If like many of us, you’re on what can seem like a perpetual diet, it can be difficult to stay healthy. One of the hardest things is finding a protein that you like that isn’t bad for you. No one wants to eat tofu every day, and red meat has been out for years. You can only eat so much chicken, and now even fish is becoming unsafe, with high levels of mercury. Where is a dieter to turn when all they really want is to spice things up? Surprisingly, and deliciously, you can turn to fresh lobster.

Lobster has gotten a bad rap for years as being something that’s indulgent and bad for you. While it’s true that lobster does have a great indulgent taste, it just isn’t true that it’s bad for you. In fact, at about 90 calories for a three and a half ounce serving, lobster is an incredibly good for you way to get your protein, better than steak or even chicken? I know it seems hard to believe, but it’s true. You can eat fresh lobster as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

Much of the reason that people have felt that fresh lobster was unhealthy is because of traditional preparations. When you think of lobster, you think of a heavy, creamy bisque, or dredging it in drawn butter. And of course, adding these fats to any protein makes it unhealthy, the same would be true for any fish prepared in oil or butter, or chicken and steak pan fried. But lobster on its own is actually quite good for you. It is prepared by steaming, which takes away many of the oils and fats often used in preparing other meats, which is an added healthy bonus.

Lobster is also a great source of omega three fatty acids, which you’ve probably been seeing on the news lately. Found naturally in many types of fish and shellfish, omega three fatty acids are seen as essential for heart health. They are such a hit that they’re being added to many other foods. Fresh lobster is a great way to get these great heart benefits because it can be prepared in such a low calorie way. It’s also a great way to get the protein that you need to have energy throughout your day.

Are you stuck for how you can enjoy lobster in a healthy way that will complement it? Here are some simple ideas. For a quick snack, try a few pieces on some rye bread. The strong flavors play off each other nicely. You can also add texture and flavor to a vegetable filled salad with some chunks of lobster. It’s an easy and low calorie way to get some protein. Feeding the family? Prepare whole wheat pasta with olive oil, and add some pieces of lobster. It’s elegant and good for you.

Fresh lobster is a great way to add some classic elegance to your diet, without sacrificing taste or your healthy. It’s a great tasting protein that can be prepared in many simple ways for both yourself, and for your friends and family.

Tags : Cooking

By Faylee James

Spices add the extra flavoring to our foods. They are what makes us remember a dish and want it again. The adding of flavors to our cooking is just about as old as the cave women and fire.

I get asked what is the difference in herbs and spices, all the time. Herbs are the leaves of an annual or perennial shrub. Spices are derived from the bark, root, fruits or berries of perennial plants.

To me no pantry is complete with out the standard selection of herbs and spices listed here.

Spices:

[1] Allspice is the berry from the Pimenta Dioica. It was named allspice because early settlers in Central America thought it tasted like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg in one.

[2] Cinnamon comes from a small evergreen found in Sri Lanka.

[3] Gloves is the dried flower bud from a Myrtaceae Tree. It was first found in Indonesia.

[4] Ginger: The ginger we know today is really the root of the Ginger Plant. It first came from the mideast but can be found around the world now.

[5] Nutmeg: Nutmeg is the seed of an evergreen tree native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia.

[6] Mace is the outer covering of the nutmeg seed shell. It starts out being a bright red but dries to a deep yellow or brown.

[7] Pepper: The black, white, or pink pepper all come from the same plant. The coloring is derived from the harvesting time of the seed.

There is a large selection of fresh peppers to choose from also. The sweet bell pepper that starts out green will turn to bright orange, red, and yellow if left on the bush long enough.

The hotter sisters to the bell peppers can be found worldwide. They range in heat units from 0 to 10+. If you feel a need to try the 10+ ones, have lots of milk on hand, as you will need it to cool off your tummy after indulging in the delight of hot peppers.

Salt: While most of us think of salt as a spice, it really is a mineral that is found in rock and sea water. The use of salt and pepper are the most common taste enhancements for foods.

There are many more spices, many of which you will get to try if you travel to other parts of the world but these are the most favorite to have in any kitchen.

Faylee

Faylee James is a Life Coach/Writer/Speaker from Northeast Tennessee, who has an above average interest in cooking and living life to the fullest. Her website http://www.HassiesKitchenTable.com is in honor of her mother who passed away recently. Faylee wants to share what her mother taught her about cooking and life, not only with her three daughters and son but with the world. For more recipes and thoughts, visit her website.

Article Source: Faylee James == Add Zip to Your Food With These Seven Spices

As a kid, did your parents ever take you to Maine for the summer? If they did, you’re sure to remember the idyllic days spent lounging by the cool ocean, reading and playing, and finally, dinner time. Who could forget delicious and fresh lobsters, caught that very morning, steamed with vegetables, and given to you with claw crackers in order to get the meat out of the whole thing. It was fun and delicious. Even if you didn’t get to do this as a kid, it sounds great, right? Well, you can share it with your family by ordering live Maine lobster.

It’s true, by buying online, you can get fresh succulent lobster delivered right to your door by the next day, at a great price. Have you promised your family a special dinner this week? You can have lobster in time, and wow them with a great home cooked meal. Are your in-laws dropping buy unexpectedly this weekend. Surprise them with a great lobster meal that they’ll never be expecting. Because this lobster is so fresh and delicious, everyone is sure to be wowed by it’s great taste and texture, even the pickiest of eaters. Live Maine lobster is a great treat for the whole family.

How do you get your live Maine lobsters so quickly though? You can’t really get them the day after they’re caught, can you? By cutting out the middleman and ordering online, you can. Instead of waiting for lobsters to be trucked to your local store, you’re buying the lobsters direct from the fisherman, as they catch them. It’s a great way to support the fisherman and get the lobsters that you crave without the wait, and without the trip to the store!

One of the greatest things about buying live Maine lobsters online is how much money you can save. When you buy lobsters from a grocery store, you’ll have to pay not only the surcharge of the middleman, but also the fee for their transport, and the costs of the grocery store. When you buy directly from a fisherman, you’re paying only the price of the lobster, which is at an all time low, and the charge for shipping. It’s a great deal, and will allow you to enjoy lobsters much more often!

If you want to have a great family get together, then live Maine lobsters are the way to go. You’ll have everyone relaxing at your house, while lobsters and fresh vegetables simmer on the stove. And when it’s dinner time, everyone will have their own fresh red lobster to dig into. Your kids will love the big party, and the fun they can have cracking into a fresh lobster with their claw crackers.

So why not call some friends and order live Maine lobsters for tomorrow night! It’s a great meal to share, and your friends will be astounded that you can throw together such a great dinner party so fast. They’ll never know you saved time and money by ordering online!

Tags : Cooking

By G. Labrecque

Summer is at our doors. One great way to benefit from the abundance of fresh vegetables starting to crowd the shelves of our local grocery store is to freeze them for further use during the cold season. But wait: there is an appropriate method for this matter. This tutorial will guide you step by step on how to freeze fresh vegetables correctly.

First, depending on the amount of veggies you are about to store for further use, you will need good quality freezer bags. You will also need a large baking sheet that will fit in your freezer, and some waxed paper. Lastly, find a large cooking pot, because the process requires you to blanch your vegetables in boiling water.

So, what you need:

- Vegetables
- Freezer Bags
- A large baking sheet
- A large cooking pot or saucepan
- A knife
- Paper towels
- Waxed paper

The Method:

1. Prepare the veggies; peel them (if needed) and cut them the size you want them for further use. Basically, we are creating the same kind of frozen vegetable bag you could buy at any grocery store, with the considerable advantage of it being homemade!

2. Bring enough water to a boil in the cooking pot and sink the vegetables in it to blanch them. The time required for this purpose isn’t the same for every kind of vegetable: broccoli and asparagus need around 4 minutes, while peppers require about 2 minutes. Refer to Google to find the appropriate time required for each vegetable.

3. Once you are done, drain the vegetables and dry them thoroughly with some paper towel, then let them cool down for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with waxed paper.

4. Place the vegetables pieces on the baking sheet making sure they don’t touch each other: you want them to freeze separately.

5. Lastly, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 2-3 hours, then place the vegetables in the freezer bags when they are completely frozen. Close the bags and remove the air to prevent ice crystals from forming inside your bags if you don’t open them for several months.

I hope this tutorial was interesting, and above all, useful. This article was written by G. Labrecque, a member of the staff editing Easy Comfort Foods a website hosting a vast collection of comfort food recipes.

Article Source: G. Labrecque == How to Freeze Vegetables Correctly

By Todd Mohr

Saving money is certainly a newsworthy topic these days. Everyone’s looking for places to trim their budget – welcome to the age of budget cooking! For some, it is a desire for simpler life; others have had to make changes due to economic hardship. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that frugal cooking is a top culinary trend right now. So – how can a dedicated “foodie” make the most of this seeming dark ages of cooking? Actually – it’s very easy to enjoy food and saving money when you learn how to cook. I’m not talking about recipes; I’m talking about learning the basic cooking methods that really teach you to cook. Once you learn some simple techniques, budget cooking is natural, fun and delicious!

Buy in Bulk

If you know how to prepare meat (chicken, beef, pork) quickly and efficiently, it makes sense to buy your favorite meats in larger quantities when they are on sale. Trim and prepare the meat, portioning it into serving sizes. Label and date each package and put each portion into the freezer. Now, when you are ready to prepare dinner some night, just take out a portion and prepare it using your favorite cooking method with your favorite ingredients. This budget cooking tip actually saves time AND money!

Celebrate at Home

Going out to a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion is always a treat, but it does have its drawbacks. For starters – if you want to enjoy a bottle of wine, expect to pay somewhere around 2 1/2 times as much as you would buying the same bottle at a store (and that’s before tip!) But… when you know how to apply basic cooking methods to great ingredients – you can create very high caliber meals right at home. And you can do this quickly, easily… and cheaply! This can also justify using the highest quality ingredients you can find and afford. You’ll still be saving money by toasting your occasion… at home.

Take the Whole Tenderloin – not just the filet

One of the nicest steaks you can prepare – especially on the outdoor BBQ grill – is the filet mignon. But even at the grocery store, this premium cut of beef comes at a premium price. So – I’ve got some great news for you! One of my favorite “chef secrets” is that breaking down an entire filet is actually much easier than most people think. I made a cooking video that discusses purchasing an entire tenderloin (at a much better price than just the filet) and learning how to prepare it yourself. This is still one of my best money saving tips!

The not so Obvious

It might seem obvious, but the best way to save money on your food bill is to eat less, right? Well, the actual truth of the matter is that most of what is cooked is not eaten and goes to waste. A great way to save money is actually to make less – not necessarily eat less. Portioning is a secret of basic cooking method and a great way to save money. This is because most home cooks over-produce food rather than run the risk of running out of food, which everyone hates to do. However, if you portion correctly on the preparation side, you will save money and have another added bonus: proper portioning also ensures you will not have to even worry about leftovers. So you’ve solved another common budget cooking dilemma – what to do with leftovers? There won’t be any!

Once you’ve mastered a few basic cooking methods and simple techniques for preparing great food, you’ll find it to be a very simple and rewarding way to incorporate budget cooking into your frugal lifestyle.

Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur and educator. Since 2007, he has been the creator and host of the Cooking Coarse video series, which is known for its straight-forward and entertaining approach to cooking instruction. Chef Todd’s simple philosophy – burn your recipes and learn how to really cook – has helped many home cooks and professionals alike finally achieve success in the kitchen.

For more details on Cooking by Method and how you can cook better everyday at home, Click Here to get his FREE monthly ezine Burn Your Recipes – filled with great cooking advice, guidance ideas and support.

Article Source: Todd Mohr == Budget Cooking Ideas For People Who Love Food