For natural and healthy organic cooking, try organic cooking with recipe ideas for tasty organic food, the natural and healthy way.

Why Cook Organic
By Diane L Bixler

There is no better reason to cook organic then for the main fact that it is so much healthier for you. Organic foods are free of man-made chemicals, poisons, and pesticides. The best food choices for your health are simple and fresh organic foods that are cooked to maintain their vital nutrients. When you eat organic, you are supporting not just your own health but also that of the eco-systems where the organic produce was raised.



Photo: flourish.org

Unlike commercial farms that typically focus on one or two commodities that strip the soil of vital nutrients, organic farms tend to grow a variety of crops. This helps to maintain the health and diversity of the soil. Organic farming methods make for sustainable agriculture that protects people (consumers and workers), environments, and wildlife from the harmful impact of dangerous chemicals. By supporting organic farming we create awareness in our community about the health and social benefits of green cuisine.

'Certified organic' means that the food item was grown in compliance with organic standards as set by one of the organic regulatory agencies.

Consider cooking more meals with ingredients that are cultivated with cleaner resources that require less maintenance. Fish caught in the wild use fewer resources and as long as they are caught in an ecologically sound way (i.e. one that prevents the incidences of by-catch), the process will not disturb natural ecosystems. Fish that are farmed in pens, like salmon, pollute the ocean environment with their own waste. Cultivating vegetable matter requires fewer resources on average than, say, producing meat, which requires immense amounts of water, grass, land, and labor.

Food is a gift from the earth to our bodies - we need it to stay alive, to play, to work, even sleep. When we choose quality, fresh, live food, we can accomplish extraordinary things every day. When we eat natural food grown with sunshine, we are putting long lasting 'clean' energy and life into our bodies.


Photo: Rheanna2

Most people readily associate green cuisine with cooking vegan or vegetable foods, but green cooking is more about cooking in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. Are you a pasta lover? If you use water, vegetable broth, or chicken stock to cook rice or pasta, try not to waste the excess by throwing it out-leftover broth makes an ideal base for a soup. You can even pour it into your houseplants which are as eager for organic nutrients as we are. The same goes for leftovers that can be fed to plants or composted just as easily.

Today you can use your outdoor space to create a level of self-sufficiency by growing your own herbs and vegetables. You don't need to be an expert gardener or have a massive garden or greenhouse to start making use of your own green fingers. Even apartment-dwellers will be amazed by how much green food can be grown in a relatively small space. All you need is a window-box, sunshine, and plenty of positive dedication-bon appetit!

When you purchase organic beef and other varieties of sustainable meat, you can rest assured that these are free from antibiotics or synthetic hormones, and that the animal grown to produce the meat was not fed genetically modified feed. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.


Photo: bwsuk.org

Many people claim that organic food tastes better, and that they feel a noticeable boost in their overall health and energy level when the majority of the food they consume is organic. Great nutrition means maximizing on the freshest and most pure ingredients, drinking clean water, and listening to the feedback that your body gives you. It means eliminating or minimizing preservatives, synthetic chemicals, refined sugars, refined (empty) carbohydrates, saturated fats and acidic foods. It means being kind to ourselves and giving our bodies food that it can easily digest, only in quantities that it requires and which gives us the greatest possible energy for our busy and demanding lives.

Buy, cook and eat healthy, local, organic foods.

Consuming organic and/or fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains and water every day is the best advantage that you can give your body and your family.

Diane Bixlerhttp://www.organicspicesandmore.com/
info@organicspicesandmore.com

Chinese Shrimp and Shitake Mushroom Soup
By Peter Alfieri

This is one of my favorite soups, it has been cooked by my family for many years. As with most soups, this one seems to be best served on cold days. This recipe doesn't take long to make and it's not difficult. I usually look for sales on shrimp and store them in the freezer, that way I can make a bowl (or more) whenever I feel like having it. If you're looking for a different spin on soup this is definitely the recipe for you!



Photo: myrecipes.com

Difficulty (Scale from 1-10) : 5

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of raw shrimp
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 teaspoon of salt
3 extra large egg whites
5 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of shitake mushrooms - sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons additional cornstarch
1/3 cup of dry sherry
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 cup of frozen peas

Preparation of Soup

Wash and drain shrimp. Remove shells, heads, and de-vein. Add stock to a large pot, boil then simmer and add shrimp.
Boil for 15 minutes, then remove shrimp from stock. Leave stock in pot and set aside.

Chop shrimp so that they are very fine, until almost pureed, gradually adding a tablespoon of water while chopping.


Photo: tbyil.com

Blend 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of water, and salt; then combine with shrimp puree (This may be done before hand). Beat egg whites until stiff (this may be done before hand), and fold into the puree.

Combine the additional 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch with sherry, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Bring stock to a boil, add sliced mushrooms and cornstarch mixture, stir until the soup boils and thickens. Add shrimp mixture and peas, then let the soup reach a gentle simmer once again.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately. Enjoy your meal!

Peter Alfieri is the host of the cooking show: Buon Appetito Providence, http://www.buonappetitoprovidence.com/. Pete cooks many different foods from several geographical areas; his specialty is Italian food which is also featured on the TV show. Be sure to check out other recipes on the show's website.

Bacon can be an important part of a healthy balanced diet when accompanied by vegetables and starchy foods. For those on high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, bacon makes a great snack when fried up crispy. It supplies that crunch that is often missed on these diets, while most of the fat is rendered out.

Is There a Healthier Way to Cook Bacon?
By Robert Rister

The healthiest way to cook bacon is in the microwave, but this is really effective only if you are cooking three to six slices, that is one or two adult servings. Place the bacon on a triple layer of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate, and cover with another double layer of paper towels. Microwave on high for two minutes, then check. Microwaving three slice for up to 3-1/2 minutes or six slices for up to 7 minutes will not create any carcinogens. Clean the microwave immediately after cooking bacon unless you like the lingering smell.


Photo: blazinghotwok.com

Frying or sautéing bacon is the only way you can cook slab bacon. Keep the heat set at low or medium. You can toss a lump of bacon in the frying pan and allow the heat the separate the slices, but you will need to separate them in the pan as soon as they begin to sizzle. Time to fry may be 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how much bacon you cook.

Soaking the bacon in water reduces the production of potential carcinogens, but you do not need this step if you cook the bacon slowly over low to medium heat and you stop cooking before it is burnt. Because of the high temperatures involved, you should not roast or broil bacon. Exposure to temperatures of 450-500º F (225-250º C) with exposure to air creates carcinogens.

Boiling bacon is a healthy way to prepare the meat. It creates no carcinogens, and it reduces salt content. Boiled bacon occasionally appears on British breakfast tables, but in the States it is reserved for seasoning vegetables.

Photo: bbcgoodfood.com

As for the bacon-in-a-bag product you can find sitting on a non-refrigerated grocery shelf, I'm not sure I would touch it, much less eat it. Weeks and weeks of room temperature storage in a bag that may or may not be sealed may not result in food contamination, but it's bound to create free radicals.

There is, however, a sure-fire way to get around the problems of cooking bacon.

Much of the non-English speaking world eats bacon raw. If you are a guest in a German or Danish home or hotel and you are offered raw bacon for your breakfast, don't shrink in terror of parasites. Despite what you have read or heard, pork products in the European Union do not contain parasites (and, yes, I have seen raw European pork under a microscope), and you would also be safe in Australia or New Zealand. If you offered raw pork on your safari, however, try eating breakfast vegetarian."

Robert Rister is the author or co-author of nine books and over 2,000 articles on natural health including Is There Such a Thing as a Healthy French Fry and Why Are Doughnuts Round?

Secret to Having the Time to Shop and Cook Healthy For Your Family!
By Janet Washburn

When was the last time you were able to make a nice, healthy home-cooked meal for your family? You remember the kind, where you could actually go to the grocery store and leisurely shop the aisles to select the ingredients for the recipe you want to cook that night. The kind of recipe that not only puts a smile on the faces of your family but gives you the peace of knowing that you are contributing to the health of your family by providing them with food not only prepared by you with love but is good for them as well. If you're like most working Americans it's probably not the norm for you, in fact, the closest thing you've come to a home cooked meal in a very long time is picking up dinner from the nearest fast food restaurant closest to your home. You just don't have the time. By the time you get out of work, get to the grocery store and get the food home to prepare it, it's already almost time for bed!



Photo: myhealthstyles.net

And I can't tell you how many time I personally burnt a meal because I was multi-tasking! But you have to feed your family, so you do what you have to do.

But what if there were a better way? What if there was a chance that you could still earn a living but have all the time you need to be there for your family, cooking or otherwise? There's no way around it, we live in a society where money makes the world go 'round. We NEED a paycheck in order to provide for our families but unfortunately the hours we work to make our money take away from the things in life that are most important...our families and our health. Both start to suffer when we stop paying attention to them. Our children start to seek solace in other people and things because we as their parents aren't available. Our health starts to deteriorate because we don't take the time to keep ourselves healthy, like going to the gym or nourishing ourselves with healthy home cooked meals. Heck, the guilt we feel for not spending time with our family tends to take a toll on us as well, and it's a vicious cycle. But what is the solution? We need the money, what is the alternative?

Go into business for yourself. That's right, run your own online business. Yes it can be done.

If you gave even half of your time and effort that you give your everyday job that is robbing you of your happiness anyway, you're sure to succeed at being in business for yourself. By implementing the same discipline and dedication you give working for someone else, there's no limit to how successful you will be if you choose to run a business from your home. Deciding to work from home can be pretty intimidating initially but with the right system, the right company, the right product, it can also be as easy as riding a bike. By joining a business that encompasses working as a group and with individual coaching, you'll enjoy the freedom and satisfaction that comes with being your own boss. What a beautiful feeling that could be, total freedom to run your own day, not live by someone else's schedule!

How excited you'll be the moment you wake up in the morning knowing there is no rush to get out the door! What a lovely sense of pride you'll take in knowing that you can be there for your family at any moment of the day and still be able to provide for them financially and in most cases, even better than your weekly paycheck had in the past. What a sense of accomplishment you can own by taking the time to provide a home cooked meal, EVERY NIGHT, and treating yourself to a restaurant when you just don't feel like cooking. Wouldn't it be nice to have the CHOICE? Yes it would, and it's yours for the taking. You just have to do it.

This article provided by Janet Washburn of K2P Wealth Creators, LLC. Janet is a successful home-based entrepreneur. You can reach her at http://www.thekey2prosperity.com/

A steam cooking device comprising a chamber into which food is introduced for cooking, an inlet passage in said chamber, a source of steam connected to said inlet passage, a free-venting outlet passage from said chamber through which condensate is permitted to drain, a temperature-sensing means located in said outlet passage, and flow control means responsive to said temperature-sensing means to stop the flow of steam through said inlet passage when the temperature in said outlet passage corresponds to that of the steam at atmospheric pressure.


Photo: pics.hoobly.com

A great example of using the Multi element surgical stainless steel cookware with steam control is the following recipe:

Heat pot on medium heat and then place chicken pieces in pan and brown on both sides. Extra oil in not needed. Very minor sticking may be present but no problem. When browned on both sides add whatever vegetables you desire, (potatoes, broccoli, squash, carrots or whatever). Just place them over the meat, put on the lid and close the steam valve. Turn heat to low and allow it to cook. Everything cooks evenly with the heat recirculating evenly throughout the entire pot. Allowing rapid cooking with all the nutrients preserved. Enjoy wonderful healthy fast cooking with Waterless cookware.

Waterless cooking

The steam control valve features on waterless cooking Cookware makes "waterless cooking" easy. You can cook Healthier in this cookware because it eliminates the need for grease or oil in cooking. To use the steam Control valve, start cooking on medium heat (never use high heat) then, when the valve begins To whistle, close the valve and turn down to low And finish cooking.

Photo: Steam Control 12-Quart Surgical Stainless-Steel Stockpot

Multiple element construction Our premium cookware has 7, 9, or 11 element Construction. All are quality items and work pretty Much the same this refers to the fused heating surface Attached to the bottom of the stainless steel Cookware which has thin layers of different High conduction metals. This allows heat to spread rapidly and evenly across the entire cooking surface allowing the food to cook evenly.

Come and visit our web page and check out all of the premium cookware(including steam control cookware), barbecue sets, fine cutlery, flatware and household appliances. All to make life in the kitchen and the home easier and healthier.
http://www.cookwarenthings.com/