Food waste--- Problem post and Chitika Ad

People lack to realize that much food is gone to waste. Some without even being opened. Food expiration dates and managing consumption of food while eating left overs is important.
Some sources of food waste starts where most people don't know about at home.

• Planning poorly 
• It's common that some people buy too much food at the store and don't make the food in time before it goes bad.
• Making too much.
• Food is usually wasted when someone makes too much for any given sitting and meal. Then the food is tossed in the garbage. An easy alternative is keeping left overs.

The results can bring a large amount of food to the land fills. Food waste can impact the world's health as much are material trash can. Too much food consumption calls for more food to be produced. This increases and leaves a carbon imprint and a loss of more land to farmings. People could take unwanted canned foods to shelters for people in need of food. Balancing food and production is essential to harness. Ensuring people at home regulates how much food is being made it tough because it's an individual effort. At the market, buy what is needed for the week. Make food preparation meals and plans to consume the food bought in order to maintain waste. Cutting back on food footprints is not an easy task. Recycle your food so that left over are eaten in a timely manner.

This will in time save money and reduce the amount of food wasted. 

Inspirational cooking ideas post and Chitika Ad

Cooking is easy once you get the hang out it. Many people tend to shy away from home cooking, but these meals I can tell you will want you cooking and baking in the kitchen daily.

Chicken and vegetable stir fry- can be done in thirty minuets.
making stir fry from 100 percent scratch is neat and easy. Get a hold of a lot of veggies and a stir fry sauce. Of course chicken too and maybe a lime for some zest.
Some tips to make it

• Get a big wide pan to hold all the ingredients 
• Always cook the chicken breasts first before the vegetables.-- Always a good idea to make sure the meat is almost done before adding the veggies
• Add your spices and herbs, limes 
• Add your sauces at the end-- once the food is hot and ready, stir in the sauce

Kale and bean salad

• This seems pretty straight forward but some people can still mess it up. Don't do that, here is a good lesson on how to prepare the salad. 
• For the base use rare Kale leaves. Use white beans for more protein and toss in some walnuts. Get yourself a lemon to squeeze over the top. Pick and healthy dressing like tahini. Then mix it all up! Simple and healthy. Toss in some sea salt too!!

Other food and dishes that might spark inspiration are:

• Lemon baked spaghetti squash with chicken
• Homemade tater tots
• Oven roasted Vegetables
• Fudge brownies from scratch 
• Homemade banana bread
• Apple crisp 

Healthy Diets to Junk Diets --- Comparison

Here I'll explain  healthy diets to a junk food diets. This is a simple comparison that should not be difficult to retain knowledge from. The first step in a healthy living is knowing what is good for your body to consume. Sadly many times over, junk food wins when there is a choose to be made. Typically junk food is cheaper to buy at a grocery store too.

The healthy food list I would considers is:

• Seaweeds and sea vegetables
• Fresh leafy greens
• Raw nuts and seeds
• sprouts
• cold pressed extra virgin oils
• Fresh fruits and vegetables

An unhealthy food list are typically:

• Refined white sugar
• high fructose corn syrup
• aspartame
• Addictive substance such as MSG or other chemicals that enhance taste
• Processed fats and oils 
• Processed White foods like bread and pasta. 

These are 10 comparisons between Healthy and Junk food.

1. The Health Benefits. 
           The risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other health problems is higher with people who have typically a unhealthy diet.

2. Calories intake are different levels. 
          Being aware of calorie intake in important. There is a significant difference between junk food calories and healthy meal calories.

3. Cost factors 
   Healthier food tends to break the wallet a little more than junk food does. 
4. Sugar levels are different 
   Eating sugar is bad all over, but it's much more present in unhealthy foods.
5. Nutrients 
   Eating healthier foods will get you much needed vitamins and minerals for your body.
6. Fat differences
   Unhealthy foods are high in sodium, calories and especially fat. Not good fat either.
7. Sodium levels
   A high amount of sodium is detrimental to your body's health. Junk food is high in sodium levels which won't do you any good.
8. Bad carbohydrates in junk food.
  It's important to know from good carbs and bad carbs.
9. Maintaining a healthy weight level
   Don't consume food that are high in sugar and fat if you want to retain your weight levels.
10. Proteins are either good or bad.
   Protein is usually viewed by people as generally good, but some are bad and present in most junk foods. 

Richard Branson-- Prediction on future food.

Richard Branson, a billionaire business mongol has recently made a prediction on the production of food in the near future.
"I believe that in thirty years or so we will no longer need to kill any animals and that all meat will either be clean or plant-based, taste the same and also be much healthier for everyone" - Richard Branson.

Branson is in the group of a variety of rich and influential investors that envision a very different food system that we unsustainable, and that changes are coming whether we like it or not. This might as well get on board sooner than later. Which is why they're backing companies that promise to tantalize tastes of foods and buds while removing animals from the equation.
Bill Gates is also among rich influences who have recently supported clean-meat company Memphis Meats by giving $17 million. 
Memphis Meats is a string of sustainable food companies that have raised an impressive amount of capital in the past few years. Some people might argue that Richard is making strong proclamations to support and retain his investments.
Some foods people might be eating in the future is not what many might expect.
Bugs may be more abundant in your meal in the near future. Bugs such as crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms. Bugs are already relevant in many foods that we just don't know of. They actually taste good if prepared well.
Lab grown meat is up and coming like Branson and others are attempting to produce. Scientists at Memphis Meat are looking to achieve healthy synthetic meat. Their process uses stem cells from animal tissue.
Cultured meat would involve 7 to 45 percent lower energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions that normal production today. This won't be in effect for probably another ten to twenty years before we see mass production of synthetic meat.
Farming fish may also be a production of the future. As fishing in the oceans increases and takes away from natural fishing reserves.

There are ethical reason not to eat meat such as cows, goats, and pigs but humans do like flesh, and there's at least one writhing option that might be better is fish.
Over fishing is a major concern but a recent study found that farming fish is a sustainable practice. But fish contain a lot of protein essential to humans. Fish stocks in thirty years might be all from farming.
If people are growing meat in a lab, why not grow fish too. Nasa actually made fish fillets for their astronauts. The process used by the fake meat company maker as well. New wave foods is an other company who is looking into making up synthetic shrimp derived from algae. 


 Branson

synthetic food

Cook book -- review

I have one cook book at home, it's called Easy Gourmet by Stephanie Le.
This had be in my kitchen cooking all day, for a myself and to impress a woman I was having over later that week. I actually found the book when I moved in to my current home. It had been left behind by a past resident who I believe was an elderly lady, or my friend after her. Anyway, I looked up some recipes and ran off to the store for the essentials.
You might be just getting into your cooking endeavors or you might be a seasoned chef. Nevertheless, this book will inspire you.
 Some recipes I try to perfect out of this book is

• Spaghetti and Meatballs on page 40 
• Scallop Fried Rice, page 62
• Seafood Pappardelle, pg 58
• Pea and Bacon Riscotto, pg 38
• Sweet and Spicy Chicken, pg 87 
• Pulled Pork, pg 88
• Chicken Pot Pie Bun, pg 168
• Double Almond Cookies, pg 218

This cookbook is a little bit of everything, which I love. It's straightforward and the range is from breakfast and pasta to seafood and meats. She breaks down each meal step by step so that whoever is is making a meal from it, they can make the dish the same as everyone else. If you are the type of eater who likes chicken and waffles, this is a good place for you. I'd also enjoy if anyone gets all kind of food in this cookbook that isn't dainty food. I'm talking about American classics with an unexpected twist, comfort foods with an upgrade. She has solid Asian foods, and some odd desserts like London Fog Tea Cake or Figs and Cheese-Cheesecake. 

To provide more of an idea of the types of meals Steph has in her book, she love buttermilk fried chicken and waffles. As well as lemony bone marrow pasta, maple-rolls, glazed duck with Sriracha carrots, shrimp salad rolls, miso-glazed eggplant. Her Vietnamese pork sliders are something i'd like to try next and her deep-fried calamari and bacon. I just need to obtain some Calamari. 

She has invented some serious recipes in this book. More than you'd ever consider being a meal. 

I really liked the Spicy and Sweet Chicken, I'm a big fan of chicken. 

The recipes in Easy Gourmet are simply easy and incredibly good tasting (when done the right way). 

Most of the meals don't require too many ingredients or skill. Also I really like how Stephanie reminds us that recipes do not have to be complicated in order to be amazing. All her meals are solid. 

One final take, Stephanie's love for food comes through in every page. She takes her own pictures of her meals and they are straightforward with not alterations. These are simply honest and delicious home cooked meals. 

Martha Stewart-- Profile

Martha is a huge deal for both experienced and novice chefs looking to improve their cooking skills. I've watched her television show when I was a kid, she made her food look so easy to make and delicious.Martha was born in 1941. She attended college not for cooking, but instead a degree in European and architectural history in 1962. She  married a law professor, Andy Stewart in 1961.
When Martha and her family moved to to Westport, Connecticut they restored a 19th century farmhouse they had bought.


Once settled, Martha decided to focus her energy on gourmet cooking. She trained herself by reading Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Martha is a staple for self taught cooking, you can do it too! She launched a catering business in the 1970's called 'Martha Stewart's Living Omninmedia. which included gourmet menus and unique, creative presentation. Within the decade Martha had grown her small start-up into a million dollar corporation. She was catering to celebrity clients at this point. Little did she know, she would become a celebrity too.
She turned her simple cooking business  into a multi million dollar corporation. She now has Magazines, blogs, cook books, cooking school, and more on not just cooking. Methods and lessons for a better home and garden, parenting, and beauty. Her net worth is now over a billion.
Her first book released in 1982 called Entertaining was the beginning of later 77 more books to be released. Many of the books are best sellers.

Martha took a different direction in 2016 but still held to her cooking. Only she teamed up with a rappers Snoop Dog to start a whole new line of material and customer base.
Their relationship began in 2008 when Snoop helped whip up mashed potatoes on her show. Six years later. One reason they work well together is that they are actually friends. Their unlikely pairing, even on their show built on food and jokes sends a valuable broader message about people from different places not only getting along, but having fun doing it.


A dark side of Martha story is she did go to prison for a short period. I still like her though. Although a very cushy prison for rich people, it was a prison non the less. She was sentenced to a Federal prison in West Virginia for five months. Her reasons for being there was due to insider trading of stock in her companies. This is when individuals within their own company buys or sells stocks by using non-public information given to them by the people of a company.

Never the less, Martha was released and has been better than every, maybe even more popular after her prison time.
Regardless of what she's done, she is still an amazing cook.





Martha

Gordon Ramsey -- Interview

How often do you get to cook at home for your family? What do you like to cook for them?

It's rare that I am at home to cook on a weekend evening, so my wife normally takes control with the kids' dinner. On the weekend it's my turn. I rarely do anything fancy. If I'm cooking for the children, I'll make a pasta or rice-based dish. If it's just for my and I, then perhaps a beautiful steak and a simple salad.

It seems that personally, you are pretty tough. For example, you run a marathon for a children's charity every year. Is toughness both physical, emotional, whatever a job requirement for a chef?

Yes. If you want to make it in the kitchen, you have to be tough both emotionally and physically. When I was training I was lucky enough to go and work with Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy in Franc, and I had it kicked out of me there. It was incredibly tough, but it took me to another level. It taught me true passion for my craft and made me learn each area of the kitchen until I could do it with my eyes closed. I had to prove myself ten times more than any of the French boys, but it made me a better chef in the long run.



Have you had to deal with picky eaters in your family? 

No. We've brought the children up to be willing to try different things and they love it. I don't mean feeding them truffles and caviar, but encouraging them to try different fruits and vegetables and a variety of flavors and textures.

Do your children like to cook? 

They love helping out in the kitchen. They're growing up fast and getting to the stage where they want to be more responsible. Cooking is a great way to give them that extra freedom.

What are three ingredients you can't live without? 

Maldon salt, butter, and fresh herbs.

What do you consider to be the most underrated food?

Celeriac. It's one of the ugliest vegetables around. It's absolutely hideous looking. Perhaps that's why it's so underrated. Despite it's ugly exterior, it's absolutely delicious within. It's great for soups, and chips or grated raw in salad.
Is there any food you wont eat?

and ready meal such as frozen trays. It's so easy to prepare a quick meal using fresh produce, such as a simple stir-fry, but people still resort to ready meals that all taste exactly the same.

What would be your last supper?

Sea bass is the king of fish, so my idea of the perfect last meal would be a beautiful fillet, pan-fried with a light sorrel sauce, or served roasted with artichokes and a chive creme fraiche.

Interview

Healthy eating-- rant

To me it's astonishing how people are easily absorbed by the marketing hype when it comes to weight loss and being more healthy. I guess it's because so much information is available via internet, and people are always looking for a fast change the being over-weight and unhealthy. Not everything on the internet is believable, I try to get information from a variety of reasonably reliable sources. One thing that I know is that manufacturer's will say pretty much anything to get consumers to purchase their products. It's incredible how many people are taken in by scams. Not everything on the labels are truthful.
For example, a diet that requires someone to eliminate food from their daily diet will cause long run problems. People need a healthy balance of nutrients to stay healthy and lose weight.
You're body needs more than forty five different nutrients a day to stay healthy and lose weight. The nutrients are essential for health which must be provided in your meals.
If you eat a balance of fruits, vegetables, lean meats and other high protein foods, low fat dairy, and whole grains, you will receive most or all of the vitamins and minerals needed in order to be healthy.
This can all be done will making great food at home. As long as junk food is in moderation, than have what you like and don't commit to supplements that don't work. The first steps are in the kitchen.
Healthy eating on a consistent basis is not an easy task to achieve, but once set and stone, the process will be life changing.

Regards to Half Baked Harvest-- Link

A site I truly admire and enjoy visiting is Tieghan Gerard's blog "Half Baked Harvest."

The recipes you’ll find on her webpage were inspired by the people and places she loves most. Tieghan comes from a family of nine, and that means large home cooked meals. She began to cook in order to have dinner done for her parents' sake and ready to eat at a reasonable hour of the day. She lives in a converted horse barn into a studio barn located in the mountains of Colorado. This place is where she spends most days experimenting with new recipes, photographing her creations, feeds her family, and makes professional home cooked meals. Her hope is to inspire a love for food in others, as well as the courage to try something new. She's definitely inspired me to become a better cook and also experiment to see what I'm capable of making.

Tieghan has her own cookbook link and recipes broken down into each step. Her variety of cuisine includes, but isn't limited to; healthy diet, Italian, Mexican, Asian, Seafood, Holiday's for each time of year, pizza from all sorts of cultures,  and Quick&Easy dishes. A recent post she made that I would like to attempt is her; sheet pan harissa chicken with chickpeas and sweet potatoes. 

You can get her recipes on demand via videos on 'the barn' link on her page. This is where she will walk through her cooking process right on the computer screen. You can follow along with Tieghan to create your own master piece of a meal.

If you'd like to check out Tieghans' site, I posted a link below. 

Half Baked Harvest