Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Cooking After the Holidays Means...

After-the-holidays cooking is non other than cooking from scratch - it means cooking from the most basic and practical ingredients you have on hand. Foods made from scratch are considered healthier as they contain less preservatives and chemicals. Garden-fresh tomatoes, peas, corn, potatoes, greens and some sort of herbs and spices will give you the chance to cook from scratch. If you live in the city and you don’t have an area or time to plant, you can buy cheap but fresher scratches from your nearest cooperative store or local wet market.


Most of us have spent so much to give the best for the holidays. By cooking in scratch, you will have a lot of fun trying the healthier options, or creating your own, at the same time it helps save money. Homemade meals and desserts can be easier to make than you think and preparing a satisfying meal from scratch can take less time than dining out. It can be the perfect time to introduce to your kids how to create delicious meals using what you have on hand, and you will be amazed how long you can live off the food in your pantry if you have cooking skills.

It goes without saying that fresh vegetables like carrots, celery, potatoes and onions are  among the basic vegetables that you need. There are top reasons to eat local produce. Look for fresh beans and peas, or experiment with new vegetables. To get these items, visit your town’s farmer’s market to discover a wide array of locally grown foods. Aside from beef and poultry, rice also adds nutrition to any meal. Pasta is made from grains that add both fiber and nutrition to a meal. Your regular hams can be baked and eaten for dinner one day with the leftovers used for sandwiches, soups and other dishes; no need for bottled sandwich spreads.
Cooking from scratch after the holidays is not just about food, it’s drinks as well. If during the indulging holidays the family has “too much” of soft drinks, cocktails and other canned beverages, it’s obvious that these items can be minimized or, for the benefit of everything, avoided. These drinks contain a lot of sugar, preservatives and are made with reconstituted juice. Make homemade lemonade instead of buying pop, or for total wellness, drink water. Find out some other secrets to a healthy meal.
Cooking food from scratch is terrific if you have the time to prepare, but hardly for working people with families. The best thing experts suggests is the weekend. So, perhaps a weekly pilgrimage to the farmer’s market can be worth inserting to your precious schedule.