Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog
Meat has long been blamed for a lot of diseases besetting mankind. There is ongoing debate of whether humans should be avoiding it all-together or merely minimizing consumption of it. There are scientific findings that go both ways. One of the most interesting point made with regards to the topic is that eating meat per se  is not the main culprit but the actual amount consumed by a person and the manner of preparation of the meat dish.
When we speak of unexpected snacks, it is in reference to the unexpected use of the main ingredient or its manner of preparation. While some of the snack foods listed below may be strange to the rest of the world, they can be treasured delicacies from their places of origin. Let us try looking into the top three on the list.
Learning to speak a foreign language can be difficult. It is not unheard of as a strategy to incorporate the learning of a skill with language learning. Learning Thai or German or French or any other foreign language can be made a lot easier when taught in conjunction with a cooking class for example.
So let us see why learning Thai can be a lot easier through a cooking class.
A classroom atmosphere all throughout can put much pressure on students learning a new language. When there is much pressure, there is always the tendency for actual learning to suffer. Infusing the element of fun removes the focus on the hard task of sentence structures. Most would agree that learning to cook foreign cuisine is enjoyable and interesting.
A Thai class on cooking will not fail to target as well the study of the language. As cooking instructors explain the ingredients and the procedure, there will be a need to provide the English translation and equivalent. In this way, the learning of both the language and the cooking skill occurs in one effort. The phasing of learning is much faster since it is being done while performing an actual task. The power of association is very strong as foreign words are related to specific things or actions.
The advances in teaching technology of one can be shared and applied to the other. As more and more people are losing their drive to learn a foreign language,  there is a corresponding need to encourage them to learn. A good example of this is online learning. We know for a fact that online learning has made it possible to learn from home and not be bothered with having to ensure physically attending  a class. At the end of the day, it will all boil down to how strongly motivated people are with learning.
Some would rather learn in a straightforward manner in school. Others do so with a little bit of entertainment and fun. The important thing is that options are available when needed. Not everybody will start and end on the same level of language learning.
With Halloween just around the corner, children are getting all excited about dressing up and getting delightful treats. In your own home, you can make your own Halloween goodies that your children will surely love. Don’t be surprised  if they’d rather not go trick-or-treating since the treats you have at home are more than enough to fill their tummies and senses.
Are you a man struggling with infertility? Did you know how important eating the right foods was to making a baby?
A healthy diet can have a big impact on improving a man’s infertility. A study conducted by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine showed that nutrition plays a huge role in the production of a healthy sperm count. The study revealed that 83% of men with a low sperm countdid not eat enough vegetables and fruits.
The Society found that when men improved their diet, their sperm count improved too.
So the message is clear, if you are a man struggling to conceive eat more fruit and vegetables.
Below are some of the best fruit and vegetables to improve a low sperm count.
Red peppers, carrots, dried apricots
These are all rich in Vitamin A. Deficiencies in vitamin A in men have been linked to lowered fertility due to sluggish sperm. The vitamin A in these foods can help grow healthy sperm and improve male fertility.
Green Salad and Spinach
The folic acid found in leafy-green vegetables such as lettuce and spinach can lessen the chances of damaged and sperm agglutination (or clumping), which decreases sperm motility. Eat in conjunction with foods high in vitamin C to help absorption.
Oranges, cooked tomatoes, and strawberries
These foods are particularly high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, and is thought to prevent low sperm count by decreasing harmful free radicals which can cause damage to sperm. Antioxidants can help protect sperm, ensuring that the maximum number of healthy sperm is available for ejaculation.
Asparagus
In just five spears of asparagus, your body gets 100 mcg of folate. Research has found that folate plays a role in producing healthy sperm in men. Asparagus is also packed with glutathion and rutin which are two powerful antioxidants which will combat free radicals.
Wasting food is so not cool in this time and age where many people are going hungry. Homemakers should always be thinking of ways to lessen if not eliminate food wastage. This does not mean however that you will be feeding your family with the same reheated dish for one week on a row. You need to get those creative juices working and come up with delectable food creations out of food leftovers.
Here are three surprising creations you can make from your food leftovers:
One of the most common household food leftover is white rice. Fried rice can be done in three easy steps. It can also become an all-in-one food dish containing your favorite meat and vegetable ingredients. Notice the Christmas garnishing shown in the image above.
1. Heat wok in high heat then put in oil.
2. Stir in ingredients as follows: meat. vegetables, egg, leftover white rice
3. Season with salt, soy sauce, or any other preferred seasoning then serve hot.
You really should not take what is seemingly an ordinary-looking bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup for granted. You can use this basic recipe to create your own soup wonder by adding in special ingredients to your liking. First, we need to take care of the leftover chicken in your fridge.
1. Saute celery and onion in butter or margarine in a large stock pot.
2. Add water and bouillon cubes ( although chicken stock saved and frozen from previous cooking is better), leftover chicken, carrots, marjoram, black pepper, bay leaf, and parsley and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Add egg noodles and let simmer for another 10 minutes and serve hot with desired top  garnishing.
You can make your own version of the delectable Irish potatoes shown above using your leftover mashed potatoes. They can be made sweeter to serve as desserts. In food presentation, you have the choice of putting candied potatoes in paper cups such as the one shown above or artfully piled up in a single serving plate.
1. Mix together about 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/8 cup of butter or margarine, and 1/8 cup  of milk then add just enough confectioners’ sugar to make the dough stiff.
2. Form into balls and roll in choco-cinnamon-powdered sugar mixture.
3. Keep chilled until before serving.
Just remember to try anything with your leftovers. You may just get the best culinary surprise of your life.
Comfort food is usually associated with two things – good memories and calorie-rich food. The fear in taking in so much comfort food has nothing to do of course with the warm memories of childhood days but with those food that brings instant gratification to the body because of its richness in texture, flavor, and calories. To my mind however, indulging one’s self with comfort food once in a while is not a bad thing. In fact, it can be a means to gaining positive feelings at a time when it is most needed.
Nothing beats the old-fashioned goodness of a perfectly moist carrot cake with a rich cream cheese frosting. The depth of the flavors and spices is an amazing taste to behold, making this classic dessert a favorite of many. We can feel good about the fact that we’re also eating our vegetables when we have a piece of carrot cake, but that doesn’t really matter does it? We eat it because it’s delicious.
Below are some tips to help you make the very best carrot cake you possibly can: [Read more…]
Fall is a great time to dust off the crock pot to make some delicious slow cooked treats for your family. Not only are crock pot desserts delicious, they are so easy to make too, with the crock pot doing all the work for you. Here are some favorite apple dessert recipes that you can make in your crock pot for fall. [Read more…]