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Food Health

3 Ways To Ensure Your Kids Eat Healthier

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Green is mean!

That might be your child’s attitude when you serve any green vegetable to them. Of course, they might also be averse to any other color vegetable and anything else that is considered healthy. 

No matter your attempts to advocate the need to eat healthier, your words might fall by the wayside if your kids are reluctant to touch anything that is good for them.

It can be frustrating, as you will know yourself if your child is a picky eater.

So, what can you do to ensure your kids eat healthier?

Well, here are some ideas we hope you find useful!

1: Make healthy food more enjoyable

As we discussed in an earlier article, it is possible to make healthy food more enjoyable to eat. 

You could sprinkle a little bit of seasoning on your children’s food as it might make the taste more palatable. 

You could smother their veggies in their favorite sauces too as they might be more willing to have a go at eating what’s in front of them. 

If you have a blender, you could make soups and fruit smoothies, as your kids might enjoy these if they don’t like eating certain foods whole. 

And as most children enjoy eating pizza, you could add healthy toppings when you’re creating them. 

These are just a few ideas but be creative, and look for more inspiration online if you need to. 

2: Stop ordering unhealthy takeout

Getting takeout is a real treat for families everywhere. Kids love them because the food is usually pretty tasty. And parents love them because they don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. 

But here’s the thing about takeout. It’s rarely very healthy. While it can be considered fine as the occasional treat, it doesn’t do much for anybody’s health if eaten regularly. 

So, here’s what you could do. Firstly, look online for healthy takeaway restaurants in your area. There are bound to be a few, so choose those that serve foods your family is likely to eat. 

Secondly, replace a normal takeout with a meal kit subscription service. Services, such as Hello Fresh, will deliver what you need to your door, and you need only to spend a short amount of time getting everything ready for your meal. Check out their healthy meal kits online or try a Hello Fresh alternative if your family would prefer something different. 

3: Get the kids involved

Would your kids eat healthier if they have a hand in preparing your family meals? Maybe! It’s worth a try. 

They could prepare the toppings needed for a healthy pizza, or they could make these fun and healthy snacks. Look online for other ideas and get busy with your kids in the kitchen. 

Of course, meal prep starts before they get on their aprons. If you have a garden or any type of outside space, your kids could grow their own vegetables. Not only will this get them outdoors and away from their screens for a while, but they might be more likely to eat the foods that they have grown.

Getting children to eat healthier can be a battle. However, we hope these tips were useful for you so give them a go if you’re currently at war with your kids at mealtimes. If you have any further ideas, please comment below!

Thank you for reading!

Food

The Secret To A Perfect Steak

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Anyone who enjoys eating meat would agree that a steak really is one of the very best kinds of meat out there. If you are like most home chefs, however, you might find that you have often struggled to make your steaks come out quite right. The truth is that making a perfect steak is not too challenging – there are just a few key things that you need to keep in mind along the way. In this post, we’ll take you through some of the major pointers that will help you to cook the perfect steak at home.

Don’t Forget The Seasoning

It might sound simple, but you do need to make sure you are seasoning your steak. If you don’t, there is just no way that it is going to end up being as good as you would hope, so this is something that you really do need to think about. All you need is salt and pepper – you don’t have to do anything fancy to make a steak really sing. However, you should consider the following tip from Marco Pierre White: always over-season your steaks, because most of the salt and pepper will come off into the pan during the cooking process.

Choose The Right Cooking Method

There are many ways to actually cook your steak, but you need to make sure that you are choosing the right one for the kind of steak you are cooking. There is practically no kind of steak that won’t be cooked wonderfully using a smoker from BBQGuys, and you can also always consider using a simple frying pan. What is often a good choice too, is to use a griddle – this gives you the benefits of both a pan and a grill, and it is something that can be used to create deep, delicious flavours.

The Best Cooking Fat

You also need to think carefully about what type of fat you cook your steaks in. There are many kinds that you can use, but they each have a different smoke point and provide different kinds of flavor. There is a lot of personal preference that goes into this, but as a general rule of thumb you should stick to flavourless oils like sunflower and groundnut – the latter having just the right smoke point for most steaks and pans. Make sure the oil splits in the pan before putting the steak in – but don’t let it smoke.

Resting

Not enough people realize just how important it is to rest the steak after cooking. The process of resting the meat actually allows the fibers in it to form together more strongly. Essentially what this means is that the steak develops a deeper flavor, and retains more of its juices. All you need to do is rest it for around five to ten minutes – any longer, and it might be cold, so be careful of that.

And that’s it – if you follow these tips, you will cook a perfect steak in no time!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Are You Sick of Cooking Taking So Much Time?

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There are few things better, in terms of taste and nutritional quality than a good home-cooked meal. However, there’s no denying that the time it takes to prepare one can be pretty draining, especially when you’re doing it day after day after day. However, what if cooking didn’t need to take so long? Here are a few things that can help you whip your kitchen into shape and get a little speedier with your meals.

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Pre-Plan and Prepare

All good cooking routines start with a meal plan. If you’re trying to eliminate waste or to save money with your meal plan, you might get ingredients that are used across two meals. If that’s the case, you can use your time when cooking the first to prepare ingredients for the next meal, too. For instance, if both today’s and tomorrow’s meals require you to chop up veggies, such as for a casserole and a stir fry on two different days, do it for both days on the first one.

Use A Slow Cooker (my favorite!)

Surely, slow cookers take longer to prepare meals than other methods? They might take longer to actually cook the meal, but the prep time can be way reduced by the fact that, usually, slow cooking requires little else than throwing the ingredients in there and letting the cooker do most of the work, like with this honey sriracha style crockpot chicken. Air fryers are also great for helping you prepare food in a flash and, if you cook a lot of rice, then a rice cooker can take away all of the extra steps you would have with a pot and water.

Find Some Shortcuts for Your Favorites

You might be surprised just how many of your favorite recipes can be made a lot quicker simply by finding the right “shortcuts.” Sometimes, the shortcuts might involve using ingredients that are pre-prepared but sometimes, like with this Veracruz style fish recipe, you can prepare a meal similar to one of your favorites, but without needing to spend all that time cooking the fish in the sauce, which makes it take less time to prepare. If you think about your favorite meals, search for shortcuts online and you’ll find most of them have at least one available.

Make Enough for Leftovers

There are plenty of meals that can easily be stored for a day and be just as delicious the second day after you heat it up. A left-over lasagna might be nicer for some if you like that crispiness that develops on the pasta when you reheat it. Take a look at some of the best leftover recipes you can eat and make enough to suit you for more than one day so that, even if it means eating the same thing two nights in a row once in a while, you get the benefit of a delicious homecooked meal and you can up the flavor simply by adding some citrus or vinegar..

If you don’t always have the time to cook from scratch as you have been, then hopefully, the tips above can help you get meals ready in a lot less time!

Thank you for reading!

Food

3 Ways To Find Unique & Delicious Recipes

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vegetable salad

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Food is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Throughout human history, countless dishes have been created around the world, and there has never been a time when it has been so easy to access it all. Stores are packed to the brim with ingredients from around the world, while most kitchens have all of the tools you need to cook just about anything. Of course, though, how exactly are you supposed to find recipes that match your need for something unique? Let’s take a look!

Use The Internet

The internet is your best friend when you want to improve your cooking. There are so many blogs, communities, and other resources that can help you to find meals that aren’t the same as what you have every other night. Reddit can be a good place for this, with more than one community dedicated to sharing recipes. Alongside this, though, it can also help to visit specialty websites. This can help you to find recipes for meals like Avial, giving you a wealth of ideas and options to explore. It’s always worth trying dishes before you spend a lot of money on equipment to make them, though this isn’t something you have to worry about with most food.

Buy Unique Ingredients

As superstores grow, they are recognizing the need for unique ingredients on their shelves. This change is being fed by the diverse communities found in modern cities and towns and is something that any foodie can take full advantage of. Many of the ingredients you find in modern stores come with recipes on the box, making it incredibly easy to try new things without having to bog yourself down in research. Recipes like this tend to be designed to be nice and easy, giving you the chance to learn more about the unique ingredients you want to try before going into recipes that are more complex.

Join A Club

The ancient recipes that are around today have only been able to survive the ravages of time thanks to oral tradition. People have been teaching each other to cook for thousands of years, though this has changed for many people in recent times. Joining a cooking club can give you the chance to learn this skill by having it passed down to you by others, while also adding a social aspect to the whole thing that will make it more fun. It’s well worth researching the options you have nearby and online, as some clubs will focus on unique foods and this is a great place to start your journey.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to step up your cooking game. While there are loads of great recipes that you will already know and love, it always pays to put effort into expanding your cooking skills. Unique recipes are one way to do this, but you can also explore other options if you find something else that appeals to you!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Simple Ways to Improve Your Food’s Flavor

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You have the best cooking equipment and a reliable recipe, but your food comes out bland. Something is amiss, but you can’t tell what it is. Don’t worry; this happens sometimes, even to the best cooks, and it’s something that can easily be fixed (and remember that good food has a way of reducing some of life’s stresses).

The taste buds have five main components that differentiate sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and umami tastes. When trying to identify the missing ingredient, think in terms of these five flavors. Does the food need a little more sweetness or saltiness? That way, you’ll be able to reach for the right ingredient to balance the aroma.

With that in mind, here are some simple ways to bring out that tasteful flavor in every food!

Use Vinegar

Vinegar is the most versatile ingredient to boost a bland recipe. Its acidity can help balance the five tastes easily. Balsamic vinegar is a favorite in many households. It not only has a bitter-sour taste, it also increases the notes of sweetness.

Choose carefully which acid to use: it can add any of the five taste notes, and sometimes not the taste note what you want. Other recommendable vinegar types are rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and red wine vinegar. Each works uniquely to boost flavor in particular cuisines.  

A Little Citrus Will Help

Most citrus fruits can be the solution you need when your food tastes flat. You can add citrus juice to almost everything, depending on how you use it.

You know that citrus fruits have a lot of vitamin C, but do you know they’re also rich in fiber? Fiber is essential for overall digestion, and it helps to balance blood sugar levels.

The first way to use the fruits is to grind the rind and add it to anything you’re cooking. This adds some acidity and sweetness. It can come as a bonus to put on top of your favorite pastry!

You can also add lemon juice into any sauce dish to make it taste better. If you’re making anything from marinara, to alfredo, to mushroom soup, try it yourself by adding lemon.

Nuts are Not Only for Snacking

Whether you’re on a vegan, paleo, high-fat, or low-fat diet, you can hardly go wrong with nuts and seeds. They’re your best diet friends, packed with lots of protein in every little nugget. You can add nuts and seeds as toppers in your salad or stir-fry. They blend well with sweet and salty flavors.

Another option is to use sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. It’s excellent in smoothies, pancakes, or when used to make a delicious butter sauce. Sunflower seeds contain Vitamin E and are beneficial to the skin. Win win!

Hemp hearts sprinkled on a chocolate spread will add a nutty flavor. They also have more protein than eggs and are great for your brain!

Garlic

Adding garlic, and a lot of it, will almost always make (savory) food taste better. Trust me on this one.

Take Away

Cooking is an art, but it can go wrong if you don’t know the right strings to pull. The trick lies in understanding the ingredients to use to make the food more delicious. Creative experimentation with nuts, vinegar, citrus fruits, and salt will definitely help make all your dishes abundant in flavor!


•What do you add to your cooking?

Thank you for reading!

Food

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

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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

5 Ways to Break out of Your Cooking Comfort Zone

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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!

Health Nutrition

Boost Your Health By Changing Your Kitchen Routine

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Health and well-being in 2020 are so important, and you should think about what you can do at home in day-to-day life to ensure you improve yours. There are a lot of things to consider here, and your kitchen routine is one of the most effective. By this, we mean what you are putting into your body on a daily basis, and how you can make the important changes necessary to improve this. 

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Look at what it takes to improve your health by working on boosting your kitchen routine. This could involve taking the steps to change up your approach, and it is most likely to be a very enjoyable and fun experience. Here are some of the best ways of changing your kitchen routine and being able to make the best health decisions as a result of this:

Start Cooking More

You want to make sure you look at what you can do to start cooking as much as possible so that you are maximizing the opportunities you have to enjoy home-cooked food, as well as being able to save money by not going out to eat all the time. There is a new wave of home gourmet chefs these days, and there is no reason why you can’t be a part of this as well. Think about what it takes to make these improvements, and consider what you are going to need to do if you want to make the most out of this moving forward. Cooking can actually be a really fun and exciting activity, and there are a lot of things that play a role in helping you to maximize this. 

Prepare in Advance

One of the best tips you should look to use if you want to help improve your kitchen routine is to look at preparing meals and ingredients in advance. There are a lot of things you should be looking at when trying to do this, and preparing meals in advance can save you so much time and make the process much more efficient. There are a lot of things that play a part in this, and you need to do this in the best possible way in order to ensure you are saving time and effort later. 

Learn New Recipes

Make sure you do as much as possible to learn new recipes and make the most of them in day to day life. You need to look at what you can do to improve and expand your repertoire and learn more about cooking and preparing healthy food at home. For instance, one of the things you could look at if you want to enjoy healthier eating is a pan seared salmon recipe that you can cook easily for the whole family. Once you have a couple of key recipes that you can work with, it’s time to branch out and try to learn some new ones. 

Invite Friends Over

Something else you might like to consider is making the eating and cooking experience more sociable and enjoyable. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when you are trying to achieve this, and you have to make sure you invite friends over and make a night of it. Something like hosting a dinner party would be an excellent choice if you want to promote healthier eating, make the most of the kitchen, and expand your options when it comes to cooking. This is definitely something you should consider, and it will make a big difference to the way your life improves moving forward as well. 

Get the Kids Involved

Another thing to consider as a modern parent is trying to get the kids involved when you are promoting healthy eating and changing your kitchen routine. Family dinners are important, and this is something you should work on improving moving forward. There are a lot of elements that can play a part in this, and you should look at what you can do to get the children more involved. Allowing them to choose or compile menus for family dinners can be a great way to do this; of course, there should be an emphasis on healthy!

You can take a look at some of the best ways of being able to be more healthy when it comes to choosing the right food to put in your body. If you can choose the right food and cooking options, you will be well-placed to enhance your health and make sure that you get more enjoyment out of the experience of eating food. 

Thank you for reading!

Health Nutrition Reviews

Live Better with Thrive™ Algae Oil + Recipe

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This post is sponsored by Thrive™ Algae. All opinions are my own.

Did you know, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States? It’s crucial that we supplement those high (bad) fats hidden in our food. There’s been a long time debate between olive oil and coconut oil (which one is healthier; better for your heart?). Olive oil is better for your heart, but still contains 2g of saturated fat. Luckily, there’s a new oil in town: Thrive™ Algae Oil.

ThriveAlgae Cooking Oil LA

Thrive™ Culinary Algae Oil contains only .5g of saturated fat (75% less than olive oil) and has the highest level of monounsaturated fat (the good fat). Cooking with algae oil also makes foods even more delicious. It has a light and delicate taste that lets the flavor of food shine through, and you get to taste the earthy, natural flavor of your ingredients, without heaviness or greasiness. I was worried it would taste like the ocean (I don’t like seafood), but it doesn’t at all. I don’t like the smell of olive oil, and my boyfriend strongly dislikes the taste of coconut oil, so algae oil is perfect! Plus, you can use it for literally any type of cooking. Up until now, an oil low in saturated fats, high in the good fats, that could also be used for frying and high-heat cooking was pretty much unheard of. Now, fried foods, crispy sautéed foods, baked goods, etc. all can be made better.

 

ThriveAlgae Oil Nutrition Facts

I decided to use Thrive™ algae oil for dinner this past evening. I’m a pretty picky eater, so I wanted to make something that was quick and delicious. I decided to make chicken parmesan (without the breading) and green beans with sliced almonds.

 

Follow the steps below to create your yummy chicken parm made with Thrive!

 

First, I poured 1 tbsp of algae oil in the pan, then added the chicken. I used fully cooked chicken, because that’s usually the kind we have in our freezer. 😉 You can use raw chicken, but I recommend baking it in the oven so it cooks thoroughly.

ThriveAlgae Oil Chicken Recipe Blog

I LOVED using the algae oil. It covered the entire pan without forming a puddle (what olive oil tends to do for me), it barely had a smell, and it didn’t burn up! When cooking with olive oil, it tends to disappear or burn a bit. Nothing like that happened with the algae oil.

After the chicken was cooked, I added a bit of marinara sauce and provolone cheese to the chicken while still in the pan.

ThriveAlgae Oil Recipe Blog Chicken

I also sauteed green beans with sliced almonds and a pinch of salt using the algae oil. They were SO delicious; definitely the best I’ve ever had! Plus, it only took me about 15 minutes to make this meal. Perfect for busy, on-the-go parents, students, or even those who dislike cooking.

ThriveAlgae Oil Recipe Blog Thumbnail

Right now, Thrive™ algae oil is only available in Los Angeles (at Gelson’s), as it’s a brand new product. However, you can place an order online here (ships within 5-7 business days). I highly recommend ordering a bottle (or two!) for yourself and your family; you won’t be disappointed!

Stay connected with Thrive™ Algae on social media for updates, recipes, and more: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

  • What kind of cooking oil do you use/prefer?
  • What is your favorite dish using oil?

ThriveAlgae Oil Dog Blog

Even my pup, Archie is intrigued! 😉
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