Winter
Bulk Cooking – Spring Week 1: Crushing Garlic | Mincing Cilantro | Sustitutions
Share| Crushing Garlic You’ve probably noticed that I indicate to ‘crush’ garlic at the beginning of the recipes and bulk cooking sessions. This serves two purposes: Crushed garlic is SO much easier to peel – just gently press the BACK of a large knife down on the unpeeled clove, the peel will just ‘peel’ right off (pictured below) Crushing it and allowing it to sit 5-15 minutes maximizes the allium content in the garlic (the bioactive compound that reduces inflammation and boosts are immunity). These sulphur compounds are inactive before the cells of the garlic are ‘damaged’. This ‘damage’ that we induce...
Read MoreCooking 101: Easy How-To Videos
Share| Eating Whole Foods Gives Us the Opportunity to Learn How to Prepare Whole Foods Here is a short list of my top go-to sites for easy to follow cooking techniques: The Classic: Cook’s Illustrated – How to Cook The Instructor (Cynthia Lair was one of my cooking instructors in graduate school): Cookus Interruptus – How to Cook Fresh Local Organic Whole Foods Despite Life’s Interruptions The Scientist (a bit more advanced – but so entertaining to watch and learn!): Alton Brown’s How-Tos Links to specific techniques useful in Perfectly Produce recipes: How to Make Home-made Beans How to Freeze Bulk Recipes How to Cut an Onion How...
Read MoreYou Are Ready to Start – Let Us Help: 50% Off Winter Meal Planning Kit
Share|Enter coupon code: LION at check-out for 50% off the Winter Kit March Comes in Like a Lion and Goes Out Like a Lamb I love this childhood illustration. Even when I was little, I felt the sense of optimism from this transitional period of March to April. It starts fierce and ferocious but softly transforms to quiet and peaceful. New growth is both seen around us and felt within. What a wonderful illustration of what also happens inside of us when we start making lifestyle changes – the start is terribly uncomfortable but ultimately we transform from them. We can experience freedom from howling cravings and excessive guilt over food choices, and rather...
Read MoreFresh Farmers Cheese: A Cultured Alternative to Cream Cheese | Heat & Probiotics Don’t Mix
Share|Fresh Farmers Cheese – Easier to Digest, A Source of Probiotics I include fresh farmers cheese in each seasonal meal planning kit, and it continually draws a lot of questions. Farmers cheese is a ‘fresh’ cheese and can be found near the cottage cheese or cream cheeses. There are hard varieties now available (looks very similar to white cheddar cheese), but I recommend the fresh, soft varieties. Fresh varieties can be easier to digest and contain probiotics (the good bacteria in our intestines that help strengthen our digestion and increase our immunity). Ask Your Store to Carry It Ask your local grocery store to order fresh farmers cheese...
Read MoreBulk Cooking – Winter Week 4: Therapeutic Use of Cinnamon, Save Time with Frozen Broccoli
Share|Week 4 By the 4th week of guided bulk cooking, I hope you are finding your own style and methods of organizing your own kitchen to make it personalized and doable for weeks 5 and longer. I hope you are also experiencing the benefits from having your meals planned and prepped before it’s time to eat. My single biggest tip for increasing the nutrient-density of your diet each day: be prepared for your next meal before it’s time to eat. Befriend planning, prep, and cooking. To enjoy health you must first enjoy time in your kitchen. Here’s my notes from Week 4 which will hopefully help you enjoy you next cooking session even more. Maple Fruit...
Read MoreBenefits of Using Frozen Produce: Nutrition, Cost, Convenience
Share|Benefits of Using Frozen Produce In the age of local and raw, most healthy cooks are either confused about whether they can still use frozen fruits and vegetables or they’ve been overlooking it since the days when only sliced carrots and peas (or of course the mix of both) were available. But today, there is significantly increased variety, many organic and even local frozen winter CSA options, and a health crisis demanding we eat more produce. This makes frozen fruits and vegetables an attractive option. Nutrition Comparable to fresh and potentially higher: Depending on storage conditions of fresh (including how long and at what temp you stored it at...
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