Thursday 11 September 2014

Good Lunch Tips With Margarine

Packing sandwiches for your lunch break or kids' midday energy boost can seem like a challenge, especially when you're trying to keep it healthy and interesting. But never fear! Here are some great tips on how using healthy margarine in your lunches can help keep you and your family happy and well.

When lunches are dull it's tempting for the kids to sneak off to the local fast food restaurant around the corner, or even the sweet shop. Using margarine as a spread in your everyday sandwich is an enticing incentive to get munching and is a great way to ensure your kids are getting some extra goodness into them at school.

Margarine is high in the good fats our body need, but can't make by itself such as omega 3 and 6. It also contains extra vitamins such as A and D, for healthy eyes and bones.. Furthermore, it has less saturated fats than butter and only traces of trans fats. Simply making some basic changes in your eating habits could have a major impact on your lifestyle as well as making sure your little ones are getting more of the goodness they need.

Replacing your mid-afternoon chocolate bar with a healthy snack, such as fresh vegetables with hummus and a thick slice of bread lightly spread with your favourite margarine blend is the ideal way to beat the blues and to avoid that sugar crash we've all come to expect at 3.00 in the afternoon! Swapping the kids' crisps for cereal bars for healthy margarine-and-jam sandwiches is a good way to keep their energy up and their tummies full.

But lunches aren't always about sandwiches. In the winter it can be such a treat to heat up a bowl of fresh, home-made soup. There are oodles of recipes that'll do just the trick, such as creamy leek and potato soup with a bit of a difference.

Vegetarian and margarine lover Kim shared her day healthy, home-cooked food with us and her Turnip Greens and Caramelised Onion lunch recipe from My Recipes is just divine:

Just melt 2 teaspoons of margarine over medium-high heat. Add 4 cups of sliced onion then sauté for about 7 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ a teaspoon of pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 20 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring frequently. Remove onion mixture from the pan and set aside. Place a pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Gradually add you 2lbs of chopped turnip greens, and cook until wilted, stirring frequently. Add onion mixture to turnip greens and stir gently. If you're feeling daring you could try a dash of hot pepper sauce to add excitement!

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Travel to Asia by Learning to Cook Their Meals

Imagine if you could explore the tastes of Asia without going on a plane ride, wouldn't that be amazing? You know what's extra amazing? Knowing how to do it without booking a single reservation in a restaurant. That's the advantage of knowing how to cook Asian dishes, you get to experience the exotic flavors of these countries, and you're doing it in the convenience of your own home. Admittedly, learning to cook Asian meals can be quite intimidating. To begin with, you are not used to working with their usual ingredients and spices. The exotic flavors can be quite daunting for you, so it is truly important to enroll yourself in a cooking class that specializes in this.

Learn how to cook Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Chinese and Indian. Asia is a continent filled with rich cultures and a variety of cuisine, you will definitely enjoy learning about the different meals and exploring the flavors of all four countries offered in the course.

Take a trip to Japan and enjoy the delicious taste of their freshly-made dishes. If you are not convinced, keep in mind that Japan has more Michelin-starred restaurants as compared to other countries. That accounts for something, right? Since Japanese cuisine is quite diverse, you will learn about several dishes from this country.

Naturally, you will start with sushi, which is one of their more popular dishes. Learn how to make sushi with different ingredients. Next you will learn how to make a nice Japanese pancake. Do not be misled, this "pancake" is more than your typical pan-flipped, breakfast pancakes. You can also try your hand with cooking chicken, which are Japanese steamed dumplings.

You can enjoy the flavors of Thailand by learning how to prepare their traditional Thai dishes such as Panda n leaf fried chicken and the like. You can also experiment by trying Thai hawker food which includes their famous hot sour soup.

Learn how to create Vietnamese noodles, and top it off with delicious spring rolls and grilled chicken. This fusion of sweet, sour and spice flavors will leave you craving for Vietnamese food all the time.

Finally, learn to cook Indian dishes. If you think Indian food is complicated, you will soon find out that once you get the hang of it, it is quite easy to prepare. Learn how to use those traditional Indian spices, by cooking classic dishes such as Chickpea Curry, Punjabi Fried Bread and the ever-faithful Tandoori Chicken. You will also learn to create an authentic Punjabi Butter Chicken dish, samosas and an Indian Tamarind Chutney. You will be blown away by the explosion of flavors that Indian dishes are well-known for.

Once you've completed this Asian cooking classes, you can now enjoy Asian cuisine any time you want to. It will now be a great time to invite your friends for a night of feasting on Asian dishes. It's a great way to show off your newly-learned kitchen tricks, and of course, the perfect way to enjoy great food.