The 2013 Epcot Food and Wine Festival is on from September 27 – November 11, 2013, in Epcot, Walt Disney World, Florida, USA.
Featuring fantastic special events, culinary and beverage demonstrations, celebrity chefs, and the ever-popular World Showcase Marketplace tasting booths, this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity!
The Festival offers you an oppurtunity to satiate your hunger and thirst with a burst of fresh food, fine wine and craft beers from a host of global marketplaces.
Feast on flavorsome international tributes to the sensory arts as you peruse through a savory selection of tempting tasting stations.
Learn from mixologists, indulge in culinary demonstrations, ripen your knowledge of cheese and get educated on wine.
The 2013 Epcot Food and Wine Festival offers 3 different ways to experience the event, each one offering its own distinct perspective.
Use-by dates are contributing to millions of pounds of wasted food each year.
A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic says Americans are prematurely throwing out food, largely because of confusion over what expiration dates actually mean.
Most consumers mistakenly believe that expiration dates on food indicate how safe the food is to consume, when these dates actually aren’t related to the risk of food poisoning or foodborne illness.
Food dating emerged in the 1970s, prompted by consumer demand as Americans produced less of their own food but still demanded information about how it was made. The dates solely indicate freshness, and are used by manufacturers to convey when the product is at its peak. That means the food does not expire in the sense of becoming inedible.
For un-refrigerated foods, there may be no difference in taste or quality, and expired foods won’t necessarily make people sick.
But according to the new analysis, words like “use by” and “sell by” are used so inconsistently that they contribute to widespread misinterpretation — and waste — by consumers. More than 90% of Americans throw out food prematurely, and 40% of the U.S. food supply is tossed–unused–every year because of food dating.
Eggs, for example, can be consumed three to five weeks after purchase, even though the “use by” date is much earlier. A box of mac-and-cheese stamped with a “use by” date of March 2013 can still be enjoyed on March 2014, most likely with no noticeable changes in quality.
“We are fine with there being quality or freshness dates as long as it is clearly communicated to consumers, and they are educated about what that means,” says study co- author Emily Broad Leib, the director of Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic. “There should be a standard date and wording that is used. This is about quality, not safety. You can make your own decision about whether a food still has an edible quality that’s acceptable to you.”
A hamburger that looks like one you’d get at any fast-food restaurant comes with a price tag of $330,000 — and it isn’t even made out of natural meat. When volunteers taste it on Monday, in front of rows of VIPs and TV cameras, they’ll be eating the first publicly available burger that comes from a laboratory instead of a dead animal.
To produce the patty, researchers will mix lab-grown beef muscle cells with salt, egg powder and bread crumbs. Beet juice and saffron will be added to give a more natural color to the bloodless burger. It’ll be fried up in a pan, and seasoned with a dash of salt and pepper. With any luck, the burger should taste pretty much like your typical ground beef.
So why bother, when you can buy a burger made with real meat for no more than a couple of bucks?
The high-profile tasting in London is part of a years-long campaign to grow artificial meat without having to raise and kill billions of livestock animals — and as a result, head off a looming food crisis. Even the researchers behind the campaign acknowledge it could take a decade or more to turn lab-grown meat into a commercially viable alternative. But they see the effort as an environmental imperative.
Fresh corn, tomatoes, onions, and parsley are tossed with a sweet-hot vinaigrette to make this favorite summertime salsa. Pair with tortilla chips for a colorful appetizer or serve alongside grilled burgers, chicken, or ribs.
Preheat a broiler or prepare a charcoal fire and let burn to a gray ash. Place corn on a broiling pan or grill set about 6 inches from heat source. Cook, turning often, until kernels have softened and are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then cut off kernels from each ear (you’ll have about 3 cups).
In a large bowl, combine corn kernels, tomatoes, onions, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce. Add parsley and stir well. Chill until ready to serve.
The problem with most broccoli salads is the broccoli – the raw broccoli. Some people like raw broccoli, and actually, I love raw broccoli stems. They taste a lot like cabbage or cauliflower. But the florets? If they’re raw, keep them away please. So, how to make a broccoli salad if you don’t like raw broccoli? The solution – blanch the broccoli for 1 minute, or no more than two minutes. The broccoli will still be firm enough for the salad, the color will be even prettier, because blanching brings out the green, and the taste will be less raw and more cooked. In this recipe, the broccoli pairs wonderfully with the toasted almonds, bacon, peas, and onion. The honey and vinegar in the dressing adds some sweet and sour to the mix. Normally I cringe at the thought of broccoli salad, but honestly, this is one of the tastiest salads I’ve ever made, broccoli or not.
5-6 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 1 pound of florets)
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed (or fresh peas if you can get them)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
METHOD
1 Bring a large pot of water, salted with a teaspoon of salt, to a boil. Add the broccoli florets. Cook 1-2 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want the broccoli. 1 minute will turn the broccoli bright green, and leave it still pretty crunchy. 2 minutes will cook the broccoli through, but still firm. Set your timer and do not cook for more than 2 minutes, or the broccoli will get mushy. Drain the broccoli and immediately put into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Let cool and drain.
2 Combine broccoli florets, almonds, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and peas in a large serving bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cider vinegar and honey. Add dressing to the salad and toss to mix well. Chill thoroughly before serving.
Many of us lead busy lives and everyone, especially those of us with families, is trying to get dinner on the table as quickly and easily as possible. Occasionally we fall back on using prepackaged meals from the grocery store or calling for takeout. Those meals have more fat, salt and sugar than we need, they produce a lot of garbage from the packaging and they are more expensive than cooking from scratch.
In these uncertain economic times, we need to look at our food costs and start to spend more wisely. Here are seven recipes that will cover your dinners for a week, with some leftovers for lunch. They are as quick as takeout, as easy as many processed dinners, and more economical and nutritious than either.
Chickpea Curry
My son eats a lot of tofu and I’m always encouraging him to add more legumes to his diet, so I decided on something with chickpeas. I had in my mind a recipe from Julie Sahni’s cookbook “Classic Indian Cooking” as a starting point and we made our own version. I had some dried Mexican chilies that Hugh had brought from his store. I’ve always rehydrated chilies, but Hugh put them in the bottom of a dry pan until they were fragrant, chopped them finely, added a bit of olive oil and then crushed them with a mortar and pestle until they made a paste. We had some leftover rice and carrots from the night before and tossed them in as well. You could add vegetables such as zucchini or cauliflower as well. Here is the full Chickpea Curry recipe.
Beans with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard
We actually ended up getting a number of meals from the Swiss chard I grew in my garden this summer, and I really enjoyed them. I had a good handful to harvest and I cooked them up with some fresh tomatoes and mushrooms for a quick, throw-together meal that was easy and cheap. All the measurements are approximate, and you can easily put together other legumes such as chickpeas or lentils, or other leafy vegetables such as kale or spinach. You can eat this as is, in a bowl, or serve it over pasta or rice. If you have any leftovers, you can eat them as a cold salad or add some liquid and puree it into a soup. Here are the step-by-step instructions for Beans with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard.
Vegetarian Chili
If you feel like a party, invite a few friends over and make this easy, delicious chili. Or better still, make it the day before and then you don’t have to do anything but heat it up when your guests arrive. I looked at lots of recipes for vegetarian chili, but in the end I adapted my regular meat-based chili because I like the seasonings. Without the meat to soak up the heat, I found the chili a bit too hot. I have reduced the amount of dried chili peppers by quite a bit, so if you like your chili on the spicy side you could increase it. Use the list of vegetables as a guideline, and feel free to toss in whatever you have on hand. I used kidney beans, but you could add some chickpeas or black beans, as well. If you do want meat in the chili, brown 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef before you add the other ingredients. The rest of the tricks for Vegetarian Chili are in the recipe.
Oriecchiette with Lentils, Onion and Spinach
I have a confession to make. In an attempt to make lentils more palatable for my husband, I did something I’ve never done before. I took a totally healthy vegetarian dish and added bacon. Not just any bacon, but some magnificent pancetta that my son brought from the store he works in. It was just a bit, but enough to elevate this dish from nice to delicious. Of course, you can always leave the bacon out. Here is the full recipe for Oriecchiette with Lentils, Onion and Spinach.
Dal and Pumpkin Soup
I’m a big fan of Nigel Slater and his book, “The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen,” which encapsulates his theories about food and cooking. I turned to the very front of the book and decided to make his New Year’s Day soup. Slater apparently has a tradition of making soup on New Year’s Day and I heartily approve. He calls this “a bowl of soup that both whips and kisses.” It seems like a pretty good meal to have as the weather gets colder, and we have the long winter before us. All the details for whipping up Dal and Pumpkin Soup are in the recipe.
Vegetable Salad: Carrots, Fennel, Radishes, Beets and Onion
Earlier this year, I reviewed “Vegetable Harvest” by Patricia Wells. This lovely winter salad was the first recipe I tried from the book. I had just been to the farmers’ market and bought an enormous bunch of radishes for 50 cents, so this recipe seemed fortuitous. You could serve this either as part of a family meal, or as a first course at a dinner party. It is quite colourful and attractive on the plate-and is really tasty. Whip up a lovely Vegetable Salad: Carrots, Fennel, Radishes, Beets and Onion using the recipe.
Mushroom Tofu Stew
Big chunks of meat and potatoes are usually what come to mind when you think about stew. But many university students either don’t have the money or the inclination to eat that kind of meal. I was looking for something that was vegetarian and would be hearty and nourishing while still being easy on the pocket book. And like all of the recipes in this series, you have to be able to make it all in one pot. This recipe fulfills all of those requirements, but, while delicious, I will freely admit that it isn’t the most beautiful dish I’ve ever made. Make Mushroom Tofu Stew using the recipe.
1 large can stewed tomatoes, I use the ones with spices added
cracked black pepper to taste
garlic to taste
other seasonings as desired, I use some basil, red peppers, whatever looks good, this is one of those things that it rarely is exactly the same thing twice
hot water, 1-2 cups
When you start putting vegetables in your stock pot they take up quite a bit of room. A trick I learned from my sister is to chop and add as you go, start with cabbage and pour your hot water over that right away to help it start to cook down. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are as tender as you like. That’s it. Your whole house will smell amazing. I like to use it as a pre-dinner soup, it has no protein so obviously you can’t eat just this, it will fill you up so you have less room for other stuff!
Most people are familiar with the traditional uses for lemons to soothe sore throats and add some citrus flavor to our foods.
However the diversity of applications for lemons far exceeds general knowledge and once you read the following list, you’ll likely want to stock at least a few lemons in your kitchen 24-7. 1. Freshen the Fridge
Remove refrigerator odors with ease. Dab lemon juice on a cotton ball or sponge and leave it in the fridge for several hours. Make sure to toss out any malodorous items that might be causing the bad smell.
2. High Blood Pressure
Lemon contains potassium which controls high blood pressure and reduces the effect of nausea and dizziness.
3. Prevent Cauliflower From Turning Brown
Cauliflower tend to turn brown with even the slightest cooking. You can make sure the white vegetables stay white by squeezing a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice on them before heating.
4. Mental Health
Lemon water can also prep up your mood and relieve you from depression and stress. Long distance walkers and world travelers as well as explorers look upon the lemon as a Godsend. When fatigue begins, a lemon is sucked through a hole in the top. Quick acting medicine it is, giving almost unbelievable refreshments.
5. Refresh Cutting Boards
No wonder your kitchen cutting board smells! After all, you use it to chop onions, crush garlic, and prepare fish. To get rid of the smell and help sanitize the cutting board, rub it all over with the cut side of half a lemon or wash it in undiluted juice straight from the bottle.
6. Respiratory Problems
Lemon water can reduce phlegm; and can also help you breathe properly and aids a person suffering with asthma.
7. Treating Arthritis and Rheumatism
Lemon is a diuretic – assists in the production of urine which helps you to reduce inflammation by flushing out toxins and bacteria while also giving you relief from arthritis and rheumatism.
8. Prevents Kidney Stones
Regular consumption of the refreshing drink — or even lemon juice mixed with water — may increase the production of urinary citrate, a chemical in the urine that prevents the formation of crystals that may build up into kidney stones.
9. Keep Insects Out of the Kitchen
You don’t need insecticides or ant traps to ant-proof your kitchen. Just give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holes or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message that they aren’t welcome. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas: Simply mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it; then watch the fleas and roaches flee. They hate the smell.
10. Anti-Aging
Lemon water reduces the production of free radicals which are responsible for aging skin and skin damage. Lemon water is calorie free and an antioxidant.
11. Fruit and Vegetable Wash
You never know what kind of pesticides or dirt may be lurking on the skin of your favorite fruits and vegetables. Slice your lemon and squeeze out one tablespoon of lemon juice into your spray bottle. The lemon juice is a natural disinfectant and will leave your fruits and vegetables smelling nice too.
12. Treat Infections
Lemon water can fight throat infections thanks to its antibacterial property. If salt water does not work for you, try lime and water for gargling.
13. Deodorize Your Garbage
If your garbage is beginning to smell yucky, here’s an easy way to deodorize it: Save leftover lemon and orange peels and toss them at the base under the bag. To keep it smelling fresh, repeat once every couple of weeks.
14. Keep Guacamole Green
You’ve been making guacamole all day long for the big party, and you don’t want it to turn brown on top before the guests arrive. The solution: Sprinkle a liberal amount of fresh lemon juice over it and it will stay fresh and green. The flavor of the lemon juice is a natural complement to the avocados in the guacamole. Make the fruit salad hours in advance too. Just squeeze some lemon juice onto the apple slices, and they’ll stay snowy white.
15. Purges The Blood
We consume a lot of junk food or food with a lot of preservatives and artificial flavours. This builds up a lot of toxins in the blood and body but daily consumption of lemon water helps to purify the blood.
16. Make Soggy Lettuce Crisp
Don’t toss that soggy lettuce into the garbage. With the help of a little lemon juice you can toss it in a salad instead. Add the juice of half a lemon to a bowl of cold water. Then put the soggy lettuce in it and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make sure to dry the leaves completely before putting them into salads or sandwiches.
17. Oral Health
Lemon juice also stops bleeding gums and reduces toothaches
18. Lighten Age Spots
Why buy expensive creams when you’ve got lemon juice? To lighten liver spots or freckles, try applying lemon juice directly to the area. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse your skin clean. It’s a safe and effective skin-lightening agent.
19. Create Blonde Highlights
For salon-worthy highlights, add 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then, sit in the sun until your hair dries. To maximize the effect, repeat once daily for up to a week.
20. Make a Room Scent/Humidifier
Freshen and moisturize the air in your home on dry winter days. Make your own room scent that also doubles as a humidifier. If you have a wood-burning stove, place an enameled cast-iron pot or bowl on top, fill with water, and add lemon (and/or orange) peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and apple skins. No wood-burning stove? Use your stovetop instead and just simmer the water periodically.
21. Clean and Whiten Nails
Pamper your hands without a manicurist. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soak your fingertips in the mixture for 5 minutes. After pushing back the cuticles, rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail.
22. Cleanse Your Face
Zap zits naturally by dabbing lemon juice on blackheads to draw them out during the day. You can also wash your face with lemon juice for a natural cleanse and exfoliation. Your skin should improve after several days of treatment. Lemon water is also a cooling agent, best way to beat the heat.
23. Freshen Your Breath
Make an impromptu mouthwash by rinsing with lemon juice straight from the bottle. Swallow for longer-lasting fresh breath. The citric acid in the juice alters the pH level in your mouth, killing bacteria that causes bad breath. Rinse after a few minutes because long-term exposure to the acid in lemons can harm tooth enamel.
24. Treat Flaky Dandruff
If itchy, scaly dandruff has you scratching your head, relief may be no farther away than your refrigerator. Just massage two tablespoons lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir one teaspoon lemon juice into one cup water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat daily until your dandruff disappears.
25. Get Rid of Tough Stains on Marble
You probably think of marble as stone, but it is really petrified calcium (also known as old seashells). That explains why it is so porous and easily stained and damaged. Those stains can be hard to remove. If washing won’t remove a stubborn stain, try this: Cut a lemon in half, dip the exposed flesh into some table salt, and rub it vigorously on the stain. But do this only as a last resort; acid can damage marble. Rinse well. Use These Lemons To Clean – Easy and Effective
26. Remove Berry Stains
It sure was fun to pick your own berries, but now your fingers are stained with berry juice that won’t come off no matter how much you scrub with soap and water. Try washing your hands with undiluted lemon juice, then wait a few minutes and wash with warm, soapy water. Repeat until your hands are stain-free.
27. Soften Dry, Scaly Elbows
Itchy elbows are bad enough, but they look terrible too. For better looking (and feeling) elbows, mix baking soda and lemon juice to make an abrasive paste, then rub it into your elbows for a soothing, smoothing, and exfoliating treatment. Rinse your extremities in a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water, then massage with olive oil and dab dry with a soft cloth.
28. Headaches
Lemon juice with a few teaspoons of hot tea added is the treatment of a sophisticated New York bartender, for those who suffer with hangover headaches–and from headaches due to many other causes. He converts his customers to this regime, and weans them away from drug remedies completely.
29. Chills and Fevers
Chills and fevers may be due to a variety of causes; never the less the lemon is always a helpful remedy. Spanish physicians regard it as an infallible friend.
30. Diptheria
Skip the vaccine for this disease. Lemon Juice Treatment still proves as one of the most powerful antiseptics and the strong digestive qualities of the fruit are admired around the world. With the juice every hour or two, and at the same time, 1/2 to 1 tsp. should be swallowed. This cuts loose the false membrane in the throat and permits it to come out.
31. Vaginal Hygiene
Diluted lemon juice makes a safe and sane method of vaginal hygiene. Though it is a powerful antiseptic it is nevertheless free from irritating drugs in douches and suppositories.
32. Forget The Moth Balls
A charming French custom to keep closets free from moths is to take ripe lemons and stick them with cloves all over the skin. The heavily studded lemons slowly dry with their cloves, leaving a marvelous odor throughout the closets and rooms.
33. Stomach Health
Digestive problems are the most common ailments but warm water and lime juice is the solution to most digestive problems. Lemon juice helps to purify the blood, reduces your chances of indigestion, constipation, eliminates toxins from the body, adds digestion and reduces phlegm.
34. Disinfect Cuts and Scrapes
Stop bleeding and disinfect minor cuts and scraps by pouring a few drops of lemon juice directly on the cut. You can also apply the juice with a cotton ball and hold firmly in place for one minute.
35. Soothe Poison Ivy Rash
You won’t need an ocean of calamine lotion the next time poison ivy comes a-creeping. Just apply lemon juice directly to the affected area to soothe itching and alleviate the rash.
36. Remove Warts
You’ve tried countless remedies to banish warts and nothing seems to work. Next time, apply a dab of lemon juice directly to the wart using a cotton swab. Repeat for several days until the acids in the lemon juice dissolve the wart completely.
37. Bleach Delicate Fabrics
Avoid additional bleach stains by swapping ordinary household chlorine bleach with lemon juice, which is milder but no less effective. Soak your delicates in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing.
38. Clean Tarnished Brass and Polish Chrome
Say good-bye to tarnish on brass, copper, or stainless steel. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (or substitute baking soda or cream of tartar for the salt) and coat the affected area. Let it stay on for 5 minutes. Then wash in warm water, rinse, and polish dry. Use the same mixture to clean metal kitchen sinks too. Apply the paste, scrub gently, and rinse. Get rid of mineral deposits and polish chrome faucets and other tarnished chrome. Simply rub lemon rind over the chrome and watch it shine! Rinse well and dry with a soft cloth.
39. Replace Your Dry Cleaner
Ditch the expensive dry-cleaning bills (and harsh chemicals) with this homegrown trick. Simply scrub the stained area on shirts and blouses with equal parts lemon juice and water. Your “pits” will be good as new, and smell nice too.
40. Boost Laundry Detergent
For more powerful cleaning action, pour 1 cup lemon juice into the washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the juice will zap stains and remove rust and mineral discolorations from cotton T-shirts and briefs and will leave your clothes smelling fresh. Your clothes will turn out brighter and also come out smelling lemon-fresh.
41. Rid Clothes of Mildew
Have you ever unpacked clothes you stored all winter and discovered some are stained with mildew? To get rid of it, make a paste of lemon juice and salt and rub it on the affected area, then dry the clothes in sunlight. Repeat the process until the stain is gone.
42. Eliminate Fireplace Odor
There’s nothing cozier on a cold winter night than a warm fire burning in the fireplace — unless the fire happens to smell horrible. Next time you have a fire that sends a stench into the room, try throwing a few lemon peels into the flames. Or simply burn some lemon peels along with your firewood as a preventive measure.
43. Neutralize Cat-Box Odor
You don’t have to use an aerosol spray to neutralize foul-smelling cat-box odors or freshen the air in your bathroom. Just cut a couple of lemons in half. Then place them, cut side up, in a dish in the room, and the air will soon smell lemon-fresh.
44. Deodorize a Humidifier
When your humidifier starts to smell funky, deodorize it with ease: Just pour 3 or 4 teaspoons lemon juice into the water. It will not only remove the off odor but will replace it with a lemon-fresh fragrance. Repeat every couple of weeks to keep the odor from returning.
45. Reduce Asthma Symptoms
In addition to a general detoxifying diet, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice before each meal, and before retiring can reduce asthma symptoms.
* If you do consume lemon peel, stick to organic lemons to reduce your pesticide exposure.
As a food writer and home cook, I love to cook. But that doesn’t mean I want to spend every night in front of a cookbook and hot stove working on a recipe from Julia Child.
So I took an idea of Tim Ferris’s (author of The Four Hour Workweek): simplify meals and diet by eating very similar things over and over- and ran with it.
He did it with weight loss and muscle gain as a goal. I’m doing as a way to get back more time.
As a result, I spend less time thinking about what to make, move faster through farmer’s markets and the grocery store and spend less time preparing food. Plus, I still enjoy what I eat as much as when I labored over what to make.
As an added bonus, I eat healthier because I’m not running for takeout because “there’s nothing at home to eat.”
You can do this too. It takes a bit of organization and planning. One day may be spent in more prep work (like today as I focus on a Cinco de Mayo theme) but most days of the week turn like clockwork.
If you feel overwhelmed by meal preparation, bothered by how much money is spent on take-out meals or simply want to eat healthier food, try this out and see if you can make it work for you.
Figure out what you like to eat.
Focus your meals around it every single week.
Shop only for these foods.
Switch it up every 6 weeks or so.
If this method seems like it might get boring, it’s not..
First the premise is that you eat things you enjoy. This doesn’t mean chowing down on pizza every night.
It means eating foods that are healthy and likable.
If you are part of a large family, adding rituals around meal preparation can work very well at keeping budgets and diets in check.
Make a large pot of spaghetti sauce on Monday for Spaghetti Monday. Use half the sauce and buy frozen raviolis for a Italian Wednesday. Tuesday can be a Simple Chicken and Vegetable Stir fry with rice. Thursday is soup and salad night. Friday is homemade pizza night. And so on and so forth.
This is how my week is looking: I love salads. I could eat a salad every day. So I do.
I buy very similar ingredients (it sometimes varies depending what is the freshest looking at the farmer’s market.
Since it is Cinco de Mayo tomorrow there is a big pot of my Great-Grandma’s pinto beans simmering. I’ll add chicken and Spanish rice to the menu for tomorrow night and eat the leftovers for the rest of the week.
Breakfasts will consist of alternating between cold cereal, cottage cheese and fruit or eggs.
Lunch will be baby carrots, almonds, a slice of hearty bread I made (banana bread this week).
I’ll have a salad most days, alternating with the leftover Mexican food. If I want I can use the chicken, beans and chips to make a taco salad.
Oh, and I’m testing recipes for a cookie book so there is a solution for desserts and what to bring to social events. 🙂
If grocery shopping and meal preparation is exhausting, the bill for food keeps getting higher or you want to cut back on eating take-out food, try following your own designated menu for a few weeks.
As Thoreau said, “Our life if frittered away by detail, simplify! Simplify!”
Enough frittering with details about meals, shopping and preparation. Get on with the important things: enjoying a meal with your family, working on a startup, taking a walk; there are many excellent things to pursue.
Melissa AuClair writes about pursuing the location independent lifestyle at www.launchyourcreativelife.com. Readers can learn how to bake near-perfect cookies (and why baking is part of a happy, full life) at www.bakeperfectcookies.com
It’s Friday. You’re tired (me too). Going to the store for dinner fixings sounds as appealing as doing laundry, right?
What to do when you want to make a good dinner that doesn’t require a) going to the store b) buying pizza and c) not breaking the financial or health budget for the week?
Try a Friday Night Stir Fry.
Stir fry is one of my favorite dishes to make. The name is vague because it is variable dish (I love that); it’s easy and budget friendly.
Plus, a stir fry is a great way to start experimenting in the kitchen (if you are a newbie to the kitchen). Stir fry is also a great way to consume vegetables that are one day away from questionable. As Grandma used to tell me, “Waste not, want not.”
Basic stir fry is made of three things: meat, vegetables, spices. I make a side of rice to go with it for a complete, healthy, tasty meal. Some people like to add noodles. You’re the chef. You get to make the decisions. Let’s go!
Ingredients
Chicken
In a large pot, boil the chicken for approximately 40 minutes. Chicken creates a pleasant meaty aroma when it is close to being done. However, to ensure “doneness,” spear a piece of chicken with a fork and bring it up out of the water.
One of two things should happen. First, there should be no redness around the part of the chicken where the meat hits the bone. If there is, boil it for a few more minutes. The second confirmation of a done chicken is when it comes off the bone as the fork pulls it up out of the boiling water.
Note: It’s important to eat chicken that has been cooked all the way through.
Rice
In a medium sized pot, boil 4 cups of water. When the water is boiling, add in two cups of rice and place the lid on. I use the broth from the chicken as the water for the rice. This makes the rice very tasty. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
Vegetables: whatever is in the refrigerator:
Red onions, yellow onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, squash, green onions, asparagus, snow peas, peppers (any and every color), broccoli, white sprouts, eggplant, summer squash, water chestnuts.
Spices: pepper, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce
Optional spices: red pepper flakes, white pepper, chili paste
Oil- 4 Tbs. for a large stir fry (4 people eating), 2 Tbs. for a 1-2 person sized stir fry
While the chicken is boiling, I begin to wash and chop all the vegetables. I pile them separately.
About the time the chicken is done (about 40 minutes), I put on the water to boil for the rice. After boiling the chicken, chop it up and set it aside.
I use a wok or a large, shallow pan over medium heat and put in 4 Tbs. of olive oil. I add in the onions and let them sauté for about 7 minutes.
Next, I add in the rest of the vegetables. The pepper and other spices go in too. I add about ¼ cup of the chicken broth to create a nice broth.
I let the vegetables stir fry for about 15 minutes. The timing can depend on the ratio of pan space to the amount of vegetables. Fewer vegetables in a large pan will heat up quickly while lots of vegetables will take a few extra minutes. The vegetables are close to being done when they begin to fill the kitchen with a very fragrant, rich smell. The onions will have browned and so will the edges of the other vegies.
Spicing stir fry: I keep my spices mild- a bit of soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and pepper. If you want to add a bit of a kick, mix the red pepper flakes into a 1 Tbs. of soy sauce or oyster sauce. Pour on and mix in the spices.
If the stir fry looks too juicy, mix 1 Tbs. of cornstarch in 2 Tbs. of water and mix into the stir fry. This will thicken the broth up slightly. (Don’t worry- it won’t turn to gravy!)
Be like Julia Child when you cook! Spoon out a bit of the stir fry and taste for seasoning.
My rule of thumb is to start mild in the amount of seasonings and then add more as they are needed. It is a lot easier to add in spices than try to dilute too much soy sauce or red pepper flakes.
Other fun options for stir fry: Add nuts or pineapple for a fun topping. Noodles are a fun addition, especially if the kids in the family are big noodle fans.
This is the beauty of the Friday Stir fry: I can add and create the stir fry regardless of what I have. And stir fry turns out good every time.
Happy Friday!
Melissa AuClair blogs about her experiment in moving from a day job to a lifestyle business at http://www.launchyourcreativelife.com When she isn’t planning her move from a day job to a lifestyle design business -and encouraging women in their pursuit of their dreams- she is baking and dabbling in watercolors(and that gets onto the blog too).
Ever wondered if you could eat your way to beautiful skin?
I’ve worked in skin care and cosmetics for enough years to see many products go through the market. Today cosmetic and skin care research is fueled by plant science. Scientists and researchers pull nutrients from plants, fruits and vegetables, infusing skin products with their essential oils, vitamins and nutrients to create creams and serums to aid people in their quest for beautiful skin.
However, a person will be hard pressed to have beautiful skin simply by schlepping a bunch of cream on.
A lot of people want products to give them beautiful skin but they don’t realize there are other components. For example, our diet plays a big part in creating beautiful or not so beautiful skin.
What we eat has the potential to show up on our faces. And beauty isn’t just about the products applied on the face. Beauty is also about what is kept off. High levels exposure to harmful UV rays from the sun and buildup of bacteria and dirt in the pores are two things you definitely want away from your skin.
And what you has the potential to heavily impact the condition of your skin. According to the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology many vegetables and fruits contain specific vitamins that not only protect our skin. They can reverse age as well.
If having beautiful skin is on your priority list for healthy living, make sure to pick up the following produce next time you are at the grocery store or farmers market.
7 Essential Fruits and Vegetables for Beautiful Skin
1. Asparagus
Asparagus has a high alkaline content that balances the pH levels of the skin. Maintaining a balanced pH level in your skin is critical to clean, clear skin. If the pH level goes too low or high, conditions such as dryness and acne can occur.
2. Strawberries
The high amount of vitamin C and antioxidants in strawberries makes them a key contributor to good health. Additionally, in a 2007 study the Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports strawberries play a part in the synthesis of collagen (the substance in our skin that keeps it firm).
3. Tomatoes
Tomatoes contain Vitamin C and they also have properties that protect the skin from harmful sun rays. A study states that people who ate an equivalent of 5 Tablespoons of tomato paste every day had 33% more protection from the sun than people who didn’t. Spaghetti anyone?
4. Pink Grapefruit
In 2008, a study in European Journal of Pharmaceutics found that people who ate diets high in lycopene in pink grapefruit had smoother skin than people who did not. Lycopene’s ability to prevent free radicals from ravaging the skin is the secret behind how lycopene keeps the skin smooth. Additionally, lycopene is thought to prevent blocked pores and protect the harmful rays of light. Tomatoes and papayas also have significant levels of lycopene.
5. Avocado
Fans of avocados credit the green fruit with all sorts of health benefits including keeping the skin soft and supple. Avocados have high levels of vitamin E and essential oils which help keep skin looking and feeling smooth and healthy.
6. Corn & Leafy Greens
Both corn and leafy green vegetables have high levels of lutein. Lutein acts as a barrier against the sun’s most harmful rays. The CDC reports that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. More than 67,000 people in 2009 were diagnosed with skin cancer- a good reason to keep on the SPF and increase our consumption of vegetables that protect us against the UV rays.
7. Edamame
If you needed a good reason to get sushi tonight, here you are: Edamame contains two fabulous health benefits for skin.
First, it absorbs the harmful free radicals caused by exposure to the sun. Second, edamame helps to maintain collagen levels, thus keeping our skin firmer and younger looking for longer.
Final Thought on Eating Our Way to Beauty
An interesting final note: the fruits and vegetables listed here are a variety of colors and types. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is the key to a diet that will help skin improve and stay beautiful. Eat lots of them. Cut back on processed foods that pull fluid and moisture from the skin. Drink lots of water.
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