At this website we offer women (and the people they love!) the latest news on safe, effective weight loss, and weight control. You’ll find recipes, hint and tips to help you make sensible eating choices, plus healthy menu planning for you and your whole family.
It’s not enough to just lose the pounds, you have to keep them off. There is nothing worse for your body than fad diets or yo-yo dieting. Effective long term weight management strategies should be an integral part of any weight loss program, as should sound nutritional guidelines.
Despite the stigma behind kids in the kitchen, teaching kids to cook is a great way to build confidence and strengthen your family bonds. Just look at the Italians and the French. They spend all day in the kitchen with their family and they are probably about as tight as any culture can be. There are some things to consider when introducing kids to the kitchen routines, but doing so can make all of the difference in the world.
Make it fun
Kids are all about fun. Just watch one of them playing outside and you will quickly see that anything can be fun if you just put a little imagination behind it. Today, companies are making it easier than ever to get kids to enjoy kitchen time. With bright colors and tools that are easy to use, kids are starting to take an interest in what they eat every day.
Before you even begin the prep work, sit down with your child and make up a game. Assign different tasks, develop different strategies and get ready to step foot into the biggest play area ever.
Ask kids to use their imagination. For instance, while wading through the jungle of broccoli trees, what kind of exotic species are they looking for? Maybe they are trying to paddle their way out of the Royal Gorge while whipping some eggs or even in a race against time crossing the tight rope of spaghetti while expecting the kitchen timer to ding at any second.
Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees and preheat.
Mist 2 large baking sheets with olive oil.
Gently break the tortillas in half and cut each half into 3 triangles.
Spread the tortilla pieces in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.
Lightly mist the tortillas with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.
Bake the chips for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Makes 6 servings
Almost all children love tortilla chips and these ware no exception. They are much healthier than store bought chips and the kids can whip them up in no time which makes them even better. Eat them alone or add a favorite dip or salsa for the perfect snack.
Preparation Time: approximately 20 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 30 minutes
Why exactly can toast never return to its former state? Inquiring minds want to know and the kitchen offers a great field for learning science. Learning how things work and react is great for building brain strength. The more you can understand how things work together and how different things can react with each other, the more you will be able to apply it to certain scenarios.
Reasoning
Problem solving is an important skill for anyone. Being able to think through a situation and come up with a solid plan on the fly is a skill that many people desire, but do not have. Being in the kitchen can help teach us to deal with many different problems at once. For instance, the gumbo is about to start burning, the stand mixer is about to be finished with the dough and the whip cream still needs to be made.
This type of reasoning will serve a child well later in life, trying to juggle tasks and people. Critical thinking is a skill that many people struggle to develop late in life, but instilling it early will have a significant outcome on how kids think about the world in which they live.
Cooking is more than just a fun activity. While it provides fun, it also builds necessary skills to help a child think and grow. These skills are not only limited to children, adults can begin to grow them as well, but getting them into children at an early age will help shape their world. So get cooking and build some of those necessary skills in yourself and your children.
There is a great deal of important lessons kids can learn in the kitchen. Of course, there should be an adult present to help out and accomplish any tasks that the children are unable to, but more of the reason is to begin to shape and mold the thought process and inner qualities of the children. These qualities must be placed inside the children as soon as possible so they take root and begin to develop during an early part of life.
Creativity
Creativity is one of the biggest qualities that most successful entrepreneurs encompass, so why not instill that as soon as possible? Creativity is what creates the best inventors, astronauts and world leaders. How can you get creativity from the kitchen? Simple, let your kids try new things.
Safety
Safety cannot be stressed enough in the kitchen. In order to keep safety on the forefront of your mind, you have to be continuously thinking ahead. This offers the ability to teach great foresight, which is in high demand in the world today. Being safe does mean being aware of the surroundings. How you can continuously improve them to protect those around you. This also provides a base for teamwork.
Self Confidence
Anytime a kid can do something for themselves, their self-confidence gets a boost. Building self-confidence is second to none. Making sure kids are confident in their decisions and in who they are is great internal real estate. Kids gain confidence when they get through certain tasks and in the kitchen, there are plenty of different tasks to slice through.
Prepare the jars and two piece caps according the manufacturers directions
Keep the jars and lids hot while preparing and canning the beets.
Scrub the beets clean and place them in a 12 qt pot.
Cover the beets with water and place the pot over medium high heat.
Bring the water to a brisk boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes.
Remove the beets from the cooking liquid, reserving the liquid, and allow them to cool enough to handle.
Once cool remove the skins and trim off the roots and stems.
Larger beets should be cut in half to fit into the jar well.
Place the beets into the canning jars and enough cooking liquid to retain a 1 in. headspace.
Add 1/2 tsp of canning salt to each jar.
Release the air bubbles and add more beets and liquid if necessary to preserve the recommended headspace.
Process the jars in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. of pressure for 30 minutes.
Drop the pressure to 0 and let the jars stand in the uncovered canner for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars to a draft free area to cool completely.
Check the seals and refrigerate any jars that did not seal correctly and use with two weeks.
Before eating or tasting your beets boil them for 15 minutes.
Makes 14 pints
When picking the beets you are going to can be sure to choose ones that have a dark red color and are 1 to inches in diameter. To retain the red color add 1 tsp of vinegar with 5% acidity to each jar before sealing and processing.
Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Processing Time: approximately 30 minutes
Standing Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 55 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 1/2 C serving)
Prepare the jars and lids according the manufacturer’s directions keeping them hot.
Pour the water into a 12 qt pot and place over high heat to bring it to a boil.
Cut the squash into 1 in cubes and gently place the cubes into the boiling water.
Return them to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until just softened.
Loosely pack the squash into the jars using a canning funnel.
Add enough hot cooking liquid to maintain a 1/2 in headspace.
Release any air bubbles and add more liquid if necessary to maintain the correct headspace.
Wipe the jar rims and tighten the lids by hand.
Place the jars into the pressure canner and process at 10 lbs of pressure for 40 minutes.
Let the pressure drop to 0 and leave the jars in the closed canner for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars and place in a draft free area to cool.
Check the seals before storing and use any jars that must be refrigerated within 2 weeks.
Boil the squash for 10 minutes before eating or tasting.
Makes 7 quarts
There is always an over abundance of summer squash in the garden. Whether it is zucchini, crookneck or any of the other types of summer squash available there’s always more than we can use or give away. Because the skins are thin and edible there is no need to peel your squash before you can it. That makes canning summer squash one of the easiest things to can out of the garden.
Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Processing Time: approximately 40 minutes
Standing Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 05 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 1/2 C serving)
Prepare the canning jars and two piece lids according the manufacturer’s instructions.
Place the tomatoes into a large cooking pot and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Stirring often cook the tomatoes for 30 minutes or until very soft.
Press the tomato mixture through a sieve to separate the juice from the skins and seeds.
Place the juice back into the pot and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Simmer the juice for 5 additional minutes.
Pour the juice into the prepared jars leaving a 1/2 inch head space.
Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice to each jar release the air bubbles and add more juice if necessary to achieve the 1/2 inch head space.
Wipe off the jar rims and seal down the caps by hand.
Process the jars in a water bath canner for 45 minutes from the point of boiling.
Remove the jars with a jar lifter and place on kitchen towels in a draft free area to cool.
Check the seals before storing and place any jars with tops that did not seal in the refrigerator.
Use any refrigerated juice within 2 weeks.
Makes 7 quarts
There’s noting quite like homemade tomato juice. Drink it as it is or use it in soups, stews or any of your favorite recipes. Tomato juice is also a great meat tenderizer. Use it when cooking those tough cuts of meat or add it to gravy for a more flavorful dish. Any type of tomatoes can be used to make this delicious tomato juice and the best part there’s no peeling or removal of any seeds. The cooking does that for you.
Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 35 minutes
Processing Time: approximately 45 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 35 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 1/2 C serving)
Place the zucchini and onions into a 12 qt. nonreactive pot and sprinkle evenly with the salt.
Pour the ice water over the vegetables and stir once.
Cover the pan and let the veggies stand at room temperature for 3 hours.
Dump the veggies into a colander, rinse well and drain.
Roll the vegetables in a dry kitchen towel to dry them.
Prepare the jars and lids as directed by the manufacturer.
Combine the sugar, vinegar, mustard and celery seeds and the turmeric in a nonreactive pot.
Place the pot over high heat and stirring constantly bring to a brisk boil.
Add the vegetables and return the mixture to a boil.
Pack the pickles into the jars and add enough of the hot cooking liquid to maintain a 1/2 inch head space.
Release the air bubbles and add more pickles and water to retain the correct head space.
Wipe the rims, seal the jars and place in a water bath canner.
Process the pickles from the point of boiling for 10 minutes.
Remove carefully and cool in a draft free area, check the seals and refrigerate any jars that did not seal correctly for up to 2 months.
Makes 12 pints
These sweet yet slightly tart pickles will be a hit when you serve them. It’s a great way to use up the over abundance of zucchini we all seem to have in our gardens. Use zucchini that is about the size of cucumbers and try to use them on the day they are picked for best results.
Preparation Time: approximately 30 minutes
Standing Time: approximately 3 hours
Cooking Time: approximately 5 minutes
Processing Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 3 hours 45 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 2 oz. serving)
Pour the cider into a 5 qt. pot, place over high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the apple slices and simmer for 45 minutes.
Stir the fruit every 10 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the remaining ingredient and reduce the heat to medium low.
Simmer the mixture, stirring intermittently, for 25 minutes or until the sauce thickens to the consistency of applesauce.
Remove the cinnamon stick and throw it away.
Prepare the canning jars and two piece lids according the manufacturer’s instructions keeping them hot.
Spoon the fruit into the jars leaving a 1/4 inch head space.
Release any air bubbles and add more fruit if necessary to retain the correct head space.
Process the jars in a water bath for 15 minutes from the point of boiling.
Cool in a draft free area then check to be sure all the lids sealed correctly.
Any jars that did not seal correctly can be refrigerated and used within two months.
6 half pints
Yummy apple butter there’s nothing like it when it comes to topping our toast on a chilly fall morning. When canning, always stick to the recipe. Experimenting with different ingredient amounts or adding extra ingredients will only cause you food safety problems. Different adjustments can change the acid or pH levels causing your canned goods to spoil. Always complete the process from start to finish without any interruptions. Interruptions can cause low-grade quality and make for an unsafe product.
Preparation Time: approximately 20 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 1 hour 10 minutes
Processing Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 45 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 1 tbsp serving)
Prepare the canning jars and two piece screw cap lids as directed by the manufacturer.
Keep the jars and lids hot while filling.
Remove the entrails, scales, head, tail and fins off the fish.
Cut the pieces of fish with the skin intact small enough to fit in the jar leaving a 1 inch headspace.
Place the fish with the skin out into the jars and sprinkle 1 tsp of salt into each jar.
Wipe the jar rims clean and tighten the lids with your hand.
Process the fish in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. of pressure for 1 hour 40 minutes.
Allow the pressure to fall to 0 and leave the jars in the canner undisturbed for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars and cool completely in a draft free area.
Check the seals and refrigerate any jars that did not seal correctly using within 1 week.
Boil the contents of each jar for 15 minutes before tasting or eating.
Makes 12 pints
If you have an avid fisherman in your home and love fish chowder this recipe is perfect for you. It’s a great way to keep all that fish out of the freezer. It makes a great base for chowder or any other soup or stew you make using freshwater fish. Always follow a fish can recipe exactly and use care when packing and processing your fish. Fish are very delicate and can fall apart or go bad very easily.
Preparation Time: approximately 1 hour
Processing Time: approximately 1 hour 40 minutes
Standing Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 50 minutes
Nutritional Information: (approximate values per 4 oz. serving)
