It is my belief that starting the day with a breakfast of sufficient protein and healthy fats, sets you up for a positive and productive day. This essential resource fuels your body, giving you the power to move, think, and keep on living, but achieving the complex needs of your body can be harder than you expect. The first meal of the day will always influence the way you feel for the hours that follow, with a lot of people feeling bad without realizing that it’s because they’re not taking their first meals seriously. A good first meal keeps you from experiencing an energy dip and being ravenous by mid-morning.…
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Food for Better Mental Health
Yes, it is true, the food we eat is intertwined with our emotions, there be it, our mental health. What we eat can change our behavior, mood, and change our moral outlook. We develop a personal relationship with food, influencing relationships we have with ourselves, society, and each other. Of course, I could write an entire book on our upbringing, culture, and accessibility to food that affects our daily lives, but an excellent book is available, Why You Eat What You Eat by Rachel Herz. However, this week, let’s examine how food can influence your state of mind and why. Food Cravings What do you usually crave? Does it depend…
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Tips for Flavorful Cooking Experimentation
Cooking is not only a great skill to learn on its own but it’s also a fantastic way to keep yourself occupied during a pandemic. I use recipes frequently, some of you might recall several years ago when I did my own little cooking experimentation; I did not repeat a single meal for a year. When it comes to food, I improvise quite a bit, using a recipe for “flavor inspiration” based on what I have available in the house at the time. Part of my reasoning for starting a blog was to help home cooks elevate their cooking abilities by learning the basics of preparing food and how to…
- Beef, Container Gardening, Edible Gardening, Food For Better Health, Healthy Eating, How Food Works, Main Course, Meals For Two, Recipes, Vegetables
Spinach Health Benefits and Easy to Grow
Spinach has incredible health benefits and it is very easy to grow. Several of my followers diagnosed with COVID-19 told me, doctors prescribed a regimen of vitamins C, D, and Zinc to combat their “mild-cases.” So this week I decided to write about a vegetable full of vitamins C, D, and zinc – SPINACH! Origin Spinach is a member of the beet family domesticated in central Asia. In the late Middle Ages, the Arabs brought it to Europe. Spaniards grew it as early as the eighth-century and eventually brought it to the United States. Known to be rich in the aforementioned nutrients, some consider it the most important leaf vegetable…
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Roasted Chicken Thighs with Herb Butter
One of the most simple cooking methods is roasting. Roasting means to oven cook food, whether meats or vegetables, in a shallow uncovered pan. This method usually produces a well-browned exterior and moist interior. Temperatures for roasting are generally higher than for baking, and the pan must be uncovered so the food does not stew in its own juices. Another criterion for roasting is that it requires fat, either as part of the food like duck or added, like butter to potatoes. Cuts of meat or poultry for roasting must be reasonably tender. Tougher pieces are better prepared with moist cooking methods such as braising. What happens in roasting? An…
