Posts Tagged ‘guide’

Cooking Recipes Are A Guide, Not The Law

When you are cooking a recipe for the first time it is always a wise thing to follow it to the letter so you are sure that the outcome is close to what the original chef intended it to be. But after cooking it a few times and when you are getting comfortable with it you can change a few things around if you feel like it. Don’t think that you are doing something wrong by not sticking to the recipe, there are always certain things in a recipe that is not exactly to you taste so your are allowed to change them a bit. Maybe a little less of this and a bit more of that, just so it is more up to your own taste.

Being flexible is sometimes necessary

It could also be that you just can not afford to get some of the ingredients because they are very expensive. Maybe the stores are closed and you forgot to get a certain part of the recipe. And while these things sometimes happen you start to improvise with the recipes you make and before you know it you are freewheeling it.

There are a few things you should keep in mind when you change a recipe, only change ingredients that are not crucial to the dish. Those items you can leave out of your variation or you could put something else in it’s place you could even ad an ingredient in top of the others. The thing to remember is not to get rid of an important item, as an example, if you are making meatloaf you can not leave out the minced (or ground) meat can you? You can ad new spices to enrich the meatloaf recipe or make it more to your own taste.

Talking of changing a recipe, I’m a vegetarian.

Another good reason for changing a recipe if of course when your specific diet calls for it. Maybe you are, or someone who is coming to dinner is, a vegetarian then you could be thinking of starting to learn completely new recipes. You could also start with using the existing ones you know and substitute certain items with non animal ones.

In recipes with sauces that are tomato based or things like stir-fries you could use tempeh or extra firm tofu. If the dinner is with people who are vegan then you could use some soft tofu when you need something to substitute cream cheeses. If the recipe calls for milk then there are soy milk or rice milk that you can use. And when you need to replace meat in chili or soup recipes you can use a wide variety of beans.

So you see there are many reasons to divert from the original recipe, and you shouldn’t worry to much about it. Sometime you just need to go with what your instinct tells you to do. There is no cooking police that will throw you in jail when you give a meal some personal touch, the worst thing that can happen is that your family tells you to never do that again.

Low Fat Recipe Guide

Sexy, figure hugging clothes are all the rage nowadays, and it seems that most fashion trends are keen on emphasizing the figure. That is why it is no wonder that most people, especially women, are looking for ways to slim and to stay thin.

Going to the gym and exercise programs have always helped people to keep their bodies in good shape. Working out usually entails body-building and muscle enhancement for a more shapely, toned and muscular body.

Some people, on the other hand, observe reducing diets that usually involve a controlled intake of food. One of the more popular diets is the low-fat diet which insists on a strict adherence to consuming a minimal amount of fattening foods.

Low-fat diets have gained such a large number of followers because they have been featured in a great number of television shows, commercials, on the internet, and so on. Even governments have produced guidelines on what we should be eating, especially in relation to fat. In general, the guidelines say that the total fat intake should only constitute 20% to 35% of the total calorie intake, and only 10% of calories should come from saturated fats that are found in animal products. 10% of the fats we eat should come from fish, nuts, olive oil and spreads. These are the so-called monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. These types of fats are beneficial to our bodies and can actually improve our health.

Another important point is that cholesterol intake should be kept to a level of less than 300mg per day, and if meat products cannot be avoided, these should be lean, low-fat or even fat-free. The same thing goes for poultry and dairy foods, also. Basically, we need to limit our oil intake to six teaspoons a day, including those used in salad dressings and mayonnaise.

These guidelines are fairly specific, and make a great deal of sense, but adhering to them, especially when surrounded by mouthwatering food, is easier said than done. However, there are actually a great number of low-fat recipes that make for really enjoyable meals.

Low fat recipes usually involve lots of grains, fruits and vegetables. They do not require you to become a vegan, but it may help if you already are one. However, if you are not a vegan, there still are some low fat recipes that you can use to create great tasty dishes.

My personal favorite is the Al Fresco Chicken Sausage. This chicken sausage, though largely a meat-based product, has 75% less fat than a regular sausage. Also, it has less than 10g of carbohydrates per sausage. It is very convenient to include this sausage in a low carbohydrate and low fat meal. Since most sausages contain a lot of preservatives, you might think the same goes for Al Fresco, but incredibly, this chicken sausage does not contain any preservatives or other artificial ingredients. These sausages make especially tasty and healthy meals for children. I really enjoy eating Al Fresco Chicken Sausages for breakfast, and find them to be especially good with apple maple syrup. This may be an unusual combination, but believe me, it is so delicious that I can eat it every morning and never tire of it. Al Fresco have a lot of different varieties that make for all sorts of really good recipes.

Aside from Al Fresco meals, there are lots of low fat recipes to choose from. All you have to do is find out what you enjoy best, and constantly try out new healthy ingredients and dishes that will enhance your low-fat cooking. Good luck!

Vegetarianism Guide to Types of Vegetarians

Usually, when you think of vegetarians, you think of people who avoid eating any type of animal flesh including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, etc. There are several types and variations to vegetarianism. While many of the vegetarians are lacto ovo vegetarians who will everything but any kind of meat, some others will avoid eating eggs and dairy products and others will say no to beef, pork and poultry but will include fish and other seafood in their diet.

1) Lacto Ovo Vegetarians:

The most common type of vegetarians is the lacto ovo vegetarians. Lacto is the Latin word for milk and ovo means eggs in Latin. The lacto ovo vegetarian do not eat any kind of meat including beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, etc. However, they will eat dairy products and eggs.

The lacto ovo vegetarian category is divided into two categories:

a) A Lacto Vegetarian does not eat meat and eggs but does eat dairy foods.

b) An Ovo Vegetarian does not eat meat and dairy products but does eat eggs.

2) Pescatarias:

The pescatarian or pescetarian are vegetarians who avoid eating meat but will continue eating fish and shellfish. The rationales behind the pescatarian diet are varied. Many choose this lifestyle for health concerns rather than ethical reasons. While others would claim that the fish industry is less cruel than the meat industry. Others will simply justify their decision by arguing that fish are less intelligent than farm animals.

Dedicated vegetarians would put the pescatarian under the category of semi vegetarians. In the same category you can find the pollo vegetarians who will include poultry in their diet, the flexitarianism who will avoid eating meat that derived from an animal that was brought up and died in cruel conditions. The flexitarianism are similar to the freeganism that would not mind eating any type of meat unless any part of its process involved environmental damage or human or animals exploitation.

3) Vegans:

They do not consume any product that was derived from animals including, of course, any kind of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs as well as honey and foods that contain gelatin. Some vegans would not touch cane sugar, beer and wine since animal products involve in the finishing process: cane sugar is filtered with bone char and some beer and wines are clarified with egg white. As part of the vegan ideology, vegans would not consume products made of leather, furs, pearls, etc.

4) Raw Vegans:

Also called raw foodists limit themselves to unprocessed food that has not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celsius. Therefore, their diet mainly consists of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. However, some of the raw foodists do consist raw food that was derived from animals in their diet including raw eggs, unheated dairy products and sushi.

5) Macrobiotics:

The macrobiotic diet is part of the macrobiotic methodology that was originated in Japan. The macrobiotics practitioners follow strict diet rules based on the principle of balance between yin and yang. The macrobiotic diet is based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and soy products. They are allowed to include seaweed and certain types of fish in their diet.

Use free recipes and recipe guide for home cooking instead of eating fast food

Busy men and women dash in the morning to reach their offices on time. What about breakfast or lunch? Forget about it! ‘We can order something from the office canteen’. Hey look! This is our modern lifestyle. Does anyone think that the breakfast and lunch offered by the office canteen or a roadside fast food center can provide adequate nutrition to the body? Surely NOT! Remember! The canteen owner or the fast food centers located on the roadsides are not concerned about your nutrition and health. They are present there just for money making, not for any kind of social work. Eating conventionally outside not only has a bad effect on health but it is also an expensive deal.

It is an undeniable fact that, when it is about better health and better life then the worth of home cooking cannot be overlooked. If we can control our eating habits and prefer home made food in contrast to outside food then we can easily prevent various forms of diseases and disorders including diabetes, deficiency of vitamins, cholesterol problem, obesity, etc. It is an old saying that, ‘health is wealth’, and this is the reason why it is better for us to go back to our traditional home cooking methods. It is the duty of the parents to prevent their children from consuming excessive junk foods from outside. They should make it a habit to go for homemade food as much as possible. Parents should also manage their schedule accordingly so that they can spare time to prepare their own food as well.

If you are fond of the taste of food available outside then you can bring the same taste in your home cooking along with nutrition with the help of free recipes. You can bring home a recipe guide and can make your home cooking more yummy and delectable. There are an immense number of veg, non-veg, and vegan recipes available in the market. If you have failed to find your favorite recipe guide in the market then you need not get disappointed. The Internet can make the task easy for you. There are some good sites available on the internet which are dedicated to vegetarianism. You can look for one such good site, which can help, in your home cooking with their free recipes. Yes, it is possible for you to bring home the taste of restaurant food, and that too without compromising with your health. Just try with the recipe guide available on the Internet and tackle majority of health issues by your own!

Please do visit our site for hundreds of free home cooking Recipes – http://www.veggievixen.com/recipes.aspx – for Veg Recipes, Vegan Recipes, appetizers, salads, soups, main course dishes, chili recipes, desserts, Cookie Recipes, Chocolate recipes and an extensive cooking guide.