Cooking Tip of the Day: Carbamerica

I know we love this stuff.

We all have affectionate memories of Toaster Strudels, Eggo Waffles, Gushers Fruitsnacks, Nesquik, and a million other childhood fancies. But upon analysis, what exactly were we eating our whole childhood??

The answer: carbohydrates and partially-hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Eww…

Think about it: most of the meals we have in a day are based on carbs. You have cereal or toast or waffles or pancakes for breakfast. You have a sandwich for lunch. You have pasta for dinner. You have ice cream or cake for dessert. Most of our meals are made up of carbs. 

Then, add in how much of what you eat is really bad processed food: stuff you microwave in a bag, stuff that says its “low fat.” All of these things generally have hydrogenated oils, which are really bad for your health and have been shown to cause cancer!

Two suggestions for losing weight or just improving your health in general:

1. Watch how many carbs you are eating. Carbs are anything that is made with flour or sugar. See how things change if you decide to eat more vegetables, fruits, and meat than those carbs! 

2. Read your labels. If you check the ingredients to make sure “partially hydrogenated” or “hydrogenated” oils, aka trans fatty acids, are not present, you are successfully avoiding risks of cancer.

Cooking Tip of The Day: Health Edition

So, my last post seems to have been ages ago, and this is because I spent my entire weekend on the go...working with little kids! Then, believe it or not, I got really sick from working with little kids. So this past weekend I was fighting like a warrior to win against some horrible virus.

Today's Cooking Tip of the Day is for those folks who feel sickness looming over their heads. It's really simple...

Drink Vitamin C! And don't stop! My mom has a good friend who is a cancer research scientist, and he was always telling us to have about 4,000 mg of vitamin C at a time when we were sick--about twice to three times per day. Apparently you cannot really overdose on it, because when you are sick it is the vitamin your body uses the fastest. You just keep taking it.

Get this stuff: the powder that you pour into water. Each packet contains 1000 mg of vitamin C. It's the fastest way to get it into your system, and it also forces you to drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated. And it does taste pretty good, too.

Cooking Tip of the Day

When cooking vegetables,we can get really boring...boiled potatoes, canned asparagus....why not try oven-roasting your veg?

I LOVE to dice potatoes, throw them on a tray with chopped bacon, crushed garlic, herbs, olive oil and salt and pepper...toss it in the oven on 425F for about 20-25 minutes, and there you go! An amazing side ( or main course).

You can do this sort of thing with pretty much any vegetable. It makes a beautiful golden crust that is amazingly crispy and flavorful.

Cooking Tip of the Day

One way to "spice up your cooking lifestyle" is to use fresh herbs. They taste thousands of times better than those only-grandma-knows-how-old-they-are dried herbs in your cabinet.

They also come pretty cheap at the grocery store (I know that you can get small packages at some local grocery stores for about a dollar).

Rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil are my favorites, and you can put them on chicken/other meat before you roast it in the oven, in pasta, or even in a salad to give it an extra kick. Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar is makes an amazing and aromatic salad!

Also, the flowers from herbs are edible, and can make the finishing touch to any dish.

Some food for thought...when cooking with thyme, try frying it in a pan in oil (say, before you cook your meat or add pasta sauce). The flavors come out of this herb much more when it is cooked in oil.

Cooking Tip of the Day

Let your pan heat up completely before putting anything in it. Butter degrades quickly at high temperatures, so by putting in the butter right when the pan is hot and you are about to start cooking, you ensure that it will not burn as quickly.

Also, if you place meat in the pan before it is hot, you will not get a nice, browned crust. The meat will start to steam, giving you an awful, chewy texture.

So...Ladies and Gents!!! PREPARE YOUR PANS!!!