It might be an ethical choice based on your stance on cruelty to animals. While many slaughter methods are now considered humane, increasing numbers of people believe that breeding a live animal for food is unethical. Alicia Silverstone, star of Clueless, is one such person. She is a firm supporter of animal rights and a committed vegan.

You may choose to go vegan as a lifestyle choice, which top poker player Daniel Negreanu did. After eating steak or burgers, he found that he would feel tired and lethargic the next day, so he shifted to a plant-based diet. Whilst his ethics have since developed alongside his diet choice, it wasn’t the primary reason he switched. “My diet’s now as good as it’s ever been,” he said. “Although my veganism started out absolutely about health, it’s also become about the environment and animal cruelty. The way animals are treated, and the conditions are atrocious.”

Negreanu is one of the world’s top poker players; he’s amassed career winnings of around $42m and has six World Series of Poker bracelets. He’s a high-octane player, capable of holding his nerve under intense pressure. Whilst he’s committed to the big plays around the table, he’s certainly all-in on his vegan diet in the kitchen. What’s more, whilst his poker style is difficult to emulate, his vegan diet is not.

There is a misconception that veganism is complicated, and unlike calculating pot odds, it really isn’t. One of Negreanu’s favorite meals is Chik’n strips with cauliflower and broccoli mash, something he has previously shared on Instagram. It’s healthy, ethically acceptable and incredibly tasty, and to demonstrate how simple it is, we will tell you how to cook it right now.

Chik’n Strips

Gardein Teriyaki Chik’n strips

This is the easiest part of the recipe, as Gardein’s chik’n strips are ready to heat and serve. With a delicious teriyaki sauce, they’re a great part of any vegan meal. Simply cook in a frying pan with a little light olive oil.

Broccoli Mash

• 2 broccoli heads
• ½ cup of water
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Another dead simple aspect of the meal is the broccoli. Boil or steam the broccoli heads until they’re soft. Use a blender to mix the broccoli with the water, salt and pepper. Once you’ve mashed it sufficiently, taste and season a little more if required.

Negreanu tops his mash with nutritional yeast, which Healthline says offers health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and protecting from cellular damage.

Cauliflower Garlic Mash

• 2 cauliflower heads
• ½ teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• ¼ cup of plain almond milk
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of vegan butter

The process is much the same as the broccoli. Cut the cauliflower heads into even florets and steam until soft.

Whilst the cauliflower is boiling, sauté the garlic in the vegan butter over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes; once it is slightly browned, you’ll know it is ready.

Transfer the garlic and cauliflower to a blender and add salt and pepper. Add a little almond milk to help the mix. Continue to mix until you’re happy with the consistency.

To Finish

Serve the teriyaki chik’n strips with a generous portion of both mashed dishes. If you want to replicate Negreanu’s four-of-a-kind meal, you’ll boil some peas and add them to the plate. Either way, you’ve produced a winning vegan meal with very little effort. Enjoy!

To truly raise the stakes on a vegan lifestyle, why not try growing your broccoli and cauliflower by using the advice from our article ‘3 Tips For Starting Your Own Garden’.

Originally posted on June 15, 2022 @ 4:22 am

To help you with this, here are three tips for keeping food safe to eat at holiday get-togethers.

KNOW THE RIGHT TEMPERATURES
Because so much cooking takes place for holiday meals and celebrations, it’s easy for little things to slip through the cracks, like ensuring that every food item gets to the right temperature before you stop cooking it and begin serving it. Knowing this, it’s wise to know the right temperatures you should be shooting for as your hot and cold foods sit out to be served.

According to the FDA, any foods that are meant to be eaten hot should be kept at or above 140 degrees Fahrenheit for their internal temperature. On the other hand, if something you’re eating should be cold, you shouldn’t allow it to get above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Whether this means having some kind of heat underneath your food as you’re serving it or turning up your air conditioning for a while before you eat, it’s important that food stays at the right temperatures in order for it to stay safe.

WARM FOOD THE RIGHT WAY
If you’re going to be holding some kind of open house where you have friends and family coming at different times during the day, you’ll want to take steps to ensure that you keep your foods warmed the right way.

Ideally, the editors of Taste Of Home recommend that you keep your oven set at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for anything that you’re wanting to have warm when you serve it or eat it. With your oven at the temperature, it’s low enough that nothing you leave in there should dry out while also being hot enough that the food will still be warm even if someone shows up later than you expected.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE CLOCK
In some homes, it makes more sense to have all the food out in a buffet-style for people to serve themselves. The only issue here is that you want to be sure not to leave the food out for too long. According to the USDA, no foods should be left at room temperature for longer than two hours. At this point, bacteria is able to grow on the food and can make it unsafe to eat.

To help ensure that everyone remains healthy even after sharing a meal with you this holiday season, consider using the tips mentioned above to keep all foods safe at your upcoming parties.

Originally posted on November 20, 2020 @ 9:33 pm

Know Where Your Food Comes From

Knowing the original source of your food is important because it will allow you to make informed decisions about what you are consuming. Learning about sustainable food production may change your mind about the way you eat because it will shine light on all of the issues that can happen during the production of your food. This may make you realize that there are certain systems you don’t feel that you can ethically support within the food industry.

Do your own research on sustainability to see if it is an option for you to support more modern and ethical ways of food production. There are so many different opinions out there and no right answer so you will just have to wait and form your own thoughts on all this. 

Eliminate Waste

Wasting food is a common problem, especially in America, but it is not a very ethical thing to do. Think about how much food you waste and try to cut back on what you throw out or don’t use. You can do this by monitoring your weekly food usage in your home. Try keeping a journal and writing down how much is wasted. That way, the next time you go grocery shopping for your family you will know that you can purchase less.

Compost

Even if you cut back significantly on the amount of food you are wasting at home, you probably won’t be able to eliminate it 100%. This is where composting comes in! Get a compost bin to keep in your kitchen spa so that you can start to compost everything you toss out. This way you will know that your waste can be used to grow more food for your family. 

Cut Back On Meat

Being vegetarian or even vegan is a personal choice that many people make for many unique reasons. Even if you do not go this route, it is good for the environment and your health alike to take a break from meat every once in a while. Try choosing one day per week where you focus on eating more vegetable-forward dishes and see how you like it. 

Being mindful when it comes to food isn’t always easy but it can be helpful in many aspects of your life. Hopefully, this list has opened your eyes to some things you can do to open your own mind. 

Originally posted on August 11, 2022 @ 3:43 pm

The great news is that there are ways to make cooking not only stress free but even fun. The key is knowing some of the best tips to take the anxiety out of cooking and inviting the fun in. Take a look at some of the best tips for stress-free cooking. 

CLEAN WHILE YOU WAIT

One of the biggest complaints that people have about cooking is the clean-up afterward. Some people hate washing up so much that they’ll let their mess pile up until it is unmanageable. The problem with a piled-up food mess isn’t just giving yourself more work, but it can even create a pest problem. 

Here’s the trick to making dishes seem like less of a task: Clean dishes while you wait. The idea is to clean all of the dishes that you’ve created so far while you wait for whatever you’re cooking to finish. As a result, you’ll get things done in quick spurts rather than long ones. It will feel like much less work than had you done it all at once. 

FIND NEW RECIPES REGULARLY

Another common reason why people don’t like cooking is that they feel like they’re always cooking the same thing. Try to get inspired and look for new recipes regularly that can be fun to try. The great thing about the internet is that there are all sorts of recipes out there at your fingertips, totally free of charge. 

Try following a few blogs or social media accounts that bring out inspiration. You can even ask your friends to send you their ideas and personal favorites. You’ll find that when you’re inspired to cook something, it makes it much more fun to do. 

HAVE THEME NIGHTS

A popular way of making dinner nights fun is to create a theme. Having a weekly theme night, like Mexican night or Italian night, is a fun way to inspire mealtime. You can change your theme every week and even let each family member take turns choosing. 

From the starter to the main dish to dessert, have fun going wild with your theme. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous with your ideas! 

SIMPLIFY

Cooking becomes much more of a task and less of a fun activity when you put too much pressure on yourself. Rather than stressing yourself out over all the details, cut yourself some slack and keep it simple. Choose recipes that don’t have too many ingredients and very little fuss.  The less fuss, the less you have to worry about!

Originally posted on February 21, 2022 @ 1:18 pm

To help you in achieving this, here are three things you should add to your kitchen that will help you make your life easier. 

MORE LIGHTING

Having the right lighting options in your kitchen can make a world of difference. Especially if you do a lot of different tasks in your kitchen, you’ll likely want to have a different option for lighting for each activity.

For times when you’re cooking, having overhead lighting that gives you a great view of everything in your kitchen is beneficial. And when you’re eating in with your loved ones, softer mood lighting is a great way to help everyone relax and unwind together. And for cleaning up or taking care of other work in the kitchen, Nick Gerhardt, a contributor to the Family Handyman, suggests installing strips of lights under your cabinets or directly over your sink or stove to give you more direct task lighting. While all these different lighting options might seem like overkill, you’ll appreciate them when they’re there. 

PULL-OUT DRAWERS

While having the right amount of cabinets in your kitchen will help you to stay organized as you store your various kitchen items and accessories, cabinets can also come with their own downfalls. 

Especially if the cabinets you have are particularly deep, it can be challenging to use the space to the fullest while also maintaining easy access to the items you have stored there. To alleviate this issue, Stephanie Krikorian, a contributor to Curbed.com, suggests that you install pull-out drawers into each of your cabinets, regardless of how deep they are. This will allow you to more easily see what you have in each cabinet and get it out without having to empty everything in front of it. This feature is also something that many buyers will see as a huge plus when the time comes to sell your home. 

AN ORGANIZATION BOARD

One thing that many people want to stop doing, both from an environmental perspective and a financial perspective, is to stop wasting food. 

To help you with this goal, Lauren Masur, a contributor to TheKitchn.com, is to install an organization board within your kitchen. On this board, you should write down what produce you have left to be eaten, what leftovers are still in your fridge, and what other perishable items need to be used quickly. Then, when you go into the kitchen to cook or eat, you’ll easily be able to see which items you should go to first. 

If you’re wanting to make the time you spend in your kitchen more effective and efficient, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you do so. 

Originally posted on July 29, 2021 @ 1:23 pm

It all comes down to your approach. Take a look at some of the best tips for improving your child’s nutrition and helping them make healthy food choices that continue into their adult years. 

Set Rules 

Even though you might not like having to be a “kitchen policeman,” sometimes that’s what it takes. Make sure that your children know that there are boundaries and rules to follow when it comes to their dietary habits. That means that even when you’re gone, and your nanny is there, they still must respect the rules. 

Set ground rules like no eating ice cream whenever they see fit, or freely grabbing potato chips when they want. Until a certain age, most children should be given restricted access to the kitchen cupboards. They may lack the self-control that older kids have until they reach a later age. 

Be a Good Example 

One of the best ways to create healthy habits in your children is by leading by example. Telling your children they should eat their vegetables and failing to do so yourself isn’t going to be a very convincing strategy. Instead, show your children the kind of eating behaviors that you’d like them to mimic. The more you can lead by example, the more they’ll be inclined to follow in your footsteps. 

Provide Healthy Options  

Another one of the best ways to encourage healthy eating is to provide them with plenty of choices that encourage healthful meals. It’s no surprise why your kids aren’t eating great foods if junk food is the only thing they can find in the kitchen. Try to give them plenty of choices of every color of the rainbow period from vegetables to cheeses to fruits, and as a result, you’ll teach them till love wholesome foods. 

Cook Together 

Many kids are resistant to try new flavors and foods. However, when they prepare it themselves, they may be more willing to try it. Try to find different recipes together that you can try to make as a team. By preparing and cooking together, they’ll be much more enthusiastic about healthy choices. 

It’s also a great learning experience for cooking in their later years. Kids who cook with their parents as children are more likely to continue cooking home-cooked meals as adults. Home-cooked meals mean less processed foods, fresher ingredients, and overall improved nutrition. 

Originally posted on July 30, 2021 @ 12:16 am

When you’re in charge of growing your own produce, you can avoid all sorts of chemicals and pesticides that you may be otherwise consuming. However, just because you have a compost pile doesn’t mean you’re necessarily ready to be a gardener.

There are all sorts of tricks and tips that can make your gardening venture a successful one. Take a look at some of the best tips for a successful garden in your own backyard.

NOT EVERY LOCATION IS IDEAL
Just because you find a patch of ground with dirt in it, doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for growing a garden. Before you commit to an area of your yard that you hope to plant seeds in, it’s important that you do your research on what a garden requires.

Your soil composition plays an important role as well as how much sun your garden receives. Planting a garden in a shaded area of your yard won’t likely yield the best results.

Lastly, if there is a storm, is there anything placed near your garden that could fall over and destroy your plants? All of these factors are important to consider when choosing the perfect spot to grow.

WATER CONSISTENTLY
Just like you need water every day, so do plants. It’s important that you water every day by giving just the right amount. However, don’t go overboard, or you could find yourself with root rot. One of the most common problems that beginner gardeners have is finding the perfect balance between too much and too little water.

PLANT YOUR SEEDS CORRECTLY
One of the most important things you can do to ensure a successful garden is to make sure that everything is evenly spaced out. In addition to spacing, they should also be planted at the correct depth.

It’s also important that you label everything that you plant so that you know what you’re looking at when it sprouts.

By following these gardening tips and being patient with the sun, you should have a flourishing garden in no time.

If you’re not sure what you want to start growing in your garden, it’s a good idea to start with some of the easiest things to grow. Tomatoes, for example, make a great choice for beginning gardeners. Radishes are also known for being incredibly easy. Lastly, try growing a few heads of lettuce. It grows quickly and who doesn’t love a nice salad with every meal?

Originally posted on August 4, 2020 @ 9:30 pm

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to make cooking easier for the elderly. 

Put A Meal Plan In Place

If you’re still living at home and cooking for yourself rather than living in an assisted living community and having your meals prepared for you, one of the easiest ways to ensure that you’re eating healthy food is to have a meal plan that you follow. If you don’t have a plan in place, it becomes much easier to rely on food that isn’t healthy or good for you. 

To help you in making your meal plan, try to think about foods that your elderly loved one wants to eat. If some of the things they like eating aren’t as healthy as they should be, you can slowly help them to make healthier changes that taste good but maybe have more of what their bodies need. And then, when it comes time for shopping and cooking, having a plan in place for what to make for each meal will make both of these tasks much easier to accomplish, as all the thought has already been put in. 

Get Groceries Delivered

When your elderly loved one is ready to go grocery shopping and get what they need to eat for the next few days, actually going out of the house can be intimidating. Especially if they are dealing with mobility issues or are worried about getting sick while out of the house, you’ll be glad to know that there are other options for getting their groceries.

Depending on where your loved one lives, they likely can get their groceries delivered to them as opposed to having to go shopping themselves. While they might need you to help them navigate the website for whatever grocery store they’re shopping at, once they’ve got this figured out, this could be a much better way to get their groceries when they need them. 

Use Adjusted Kitchen Tools For Cooking

For cooking their meals at home, many elderly people can and should be using adjusted kitchen tools that can make cooking much easier and safer for them to complete. 

Things like a grip turner, boil over lid, cut-resistant gloves, vegetable chopper, oven rack guards, and more can all take away a lot of the physical dangers that elderly people might experience as part of cooking. And, if you introduce them to things like a slow cooker, pressure cooker, and other cooking devices, you can help them see that healthy cooking doesn’t have to be challenging. 

If you are wanting yourself or your elderly loved one to have an easier time cooking and eating healthy food, consider using the tips mentioned above to see how this can be accomplished. 

Originally posted on February 4, 2022 @ 7:59 am

If you have been looking for healthier alternatives to drinking water, a few moments of reading will give you some options.  Check out this quick look at five healthy things to drink that aren’t water, and prepare your tastebuds for a little joy. 

Drinking tea can be excellent

Tea is delicious, and there are a bunch of different kinds of tea to try.  You will have plenty of chances to switch it up for your tastebuds, especially if you have a fancy tea infuser to help get the right flavor.  

Green tea, in particular, is a very healthy tea to drink.  Asian cultures have understood the benefits of green tea for hundreds of years.  Green tea is good for its high levels of polyphenols.  Polyphenols have been believed to work in the prevention of cancers like breast and prostate cancer.  

Pomegranate juice is tasty

If you drink an all-natural pomegranate juice, you’re tasting something that’s truly delicious and healthy all at the same time.  Pomegranate juice has high antioxidants, and antioxidants are great for reducing inflammation in the body.  

Pomegranate juice is also great for being rich in vitamin C, which helps give your immune system a boost.  If you feel a cold coming on, try drinking a glass of pomegranate juice to give your body some extra tools.  

Kombucha is an acquired flavor

You likely haven’t heard of kombucha, but wellness enthusiasts love what this unique drink can do for the body.  Kombucha truly is one of the healthiest drinks you can find.  Kombucha is a fermented fizzy drink that has bacteria in it that is helpful for your gut health. 

Cranberry juice is good for the system

Cranberry juice is another tasty juice that can do a lot for your body.  It’s good for your urinary tract health.  Cranberry juice also contains loads of antioxidants that help to lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.  

If you can’t palate the bitter and tangy taste of straight cranberry juice, pair it with another sweeter juice.  Cran-Apple juice is a tasty alternative with just as many health perks.  

Orange juice is good for immunity

Finally, the old faithful can give you flavor and health in just one cup.  Orange juice is great for its vitamin C content, but it also has potassium, calcium, and vitamin D if you buy it fortified.  If you’re looking for a fizzy form of this flavor master, just get an orange juice spritzer. 

Originally posted on February 6, 2022 @ 11:00 am