Short on Time? Use these Cooking Tips

Eliminatingparentingstress.com put together a number of tips that parents can use to reduce the amount of time spent preparing meals. Something that I found different about their tips: they concentrated on tips that both saved time and were nutritious for the family. They specifically asked parents to avoid fast food saying that it can “mess up your families nutritional balance”. My favorite tip:

Prepare things ahead of time that just need to be re-heated: There are many meals that can be cooked when busy parents have free time, then they can be frozen and reheated when they need to be used. This includes different types of stews, soups and pasta meals. Meat can also be frozen, such as meatballs, so they can simply be reheated for an easy meal of spaghetti and meatballs when necessary.

Economizing on Groceries

For many families with kids, grocery shopping eats a huge chuck of change each week.  Of that weekly bill, a large portion goes to meat.  This source of protein and vitamins is one of the most expensive components of most meals.  So you’re not ready to go vegetarian?  Here’s a couple of tips for cutting the cost while still incorporating meat into the menu.

• Buy less expensive cuts.  Use the crockpot to slow cook and tenderize.
• Learn how to braise meat.  It’s pretty simple- pop a chunk of meat (a pork or beef roast) into the oven at a high temperature; cook for a short period.  Lower the temperature and cover the dish and cook for a longer period, depending on the meat- it makes for moist and tender meats.  This works for inexpensive roasts and is great to add inexpensive root veggies like potatoes and carrots.
• Incorporate meat into larger dishes, rather than making it the main attraction.  Stir fry chicken breasts and cut into slices- add to a salad or stir fry veggies.  Toss chicken or shrimp into pasta with alfredo sauce.  Pan fry a few fish filets, break into pieces, and make fish tacos.  Make regional specialties like shrimp and grits; chicken and dumplings; gumbo; green chile and pork stew. 

Tips for Cooking with Children

Bright Eyes Learning has put together a list of tips on cooking with your children. From fun ideas to try, to rules you need to set before getting started - making sure that you’re prepared will make this a fun kid oriented activity.

Store plates in a low cupboard so your child can help set the table.

Keep napkins and silverware in drawers they can reach.

Keep anything sharp up and back out of reach of children.

For any job that a child is not ready to do just tell them it is your turn (you may want to tell them why).

Clean Veggies with Vinegar

Ever buy some fresh veg at the grocery store and take it home to find it has a strange waxy residue? Those left over pesticides and preservative sprays are great for the appearance for the veggie, but probably not good for your insides. Use this tip from HandyTipsAndHints.com for cleaning your veggies without buying an expensive veggie cleaner:

A simple yet effective way of rinsing pesticides off your veggies is soak them in a tub of water with white vinegar for five minutes.

Seperate an Egg

I never knew there were so many different ways to seperate an egg, but the folks over at WikiHow sure do! This site details the shell method, hand method, funnel method and the seperator method. It also gives us a couple of tips on what to do if the seperation goes awry.

Although you could discard the yolk, a better idea is to use any of the yolks created this way to make an egg dish (like homemade mayonnaise) or for cakes. Try to have two recipes in mind before you crack the eggs open.
If eggshell falls into the egg whites, scoop it out with a teaspoon or another larger piece of the egg shell.
If you’re beating the egg whites, such as for a meringue, make sure no yolk gets in. Any bit of yolk in egg whites will cause them not to foam.
Seperator method can be performed with a simple slotted spoon. Just crack the egg on top of the spoon, with bowl beneath to catch the whites, and shake gently.

Breakfast Tips

You’ve heard it time and time again. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But sometimes it’s difficult to get in a good quality breakfast. NewsCanada had some tips on how to make sure you (and your children!) get enough from each of the breakfast food groups:

Breads and Cereals
• Whole Grain Cereal • Whole Grain Toast • Whole Grain Bagels
• Toasted English Muffin • Soda Crackers • Baby Sized Muffin

Tip: Many children do not get enough whole grains. Choose whole grain bread and cereals more often. You can learn more online at www.areyougettingenough.ca.

5 Things You Need to Make Baby Food

Todayshousewife had a point when she wrote about the back of the babyfood jar. It’s impossible in some cases to pronounce those ingredients. By making our own baby food we can have more control over what our children eat. In a day and age where food allergies are much more common among young children it becomes imperative to know what’s in his/her dish. Sandra posts a list of 5 must haves for making your own baby food.

1. small food processor
2. books like Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and/or The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel
3. ice cube trays
4. baggies
5. fruits & veggies

Brownies Made Easy

What kid (or husband) doesn’t love Brownies? As hard working moms we want to find ways to provide our family great tasting treats with less work and for less money. How about a device that makes precutting those brownies a snap? At luxuryhousingtrends.com I found a review of a gadget that takes one more step out of the process of making great treats. Sure, you may have something a little more difficult than a knife to clean - but all of those pieces will be the exact same size! No more arguing about who got the bigger brownie. Now that’s a time saver!

Peel a Peach When You Don’t Have a Knife

Sometimes kids balk at skin on fruits and vegetables. The folks over at HowToMe.com received a submission on how you can peel a peach without a knife. All you need is a peach, water and a slotted spoon. Finally, a way to peel fuzzy fruit without wasting half of it!