cooking

Improve Your Life by Learning How to Cook

December 17, 2015 / Filed Under: cooking

In this day and age of instant meals and restaurants on every corner, it’s easy to let someone else do the cooking. However, there are many benefits to learning how to combine flavors and textures to create an amazing dish that your family will love. Even if you’ve always cooked out of a box or reached for a takeout menu, you’ll find that cooking from scratch is enjoyable and highly rewarding. Here are just a few of the benefits you’ll achieve when you start cooking healthy meals in your own home.

Delicious Food with No Preservatives
Health-conscious people are making the decision to cut back on the preservatives in their diet, and that mean that they often have to prepare their own meals from scratch. It takes a little longer, but you’ll find that the food simply tastes better. You’ll enjoy it more, and you’ll be motivated to make home cooked meals more often.

Save Money
Cooking from scratch is also an easy way to save money. Eating out is expensive, and depending on convenience meals can also leave a dent in your wallet. You can stretch your budget further by buying the foods individually and doing the preparation work on your own. A head of lettuce and assortment of fresh vegetables will cost less and last longer than the pre-mixed bags of salad, and you’ll see similar savings with other dishes, as well.

Healthier Choices
When you cook from scratch, you’re able to make healthier choices that suit your family’s needs. People who are following low-carb diets can replace some pasta with cauliflower or other vegetables. Rather than the white rice that comes in the boxed meal, you can choose to use whole-grain brown rice that’s healthier for you. Leave the salt in the cupboard and add garlic or other seasonings to improve the flavor of the food while protecting your heart. You can make better choices for your health and your waistline when you’re combining the ingredients yourself and making your own delicious meals.

My “Best Way” to Roast a Chicken

October 2, 2013 / Filed Under: cooking, food, tips

I rely on chicken as an easy dinner that everyone in the family likes; as a busy working mother with three school-age children (Ykaie and my two nieces Cyra and Cyvrine), it’s the easiest meat to cook. Here’s my take on the most classic of chicken recipes. Believe me, this formula has been honed over many years of chicken roasting!

Roast Chicken and Gravy

VERY HOT OVEN: I roast my chicken in an extra high oven (220) for about an hour and twenty minutes for a medium-sized bird. I do let it rest for 20 minutes at the end, so this probably contributes to the cooking process. The meat stays moist, but the skin is crisp.

BREAST-SIDE DOWN & UNTRUSSED: I always place the bird breast-side down and remove the string trussing. I also score the thighs to help them cook at the same pace as the breast. I often also sprinkle a stock cube over and season with plenty of salt and pepper.

WIRE-RACK GRAVY: I place the chicken on a wire rack in the roasting tray and poor a cup of water below this to stop the fat from smoking. You need to top this up, or your oven will smoke like crazy. You can add other flavours such as wine/garlic/herbs/lemon/carrots etc to this to make good gravy. Just strain the lot at the end, and whisk in a few tablespoons of corn flour mixed with cold water to thicken it up.

FLIP THE BIRD: After 40 minutes I flip the chicken breast-side up to let the skin crisp. I sprinkle a bit more salt on at this stage.

LEST IT REST: I always let the chicken rest for 20 minutes before carving. This finishes the cooking process, but also helps me to get organised. Once the bird is out of the oven, all I need to do is boil some veg on the hob and concentrate on my roast spuds. I pre-boil my potatoes till quite soft, then roast them in the very high oven for 20/30 minutes.

TIME TO SERVE: My final touch is to add the flavoursome juices from the resting chicken to the gravy jug. Et voila – juicy tasty roast chicken.

A HEALTHY WAY OF COOKING AND DINING AT HOME

August 23, 2013 / Filed Under: cooking, Events, house and home

I’ve always been a fan of Corelle and Corningware when it comes to cookware. Not only do they look elegant and pretty, they are also durable and healthy. That is why when I was invited to their “Make the Healthy Switch” event, I didn’t think twice and I went.

As a homemaker, our top priority is the health and well-being of our family. First thing on our mind is to prepare healthy and delicious food that our family will surely enjoy. Good health starts with fresh ingredients that are hygienically prepared and properly cooked in the right cookware and serving the family meals in a healthy, safe and hygienic dinnerware. This is best achieved by using the cookware and dinnerware that ensure your food is free from harmful bacteria and chemicals, thus protecting you and the health of your family.

These are the four brands of cookware and dinnerware that could ensure your food is free from harmful bacteria and chemicals: