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Learning New Skills

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

One of the fastest ways to a better you is learning a new skill. When’s the last time you actually challenged yourself to try something different and learn a new trade? Here are a few thoughts for things you can learn on the weekends to ensure you’re always growing:
House Improvements: Wouldn’t it be nice to be handier? Whether you want to learn Plumbing Wichita, KS tactics or you need to know how to tile a backsplash many home improvement stores offer classes on weekends. If all else fails watch videos online!
Learn a Language: Here’s a skill you can learn in any spare moment of time! Label your home with the items’ names in the other language and sign up for video-conferences with native speakers online. Useful and fun to know!
Play a Sport: What better way to challenge yourself than physically? Get outside and learn how to play a new sport whether it’s ultimate Frisbee or volleyball your body will thank you and best of all you may make some new friends! Being athletic is a wonderful skill to have.

Healthier Baking With Less Saltier Shaking

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you are health conscious for yourself and your family, you are trying to incorporate good choices in the foods you prepare. You may cut back on sugars and saturated fats as well as include more fruits and vegetables. Another key point in healthy eating is reducing your salt intake. One way is to reduce the amount of processed and packaged foods you buy. Keep an eye on the sodium content. Too much sodium can result in high blood pressure and weight gain.Confused? Here ‘s a little help . Another great way to keep your family healthy is to avoid adding salt to your baking and other cooking recipes. In any recipe that calls for salt in a baked good, you truly can leave it out and chances are you won’t even miss it. If you do taste a difference, try reducing the amount by half. Any time there is a suggestion that salt is optional, skip it. You can also replace salt with other spices which are rich antioxidants and salt substitutes when cooking if you need to add a little zip. We are used to salt in our diet but you can just say no. Think outside of the box and try healthier options.

Sweeten Up Baking With Natural Sugars

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Baking is great and makes your home smell inviting! When a recipe calls for sugar as one of the ingredients, try substituting a natural sugar such as fruit juice, applesauce or honey to add the necessary sweetness. This is a
especially true for those who must limit their intake of sugar or if you want to cut down the amount of calories in a recipe. Using honey or different syrups can be a substitute for sugar in many recipes such as cookies, cakes and pies.
Molasses has been used by cooks for many years since it is not as sweet as regular sugar, contains less calories and your recipes will taste the same or even better. Some nectars or brown rice syrup can be used in place of white sugar and make your recipe taste sweet without the added calories that would be found in white sugar.
No matter what type of natural sugar(s) you are using as a sustitute in your recipes, be sure to use the correct measurement. Because a natural sugar product will sweeten without adding calories, you may use up to one-half the amount than regular sugar. Just a little goes a long way when baking.

Dance In The Kitchen With These Baking Moves

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

With the hectic schedules we keep in the modern world, even our teenagers have a packed agenda. It can be difficult to find time for the family to get together, catch up on the day, and have some time to relax. This is especially true for families that have older children since in can be difficult to find an activity that everyone will enjoy. Baking is a great activity to get the whole family together. Not only is there a delicious end result, there are multiple activities so everyone, even the young children, can get involved.

A good start it to get the family together to bake a dessert such as cookies or cake, something simple that everyone will enjoy to eat. As everyone is cleaning up from dinner, put on some music that everyone likes and begin to enjoy yourselves. The cleanup will get done in no time and then it will be time to get started on dessert. You may have a limited amount of time together so make sure everyone has one part they are responsible for. Once you have your cake in the oven there will be time to have everyone tell about their day and come closer as a family. Then, after just a few minutes, everyone will be able to enjoy something they made together.

Wintertime Baking In A Summertime Oven

www.commandyourtime.com — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Just because summer temperatures rise, doesn’t mean all those wonderful wintertime baked recipes should go into hibernation. It just takes a bit of ingenuity to pull off the same results without adding to the rise in summer temperatures.

Baking In The Sun
Most baked items take less than an hour to bake. This is the first clue in how to plan menus that are not just convenient but also delicious. Cut the use of your kitchen oven by using your barbecue grill to bake. It’s not difficult when you consider that today’s grills are actually part of the outdoor kitchen. Once you know the actual baking time, casseroles, for instance, can easily be prepared ahead and then warmed on the upper shelf or side warming plate of the grill. Don’t forget that pizza is absolutely wonderful prepared on a grill. Pie is another item that results in perfect crusts with a hint of an outdoors flavor.

Exploring The Possibilities
When using the indoor oven, consider the time of day when temperatures are coolest to prepare baked items like breads, pastries, meats, fish, poultry and baked desserts. This saves time and energy without flavor loss.