Learn how to eat at holiday parties to save nearly 2,000 calories and still have fun!The holidays are a whirlwind of parties and happy hours. Every event may seem like an excuse to splurge, but the consequence just might be the worst kind of post-party affliction: a food hangover. These 5 tips to save calories are so easy to follow you won’t even miss that extra scoop of creamy dip.
—Holley Grainger, M.S., R.D. 1. Rest Up Rest up the night before a holiday fête by getting at least seven hours of sleep. A recent study found that after a short night’s sleep adults ate about an extra 300 calories and tended to choose higher-fat, higher-calorie foods. When women lack sleep they may feel less full after eating, while men tend to have an increased appetite. By getting your zzzs, you’ll save calories and make healthier choices. 2. Choose WiselyChoose your first buffet picks wisely. Research suggests that you’ll consume the largest quantity of the foods you eat first, so set yourself up for success by starting with something low-calorie. Try fresh veggies and hummus over chips and creamy dip to save 120 calories per serving. 3. Pour WiselyCount 1-2-3 when pouring yourself a glass of wine, to get an estimated 5-ounce serving. Don’t rely on just filling up a glass halfway, since many glasses are half full with 10 ounces of wine, which quickly turns that 125-calorie glass into a 250-calorie one. 4. Downsize Your Plate Downsize your plate to trick your brain into thinking you are eating more. According to the Calorie Control Council, the average number of calories eaten at a holiday dinner is a shocking 3,000, and that doesn’t count pre-dinner snacking. Use an appetizer or salad plate instead of a dinner plate and eat 40 percent less, cutting 1,200 calories. 5. Think SmallTake smaller sips and bites to trick your brain into eating 30 percent fewer calories. Studies find that when you take nibbles, chew your food longer and eat slower, your brain thinks you’ve eaten more. So nibble, don’t gobble, that pecan pie: by taking smaller bites and chewing more, you’ll naturally eat less—saving around 143 calories per serving. Genius cooking tips
Anyone who's striving to follow a healthier diet should start by prepping more meals at home. Cooking your own food allows you to control portion sizes and ingredients used, not to mention it saves you money. But there is a learning curve when it comes to all that chopping, slicing, and dicing. That's why we've collected 14 clever tips and tricks for cooking at home from our friends at Food & Wine—no fancy gadgets or chef-worthy knife skills required. Make mess-free pancakes Fresh, homemade pancakes are delicious, and fun to make. But it often leaves a big mess in your kitchen that you won't enjoy having to clean up. Here's a genius way to make pancakes without having to wash a single dish or spoon. Cut cake layers without a knife Have you ever wondered how professional bakers make their beautiful layer cakes? You can do it yourself at home without having to sharpen your knife skills. Discover how to cut cake into even layers using... dental floss! Poach the perfect egg Whether you use them to top a bed of salad greens or a slice of toast, poached eggs are one of life's simple pleasures. But the biggest challenge when poaching an egg is coaxing it to keep its shape. Learn how to poach picture-perfect eggs using one simple household ingredient. Make light, fluffy potato gnocchi If you've ever tried to make homemade potato gnocchi, you know how difficult it is to prevent them from turning into dense, chewy little balls instead of the pillowy pasta you crave. There's just one simple kitchen tool you will need to make perfect potato gnocchi. Peel hard-boiled eggs effortlessly Hard-boiled eggs are rich in protein, and they make a great grab-and-go snack. Just pack a spoon with you—it will help you take the shell off quickly and neatly, especially if the eggs are very fresh. Peel a kiwi without squashing the fruit The flesh of kiwis can be super soft, making it hard to separate the peel from this delicious fruit that's packed with fiber, vitamin C, and folate. Using just a spoon, though, you can peel a kiwi quickly and neatly. Shuck an oyster with ease You'll need finesse, not brawn, to break into an oyster and enjoy the delicate meat and briny nectar. Chef José Andrés demonstrates two easy ways to shuck an oyster—including one surprising shortcut. Peel ginger with a spoon Ginger adds a fresh and spicy kick to almost any dish, but it has nooks and crannies that make it difficult to peel and mince. Here's a quick and easy way to prepare fresh ginger using a spoon or a fork. Poach salmon with a sandwich bag Poaching is one of the healthiest ways you can cook salmon, and you don't have to stink up your kitchen to do it. All you need is a plastic sandwich bag and a lemon. Revive stale bread in your oven A fresh baguette features a delicious, crunchy crust and fluffy middle, but when it goes stale, it turns into a rubbery hunk of bread. Bring life back to dried-out, stale bread with this oh-so-easy technique. Separate egg whites with a water bottle If you've ever tried to separate egg whites from their yolks, then chances are you've had to deal with leftover bits of the shells. Next time you're making an egg-white omelet or a batch of rich pastries, separate yolks in bulk using this easy, foolproof technique. Slice soft cheese without the mess Cheese is a tasty addition to any party platter, but the softer varieties can be hard to cut. Learn how to cut soft cheese into perfect slices so your guests can enjoy a snack without making a mess. Truss a chicken, no twine needed When roasting a whole chicken, it's important to cook your bird evenly on all sides without burning the wing tips. An age-old cooking technique that can help is trussing your chicken with butcher's twine. You can also truss your bird with an item you should already have in your medicine cabinet: dental floss. Dry herbs in the microwave If you've ever purchased and used fresh herbs, you know that it's hard to use up the entire batch before it goes bad. Learn how to save money by drying fresh herbs in a microwave. I wish I had some magic secrets or shortcuts to share, but the truth is that food blogging is hard work. I receive questions about the subject fairly often, so I sat down to compile my best tips for food bloggers and ended up with an even twenty. You’ll be more likely to develop a successful food blog if you follow these guidelines.
1. Be authentic. Post about what you love and produce the best content you possibly can. 2. Don’t give up. Blog growth is slow at first and gains momentum as time goes on, assuming that you stick with it and do your best. 3. Post original content. If visitors like what you do, they will keep coming back for more. 4. Show your personality! Enthusiasm is infectious, so don’t be afraid to show it. One of the coolest things about blogging is that you can connect with people who share your undying love for, say, avocado on toast. 5. Make friends and help each other. In other words, network! Connect and cultivate friendships with other bloggers who share your interests. Leave thoughtful comments on their blogs, chat with them on social media and promote their content. 6. Make yourself accessible. Be present and responsive on social media as best you can. 7. Keep your site design clean and easy to navigate. Clutter detracts from your content. 8. Make it easy for visitors to follow your blog. Place links to RSS/email subscription and social media prominently on each page. 9. Make it easy to comment on your blog. No CAPTCHAs or required logins, please. Find a way to let your commenters know that they are appreciated, whether that’s by emailing them privately, responding to their comment publicly or by commenting on their blogs. 10. Make it easy to share your content. Provide social media sharing buttons at the end of each post. Say thank you when others promote your work. 11. Post fantastic recipes only. You don’t want visitors to invest their time and ingredients into a recipe and end up disappointed, right? Better to let the blog go quiet for a few days than to post a recipe you can’t stand behind. 12. Cite your sources. Always. Not cool: reposting recipes verbatim, posting other bloggers’ photos without permission. Cool: original recipes, sharing links to your inspiration, linking to further resources on the subject at hand. 13. Don’t sell out. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try to make money off your blog, but don’t align yourself with a brand or project that isn’t a good fit. You are the company you keep. Focus on producing your best content and building your audience and the opportunities will come. 14. Post on a regular basis. Whether that’s every day, once a week or once every other week, don’t let your blog look abandoned. 15. Get your own domain name. If you want your blog to be taken seriously, just do it. You can buy a domain name for less than twenty dollars a year through GoDaddy (affiliate link). 16. Build a self-hosted wordpress blog. That is, if you want full control over your design and content and plenty of room to grow. If you don’t know how to do these things, pay someone good to do it for you or shower your geeky friend with homemade cookies until he agrees. Find a step-by-step guide (and food blog design and web hosting tips) here. 17. Learn about search engine optimization. SEO isn’t black magic; it’s about making your quality content findable. It’s important to understand and implement the basics. Here is Google’s SEO starter guide [PDF] and Bake Your Day’s SEO For Food Bloggers Guide. 18. Submit your posts to recipe submission sites. It’s a great way to get new visitors to your blog. I submit my posts to Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Tasteologie and Finding Vegan (when applicable). Keep a text file that contains the submission information so it’s easy to copy and paste it onto each site. If your photo is rejected the first time around, edit it or choose a different photo and resubmit. 19. Learn how to take appetizing photos. People are much more likely to want to eat, make, share and pin your recipes when they are presented alongside appealing photos. Find my food photography tips and equipment recommendations here. 20. Do what your mama told you. This should go without saying, but be nice, be constructive, be respectful, be appreciative, be humble. Work hard. It’s no wonder that baking soda and baking powder are easily confused, considering their similar names and appearance, plus the fact that they’re often used within the same recipe. But when it comes to their individual uses, it’s important to know the difference—lest you wind up with a minor baking disaster on your hands.
So let’s break it down: Baking SodaAccording to Susan Reid, chef and food editor of Siftmagazine, baking soda is a base mineral, which, when combined with something acidic, produces carbon dioxide. “Usually this happens in liquid, and the results you get are bubbles,” says Reid. “Think of the volcanoes you see at every 5th grade science fair. Those bubbles can lift stains or act as a surfactant (meaning they will clean things).” In other words: baking soda can do some pretty magical things. Typically, you’ll see the ingredient pop up in baking recipes that also include acidic ingredients like molasses, maple syrup, lemon juice, and pumpkin. The reason it’s there is to act as a leavener, to help the dough rise. “Recipes using baking soda often bake up darker, and are more crisp, than those without,” adds Reid. But be warned, “too much baking soda in a recipe can give it a bitter, soapy taste.” When it comes to cleaning, you can use baking soda for pretty much anything you can imagine, from unclogging drains to deodorizing the carpet. It’s even been used to remove heel marks from linoleum floors. As for what it’s made of? That may surprise you: Baking soda is basically ground up rock, according to Reid, and as long as it stays cool and dry, it lasts indefinitely. (Hence why your mom’s had the same box of it in her pantry since what seems like 1975.) Baking PowderBaking powder on the other hand, is actually a combination of baking soda plus another acid, in the presence of an inert stabilizer (a fancy term for an inactive ingredient that keeps the mixture from reacting), which is often a bit of cornstarch. What that means: Everything stays inert in the mixture until liquid is added, which allows the soda and acid to combine to produce carbon dioxide (which look like bubbles to the naked eye). This process is what gives baking powder its lifting power in recipes—without which, you’d have some sad-looking biscuits on your hands. But just like baking soda, Reid says baking powder can lose its lifting power over time if it’s not stored in a cool dryplace. If you can, keep it free from humid conditions, since extra moisture in the air can allow the reaction between acid and base to happen. Pay close attention to the label when you buy a new box, since there are actually two different kinds of baking powders out there: single-acting and double-acting. Single-acting powders react fully when you combine them with another liquid. But double acting baking powders work in two stages: Once when combined with a liquid, and again when combined with heat. “Since the balance of the base (soda) and acid is calculated for you, it’s easier to get a final product that has no aftertaste when used in proper amounts,” says Reid. Still not sure you’ll remember the difference between these two ingredients? Reid has a quick trick: Think baking soda = single ingredient. Baking powder = poof in the oven. It isn’t always easy walking into the kitchen and putting together a meal that’ll satisfy your stomach or that of your family. Maybe you want to just be lazy and order out but you can’t always afford to do that. Enter the kitchen food hacks. Food hacks are much like the different life hacks that you’ve heard so much about. These food hacks will help you shortcut your way to a delicious meal, an easy prep time, and a happy stomach. Keep on reading for 11 of the tastiest food hacks that we could pull together! Pancake pops for the kids.Do you have trouble looking up fun breakfast ideas for kids around the house? Do you just plain need something new to try? Consider making yourself a fun breakfast using these easy breakfast ideas. All you need are an assortment of toothpicks for handles and your own pancake batter. Dollop out small, quarter sized, pancake batter chunks onto your fry pan and then lay the toothpick into the batter. Once one side of the pancake pop is cooked you should be able to flip it over using your toothpick. Make a couple dozen of these for the family in the morning. They’ll be impressed and the breakfast is incredible easy to make. Serve each pancake platter with a little bowl of syrup or any other topping, like cinnamon frosting, and you’ll have a wonderful almost gourmet looking breakfast going in no time. No, we’re not talking about the pre-peeled and cubed squash in the supermarket aisle. While it’s tempting, it’s also less fresh and more expensive.
Recipes sometimes call for using a Y-shaped peeler. While the vertical handle certainly speeds up the process, at the end of the day, you’ll still spend at least 20 minutes trying to peel off the squash’s woody exterior. These two brilliant tricks will help whittle the task down to less than five minutes. Make the microwave do the work.Poke the squash or pumpkin all over with the tines of a fork. Place it in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Use a paring knife or Y-shaped peeler to remove the skin. It will practically fall off in large strips. Use a chef’s knife.Cut off the squash’s top and bottom. (For a butternut squash, cut the base and neck apart and tackle each separately.) Stand upright and, working from top to bottom, cut off the skin in strips with the knife, following the shape of the squash. You may take off a bit more flesh than with a peeler, but the knife is much faster. Now, it’s time to get peeling, chopping, and cooking. Use a long serrated knife or an extra-sharp chef’s knife to chop the squash. Then try our Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Harissa and Chickpeas, our Curried Squash Soup, or our Squash, Mushroom, and Kale Soup with Dill. |
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