food

Cooking In Batch: One Big Myth Or Another Skill You Need To Learn?

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Batch cooking has become the biggest kitchen-based trend in recent years, with YouTubers and top chefs alike recommending this as ‘the’ solution for bringing ease to your meals. On the surface, the idea of being able to make everything in advance certainly seems like an appealing alternative on those nights when you’re feeling out of it.

Sadly, batch cooking isn’t always the easy solution we expect. In fact, given how long these batches of food take to make in the first place, they even risk costing you more time in the long-run. What’s more, the sheer quantities necessary can make cooking incredibly tricky, leaving you with excesses of washing up and an entire weekend spent in the kitchen.

That’s not to say that this is a total wash-out, of course. By merely facing up to the biggest batch cooking myths, you may, in fact, find that you can learn this skill with the following ease-focused pointers in mind.

Invest in the right equipment

Attempting to batch-cook things like rice in a standard pan is always going to add stress rather than removing it. Unless, of course, you invested in a rice cooker that really did bring ease to that easy teriyaki shrimp and rice dish you’ve been trying to master. Equally, a slow cooker can see you making large quantities of just about any meat dish with less than half the hassle. If you’re seeking effortless batch cooking without the slaving and washing at the end of it, then trust us when we say that the right equipment is the only way to go.

Double the meals you’re already cooking

Even with a slow cooker to hand, setting about unique recipes for batch purposes can still set you back. That’s why it’s also worth doubling up on meals you’re already making. This couldn’t be easier with that equipment behind you, yet it saves you from ever having to think about batch efforts. Instead, you’ll forever have food ready to go, all for much the same amount of effort you’d have put in anyway.

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Always have a plan for batch meals

Many people also find that merely finding places to store that excess food isn’t easy, resulting in either crammed freezers or wasted fridge food. As such, our last pointer for actual ease here is always to know what you’re doing with those batch dishes. In general terms, fridge storage, especially of things like meat and rice, is only possible for three days. As such, you should only ever batch cook these if you know you’ll be eating them within that time. Equally, you should only put batch meals in your freezer if you have a set plan to eat them within a month. This ensures they stay fresh, while also guaranteeing these efforts don’t make your freezer impossible to manage.

They might have been lying when they said that all batch cooking was easy but, with these pointers, you should find that this is a skill that you’re still easily able to master!

Thank you for reading!

Food Nutrition

Can You Make Healthy Food More Enjoyable?

February 12, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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Eating healthily would be a lot easier were it not for the fact that a lot of the healthiest foods are considered by most of us to be the most unpleasant. For example, just imagine your joyful reaction on being told that chocolate is good for you … followed by the sheer horror when you realise that they’re talking about super-dark chocolate, the bitter stuff that you’d usually walk right past. And what’s the healthiest citrus fruit? It couldn’t be a zesty tangerine, could it? It has to be grapefruit; great for your heart and immune system, but an attack on the taste buds.

There is even a trope about foods that are like this: If it tastes bad, it must be good for you. And so, while most of us would rather be eating loaded fries or ice-cream sundaes, we make the smart, selfless choice and settle for the healthy option. It’s the correct option, even if it sometimes feels wrong. However, healthy eating doesn’t need to be this hard. As long as you keep in mind a few simple principles, it can be rewarding – and even tasty, at times.

1. A little seasoning goes a long way

One of the first steps many of us make when changing our diet for the healthier is to say goodbye to fries and other potato side dishes, and welcome salads to our usual rotation. It’s a smart choice – especially if you include healthy options like carrot and beetroot in your salads, doubling up on beneficial nutrients. What a lot of people don’t realise, however, is that salad needs seasoning – and will be no less healthy for it. A little salt and a pinch of black pepper will give any salad an extra dimension – as will a dash of lemon or lime juice.

2. What you eat, and how you eat it, are both important

When we are advised to make changes to our diet, it’s usually for the purpose of getting specific nutrients: avocados are loaded with a hefty nutrient profile, while cruciferous veg like broccoli and Brussels sprouts also pack a punch. These foods are also among the most commonly-cited foods people don’t like. However, you can brighten up avocado by serving it on toast for a tasty contrast between crunchy and soft, while this honey balsamic roasted brussel sprouts recipe will change the mind of even the most hardened sprout-skeptic. In each of these cases, the food retains is nutritious benefits, while gaining a new taste.

3. If you don’t like it now, give it a chance

The truth of the matter is that much of our distaste for the healthier foods to which we switch comes from unfamiliarity. Part of the reason it’s so common to find children who are fussy eaters is the fact that if they’re not familiar with a food, they assume they won’t like it. And maybe, the first few times they do try a food, they really won’t like it. Adults are just the same – it can take a few tries to get to enjoy some of the healthier foods out there, and that includes grapefruit and dark chocolate. But as your palate becomes more habituated to them, you’d be surprised by how much you can begin to enjoy a food you once disliked.

Trial and error is an important part of making the switch to healthy eating. But give those foods you “don’t like” a chance, and you may be surprised by what you learn.

Thank you for reading!

Food

5 Ways to Break out of Your Cooking Comfort Zone

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife 1 Comment

Cooking is a wonderful skill to learn that can save you money, impress your family and even lead to a healthier lifestyle. However, cooking tends to be something that we don’t really practice. Instead, we often cook out of necessity whenever we’re hungry, or if we’re preparing meals for our kids. Rarely do we go out of our way to try something new, and this can lead to us creating a comfort zone that is difficult to break out of.

As a result, you might find that trying out new recipes can eventually get difficult. It might even reach a point where you’re scared of variety, especially if other people are going to be tasting your cooking. So in this post, we’re going to help you by suggesting five different ways to break out of your cooking comfort zone.

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1. Cook for various occasions

Cooking for different occasions, even if it’s something you’ve made yourself, is a great way to push yourself to try new cooking techniques and ingredients. For instance, why not try to cook a delicious brown sugar pineapple ham for the festive holidays? You could even try baking cakes and chocolates for Valentine’s day. Maybe you and your kids could have a curry night during the week, or maybe you’d like to try making special desserts on the weekend.

2. Equip yourself with proper tools

It’s important to invest your money into high-quality tools to help improve your cooking. Whether it’s a food processor to make prep easier or a sharp knife to make slicing a breeze, it’s vital that you equip yourself with the right tools for the job.

3. Avoid single-purpose tools

However, it’s also important to avoid single-use tools that might look fun to use but are ultimately pointless. Avoid relying on fad tools that clog up your kitchen and stick to basic tools that can be used for countless different purposes.

4. Taste new foods

It’s important to taste new foods to discover different flavours that you can try to incorporate into your own cooking. You might even learn about new foods that you really enjoy, so much so that you try to replicate it at home! Trying new foods is a great way to step outside of your comfort zone

5. Understand that mistakes are normal

No one cooks perfect meals 100% of the time. Everyone makes mistakes now and then and it’s important to learn from them instead of trying to hide behind them or avoid them. If you make a mistake in cooking, try to learn from those mistakes.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of establishing a comfort zone in cooking. However, if you follow these five easy steps, you’ll find that experimenting with your food and trying something new is a great way to expand your knowledge of cooking and increase the number of recipes you know. Don’t be afraid to try something new and give yourself a chance to grow your skills!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Cooking Yourself A Warming Dinner When You’re Feeling Out Of It

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife 3 Comments

Eating is something a sick person needs to do quite carefully. It’s important to have a lot of antioxidants in your diet during a time like this, and to ensure any sugar content is kept to a healthy and natural minimum. You don’t want to accidentally feed the bacteria currently invading your immune system!

Food is one of the easiest, most accessible ways to take care of yourself when you’re feeling under the weather, so it’s important to know what the best kind of food is for you right now.

If you’re currently sick, or feeling a bit sneezy, it’s time to make yourself a hearty dinner that’ll help you feel much better. Take the suggestions below into your kitchen and whip up something tasty and good for your body – your immune system deserves it!

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You Can Throw Soups Together Easily Enough

Soups are wonderful dishes to make if you’re ill or not feeling quite right – you can put all kinds of delicious and nutritious ingredients into a pot, add water (good for when a cold dehydrates you!), and then freeze any soup you don’t eat for another day.

Of course, chicken soup, or chicken noodle soup, is usually a person’s go-to here. But a tomato soup, or a vegetable soup, have similar restoring properties. They’re good for your stomach and other organs, and the hot steam that rises off of the bowl is great for your nose, eyes, and mouth too.

You could also try your hand at broths; they’re another great dinner for those of us feeling ill and tired. Why not try out a delicious bone broth udon soup? Broths can feel a bit heartier and heavier than simple soups, so if you like a bit more of a meaty taste, or you’ve got some bones to use up, whip up a broth for the household!

Mix Up a Curry

Got a blocked nose? Then it’s time to make a curry, or any other type of hot or spicy food that you like. After all, if you can pack some capsaicin into your mouth (which is what makes spicy food feel hot and spicy), you’ll be able to clear those sinuses and get all that backed up phlegm moving!

Put Some Garlic in it!

And if you like just sticking to some regular recipes, because you like to cook no matter how ill you’re feeling, and you have a varied palette, it’s time to put a lot more garlic into your meals.

Garlic is a very beneficial food to eat, as it has quite a few medicinal benefits – thankfully, it’s one of the most popular spices on the planet, so you’re guaranteed to have some in the cupboard. If you want to boost your immune system in general, a bit more garlic is a great rule to abide by.

If you’re feeling out of it, it’s time to cook up something healthy and hearty. Food is best for your body!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Classy Yet Easy Desserts Perfect For Dinner Parties

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Food is something we all enjoy. Our bodies need it to survive, and our brains draw energy from it, making sure we can get through the day just fine. And when it comes to mastering the cooking and baking skills we all wished we had, being able to throw a dinner party for your nearest and dearest, while also not sweating over what you’ll make, is a real skill too!

If you’ve got a dinner party coming up, and you want to be sure that every single person in attendance knows just how good of a cook you are (and to enjoy everything they put in their mouths!), we’ve got a list of classy yet easy desserts for you to know. Make sure you keep them in mind as you’re planning your sophisticated and fun menu for guests.

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A Pie is a Simple Classic

Pies are such versatile options – they can be both sweet and savoury, and they’re easy to whip together if you’ve got nothing else in the house. So, why not serve a nice, sweet pie for dessert at your dinner party? You can easily garnish the top with a flourish, and you can put all kinds of delicious fillings inside the pastry. Just learn how to make a sweet pastry or a pie dough and you’ll be able to do so much with so little!

A cherry pie is a classic, and great to be served with whipped cream or ice cream. You can have a key lime pie if your guests like to have something sweet, but still with a bit of a kick to each bite. And if you want to go all out with new and interesting flavors, why not try this coconut and marshmallow pie?

A Cream Cake Always Impresses!

Cream cakes are wonderful things to chow down on, and thankfully, they’re not too hard to try and make. After all, cream sounds like it’ll be hard to work with, and hard to keep stiff and non melted during your dinner prep, but as long as you have a fridge and a recipe to follow, you’ll be fine!

And if you look up a tres leches cake recipe, you’ll be able to whip up something light, fluffy, and deliciously creamy ahead of time! That’ll make your dinner party preparations a lot easier on you, and might even give you time to throw together another appetizer, or learn how to make a couple of cocktails that you can pass around.

Learn How to Use Chocolate Properly

And finally, if you know how to melt and temper chocolate, you’ll be able to do so much with just a simple bar of your favourite chocolate from the store. Make a chocolate fountain, make a fondue, even make a lava cake for your guests to cut into, with a lovely ganache to be found inside!

Got a dinner party coming up? Put one of these desserts on the menu for a real hit!

Thank you for reading!

Food Health

Eat Food and Have Fun: Easy Ways to Stay Healthy This Summer!

April 25, 2019 By lyndsinreallife 2 Comments

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Enjoying food with friends is always fun, but if you’re following a healthy eating plan it’s easy to want to isolate yourself to avoid temptation. But it doesn’t have to be the case at all, there are ways you can stick to your goals while enjoying delicious dishes with those you care about. Here are some ideas!

Look into healthy picnic options

When the sun is shining, there’s nothing better than packing up the car with some supplies and heading out for a day of fun- whether it’s to a park, a beach, a theme park or a cute town to stroll around. Taking a picnic allows you to save money and you’ll also be able to make healthier choices. It doesn’t have to be boring either, there are loads of healthy yet tasty picnic ideas online. From scotch eggs using chicken sausages and wholemeal breadcrumbs to interesting flavourful sandwich ideas to low fat puddings and more. You of course have things like pasta and rice salads and things that you can make light versions of very easily. Check out sites like Pinterest and see what you can put together. It’s well worth investing in a good picnic set and a cool bag or box with some ice packs. You’ll only need to buy these things once and can use them over and over each year.

Check the menu before eating out

Do you enjoy sitting outside to eat lunch in a pub garden on a warm afternoon, or lunch in the evenings that stretch on and on in mid summer? Take a look at the menu before deciding on the cafe or restaurant you want to go with, and see what lighter options they have. This can help you make the best choices without going overboard. Lots of places offer ‘under X calories’ sections or ‘lighter bites.’ Perfect when you still want to go out and enjoy yourself with friends but don’t want to completely ruin your healthy eating plan. Online menus have tons of information these days, so you can work out if the meals suit your dietary needs. No longer to those with allergies or intolerances have to stay home and cook! If you suspect you have any issues, check out a review of food sensitivity testing and see if it’s right for you.

Keep your barbeque lower in fat

Barbeques are always crowd pleasers when the weather is warm. While they can be quite indulgent with things like burgers, sausages and lamb kebabs, it’s so easy to make them lighter too. Bash out chicken breasts to flatten them (it makes them easier to cook) and marinate in some tasty herbs and spices, and you have a high protein, low fat chicken burger with all of the charred and smokey taste from the coals. Make some skewers using lean meat, like chicken or turkey, along with some mushrooms, peppers and onions. Lots of veggies work great on the grill too, and serve everything with some tasty salads to get your veg count up. Even if you want more traditional options, you could go with lower fat burgers and sausages- they’re just as nice when they’re cooked on the grill.

What are some ways you can have a healthy summer?!

This post was a collaboration.