BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Vegetarian What's Your Food Tip? Tips from A - Z

Stop by and drop a food tip for the community in order from A-Z.

Basically what we're going to do is start with 'A' and leave a tip that begins with the letter 'A' and then move on to 'B' and so on until we get to the letter 'Z'.

After the tip is left for the letter 'Z' the tips will start back at the beginning with a different tip starting again with 'A'.

This should be a lot of fun and informative at the same time.

I'll start:

A
ACIDULATED WATER [water that a little bit of acid has been added to like lemon/lime juice, pineapple juice, vinegar, etc.] is used to keep fruits and vegetables from oxidizing/turning brown.

Tip:
Keep your your acidulated water in a spray bottle in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks to use to spritz on your fruits and veggies to keep them looking tasty.

B
BEANS

Tip:
Do a quick soak method to speed up your cooking time when you don't have time to soak over night.

1. Wash and drain your beans

2. In a pot large enough to hold your beans after they expand, place your beans and ice water.

3. Bring to a boil and boil on high for 2 - 5 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat under pot and cover for 1-2 hours.

5. Drain off water, rinse and add fresh water bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.

[If you're sensitive to the complex sugars in the beans and you develop gas from them you may want to do on e or all of the following:
1)Once beans are brought to a boil again with the fresh water, at the point they release their foam either skim it all off or pour of that water and add fresh water and bring that to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
2)Add some 'beano' or seaweed to your beans.
3)Increase your intestinal flora with a good probiotic supplement]

6. Season with any non-acidic items [acid makes them tougher and increases their cooking time., it helps enhance the aroma from the beans cooking.

7. Try getting some complementary foods into your menu for that day, like a squash and a grain, It will complete the amino acids needed to make a complete protein your body will benefit from.

Does anyone have something for 'C'

C
Cauliflower - may I just say.......lemon? Rubbing a lemon, or using lemon juice on it helps keep it white.

This vegetable is great even when eaten plain. Now, if you want to nibble at raw cauliflower and dip it in a few things.....that tastes great as well.

You could always boil it, add a little garlic salt or garlic powder to it and mash it up as well. This way you still have the mashed potato feel without all the calories and starch.

D
DATES

Dates can be used in your curries in the place of refined sugar. Just take them and blend them up with coconut milk until they are completely dissolved and use it in your sweet and pungent curry dishes.

It tastes great and adds more fibre to your dish.

E
Eggs

If you can't remember when you bought your eggs, there is a simple test to see if they are still good.

Put the eggs in a bowl of water.

Older eggs will have more air inside the shell, so will float more than fresh eggs.

Egg sinks - fresh
slightly tilts - still good
stands on end - OK, but need to hard cook
floats - throw away

F
FRUIT

All fruit CAN be a dessert. It may even be a healthier dessert than cake, pie, doghnuts, baklava, etc.....

If you want to really indulge, take a small plate and drizzle some chocolate and caramel syrup on it. Place two pear halves on the plate. It looks like a gourmet dessrt from a restaurant (and on the Food Network) Eat and enjoy!

Have a pineapple chopped in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pineapple and mix with melon balls, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Place back into the "boat" shape of the halved pineapple. You know have a fancy looking dessert that is also healthy.

G
Goji Berries:

Dried: they make a great addition to salads, pastas, trail mix, breads, porridge, pancakes, desserts, smoothies, etc.

As a Juice [raw, organic, unpasturized]: they make a great and health promoting addition to ice creams, sauces, fruit juices, sports drinks and other beverages, etc.

As a Health Aid it's been used for:
Acid Reflux; Acne; Allergies; Anemia; Arthritis; Athletic Performance; Back Pain; Blood Pressure; Diabetes; Gout; Headaches; Lupus; Prostate; Etc. to name a few.
For more Reported Uses - click here

To try it - click here.

H = Herbs

Try some in your food. They can be very tasty and if you substitute them for salt - they become even more healthy!

SCARBOROUGH FAIR GREEN BEANS

1 can green beans
1/4 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon each of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

Cook the green beans. Melt the butter and stir in the herbs. Pour over the beans. No salt needed. Serve and enjoy!

Take a look at herbs and their flavors, then experiment!

Try mint with carrots. How about garlic with all beans?
Ever thought about ginger with squash?

I
ICE

Try this one on for size...

Make ice cubes out of your favorite beverages and soups/stews.

When you're wanting to make iced tea, smoothies, slushies, chill or cool down a beverage or soup/stew you add an ice cube of the matching flavor to it and voila! cooler temperature without the dilution of those mouthwatering flavors.

You get the best of both worlds!!!

For a variation on that the next time you're creating an iced tea use an ice cube of a different juice to pop into your beverage. Talk about your gourmet iced tea!

It'll add the right amount of accent flavor to your drink.