by | Oct 7, 2022 | Food |
Perhaps you don’t always have the time to prepare a meal each and every evening, or perhaps you’re a little disturbed by your recent food bills or how much food you have been throwing out. One of the single best ways to get in control of your food and your food budget is to start planning your meals. Here, we’re going to look at a few tips that can help you be more mindful about how you organize food in your family.
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Spend one day planning out your meals
Before you head out grocery shopping, spend 30 minutes sitting with the family or your spouse, thinking about what meals you will make ahead of time. With the help of a meal planning app, you can think up some simple meals and start looking at meals that use the same ingredients. This way, you can buy fewer ingredients to spread between meals, and you won’t end up with as many ingredients lying in the fridge or cupboards. Of course, you should take stock of what you already have in the home and incorporate them into some meals, so you don’t have to buy as much.
Make meals that you can cook in the future
Getting all of the ingredients you need for the next few days is one thing. You can also save time and energy by finding meals that are perfect for cooking in large batches and then storing them in the fridge so that you can make yourself lunch and dinner for the next day, or even two if you make enough. Recipes like this slow cooker hashbrown casserole are excellent for making a big stock of meals that you can quickly heat up for days to come. In general, casseroles tend to be pretty excellent for this, so learning how to make a variety will greatly help with meal planning. Just make sure you know what ingredients are and aren’t safe to keep overnight.
Know how to use your leftovers
One of the easiest ways to benefit from meal planning is to waste fewer ingredients, thanks to the more managed approach to shopping for and using ingredients. However, you’re still likely to have some leftovers you will want to use before you throw them out. Take a look at some of the many leftovers friendly meal recipes you can use; you can salvage all kinds of ingredients from your meals, turning them into a delicious and still nutritious lunch for the next day. If you’re not inclined to finish a meal left in the fridge, repurpose it into something you will eat instead.
Even missing a single meal can have consequences for your health. Meal planning, as mentioned above, can ensure this doesn’t happen. You might be able to keep the family happy, healthy, and well-fed without half of the work using the tips above.
by | Aug 31, 2022 | Food, Lifestyle |
We should all strive to get more out of our diet and find joy in the simple task of cooking and preparing food. And the great thing about it is that it makes sticking to a healthy diet much more realistic and sustainable. So if you’re looking to stay healthy and get more out of the whole process, we’ll talk today about some of the habits you might want to try to adopt.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
Skipping breakfast is one of the biggest mistakes you can make regarding your diet and health. It’s the perfect way to give your body some of the nutrients it needs to start the day in the right way. So even if you’re busy and feel rushed, it’s important not to skip breakfast because you’ll pay the price for the rest of the day. Eat something that contains the protein you need.
Store New and Interesting Recipes When You Find Them
Whenever you come across recipes you might want to cook for yourself and your family, you should try to note them down and store them somewhere they won’t be forgotten. Trying out different food and enhancing your cooking skills along the way will help you to get more enjoyment and fulfillment out of enjoying a healthy diet.
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Experiment with New Cuisines
As well as trying out different recipes, it might also be different to try out different types of cuisines that you might never have sampled before. There’s a whole world of food and recipes out there that you can try out and enjoy. When you’re willing to leave your comfort zone and try out new things, you never know what you might discover.
Address Any Dental Issues
Addressing dental issues that might be holding back to some extent and preventing you from adequately enjoying your eating experience is critical. Many people experience a decline in appetite and diet because they have tooth pain when eating. One of the benefits of All-on-5 and other procedures is that they make it possible for you to eat without any of that pain.
Start Today, Not Tomorrow
If you want to make positive changes to your diet, the worst thing you can do is keep putting them off tomorrow. Instead, you should start immediately and make sure you take each day at a time. Making these kinds of lifestyle changes can be very tough at times, but it makes sense to get started sooner rather than later as opposed to continually putting it off.
As you can see, many things need to be considered when it comes to keeping your diet as healthy and sustainable as possible. What matters most is that you adapt some of the ideas, see which ones work for you, and help you get more out of your healthy diet plans.
by | Mar 16, 2022 | Food |
Struggling to sleep at night? Our diet can play a big part in our sleep quality. While certain foods and drinks are best avoided before bedtime, such as cheese and coffee, other foods and drinks can help us to sleep by enabling us to relax and release sleep hormones. Below are just some of the best things to consume before bed to help you sleep.
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Cherries
Cherries are one of a few rich natural sources of melatonin – a hormone that helps us to sleep. This makes them the perfect bedtime snack. Cherries can be incorporated into all kinds of desserts, but the healthiest way to consume them is by themselves.
Bananas
Bananas are rich in nutrients that can help promote sleep, including magnesium, potassium, and tryptophan. This makes them another great fruit to eat before bed. There are so many different ways to consume bananas. One fun and alternative option are to freeze them – frozen bananas take on the consistency of ice cream (and are a lot healthier).
Turkey
If you often feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving meal, it could be due to the turkey. Contained within turkey is an amino acid called tryptophan that boosts sleep quality. This makes it a great meat to have late at night. Just try to keep this to small quantities and watch what you have with it – a large turkey dinner straight before bed could have you waking up in the night with a stomach ache.
Nuts
Many nuts contain high levels of magnesium and melatonin, which can help promote sleep. Examples of nuts that are high in these nutrients include cashews, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios. Instead of snacking on a bowl of chips, consider switching to a bowl of nuts. You may, however, want to avoid salted nuts as high levels of salt can increase blood pressure and harm sleep.
Sleep supplements
There are many supplements that you can buy to help with sleep. These can be consumed in various forms, including pills, powders, and even gummy sweets. CBD has become very popular recently due to its ability to reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone) – you can buy CBD online or at many local pharmacies. You can also purchase supplements for melatonin and magnesium to help you sleep.
Herbal teas
Herbal teas like chamomile, lavender, and green tea are all known to contain chemicals that reduce stress. This, in turn, can help many people to relax and get to sleep easier. Herbal tea is a good option if you fancy a hot drink late in the evening. You can explore all kinds of herbal tea options online.
Milk
A glass of milk in the evening may also help you sleep better. Milk is rich in tryptophan and melatonin – two sleep-promoting nutrients. Try drinking a glass of milk before bed and see its impact.
by | Feb 2, 2022 | Food |
Preparing your food at home is usually the healthiest way to eat. Your meals might not all be salads, but you can use fresh ingredients whatever you choose to make. You know what’s going into your food, and you can make sure you prepare balanced meals. The only problem is cooking can often be pretty time-consuming. This might be fine if you enjoy cooking or have plenty of time, but it’s not so good if you have other things to do. And a lack of time can lead you to give up on cooking thoroughly. Fortunately, there are ways you can cook and save time.
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Get a Crockpot
A crockpot, a slow cooker, or whatever you call it – it’s a great kitchen appliance to have. With a slow cooker, you can turn it on in the morning or afternoon, and you’ll have food ready by dinner time. You can also cook things overnight or whenever is most convenient for you. Some recipes for slow cookers might require a little preparation, such as sauteing vegetables before you throw them in the pot. But others allow you to toss in all of your ingredients and turn the cooker on.
Use One-Pot Recipes
In addition to the actual cooking, you can find your time taken up by washing the dishes. Even if you have a dishwasher, loading and unloading it is time-consuming. If you want to save time, a one-pot recipe is excellent for reducing the number of dishes you have. You can cook everything in one pot, and that’s all you’ll have to wash. Try something like pork medallions with apple cider sauce, which can all be cooked in one skillet. These types of recipes can save you time on cooking too. You won’t have to monitor several pans at once.
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Batch Cook
Cooking in batches is another excellent way of saving time on cooking. By cooking more than you need and saving some for later, you can enjoy some days when you don’t need to cook. Instead, you can heat your leftovers. It’s easy to double a recipe or times it by however much you want to make. Then, you can divide it up into containers and either put it in the fridge or freeze it. Some things will keep better than others, so be careful about what you choose to batch cook.
Cook as a Team
Unless you live on your own, you don’t have to be the only one who does the cooking. Sharing the task can make everything a lot easier and mean you spend less time in the kitchen. There are several ways you can do this. You could cook with a partner or even get the kids involved. This could speed up your cooking, but it might slow you down in some cases. Or you can split cooking duties between your household. Even children can learn to cook simple meals with minimal supervision.
Cut down on your time in the kitchen by finding shortcuts that work for you and using your time wisely.
by | Oct 14, 2021 | Food |
Is it just us, or does everyone seem to be busier than ever? If you are in this super-busy group of people, you probably want to have something nice for your evening meal but don’t have time to cook. That is ok. We have some suggestions that take a minimum amount of effort that will lead to a tasty dish.
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Invest in an Instant Pot
If you haven’t heard of an Instant Pot, you are about to get a lesson about how awesome they are. This multi-purpose device is great for throwing ingredients together and becoming an amazing meal. Try a spaghetti meat sauce recipe for the instant pot, and you might never go back to cooking any other way. Some Instant Pots have more functions than others, so it is worth your while looking around to find the best one for you. You can even load it up in the morning and hit the button as soon as you get in the door so that your food is ready in no time.
Frozen food
If you don’t have a backup supply of frozen food, now is the time to get some. We know that some people do not have room for much in their freezer, but if you can invest in a bigger one for your garage, you should. Frozen food can be a lifesaver for the midweek meal rush. Some chicken with frozen vegetables and a soup of potatoes is a great meal. It might not look pretty, but it is a lot healthier than takeout. Always read the labels to ensure that what you are putting in the freezer is a healthy option for your family.
Something with salad
Salad is one of those things that we tend to skip because it doesn’t last in the fridge long enough. Don’t make this mistake and have a salad every night with your meal. You might not feel like having lettuce every night, but it is better than fries. By having salad every night, you are ensuring that you get something healthy into your body. The best thing about it is, it can go on the side of anything. Try to shake up the types of things you put in your salad with different tomatoes or more exotic vegetables.
Jars
If there is one unsung hero of the kitchen, it is the jar. You might be against food in jars for whatever reason, but you cannot deny that they are handy. Some foods in jars have high sugar content, so you need to look at the information labels to ensure that you are eating something healthy. Cooking sauces and pickles are great to throw into the shopping bag so that you can throw something together when you get home. Even if you have them on hand to add to a salad or spice up a meal somehow, it can make a massive difference to your mealtimes.
And there you have it—some quick suggestions to keep you going during a busy weekend dinner rush in your home.
by | Sep 28, 2021 | Food |
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. If you are hosting, then you have a lot of work to do! There is food to buy, people to invite, guests to feed. This list will give you some easy Thanksgiving ideas for your holiday feast. Keep the cooking stress-free by having some non-food activities for everyone to do while you cook. This could be anything from playing music or watching shows/movies together to a fun family game. If they’re busy, they won’t worry about how long it’ll take you to finish cooking!
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#1 Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Friends To Pitch In
Let’s face it; hosting can be expensive and time-consuming. So why don’t we try having our friends help out? Before or after the big day, ask your friends if they would like to contribute any food or drinks – this could be appetizers, side dishes (a recipe for easy chicken enchiladas available here), or even dessert (apple pie anyone?). Most people will happily agree to pitch in if they’re not too busy with their own families.
#2 If You Can’t Find What You Want At The Grocery Store, Be Creative
Thanksgiving is about tradition. We all have our family recipes for tasty dishes that are often served on Thanksgiving. Why not try making your own twist on these dishes? Maybe use an ingredient substitution or put a creative twist on it (chocolate yams, anyone?). If you’re game to be adventurous and try something new, then go for it. Who knows, you might end up with the next big food craze!
#3 Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help On Thanksgiving Day
Prepare as much food in advance as possible–whether that’s stuffing the turkey the night before or baking the pies the morning of. Preparing as much ahead of time is going to make Thanksgiving a lot less hectic for you. More than likely, cooking Thanksgiving dinner will take way longer than you think – especially if several people are helping out in the kitchen. So please ask for help. It always takes longer than you think it will, so the more people you have helped, the better. If that means assigning someone to set the table or just chopping up vegetables, then do it.
#4 Have A Backup Plan
Plan every step of what you’re going to do ahead of time, so nothing gets forgotten or left out. The more detailed your plan is, the more likely everything will go smoothly. Just in case things go wrong on Thanksgiving day – whether it’s because of a power outage or one of your guests has an allergic reaction- make sure you have a backup plan. This way, nothing ruins Thanksgiving for your friends and family members. Or worse yet, nobody gets to eat dinner at all. So make sure you figure out how you will cook dinner if something happens and make sure it involves cooking times.
Alternatively, have a second backup plan in case you run out of food. Have some backup supplies or plan on ordering pizza if everyone is still peckish after dinner!
#5 Keep It Simple
The most important thing you can do is to keep it simple. Many great easy Thanksgiving meal ideas will take little time and effort on your part. Make sure you have a plan for fixing the turkey, potatoes, salads, and stuffing. This way, nobody ends up with too much or not enough food. It’s also good to know what side dishes you want – so people know how much food to bring if they’re bringing something. It might seem like a good idea, but try to avoid changing up any of your recipes because someone in your household doesn’t like something normally used (or vice versa). If you need to eliminate an ingredient, make sure another one serves as a substitute.
Top Tip: Think About The Kids
If your guests bring their children along to your Thanksgiving feast, make sure there is something for them to eat. If they’re young enough, maybe let them help out with setting the table or getting some snacks ready. This will take away any stress from having children at the dinner and turn it into good memories and new traditions for friends and family members of all ages.
Above all else, enjoy the holiday!
You’ve been planning this for months now, so don’t let stress get in the way of your fun. Remember: The more happy friends and family around a table share a meal – no matter how big or small – the better. Make sure you have fun!
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