how to make comfort food healthier

How to Make Comfort Food Healthier.

Comfort food is delicious in part because it provides relief from anything from cold weather to stress. Though comfort foods can make you feel better in the short term, they can contribute detrimentally to your overall health. Common culprits include dishes that feature high amounts of fat, sodium, and/or sugar. Fortunately, there are some helpful tricks that can help you make some classic comfort foods healthier.

Method 1 Adjusting Classic Comfort Food Recipes.

1. Make homemade mac & cheese. You can reduce the amount of fat and sodium in this classic comfort dish by adjusting of few of its main ingredients. Namely, use 1% milk instead of cream or whole milk, reduce the amount of butter you usually include, and replace some of the cheese with corn starch. Further, use a sharp cheddar cheese, as this will contain less fat.

Opt for whole grain noodles, and make the dish especially flavorful by adding your favorites herbs and spices. Basil and turmeric are especially good seasoning options.

For another great alternative to classic mac and cheese, add two tablespoons of parmesan cheese to a cup of tomato sauce and mix this with the macaroni noodles. This dish will contain much less fat.

2. Use lean meat options. Chili and stews, for example, are other popular comfort foods. To make this type of meat dish healthier, use more vegetables and beans than meat, and opt for poultry instead of beef. If you’re hooked on red meat, select especially lean options, such as bison chuck or grass-fed beef.

A great alternative to a classic sloppy joe recipe calls for ground turkey, a tomato-based sauce made with plenty of veggies, and a whole wheat bread option instead of ground beef on white.

Grass-fed beef has the same amount of fat as skinless chicken, and grass-fed meats have omega-3s.

3. Bake a low-cal casserole. Casseroles are another comfort dish that usually include lots of fat. When baking a casserole, use low-calorie ingredients such as fat-free sour cream and low-fat cheese. Harder cheeses, such as sharp, aged cheddar will generally be lower in fat and can add flavor to many dishes.

When you’re craving casserole, consider baking vegetables such as potatoes and collard greens instead. A dish like this will provide the warmth and sustenance you’re looking for, with much greater nutritional value.

4. Bake chicken instead of frying it. Toss thinly sliced chicken tenderloins in hot sauce and lemon juice and bake them to make healthy hot wings. Dip them in low-cal blue cheese dressing for the complete experience. You can even make faux “fried” chicken by covering the tenderloins in almond flour mixed with coconut oil. Sauté to seal the coating, and bake until the chicken is fully cooked.

5. Opt for healthy soups. Some soups contain surprisingly high amounts of fat and sodium. If a recipe calls for a creamy soup, go with a low-sodium, reduced-fat option. Alternatively, use 60 – 70% of what the recipe calls for, and substitute low-fat milk for the lost liquid.

When craving soup, go for a tomato or broth-based option. Minestrone and vegetable soups are good choices. Always get the low- or reduced-sodium option, when available. Include a salad or whole grain bread with soup to balance your meal and fill you up with healthy fiber.

If you want a meat soup, go for a chicken soup that contains lots of peas, carrots, onions, and/or other vegetables.

Soups are easy to make. Make a large pot at home with low fat-ingredients. Freeze the leftovers and heat them quickly in the microwave for a quick, hearty dish.

Method 2 Keeping Your Sweet Tooth Sated.

1. Savor sweet potato fries. Another comfort food that is especially easy to crave is french fries. When this craving kicks in, go for baked sweet potato fries instead of classic fried french fries. This will significantly reduce the fat and overall calories of your snack.

Slice a sweet potato into sticks or slivers and spread them on a baking sheet coating with coconut oil. Sprinkle a conservative amount of salt and any herbs you favor on top. Bake the fries at 375°F (191°C) for about 20 minutes.

Not only are sweet potatoes healthier than french fries, they make for a relatively healthy dessert as well. Use sweet instead of savory herbs, such as nutmeg and cinnamon.

2. Go for pie filling instead of pie. One of the less healthy components of pie is the crust; however, you can indulge in a pie filling-like custard if a pie craving hits. For instance, combine pureed pumpkin flesh with 1/2 cup low-fat milk, four eggs,2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, and 1 teaspoon liquid stevia (try pumpkin-spice or vanilla flavored). Pour into six greased ramekins and bake at 350°F for 45 – 50 min.

If you miss the crust terribly, sprinkle some crushed graham crackers on your serving to add a bit of crunch.

To make this and other recipes that call for eggs healthier, replace each whole egg with two egg whites.

3. Opt for dark chocolate. Dark chocolate — on its own or in a recipe — can be a great treat. Not only is it delicious, dark chocolate can provide you with healthy antioxidants, and has less fat and sugar. In fact, the darker the better. Go for an option that’s made of at least 70% cocoa.

If cookies are on your minds, use dark chocolate chips. Further, use some quinoa flour and ground flaxseed, and replace some of the sugar in the recipe with a banana.

Method 3 Establishing Some Comfort Food Ground Rules.

1. Season with spices and herbs. You may find that dishes with less fat, sodium, and sugar don’t seem as flavorful; however, you can expand your palate and learn to appreciate the taste of foods more fully by using herbs and spices to bring out flavors.

Experiment with different herbs to find some you favor. Spices are also usually healthy, though make sure a mixed spice isn’t mostly salt.

2. Cut back on cheese. Cheese is one of the most commonly consumed sources of saturated fat, and is high in sodium and calories as well. When a recipe calls for cheese, use a low-fat version. Look for cheeses with less than 3 grams of fat per serving. If you do use full-fat cheese, use less of it than the recipe calls for. Often, half the cheese called for will usually be sufficient.

Sharp cheddar and parmesan are generally decent options. You can also get away with using less of these cheeses more easily, since they are stronger in flavor.

When a recipe calls for cream cheese, use fat-free cream cheese blended in a one-to-one ratio with plain Greek yogurt. This is especially preferable for dips.

3. Eat for comfort less often. If you’re in the habit of eating comfort food frequently, try to cut back. Plan a comfort dish for the end of the week and look forward to it. To prevent cravings for unhealthy food in the first place, eat high-protein, high-fiber meals that are low in sugar. These are the best types of meals to keep you full.

Further, whenever hunger strikes, drink a full glass of water. Often, people mistake thirst for hunger and wind up consuming unnecessary calories.

4. Eat comfort foods as sides. Get in the habit of eating dishes like mac and cheese alongside at least an equal-sized portion of veggies. For instance, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower are easy to steam, and taste great with cheesy or meaty side-dishes. If you prefer, mix veggies directly into whatever less-healthy food you've been dreaming about.

5. Eat smaller portions. When you do indulge in a comfort food of questionable nutritional value, get in the habit of eating smaller amounts. One way to do so is by eating mindfully. Sit down to eat, and focus only on your food. In fact, focus on each bite. Consider how each mouthful tastes and feels. Since this practice itself will calm you down, you’ll feel content more quickly.

November 26, 2019

how we fell in love with sweet potatoes

how we fell in love with sweet potatoes

Over the past decade, according to Kantar Worldpanel, demand for sweet potatoes in the UK has quadrupled. For a while, they mostly came from warmer climes – North Carolina, Israel – but in 2015, farmers in Kent pulled out all the stops to put a UK-grown crop in the supermarkets. That same year, the Office for National Statistics included the sweet potato in the illustrative shopping basket it uses to measure inflation. And last year, consumer research showed most people would opt for a sweet potato side dish over a straight-up potato one. Yet most of us have only begun to plumb those tender, sweet, soulful depths.



First up, sweet potatoes don’t have to be orange. Those Kentish farmers chose to cultivate the familiar red-skinned, flame-fleshed variety, often known as yams in the southern US. But if you have a Caribbean market stall or an Asian grocer nearby, you can probably get hold of something different. There are purple sweet potatoes, white sweet potatoes, yellow sweet potatoes. With the variations in colour come differences in texture, density, flavour and uses.



The food writer Anna Jones recommends coating wedges in polenta before baking – it crisps them up nicely. She serves hers with a chipotle yoghurt dipping sauce. If you want to deep-fry yours, Felicity Cloake cautions that they are best thick-cut, par-boiled (with a little bicarb) and coated in a cornflour paste (she spikes hers with paprika), then rolled in cornmeal.



There is, however, more to sweet potatoes than chips. The Mississippi-born chef Brad McDonald, in his book Deep South, does a smoked pork belly served with a spiced sweet potato casserole topped with pecan praline and Italian meringue. Yotam Ottolenghi mixes them, roasted, with pickled onion, coriander and goat’s cheese as an accompaniment to fish or chicken. Vegans and “clean-eaters”, meanwhile, routinely tout the virtues of the sweet potato just as much as any meat eater.



Depending, of course, on what you load them up with, sweet potatoes are a healthier option than conventional potatoes. They are lower in carbohydrates and calories, and higher in fibre and vitamin A. Their sweetness marries with a host of aromatics – from paprika to cinnamon, thyme to cumin and coriander. And their creaminess suggests all manner of pairings: sour cream, salsa verde, miso, chilli. Nigel Slater steams slices to make a fragrant split orange lentil dal that he serves with fresh coriander. And Melissa Hemsley uses chunks as the base for a lemongrass-infused chickpea and coconut curry. Sweet potatoes also make an excellent starting point for a soup, a stew, a bake or a pie.



The traditional sweet potato pie – a Thanksgiving classic – is made with butter, flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon, encased in shortcrust and served with whipped cream. Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen blog went through a southern food infatuation, as she put it, a few years back, but hankered after something a little lighter for afters. She found it in the Lee Brothers’ buttermilk sweet potato pie – more cheesecake than stodge.



Tanya Harris, of the My Forking Life blog, does a mean vegan take on the trad Jamaican sweet potato pudding using coconut milk, brown sugar and allspice, but forgoing the rum you would find in other recipes. Jamaican sweet potatoes are of the denser kind, meaning the pudding is more cake-like. But even if you only have orange jewel sweet potatoes and have to spoon the resulting bake into a bowl, it will still be delicious.



Then there are the many Japanese sweets to be made with the vegetable. The most popular is a double-baked beauty: sweet potato puree with butter, sugar, cream and egg. A scattering of black sesame seeds on top, and you’re golden.



Mostly though, it’s best to remember that the sweet potato doesn’t need much doing to it to be perfect. It is one of those culinary failsafes, a foil to every kitchen foible. There are vendors in Japan who park vans on street corners and belt out: “Ishi yaki imo”, which means stone-baked sweet potato. That is all they are selling. One bite of the piping-hot tat wrapped in newspaper and you’re sold. You’re going home to rustle up more of the same in a hot, hot oven. Slow-roasting the potato in its skin means the moisture is retained and the sugars in the skin caramelise. As savoury as it is sweet, this is a whole warming meal for cold hands on a winter’s day. And that’s something to sing about.



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recipe definition, food recipe, easy recipe, recipe cake, recipe food simple, recipe food indonesian, food recipe in english, recipe food ragnarok mobile, easy food recipe, comfort food indonesia, dishes recipes, recipe drink, indian recipe, korean recipe, japan recipe, chinese recipe, europen recipe

November 01, 2019

why our hunger is rising rapidly and how to sate it

why our hunger is rising rapidly and how to sate it

I once did an idle poll of all the ways people’s mothers had called them fat and my favourite … well, it was a joint three-way between: “You could eat one more potato than a pig”, “Your brother is slimmer and more handsome, but that’s made him arrogant” and “Darling, you’re at what I would call your winter weight.” Ah, winter weight: is it a real thing or just a caustic critique? It’s both.



Some people don’t get hungrier when the seasons change and think it’s one of those things that happens to women, and bears. Those people are the outliers; they just don’t know it. A drop in ambient temperature increases energy expenditure in both sexes (also in bears). It shouldn’t matter enormously on a basic calories-in-calories-out model, because we’re talking just 150 calories a day. You use extra energy, you eat a banana; this is the smallest inconvenience the change in seasons has to offer, less annoying than having to find your cagoule. However, the human body being somewhat more complicated than a basic book-keeping system, all your appetite hears is the activation. It’s like the Hulk. It doesn’t want to do just one job. It’s a force of nature, not a supplier of goods and services. It wants to burst out of its clothes and keep on going until you, too, have burst out of your clothes.



There’s also a serotonin angle, as the sunlight recedes and your hormonal pathways try to source joy from other places, at which point a banana won’t cut it. And then, of course, there’s a feedback loop. You start by craving refined carbohydrates for a reason, but then you want more cake because you just had cake, as with heroin.



There’s a strong argument that says: who cares? Be your winter weight. And, sod it, while you’re there, why not eat one more potato than a pig? But let’s say you’re one of those people who hates being at the mercy of uncontrollable forces under the skin. There are things to eat in winter that don’t come from Greggs.



The point isn’t that you should eat hot food because it increases your body temperature from the inside. It doesn’t create a little pocket of heat in your stomach that emanates to your extremities for the rest of the day – it’s food, not uranium; the Ready Brek ad was basically mis-selling. But complex carbohydrates take more energy to digest, so will be both satiating and warming, which leads inexorably to the stew or hearty soup.



I start with pearl barley. I’m always bored with it by Christmas and by June I’ve forgotten how to cook it (it’s easy, like rice, only takes four times as long), but in the first cold snap it is powerfully cheering and fills your kitchen with a delicious, heady smell, as if you were living in a 16th-century brewery and will be ready for a massive knees-up in six months’ time. Delia Smith’s One Is Fun – perhaps the most controversial work in her canon, having caused lifelong rifts since the 1980s as friends presented it to each other as a passive-aggressive gift item (“You’re going to be alone for ever, at least eat nice soup”) – has a pearl barley soup of such substance, such rough but pleasing texture (squishy; no, wait, chewy; no, wait, slightly sticky; ah, hang on, also crunchy) and such an ancient vibe – you can taste the centuries of embedded knowledge, one generation passing carrot-wisdom on to the next, back into the mists of time – that while you’re on the first bowl, you feel as though you could eat it every day, for every meal, for ever. This will, unfortunately, turn out not to be true.



I don’t want to bang on about meat, painfully aware of how often I’ve claimed to be nearly vegan and then had a salt-beef sandwich. But the classic stew is barley with lamb, and William Drabble’s recipe is as close to perfect as it gets.



This will all take a lot longer than pasta and someone is sure to bang on about their slow cooker, and how it revolutionised their lives, because suddenly they were chopping onions at 7.25 in the morning and coming home to a delicious meal of very intense onions. I find this a slightly saddening life fix because part of the pleasure of making a stew is feeling that it was your skill – browning it, poking it, going back to have a look at it – that brought it to that point of excellence. Also, all those delicious smells, like a full-house scented candle made of food, except not £65 (there is no stew as expensive as a candle, except cassoulet). It’s better to make it on a Sunday and eat it all week.

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November 01, 2019

how to easy cook arugula

How to Easy Cook Arugula.

Arugula is a sharp, peppery green that can be used in a variety of dishes. Though arugula is best known as a raw ingredient in salads, it can also be wilted and sauteed, used to make soup, or mixed with goat cheese to create a delicious stuffing for your favorite meats.







Method 1 Wilting Arugula.



Ingredients Wilting Arugula.

Water.

Salt.





Put salted water in a pot. Put a few inches of water in the bottom of a large pot. You only need enough to create steam to wilt your arugula. To give your arugula a bit more flavor, add a pinch of salt to the pot of water.



Heat the water to boiling. Place the pot of salted water on a stovetop burner and heat it to boiling. Then, turn the heat down so the water bubbles gently.



Place arugula in a vegetable steamer over the boiling water. If you don’t have a steamer, you can rest a metal colander or strainer inside the pot, making sure the boiling water doesn’t touch it. Use as much arugula as you think you will need. Cover the pot to trap the steam inside.



Wilt the arugula for 2-3 minutes over the water. Allow the arugula to steam for a few minutes, or until wilted to your liking. Then, carefully remove the steamer from the pot of water and serve the arugula.





Things You’ll Need.

Wilting Arugula.

Large pot.

Vegetable steamer or metal colander.









Method 2 Sauteing Arugula.



Ingredients Sauteing Arugula.

Chicken broth.

Onion powder.

Garlic powder.

Pepper.

5 oz. or 150 g of fresh arugula.





Heat chicken broth and spices on the stovetop. Put ¼ cup (60 mL) of chicken broth (you may choose a reduced-sodium variety, if desired), ⅛ teaspoon (0.5 mL) of onion powder, ⅛ teaspoon (0.5 mL) of garlic powder, and a dash of pepper into a frying pan. Stir to combine, and heat the mixture until it boils.



Add arugula to the pan. Mix in 5 ounces (150 g) of washed and trimmed fresh arugula. Make sure the arugula is evenly coated in the broth and spice mixture by using tongs to toss the greens in the liquid.



Stir occasionally and let it wilt. Keep the pan on the burner for another minute or two to allow the arugula leaves to wilt. If needed, add another splash of chicken broth to keep the arugula wet. Stir the mixture occasionally.



Remove the pan from heat and serve the dish. All you need to do now is turn off your burner, remove the pan from heat, and serve the arugula. You can have it as a side dish with a meal, put it on mashed potatoes, or use it as a salad topping.





Things You’ll Need.

Sauteing Arugula.

Frying pan.

Tongs.









Method 3 Making Arugula Soup.



Ingredients Arugula Soup.

4 tablespoons (½ of a stick or 57 g) of unsalted butter.

½ of a chopped onion.

3 sprigs of thyme, with the leaves removed.

1 small Yukon Gold potato, washed, peeled, and cut it into 1-inch (2.54-cm) pieces.

4 cups (1 L) of chicken .

4 cups (1 L) of chopped, wilted arugula.

1 ½ cups (343 mL) of frozen peas, thawed.

1 teaspoon (5.0 mL) of sugar.

Crème fraîche.

Chopped herbs (like tarragon, mint, parsley, or chives).





Melt butter in a pan. Put a medium saucepan on a stovetop burner set to medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons (½ of a stick or 57 g) of unsalted butter and allow it to melt.



Add onion and thyme and cook them for 5 minutes. Add ½ of a chopped onion and 3 sprigs of thyme, with the leaves removed. Stir the mixture and cook it about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.



Add potatoes to the pan and cook them for 2 minutes. Wash and peel 1 small Yukon Gold potato (or ½ of a russet potato), then cut it into 1-inch (2.54-cm) pieces. Stir the potato pieces into the pan and cook them for about 2 minutes, or until the potatoes look chalky.



Mix in broth and cook the potatoes another 8-10 minutes. Pour 4 cups (1 L) of chicken broth (you can use a low-sodium broth if you wish) into the pan. Stir to combine the ingredients, then bring the mixture to a boil. Cook it for 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.



Add arugula, peas, and sugar, then remove the pan from heat. Add 4 cups (1 L) of chopped, wilted arugula, 1 ½ cups (343 mL) of frozen peas, thawed, and 1 teaspoon (5.0 mL) of sugar to the pan. Mix the new ingredients thoroughly into the broth and potato mixture. Remove the pan from heat.



Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, then puree it. Let the heat of the other ingredients soften the arugula for around 10 minutes. Then, pour the mixture into a blender and run it until all the ingredients are smoothly blended. You can season the soup with salt at this point, if desired.



Top the soup with crème fraîche and herbs, then serve it. Pour the soup into serving bowls. Put a dollop of crème fraîche on top of each portion of soup, then add chopped herbs (like tarragon, mint, parsley, or chives), and serve your soup.





Things You’ll Need.

Making Arugula Soup.

Medium saucepan.

Blender.









Method 4 Creating Goat Cheese and Arugula Stuffed Chicken.



Ingredients Goat Cheese and Arugula Stuffed Chicken.

Salt.

Pepper.

4 chicken breasts (totalling 1.5 lbs or 0.68 kg) pounded thinly.

4 oz. (115 g) of trimmed and washed arugula.

4 oz. (115 g) of soft goat cheese, broken into pieces.

1-2 tablespoons (15-30 mL) of butter or olive oil.







Preheat your oven then pound the chicken cutlets thinly. Preheat your oven to 425° F (218° C). To serve four people, use four chicken breasts (totalling 1.5 lbs or 0.68 kg). Place plastic wrap over the chicken breast cutlets. Pound the meat with the smooth side meat tenderizer until you have a thin, even layer.

You could substitute chicken for flank steak in this recipe, as well!



Arrange goat cheese and arugula on the chicken. First, add salt and pepper to your meat to season it. Then, lay the chicken flat and layer arugula and chunks of goat cheese in the middle of the meat.

For four people, 4 oz. (115 g) of trimmed and washed arugula and 4 oz. (115 g) of soft goat cheese, broken into pieces, should suffice.



Roll up the chicken cutlets. Begin with the narrowest end and roll the meat up into a pinwheel, or “roulade.” Wrap the meat with kitchen twine or secure it with toothpicks so they don’t unroll.



Brown the roulades. Put 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 mL) of butter or olive oil in a large non-stick, oven-proof skillet. Heat the butter or oil over medium heat, then add the roulades. Brown them on all sides.



Put the skillet in the oven. Place the skillet in your preheated oven and cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to 165° F (74 ° C). Carefully remove the pan from the oven using a pot holder.



Cover the chicken with foil and allow it to rest. Place aluminum foil over the skillet and seal it semi-tightly. Allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes, then remove the foil and the toothpicks or twine. Cut the roulades into round slices and serve the dish.



Finished.





Things You’ll Need.

Creating Goat Cheese and Arugula Stuffed Chicken.

Non-stick, oven-proof skillet.

Meat pounder.

Toothpicks or kitchen twine.

Aluminum foil.

November 19, 2019