Calling All Singles - Cooking for Busy Lives

Written by Marybeth Gregg


“If you haverepparttar lifestyle where you eat out or order take-out every night, you can really get tired of it and it’s so expensive”, says cooking expert Marybeth Gregg, “so why not learn to cook with ease, and actually enjoy it?” “There is more to life than pizza and popcorn. Be a little adventurous. With just a few simple secrets, you can create a great meal for yourself and others.”, say this active business owner who offers tips to making cooking easy for a single person or smaller household. Many people with active lives think that cooking for one, or two, is just not worthrepparttar 113122 time, or they simply don’t know how. Be a little different - your skills may make you stand out inrepparttar 113123 crowd!

Marybeth, owner of Cook-with-Confidence Cooking School, has found out that there are major benefits to cooking – you eat healthier, it costs less and you get to actually create something on your own. Many people with hectic lives usually snack, skip meals or grab a quick fast food or other take-out meal. Skipping meals or eating high-fat foods deprives your body of energy and can make you feel tired. And a lot of people are in jobs that offer little creativity so cooking is a wonderful way to jump out ofrepparttar 113124 box and be inspired and use their imaginations for a change!

So what's a body to do? Marybeth offers some tips and techniques for making eating alone an easier, more enjoyable experience by learning to shop and cook quick, delicious meals for one or two people.

There are a few strategies are essential for smaller quantities. 1.Plan ahead - using a written or mental menu. You don’t have to cook everyday! Just start with one or two times a week – select an easy menu, organize your ingredients and shop onrepparttar 113125 weekend when you have a few extra minutes. Organize your list by stores (grocery, specialty Italian, etc.)

2. Food Shopping - Make a list and stick to it. It may be difficult to resistrepparttar 113126 temptation to buy more food than you need or frozen ready-made dinners. But keep to your plan. Askrepparttar 113127 produce manager to halve heads of lettuce, or other produce to meet your needs. Just but one leek, not a big bunch of three. Buy smaller cuts of meat or askrepparttar 113128 butcher to cut beef or chicken into pieces big enough for one meal.

Look for foods that can be portioned with ease into smaller serving sizes such as rice, pasta, or fresh vegetables like a broccoli crown or pre-cut carrot and celery sticks. Buy fruits and vegetables byrepparttar 113129 piece, not byrepparttar 113130 package.

3. Time to Cook –Cooking need not be a dirty word and cooking for one has many solutions. Cutting Recipes or Freeze It - Many recipes serve 4-8 as a rule. So you can either reducerepparttar 113131 quantities, if they lend them selves to division, or makerepparttar 113132 whole recipe and freeze it. I recently invested in one of those vacuum- sealer appliances, and find it really useful. I put in a smaller quantity, seal it, mark it and freeze. You can also use those zip-lock bags which work just as well. This way you can also have a great meal you can thaw out inrepparttar 113133 microwave – make sure to removerepparttar 113134 food fromrepparttar 113135 bag when you do nuke it- and then just sit down and eat a fine meal after a tough day at work.

Thought You Couldn't Drink Coffee Anymore?

Written by Tonya Sage


Every month, 60 million Americans experience heartburn and 15 million of those Americans suffer daily. Heartburn, indigestion and upset stomach cause countless Americans to limit their intake of their favorite foods like coffee. Doctors frequently restrict or eliminate coffee to help controlrepparttar painful churning in their patient’s stomachs. Consumption of prescription and OTC medications to relieve heartburn has reached an all time high. Unfortunately, reducing your naturally occurring stomach acid exposes you to several new health concerns. New research suggests that relying on drugs like Nexium and Prilosec may increase your risk of developing pneumonia. Improperly digested food and lower food poisoning protection are just a few other complications associated with lower levels of stomach acid. Routine consumption of stomach acid altering drugs, even antacids, has become a necessity for coffee lovers to continue enjoying their favorite drink.

On a daily basis, coffee drinkers with sensitive stomachs struggle with a painfully difficult decision. Is their cherished “morning coffee” worthrepparttar 113121 hours of stomach pain or discomfort? Can they endurerepparttar 113122 pain (so they can have their coffee) or should they consume another round of stomach acid altering drugs? What is a coffee lover with a sensitive stomach supposed to do?

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