Dinner Diva: Common cooking salts
Let’s face it. If we’re in a kitchen cooking, chances are we’ll be using salt at some point, whether it’s searing, boiling, grilling, roasting, or baking. The chances that salt is involved probably averages in at 99 percent. But did you know that there are actually differences in salt? It’s so common, I think we often assume that all salt is the same, but there is actually a great deal of variety.
The most common salts we tend to see in grocery stores are table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt. But what makes one different from the other? Ordinary table salt is the most commonly used salt. It’s typically the cheapest and the most processed. It’s scraped down till most minerals are removed from it and tends to have the least flavor in comparison to other salts. Sea salt is pretty straightforward: it’s harvested from the sea. To get it processed, it’s generally evaporated naturally by being placed in clay trays in the sun, and with this method it’s a lot less processed than regular table salt.
Kosher salt is known for its easy dissolvability; it’s just regular table salt rolled out into a flake, easy to dissolve, though less dense, therefore less mass, than table salt and therefore it’s common to use a lot less.
Now that we’ve cover salt basics, it gets a lot more complicated.
There is a grey salt know for its moistness. Many consider it the best quality of salt around because most of the minerals stay intact. One of my favorite salts is a pink Himalayan salt. It really is a light pink tint and typically comes in a grinder for a good fresh flavor. Some of the minerals found in Himalayan salt are calcium, iron, copper, potassium, and magnesium. Beneficial minerals to your meal you probably didn’t even realize you were adding by simply using this particular salt.
So there’s just a little information on salt, it’s more than your standard old salt shaker. And if you’re feeling a little crazy sometimes you can find even smoked salt crystals, or other natural flavor infused salt. It’s a whole salty world you probably didn’t even realize existed!
If you’re watching your salt intake, we make it easy for you! Our Menu-Mailer subscription contains a Heart Healthy menu each week with recipes containing less than 500mg of sodium. More info at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Time to go a little wild
Salmon is one of my all-time favorite fish and one of my all-time favorite meals for that matter. There are so many nutritional benefits to eating it – from its lovely, healthy fatty omega 3′s to its outstanding source of protein. It’s important to make sure you’re eating the right kind of fish.
Instead of choosing farm-raised fish, scrutinize the label (if buying frozen) or ask your fishmonger for wild caught only. For one it sounds more fun and makes your groceries sound a little more exciting than they really are, LOL. But the most obvious reason to choose wild salmon and other wild fish over farm raised, is that it is clean. There’s a bunch of stuff you don’t want to be eating via farm-raised fish, including dioxins (also found in plastics).
According to naturalnews.com, farm-raised salmon has 11 times more carcinogens than wild. Carcinogens root in dioxins and are directly linked to radiation that can mess with your metabolic system and is a prominent cause of cancer. Long story short: you do not want that in your body!
Naturalnews.com also touches on how this stark difference in environment comes to be. The dioxins creep more into farm-raised fish because the various types of feed those farmers will give to their stock contaminates the waters.
Even though wild will cost you a bit more, it’s worth the health benefits. So be a little wild (pun intended), and make the better buy!
Be sure to check out our Five for the Freezer Fish menu for wonderful dinners you assemble and freeze now to enjoy later! More info: www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: So what’s wrong with soda?
Did you know that soda consumption among American children has increased by 500% in the last 50 years? It’s the biggest single source of sugar in the diet today. And after the age of 10, sodas are the most consumed beverage drunk daily—over water, milk or juice.
One 12 ounce can of soda contains 9 teaspoons of sugar. That is equal to about 1/4 cup of sugar and the average American drinks about 2 cans a day, equally 1/2 cup of sugar and 300 calories of negative nutrition. Get out your measuring cup and put 1/2 cup of sugar in it. Would you give this to anyone you love for them to eat?
The soda habit could push you a little closer to tooth decay (with all that sugar, you bet!), diabetes (ditto again on the sugar), osteoporosis (the phosphorus in soda leeches calcium from the bones), obesity (an extra 300 calories a day-2 sodas, will result in as much as a 30 pound a year weight gain!).
So there you have it, a quick education on sodas. Diet sodas aren’t any better, btw. Here’s a paragraph from a Food for Thought article so we don’t have to rerun it:
“The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio ran an eight year study to study the effects of soft drink use. Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, who ran the study, had this shocking statement to say, “What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity. What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”
For each can of diet soda consumed, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%!!!”
Listen, Americans drink over 13 BILLION gallons of soda each year. Don’t you think it’s time we quit the soda habit and help take a million or so gallons of this stuff off the market so we can get healthier, leaner, stronger, have better teeth and prettier skin? Those are just some of the benefits by quitting the soda habit.
It’s time to drink up—make mine a water!
Want to Break Free from sugar addiction? Find out how at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Eating for two
Pregnancy brings with it an instant responsibility for keeping two lives well-fed and nourished. The old excuse of “eating for two” does not mean that you should be gorging yourself with whatever is within arms length. Whatever you consume will also be consumed by the baby and will influence your growing child’s needs.
Once again, making a rainbow on your plate with a ton of fruits and veggies is just what the doctor ordered–the more colors the better! Protein is equally as important as baby needs it to make muscles, bones, teeth and hair. Just an extra half serving is usually enough to get you and your baby what you need, but do check with your doctor to make sure you’re getting your nutrition right.
You also need to watch what you’re drinking. There’s more to it then the obvious “no alcohol” rule. Caffeine and sodas need to go and don’t forget, drink up on the water! Your baby and your body both require a little extra.
This is the one time when you want to gain weight, there’s no way around it. You need to eat more healthfully than you ever have, so eat! And eat well!
Dinner Diva column by Leanne Ely. More at
Dinner Diva: Extreme Makeover-Lunchbox Edition
When packing a lunch for your kids to take to school, don’t even mention the word “lunchable” or I’ll cringe. I don’t care how easy it is to buy a pre-made and pre-packed lunch like that. I promise that all the junk, sugar, and fat you can find in those won’t make them worth it. So ditch the Lunchables.
It’s time for a makeover! And after those Lunchables, I want you to dispose of any fruit roll-ups, fruit gushers, and any other gummy fruit snack. Get rid of the Trix yogurt, I don’t care how often the commercial tries to convince you that “Trix are for kids.” And please, no bologna sandwiches on white bread. If I don’t even know everything they put in that so-called “meat” then it’s something that should be left untouched. And as far as chips are concerned, we should all know better with all those saturated oils.
So what should you put in your children’s lunch? Easy, I’ll give you a list of substitutes for all the items that I dismissed.
1. Instead of all those over-processed gummy fruit snacks, give your kids real fruit! Throw in a banana or some berries. Whatever fruit is in season and on sale in the store! That’ll stock your kid’s belly full of antioxidants and natural sugars that’ll quench the sweet tooth.
2. Trix yogurt is more of a trick than a treat. It’s only full of artificial food coloring, sugar, and artificial flavors. All of which are going to keep your child craving other artificial and sugary foods and make them more lazy and lethargic instead of energetic and happy the way kids are supposed to be. So grab the natural yogurts. It’s easy to tell them apart because they’ll have labels like “real fruit” attached to them. Always double-check the ingredients to confirm that, however.
3. And when you pack a sandwich, avoid white bread and mystery meats. Look for breads that aren’t bleached. I wrote an article on how to pick the right bread if you want to look that up for a more detailed guide (http://savingdinner.com/articles/truth-bread/). Also, use meat that doesn’t have any additives. How do you know if it has additives? The same way you know anything does, check the ingredients! I can’t stress enough how important it is to know what you’re consuming instead of blindly picking something off the shelf.
4. An easy substitute for chips would be whole grain crackers (again, check ingredients), or veggies! Even if you do opt for the crackers, I would include some sort of vegetable regardless. Your children are going to keep growing and developing all the way through high school and are always needing antioxidants and the vitamins found in vegetables. Don’t forget to keep it fun and colorful!
So there you go! Always remember that there is a healthy substitute for any nutritionally lacking lunchbox item.
More from Dinner Diva Leanne Ely at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Summer side dishes
Some of the tastiest sides to load onto your plate at a summer barbecue or any other buffet table are French fries, mashed potatoes, rice and coleslaw. Now, sadly, none of those sides are really great for you if you’re eating the classic version of the list above. However, there is a way to make these usually unhealthy sides more healthy!
French fries: I know, we all love them. My healthy solution: sweet potato fries! Sweet potatoes offer more antioxidants and vitamins than your standard spud, not to mention they’re full of fiber. How to make them: peel and cut them into your preferred thickness, brush them lightly with olive oil, sprinkle just a bit of salt, pepper, and rosemary on top, and bake (400 degrees) them until crispy. So delicious! And if you want to try a sweeter version, you could brush them lightly with unsalted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon – a spice teeming with antioxidants.
Mashed potatoes and rice: Don’t we all love love love our carbs? Your healthy challenge is going to be to start finding the carb alternatives that are just as yummy. In exchange for mashed potatoes and rice, try mashed cauliflower with a little bit of butter and cream cheese, seasoned however you season your mashed potatoes. Trust me, you may shift your alliance to that of the alternative, it’s so good. You can also refer to my own recipe of Faux-Tay-toes and Cauli-rice. For Faux-Tay-toes, steam cauliflower till tender; drain, then mash with butter, cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste till you get a mashed potatoes texture For Cauli-rice, process cauliflower in a food processor or blender till it resembles grains of rice; steam “rice” till tender; drain; salt and pepper to taste and fluff with a fork.
Coleslaw: my summer solution to this side is very simple. Examine your coleslaw recipe, you may notice that it calls for a creamy dressing or a good chunk of mayonnaise. Some recipes even call for sugar. Instead of using those dressings and mayonnaise that are full of way too much fat and calories, make up your own dressing. I would recommend mixing together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, a touch of local honey, and salt and pepper to taste. The honey will replace the sugar, and while mixing just keep in mind you need enough to cover the shredded cabbage, not drown it. You can add a touch of Greek yogurt if you’re missing the creaminess!
So try out these healthier alternatives solutions and watch your family enjoy them just as much!
Dinner Diva column by Leanne Ely. Check out more of her summer menus for more ideas at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: How to wash your fruits and veggies
I’m sure you’re thinking that you don’t need an article to direct you on how to do something as simple as washing your produce. But guess what? It isn’t as simple as running water over your bounty. It’s by no means rocket science, but the little steps that are just common sense, are easily forgotten and overlooked. You don’t want to take washing your produce too lightly because let’s not forget about the outbreaks of salmonella that continually highlight the evening news programs. You have to understand that if you eat your veggies raw, you don’t get rid of the pathogens you would if you cooked them. This is why you need to know how to wash them thoroughly before consumption.
What is the first thing you learn upon entering a kitchen as mama’s helper when you’re little? Wash your hands! This still applies to any cook no matter how experienced or what age. The older and more experienced you become in a kitchen the easier it is to forget the little rules. But don’t! Clean hands are where we start.
So you start out with clean hands, then we work into cleaning the aforementioned produce. Believe it or not you can use distilled or bottled water for a soak. With the harder stuff, like squashes, tomatoes, green beans and such, you’ll want to soak them for a couple minutes because that water is purified and capable of removing contaminants. And if the fruit or veggie of choice has an extra thick skin (like eggplant or cucumbers for example), invest a couple bucks in a vegetable brush, so you can scrub them. For veggies like lettuce, spinach and such, go with less time; you don’t want them waterlogged! I would also yank out the salad spinner to get rid of any extra water.
And make sure to thoroughly wash all your counters, cutting boards, knives, peelers, and any other utensils you might be using on your produce. Bacteria can easily be passed to the inside of the produce even if the outside is clean when your kitchen utensils have traces of bacteria on them. Even fruits and veggies that you’re not going to be eating the outside of (like onions and melons) need this washing treatment!
So go! Eat the fruits and vegetables you know I love so much! Just make sure you wash them well!
Now that all of your fruits and veggies are nice and clean, what are you going to do with them? How about trying out our Summer Salads or Summer Smoothies menu for a little inspiration!
Dinner Diva column by Leanne Ely. More at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Don’t lose your cool
The last thing you need to be doing in the middle of the summer is turning on your oven to make dinner. Unless you like huge utility bills and the extra heat pouring out of your kitchen, that is.
I have an easy rule for summer: no oven recipes. My Menu-Mailer subscribers know this and to their great relief, I provide menus from now until September without using the oven. It’s easy to implement yourself—let me tell you how you can do this.
You want to keep the heat in the kitchen to a minimum—especially if your air conditioning is insufficient. So move the cooking, if you can. Utilize your barbecue (and there are SO many great recipes just begging for a barbecue – like the one below!) as much as you can stand it. You can even grill veggies on the barby—try it, it is absolutely delicious. You can get these nifty little pans with holes in them and grill to your heart’s content (kind of essential, unless you don’t mind zucchini slipping through the grill slats). I toss my cut up veggies in a little olive oil and they’re just wonderful grilled. Try this combo: red bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms. YUM!
Another keep-the-kitchen-cool idea is to use your crockpot elsewhere. We used to put it on the screen porch, but I have heard of people moving their slow cookers to the laundry room. You can have all kinds of delicious things cooking in that thing and never have to worry about heating up your kitchen. When you’re dealing with woefully inadequate air conditioning, every little hint helps.
And don’t forget things like main course salads, sandwiches and fast and easy stove-top suppers.
Doing all of these things will give you a summer kitchen that won’t get you all hot and bothered—know what I mean?
Here’s a recipe to get you grilling!
DO AHEAD TIP: Make the marinade and get your chicken marinating the night before or first thing in the morning.
Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken
Serves 6
6 (6-oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons thyme
In a small bowl combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and thyme to make marinade. Put the chicken in a 1-gallon ziploc-type plastic bag and the pour marinade over chicken then seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. If you can, squish it around every now and then to distribute marinade. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. (Don’t even THINK about using it again!)
Light the barby till coals are to a medium-high heat. (Not red hot, but slightly ash-y if not using gas). Grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side or until cooked through. (You can also cook this on the stove top in a skillet: heat a little olive oil and cook till browned on each side, about 5 minutes per side or until cooked throughout)
Per Serving: 278 Calories; 11g Fat; 40g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 99mg Cholesterol; 112mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat. Points: 7
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with brown rice, grilled asparagus (lightly steam first, brush with a little olive oil and finish them on the grill—YUM!) and a huge salad.
Need more ideas for keeping your kitchen cool this summer? Be sure to check out our Crock Cooker Ebooks for dinner “easy button” style!
Column by Leanne Ely. More at www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Eating like a leprechaun
An attractive meal with a variety of colors makes for a better appetite. Think about what a meal of white fish, cauliflower and mashed potatoes would like on a white plate if you don’t get what I’m talking about versus a steak, asparagus and broiled tomato halves would look like on that same plate. I’m not just suggesting colorful food because it’ll make your meal look more appealing, though that is an obvious perk, but the more colorful your meal, the more nutrients you’ll consume.
When you eat by the rainbow and start encouraging colorful eating with your kids, it’ll be much easier to coax them into participating. Instead of the “no dessert” threat, you might find that if you show them how fun choosing colorful veggies can be, they’ll have more interest in consuming them without the looming threats!
Start the fun right from the start in the grocery store. You can turn it into a game, tell each of your children that they need to pick out three different veggies that are three different colors. When you’re making dinner that evening, show them how you cooked the vegetables they picked (or better yet, have them help you cook them) and give them a portion of each color. Once again, that “hands on nutrition” rule kicks in and you’ll notice that they’ll have more of an interest since they picked it out themselves and have a vested interest.
Another game you can use to ensure your children are eating their vegetables, is allowing them to be creative around snack time. So let’s say you let them pick out the different colors and veggies again, now cut them up in different shapes and lengths. Place them out on the table and tell your kids that need to use a certain number (you choose how many) of shapes and colors to create a design. Make sure you also remind them that it’s necessary to consume whatever they create.
I challenge you to participate in all the fun and games too! Children aren’t the only ones who need more color in their diet!
Dinner Diva column by Leanne Ely
Dinner Diva: Gold stars
Have you noticed how much easier it is to get something done when there is a tangible reward attached? Everyone likes to be acknowledged for his or her efforts, don’t they?
I sure do! When I make dinner, one of the favorite parts is hearing my family respond positively. You sort of burst with pride when you hear your husband proclaim, “Wow, this is delicious!” or your children say, “Make this again, Mom!” Those are great rewards for those of us who work in our kitchens everyday to feed our families.
Rewards are great—they inspire us to do more and keep trying. Children especially are propelled toward greatness when offered a reward! They love being rewarded for doing the right thing. When I was in 5th grade taking piano lessons, my piano teacher would put a gold star on each page of music I mastered. I lived for those gold stars!
Remember this when you’re trying to get your children to eat their vegetables. They aren’t going to be telling you how much they love their green beans! Perhaps a little reward is in order, like a choosing a toy at the dollar store at the end of the week for eating as many bites of their vegetable that was on their plate each night as their age. In other words, if your child is 3, having him eat 3 bites will earn him a gold star. Put a gold star on the calendar and at the end of the week, ta da! He gets a reward!
This isn’t bribing! This is rewarding excellent behavior. You are teaching your child life skills when they learn to eat their vegetables. And vegetable eating is very important for understanding the significance of nutrition and how that will impact him or her for the rest of their lives.
This week, sit down with your children and give them the opportunity to earn a reward! Teach them that vegetables build muscles (ask to feel your child’s muscles before they eat their veggies and after—let them know you think you felt them grow!) and make sure you’re setting a good example, too! Your child won’t eat his vegetables if you don’t.
Remember—gold stars are for everyone, young and old!
Check out our >>Kids Cooking Club<< for more fun and creative ways for getting your children involved in the kitchen!
Dinner Diva: Nutty about nut butters
One of the great joys of life is nut butter: peanut butter maybe, but almond butter, cashew butter, and macadamia butter are dreams come true. It’s great on top of almost everything. On toast or whole grain waffles in the morning, on sandwiches or celery in the afternoon, and on top of just a small bit of dark chocolate for a little after dinner treat. The natural fats and oils from each of those nuts are what transform them into a buttery spread when they’re ground.
Nut butters can turn an apple into the perfect snack as there is fat and a good bit of protein in there. Now your apple will keep you fueled until the next meal without going hungry for hours.
If you’re wondering which nut butter is the healthiest, the award would have to be handed to almond butter because it has a bunch of fiber, protein, and calcium. It’s also my favorite because it has the smoothest taste with a very subtle sweetness. It’s a fantastic compliment with bread, berries, and sometimes just plain off the spoon!
Before you go to the store and buy a jar of cheap peanut butter, keep in mind that those are usually full of added sugars, salt, and hydrogenated fats you do not need to be giving your body. Find the natural and organic nut butters and always check the ingredients to make sure there aren’t unnecessary additives.
If you really want fresh nut butter, check out your closest health food store and grind your own! It’s incredibly tasty, and if you take your kids, they’ll think it’s really cool!
Sometimes you need more than snacks, you need lunch! Check out our Saving Lunch bundle! At www.SavingDinner.com.
Dinner Diva: Best post-workout foods
Posted by afp on October 11, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Now, if you work out in the middle of the afternoon or late morning and you’re hungry, but it isn’t time for lunch or dinner yet, there are a handful of good snack foods to choose from. One of my favorites is a smoothie with a good scoop of whey protein and some fruit, specifically some frozen organic berries. You want to combine protein and fiberlicious good carbohydrates together, and the berries have just the right amount of carbs to join with the protein. Or if you’d rather munch on something instead of sip, try a plain brown rice cake or a cut up apple with a thick layer of almond butter on top.
Maybe you do work out right before a meal. If it’s lunch you’re looking for, I would recommend a good sandwich. Try it opened face, just one slice of whole grain bread with either some turkey or tuna with a big lettuce leaf on top. That would meet those protein-carb standards we’re looking for. Try to incorporate some veggies into that sandwich, maybe some tomato or bell peppers – keep those antioxidants plentiful!
If you workout right before dinner, one of my favorite meals is wild grilled salmon with either a salad or array of grilled veggies or sometimes both. With that meal you get a good substantial dinner with a protein, some healthy fat and very low carbs (that time of night, you really don’t need much). It’ll keep you full, and you’ll feel great eating it because it’ll boost your health and promote the work you put into exercising.
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