Home-Cooking Tips: Going Back to Basics

By Di McDonald

These days, quick and easy cooking has become the goal of many a hurried mom, and a few dads. Even single people are so busy that they're looking for ways of preparing meals that don't require them to spend a long time mixing and cooking. It's likely that this trend will continue, given the economic and demographic patterns that prevail in our modern world. It seems every year that the average person works longer hours, our kids take on new hobbies and interests that require our time and attention, and every week there seems to be less and less time in a day.

Feeling like they're caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to quick and easy cooking, many people turn to highly processed and frozen meals to feed themselves and their families. This is not the ideal solution. In fact, it's far from it. Highly processed foods have been stripped of many of the nutrients that our bodies need to function at their best. In addition, they've been loaded with artificial ingredients, many of which aren't very good for us. The net effect is a negative impact on our health. These frozen entrees may be convenient, but that's about all they have going for them.

There are better options when it comes to quick and easy cooking. There are a great many cookbooks for sale these days, which feature meals that can be prepared in under an hour, or even in less than half an hour. There are others that have only recipes that use five or fewer ingredients. Another great option is a slow cooker. With one of these, you can throw your food in the post before you leave for work, set it on low, and when you get home the meal is ready. So don't resort to eating nothing but TV dinners and other frozen foods. There are much better ways of cooking that are simple and fast, but still healthy.

To help you enjoy quick and easy cooking please visit Quick and Easy Cooking and to find free recipes and entertaining stories about the recipes please visit Quick And Easy Recipes.

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By Elizabeth Martyn

Frugal cooking means keeping an eye on what you cook and how you cook it. These tips can help your food budget stretch that bit further.

Plan, plan and plan again. Last-minute shopping almost always leads to money wasted, as you buy more than you need or purchase expensive ingredients because they're quick to cook, or unhealthy ready-meals when you could save money by cooking from scratch. Work out weekly menus and shop only for the ingredients you need.

It doesn't take much longer to make double the quantity of many favorite dishes like shepherd's pie or curried chicken and it saves on time and fuel. Serve the same meal twice during the week with varied accompaniments, or eat one portion and freeze the rest for another day.

Get creative with leftovers. Even a small quantity of a supper dish could make a snack or a lunch next day, or maybe a sandwich filling or the basis of a soup.

Buy perishables with a view to how you're going to use them, and purchase the right quantity to avoid waste.

Grated cheese goes further than sliced. Grate the whole block in the food processor, freeze half and store the rest in a plastic bag or box in the fridge.

Little pieces of veg cook faster than big chunks - cut 'em small and they'll be done in half the time. Remember to turn the heat down as soon as the water boils and always use a lid.

Little tips and tricks like these all add up. Get into the habit of cooking frugally all the time, and you'll soon start to see savings.

* Visit Elizabeth Martyn's website Healthy Eating Made Easy at http://www.healthy-eating-made-easy.com/frugal-cooking.html for more tips on the art of frugal cooking.

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By KC Kudra

People tend to be busier these days then ever before. They leave the house early for work, go home after a long day, and still have to face cleaning, cooking, and laundry. It is little wonder that many people take cooking shortcuts, which can lead to issues with weight control and poor nutrition. Instead of feeling like spending time preparing home cooking sauces, dips, gravies and more, they are eating junk food and not realizing what they are doing to their bodies.

However, home cooking recipes taste so much better, are full of nutrients and you are in charge of every ingredient used. It is also quicker to prepare dishes than you might think!

Precooked foods, processed foods, and prepackaged foods seem to have taken over from America's home cooking. There are many heat and eat dinners available at every grocery store, which are unhealthy. Worse than being unhealthy, prepackaged meals can lead to medical problems in the future, whereas home cooking takes good care of your body. If you read the ingredient labels on prepackaged meals, you will find that prepared frozen dinners are the worst. They contain an incredibly high amount of salt.

Some of the ingredients can have long, confusing names. If you cannot pronounce an ingredient, do you really want to eat it? You have the choice between down home southern cooking and a box of prepackaged food, which is full of chemicals - which sounds the best to you?

In the past, one parent would stay home with the children to care for them and make sure they were properly fed.

Today, it is common for both parents to work in order to survive. This has taken a toll of the value of home cooking but there are ways to get around the time element for home cooking.

* Preparing ahead of time makes home cooking so much easier. You can cook for the week at the weekend, freeze the meals, and microwave them each day when you are ready to do so. You will not have time constraints through the week but you will have tasty, nutritious home cooking. Simple, healthy easy home cooking, which your family will enjoy, are ideal.

* Crock-pots - This incredible device is the working moms best friend. You can start your meal before you leave in the morning and it will be hot and ready to eat when you get home from work.

* Easy home cooking meals are fine. Nobody expects you to make a gourmet dinner every night. Simple, well-balanced meals are perfect. This saves energy and time.

You do not have to let cooking be a chore. Why not let your children help you? This gives you quality time together when they are enjoying your company and are supervised. Their children will learn from this and maybe even pass it down to their own children one day.

The world is fast-paced today but your nutrition does not have to follow suit. If you use cooking a family dinner as family time, you will know that your family's nutrition requirements are being looked after.

Garlic mashed potatoes are simpler then you think once you know the answer is to start with a great garlic mashed potatoes recipe it will leave your guest asking for more.

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