Home cooking

Home cooking, is all about healthier ingredients (to cut fat, salt, and calories) and serving size. Serving size is an ongoing problem in our nation, and only seems to be getting larger. So, what is a serving size anyway? The answer is any size you wish it to be. You'll want to pay attention to how many servings per recipe, and adjust them as required. A recent study compared recipes from the same cookbook, with a current and older (by more than 20 years) edition. The older edition had far less fat in many recipes, and served more people per recipe as compared to the same recipes in the modern, updated edition. I believe that reflects our impressions of what a serving is based on like restaurant servings, where the food is flopping off the plate. And 3 cups of pasta is 3 servings: not one.

With food prepared at home you know what the ingredients are. This way you can assure the freshness, the nutritious level and quality. Home cooking is simple, healthy, and delicious. Cooking for a loved one is a luxury, like driving a Mercedes Benz. Your family will feel great, because you made wonderful meals prepared with your own hands with love. Home cooking is often simple to prepare, with the use of authentic, natural and local ingredients. Home cooking is decidedly one of the better choices when it comes to a meal. Home cooking also means eating at home, and there are certainly multiple benefits (physical and emotional) to eating dinner together as a family.

Home cooking was the hottest food trend of 2009, and the market research data says supermarket shoppers were cooking more from scratch and spending more on basic cooking ingredients than on convenient but costly frozen and refrigerated foods. Home cooked meals are generally more healthful than those prepared at restaurants. Nevertheless, just how much more healthful depends on who's doing the cooking, where the recipe comes from, and even the dishes in which the food is served. Studies show that the biggest influence on family eating habits, (more than 70 percent) is the person who buys and prepares the food. Could be a mother,father, grandparent
or other family member. If the person, that is responsible for purchasing and preparing the food, struggles with unhealthy habits and eating choices they will generally pass those problems onto family members. By the same token, if they can improve their habits that can help improve the health of the whole family.

Home cooking is easier today than it was years ago, thanks to better freezing methods, instant and already prepared foods and ready made ingredients. These items make it easy to put together a great home cooked meal in no time and is my secret to home cooking. Not everything has to be from scratch. There are a lot of products and canned foods out there that makes a meal that tastes just like grandmas. Cooking equipment and household items such as plastic containers and zip lock bags, have also added to the adeptness of home cooking. You can make home cooked meals ahead of time and freeze them for later in the week, or easily take a great meal to work with you.

Home cooking may call for a little more effort than picking up the phone and ordering a pizza, but you will soon see the health benefits of cooking at home and preparing foods for your family. Not all home cooking is considered healthy though, and that's one area where you will want to be careful if a healthy lifestyle is your goal. However, the many unhealthy items used in recipes of grandmas day can easily be replaced with healthier choices. Recipes that call for cheese, butter, eggs and even meat can be substituted with replacements easily found in many grocery stores. Products such as beans are a very healthy choice and make a great substitute for meats.

Health Benefits: of Beans

Black beans are rich in anthocyanins antioxidants, that help fight heart disease and cancer.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) a diet fortified with chickpeas could help slash, "bad"LDL cholesterol almost 5%

Kidney beans have thiamine and navy potassium. Thiamine (vitamin B 1) will protect memory and brain function.
A deficiency of thiamine (B 1) has possibly been linked to Alzheimer's. Navy Potassium helps to regulate your blood pressure, and normal heart contractions.

Pinto beans: The fiber in pinto beans is good to help stabilize your blood sugar. By stabilizing the blood sugar, it helps lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

Here are two good meatless recipes both using beans. Enjoy.

This recipe is a great choice for a Meatless Monday, or any day. Yet still lets you convince
the kids that it's a Sloppy Joe!

Meatless Sloppy Joes

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup carrot, shredded
1 can of chili beans, undrained
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce,
more or less to your preference

1. Add olive oil to pan and heat on medium-high
2. Add onions, bell pepper, and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes
3. Add rice, chili beans, and barbecue sauce and cook for approximately
10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to heat thoroughly


Quick Beans and Rice
Makes 6 servings

1 medium carrot, chopped
1/3 cup chopped Onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 15-1/2-ounce can pinto beans, drained
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice

1. Cook carrot and Onion in butter in large skillet 2 to 3 minutes or until tender crisp.
2. Add Beans, tomato, salt, curry powder and pepper; heat thoroughly.
3. Serve over hot rice.