How to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy 4.

Millions Of People Are Better Cooks Today Because They Discovered How To Cook Vegetables!

In my previous blog(s) , I've been talking about how food handling and preparation affects some nutrients.

Holding and Reheating Vegetables

To save time, you may cook and save extra food for later meals, but this reduces nutrients. Reheating cooked vegetables causes more loss of nutrients, especially vitamin C.

The loss of vitamin C in cooked vegetables increases with the time held. You lose about 1/4 after 1 day in the refrigerator as when freshly cooked, about 1/3 after 2 days, etc. Cooked vegetables, reheated after 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator, will have only one third to one-half as much vitamin C as when freshly prepared.

These losses need not cause concern you --if your meals include other, more dependable sources of vitamin C each day.

Be Vitamin-Wise When You Select Vegetables

___ In general, freshly harvested vegetables have more vitamins than those held in storage.

___ Make full use of vine-ripened tomatoes in summer when they are plentiful and inexpensive. Tomatoes vine ripened out-of-doors in summer sunlight have twice as much vitamin C as greenhouse tomatoes in winter.

___ You get several times as much vitamin A from bright orange, mature carrots than from pale colored, young carrots. Even so, young carrots are a good source of vitamin A; choose them if you prefer.

(Incidentally, only 30 to 40 adults a year experience liver toxicity from consuming too much vitamin A. In fact, a vitamin A supplement has never been reported to cause a death—and only a few reversible side effects are reported. Yet, while millions suffer vitamin A deficiencies, the FDA continues to warn adults of vitamin A toxicity.)

___ Choose deep-orange sweet potatoes for maximum vitamin A.

___ Among the vegetables, turnip greens, kale, and collards are good sources of riboflavin and vitamins A and C. Lima beans, peas, and young cowpeas, including blackeye peas, contribute appreciable amounts of thiamin and protein.

___ Peppers are high in vitamins A and C.

___ The dark-green leafy vegetables are richer in nutrients, particularly vitamin A, calcium, and iron, than light-green vegetables.

___ Leaf lettuce has more vitamin A value than pale-green head lettuce. The dark-green, outer leaves of head lettuce are much higher in vitamin A value than the inner leaves. For maximum food value, look for dark green lettuce.

___ Potatoes, although not rich in vitamin C, are a good source of this nutrient when eaten regularly.

___ If the tops of beets are attached and still tender when you buy them, cook them—they are rich in vitamin A value.

Find out more in the next blog(s)! Stay tuned! (To receive this blog automatically, just enter your email address in the little window on the left and click Subscribe. Easy, eh? :)

... STOP! ... Are You Going To Miss Out On This Bargain! (Prices go up Feb 1, 2007.)

For a brief time, you can downloadThe Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' (Acrobat-viewable) for just $2.97 US! Full printable version just $3.97 US. Regular retail price is $49 (for download). (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will be discontinued January 31, 2007!)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook...

...But, The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

If you’re consuming soy products, you should read this series of articles for your health and enlightenment.

Bon Appétit

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.

© 2007 Mike Hayden

How to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy 3.

Millions Of People Are Better Cooks Today Because They Discovered How To Cook Vegetables!

In my previous blog(s) , I've been talking about how food handling and preparation affects some nutrients.

To conserve your vegetables’ maximum food values:

___ Cook only until tender in just enough water to prevent scorching.

___ Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid. The lid helps prevent the escape of steam and vapor so vegetables are cooked quickly in a small amount of water.

The less water you use in cooking, the more food value you retain in the cooked vegetable. This is important to prevent loss of water-soluble nutrients, such as vitamin C, the B vitamins, and some of the minerals.

___ When cooking cabbage, use minimal water – about one-third the amount of cabbage – to retain 90% of the vitamin C. If you use a larger amount – say, four times as much water as cabbage – more than 50% of vitamin C is lost.

So-called "waterless" cooking refers to cooking vegetables in their own juices, plus any water remaining after rinsing. This method doesn’t cook faster nor conserve nutrients any better than cooking quickly in a small amount of water.

___ Boil root and tuber vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, and potatoes) in their skins to retain more vitamins and minerals than by paring and cutting before cooking.

Tests show that potatoes boiled whole in their skins retain practically all of their vitamin C, thiamin, and other nutrients.

___ Bake potatoes and sweet potatoes whole, in their skins, to conserve their nutritive values.

___ Stir-fry vegetables in a frying pan with a small amount of fat or oil. This is a good way to cook quickly while conserving nutrients in succulent vegetables, such as cabbage, summer squash, kale, and collards.

___ Steaming in a pressure cooker is a quick and satisfactory way to cook vegetables—especially potatoes, turnips, and carrots—if you carefully time the cooking period. This is also a practical way to cook the dry legumes, such as dry peas, beans, and lima beans. Prolonged pressure cooking often causes loss of food value.

More in the next blog(s)! Stay tuned! (To receive this blog automatically, just enter your email address in the little window on the left and click Subscribe. Easy, eh? :)

... STOP! ... Are You Going To Miss Out On This Bargain! (Prices go up February 1, 2007.)

For a brief time, you can downloadThe Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' (Acrobat-viewable) for just $2.97 US! Full printable version just $3.97 US. Regular retail price is $49 (for download). (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will be discontinued February 1, 2007!)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook...

...But, The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

If you’re consuming soy products, you should read this series of articles for your health and enlightenment.

Bon Appétit

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.

© 2007 Mike Hayden

A simple nutritious recipe that you'll love

In my previous blog , I continued my discussion about how food handling and preparation affects some important food nutrients.

Today, you'll have a chance to explore the nutritional possibilities of coconut oil and raw honey.

OK, so the Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' is 344 pages long -- without a single recipe. (It's about HOW to cook, not WHAT to cook.) But, just for today I thought I’d pass along one of my favorite snack recipes.

Here’s whatcha NEED :)

___ Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Bread
___ Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
___ Raw Honey
___ Cinnamon

Here’s whatcha DO :)

___ Toast the bread
___ Spread with coconut oil and honey
___ Sprinkle with cinnamon.

If you’re like me, you’ll never go back to regular toast and honey again!You’ll probably need to get your coconut oil and raw honey at your health food store. I buy Ezekiel Bread at Trader Joe's. Ezekiel Bread is made without flour (sludge).

For more information on the healing properties of raw honey, cl!ck the healing properties of honey.

For more information on coconut oil, the smarter fat that helps promote weight loss, cl!ck what oil should you be cooking with, and which should you avoid?

More in the next blog(s)! Stay tuned! (To receive this blog automatically, just enter your email address in the little window on the left and click Subscribe. Easy, eh? :)

... But Wait! ... Are you going to miss out on this bargain! (Soon to be discontinued.)

For a brief time, you can download The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' for just $1.77 US! Printable version $2.77 US. Regular retail $49 (for download). (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will increase in a few days.)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook.

The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

Bon Appétit

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.

© 2007 Mike Hayden

How to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy 2.

In my previous blog , I started a discussion about how food handling and preparation affects some important food nutrients.

I also mentioned that nutrients vary greatly in their stability, and that conservation of vitamin C is often used as an indexto the retention of other nutrients. Methods that protect vitamin C usually protect other nutrients. And, Vitamin C research has produced many improvements in the handling and processing of fruits and vegetables.

Finally, I said you don’t need costly equipment for cooking vegetables or other foods to conserve their nutrients.

Here are some tips for handling and preparing vegetables.
Vegetables - fresh, frozen or canned - provide a year-round source of vitamins C and A. Vegetables also provide several valuable minerals, particularly calcium and iron. Store and cook vegetables with care to conserve food values and flavor.

Trimming Vegetables.
Fresh vegetables usually need some trimming, peeling, or scraping before they are cooked or served to remove damaged leaves, bruised spots, skins and inedible parts.

Different parts of the plant differ in nutrient content. For example, the leafy parts of collard greens, turnip greens, and kale have much more vitamin A than the stems or midribs. If you remove the fibrous stems and midribs, there is little loss of nutrients. Such trimming is worthwhile if it makes the nutritious parts of these vegetables more acceptable to the family.

___ To prevent bruising use a sharp blade when trimming, cutting, or shredding fresh vegetables. Losses of vitamins A and C occur when vegetable tissues are bruised.

___ Use the outer green leaves of lettuce whenever possible. Outer green leaves of lettuce are more coarse than the inner, tender leaves, but are higher in calcium, iron, and vitamin A.

___ In trimming cabbage, remember that both the core and leaves are high in vitamin C.

___ Broccoli leaves are much higher in vitamin A than the stalks or flower buds. If broccoli leaves are tender when you get them home, plan to eat them; keep them cool and moist until you can use them.

Storing Vegetables.
You must properly store fresh vegetables to help conserve their original food values. The time of storage, storage temperature, and humidity affect raw vegetables’ ability to retain nutrients.

___ Refrigerate vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli turnip greens, chard, and salad greens promptly in the vegetable crisper or in moisture proof bags. They keep their nutrients best at near freezing temperature and at high humidity.

___ Do not allow cabbage - a more stable source of vitamin C than most leafy vegetables - to dry out.

___ If you must store cabbage for a few days, wrap it and/or store it in the refrigerator’s vegetable crisper, where humidity is high. Cabbage holds its vitamin C well when stored this way.

___ Leave green peas and green lima beans in their pods to hold their nutrients until ready to use.

___ If green peas are already shelled, store them in plastic bags in the refrigerator.

___ If you buy or pick tomatoes before they turn red, ripen them out of the sun at temperatures from 60° to 75° F to keep their nutrients.

___ Do not ripen tomatoes on a hot windowsill. The bright-red color does not develop when the (ripening) temperature goes above 85°.

___ Do not ripen tomatoes in the refrigerator because they will become soft, watery, and subject to decay.

___ Cover under-ripe tomatoes with a cloth and leave them at room temperature.

___ Ripe, firm tomatoes do not lose much vitamin C, when they’re held in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature for several days. When they become overripe, vitamin C loss is increased.

___ Keep carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other roots and tubers cool and moist to retain their most important food values and to prevent withering.

... more in the next blog(s)! Stay tuned! (To receive it automatically, just enter your email address in the little window on the left and click Subscribe. Easy, eh? :)

... But Wait! ... Are you going to miss out on this bargain! (Soon to be discontinued.)

For a brief time, you can download The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' for just $1.77 US! Printable version $2.77 US. Regular retail for download, $49. (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will increase in a few days.)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook.

The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

Bon Appétit

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.

© 2007 Mike Hayden

How to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy 1.

How to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy. What about pots and pans?

Today, you can choose from a great variety of foods that provide the vitamins, minerals, protein, and other food nutrients needed for good health.

Certain chapters of The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' briefly cover the basics of nutrition, based on "knife ‘n fork technology." Further, bookstores are loaded with nutrition books of all kinds if you wish to pursue the subject.

In this blog, I discuss how your food handling and preparation affects some important food nutrients. I also suggest ways to conserve these nutrients. This information will help you plan and prepare meals for an adequate diet.

Foods differ in their amounts of essential nutrients. Some foods are rich in one nutrient, supplying only small amounts of others. Some foods provide many nutrients.

Nutrients vary greatly in their stability. Some nutrients, such as carbohydrate, are stable during usual handling. Other nutrients, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), are readily lost from some foods. Most vitamin C is water-soluble; air and heat hasten the loss of vitamin C.

Since vitamin C is more easily destroyed than other food values, conservation of vitamin C is often used as an indexto the retention of other nutrients. Methods that protect vitamin C usually protect other nutrients. Vitamin C research has produced many improvements in the handling and processing of fruits and vegetables.

Fortunately, some of the most important sources of vitamin C— citrus fruits and tomatoes—retain this nutrient very well.

Do cooking utensils, pots and pans, make a difference?

You don’t need costly equipment for cooking vegetables or other foods to conserve their nutrients. You can use a utensil with a tight fitting lid (heavy enough to prevent escape of vapor and steam) for cooking with the least added water.

Modern cooking utensils of aluminum, enamel, glass, and stainless steel do not affect the retention of nutritive values of the foods cooked in them. (Long ago, I discarded all uncoated aluminum utensils to prevent aluminum contamination of food.)

In old-style copper utensils, copper directly contacted the food and hastened vitamin C oxidation. However, this does not apply to modern pans with copper-plated bottoms where the inside cooking surface made of another metal.

In the next blog(s), I will discuss how to preserve nutrients in vegetables, fruits and juices, canned and frozen foods, meats, dairy, cereals, etc. Stay tuned!

... Meanwhile ... Don’t miss out on this bargain!

For a brief time, you can download The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' for just $1.77 US! Printable version $2.77 US. Regular retail for download, $49. (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will increase in a few days.)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook.

The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

Happy New Year!

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.

© 2007 Mike Hayden

The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' for $1.77 US!

They LAUGHED when they tasted my special dish!

How I learned to spark excitement with my homecookin' with easy restaurant secrets!

Are you tired of boring meals?
Do you crave some extra mealtime excitement?

Would you like some money-saving restaurant secrets that work at home? (With today's high food prices, you DESERVE more value and pleasure for your food dollar!) It all boils down to this.

Years ago, I discovered some easy restaurant secrets that helped me cook better meals faster! I improved my self-confidence! And, best of all, these secrets helped me take the mystery out of ALL recipes! And now, I spend less time in the kitchen. Much less!

Recently, I got others, both men and women, to try these fascinating secrets at home. And, their letters to me state they cook better and save money now, too.

Maybe you will understand better...
... when I tell you how I discovered how these lip smakin' secrets!

To get you started, I will let you download my Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' for just $1.77 US! Printable version $2.77 US. Regular retail for download, $49. (I've added 248 pages since its first release in 1974!)

(Act now! Ridiculous LOW Price will increase in a few days.)

Print and place The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' in a 3-ring binder and it becomes a GIANT 344-page manual you’ll want in your kitchen (or restaurant).

(Photo taken with my el cheapo .5 mhz "digital pinhole" camera.)

Most "cookbooks" are recipe books that tell you WHAT to cook.
My Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' tells you HOW to cook -- whether you’re wondering how to cook a turkey, how to interpret cooking recipes, how to cook light, how to cook a prime rib, turkey cooking time, how to shop for cooking utensils, pot and pans ... you name it!

Happy New Year!

Mike Hayden
Slightly Famous Author of
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'.