Did you know that fat is an extremely important nutrient? It's our body's main energy source. We couldn't live without it. The problem is that in our modern diet we eat way too much fat, and we have a tendency of eating the wrong fats. This causes problems like arteriosclerosis (possibly resulting in heart attack or stroke), high cholesterol and obesity.

If you want to prepare a healthy meal to prevent the above problems, there are basically two things you need to consider to use fat in a healthy way:

The less fat the better.
Vegetable fats are healthier than animal fats.

These facts lead to 5 rules how to cook meals with a healthy fat content:

Use fat sparingly
Prefer healthy fats
Choose low-fat foods
Prefer cooking methods that use little or no fat
Use equipment that requires little or no fat

1. Use fat sparingly

This is most likely the most important rule for a healthy meal. The less fat you add the better. Forget about adding oil to your pasta water to prevent the pasta from sticking together, it anyways doesn't work. And you don't really need to add a lot of butter to your rice to give it a nice taste. Rather use spices to add some flavor. Think twice if you really need to add this amount of fat. If you don't, then leave it.

2. Prefer healthy fats

In most recipes, animal fats can easily be replaced by the healthier vegetable fats. Use a good margarine instead of butter and a blend of vegetable oils for all frying and roasting. Olive, canola and rapeseed oil and any products derived from them are the healthiest options. Olive oil also reduces the bad cholesterol levels. It tastes great with many vegetables (e.g. grilled potatoes, stir-fried marrows, peppers, mushrooms and carrots) and salads.

3. Choose low-fat foods

Animal products like dairies, eggs, meat (especially beef), poultry and fish contain mainly saturated fats which are rather unhealthy for our body. Processed foods and pastry also belong into this group. Cut these foods to a moderate amount, choose lean meats and low-fat dairy products, and eat larger portions of low-fat foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and grain products as well as legumes.

4. Prefer cooking methods that use little or no fat

Frying in oil is certainly one of the unhealthiest cooking methods. Rather stir-fry or bake your food in the pan which uses way less oil. Steaming, stewing and baking in the oven can even do without added fat. There is, for example, a special type of chips that is specifically designed for oven-baking instead of frying (it's usually labeled "oven-bake chips").

5. Use equipment that requires little or no fat

Non-stick pots, pans and ovenproof dishes are an excellent asset for fat-reduced or even fat-free cooking, and there is a wide range available. Make certain you buy good products that will live up to the promise they make (the cheaper ones often lose their non-stick coating rather soon). There are also other types of cookware that have the same effect of denying the need of added fat to a great extend. A steamer is another option you might want to consider.

Now, if you follow these five rules explained above, your meals will contain less fat in general, and they will focus on the healthier fats, meaning your whole meal will be much healthier, and so will you. Always remember that nowadays there is barely a chance that you might not get enough fat. Even if you use it as sparingly as described here, you will still get sufficient. The secret to using fat in a healthy way is, as I mentioned before: as little as possible (that applies to both the fat your foods contain and the fat you add to them), and if you have to use fat, then choose healthy fats.

Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition and quick cooking. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Is your life so hectic that preparing healthy food often seems impossible? Then visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com TODAY and get your FREE fast cooking tips and much delicious quick easy recipes!

Do you find it so difficult to eat healthy food? And find that eating healthily isn't that easy? After all, there are so many temptations out there. I'm one who once had trouble eating healthily and hated it very much. The truth is eating healthy is not difficult. The problem is that we are made to believe that fast foods and processed foods are convenient. We are also led to believe they are inexpensive; however, it costs a lot to our body's state.

Don't be disheartened. Today, we have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from. Just visit any major grocery chain and you'll find an abundance of exotic and healthy foods from around the globe. Not only it's fun to try new foods, it is quite easy to incorporate healthy foods into your lifestyle.

Let's take a look at some of the world's healthiest foods and how you can incorporate them into your life.

FRUITS:

Today let me introduce you to apricots. Apricots are often being overlooked, but these delicious fruits provide vitamins and fiber that can help regulate your blood pressure and maintain regular bowel function. Apricots are available either fresh or dried. All you need is to consume one handful of dried apricots or one fresh apricot each day, and you will have enough nutrients.

Bananas, although common, are rich in potassium and provide a quick energy boost. You can either select bananas that are fully ripened or are going to ripe soon. Bananas ripe at a fast paced and a fully ripened banana contains the highest level of starch, which can be converted into sugar in our body.

Bananas are an excellent choice for people with hypoglycemia and are one of the most affordable and convenient fruits on the market. Incorporate them into your morning cereal or grab one or 2 during your tea break. They taste great mixed with other fruits such as watermelon, berries, mandarin oranges, etc.

Do you like blueberries? Did you know they can help to reduce inflammation? If you suffer from arthritis or other aches and pains, eat a handful of blueberries. Add them to your favorite cereal, oatmeal, or include them in a yummy fruit salad.

VEGETABLES:

These vegetables, such as broccoli, garlic, onions, and tomatoes, offer the most health benefits. Broccoli can be eaten raw, steamed, baked, boiled or even grilled. Besides consuming it as a side dish, it can also be added to a salad, mixed in with a casserole, or eaten with a variety of fresh veggies. There are many scientific studies that have proven broccoli has the potential to prevent cancer. That fact alone should make you want to eat it on a daily basis.

Garlic has a pungent odor and spicy taste and it can be added to soups, stews, salads, side dishes, and more. Garlic can be eaten raw but most people have a hard time eating a raw garlic clove. Hence to incorporate this healthy food to your lifestyle, when cooking with garlic, be certain to add it to the dish just moments before serving in order to obtain the health benefits it offers.

One of the most versatile vegetables is the tomato. It can be eaten raw, cooked, steamed, grilled, baked, juiced, or pureed. You can add tomatoes with nearly every type of food. But most importantly you can just eat a fresh, juicy tomato. Nothing tastes better than that. You can also add a few slices to your favorite sandwich or cut into wedges and serve with a salad. Tomato pasta sauce serves as a very good food too!

Eden Danielson is the author of detox and fasting site at eDetoxify.com. Combining both Asian and Western philosophy, Eden Danielson has helped many people by giving them health consultation to make their lives better and healthier through natural health philosophy. Visit eDetoxify.com to discover the health philosophy that lead many people to a healthy life.

There is no question that if you not only want to lose weight, but also keep it off, you are going to have to start eating healthy meals. The best way to make sure you are eating healthy is to prepare those meals yourself. That way you can include the best foods for optimum weight loss.

So, what do you do if you think you just don't have the time to cook homemade healthy meals? Well, the first thing you should do is make sure you really don't have the time to do it or is it that you just don't want to make the time? Most people can find the time to do the things they really love or want to do, but couldn't possibly find the time to do the things they hate or don't want to do.

Maybe you don't have time because you don't know how to cook or you think healthy meals take too long to prepare. Or perhaps you just don't know what to cook or how to plan a healthy meal. All of these things can be very overwhelming if this is how you feel, so just telling yourself you don't have time or making sure you don't have time is just a defense mechanism.

However, I can tell you from experience that you can cook a meal in 15-20 minutes and it would literally take almost no cooking skills. Let me give you an example. One of my quick meals is baked salmon fillets (wild caught) that I sprinkle a little seasoning on and bake in my toaster oven (15 minutes); whole wheat pasta that once cooked (about 10-13 minutes after water boils) I put in a bowl and stir in a little olive oil, garlic and kosher/sea salt; and spinach saut?ed in olive oil and garlic (a few minutes if fresh, about 10 minutes or so if frozen). Now, wasn't that fast and easy? Plus it is healthy! Just make sure the first thing you do is put the water on to boil for the pasta before you do anything else and you should be able to make this meal within the timeframe.

If you really can't cook or feel planning meals is too hard, do yourself a favor and start reading about and learning how. Take control of your weight loss efforts and you will have a better chance of succeeding.

If you really believe you don't have time to cook healthy meals, you are going to have to examine your life and eliminate the things that are keeping you from taking care of yourself. All the "things" you are busy with in your life don't mean much if you aren't healthy or don't have a quality life.

Getting healthy and weight loss should be a top priority, so get others to help you out or learn to delegate some of your tasks, or learn to just say "no" sometimes. Weight loss and healthy eating is a lifestyle, so make home cooked healthy meals a part of your life.

Jeanne Ewen is a CPA and a lifelong thin, fit, healthy woman who has a passion for learning and talking about health, nutrition, exercise, weight loss and personal development. Please visit her website at http://www.tipsbyjeanne.com/

In today's household there's often not much time for cooking meals from scratch. Nevertheless if you still like healthy aromatic meals, here's where the pressure cooker can help.

Believe it or not, but pressure cookers really can reduce cooking times by up to 70% compared to conventional methods and the amount of energy consumed is also reduced to as much as 50%.

Using a pressure cooker is one of the best ways to cook delicious meals while still retaining important vitamins and minerals that would normally escape during traditional cooking methods. Meals are healthier and can be cooked without added oil and salt and still retain their natural colour and flavours. Another added bonus is that you can reduce your food costs even further by using a cheaper cut of roast, as cooking it under pressure means the meat comes out tender every time

Pressure cookers have been around for what seems like ages, but in the last few years there have been considerable changes to make them far safer and more versatile. Pressure cookers are usually made of aluminium or stainless steel. Stainless steel is by far considered the preferred choice as it is of a higher quality and achieves better cooking results and there are fewer problems with food sticking to the bottom. The stainless steel models are regarded as the best choice among many cooks because of its ability to brown or sauté food before cooking it under pressure.

The benefits of owning and using a pressure cooker:

o Saves you time - cooks healthy and tender meals in 70% less time.

o Flavoursome meals - tender meats, delicate fish and chicken are cooked to perfection in minutes as the steam intensifies the flavours.

o Less mess - it sautés, browns and pressure cooks all in one pot.

o Ideal for two or for large family cooking - pressure cookers come in a range of sizes to suit your needs, just remember that a pressure cooker needs to be 2/3 full to operate properly.

o Safe to use - there are plenty of safety features and indicators on new pressure cookers, so you can prepare all the ingredients and do something else whilst it cooks.

Here's an idea of how much time a pressure cooker can save you on cooking times and still achieve tasty and tender meals:

Lamb Stew - 20 to 25 minutes

Vegetable Soup - 5 to 10 minutes

Leg of Pork - 20 to 25 minutes

Leg of Beef - 35 to 45 minutes

Whole Fish - 3 to 4 minutes

Potatoes - 6 to 8 minutes

Please note that cooking times may vary slightly depending on your make and model of pressure cooker.

http://www.tablepride.co.nz/

With all the things we have to do every day, like working, shopping, cleaning etc., cooking our own healthy meals often becomes a challenge that makes many give up. We then seek our refuge in fast food that we pick up on the way home and ready-made meals out of the freezer which are neither good for our budget nor for our health when we eat them too often.

But did you know that there are some great shortcuts you can take to prepare meals in less time? Half an hour can be all you need to get a tasty and healthy meal on the table. Let me explain to you how to cook faster by using foods which take less time to prepare!


Focus on little and easy-to-prepare ingredients
Base your meals on foods that are ready for use

Trick #1: Focus on little and easy-to-prepare ingredients


It can be quite challenging to handle a wide variety of ingredients when you are in a hurry. To keep the overview, rather stick with a small number of ingredients, about 3 to 5 for the most.
Also make sure you choose foods that are quick and easy to prepare, that is for example everything that does not need to be peeled, does not have pips or seeds to remove and is cut very easily, like marrow, mushrooms or tomatoes.
Thirdly, use foods that don't take long to cook (even if you cut larger pieces to save time), e.g. leek, aubergines and peppers.

Trick #2: Base your meals on foods that are ready for use


Buy fresh foods that are already cleaned and cut so that you just need to cook them.
Canned or frozen fruit or vegetables are another great asset for fast cooking. Canned foods just need to be warmed, which is an issue of minutes. Frozen foods can be cooked straight from the freezer and are done in about half the time as if you would use the same amount of fresh food.
Foods that can be eaten raw are also marvellous if you don't have much time. Think for example of a green salad with cucumber slices and pieces of pepper. Or add canned pineapple pieces and chopped walnuts, or shredded tuna and cherry tomatoes.
Left-overs often make you create great meals. Try to plan left-overs that can help you. If you have grilled chicken filet one day, prepare enough so that you can cut it up for a salad or pasta sauce. Cook more potatoes than you need so that the next day you just need to bake them quickly.
These are two simple but powerful tricks that you can apply easily. Fast cooking is not magic, all it takes is to know some basic rules and techniques, and you can prepare healthy meals yourself in little time, leaving you and your family healthier and with more time and money to spend on other things you enjoy.

Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition and quick cooking. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Is your life so hectic that preparing healthy food often seems impossible? Then visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com TODAY and get your FREE fast cooking tips and much delicious quick easy recipes!

Cooking a good nutritious meal does not have to result in torture for your taste buds. In fact, aside from it being pretty easy to prepare, adhering to experts' cooking tips and tricks can turn you into cook extraordinaire. All you have to do is know which types of food you should choose and find out how many meal varities you can make out of them. Even your favorite cooking recipes can be modified to their healthier alternatives without compromising on taste and texture. Just figure out where to cut on calories and fat so it won't turn out a gourmet disaster. Of course, cooking healthy food does not really ental having to start from scratch. Why, you can even use convenience store fare and transform them into semi-homemade masterpieces by just adding healthy pinches of ingredients here and there. Healthy cooking also does not mean that everything has to be raw and involve only vegetables. Healthy means the meals carry a balance of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, no matter how they are prepared. So whenever you think healthy cooking simply means chopping up a few things and tossing them together, you are wrong. Keep Fat Low To spare yourself from the so-called hidden fats, or fats that aren't easily visible, it's best to use reduced-fat dairy goods and lean meats for ingredients. The good dietary fats usually come from unrefined products, such as fish, olives, nuts, soy, avocado and seeds. Such kinds of fat also come with other necessary nutrients so it's okay to crazy with them. When cooking, use a non-stick pan to minimise your oil usage. If you really need to use oil, use monosaturated oils applied with pastry brushes or cooking sprays so you don't go overboard. Also, if your recipe book requires you to brown some veggies, try dunking them into the pan first before spraying oil. This will help lessen the amount of fat absorbed by your ingredients. Some heathy cooking experts recommend that you use subsitute liquids for oil, like water, stock, fruit juices, so you won't strip your ingredients of their vitamins and you won't run the risk of having excess fat. And if you're really serious about a healthy diet, use vinegars and salsas, instead of creams and butter, when you serve fish or meat dishes. Should the Veggies Stay Raw? This is a trikcy question. While there are schools of thought that say vitamins and minerals are best preserved when vegetables are served raw, there are some that also contend that certain nutrients only surface when they are cooked. For instance, the anti-cancer and anti-heart illness antioxidant called lycopene is present mostly in cooked tomatoes and ketchup. When cooking vegetables, just make sure they don't stay boiling or frying too long to keep the minerals locked inside. Vegetables contain vitamins that are also soluble in water, it is not advised that you use too much of this liquid. As with anything else in this world, things work when done in moderation. The secret the healthy cooking is knowing what you want to take out and what you want to preserve. It doesn't really take rocket science to learn all these, but it does require some amount of research and patience. After all, your body is your temple. You must love it by giving it a delicious and healthy reward.

Khieng 'Ken' Chho is author and owner of Online Cooking Resources. For related articles and other resources, visit Ken's website: http://cooking.onew3b.net

My daily challenge is to feed my family of 4 on a daily basis. Over the Christmas Holidays I read an article about feeding a ...

Many people may not realize this but there is a gold mine in your kitchen. I don't mean actual gold but food. Food has a value and using what you have in your kitchen cupboards or freezer can save you a substantial amount of money instead of going back to the store to buy items you already have.

When I visit a persons' home I can tell the kind of meals they have by what I see in the fridge or by what I see when they open the kitchen cabinets. Is there really a need to shop for food when you have a separate freezer full or cabinet full of food? Food should only be frozen for up to 6 months, any longer than this and freezer burn will change the taste of the food.

When I see three different olive oils in the cupboard this tells me that the person buys on a whim. We have all been there where we think we have enough oil for our menu and we thought incorrectly. Every time after that we just buy some rather than taking an inventory before we go to the store.

Getting the gold out of your kitchen requires some thinking outside of the box. Pancakes for breakfast is always a hit but they also do well at dinner time. Waffles are surprisingly tasty for dinner. I know it sounds strange but do a search of chicken and waffles and see how many pages you will get. They are both savory foods that pair well together. Potato puffs or any kind of hash brown can be stuffed into a fajita and served for breakfast. A couple nights ago, I saw a show on burgers and one restaurant puts potato chips on their burgers. I was surprised I have been doing this since for more than 35 years. Re-fried beans can be mixed with scrambled eggs and stuffed inside a corn tortilla. Fried spaghetti with an egg on top may sound strange but eggs are used to make pasta so the taste is similar except for the fried part, top it with a side of pasta sauce if you want.

The whole point here is you can mix and match not only foods but also when to eat them. Most of my pairing are based on foods we already eat or foods that use similar ingredients when they are made. Every once in a while I will give my kids Cake for breakfast. Cake is made from milk, eggs, flour, and sugar. The difference between pancakes with syrup and cake is not that significant except in our mind.
The foods sitting around in your home can be a gold mine and save you from having to spend more money at the grocery store. Next time yo think you are low on ingredients and need to go shopping take another look with an open mind!



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"We take care of our houses and our cars. Why don't we take better care of the thing that is the most precious to us, our bodies?"

-Raquel Welch Introduction

Become healthier and overcome your anxiety in the Kitchen easily using simple recipes. A few simple secrets will relieve your anxiety and you will naturally become more confident, more accomplished and more healthy as you create more and more of your families meals. Cooking for your family is just the beginning of your journey in the kitchen as you travel toward a healthier you.

One thing we know from decades of studies is that diets don't work. There are dozens if not hundreds of dietary weight loss programs. It can be confusing to figure out which might work best for you. The fact is studies show that weight loss diets are more harmful than helpful. They show that at the end of the diet, the vast majority of people put the weight back on plus a few pounds. The bottom line in the weight loss game is fewer calories taken in and more calories burned off is the only real way to lose weight permanently. It makes sense to combine simple and healthy home cooking with regular physical activity. We will not focus on weight loss here but on simple, healthy cooking and living. In addition to enhancing family evenings, you'll find that as you cook more and more you will have more control over the ingredients that go into your families meals. This is the real way to lose weight and become more healthy.

Take a look at a sensible strategy of simple and healthy home cooking recipes that are tasty and filling. You will take off those unwanted pounds and create a new healthier life. You will find that replacing just one or two meals that you now eat in a restaurant or your visits to the fast food establishment per week with simple and healthy home cooking will naturally reduce your weight and increase your health.

The food pyramid is a good place to start. You'll find that fruits and vegetables are recommended for several servings per day. Fruits and vegetables are powerhouses of nutrients, but light on calories. Lean meats, like chicken, pork and most fish are also nutritious without being fattening.

Whole-grain breads, cereals and pasta have fewer calories and are more nutritious than those made with white flour. In cereals, the gold standard is the hot freshly prepared whole grain cereal, if you want something quicker, go for granola instead of sugar-laden puff pops. Granola does double-duty, for breakfast and snacks. Add raisins, pine nuts or sunflower seeds for extra nutrition and taste. Remember, if your goal is to lose weight and improve your health, you've got to stick with the program. Low calorie recipes which weigh fats and oils by the teaspoon are often too stingy on taste. If it doesn't taste good, you won't stick with a diet of dry and boring low calorie recipes. In general, whole genuine ingredients will be the healthiest alternative in terms of your health and flavor.

Many low calorie recipes are too plain, not adding much spark to the dish. Seasonings are one of the best-kept secrets of serious and successful dieters. Herbal blends enhance the flavor of foods. It adds pleasure to eating, which leads to sticking to your new regimen of simple and healthy cooking.

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Every Saturday, we post a piece from the CHG archives. This one is from February 2009. Oh, memories.
The stretchability of a whole chicken is a frequently discussed topic among food and frugality bloggers. It’s commonly accepted that a single fowl will feed a family of 11 for weeks, years - even millennia. Even after 20 months of keeping CHG, I’m constantly gobsmacked by how moms and dads can create dinner after dinner from the same bird.

Here’s the thing: sometimes, those dinners aren’t the healthiest meals in the world. There tend to be a lot of quesadillas and casseroles whenever these type of posts pop up, not to mention chicken salads drenched with full-fat mayo. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this whatsoever (except the mayo - blech), but I wanted to see if I could put a healthier spin on it.

In a sentence: I wanted to find out if it was possible to create a gaggle of inexpensive, lower-fat meals with the leftovers from one big ol’ chicken.

Here were my rules:
The budget – for EVERYTHING - was $25. I had to use as much food already in my pantry as possible. (Which accounted for a lot, and saved me mad dough in the long run.) Each meal had to feed at least two people (The Boyfriend and me). Bonus points for leftovers. The chicken had to be used up within a few days, so it wouldn’t go bad. The meals had to have reasonable variety, preferably from a range of cuisines. It couldn’t be Chicken with Spaghetti on Day 1, then Chicken with Penne on Day 2. The meals had to have very little added fat, since the leftover chicken would provide most of it. And? Victory, for the most part. I ended up cooking five distinct, delicious, largely healthy dinners with PLENTY of leftovers. And miracle of miracles, there were no duds in the group. (Thanks, online reviewers!)

However, I did go $0.86 over budget. I’m okay with that, though. Between what we consumed each night and ate for lunch the next day, that $25.86 made 17 full meals, which works out to $1.52 each. That’s less than a cup of Starbucks coffee, so … aces.

What follows is the menu breakdown, complete with pictures and links to four of the five recipes. The last, a Cook’s Illustrated curry dish, isn’t online, so I transcribed it at the very bottom of this post. There’s also a master grocery list, so y’all can see the price breakdown of everything.

With that said, let’s get started with introductions: Charles, these are the CHG readers. CHG readers, this is Charles. He’s my chicken. He’s 6.99 lbs.

He will not look like this for long.

Day 1
Marcella Hazan’s Lemon Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
2 servings
Chicken consumed: 10 ounces

We kicked everything off with Marcella’s Lemon Roasted Chicken. It’s been featured on the blog before, with good reason. In a world of dry, lame-o poultry, it is the Queen Mum of moist, flavorful goodness. Plus, when you add a few thick-cut carrots and quartered (unpeeled) red potatoes to the pan before it starts cooking, it becomes a whole meal. (Seriously, that’s all you have to do.) Together, The Boyfriend and I polished off all the vegetables and 10 ounces of chicken (five ounces each) for a Sunday night meal.

Afterwards, we stripped the chicken bare. Nude. Butt-naked. There was nothing left on that carcass but skin and gristle. It was a little hyena-like, honestly, but fun nonetheless. In total, our booty came to 2 pounds, 4 ounces of pure, straight-up leftover meat, mostly from the breast. Here’s a shot of the carnage.

If I had half a brain, I would have saved Charles’ bones to make stock. But I forgot.

To quote the bard, “Duh.”

Day 2
Cooking Light’s Chicken Picadillo with Rice and Black Beans
3 servings
Leftover chicken consumed: 1 pound

(Note: The experiment almost ended here, since I didn’t go grocery shopping in time for Day 2. Fortunately, for this particular recipe, everything was in my pantry already. [Woo hoo!])

Going in, I had mid-level expectations for Chicken Picadillo, and was super-pleasantly surprised by the results. All in all, it’s supremely easy to cook, and a nice change from the average Tex-Mex dish. Ground chicken, salsa, raisins, and almonds make up the main ingredients, but a dash of cinnamon ties it all together, giving everything a warm, lovely flavor. We ate it with plain rice and mashed black beans (to prepare: heat in pot, mash with masher, add salt and pepa), and used the leftovers to create a chicken/lettuce/salsa wrap the next day for lunch. Good times.

Day 3
White Chicken Chili
2-3 servings
Leftover chicken consumed: 1-1/2 cups

This tangy, mild, ridiculously simple chili was The Boyfriend’s favorite dish of the bunch. (He is the Chili King. He can do anything.) He slurped a bowl in record time, scarfed leftovers for lunch the next day, and openly wept when I told him he had finished it all. Poor guy.

The key to keeping this dish low-fat is the beans. By lightly mashing them, you create a thicker chili consistency, and don’t have to add as much cheese. FYI: If you like your chilis a little spicier, the heat is eminently adjustable here: just include the jalapeno seeds OR add another pepper altogether.

Day 4
Food Network’s Sesame Noodles with Chicken
5 servings
Chicken consumed: 1 cup

Three days into this thing, and we were barely halfway through Charles’ leftover meat. That started to change here.

It must be known: I loooooooove noodles. I luff them. I lurve them. I want to kiss them, but they keep falling through my fingers. (Ooo … deep.) Naturally then, this dish from Food Network was my favorite of the experiment. It’s a cross between Ellie Krieger’s Aromatic Noodles and this Noodle Salad from Cooking Light, with just a little more tang. The whole shebang is a tad higher in fat than the experiment’s others (see: butter, peanut), but it’s the healthy, protein-y kind, so I wouldn’t worry too much.

One note: I substituted a pitted, sliced regular cucumber for the Kirby. No harm, no foul, and it worked just fine.

Day 5
Cook’s Illustrated’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry
(recipe at bottom of post)
4 servings
Chicken consumed: 2 cups

Finally, we had reached the end. Charles was nearly tapped by Day 5, though perhaps surprisingly, we weren’t getting tired of chicken in the least.

It’s a good thing, then, we went with Curry in a Hurry. Served with a side of brown rice, it’s a fast, fantastic, Indian-inspired weeknight meal that will absolutely use up the last of any leftover chicken. Plus, it’s a lot of frigging food. CI claims it serves four people, it’s really more like five or six. Maybe eight or nine if you’re elves.

Note: we skipped the peas because they represent the oppression of the worker by the bourgeoisie, and can only be freed through shared profit and community-wide effort. (Oh wait – that’s not right. Actually, I just forgot to buy them. It didn’t make a difference.)

~~~

And that, my friends, is it. We're full. The chicken's gone. The experiment worked.

Here’s our grocery list (just like we promised!), plus the curry recipe, should you be into it. Comments and questions are welcome, and I'd love to hear what y'all have done with a whole chicken. Enjoy!

~~~

SHOPPING LIST
(* means I already had it in my pantry or fridge)

1 7-lb Oven Stuffer Roaster chicken: $6.92
1 lb thick carrots: $0.67
1-1/2 lbs red or Yukon gold potatoes: $1.42
2 lemons: $0.80
*1 or 2 tablespoons salt: $0.04
*3 teaspoons olive oil: $0.11
*2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil: $0.36
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil: $0.18
*2-1/2 medium onions: $0.30
*9 garlic cloves: $0.30
*2-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin: $0.05
*1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon: $0.01
*1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning: $0.02
*Pinch ground cloves: $0.01
*1 teaspoon crushed red pepper: $0.05
*1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry powder: $0.07
*1 cup bottled salsa: $0.99
*1/3 cup golden raisins: $0.79
*1/4 cup raisins: $0.42
*1/4 cup slivered almonds: $0.73
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts: $0.35
1 large bunch fresh cilantro: $0.99
*1 14-oz can black beans: $0.67
1 can large white beans: $1.39
*1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas: $0.67
*1-2/3 cup uncooked brown rice: $0.95
1 seeded jalapeño pepper: $0.25
1 cucumber: $0.80
6 scallions: $0.67
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger: $0.32
1 can (4-ounce) chopped green chilies: $1.49
*2 cups chicken broth: $0.60
*1 pound spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles: $0.80
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter: $0.21
*1/4 cup soy sauce: $0.38
*2 tablespoons dark brown sugar: $0.06
*1 tablespoon rice vinegar: $0.24
*1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (we used low-fat, and it was okay): $0.28
*1/2 cup grated low-fat Monterey Jack or white cheddar cheese: $0.50
TOTAL: $25.86

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Cook’s Illustrated’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry
Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced thin
1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry powder (mine is hot, so I only use ½)
Salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
½ cup water
2 cups shredded of thinly sliced cooked chicken
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas (I left this out, but please use)
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (we used low-fat, and it was okay)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute about 6 minutes, until onion is browning. Add garlic and ginger. Cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant

2. Add water, meat, chickpeas, peas, and raisins. Stir. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until warmed through.

3. Kill heat. Add yogurt and cilantro. Serve, over brown rice if you like. 

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