Getting Fresh and Safe Chicken

There's no doubt in any cook's mind (or in the mind of anyone who eats it) that chicken is one of the most versatile meats. It can be cooked in a thousand ways, perhaps even more. You can fry it, roast it, bake it, glaze it, grill it, boil it, poach it, sear it, steam it, or even flambé it. There's just no limit to what you can do with chicken. The only limit is your imagination.

Chicken is something you can have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. It is a primal staple that can complement any kind of fare whatever time of the day. And with it being one of the easiest to cook and one of the most sought-after meats, it is also readily available everywhere. However, not all chickens are created equal. The way they are bred and fed can give them different profiles. Here are some guidelines when choosing poultry to cook:

Labels

We sometimes take them for granted, but it's important that we really take a look at the label when shopping for this versatile meat. If you see it labeled as 'natural,' you don't just grab it. Every other brand can also claim to be 'natural,' which simply means it has no artificial flavors or color, no preservatives were added and the processing was 'minimal.' Look for the 'organic' label instead. This is because in countries like the United States, for a farm to use that label, it must meet USTA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) standards and be officially certified through this agency. For chicken to be organic, it has to have been fed 100% organic as well, no antibiotics, no hormones, and no pesticides, among other no-nos.

Sources

The regular grocery you go to may not necessarily be the organic type you're looking for. In fact, even if you go to a shop that specializes in meat products, it may not have the freshest. They can tell you it's fresh, but you can't really be sure, unless you're trained to spot fresh poultry from what's not. What are your other options? You can go to local co-ops, farmers' markets, CSAs or Community-Supported Agriculture's.

Raise Your Own

If you have the time and the space for it, why not raise your own? By doing this, as long as you use organic feeds, you can be 100% sure that the chicken you'll cook is safe and truly fresh.

How To Taste Wine: With Simple Steps

People drink wine, but do they really know how to taste it?

Wine tasting is totally different as drinking it. This requires focus and attention using your senses of sight, smell, touch, as well as taste.

These are the five steps on how to taste wine properly:

Begin with an agreeable wine glass. The edge of the glass might as well twist inwards to encourage channel fragrances to the nose, and permit you to swirl without spilling.

There is a right way and a wrong approach to hold a wine glass, and it does have an effect. Never hold the glass by its bowl, just by its stem since the high temperature of your hand will rapidly warm the fluid.

Provided that you are tasting some wines, start with the lightest white wines first and advancement to the heaviest red wines. This will help keep your taste buds more delicate so you can better like every wine in the arrangement. A sample of water between wines can likewise help save your sense of taste.

With this, now pour a little wine into your glass - an inch or less is best.

It is simpler to see the way the shade transforms from the inside to the edges when you tilt the glass a little bit. The most ideal way is for it is to somewhat tilt the wine in the glass and expect it up to remember the light or take a gander at it against a white or pale foundation. What do you see?

Is the wine clear or shady? The shade will fluctuate consistent with what kind of wine you are tasting.

Holding the glass before a white foundation, for example a napkin, tablecloth, or sheet of paper, is an alternate great way to make out the wine's real nature. Search for the color of the wine and the clarity. Power, profundity or immersions of colors are possibly straight with quality.

White wines come to be darker as they age while time reasons red wines to lose their color turning more caramel, regularly with a little measure of safe, dull red dregs in the lowest part of the jug or glass. This is additionally a great opportunity to get a preparatory sniff of the wine so you can pose as a viable rival its aroma in the wake of swirling. This will additionally permit you to evaluate for any smells that may demonstrate ruined (plugged) wine. Furthermore, utilize this venture to get as a part of the outlook of tasting. Take a gander at the shade of color and obscurity

Take note that swirling the wine is vital. The reason for swirling wine in a glass is to circulate air through the wine and discharge vapors, vanishing from the sides of the glass, for you to smell. As the wine layers the sides of the glass, it discharges its bundle.

Red Wines: Red wines change extraordinarily in color. A youthful red wine is normally a brilliant raspberry shade. You will see clues of rosy tan around the edges. A more advanced in years red wine could be mahogany to block like in color. As red wine ages, the red wine has a tendency to have a block like color. Some treat wines and particularly those that have been in oak barrels, have a tendency to be resplendent.

White Wines: White wines extend from pale green to yellow to profound resplendent tan and come to be more brilliant as they age.

SMELL:

You have to tip the glass up and make sure to stick your nose in it and breathe. A few expert tasters guarantee that you can get more smell by holding your nose an inch above the glass while swirling. They suppose you get more than you might provided that you put your nose a little bit closer into the glass. Identifying smells itself makes tasting characters in wine simpler. The different odors might be truly distinctive relying upon how far into the glass your nose goes. Some wine specialists want to sniff by rapidly breathing a few times. Others incline toward one profound sniff or inhaling with one nostril at once.

At the highest point of the glass, the odors are more floral and fruity; deeper in the glass, they are thicker and richer. Attempt to identify the full run of aromas from berry to flower to fiery to woody.

TASTE:

This is the final step and should be taken only after you've used your other senses. Then sip the wine, letting the wine spread across the tongue from front to back and side to side before swallowing. Think about the flavors, textures and body of the wine. Is it sharp? Does it make your tongue feel dry? Do the flavors match the smells from earlier? Can you name a fruit, mineral or spice? Does it have an alcohol burn? Revisit smelling the wine after your first sip to help formulate any conclusions/judgment.

The tip of the tongue detects sweetness. The inner sides of the tongue detect sourness and/or acidity. The outer sides of the tongue detect saltiness

Tasting is the ultimate and most important step and should be done only after you've used your other senses. What you need to do is sip the wine and let it spread across your taste buds doing it front to back or side to side before swallowing. You have to consider about the flavors, textures and its body. You might encounter sharpness or dryness of the taste. You may also wonder if the taste really match the smells you experienced from earlier? Are you able to name a fruit or spice? Is it something like an alcohol? If you have those in mind, better smell the wine again after doing your first sip in order to make a conclusion.

SWALLOW or SPIT:

Whether to swallow or spit the wine largely depend on the taste and your purpose. Usually, expert wine tasters will not swallow the wine, they instead spit it out. And they do it for definitely good reasons. You may spit it because most probably the wine doesn't suit your taste. And you might be saving yourself for better wines. You might want to learn how to spit if you're someone who would be tasting wines more than ten times a day.

THINK and CONCLUDE:

When you're done with all the steps that require using your senses, it's best to take note of your impressions and conclusions. You may give answers to questions like: Do you like the wine entirely? How do you find its acidity? Does it taste better with a meal or cheese? What food is best matched with the wine? Will you taste it again? Well there are no wrong answers; it's a lot better if you give out your suggestions or comments in order to truly express your wine experience.

The Consciousness of Eating

Eating is no minor matter, wouldn't you agree?

Food should be fun. Yet somehow for most of us it has fallen into the background of our daily life - since most of our hunger is satisfied quickly, whilst walking and standing.

Eating consciously is important for our health. There are many reasons to abstain from eating meat and often fish. Distrust in the meat industry is one of them, as are reasons for our health, for our morals, animal protection and rights, climate protection, environmentalism, human rights or just plain matter of taste.

I myself have undergone a very long personal development, where the abstinence of meat came on its own. I just didn't want to buy or eat meat any more. It became difficult for me to cook a meal for my family with meat in it, let alone eat it. I think it had to do with more self-awareness. My conscience spoke to me and helped me choose what I wanted to do in my heart, as it usually does. It also gave me a new respect for all of existence.

Vegetarianism, the abstinence of the consumption of meat isn't anything new at all. Already in the middle ages it was the monks who most of all lived to vegetarian rules. The benedictan monks were only allowed to partake of "four-footed animals" when they were ill. The famous artist Leonardo da Vinci nourished himself also on a meatless diet.

Veganism seems to be the trend for this year as well as for the next year: after more and more people have either already chosen vegetarian food as a way of life, or are at least interested in it, the more radical version of vegetarianism is becoming a lot more modern. Vegan, that means not only the abstinence of eating animals (everything with two eyes and with parents), but also of products that animals more or less give us of their own free will, like milk, cheese, eggs and honey. Likewise they consequently decline of the use of animal products such as leather shoes, handbags or coats. Amongst the list of prominent vegans are, for example the ex American president Bill Clinton and the American actor Robin Williams.

Health is important for our daily life and our food is a part of it. This connects us round the world. Do something good for yourself and take a look at what you are really eating and even consider changing your eating habits.

This goes to your wellbeing!

Lemon And Its Heath Benefits

For many centuries, lemons have been used for their antiseptic properties. In 1593, a 17th century English sailor and explorer by the name of Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins encouraged drinking orange and lemon juice as a way of averting scurvy. And this did not come as a surprise!

Lemons are heavy laden with nutrients that are beneficial to health. They are a wonderful natural medication for improved digestion and for busting fatigue.

Lemon and asthma
 

The vitamin C contained in the lemon juice plays a big part in fighting respiratory problems. First of all, it builds up the body's immune system and then it acts as an anti-oxidant by fighting the destructive oxidants which are produced by the lungs in the form of allergens during asthmatic attacks. Taking lemon juice frequently will help to fight asthma.

Lemons are said to be very helpful in instances where there is inadequate supply of oxygen - like during mountain climbing. Edmund Hillary, who was the first person to reach the peak of Mt. Everest's, attributed his success to the use of lemons.

Restoring the pH equilibrium
 

Maintenance of a mildly positive alkaline state in the body is critically important in order to combat cancer and other health complications. While lemons are acidic in nature, they are among the most alkaline fruits which help to restore the human body to the required pH alkaline state (about 7.4).

Detoxification
 

Taking a glass of a mixture of fresh lemon juice and water in the morning is a wonderful liver detoxifier; it purifies the digestive system and the kidneys. Additionally, it helps the body purge itself of poisons thereby providing you with a general detox.

Indigestion and constipation
 

It has been established that lemons help in the digestive process by keeping harmful bacteria at bay. Simply add a few drops of fresh lemon juice onto your food or squeeze a fresh lemon in a glass of lukewarm water and drink after every meal. It will make the digestion easy. The lemon acid stirs the production of stomach acid.

Weight loss
 

When you add lemons to your water, you are likely to feel fuller and this can reduce the occurrence of Type 2 Diabetes. Lemons have pectin content, a soluble fibre which has been found to help in weight loss. In addition, lemons can literally slow down the assimilation of sugar into the body.

Fever

Lemon juice can be used as a cure for colds, fever or flu. It aids in breaking fever by intensifying perspiration. To relieve the symptoms of fever and colds, squeeze one lemon into a cup of hot water, add some honey and drink at an interval of 2 hours until the fever or cold subsides.

Dental care
 

Lemon juice is also useful in dental care. Fresh lemon juice can help in getting rid of pain when applied on the aching tooth area. Also, gum bleeding can be stopped by massaging lemon juice on the gums. This is very effective in stopping bad odour and other gum complications.

Vegetarian Home Remedies - Kitchen Cures to Improve Your Heath

As a vegetarian for almost thirty years I spend lots of time using fruit and vegetables when creating meals for our family. Our daughter is gluten intolerant so we found a way of helping her to eat food her body can accept by changing some of our long time favourite recipes.

Your wellbeing is affected by your diet and it's true that kitchen cures can improve your health which in turn leads to improving your quality of life. The first home remedy I would offer to you is to limit the amount of processed food that passes your lips. If you can do without it completely, then you will be better for it.

The 'silent killer' known as hypertension, or high blood pressure should be addressed on many levels. Salt, for example must only be used at the table and not in the kitchen, you will use less this way. Follow your doctors advise on any medication they suggest, but look closely at your diet and help yourself.

Here is a list of certain foods to include when considering your menu for the week:

• garlic, green tea, fruit and berries, don't forget the figs and prunes.
• nuts are a great source of Omega-3 oils.
• peppers, green vegetables,sweet potatoes, spring onions, asparagus.
• whole wheat pasta and brown rice.

Steam or roast your vegetables for a change.

Diverticulitis is found mostly in the West as a result of the lack of fibre in our diet. Having a cup of camomile or peppermint tea following a meal may help to sooth any irritation - I'm not talking about the person sitting opposite you obviously! Fewer vegetarians than meat eaters suffer with diverticulitis but as a reminder here are a few foods to include:

• whole meal bread, it's not known if seeds in the bread have any effect one way or another, as of 2013.
• pulses and green leafy vegetables.
• porridge, try some dried fruit in it.
• brown rice.
• fruit and remember to drink plenty of water.

Cholesterol can be reduced by cutting down your saturated fat intake. As you are reading this article I assume you don't eat a cooked breakfast of sausage, bacon and eggs? O.K. try reducing any full fat dairy food you may enjoy, and obviously give up smoking! Eggs in moderation are alright, just don't overdo it.

Here are some foods that should help to keep your cholesterol in check:

• whole meal and granary bread.
• porridge, try it with bananas or dried fruit.
• oranges, apples and pears, figs & prunes.
• broad, red kidney and haricot beans, onions and garlic, mangetout and sweetcorn.

I have just scratched at the surface about food and health. Here are my top three tips for kitchen cures: Give up processed food, that way you can see what lies beneath. Check on the labeling of any spreads you buy, I think butter (none salted) is better for you. And finally, steam your vegetables for the best flavour.

You are never too old to change your eating (and drinking ) habits!