Recipes, Food Tips, Healthy Eating & More

@jakedduck1

It’s a durable pan that can take some abuse but NO nonstick pan is completely foolproof if you use too high a heat…or any pan for that matter except cast iron. Using too high a heat may be why your food sticks. I only use a high heat on my cast iron pans. You should be able to cook without oil or butter for most things and I would avoid the spray oils on a ceramic pan as they don’t spread evenly. I am personally not a fan of them so easy going there Leonard. Turn down the heat …it make take a little longer but with better results. I think it is oven proof too. Let us know what you make.

FL Mary

@imallears
Thanks Hurricane. Next time I cook which hopefully won't be too soon I think I'll attempt some chicken stir fry. I recently made some lentils and froze most of them so cooking shouldn't be necessary for a while. Warming up is bad enough.
Jake

Like you, I am interested in healthy cooking and healthy eating. I found this Mayo article to have some very good ideas. I really like the idea of steaming veggies while you are cooking other foods, also I didn't know you could preserve cut potatoes in the refrigerator in cold water. Will you let me know what you have learned?

Hello All:

As the holiday eating usually starts on Thanksgiving and proceeds through the New Year, I'm thinking that many of us may start suffering from indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems. If that describes you, here is an article from Mayo Clinic on how to avoid that. Just click on the link,

As winter approaches, I'm wondering how our eating habits change. Mayo Clinic recently posted an article and video on the topic of healthy winter foods and provided some great soup ideas and recipes. Here is the link,

What are your plans for winter eating? Any recipes you would like to share?

Holiday Hearts.
You might think that this post should be in a cardiology discussion, however, a holiday heart can happen if anyone overindulges in alcohol, caffeine, or the stress that is often part of the holiday celebrations.

If I've piqued your interest, read the following Mayo article about the "Holiday Heart."

@jakedduck1
Mediterranean Sea Bass
Flash Fried over greens, fingerling potatoes and beans.
Had to share the before and and after pictures
FL Mary

@imallears
“Had to share the before and after pictures”
NO, YOU DIDN'T!! Especially at my dinner time. Jeez, and I was just barely getting used to the octopus.
How can you look at it let alone eat it? That UGLY fish brought back a horrible memory of a Julia Child episode. She had a fish ready to serve and it's mouth was still moving. I sure am grateful my taste buds are “un-adventurous and “un-sophisticated.”
Nightmares for me tonight.
Jake

@jakedduck1

I admit that the fish was ugly looking. Should have sent you a picture of the limoncello cheese cake with the strawberry drizzle…or the chocolate martini my daughter had. The garlic rolls were gigantic and dripping with melted butter. Those are complimentary along with a family size salad with chickpeas, diced beets and diced tomatoes.
Had to watch the tiny bones….so what’s cooking? Been reading food labels on more things lately and was aghast at some of the spices in my cabinet….too much sugar in this country and additives that other countries have banned.

FL Mary

FL Mary

Because I simply learned to cook from scratch, I've always done it, at least most of the time. By the time I married my second husband (now nearly 40 years ago), he was an insulin dependent diabetic, so cooking from scratch became even more important, to avoid sugar, salt, and fat, as well as to provide the proper amounts of meat, veggies, fruit, and carbs at specific meals. Later, we had our own business, and he worked exclusively for one client, a boat manufacturer, primarily selling boats. That included nine trade shows every winter: loading two boats and trailers onto a big trailer, plus a third boat and trailer on top of the pickup he was driving/towing the big trailer with. Generally, each week was driving most of a day, and setting up, followed by four 12-hour days selling boats and then a shorter 8-hour day that ended by packing up and driving for at least a couple of hours. The week ended with a day driving the rest of the way home, and loading up to leave the next morning. The shows took place Jan-March, and most of the people, exhibitors and the crowd, were sneezing and coughing. Due to his diet requirements, I precooked dinners and sent them plus fixings for breakfast and lunch--no show food at all. During the last few years he did shows, he only had about 30% kidney function, plus the brittle diabetes, but he never, ever had even a sniffle. Neither of us can remember the last time we had a cold, let alone the flu. We never had flu shots, just didn't ever get sick.

Recently, one of the treatments for Covid is a med that helps to achieve the proper balance of bacteria in the gut. Now, I'm wondering if avoiding prepared foods with lists of various chemicals didn't maintain healthy guts for us. Many of the chems in foods are there to avoid spoilage, so it makes sense that they might interfere with the natural bacteria that are supposed to be present in our guts. Since Covid, there was also a forest fire near our little town, so I've not only done my usual volunteer work of feeding homeless people, but did fire relief for over a year in addition. In spite of Covid, I was out and about almost every day. Sometimes, right after the fire, all we could do was give someone a hug, ignoring the rules about social distancing. For the past several months, my husband has been out in public to attend fly fishing club meetings and tying sessions. Yes, we have been careful about masking, but, even so, neither of us has contracted Covid. I really believe that avoiding additives in processed foods is a BIG DEAL.