Are You Fooling Yourself?

Many low fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate, low salt foods exist. Food manufacturers go out of their way to give the public what they want. You can find a diet version of almost every kind of packaged food. If you have dietary concerns that prevent you from enjoying sugar or full fat foods, then the lower varieties are perfect for you.

If you do not have dietary concerns, why do you buy the low fat or low salt versions? If you are trying to save calories when you buy baked potato chips you are fooling yourself. Admittedly, a serving of baked potato chips does have fewer calories than the fried ones, but the flavor is not the same. When the flavor is not the same you end up eating more because you are trying to get the taste satisfaction you crave. If you eat double or triple the amount of the low fat version, you defeated any value the low fat version had to begin with. You can justify it by saying they are better for you, but the “better” is gone if you consume too many.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. Eating is a pleasure and it makes sense to enjoy all the foods you love, salty snacks included. It does not make sense to tamper with those snacks to give the false appearance of healthy. Potato chips are a snack food; they no longer have the nutritional value of a baked potato. Eat and enjoy the chips with full fat and full salt and, therefore, full flavor. Do not buy the low fat variety and fool yourself into thinking you are eating something healthy.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: The smaller you cut your vegetables the quicker they will cook.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

The Morning After

If you are like most people, you ate a lot yesterday. You probably had anticipated the meal for a few weeks and you could not wait to eat your favorite dishes. Eating is one of the pleasures of life, and when it is done at a special feast with your family, the pleasure is even greater. Your body can handle over eating at one meal; do not put yourself on a guilt trip and have no regrets.

The problem arises when you use one “bad” day as an excuse to continue to over eat for the rest of the weekend or longer. You did not “blow” it. You made a conscious decision to eat as much as you wanted and to enjoy special treats. Now make a conscious decision to eat what is better for your body and go back to the portion sizes your stomach prefers. The mentality that says, “I was bad yesterday so I might as well continue to be "bad” does not do you any good. I understand that mentality because I used it many years.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to eat and enjoy a feast, but it does not make sense to use that feast as an excuse to continue to eat more than your body needs. What do you do with the leftovers? Wait a week and repeat the meal. A second feast, one week later, is much better than feasting for seven consecutive days.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking substitution: Simple Cooking Idea: Use unsalted butter. It allows you to control the salt content of your dish.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

Chestnuts and Brussel Sprouts

On Thanksgiving Eve, it has become a tradition for my nieces, along with their husbands, my brothers in law, and my sisters to come and help me peel the roasted chestnuts. We gather in the kitchen, with a towel in our hands to protect our fingers from the heat, and we peel, and munch, away.

One year I told the chestnut blight story. It seems that years ago Chestnut trees grew in abundance through out the US. In the early 1900s, blight attacked the chestnut trees and made them virtually extinct in our country. The American chestnut tree went from the most important tree in the East Coast, about 4 billion in number, to insignificance. Now, almost all of our chestnuts are imported from Italy. The fun part is that my family asks me to tell the story every year. It has become a tradition. Along with the story comes a lot of scolding as I try to keep them from eating all of the roasted chestnuts. I am always frightened that there will not be enough to put with the brussel sprouts the next day.

That is what food can do. It gathers people together and creates memories that last a lifetime. The kitchen is the heart of the house, food is nourishment for the body, and the memories created in the kitchen, and around the dinner table, are precious.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: When your pasta is done do not leave it in the hot water or it will turn to mush. Drain it, cover it and put it back in the hot pot without any heat.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

I Wish You a Colorful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner can be a very healthy meal. Admittedly, there is a lot of fat, salt, and sugar in your favorite holiday dishes, but they also are full of color and fiber. One of the ways to get the vitamins and minerals you need is to select a wide variety of colorful foods. Thanksgiving dinner is very colorful. My dinner has eight colors: red, green, orange, white, tan, brown, yellow, and grey.

Thanksgiving is also full of foods you tend to ignore at other times of the year: sweet potatoes, cranberries, chestnuts, Brussel sprouts, and pumpkin. Those foods are full of nutrition and fiber. A colorful meal, full of a variety of vegetables that have nutrition and fiber is the best. The extra salt, fat and sugar make the meal special. You could bake your sweet potatoes, but some of the pleasure would be gone; you would miss the pineapple, brown sugar and marshmallows.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to keep a holiday meal special and full of memories. Delicious, once a year dishes help create those memories. Make your Thanksgiving dinner full of color, flavor and love.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: When you put a lot of dishes into the oven at one time, the temperature will go down and everything will take longer to cook.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

Family, Food and Flavor

Thanksgiving is the only truly American holiday we have. We did not borrow it from any other culture and it is completely secular, so every American celebrates it. The best part about Thanksgiving is that it is not commercialized. It truly is only about family, food and flavor.

Food creates memories. Undoubtedly, you have dishes that you eat only once a year and that you associate with particular events, people, or places. Tradition dictates that holiday meals are always the same. Expecting the same dishes brings happy anticipation. I never change my Thanksgiving dinner; I believe a rebellion would take place if I did.

If this is your first year to cook Thanksgiving dinner create a menu that you will enjoy cooking, that will taste good, and that your family will look forward to every year. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is not necessarily hard, but it is very labor intensive. Make that labor count by making sure your ingredients are as fresh as possible and that everything has a lot of flavor. Thanksgiving is a feast; this is not the meal to skimp on fat, salt or sugar. If the meal is colorful, it will be full of nutrition and fiber.

Let's Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to invest the time in creating a Thanksgiving dinner that has maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. You will then have a tradition that is full of family, food and flavor. It does not get any better than that.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Do not stuff your turkey in advance. Stuff it just before you are going to put it in the oven.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

A Healthy Body and a Healthy Wallet

There are many ways to make your life simpler when it comes to making dinner. One of these is to stock your pantry with the staples that you use all of the time. These non-perishable items have a long shelf life and are the base of a meal: olive oil, vinegar, salt, rice, pasta, canned chicken broth, canned tomatoes, mustard, pepper, flour, and honey. The perishable items to have on hand are eggs, onions and garlic. Keep a running list of these items and replace them as they get low. If you purchase them in larger quantities while they are on sale, you will not have to restock them often. If the items you use all of the time are in the house, your shopping trips will be considerably shorter because all you need to do is get the fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products you need for the week or the day.

If you need to fix a quick meal, or you are going to have unexpected company, all you need to do is run into the grocery store for three items: fresh basil, salad greens and bread. When you get home you can put a pot of water on to boil for pasta, brown garlic in olive oil, add canned tomatoes, salt, fresh basil and cook that for 15 minutes. While the tomato sauce is simmering, cook the pasta and make a salad dressing of oil, vinegar, and mustard. Serve the pasta with bread and the salad and you have a delicious, healthy meal in about 30 minutes.

Is it easier to pick up a ready-made chicken with the trimmings at the deli? No, because you still have to go to the grocery store. The deli meal also costs a lot more, and you have no control over the salt, fat or nutrition. You could go out to eat, or order in, but you still have to wait for the meal, you would be spending a lot more, and you have no control over the ingredients or nutrition. With a bit of planning, you can put a quick meal together. It is easy and a lot healthier for your body and your wallet.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Buy Cheddar and Monterey Jack when they are on sale. Cut them into usable portions, label, wrap well, and put in the freezer. The taste and texture will be perfect.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

It’s All About Looks

Have you ever noticed how the food is served in a nice restaurant? The food is plated meaning it is artfully, and tastefully, displayed on your dinner plate. The chef knows that eye appeal and presentation is a large part of the diner’s enjoyment. Imagine if the chef took his beautifully plated food and put it on a paper plate. The presentation would be diminished.

How do you serve meals in your home? Do you use real dishes or paper plates? Paper is wonderful at a picnic or for a snack, but when it is used for dinner, it takes away from the food. Presentation is very important to your enjoyment; even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich looks, and tastes, better when served on a real dish. A real plate makes you stop and notice, it means someone took the time for you, it says stop and savor for a moment. It means this is a meal and not a quick snack.

When you eat, you are providing energy and nourishment for your body. Do not see dinner as something that has to be finished quickly. When you eat slower, you can savor more, you will digest better, and you will feel more satisfied. Take the trouble to use real plates, let the dishwasher wash them. It will make your family feel important.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Mix fresh cut apples and pears with lemon juice so they do not turn brown.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

Save Time, Money and Improve Your Health.

You plan your yearly two-week vacation because you want to make the most out of your time and money. Months in advance you decided what you are going to do, what attractions you will see, where you will sleep, and what restaurants will accommodate your taste and budget. It might be your most scheduled two weeks of the year.

Do you invest any time planning your weekly meals? What you eat affects your energy level, your long-term health, and your budget. If you leave your daily meals up to whim of the moment, you risk the chance of eating out more than you would prefer, spending more than you want, and seldom getting the nutrition you need. Without any planning, cooking is usually not an option because you do not know what to make at the last minute and you do not have any ingredients in the house.

Think what would happen if you spent an hour with a piece of paper and thought about your week. You know what days you could be home early enough to cook dinner and when dinner has to be extremely fast. You could look over the sales for the coming week and take advantage of them. You could go to the grocery store with a list and not risk grabbing whatever gets your attention. If planning your weekly meals sounds ridiculous, think how ridiculous it sounds to plan a two-week vacation down to the minute, but leave your health up to chance.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to invest the time to plan your meals. You will eat better, save money, have less stress, and eliminate the guilt that results when you grab something for your kids and leave your husband to forage for himself.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Chicken with its bone and skin attached is less expensive. Save money and take the skin off yourself.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

Do You Spend Wisely?

When you go on vacation, you probably have a certain amount of money you can spend each day. You need to divide that up between hotels, restaurants, attractions, gas, souvenirs etc. If you know that tomorrow you are going to spend a day at an expensive amusement park, then you probably will plan to stay at a less expensive hotel in order to make the day’s money last. Likewise, if you had a day driving, and therefore did not spend much, you can afford a more luxurious hotel that night. By paying attention, you will stay within your budget and not get yourself into financial trouble.

In order stay a healthy weight, you need to stay within your food budget. Your body needs a certain amount of food every day and when you go over your budget, you get yourself into trouble. Since my body allows me a limited number of calories a day, I want to spend them on foods that give me the most pleasure; they must be both nutritious and delicious. I will not eat a food that does not taste good just because it is good for me. I also will not eat a food that has no flavor just because it is lower in calorie. If I spend all of my calorie allotment during the day, rest assured that I am sleeping at a very cheap hotel tonight.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to pay attention to what you eat so you can stay a healthy weight. You do not have to count calories all day; you know what foods cost more, in terms of calories, just like you know which hotels cost more. Spend you daily food allotment just like you spend your daily money allotment, wisely.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Fun Food Fact: Libby’s, makers of canned pumpkin, sells 80% of its annual inventory in the weeks before Thanksgiving. (Source Saveur Magazine)

Get Your Mess in Place

Cooking is a project that requires equipment and supplies like any other project. If you want to paint the bedroom you need to move the furniture, or cover it, you need a drop cloth to protect the floor, you need paint, brushes, primer etc. Once everything is in front of you, the actual painting is not that bad. Likewise, cooking is not a hassle if you are organized.

The French use the term “mise en place” to refer to this initial preparation and layout. It literally means, “set in place”; in other words, get everything ready before you begin. If you take out all of the ingredients and equipment you will need to prepare and cook the dish, the actual cooking will be smooth, quick, and easy. The time you spend getting your “mess in place” will be worth all of the time and frustration you will save while cooking. With everything you need out, and ready, you will have less stress because you will not be scrambling to squeeze lemon juice, or to find a hidden ingredient, at the exact moment you need it.

Cooking is easier than you think and it makes sense to put in a little more time up front to save a lot of hassle and aggravation at the end. With a bit of organization you can get your dinner out quickly and easily. If you spend less time cooking, you will have more time to enjoy your meal and your family. You may never learn to love cooking, but it can be less of a chore.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Fun Food Fact: Butterball LLC introduced its turkeys in 1954. They sold 12 million birds last Thanksgiving. (Source: Saveur Magazine)

Cooking is Easier Than You Think.

I am amazed at how many people are afraid to cook. They are truly frightened that what they do will be wrong, they will make some irreparable mistake, or if they do not follow the recipe exactly as written, they will end up with a disaster. Cooking and baking are entirely different; baking is a science, cooking is an art.

When you bake a cake, you have to follow the recipe to the letter. Leaving something out may prevent your cake from rising, not measuring ingredients accurately can make your cake heavy, and baking the cake too long can make it dry. Baking is precise and exact.

When you cook, you can add or eliminate ingredients, your measurements do not have to be exact, and you can cook foods longer or shorter depending on the texture you prefer. Approach cooking as if you were painting a picture, see the ingredient list as a palette of colors for your painting and choose your favorites. If you love garlic, then add it, if you dislike cilantro leave it out and substitute your favorite herb. Relax in the kitchen and use the recipe as a guide to follow that you can adjust to your liking. The recipe points you in the basic direction and gives you an idea of what is necessary for the trip, but you get to decided exactly where you end. Admittedly, your version will not taste like mine, but we do not have the same taste in art either.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Store nuts in glass jars in the freezer. They will not absorb orders and they will keep indefinitely.

Does Skim Milk Come From a Cow?

You are afraid of fat. You have been taught that fat is bad for you and it should be avoided. Fat has been accused of many things from making you gain weight to causing your heart attack. The reality is you need fat to waterproof your skin, for insulation, for stored energy, to build cell membranes and to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. The problem arises when you eat too much fat. Too much of anything can be bad; if you eat too many carrots you will turn orange.

You mean well when you eat your salad without oil, or you choose a diet dressing, but you are losing the nutrition in the salad because your body will not be able to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins. Fat adds richness to food. The richer taste enables you to feel satisfied and to feel fuller quicker. If you do not feel satisfied you will eat more, and eating more defeats the purpose of eating fat free food. Fat also adds flavor and, therefore, pleasure.

Let’s Cook Tonight® believes in eating real food with real flavor. Real food has fat. Whole, full fat, milk is the way it comes from a cow. Skim milk is processed milk. Real food has flavor. Compare the taste of whole milk to skim milk. For maximum health, flavor and enjoyment, it makes sense to eat fat. Just do not eat too much of a good thing.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Store ground coffee in a glass jar in the freezer. In plastic, it will absorb orders.

Do You Drown Your Vegetables?

Raw vegetables provide the most nutrition, however, they are not always appetizing, and all vegetables do not taste good raw. Raw broccoli along side a piece of roast chicken is not appealing, and meatloaf really needs mashed, not raw, potatoes. There are ways to cook vegetables that ensure they retain the most nutrition.

Cooking vegetables in oil is my favorite. Heat oil on high, if you like garlic add it to the hot oil and cook it until it is golden, then add your cut vegetables and salt. Salt makes the vegetables sweat so they cook quicker; it also adds flavor. Cover and cook on medium until the vegetables are the texture you prefer, firm or soft. Stir occasionally and do not add water, you do not need to because the vegetables will release liquid. If they are browning before they are cooked, lower the heat. Vegetable cooked in oil, with or without garlic, have a delicious intense flavor.

Vegetables taste sweet and intense when you roast them. Preheat the oven to 400, cut your vegetable, toss with a bit of oil and salt and place on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven and roast until they are the texture you prefer. If you need to be completely fat and salt free, then cook your vegetables in the microwave. Cut them and put them into a microwave safe container; add one tablespoon of water and cover. Cook on high power until they are the consistency you prefer.

When you cook vegetables without any additional water, you retain the most nutrients. When you boil or steam vegetables, nutrients are thrown out with the water. If you are going to the trouble of buying and prepping fresh vegetables then it makes sense to get the most nutrition from them.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Add salt to the pasta water after it comes to a boil and it will dissolve easier.

How to Get Someone to Cook for You

The easiest way to get someone to cook for you is to give encouragement, praise and appreciation. If you criticize, or find fault, she will stop trying. The person who does not like to cook feels apprehension and angst when she thinks about cooking. She is afraid that whatever she cooks will not turn out right, will not taste good, and no one will eat it. If you want someone to cook for you encourage her efforts no matter how small they may be. Focus on what she is doing right. Do not give her false flattery because she will know that you are lying. Find something good to say. Initially, it might just be that she made the attempt, eventually she will improve and the compliments will be many.

Cooking for my husband has always been a pleasure. With his encouragement, I have experimented with abandon and he willingly and eagerly has tasted everything, and has always found something he likes. After twenty-seven years, he still thanks me for cooking dinner. Those are the actions, and words, of a person who wants someone else to do the cooking.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to cook because you eat healthier, you save money, and you create quality family time. If you want someone to cook for you then offer her encouragement to start, and give her sincere praise and appreciation when she tries.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Cranberries freeze well. Buy a few extra bags to freeze so you can make fresh cranberry sauce later in the winter.

Is Your Food Politically Correct?

When humans alter foods from their natural state, the potential for offense and criticism can occur. Everyone has an opinion on packaging, genetic modification, chemical engineering, organic growing, and the use of fossil fuels in manufacturing. Any food that comes with a label has been altered in some way and, therefore, can be offensive to some and open to criticism by many.

Real foods typically do not offend people. Fruits and vegetables are pretty to look at, cost efficient in terms of energy value per pound, and they do not have any racial slant, gender preference, religious leaning, or political bias. Carrots and apples typically do not go out of their way to cause sensationalism; broccoli and oranges are usually low key with their opinions.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. It makes sense to eat foods that add to your health, peace, and well-being. When left alone, the foods Mother Nature created are perfect. When you eat real foods you will not have any guilt or remorse. Imagine the fun of eating foods that are delicious, nutritious and politically correct.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Wrap cut cheese in wax paper. It will stay mold free longer.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry with Your Family

I have been to Italy twelve times and have eaten most of my meals in relatives’ homes. Meals are long, leisurely, family affairs. The food is always home cooked, fresh, delicious and nourishing. The conversation is spirited, and everyone takes his time to enjoy the food and each other. Often a cousin, niece, or nephew, drop in and another plate is set with out question or complaint. Quality family time, around the table, takes place everyday. Europeans see dinnertime as a chance to catch up with each other, to unwind, and get both physical and emotional sustenance.

Americans typically see dinnertime as something that has to be done, and be done quickly, because there is somewhere else to go. Evening activities add activity, education, and fun to our world, but so can family dinners. Education is gained when parents talk about overcoming the day’s challenges, a lot of laughter occurs when a funny story is told, encouragement is given when a problem is shared. A leisurely family dinner is a source of emotional and physical refreshment for everyone. A long dinner might not be possible daily, but it is definitely achievable a few times a week. It makes sense to eat well and to share good food and conversation with the ones you love. You can create treasured memories around the dinner table that will last you a lifetime.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking substitution: 1 cup buttermilk = ¾ cup plain, unsweetened, yogurt + ¼ cup whole milk.

Bone-In Skin-On

Why are boneless, skinless chicken breasts so popular? When you order a steak at a restaurant, do you ask the chef to remove all of the fat and bone? You probably do not; you know the fat and bone add flavor to the meat. The same is true with chicken. Bone adds a depth of flavor that is lost when the meat is cooked without the bone. The bone does not add any extra fat or calories; it just makes sense to cook chicken that is still on the bone.

When you cook chicken with its skin on, your sauce will have a richer flavor, and the meat will stay moist. The additional flavor and taste satisfaction the skin adds to the finished dish are incomparable. You can always discard the skin, as you do the fat from your steak, before you eat it. If you compromise taste and satisfaction for fat and calories, you end up feeling cheated. Yes, you saved calories with skinless chicken, but if you eat double the amount, or reach for something else because the original food did not satisfy, than you defeated the purpose.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the most expensive chicken in the market; bone-in, skin-on chicken is always less expensive. It makes sense to eat the most nutritious foods that have the most flavor, and if those foods happen to cost less, than that is a bonus.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Peel the thick, stem ends of broccoli and cook them along with the tops. They will become tender and equally delicious.

I Hope Your Food Rots, and I Hope It Rots Quickly!

Real food has a shelf life. If you buy apples, potatoes, or celery and leave them on the counter, eventually you will have a rotten mess. Real food has no preservatives, artificial colors, flavors or fillers. The only way to extend the shelf life of real food is to refrigerate it. It must be consumed in a relatively short period or it will taste and look bad.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to cooking and eating for maximum health, flavor and enjoyment. The longer food lasts the more it has been tampered with; it makes sense to eat foods that do not last forever. Real food is still alive. It dies when it is separated from the earth because it has lost its source of sustenance. The food you eat gives you life and energy. It makes sense to eat foods that have the most life. If you want every bit of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and fiber that you can get from your green beans, then you are going to have to eat them as close to their natural state as possible. When you cook them, be certain to cook without water so you do not throw away all of the good stuff.

Humans do not last forever and your food should not either. Buy real food that dies; just be certain to eat it while it is still alive.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: it is not necessary to peel carrots; just scrub them.

Is Your Eyesight Getting Better with Age?

I got my eyes examined yesterday and the optometrist told me that my vision had improved. I was thrilled. Most people’s vision gets worse with age, but mine has gotten better. When she said, “keep eating carrots” I almost fell out of the chair. She had no way of knowing I am writing a cookbook and that my entire philosophy is a common sense approach to cooking and eating that boils down to eating Real Food Real Flavor Real Easy®.

She said that the best foods you can eat, to keep your eyes healthy, are the colorful ones such as dark green leafy vegetables like kale, carrots, all colors of bell peppers, winter squash etc. If you eat a wide variety of colorful vegetables, and eat them as close to their natural state as possible, you will be getting all of the nutrients you need. Eat real foods, ones that do not come with a label. If it has a label, it has been processed in some way. Enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and micronutrient are lost when foods are processed. When you cook your colorful vegetables, do not use water. Cook them in a bit of oil, covered, put them in the microwave with a tablespoon of water, or roast them in the oven.

It was fun to have the doctor confirm what common sense says. There is no guarantee that your eyesight will improve if you eat colorful, flavorful, real foods, but why not put the odds in your favor? Chances are if your eyesight does not improve, another body part will.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: To save clean up, put aluminum foil on the burners you are not using. Grease will splatter on the foil and not on the stove.

Dessert in a Glass

Desserts should be sweet and very flavorful: a rich chocolate brownie, a moist piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, an intensely flavored lemon tart with a nut crust. Since there is a price to pay in added calories, without a lot of nutrition, you want to get the full taste satisfaction out of your sweet and flavorful. You want to know you are eating it and you want to enjoy every mouthful.

For the best health, the bulk of your foods need to be nutritious, fibrous, and flavorful. Foods that are sweet and flavorful have lost most of their nutrition and fiber; soft drinks and fruit juices fall into the realm of sweet and flavorful. Juices do provide vitamins, but so do the carrots in carrot cake. There is nothing wrong with drinking soft drinks and juices; a potential problem arises only because you reach for soft drinks and juices out of habit. You are thirsty so you grab a can of soda or a glass of juice. You just added calories of sweet and flavorful without realizing it; there was nothing to chew so you missed the whole dessert experience.

Enjoying a favorite dessert, or beverage, is part of a common sense approach to eating. It makes sense to eat the sweet and flavorful foods occasionally so you do not feel deprived and set yourself up for a binge later. Just be certain you realize when you are eating your sweet and flavorful, you want to get every bit of pleasure from it.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Meat browns better if it is dry. Use a paper towel to pick it up when you add it to the hot oil.

Fruits and Vegetables are Naturally "Green"

Fruits and Vegetables were “green” long before that word meant more than just a color. Mother Nature does not waste any energy when she creates our food, but uses the readily available sunshine and rainfall. She does not produce any wasteful packaging, all of her products are biodegradable, and all of her products are naturally organic.

When you buy your fruits and vegetables from the fresh vegetable aisle, you are buying real foods that have not been processed in any way. The more something is processed the more of its natural value is lost in the finished product and the less “green” it is. Compare a glass of orange juice with an orange. If you eat an orange you are going to get all the vitamins, minerals, and fiber the orange was born with. The orange also has a peel that rots and, therefore, does not burden a landfill. When you drink the juice, some of the natural goodness of the orange has been filtered out in the processing. The juice also comes in a carton that required energy to create and decorate, and it has to go into a landfill where it takes a long time to rot.

When you use your commons sense, healthy food choices are obvious. It makes sense to eat the foods that Mother Nature creates for us and to eat them as close to their natural state as possible. When you do that, you will be getting the best nutrition and, as an added bonus, you will be “green”.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Never rinse your cooked pasta. The salt and starch that cling to it add flavor and help the sauce stick better.