10 Great Tips On Cooking Meals

If you are as busy as most people you are always looking for ways to feed your family in convenient, fast, yet not-too-expensive ways. Try the following suggestions:

1. Cooking several meals for the week at one time. It may take a few hours of your time up front but will pay off in the long run when you come home each evening and have a meal ready to eat in a short amount of time. Try cooking a roast and using part of it as a main meal and then using some for sandwiches, beef stroganoff or as part of a stir-fry. Fry several pounds of hamburger and make a casserole, taco meat and chili to freeze for use later in the week.

2. After you return home from the grocery store clean all the fruits and vegetables you can. When it’s time for a meal all you will have to do is cook them or add them to a salad or soup.

3. Get ideas from the cooking shows on T.V. There are great shows that show you how to make a healthy meal in a short time.

4. Develop a revolving recipe file. If you get bogged down by the idea of having to plan 30 meals a month the recipe file is for you. Let family members choose some of their favorites and put the recipes in a monthly file. Flip to day five or fifteen and there is the meal just waiting to be cooked.

5. Enlist the help of the members of your family. As soon as the kids are old enough divide up the cooking responsibilities. Let everyone take turns with specific tasks or the whole meal. Pair these meals with fruit and veggies that have already been washed and cut-up and you are ready for dinner.

6. Share the cooking with friends or neighbors. I’ve known people who cook four or five of the same meal and then trade with four or five other people. This works best when people share the same basic ideas on what they like and don’t like. It’s a great idea though for a very easy week of evening meals.

7. Save coupons for those convenience things at the grocery store. They have entire entrees and dinners either fresh or frozen. Sometimes they are rather pricy but with the coupons they are good to have on hand for an evening when everyone is running in different directions and time is of the essence.

8. It’s O.K. to eat out from time to time. Clip coupons for these occasions and if you have kids keep a look-out for the places that have special prices for children. Some of the fast-food restaurants are trying to offer item choices that are a little more healthy.

9. Many larger cities have businesses that prepare food for the evening meal. They seem expensive at first but are so convenient and available for one person or entire families. There are many menu choices and meals cooked for special diets. When you calculate the groceries you buy and the times you eat out each week, this may work for you.

10. Combine several of the above ideas into a plan that is best for you.

It is possible with a little planning to cook meals that are quick and easy without spending hours in the kitchen every day.

Why Vegetarianism Is Good For You And The Planet

Even the Utah Beef Council admits, “Several epidemiological studies indicate that vegetarians have lower morbidity and mortality from chronic degenerative diseases.” Today, vegetarians only make up about two percent of the population, but everyday more and more people give up eating red meat or try their first bite of tofu. Aside from ethics, what are the main reasons people are turning away from meat? Health and the ecology.

Lower rates of disease amongst vegetarians

Hundreds of different studies concur, showing that vegetarians who eat balanced diets have lower rates of coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity, and certain cancers. Registered Dietician Winston Craig says that meat eating costs Americans somewhere between $30-$60 billion per year in medical expenses for hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, gallstones, obesity, and food-borne illnesses associated with meat. Craig says that a vegetarian diet is associated with lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less obesity.

In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund recommended a vegetarian diet for reducing the risk of cancer. Lifelong vegetarians have 24% less heart disease, while vegans have an astounding 57% less. A comprehensive study of a vegetarian religious group, the Seventh Day Adventists, found that they had half the rate of high blood pressure and diabetes, half the rate of colon cancer, and two-thirds the rate of arthritis and prostate cancer as other groups (2001). Furthermore, Cornell University reported that eating less meat did more to reduce osteoporosis than supplementing your diet with calcium.

Do you have to be completely vegetarian to benefit?

In 1999, a meta-analysis of several vegetarian and vegan mortality studies was conducted. The results of these studies were compared together and re-analyzed. The researchers concluded that even reducing meat in your diet had a significant effect on lowering your rate of disease. People who ate meat just once a week had a 20% lower rate of dying from heart disease, and their over-all mortality rate was reduced by 10%.

Those who ate only fish saw as much as a 34% reduction in heart disease death, while their over-all mortality was lowered by 18%.
In the same sense, the more you reduce consumption of animal products, the more you appear to benefit. Only 7% of the vegans studied died of cancer (lung, stomach, and colorectal). Alarmingly, 19% of over-all deaths in the US are from cancer.

Vegetarian diets are good for the planet

Every year, meat eaters contribute to the cattle farming industry. This industry uses farm lands that could be producing human food to make grain for cows. As most people know, cows produce large amounts of environmentally-toxic methane gas. Raising cows also uses precious water resources.

Vegetarianism and the rain forrest

What you may not know though is that eating meat also contributes to the destruction of the rain forests. In an effort to make a cheaper Big Mac and Whopper, companies are growing cattle in Central America, where labor and other costs are lower. Eager Central Americans are slashing and burning their native rain forests to make room for the beef industry.

Vegetarianism and carbon dioxide emission

Estimates show that a vegetarian diet saves 1.5 tons of greenhouse gas per person per year. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that producing one calorie of animal protein requires ten times the fossil fuel as producing one calorie of plant protein. Wow! Furthermore, eating a vegan diet reduces more carbon dioxide emissions than driving a hybrid car, according to the New Scientist.

Vegetarianism and water reserves

What’s more disturbing is that every hamburger that originated from a rain forest cow required the destruction of roughly 55 square feet of rain forest. Furthermore, studies show that one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water. The water used to produce one hamburger patty is enough for two-week’s worth of daily showers.

Mistakes Vegetarians Make

This may seem a bit shocking, but many new vegetarians actually gain weight when they stop eating meat. As a vegetarian, you must adjust to an entirely new vegetarian food pyramid. Years of eating patterns must be re-programmed.

The golden rule of vegetarianism is that you need protein to feel full. If you’re still hungry after a meal, then you probably didn’t eat enough protein. Many new vegetarians gain weight because they find themselves not getting full after a meal. In turn, they eat more and start snacking.

Vegetarian meat substitutes

As a new vegetarian, you must make an active effort to replace meat, not just remove it, from your diet. If you are unsure how to replace meat in your diet, go to the store and buy a few different meat substitutes to try at home. There is a lot more than tofu on the market, so jump in and start sampling. Meat substitutes can typically be found in the frozen food, produce, or canned food sections.

If you are unhappy with the meat substitutes you’ve chosen, try cooking them differently or try a different brand. Be patient! You will find some you like and others you don’t. While fake meat might smell, look, and taste like the real thing, it will either require significantly more or less cooking time (depending on the product).

Vegetarian protein shakes, bars and powders

To replace meat, consider adding your favorite protein shake, bar, or powder to your daily routine. While meat substitutes are easy to add to your routine, they do not typically contain enough protein to satisfy your total daily requirement. To supplement the fake meat in your diet, you will need to diversify.

Many protein supplements are best consumed for breakfast. With most people skipping breakfast anyway, a quick protein drink or bar is an easy way to get your morning boost and your protein. If you’ve tried different protein powders and bars and not been pleased, try a Slim Fast or Boost type drink. They taste like chocolate milk (or strawberry, vanilla, etc.), and they don‘t have the pastiness or heaviness of other protein products. Boost makes a “High Protein” drink that contains 15 grams of protein, which isn’t exactly a steak, but makes for a nice and easy vegetarian breakfast.

Don’t forget to vary your proteins. Most meat substitutes are made of soy. Try to therefore consume a protein product that includes whey as well. Many new vegetarians add “egg white powder” to protein smoothies they make. Remember, all the protein is in the yolk!

How to order at a restaurant the vegetarian way

Among the new habits you must develop as a vegetarian, you will need to re-learn how to order at a restaurant. Do not ask a wait person, for example, if they can recommend a vegetarian dish. Why?

Because “vegetarian” to some means no red meat, to others it means no chicken broth or lard. Instead, ask the wait person specifically for what you want. There is nothing worse than not asking for specifics and then being served something you’re not going to eat. You will soon discover the best restaurants for your new diet in your area. Many restaurants now have vegetarian sections on their menus. Take advantage of these with the same caveats as above.

Always be prepared!

As a new vegetarian, you may find yourself over at a friend’s house at meal time with nothing to eat. You don’t want your host to have to make you something special, so be prepared. Carry a jar of almonds, cashews, or peanuts in the car. They are high in protein, won’t melt (like many protein bars), and don’t have expiration dates. Having an alternative snack with you at all times will help you reduce temptations to have meat and fast food and will make eating away from home less stressful.