Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Benefits of Steaming Your Food with an Electric Steamer

Electric Steamers And The Many Benefits Of Steaming Foods


One of the easiest to use and versatile appliances in the kitchen is an electric steamer. You can find electric steamers under other names such as rice cookers and food steamers. Either way using a steamer to steam vegetables or your rice is a great and easy way to prepare delicious meals.

When cooking vegetables in a traditional way, in a pan on a stove, you can sometimes end up with mushy and pale Looking vegetables. Often the water you cook the vegetables in carries more nutritional value than the actual vegetables you have cooked. The water absorbs all the vitamins and minerals that the vegetable is known to carry. When cooking such vegetables with a pan on the stove, we tend to overcook them until they are pale and soft in texture. If you use a steamer to cook your vegetables it will prevent overcooking from taking place. Using an electric steamer water is evaporated through a valve, leaving you with beautifully cooked, nutritious and succulent vegetables.

Cooking rice perfectly is a skill in its own right and a difficult one to master that! It's not uncommon to get impatient while waiting for the rice to be cooked properly and completely tender when using traditional methods. Sometimes you can even scorch the bottom of the pot and give the rice a burnt taste. Using an electric steamer to cook rice means you cook it to perfection every time because most of them come with built-in timers. Everything is taken care of for you leaving you with delicious, tender rice.

You may be surprised to know that it is possible to cook a whole meal in one of these electric steamers. This proves to be a time saving practice because you can put all the ingredients in at once and cook them together, using the inbuilt timers means you can sit back and relax.

Sometimes you can end up purchasing large electric steamers if it suits your family life better. These steamers often come with baskets which keep foods separate. This means you are able to cook more than one food at the same time. Electric steamers are incredibly practical and healthy to use and I'm sure the more you use your electric steamer to more uses you will find for it.

If you are interested in purchasing an electric steamer, why not have a look around for some cookbooks which are designed give you some imaginative and creative ways to cook delicious, succulent, and healthy food. A good place to start is Amazon.com as there are many books available very cheaply there. Alternatively you also many websites dedicated to the subject.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daryl_M_Friend

Friday, February 27, 2015

Soda Makers for the Home - Easy Homemade Soda Drinks

Home Soda Maker - Drink Healthy and Save Money 

You must have heard the popular Bon Jovi song "Cross border they turn water into wine. Some say it's the devil's blood squeezing form the vine." Well, you don't have to drive across the border or squeeze devil's blood to have a drink anymore. Now you can have your very own soda maker to make soda and sparkling water or Seltzer at home.

With a home soda maker, you can turn your ordinary tap water into sparkling water in no time. You can also make your own soda healthy ways. A soda maker is not only convenient but also can be very economical as you are just paying for the ingredients and not for fancy bottling, marketing and advertising, or distribution.
 
Lot of health conscious people refrain from drinking soda as it has lot of calories from sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Since you will be making your own soda at home, you decide the ingredients you want to use. Instead of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, you can use zero calorie sugar substitutes which will work out great if you are watching your calories.

 
Lot of us are environment conscious these days and big supporters of green living. With bottled or canned soda, you will need to worry about recycling. Depending on where you live, your area might not even offer you recycling options for your soda bottles or cans. With home soda makers, there is no need to worry about the environment any more. No bottles or cans meaning no need to recycle anything.
 
Using a home soda maker is lot easier than you think. All soda makers these days come with complete instructions to get you started. Some even come with starter packages containing bottles or containers to store the soda, carbonators, soda recipes, wide range of flavors, etc. With the starter pack, you can get into making your own soda in no time.
 
If you are wondering how much it cost to make a bottle of soda, you would be delighted to know that a bottle of soda made using a home soda maker can cost you as little as $.10 compared to $1.50 average store price. So you can see that making your own soda will save you a lot of money if you are a soda drinker.
 
If you open a store bought 1 liter or 2 liter soda bottle, you know you will have to drink the whole bottle after opening it. If you lay it aside after drinking a cup or so, then the rest of the soda will go flat giving you no taste at all. Therefore lots of sodas get wasted all the time. With home made soda, there is no waste as you only make as much as you need to drink.
 
With a soda maker, you can add your own flavor, be innovative in making alcoholic drinks, or even impress your friends and family in a party. If you are a soda drinker, then there is no reason for you not to try out a home soda maker.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Mills


Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Why Buy an Electric Vegetable Steamer?

Top Reasons to Buy an Electric Vegetable Steamer

Most of us are more than aware that we should eat more vegetables and everyone knows that boiling vegetables does away with a tremendous amount of nutrients in the vegetables.

Click Here to Learn More About This Hamilton Beach Electric Vegetable Steamer!


On the other hand, using an electric vegetable steamer to steam them will make them look better, cook better, and also taste better than boiling them.

Look at broccoli for instance. It normally has a good-looking dark green color with a lot of firmness, but boil it and it will lose its healthy color as well as turn spongy and mushy. Consider cauliflower - it will have its firm white flowers turn to a dingy creamy yellow as well as wilt into mush when it's boiled.

Beautiful cabbage will turn from green and be rendered into an almost white and may even unfortunately sometimes turn pink. And look at what gorgeous white kernel corn turns into when you boil it - off-white. And then there's poor asparagus! It will lose much of its green color as well as turn to mush when boiled.

While it is highly unfortunate, for some reason many people overcook the vegetables, which takes away their jam-packed nutrition as well as their taste. Truly, vegetables do not need to be cooked to the consistency of mush. Instead their texture should be rendered firm, yet tender enough to chew easily. The longer they are cooked, the more nutrition as well as flavor they will lose.

Realistically, the color that a vegetable has will actually represent its nutritional content. Thus when its natural color is vanished, that is an indication that the nutrition is lost as well.

Consider however, that steamed vegetables using an electric vegetable steamer will retain most of the nutrients within, allowing them to cook to a firm yet thoroughly delightful tenderness. Steamed vegetables in addition to having a firm texture and a richer color also have so much more flavor.

Considering the minor investment of proper electric vegetable steamers, you too can enjoy vegetables in the manner that they were meant to be enjoyed. Steamed Broccoli for instance, will be a healthy, firm green as well as retaining its full rich flavor.

Cauliflower will have its bright white color, and even cabbage will remain green, and be a bit firm, but not crunchy. Carrots are delightful when they retain the bright orange color as well as being sufficiently tender enough to effortlessly eat, yet still remain firm and fresh.

To put it briefly, you will find that vegetables cooked in an electric vegetable steamer will look better, have additional nutrition, taste better and are infinitely better for you. Truth be told, boiling is a true waste of nutrition, and good food should not ever be wasted. Thus, it stands to reason that when you boil your vegetables, then pour the pot liquor into the drain, you are wasting flavor and nutrition. Most electric vegetable steamers are not expensive at all, are easy to use and clean up easily. The benefits are that finally you can serve vegetables as they should be served - colorful, wholesome and nutritious.

Buy a vegetable steamer [http://www.microwavevegetablesteamer.com/] and learn why it is the best way to steam vegetable.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_F

 

 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

3 Tips for Green Smoothie Success (For Beginners)

Three Tips for Green Smoothie Success (For Beginners)


If you just learned about green smoothies, you may be excited to try them out. Green smoothies all the rage these days, and for a good reason: they are super easy to make and super tasty.

However, you still need to know some basic rules to make your smoothies a success. If you don't, you may be disappointed and become discouraged quickly, before they become a part of your life.

So here are my top three tips for green smoothie success (for beginners):

Green Smoothie Success Tip #One: Be Aware of Strong Tasting Greens

First of all, when you're just starting out, don't use really strong tasting ingredients, such as mustard greens, cabbage, Swiss chard, parsley or watercress. Even though these ingredients are super healthy, if you add too much of them to a smoothie, it may become unpalatable, so it's best to avoid them altogether, at least initially. I find that the best ingredients for beginners are baby greens (such as spinach, lettuce, or arugula), celery stalks (see the tip below about the best blenders to buy), and lots of sweet, juicy fruits.

Green Smoothie Success Tip #Two: Buy the Best Blender for Your Green Smoothies That You Can Afford

If you don't have a high power blender, such as Vitamix or Blendtec, you may want to avoid really tough greens and vegetables, such as kale leaves or celery stalks, as your blender may not be able to handle the challenge, and you'll end up with a smoothie with lots of tough chunks. That's definitely not what you want!

Start with baby greens, such as baby spinach, and make sure you blend your greens first with the liquid until very smooth. Another option is to add green powders to your smoothies.

However, if you are really serious about green smoothies, my advice is to invest in a high-end blender. You'll be able to use it for much more than just smoothie making machine; plus, even though it's more expensive, it will last for many more years or heavy use. Think of it as an investment in your health and how much you'll save on doctor's bills.

Green Smoothie Success Tip #Three: Mask the Color with Blueberries

If someone in your home objects to the green color of the smoothie, you may add some blueberries or black berries to mask the color. The resulting color may not be the prettiest, but it will not be green. Or try serving it an opaque glass and serve it with a straw.

If you are looking for easy recipes of green smoothies for beginners, plus to try some of the smoothie recipes (such as this FANTASTIC peanut butter banana smoothie) visit my site, GreenReset-com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joanna_Verdan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8121736

Friday, February 6, 2015

Gaggia 1003380 Accademia Espresso Machine

Gaggia 1003380 Accademia Espresso Machine

Rise through the ranks with the Gaggia Accademia, a smartly appointed super automatic espresso machine, whose charming good looks and responsive performance are sure to earn it place at the top of its class.

Click Here to Learn More About the Gaggia 1003380!

With a contemporary stainless-steel front panel, durable metal frame, and a bright display, the Accademia embodies refined design aesthetics. Anchored by one-touch, programmable push-button controls for espresso, hot water and milk outputs, the Accademia dispenses perfect beverages on demand.

Just select your desired beverage from one of seven dedicated buttons capable of delivering the following drinks: espresso, caffe, caffe lungo, cappuccino, latte, Latte macchiato and hot water.