How to Keep Leafy Greens Fresher Longer

January 21, 2016 by greystar

Don’t you just hate it when you attempt to buy a healthy batch of vegetables at the grocery store, only to have them go bad before you can even eat them? By using these simple tips, you can learn how to prolong the lifespan of your veggies and keep your greens fresher for longer.

Don’t leave leafy greens on the counter. While many types of produce (such as apples and potatoes) are okay when left out in the kitchen, leafy greens are much delicate and require cooler temperatures for safekeeping.
Wash them. As soon as you get your greens home, wash them with an all-natural vegetable cleanser and dry with a salad spinner to remove any chemicals, dirt, or pests.
Remove bad leaves. If you notice any brown spots on your greens, carefully remove them to prevent them from spoiling the whole bunch.
Don’t store them on a shelf in the refrigerator. Because everything in your refrigerator is not created equally, greens cannot by stored in the same way as, say, Chinese food leftovers. Instead, place them in the designated crisper drawer.
Plan how you’ll eat them. To prolong their lifespan further, plan to eat fresh salads using greens first and sauté or stir fry them once they near their wilted phases.

Leafy Greens [FreshDirect.com]
How to Store Leafy Greens in the Fridge [The Sprouting Seed]
How to Store Your Leafy Greens to Make Them Last Longer [Eat Local 365]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr jshontz

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Diet, Food, Food Storage, Leafy Greens

Crowd-Pleasing Barbecue Side Dishes to Try this Weekend

January 22, 2015 by greystar

When the weather warms up and your social calendar fills up, you may run out of side dishes to bring to all of those weekend cookouts and Sunday afternoon barbecues. Here are a few barbecue side dishes that are sure to disappear from any buffet table.

Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon [Real Simple]
Potato salad is a tried-and-true side dish that wows at any summer gathering, but this zesty spin on the picnic favorite will satisfy the carnivores at the party. Fresh herbs give it an added kick of sophisticated flavor, while crispy bacon gives it that smoky, salty taste that everyone loves.

Barbecue Deviled Eggs [Southern Living]
Instead of bringing yet another side dish to add to the mix, try making a tasty appetizer instead. These barbecue deviled eggs bring a down-home flavor to the classic dish by using an unexpected touch of smoky chopped pork.

Grilled Corn with Herb Goat Cheese Butter [Saveur]
There’s nothing quite like the taste of corn cooked on the grill, and this gourmet recipe makes it even better. The herb-infused, cheesy butter adds a rich taste to the sweetness of the corn, and the husk makes it easy to eat it all by hand.

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/Michael Dorausch

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Barbecue, Food, Recipes, Side Dishes

Play It Safe: How to Cook Food to Its Minimum Temperature

December 4, 2014 by greystar

It's important to cook items to the proper temperature to prevent food borne illness, but it gets confusing keeping all those numbers straight. Check out this guide for the correct temperatures!

Using a food thermometer is the best way to verify the correct temperature. You can't always tell if meat is done just by looking at it, even ground meat.
Some meats, like steaks, chops, roasts, fresh pork, and fresh ham, need extra resting time after they have been cooked, so that the temperature can continue to rise and kill harmful bacteria.
It's also important you cook to eggs to the proper temperature, but using a thermometer in scrambled eggs doesn't work. Just make sure the whites and yolks are firm before enjoying.
With some seafood, you can tell if it is fully cooked by looking. Clams and oysters should be cooked until the shell opens up. Shrimp, lobster, and crab need to be cooked until the skin is opaque.

· Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures [Foodsafety.gov]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/honorphotobar

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Food Safety, Grilling

4 of the Web’s Best Recipes for Banana Pudding

May 14, 2014 by greystar

Banana pudding is sweet and rich, with a creamy taste that people of all ages simply adore. It’s also a very simple dish to make at home, and it serves a large number of guests at one time. Here are a few of the best banana pudding recipes from around the web.

Banana Pudding IV [All Recipes]
When you’ve only got a few minutes to spare, this banana pudding recipe comes together quickly and easily.

Easy Southern Banana Pudding [Kraft]
Use simple vanilla wafers to create this banana pudding in just 20 minutes or less.

Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding [Paula Deen]
True to Paula’s signature style, this recipe is rich, creamy, and truly decadent.

Banana Pudding Recipe & Video [Joy of Baking]
Visual learners will love this tasty recipe because it includes a simple video to help you along.

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/24oranges.nl

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Dessert, Food, Pudding, Recipes

Nutrition Tips for Vegetarians

April 17, 2014 by greystar

Whether you want to show support for animals or simply choose to avoid meat products, becoming a vegetarian can be a very healthy lifestyle choice. Though it decreases your risk for many long-term diseases, a vegetarian diet can make it difficult to get the protein and other nutrients a person needs to stay healthy and energized.

These vegetarian eating tips can help you create a balanced, meat-free diet:

Make sure that you get enough protein by incorporating nuts, beans, peas and soy products into meals and snacks.
Keep up with your necessary iron intake to create healthy oxygen absorption in the blood by eating a lot of spinach, kidney beans, lentils, black-eyed peas and iron-fortified cereals.
Choose calcium-fortified soy milk to replace the calcium normally found in regular cow’s milk.
Consider vegetarian alternatives to traditionally meat-based foods to keep your diet exciting (for example, bean burritos, veggie lo mein, or vegetarian lasagna).

Tips for Vegetarians [USDA]

Public Domain/Public Domain

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

Basic Cooking Terms for Healthy Home Chefs

March 20, 2014 by greystar

Are you the type of at-home cook who uses the same technique for “grilling” as you do for “sautéing”? Using the proper cooking techniques can make or break a nutritious dish, but many people don’t know the true meaning of most of these terms. This helpful list will ensure that you use the most effective cooking techniques for every healthy meal. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Grill. Ideal for chicken, firmer seafood and hearty vegetables, grilling is a common cooking method that can be done on a stovetop or an outdoor grill.

2. Broil. Broiling is a great technique for dishes that require a crispy surface. It can be used for chicken, salmon, tuna or other lean meats.

3. Sauté. This light stir-frying method is effective on thin cuts of chicken or most vegetables, from mushrooms to kale to zucchini. By using olive oil or another healthy oil, you can add robust flavor without adding fat to your dish.

4. Poach. Ideal for salmon, flounder, trout and other white fishes, poaching uses boiling water to gently cook and add moisture to fish.

5. Steam. Steaming vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, green beans or carrots is one of the healthiest ways to prepare them. By using boiling water in the bottom of a sauce pan, you’ll have tender vegetables in a matter of minutes.

Basic Cooking Instructions [NIH]

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Nutrition, Recipes