Healthy Cooking

Question: Healthy cooking? I'm looking for some really simple, fast, healthy recipes that I can pack and take to work. Sandwiches and wraps are great, but I'd also like somethings I can take left-over-style. I'd like to stick as vegetarian as possible, and sugar-free. Please know that I am new to the kitchen, so nothing too scary :) Thanks!

Answer: Tasty, High fiber, black beans and brown rice can of S&W Caribbean Black beans (has Red Bell Pepper, Anaheim Chili Peppers,Diced Onion & Lime, Juice in Caribbean Sauce) can of mexican stewed tomatoes (has green pepper and onion) chili paste (tablespoon of Huy Fong Sambal Oelek, Chili Paste) Uncle Ben's Brown Rice (Microwave in bag) Drain juice from cans and add 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch, mix Cook beans, tomatoes till bubbling. If you would like it thicker and more sauce, add cornstarch mixture, stir till the sauce comes out clear. Meanwhile, microwave brown rice for 90 seconds. Place beans mixture on top or mix together. This makes 2 servings. ------- Black Bean Salad 2 Large Cans Black Beans 1 Can White Corn 4 Plum Tomatoes 1 Medium Red Onion 1/2 Green Pepper Handful Fresh Cilantro Or 1/2 Tablespoon Dried Cilantro 1/2 Tablespoon Salt 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 2 Chipotle Peppers 1/2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic Drain and rinse black beans. Drain white corn. Dice red onion, green pepper, chipotle peppers, plum tomatoes. Chop cilantro. Mix together. Add salt, olive oil, garlic and vinegar. Chill, covered at least 4 hours. Serves: 8 Preparation time: 1 hour ------ Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 onion, cut into wedges 3 cloves garlic, peeled 1 egg (or egg substitute equivalent to1-1.5 eggs (1/4-3/8 cups)) OR 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water Stir together until thick and gelatinous. 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce 1/2 cup bread crumbs (maybe in addition, add 1/2 cup cooked brown rice) (possibly use rolled oats instead of bread crumbs) Suggestions: How to keep them from falling apart, though. First, you must rinse the black beans and dry them off before mashing them. Second, you must strain the onion, garlic and pepper mixture through a fine strainer to remove any excess water. Also, I freeze mine and grill them frozen. Blended everything in the food processor, beginning with onions, peppers, and garlic, then oats, then eggs and spices, beans last. I chilled the mixture, then rolled (more like poured -- think thick muffin batter) onto waxed paper. I froze the burgers. To grill, oiled some foil that was folded over burger. As a substitute, use frozen pepper stir fry (red, yellow, green pepper slices and onion slices. You can find them in the freezer section at the grocery) instead of individual bell pepper and onion. Served them with a "dipping sauce" of 1/2 salsa mixed with 1/2 sour cream. delicious. 1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet. 2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. 3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans. 4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. 5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties. (Note: Made them smaller (ended up with 6 and served them with a "dipping sauce" of 1/2 salsa mixed with 1/2 sour cream. delicious.) 6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on cookie sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side. Note: put a little oil on your hands when shaping the patties to prevent sticking. --- Cajun Seasoning 1 box salt 3 T black pepper 2 T garlic powder 1 t onion powder 1 t nutmeg 2 T parsley flakes (crunched) 4 T red pepper (ground) (cayenne) 2 T chili powder Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container.

Question: healthy cooking? I need some help on trying to cook healthier. My fiance and I are trying to lose some weight and I need some help with cooking. I work 9-10 hours a day so I need some that are easy to understand, delicious, and semi-quick to prepare. Thanks

Answer: We get lots of recipes from www.cookinglight.com. They have all the nutritional info on each serving so you know what you're making & lots of superfast & weeknight recipes that are simple & delicious.

Question: I am a student living alone, has anyone got any healthy cooking ideas? I consider myself to have quite a healthy diet already, eating alot of fruit and cereals. However, I find myself cooking alot of omelettes and baked potatoes for dinner because they are cheap and easy to cook. Does anyone know any recipies with similar characteristics that have more variety and are healthier?

Answer: Vegetable rice Preparation Time: 10 minutes Marinade Time: 45 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients 1/2 bags porcini mushrooms, or 4 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped 2 Tbsps. lite soy sauce 1/4 cup vegetable stock 2 Tbsps. fresh ginger, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 lb. carrots\cooked, sliced 1 lb. tofu, thinly sliced 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 lb. snow peas, thawed if frozen 1 bunch scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces Instructions Cover dried mushrooms with hot water. Let soak 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a sieve, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms and chop. Combine next 6 ingredients in a bowl and marinate 30 minutes. Heat oil in a heavy skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu mixture and stir-fry 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until carrots are tender. Potato Pre-heat oven to about 375 - 400ºF Scrub any dirt off skin of potato under the hot tap, dab dry with paper kitchen towel. Stick the potato onto a "Potato Spike", trying not to impale your hand in the process. Stick potato in the oven for about 45minutes - 1hour Remove potato from oven, slice down the middle, stick a nob of salted butter between the 2 halves. BEEF STEW stewing meat or chuck roast, cut into chunks 2 onions, chopped carrots, medium diced celery, medium diced string beans, medium diced potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes and covered with water (Drain water off before adding to stew.) 2 cans of beef gravy 1 can of peas, drained salt pepper Brown meat in hot oil. As meat is browning add onions. After meat is browned add gravy and 1/2 to 1 can of water to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add carrots, celery, string beans and potatoes. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Just before stew is done add the peas. Adjust salt and pepper. Stew can be served over egg drop noodles.

Question: How do you balance healthy cooking with the high cost of food? It seems like eating/cooking healthy is SO expensive. Any tips?

Answer: I buy local when I can. I buy seasonal all the time. Peaches are cheap now. They'll cost a fortune in February. I use far less meat per person per meal than most restaurants--and we get all we need. I limit salt used in cooking. I use lower-fat or healthier oils, margarine, sour cream, milk, etc. I buy sharper cheeses so we can use far less to get the taste we like. I serve at least one vegetable with every meal, and make veggie portions substantial. I do a lot of my own preparation rather than using mixes, jars, complete meals, etc. It took time to gather recipes, but now about 3/4 of what I make is entirely from scratch--and nearly as fast as using pre-packaged products, while being lower in fat and salt. I make most dinners in 30-45 minutes. I buy fish when it's on sale and freeze it. I also buy bags of frozen individually-packaged tilapia and salmon. I buy "club packs" of chicken, trim it all, and freeze it in one-meal portions. If I'm not feeling too lazy, I cube some, dice some, etc. so it's meal-ready. I buy whole-grain products often. The nuttier taste doesn't go with everything, but when it doesn't clash, that's what I use. Brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, like that. I use coupons and pay attention to what's on sale. I almost never buy health-and-beauty items or cereal without a coupon. I try store-brand or no-brand products and substitute them for name-brand when they're perfectly all right. This can be cheaper than a name-brand product and a coupon the store doubles. I use a list and don't often buy things that aren't on it--unless they're a good price on something I'm sure to use. We eat leftovers, often rolled into a future meal rather than just reheated.

Question: Healthy Recipes: where can i go in houston to learn cooking at a very low cost? i would like to learn different types of cooking especially healthy cooking like vegetarian cooking but not have to pay that much in houston area

Answer: Central Market off of Westheimer and Weslayan has cooking classes that ranges from healthy vegetarian dishes to desserts. Each class is starts about $50 on up depending on the class. They also have online classes too.

Question: i need to start cooking more healthy meals.. any ideas or recipes? i need to get on a healthy cooking.. what are some good recipes and i hope they are tastey

Answer: There are many healthy recipes, websites, and ideas in the links I included in a previous answer I gave to a similar question if you want to check them out: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlXs2X4jOaTNAT0irGSH4efsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070321104807AAfwdQZ P.S. The secret to being happy with "healthy" cooking is to have *high flavor* foods (rather than just high fat/sodium/calories). HTH, Diane B.

Question: Anyone have any simple healthy cooking recipes? I'm trying to encourage my dad to cook more healthy meals. We made a delicious paella yesterday which went down well. Does anybody have any EASY, cheap recipes which use vegetables as the main ingredients, or is low in fat and calories and tastes really good?

Answer: One great recipe that I tried when I was trying to eat healthier was for Pad Thai. Here's the video that I found for it: http://lafango.com/chefjaice/media/336389-binas-pad-thai#/media/336389-binas-pad-thai This guy also has a lot of other healthy recipes worth taking a look into...

Question: Do you have a favorite (and free) online recipe source for healthy cooking? Which recipes do you recommend from your source(s)? I really enjoy Healthy Cooking and Cooking Light: http://www.tasteofhome.com/healthy-cooking/ and http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/ Cool, thanks guys! I do use some of the sites mentioned but I'll have to check out some of the others. :)

Answer: http://www.healthy-cooking.co.uk/ http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Living/Main.aspx http://www.watercress.co.uk/recipes/family.shtml

Question: cooking oils...what is the most healthy to use and are they interchangeable? I enjoy cooking and notice some recipes call for Canola oil, veg oil, olive oil, corn oil etc. What is the most healthy to cook with and can I use one in anothers place? THANKS! I am mainly asking for use in baking

Answer: extra virgin olive oil and then canola yes they are interchangeable. use the olive oil for most cooking and canola for frying

Question: Food food lovers and healthy eaters, how much thought would you put into the quality of ur cooking utensils? would it matter to you if despite your healthy cooking and healthy eating habits, you may be eating out of cooking utensils that are not healthy or safe for use and you didnt realise it?

Answer: I take great care when purchasing cooking utensils. It isn't just the cost that is important, but quality, what it's made of and where it comes from. Personally, I avoid aluminium. Everything is washed and rinsed thoroughly and once an item is damaged it's replaced and if possible, the old one is put to use where health is not an issue. There's hardly any point in preparing a healthy meal and serving it up on a chipped plate that's harbouring deadly germs. Common sense :)

Question: I want to start cooking really healthy meals..? I need to start cooking healthy food, i love Salmon and chicken but never no what to put with them

Answer: We are now doing the following: 1. At your grocery store, buy the sealed PRE-COOKED meats that come is small packages such as the following. You can make two or three meals out of them: Beef tips with gravy, Roast with gravy, Pork roast, Chicken, Baked ham, Pork chops, Meatloaf, etc. Just heat in your microwave; directions are on the packages. You will find these packages in the cold section (not the freezer). Ask a clerk to help you find these. They are delicious. Use these for your meat dish with a side dish or two of canned or frozen vegetables, beans, potatoes or sweet potatoes which can all be found on shelves or in the freezer section and they are already cooked. . You can now buy bags of different flavors of precooked rice that you put into your microwave for a minute or two. These are on shelves at the grocery store. We like the chicken flavored best of all. Have a clerk help you find them. . Real mashed potatoes that come in a bag...add water, butter, milk. Delicious. Read the directions. . Buy top brand cans of stew for each person. Serve with cornbread, crackers, or toast. . Soup and a grilled (fried) cheese sandwiches. Go to this video to see how to make a quick grilled cheese sandwich: http://startcooking.com/video/326/Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich . Omelet with Cheese - Video: http://startcooking.com/video/326/Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich . You can buy all types of salad greens in large packages now. Buy the ones that have been pre-washed. Add your own dressing which you can buy in bottles. . 2. The top brands of microwave frozen dinners are very good now. These come in single servings or in family sized bags. Follow directions. Look for the words "No Preservatives" marked on the box or package. Just add a canned or frozen vegetable as a side dish. Top brands of dinners that are found on shelves. No fridge needed. Add water, microwave. These are good to take to school or work. Follow directions on the containers. . 3. Video On How To Cook A Rib Eye Steak on Stove Burner (turn on your sound), click this link: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-rib-eye-steak . 4. Supermarket deli's have pre roasted chickens, fried chickens, roast beef, and side dishes. You can stop in on the way home and grab a quick dinner to take home. I buy their roasted chicken often...they are delicious. . 5. Buy a crock pot. You put everything into the pot in the morning, set it on low for 8 hours, and your dinner will be ready for you when you come home in the evening! I kid you not. Be sure to read the instruction booklet. There is a recipe booklet that comes with the crock pot. You can buy crock pots at places such as your grocery store, Walmart, and etc. Here are 1,160 crock pot recipes: http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=crock+pot DON'T FORGET TO PLUG IT IN! This happens more than you would think. lol 6. Salads. All types: http://southernfood.about.com/od/saladrecipes/Salad_Recipes_Salads_and_Dressings.htm

Question: Can Slow Cooking be Healthy & Easy? I recently bought a slow cooker w/ lots of features that I got a great deal on, but have been afraid to open it because the last thing I want is to cook lots of meat with canned soups added to it. I usually try to cook healthy using lots of veggies, lean meats, and spices for flavor. I have 3 young children and am often running around, and was wondering if anyone had success using the slow cooker to make relatively easy and healthy recipes? If so, I would be thankful for any recipes suggestions or ideas. Thanks! So you prob. need to multi-step & put veggies in around the end so it doesn't turn into mush? I was interested in more advice on the "how" to use the slow cooker to make healthy dishes. Thanks!

Answer: I think I see what you need. Slow cookers are great for meals that you want to prepare but be able to walk away from. We use slow cookers in our business because it permits us to be doing other things while cooking and not worrying about something burning. You can make vegetable chili, or lean hamburger chili, lean beef stew, chicken and vegetables, bean soups and so forth. The trick is to know how much moisture to put in and when to put vegetables in so that they don't overcook. If your cooker didn't come with a booklet, you can find good information at your public library and please check out this website: busycooks.about.com/od/healthycrockpotrecipes/a/healthycrockpot

Question: Know any yummy mediterranean recipes and/or tips for cooking healthy? I'm greek, so I know most of the greek recipes. Unfortunately, living in the middle of nowhere and in the dead of winter is not a good time or place to cook Greek. Since the vast majority of the flavor in greek cooking is meant to come from fresh vegetables... I'm kind of stuck. I'm looking for Mediterranean recipes that can still taste, well... fresh, without necessitating fresh veggies. That being said, it should be as healthy as possible. And the real challenge: no fish. Thanks.

Answer: I grew up in a Lebanese-American family, which has a very similar style to that of Greek cooking (same Mediterranean background) and I recently learned of a recipe from a family friend that turned out GREAT! It was spinach, sauteed lightly in olive oil with pine nuts, onions, and ground beef, seasoned with the traditional Lebanese seasonings (salt, pepper, allspice) and put over rice pilaf (I substituted brown rice though, as its a bit healthier). It was really good and was super easy to make!

Question: Help with healthy cooking and baking with grains? Over the past year I have cut most all white flour and white sugar items from my diet and eat primarily a low fat, low cal, whole foods diet. I'm learning about new grains, but am becoming overwhelmed by the endless types of flours available. For instance, Bobs Red Mill offers everything from coconut to oat to quinoa flour. What is the best way to learn which flour is best for which recipe? Also, are there any sites that you can recommend that provide recipes that are low fat, low cal and use these healthy grains in the process? I'm hoping to begin to use these grains and cut the wheat from my diet. Is that possible and if so, what are the best resources available? P.S. I'm fairly new to the kitchen and don't have a lot of spare time, so I prefer to keep recipes and food prep fairly elementary!!

Answer: Hi Paula there is a very good description of all different types of flours on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2198586 in the same website you can find interesting recipes by reputable chefs - just enter the word 'flour' in the quick recipe search box. Some of them are inspired from the British tradition.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

Question: What are all the health,workout,healthy cooking magazines? I know there is *shape *self and thats it. what are the others? thanks. healthy magazines workout magazines healthy recipe magazines and things like that. thank you.

Answer: I don't know if you're interested or not but I have an ebook store that has lots of recipe and health and fitness books you can download right to your computer. Most of them range from 99 cents to $5. If you would like to check it out, my website is: http://www.exeterebooks.com Thank you.

Question: What is a good healthy cooking oil? I'm going on a diet and lowering my fat grams intake. I can't use olive or extra virgin olive oil. What is a good cooking oil that is low in fat? The price doesn't matter to me that much.

Answer: actually olive oil is good for you i know you want to drop fat but olive oil has healthy fat which helps your body