MOTHERS DAY

The very thought

It’s really important to invest in good quality kitchen appliances and tools for you kitchen. With a few good tools in your kitchen – it really makes cooking go so much faster and easier. I think many people dread cooking because of the time and work it takes to prep for a meal. Here are a few tools and appliances that I think are worth investing in to make cooking simple. BTW, I don’t work for any of these companies and neither am I getting any kind of monetary benefit from recommending these items. My recommendations come purely from being put to the test in my kitchen and they really do get used in my kitchen!

Are you a new parent that has just about given up on taking your kid(s) out to eat – well please don’t give up. I’m a mom of two kids; I have a 3.5-year-old son and an 8-month-old daughter. When my son was much younger, my husband would get so frustrated he declared one day that we were never going to go out to eat. If I really wanted something we would do take out or we would just call a baby-sitter and we’d go out without our son. After calming my husband down, I explained to him that the only way our son was going to learn how to behave himself in restaurants is by continuing to take him out and get him used to the idea. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t go through some patches and that we didn’t leave a few restaurants mid meal, however, I can tell you it was all worth it. Just keep at it. My son is an angel and now looks forward to eating out and wants to know which restaurant we’ll be eating at. Here are a few tips for eating out with the kids:

Quite often children have minor accidents, which cause no harm.

 

Here are some additional tips since I last wrote about Kitchen Essentials:

 

for prior blog see: http://www.ifood.tv/blog/must_haves_in_your_kitchen

 

- Blender - I think I have finally found a blender I like. I just recently purchased the Kitchen Aid blender that I found at Costco ($60) and it is so much quieter than the other ones I have had. I have not made chutney in it or ground dhal - which will be the real test. But, this certainly beats the Cuisinart that I had before.

 

- Pressure Cooker - My old pressure cookers (one from my mom that is probably 20 years old and another one from India) were put to rest. Both of them were aluminum and I have since been told that cooking in aluminium is not good. I guess the reaction of the metal and foods are not good for the body. I can't remember the specific scientific details so if anyone has them please feel free to comment. I also was told that many of the aluminum pressure cookers from India are made with lead - which obviously is not a good thing! So stainless steel is the way to go. I just bought a Fagor and so far it works wonderfully!

 

That's it for now. More later as I discover more essential gadgets.

I found this article in "Parents" magazine and I thought it was very insightful. Often times we are unaware of the hidden sugars in our children's food by the misrepresentation of nutrition labels. Read on!

 Don't be fooled by food labels. On the nutrition-facts label, sugar is measured in grams-which isn't all easy to visualize. Keep in mind that four grams is about ONE TEASPOON.

Pay attention to "natural" sweetners like strawberry purees and concentrates, which are commonly found in foods such as fruit rolls and flavored applesauce. "They're just processed sugar by another name."

Think small. When you do dish out a dessert like ice cream, put it in teacups, not soup bowls.

Teach kids to be choosy. Let children have a treat, but only one each day.

Avoid processed foods. The more control you have over what your child eats, the better.

Look beyond the usual suspects. Added sugar often pops up in seemingly healthy foods, like low fat or whole-wheat products. A whole-wheat bagel, for example, can have 8 grams of sugar - six more than a plain one. Compare brands to find the lowest amount.

With all the talk of our food safety recently it brings to mind another very important subject-sustainability.  Now most of us shrug and say what does that have to do with me?  It is a world-wide concern on every level from farmer to those who buy and eat the food.  Many of us don't even give a second thought to where that carrot was grown or how.  Oh a few do say I only buy organically grown, espevially those with babies.  Often peditricians suggest making your baby's food from only organic vegetables and hormone free meats.For many people, the subject of traditional agriculture conjures idyllic images of farmers working in harmony with the natural ecosystem, while others think about farmers battling pests, disease, and climatic extremes in a feast or famine struggle to produce a marketable crop and sustainable income. In reality, traditional farming methods deliberately trade biodiversity in agricultural settings for increased productivity. 

And the pressure today on agriculture to increase production is tremendous. The global population is increasing, poverty and malnutrition are at critical levels, arable land is decreasing and fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce.

The first cookbook I saw in my life was a pressure cooker recipes book by Hawkins. It had several delicious pressure cooker recipes for cooking vegetables and meat. While health benefits of pressure cooker is debatable, there is not doubt that it is great for cooking tough to cook food such as lentil, beans and raw meat. Crock pot, slow cooker, microwave and many other devices are popular in the United States, but pressure cooker still rules the roost in Indian subcontinent. Recently, I bought a pressure cooker which renewed by interest in pressure cooking so I used ifood search to find a few great pressure cooker recipes, some of which are. Daal in Pressure Cooker Daal and Pressure Cooker go together. Most of the times Daal is cooked in Pressure Cooker. Daal is the primary source of protein for a large number of Indians. Arahar Dalsubmitted by Amit Chopra Shahi Khichdi in Pressure Cooker After Daal, Khichdi is the 2nd most popular dish prepared in Pressure cooker. Why not?

  

Babies deserve the best of everything that can be offered. The first year of life is the most critical for a baby, particularly from a nutritional standpoint. During the initial and most crucial months of growth and development in a child’s life, nutrition and diet should be a major concern to parents. Choosing an infant feeding method, whether breast milk or baby formula, is ultimately the parent's decision. However, in making this decision, parents should rely on the advice of health professionals.

Although breast milk is the best source of nutrition for your baby, you shouldn't feel bad or guilty if you are unable or choose not to breastfeed. Baby formulas are specially made to meet babies' nutritional needs. Even some women who breastfeed may at one time or another use formula to supplement their breast milk.

However, with so many brands and names to choose from, the "mother and the father to be" seems confused which one is truly "good and safe" for parent's who chooses to resort to infant formula?

Please view my guest blog post on the usefulness of spices and how it helps your health.  http://alittleyum.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/guest-post-spice-up-your-meals-for-good-health/         Thank You, Anjulina

 

 

Be it a cookout or a casual barbecue, beetroot dressing is always a huge hit. It not only perfectly complements your veggie salad, chicken, cheese, trout, but also packs in enormous health benefits. If you have been looking for cues on how to dress beetroot, but haven’t been able to know much, then this write-up could be your savior. Zesty, zingy, smoky, or sweet, this write-up covers beetroot dressing of every possible combination and flavors.

Pound cake is a special traditional cake which is prepared with one pound of each ingredient, which includes butter, flour, eggs and sugar. Sauces for pound cake help to enhance the taste and flavor of the cake. Here are top 3 popular sauces for pound cake.

 

Raspberry Coulis: