Easy Recipes, Healthy Eating Ideas and Chef Recipe Videos

My private nutrition coaching practice has no shortage of people who desperately want or need to lose weight.  Everyone knows the health risks of obesity, yet many people do not know how start changing their lifestyle in order to achieve weight loss.  One troubling observation I have made is that many people don’t cook or eat at home anymore.

For many, home cooked meals have been replaced with fast food and take-out foods. Some of my clients cite lack of time to cook, and many  do not know how to prepare simple meals.   I have met clients who literally consume ALL of their meals out, on the run, and never prepare a meal at home.  With so many sources of food available everywhere, at anytime, and in endless varieties, it’s easy to see how this could happen.  Yet, there are reasons why you should rethink how you get your meals.

Cooking or at least planning simple prepared foods at home could help you get healthier, lighter and have a bit more cash to spend on other things.  Home prepared food generally means that meals will have less calories and fat overall.  You are in control of how the food is made, what goes into it, and most importantly, how much is served.  Have you ever gone to a restaurant and been served a very large portion?  How many times have you consumed the entire portion?  Large portions mean more calories.  Unless you are taking half of that portion home, you are getting far more calories than you may realize.  Depending on how a dish is prepared, even a half portion can mean lots of extra calories.

When you eat out are you treating the meal as though it’s a special occasion?  A lot of people do.  Sometimes dining out is a special occasion and a chance to order something that you may not normally eat.  People who eat out need to ditch the special occasion mentality or weight gain may be inevitable.  The temptation to sample the bread basket, add fried foods, large drinks or high calorie appetizers to the meal is just too easy when you order out.

A side benefit of eating at home:  more family time together and the chance to teach your children healthy eating habits.  Families who eat on the run all of the time lose out on quality time to communicate with one another about school, work or the day’s events.  Eating meals together as a family is an opportunity to set a positive example and educate your children about healthy eating.

You don’t need to have special cooking skills to put together healthier meals at home.  Here are a few examples of how to start:

* Have breakfast at home instead of the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich out.  A bowl of cereal with low fat milk, fresh fruit and perhaps a yogurt can help you start your day.
* Brown bag your lunch instead of getting fast food or take-out every day.
* For dinner, prepare simple meals once and make enough to have leftovers at another meal.  Grilled or broiled chicken, fish or lean meat with a potato or whole grain pasta and steamed vegetables, takes less than 30 minutes.
* Cook and plan meals ahead for the week to save time.

A little bit of time and a few simple changes can make a difference in your weight, your calorie intake and ultimately help you succeed with weight loss!

© 2011, Gretchen Scalpi, RD, CDE.  Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Celebrating the holidays is a popular and favorite time of the year for just about anyone. There are presents to buy, children to watch open those presents, and lots of dishes to prepare. Mexican Christmas food is a favorite cuisine not only for those using cultural reasoning. In fact, this cuisine is a favorite of more and more people around the world everyday.

When it comes to the traditional meal, you will find you enjoy the delicious flavors of the seasoning without a lot of the excess calories, fats, or sugars. Not saying all the Mexican Christmas food is healthy, but it is all delicious.

Finding recipes for your favorite dishes is not too difficult these days thanks to the internet, but you may be interested in knowing some of the traditional favorites of the glorious season. If you are already enjoying this cuisine, you will find that a lot of what you need for the seasonal meals are readily available.

Here are a few of the favorites when it comes to Mexican Christmas foods!

Bacalao a la vizcaina is an eclectic and colorful dish made of salted fresh cod, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, onions, red bell peppers, and capers. Take about colorful! The taste is a welcomed bonus of course. Simple to make and quite inexpensive, this is perfect for those that open their doors to neighbors and friends this holiday season.

Romeritos are simple but a very good example of Mexican Christmas food at its best. Made of potatoes and dried shrimp, this is simply delectable and offers you the chance to be yourself. Many people will mix a variety of yellow, green, and/or red bell peppers. Add your preferred seasoning for a wonderful traditional dish, or use this to season other dishes.

Rosca de Reyes is a favorite for children of any age. This sweet bread is sweetened with a variety of ingredients and topped with a sweet glaze. A favorite for just about anyone, and as is fitting with the holiday season, many families will bake figurines of the Christ child into this outstanding loaf.

Of course, no mention of Mexican Christmas food would be complete without adding the traditional piñata. Filled with candies and sweets, this is a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. Of course, this is not just for the youngsters….

Even hot chocolate takes on a whole new meaning with traditional chocolate caliente being on the table. Made of the best of chocolate from Mexico, this offers a unique taste that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Top with whipped cream and a peppermint stick candy cane for a perfect treat great for those cool nights.

Buneulos or sweet fritters are even a great breakfast snack!

When it comes to Mexican Christmas food, you will discover that the world is your oyster. There are so many options you will take a lifetime exploring the possibilities. Enjoy the foods and meals with family, friends, and neighbors. But the one thing you should always remember is the reason for the season.

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Fast foods are the most popular way to people who need to get food easily on their tables. Fast foods are rather in the position where their sets of menu and food availability at a particularly short time becomes a particularly cheap solution to these folks who are always on the run, be it dining in or a drive-thru, or to those just simply want convenience foods in their tummies making their lunch or dinner a little effortless. It is also an inexpensive way of dining out, and lot less trouble than cooking at home.

McDonalds is one of the hottest and one of the first in the fast food business, and proved to be an obsession to millions of people, most particularly the food lovers. Not only is it more cost-effective than dining at the more celebrated restaurants with waiters, McDonalds also has its own promotional strategy of offering discounts to their regular shoppers. Actually, yes, McDonalds discounts.

folk love using McDonalds discounts to save them money. Burgers, fries and drinks would taste better if it comes together with a coupon, for a better price discount for the purchaser. For them it is still plenty of savings, particularly if they buy a large amount of food items, it helps them save more and they can buy more. There are lots of people who are always looking for vouchers, and always try to find a way to save in their food shopping. And for them, getting McDonalds vouchers fulfills that search of looking for repayments and satisfies them of the getting great dollar savings from the coupons, and ultimately satisfies them of availing their best-ever tops, as an example, the Big Mac.

McDonalds is one of the most popular and one of the first in the fast food business, and proven to be an addiction to millions of people, most especially the foodies. Not only is it less expensive than dining at the more prestigious restaurants with waiters, McDonalds also has its own marketing strategy of offering coupons to their regular customers. Really, yes, McDonalds coupons.

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Anybody and everybody who appreciates a good glass of wine, have at some point or other have romanced with the idea as to how to make homemade wine. Well, I have learned to brew my own homemade wine and have discovered that learning how to make homemade wine can be a very delectable and pleasing leisure. I have also realized that wine making is essentially a scientific art. How to make homemade wine in few simple steps?

To make an elegant yet perky but not too aggressive wine in home you will need 1 Quart Fruit (personally, I use wild blackberries), 2 Cups Sugar, 1 Package Yeast (preferably light yeast – the variety used in baking), 1 Gallon Water, Colander, Cheesecloth, Gallon Jug or Container. And you need to get an oak barrel. You can easily buy one online.

First melt the sugar by dissolving meticulously it in 1 cup of hot water.

In the second step, dissolve yeast in two cups of warm water. The yeast will bubble a little.

In the third step you need to combine your blend of cooled sugar-water to the fruit. Make sure you make the mixture as concentrated as possible because, that will make the wine around twelve percent alcohol.

In the fourth step of how to make homemade wine, you add the yeast. You must ensure that your mixture is reasonably cool otherwise the yeast won’t be effective.

In the fifth step, you fill up the jug with the residual water.

Finally, cover and place the jug in a dark spot where no sunshine can reach your pot. After couple of weeks or so, you strain the mixture through the colander. In the final step of how to make homemade wine, you decant the wine into the oak barrel and let it sit for a few weeks to age.

You can find all the answers to the question, know how to make wine at home Click here. This blog post has detailed information on the kind of equipment and materials that are needed to MakeWine.

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