Posted by Christine Szalay-Kudra on October 4, 2010
Lots of us are looking for new recipe options that will give us something new in our lives, taste great, and still be healthier than restaurant fare or processed foods. Much of the time, this involves focusing on high protein foods that are low in fat, particularly saturated fat. That is why so many people are cooking with chicken. It is a great choice for anyone trying to eat more healthily, since chicken is mostly made up of lean protein.
Choosing a healthy chicken recipe over red meat can help you cut down your cholesterol levels, reduce hypertension, and even lose weight without giving up on great taste. Chicken is a fabulously versatile food that can be used in nearly all cuisines and with almost every cooking style.
Many people are deciding to spice up their salads a little with marinated grilled chicken, to make delicious chicken wraps and Latin American or Asian inspired dishes. There are lots of easy chicken recipes out there. Remember that the chicken you use is going to affect how healthy the dish is and how good it tastes, with cage reared chickens often producing lower quality meat, even if it is less expensive than the alternatives.
One alternative that will still allow you to enjoy great, low fat foods that are high in protein is organic or free range chicken. Be sure to know what each label means. However, these chickens have generally been raised according to certain standards, which improve the health and well being of the animal and the quality of the meat they produce. While it is more expensive, chicken recipes made with organic or other specialty chicken meat are worth the extra cost in terms of flavor and healthiness.
You may find that this meat contains less fat and more muscle. If you are still concerned about an excess of fat, it is easy to trim off. You can even remove the skin to further reduce fat, resulting in a truly low fat meal that does not sacrifice much in the way of taste.
Remember, no matter what you are using, to treat your chicken carefully. For safety, do not let raw chicken sit at room temperature, and refrigerate cooked chicken within two hours. Frozen chicken is safe to store for up to a year in the freezer, however.
Chicken should always be washed in cold water, and a clean cutting board and knife should be used in all cases. Once the chicken has been prepared, anything that touched the raw meat needs to be cleaned immediately. If you handle your meat correctly, the danger of contamination is significantly less.
Thankfully, safe preparation of chicken is not a hard thing to do, and cooking it in a healthy way is not difficult, either. Just spend a little time working on creative ways to cook this versatile food, or look online to find lots of great recipes. You will enjoy some quality meals and you will feel a lot better.
Chicken is a great choice for cooking in parchment. Slice it up and it will cook quickly. For more ideas for boneless chicken, check out BonelessChickenRecipe.com. There are lots of recipes and articles to learn more about this tasty, convenient ingredient.
Posted by KC Kudra on September 27, 2010
Shrimp are a wonderful thing. They can be found in many different sizes and all of them are delicious. Yet there are so many things most people do not know about shrimp, even though they are the most popular seafood in the world. Their secrets abound. Here is the first little known fact: raw shrimp are often called “green” shrimp.
Your average shrimp has ten legs. Since most of us eat them after they have been shelled, we do not often see the legs. The head of the shrimp takes up about half their body size. Even though we call it the head, it also includes the thorax as well. They are related to other crustaceans like lobsters and crabs. They are also related to insects, which is why some cooks refer to them by the endearing name, “Bug.”
In the United States, we eat a billion pounds of shrimp per year. In fact, in Las Vegas, Nevada, 60,000 pounds of shrimp are consumed every day… that is more than everywhere else in the U. S. combined! Wow, that is a lot of shrimp! Almost 90% of that is imported from Central America and Asia, and 40% of that is farmed shrimp. Almost 80% of the shrimp we eat here is consumed in restaurants. We like to eat them, but apparently, we do not like to cook them ourselves. Once you have tried cooking them a few times, you will see how easy it really is.
In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, “Shrimp is the fruit of the sea.” He then proceeds to describe 21 different ways to prepare shrimp, including three different frying methods. The versatile shrimp can be added to stews and soups. It can be used as appetizers, snacks, and main dishes. You can add shrimp to just about anything. Broil them, saute them, fry them… they all taste fabulous.
If the terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are confusing to you, you are not alone. Even shrimp experts can mix them up. For example, the California spot prawn is really a shrimp while the ridgeback shrimp is truly a prawn. In most fish markets, any large shrimp may be called a prawn, but in actuality, there is a physical difference between the two. Shrimp have side flaps that overlap on their first three abdominal segments, while prawns first two segments are the same size.
Shrimp make great easy party appetizers that everyone will love at any party because people love shrimp appetizers more than any other appetizer. You can purchase them in a variety of sizes like small, medium, large, jumbo, and colossal. They are sold by count. For example, jumbo shrimp would be labeled 21/25 on the package. This means there are 21 to 25 shrimp per pound. You can serve them lightly cooked in all of their glory or you can add them to recipes.
You will notice that different types of shrimp exhibit different textures and flavors. These factors are influenced by what they eat as well as the water they live in. Wild shrimp have a more complex flavor due to their varied diet. They also have firmer meat since they need to search for their food. Farmed shrimp have a softer texture since they know where to get their food.
Making trouble-free Superbowl party recipes means that you can prepare all your snacks well in advance and relax with your guests when the game starts. There are lots of Superbowl recipes to choose from and meat snacks, like chicken wings, ribs and hot dogs, are always incredibly popular. You will find hundreds of quick trouble-free appetizers at our site to give you some more ideas.
