Free Recipes–Cooking At Home

Archive for July, 2009

Ingredients

2 cups sliced peaches
2 cups blueberries
2 cups sliced apples
4 tbs sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup coconut
whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F
Combine fruits and sugar in mixing bowl and pour into a 2-quart square baking dish.

For topping: Combine oats, flour, and cinnamon in mixing bowl. Add butter and coconut, mix well. Mixture will resemble coarse crumbs. Pour topping over fruit mixture.

Bake for 35 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown. Cool and add whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

By Sophia McIntyre

It was back in July when I decided to try out the Fat Burning Soup diet. If you look at me you’d think I don’t need to go a diet, but I believe if you don’t like something about yourself, you change it. Simple as that.

I never thought I would ever restrict my eating habits simply because my goal was to always try to gain weight. Suddenly, I found myself in a position where I didn’t like the way I felt about myself. Clothes can shape, line and hide. Oh yes! They can hide…the “muffin top”! Visualize your waistline as a muffin…see how it comes over the muffin paper cup? I was slowing starting to resemble one not a big one, but enough to say, “hey, I don’t like this here!”

The diet is based on the fat burning soup. It’s made from beef broth, tomatoes, green onions, dry vegetable soup mix, green peppers, carrots, celery and green beans. You can eat this soup any time you are hungry. It runs for seven days and on each day, one is required to consume a particular food/s for that day including the soup. Day one consist of fruits (except for bananas) and the soup. Day two would be all veggies and soup, no fruit. Day three, all veggies and fruit and soup. Day four, bananas and skim milk and soup. Day five, beef and tomatoes and soup. Day six, steak and veggies and soup. Day seven, your last day — unsweetened fruit juice, brown rice, veggies and soup. Skim milk,water, black coffee, tea, unsweetened fruit juice and cranberry juice are unlimited beverages.

I love soup so this soup wasn’t all that bad. I added hot sauce to give it more flavouring and extra kick. I did get tired of eating the soup day in and day out, but I stuck to it because I didn’t like the extra weight around my middle. By the end of the seventh day and if one didn’t cheat, one could lose 10-15 pounds and it will vary from person to person. Although I didn’t drop any pounds over the seven day period, I did notice the clothes that I couldn’t get into a week ago now fit without stress on the seams. No I didn’t lose weight, instead the fat turned into muscle. Muscle is heavier, denser and takes up less room than fat which is why I didn’t lose pounds and my clothes fit.

A week or so after the diet, I started to drop pounds. I lost seven pounds in two weeks. For me, the diet was a stepping stone. I didn’t use it to get instant weight loss results. I knew it would be even harder to maintain it after. I used it as a guide to help me eat healthier and to really look at what I was eating and how it affected me. Many will say a person will gain back all the weight they lost and more going on a diet that helps you lose pounds quickly. It’s not necessarily true. If you start eating unhealthy or not portioning your food, sit around and do nothing then of course, you will add pounds. Anyone would. You have control of what you eat and how much you eat. It requires discipline, healthy eating habits, and exercise to maintain a healthy body weight. This applies to any diet you choose to go on.

As you can see my results were positive. It worked for me.

Fast forward to three months and the muffin top is taking shape of a nice cupcake and the numbers on the weight scale is still decreasing.

Please note: Consult with your doctor before going on any diet program.

Article Written By: Sophia McIntyre

For more tips on weight loss and fitness visit Sophia’s blog at HealthyPerspectives.blogspot.com.

She also owns www.WorkAtHomeSpace.com a free resource focusing on work at home companies, daily telecommute job leads, business resources, health and wellness, articles, and much more.

Article Source: Work At Home Space Articles

By Tammy Embrich

Summer is the perfect time to have fun and get creative with salads, as they supply good nutrients without the extra-full feeling and calories. And who wants to feel stuffed on a hot summer day? Summer and salads just go well together. They also DON’T heat up your kitchen while preparing.

Garden salads are excellent appetizers before eating a full meal. It’s also beneficial if you are trying to lose a few pounds. If you fill up on a light salad before a meal, you are likely to consume less calories. Makes sense right?

I know what you’re thinking! “Garden salads are boring.” Well…maybe so, if you let them be. But, guess what? They don’t have to be!

There are so many things you can do to a salad to spice things up with both color and taste. Start with your basic fresh crisp greens. Iceberg and especially romaine lettuce provide lots of good nutrients. Then zip things up by adding a bit of color with some red lettuce, red tomatoes, and red bell peppers. You can even toss some red onions in to sweeten the taste.

Adding some veggies can significantly add a wide variety of color, taste, and texture which will instantly add a bit of zest to your typical mundane garden salad. Why not try some fresh steamed broccoli, or some asparagus? Maybe some cauliflower or fresh okra? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! The idea is to make the salad more appetizing and appealing to your liking.

You can also make your garden salad into a hearty chef salad by adding grilled chicken, beef, or ham. Then toss a hard boiled egg into the mix. Meat and eggs both will also benefit you by adding some of your daily intake of protein. Protein gives you lots of energy. Bean sprouts and nuts also offer extra variety and protein.

Fruits also comes in many distinct colors and tastes. Chopping and tossing in some of your favorite fresh fruit makes for a delicious homemade salad. Try some mouth-watering strawberries, fresh peaches, or maybe even some apples and raisins. I’m getting hungry just thinking about these salad combinations. Main point here is…you don’t have to settle for the everyday boring salad.

Below is a simple salad combination recipe

Chicken Apple Garden Salad

Ingredients

1 head iceberg lettuce
2 baked skinless chicken breasts, chopped
2 small red apples, thinly sliced
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
salad dressing of your choice

Directions

Clean and chop up lettuce. Bake chicken breasts in covered baking dish @300 degrees F for 45 minutes. Cut up into chunks.

Combine ingredients. Mix well and top with salad dressing of your choice.

Listed below are just a few foods that you can add to salads to spice things up a notch or two

bacon
hard boiled eggs
celery
cheddar cheese
goat cheese
grilled chicken
beef
ham
tuna
pasta
raisins
nuts
mango
yogurt
sour cream
fruits
dried fruits
sprinkle parmesan cheese
pineapple chunks
bean sprouts
kidney beans
green beans
steamed broccoli
steamed cauliflower
grapes
apples
small animal crackers
croutons
any colorful veggies or fruits

I bet you can come up with some more. Get creative with your greens! Experiment with your taste buds. You can also get creative with various types of dressings to top off your masterpiece. There are no rules here, get your creative juices flowing and see how many variations of salads you can come up with. Try them out with your family and friends at all those summer backyard barbecues you will be having.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

You can find more articles and recipe tips at Free Recipes–Cooking At Home.

Tammy also offers free work at home job leads, work at home articles, home business tips and more. Find out more by visiting Work At Home Forums.

By Tammy Embrich

Do you encourage your child to make healthy food choices?

Do you eat healthy foods yourself?

Are you a good role model when it comes to healthy eating habits?

Kids are humans…they will usually eat and want what they see YOU eating on a daily basis.

How important is health and nutrition to you and your family? It should be number one on your priority list! It should be equally important for you as a role model parent as well.

It’s imperative for your child’s brain to be fueled and ready for school activities each day. So what can you do as a parent to help?

It’s often said that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” For the most part, this happens to be true. So for starters, make sure you and your child both eat a healthy breakfast.

Here is one example:

You might start off your day with an apple, some fat-free milk, and a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter. Smoothies are also good choices. Skipping breakfast increases over-eating at lunch time, resulting in packing on extra carbs and fat. And this causes sluggishness and tiredness for the remainder of the day.

Below are 5 healthy tips on being a good role model parent:

1. Fill your kitchen pantry with good wholesome, healthy foods. Not junk foods such as cookies, pastries, pop tarts, and other tempting unhealthy treats. Maybe substitute junk foods with high fiber trail mixes, unsalted peanuts and nuts, dried fruits, wheat pastas, high fiber/low sugar cereals, and peanut butter.

2. Stock your refrigerator with low fat milk, fruit juices, fresh fruits, reduced fat cheeses, low fat yogurt, fresh veggies, fresh grilled or baked chicken, turkey, and fish, apple sauce, low fat cottage cheese, and bottled water. These choices are all good for you and provides the fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy and strong.

3. Be a label detective. Make it a daily habit of reading food labels. Watch out for high sugars, high sodium, high cholesterol, and high saturated and trans fats. You should strive for nutrients such as protien, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and fiber.

4. Don’t encourage high fat or high sugar snacks before bedtime. Unhealthy snacks should not be encouraged really at all, except for really special occasions. But they are especially bad for you right before bedtime. This is the worst time to be consuming unhealthy foods. Making this a habit over time can cause un-wanted weight gain, not to mention disturbances in sleep patterns. And remember…parents, set a good example for your kids and practice what you preach.

5. Pack healthy, nutritious lunches for your kids. Below is a good example:

A sandwich with multi-grain bread with a filling of chicken or turkey breast with a slice of cheese and maybe a slice of a tomato…or peanut butter sandwich. A banana, fresh cut up veggies, 1 or 2 graham crackers, milk, juice, or water.

Drink Tip: Freeze your child’s drink. This way the other contents of the lunch will stay cold inside the lunch box.

Rremember, you are your child’s best role model. If you want them to be healthy and eat their fruits and veggies, you have to eat them as well. All the health benefits for your children that go along with these tips also applies to adults.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

You can find more articles and recipes by Tammy by visiting Free Recipes–Cooking At Home.

You can also visit Tammy at Parenting Articles where she offers parenting articles, healthy recipes for kids, tips, and more.

By Tammy Embrich

Hot summer days are upon us, a perfect time for family backyard barbecues, picnics, and other fun events. And what comes to mind when we think of barbecues? Well burgers are on the top of my list and are also fairly reasonably priced at the grocery store when comparing other meats.

But what can we do to spice up those burgers, other than the everyday lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and barbecue sauce? When you think about it, there are numerous things you can do to offer a unique take on the hambuger.

Below are some choices to get you started

Steak sauce instead of ketchup
Fried green tomatoes
Zucchini
Spinach dip
Macaroni and cheese
Pineapple rings, lightly cooked on the grill first
Fried red onions
Bacon
Mozzarella cheese
Thousand Island dressing
Feta cheese
Salsa
Avocado
Mushrooms
Guacamole
Sour cream
Roasted red bell peppers
Green peppers
Thinly sliced creamed cucumbers
Potato chips

As you can see, there is lots of potential when spicing things up with the ho hum, everyday burger. You can use each of the items above alone, or you can of course combine them for variety. Give your taste buds a kick and try them out. You may just find a combination that will be a big hit with your family and guests.

I have personally tried steak sauce, fried green tomatoes, thousand island dressing, mushrooms, bacon, feta cheese, and spinach dip on burgers and they are all excellent. But the secret to a really great burger is trying various combinations to your liking. The food items mentioned in this article are just some examples to get you started. There are many other foods that you will thinik of and may like to try. The sky is the limit.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

You can find more articles and cooking tips at Free Recipes–Cooking At Home.

You can also visit Tammy at Parenting Articles where she offers parenting articles, healthy recipes for kids and tips.