Tip for Quick Cooking

Sometimes we have plenty of time, but there are also days where we don't have a clue when we should still prepare a meal. These days when you come home in the afternoon, then you rush through the supermarket because you have to buy groceries, and six o'clock supper must be ready because your husband still needs to go out. Does that sound familiar?

Well, there are some ways. Some meals just simply go quicker than others. I always have a few "quick meals as a back up" on my list, just in case something happens and I must make food in less than an hour.

Here are some general ideas of how to safe time when cooking:

Starchy foods
Pasta and rice are done quicker than potatoes because they require less preparation. If making pasta, you can also safe time by pre-boiling the water with the kettle.

Another excellent quick starchy food is couscous. It tastes great with vegetables like marrows, red pepper, tomato etc. And it's a healthy meal, too, because it's low in fat.

Vegetables/ Fruit

Most kinds of fruit don't take long to cook, and fruit prepared in a "veggie style" can be very tasty. Preferably use bigger fruits because otherwise you will "peel yourself to death".

When you pick your veggies, just keep in mind that some are done much quicker than others. Here's a list of a few veggies that don't require much preparation. You just wash them and cut them, and the wonderful thing is, even when you cut big pieces, they are still done quickly.

Mushrooms
Marrows
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Brinjal/ aubergines
Avocados
Leek
Spinach

Salads

There is no better thing on a hot summer day than a tasty salad. Not that boring plain green salad with oil and vinegar but a nice colorful salad with different ingredients. You can add different types of fruit to the green salad if you like it sweetish. Or cut cucumber, red and yellow pepper and cheese or feta cheese into small pieces and add it. You could also mix boiled eggs, tomatoes and mozzarella (all cut into pieces, of course) with your green salad.

For the sauce, you can, for example, mix plain yoghurt with your favourite spices, a little oil and good vinegar, or use smooth cottage cheese that you liquidize with some milk instead.

Maybe you can even think of something without green salad in. Like rice or noodle salad. Whilst your rice or noodles cook, you can prepare the other ingredients. Then you just mix everything, and voilà! These salads can usually be kept for a few days in the fridge so you can make them early in the day or even the day before.

Meat/ hard vegetables

Simply cut the meat or veggies into smaller pieces. The smaller they are, the quicker they will be done. Pieces that are just a "small bite" can be done in 10-30 minutes whereas a 1kg-piece of meat will easily take an hour or more.

But be careful not to overcook them because they will lose important vitamins. Rather bake them covered in the oven or in a non-sticking pan with little fat and just a bit of water or chicken/ vegetable stock if necessary.

Boiled eggs

Instead of putting the eggs in boiling water and cook them according to your taste, try this:

1. Put them in a pot and add about a cm of cold water.
2. Close the lid and bring to boil.
3. From the moment the water starts boiling cook the eggs the same time like you used to.

It will go quicker because it is only half the amount of water and therefore boils quicker. It will safe energy, too.

Desserts

You just feel like having a nice chocolate cream but you don't want to stand long in the kitchen? Or your kids are begging for pudding which you unfortunately didn't make? There's a quick recipe that tastes nice and chocolaty and takes only a little longer as milk takes to boil. And if you make the pudding yourself, you know it's guaranteed without these unhealthy food additives, making it much more healthy.

Bettina Berlin is an occupational therapist and a stay-at-home mom. I love cooking and used to spend hours and hours in my kitchen before my daughter was born. Now she claims a lot of my time and often there is no time to cook long tricky meals. But I still like to ensure that my family eats healthy homemade meals. They know how to spell "ready made frozen meals", but that's it.
Join me in collecting more quick recipes on http://elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com/!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bettina_Berlin

Oat Waffles

Hello Everyone,

Here is a breakfast recommendation I wish to introduce:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine -- melted
peanut butter and/or applesauce -- optional

Method:

1) In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients.
2) In another bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs and butter; stir into the dry ingredients until smooth.
3) Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.
4) Serve with peanut butter and/or applesauce if desired.

Steam Corn Rice

Today, I wish to share with you how to steam rice with corn flavor...
It is simple, nice and easy to do it.

Ingredients:
1 can corn Kernels
4 cups of fragant rice
4 cups of water

Method:

1) Washed, drained and place the rice into a steamer
2) Sprinkle corn kernel on top of the rice.
3) Steam for 15 - 20mins.
4) Ready to serve.

Easy? Only 4 steps... Let's do it...

Creamy Chicken Mushrooms Soup

It always hard to always to stick healthy food all the time. Sometime once in a while graving for some sinful food is unavoidable..Oh what an excuse...

Nonetheless, just want to share a good recipe contributed by Love97.2.












Creamy Chicken Mushrooms Soup

Ingredients A:
Chicken : 150g (cut into small pieces, mix with ½ tsp corn flour)
Button mushroom : 1small can (slice)
Fresh mushroom : 3pcs (cut into cube)
Broccoli : 100g (cut into small pieces)

Ingredients B:Butter : 60g
Plain flour : 60g (sift)
Ingredients C:
Chicken soup : 1liter
Fresh Milk : 100g

Method:

1) Prepare Ingredients A for later use
2) Heat up pot, melt the butter over low heat
3) Add flour, stir fry till fragrant
4) Stir in chicken soup gradually, bring to a boil over high heat
5) Add chicken, button mushroom, boil to cook
6) Pour in fresh milk, bring to a boil
7) Add fresh mushroom, broccoli
8) Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Natural substitute of sweeteners

Here is an interesting articles which I would like to share...

Lo Han Guo is an effective natural substitute for high-calorie or artificial sweeteners in supplements, beverages and other food products.

About the Lo Han Guo Fruit

Lo Han Guo (also known as Lo Han Kuo or Luohanguo) is the common name for the fruit Siratia grosvenorii (formerly known as Memordica grosvenori). It is a member of the melon family and is primarily grown on vines in southern China. This naturally sweet fruit is increasingly being used as a sweetener because of its many distinct characteristics.

Naturally Sweeter than Sucrose

Lo Han Guo's sweetness comes primarily from its mogrosides (a group of terpene glycosides) that are approximately 250 times sweeter by weight than sucrose. The mogrosides are commonly extracted from the fruit by water and then processed into a powder form that is readily usable as a natural sweetener for commercial or consumer usage.

Benefits of Lo Han Guo

* Zero Calories: Our digestive system does not metabolize mogrosides so Lo Han Guo is considered non-caloric.

* Zero Glycemic Impact: Safe for use by diabetics and hypoglycemics, this natural sweetener will not elevate insulin levels and may have an antihyperglycemic effect via the inhibition of maltase.

* Weight Management: Can be used as a natural substitute for high-calorie sweeteners such as sucrose and high fructose corn syrup.

Proven History

Dried Lo Han Guo fruit has been used as a medicinal herb and natural sweetener in China for several centuries. As a medicinal herb, it is commonly used to treat respiratory ailments.

It has been approved as a high-intensity sweetening agent in Japan and the US FDA approved its usage in juice-containing beverages in May 2002. It is also used in drink supplements to enhance their taste and appeal.

Lo Han Guo is especially effective when used in supplements such as http://www.AIMHealthStore.com/BarleyLife-LoHanGuo where the natural sweetener appeals to kids without any of the harmful side effects of sucrose.

The author is the owner of the http://www.AIMHealthStore.com website which offers wholesale natural herbal health supplements.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Tung

Healthy Fix - Wholesome snacks

Here is a tasty and convenient snack which can help to curb your hunger pangs.

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars are not only healthy but tasty and exciting with different flavours like chocolates chunk, cookies n cream and oatmeal raisins.They are packed with toasted granola and wholegrain oats.

It is definitely a healthier choice to snack during teabreak.

Each bar contain only 90 calories.

It is available at supermarkets, Watsons, Seven-Eleven and convenience stores.

Healthy Yam Dessert

For people who like Dessert, here is a healthilier version of YamPaste (Orh Nee)

Ingredients

500g peeled yam
A pinch of salt
2 tbs sugar
100g light olive oil

Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbs rum
1 cup peeled gingko nuts


Method
1) Cut peeled yam into large pieces and place in a pot with enough water to cover. 2) Add a pinch of salt and 2 tbs of sugars to the pot.
3) Cook till the yam is tender.
4) Drain and keep the boiling water for later use.
5) Mash the yam with a fork, adding olive oil to round out the taste and some of the boiling water to the obtain the consistency you like.
6) Make the syrup into another pot. Add the sugar and 1 cup of water into it and bring to boil.
7) When the sugar dissolves, add the gingko nuts, vanilla essence and rum.
8) Cook for a while longer to thicken the syrup.
9) Serve the mash yam and glaze with the thicken syrup together with the gingko nuts.

Important Notes:

1) Be careful with the milky white liquid appeared on the cut surfaces when peeling and slicing the yam. When in contact with skin, it may cause minor irritation.
Just wash your hands with warm water if that ever happens.

2)The stem of each ginkgo nut must be removed or it will make the whole dish taste bitter.