A “HEATED” SITUATION!

February 3, 20168 Comments

Safety Cooking Tip!

Many people use oil for cooking their meals on a daily basis. There are three ways of many ways to stay safe when cooking with oil:

-Never leave the stove or cooking device unattended

-Try not to splash or spill the oil from the pan whilst cooking

-If the oil begins to smoke, this means the oil is too hot and needs to be turned off and carefully removed from the heat source

Stay safe in the kitchen!

Karina x

THAT’S “RADICAL”!

January 6, 2016January 10, 20164 Comments

Karina’s ‘Radical’ Healthy Cooking Tip!

There are many ‘radical’ things in life. Broccoli is one such ‘radical’ thing. The most ‘radical’ thing about broccoli is that it protects the body from horrible free ‘radical’s, which pollute and damage the body.

Another ‘radical’ thing about broccoli is that it helps your body to repair cuts and wounds.

Now, that’s ‘radical’!

Enjoy!

Karina x

SHARING ISN’T CARING!

December 16, 2015Leave a comment

Karina’s Anti-contamination Cooking Tips!

Some times, sharing is caring. When it comes to germs, however, sharing isn’t caring and there are many things you can do in order to keep your food safe. A select few things you can do, are as follows:

Wash hands, benches, chopping boards, knives, utensils etc often, in order to prevent contamination.
Avoid cross-contamination. Use a chopping board for chopping vegetables and a separate chopping board for chopping meat, if you need to prepare a combined vegetable and meat based dish. Alternatively, you can use one chopping board, however, chop your veggies first, then clean the chopping board very well. After the board is clean again, use this board to chop your meat, then clean your board again.
Clean your chopping knife before and after chopping your vegetables and clean your chopping knife before and after chopping your meat.

Have fun and be safe in the kitchen!

Karina x

NOT “BATTER”ING AN EYE!

December 8, 20155 Comments

Karina’s Healthy Cooking Tips!

There are many ways to cut on fat whilst cooking. See the below short list which may help keep healthy cooking habits:

Avoid cooking in batter. Grill your fish and bake your chips.
Stir-fry, adding a very small amount of olive oil or another good oil.
Steam your vegetables until just cooked. Try not to overcook vegetables, as some vegetables loose their crunch and also loose nutritional content.
Roasting your meats and vegetables is quite healthy and it also enhances the natural flavours.
Try using olive oil, instead of butter, in your cooking. This helps reduce consumption of saturated fat from butter.

There are plenty more healthy cooking tips, however, this will do for now.

Have fun in the kitchen!

Enjoy!

Karina x

GETTING “EGG”CITED!

October 28, 20156 Comments

Karina’s Healthy Cooking Tips!

Healthy cooking begins with a healthy shopping list. I know this sounds obvious, however, it is the crucial first step to healthy cooking. An even better first step, before you shop for your ingredients, is to try to grow what you can, so that you can help the environment at the same time 🙂

Here are some tips for a healthy shopping list:

Choose low-fat and low-sugar foods, where possible
Choose skinless chicken breasts
Choose lean cuts of meat
Don’t buy discoloured meat, as it may be old
Buy the freshest fruit and vegetables. The fresher, the more nutrients are packed into it
Limit fast foods, which are usually high in fat
Try not to buy any sugary drinks
Try to eat whole grains or wholemeal, wherever possible
Eggs are an inexpensive source of protein

This is something to get “egg”cited about!

Enjoy!

Karina x

NOT “KID”DING!

October 14, 2015October 14, 20152 Comments

Karina’s Safety Cooking Tips!

When thinking about kitchen safety, one thing always pops into my mind: how can we prevent kids from getting injured, whilst in the kitchen. Well, I’m not “Kid”ding about a few key tips, as follows:

Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from flammable sources, such as stoves, ovens and toasters etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from slippery surfaces, such as wet tiles, etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from sharp objects, such as knives and blades, etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from hot water and hot water generating appliances, such as kettles and the hot water tap, etc
Generally, create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from anything which could possibly harm them.

I’m sure there are many other ways, you can help create a safer environment for kids, however, the above are just some examples.

Have fun and be safe!

Karina x

YOU “GOAT” TO BE “KIDDING” ME!

September 15, 2015September 15, 20156 Comments

Karina’s Healthy Cooking Tip!

Above is a picture of the mother and father goat, along with their “kid,” who was born only one week ago. This was a proud moment for the “kids” parents.

There are many benefits of raising your kids around farm animals you have bred. Too many to mention! The below is a small list of some of the benefits of raising your kids up with other “kids” and farm animals alike:

Reduces the amount of waste if you do decide that your livestock will be on your plate one day
Educates your kids about where your food came from
Encourages your family to eat more sustainably
Gives your kids a sense of pride, with raising their own farm animals
Helps your kids appreciate food more
Animals are a natural stress relief for humans

Enjoy!

Karina x

‘Egg’spressing Egg Safety!

August 12, 2015August 12, 20157 Comments

Karina’s ‘Egg’cellent Cooking Tip!

Some things are an ‘Egg’cellent idea, however, leaving uncooked egg-based products out of the fridge, is not an ‘Egg’cellent idea at all. In fact, it is one of the worst ideas, when it comes to food safety. Leaving uncooked egg-based products out of the fridge, may cause food borne Salmonella outbreaks and this would not be good.

Although there are many ‘Egg’ceptional tips, when it comes to Egg safety, I will provide you with a select few:

If your eggs are cracked before you use them, it is safest to chuck them in the bin.
As soon as you prepare any raw egg-based products, such as Mayonnaise, make sure you place your raw egg-based products straight into your refrigerator and store it at 5°C or lower. Try and aim for 3°C or lower, in case the refrigerator is opened every now and then.
Leave your eggs in the carton, when refrigerating.
Maintain proper hand hygiene practices, when handling all food. Thoroughly clean your hands with an adequate cleanser and running water. Clean and dry your hands thoroughly, before and after handling any eggs or egg-based products.

Be safe in the Kitchen!

Karina x

Nice To ‘Meat’ You!

August 5, 20159 Comments

Karina’s Healthy Cooking Tip!

Normally, I would say, It’s nice to ‘meat’ you, however, not today. In fact, my latest tip is all about saying no to meat, every now and then, so that you can try to avoid ‘meat’ing with bad health issues down the track.

By saying no to meat every now and then, you are essentially improving your health, in many ways, including, but not limited to, the following:

You are improving your heart health, by avoiding eating too much meat
You may be able to control your weight easier, in conjunction with regular exercise
You may reduce your likelihood of contacting some preventable diseases
Eating fresh fruits and vegetables may make you appear younger, due to the quantities of antioxidants found in these foods
Prepared in the most natural form, you will consume far less saturated fat eating fresh vegetables, than you would eating meat

So, until we ‘meat’ again, lets hope everyone incorporates more vegetables in their diets 🙂

Have fun in the kitchen!

Karina x

You’re Sweet Enough!

June 24, 20152 Comments

Karina’s Healthy Cooking Tip!

To begin with, you don’t need much sugar, as you’re sweet enough! A healthy alternative to sugar and honey is Rice Malt Syrup. Rice Malt Syrup is also Gluten Free and made from 100% Brown Rice. Rice Malt Syrup is also 100% fructose free.

Why not just buy sugar?

Rice Malt Syrup provides a stable supply of energy, dispersed over a long period of time, which prevents the well-known 3pm slump, along with preventing spikes in your blood sugar level and associated crashes within your blood sugar level. Sugar, on the other hand, does the exact opposite. Sugar releases your internal sugars much faster, causing spikes within your insulin levels, creating your well-known 3pm slump and impacting on fatigue and other health issues.

Is there any controversy surrounding the usage of Rice Malt Syrup?

Yes, there is, however, according to: http://www.thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/rice-malt-syrup-the-scoop/, “recent research by scientists at Dartmouth College, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in 2012, found consumers were ingesting potentially harmful levels of arsenic via rice and Rice Malt Syrup. This report understandably discouraged some consumers from purchasing Rice Malt Syrup, but it’s important to keep these studies in perspective. Remember, we live in Australia and Pure Harvest is flying the flag in chemical-free products and environmentally sound manufacturing techniques.” In other words, be careful what type of Rice Malt Syrup you buy.

The choice is yours. I still use honey, as opposed to sugar in my cooking. I occasionally use Rice Malt Syrup also. Either way, Honey is a much better choice than sugar, as Honey is lower in GI than sugar.

Happy reading…. I hope you make the best decision for your health when you’re cooking!

Enjoy!

Karina x