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You are here: Home / Archives for Life / food

Ingredients Everyone Should Have In Their Kitchen

April 20, 2022 by Wendy S

Image by Matej Madar from Pixabay

Are you busy rolling your hours between your job, school, and family? Then trust me you need this list that can ease out your daily meal preparation? Below mentioned are the most essential ingredients that can easily lift your regular cooking game.

Eggs

Eggs can be a go-to snack – whether boiled, omelette, fried, or scrambled. It’s always good to choose eggs for your little hunger pains. They also meet-up your protein requirements, which makes them a perfect option for Breakfast. Our family loves deviled eggs.

Good Quality Bread

Bread is such a staple that we always have it in our kitchen. Good quality bread can be a base ingredient for many meals, be it a sandwich, bread with an omelette, bread and butter, garlic bread, a bread pizza, and a whole lot more.

Canned Beans

Apart from having a good shelf life, canned beans can also be added to many dishes for some extra protein and flavour. Canned beans can add substance to your tacos, pasta, and salads.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Honey

Honey is one of the best natural sweeteners, and adding it to your diet can result in amazing health benefits. Add it to your tea, use it has a dip for pretzels, or use it in glazes for meat or poultry.

Dried Pasta

Families with kids will know what a saviour pasta can be. When your little ones demand some quick snacking, all you need to do is boil some pasta, and when ready, add some tomato sauce. The pasta is then ready for them to devour. For a health kick, add in some vegetables to the sauce.

Tortillas

These thin, crispy bites are an amazing go-to snack. You can pair them with some cheesy dip or some marinara sauce and enjoy a quick meal.

With some handy tortillas, you can prepare some quick tacos. All you need is some ground beef, salsa, lettuce, and grated cheese, and your fulfilling wholesome meal is ready.

The best part about tortillas is that they can be stored for 3-4 weeks if you pack them up properly in an airtight Xiplock bag.

Cheddar or Parmesan Cheese

Cheese is a must ingredient in our kitchen. Whether it’s bread or pasta, pizza or salads, cheese can add an abundance of taste to almost all meals.

We all know cheese for its amazing and mushy taste, but little do you know, it’s a great source of Vitamin D as well.

Image by iSAW Company from Pixabay

Salsa or Hot Sauce

Are you someone who loves spicy flavour in your food? Then stocking up on some salsa and hot chilli sauces should be on your list. You can add them to season up your pasta, sandwiches, or add it to your tacos or nachos. And the best part – these store-bought sauces can last for months in your kitchen.

Rolled Oats

Are you planning on having a healthy and nutritious start to your day? Then what’s better than some nutrition-packed rolled oats. Oats are a great source of antioxidants – natural fibres that maintain a healthy gut, and keep your muscles healthy.

Manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, folate, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and vitamin B3 (niacin).

With all of that, rolled oats is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can consume.

Spices

Garnishing your meal with spices can immediately make it flavourful and amazing. Spices also have a longer shelf life and are easy to store, so it’s a great idea to stock up some common ones like black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, salt, cinnamon powder, rosemary, thyme, paprika, and chilli flakes. Craig and I love to use different spices when we cook to enhance the flavour of our dishes.

Filed Under: food Tagged With: Bread, Canned Beans, Cheddar Cheese, Cheese, Dried Pasta, Eggs, Honey, Hot Sauce, Ingredients, Parmesan Cheese, Pasta, Rolled Oats, Salsa, Seasonings, Spices, Tortillas

Baking Essentials that every baker needs

March 21, 2022 by Wendy S

There are a hundred and one things that might all be used when you’re baking, and we’d count each of them as essentials. However, there are some things that are more essential than others and are often overlooked in the kitchen.

In this article, we’re focussing on some of those overlooked essentials, as well as making sure that we’ve picked out products that can truly boost your baking to the next level!


Image by Pascal Bondis 💙💛 💙💛💙💛 from Pixabay

Instant-Read Thermometer

An instant-read thermometer might seem like a flashy gadget to have in a home kitchen, but it’s incredibly helpful for any number of things.
The first use that comes to mind is when making fudge or candy. Sugar reaches different stages at different temperatures when you’re heating it, so if you’re aiming for the soft-ball stage, you need to be within a certain temperature bracket. That’s where an instant-read thermometer comes in handy!

The other use that is handy is when making your own bread. Bread is cooked all the way through when you can take its internal temperature at 96˚C/205˚F. When making your own bread, it can be tricky to know when you’re at that point, and tapping the base of the loaf is an unreliable predictor. Instead, we would suggest investing in an instant-read thermometer for perfect bread every time.

 


Image by 为 肖 from Pixabay

 

Digital Scale

A digital scale is a game-changer in the kitchen! You won’t have to worry about perfectly using measuring cups ever again, instead of being able to perfectly measure the amount of each ingredient as you add them to your mixing bowl.
This is a really great way to enhance your recipes for more finicky things, such as meringues since they require very precise ratios of different ingredients to correctly bake and rise in the oven.

A digital scale can also help you to get rid of measurement errors with old measuring jugs. If the measuring lines of a jug have worn off, it becomes quite useless. On the other hand, a digital scale will always be able to tell you the exact number of mL of a liquid in a container. How handy!

 


Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Whisk

Okay, this might sound a little obvious – of course, you need a whisk! However, you’d be surprised how often there’s hesitation to buy a good whisk. Make sure to get one that’s comfortable in your hand and quite lightweight – your wrists will thank you later!
We’d recommend getting one that’s completely made from stainless steel. That way, you can throw the whole thing in the dishwasher after you’re done with it! It’s really handy, and we love it.

Now, these three essentials might not sound too groundbreaking, but we’re completely sure that if you’re missing one of them, picking it up will mean you can see a huge improvement in your bakes in no time at all. Even if you just start with one, it’s a huge help!

So, without further ado, make sure to pick up the essentials we’ve pointed out here – you’ll love them!

Filed Under: food, Life Tagged With: baker, baking, baking essentials, essentials, kitchen

Healthy recipes + PC Guiding Stars = Success! #GuidingStarsCA #PCStars

August 31, 2015 by Wendy S

Lots of healthy ideas

I’m not very creative in the kitchen, so I was very happy to see that Fortino’s (and the other Loblaw’s properties) have an amazing recipe section.  I found the chili recipe in the “Heathier Choices” section. And you can narrow you search even further to suit your needs.

 healthy_recipes

Putting the healthy recipes together with the PC Guiding Stars program is a recipe for success!

The Hearty Vegetarian Quinoa Chili is a one-pot meal that was easy to prepare and full of stars!!

 11 Stars!!

onions IMG_1623 IMG_1624  IMG_1625

It could have been a 12-star meal, but they were out of Quinoa, so I went with the Bulgar & Quinoa which was 1 star less.

IMG_1626

And so easy to make!

IMG_1627 IMG_1628 IMG_1629 IMG_1631 IMG_1632 IMG_1633

So yummy! So filling!

When they say “hearty,” they weren’t kidding!  

I had left out the jalapenos that the recipe called for because I was worried it would be too hot.  But I think a little would have given it a bit of added flavour.

 

Here is my adaptation of the PC recipe!

Hearty Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
2015-08-28 13:23:31
Serves 8
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
55 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
55 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 tsp (20 mL) olive oil
  2. 2 onions, diced
  3. 2 tbsp (25 mL) chili powder
  4. 1 can (796 mL) PC Blue Menu Diced Tomatoes
  5. 1 can (540 mL) PC Blue Menu 6 Bean Medley , drained and rinsed
  6. ½ cup (125 mL) PC Organics Quinoa
Instructions
  1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring often, or until golden.
  2. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 minute longer, stirring frequently.
  3. Stir in diced tomatoes and juices, beans, quinoa and 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender.
  5. Serve garnished with PC Blue Menu Yogurt Spread and chopped fresh coriander, if desired.
Notes
  1. Original recipe called for mushrooms and jalapeno.
By President's Choice
mapsgirl.ca https://www.mapsgirl.ca/

Disclosure – I am participating in the Guiding Stars Blogger Outreach program by ShesConnected. I have been compensated in exchange for my participation in the campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: food, Life, Recipes Tagged With: Guiding Stars, PC Stars, ShesConnected

MyFitnessPal Tips: Importing recipes is easy!

March 1, 2014 by Wendy S

MyFitnessPal Importing Recipes

Pin it!

In honour of the fact that today is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, I thought I would share a yummy recipe and some tips on using MyFitnessPal!

I found a great apple and peanut butter snack recipe that is perfect to share today and fits perfectly into my new healthy eating habits.  When I went to myfitnesspal today to enter the recipe, I found that they have added a tool for importing recipes! 

New Recipe Importer is easy to use!

When adding your food to your diary, there is now an option under “Recipes” to import from a URL — http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box (**Update** I have been told that this may not be available to all users yet; it may be something that is being phased in)

Previously, you had to manually enter in all of the information and it would generate the nutritional information about that recipe.  You can still do that, but why? The new importer allows you to enter the URL from the site where you found the recipe, it crawls the site for all of the important info needed, allows you to make changes if needed and you’re done!

Copy and paste the URL

MyFitnessPal Recipe Import

Edit the Ingredient list

MyFitnessPal - Recipe Ingredients

Add missing ingredients

MyFitnessPal Recipe - Ingredients

Save the recipe

MyFitnessPal Recipe - Save

You can see the recipe in MyFitnessPal’s database:

MyFitnessPal recipe in Database

Click to see recipe in myfitnesspal!

 Now I can log the recipe whenever I have it!

Apple Sandwiches with Honeyed Peanut Butter & Oats

Apple Sandwiches
2014-02-28 09:41:18
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon rolled oats
  2. 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  3. 3 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter
  4. 3/4 teaspoon honey
  5. 1 tablespoon raisins
  6. 1 medium apple
Instructions
  1. Combine the oats and cinnamon in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring occasionally, until the oats are golden. Cool before using.
  2. Mix together the peanut butter and honey.
  3. Core and slice the apple into 6 rounds. (If you don't have an apple corer, you can slice the apple first and then cut out the centers with a small cookie cutter or knife.)
  4. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on 3 of the apple slices and sprinkle with raisins and oats. Top with the remaining apple slices to form sandwiches.
Notes
  1. If you are not eating the apple right away, you can brush it with lemon juice to prevent browning. A solution of 1/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice does the trick without tasting too lemony.
  2. For strict gluten-free diets, be sure to use gluten-free oats.
By Emily Ho
Adapted from theKitchn
Adapted from theKitchn
mapsgirl.ca https://www.mapsgirl.ca/

This post was inspired by the 31 Days of Writing Prompts for March from The SITS Girls!

March 31 Days of Writing Prompts

Filed Under: body mind spirit, food, Life, Recipes Tagged With: healthy, myfitnesspal, snacks

Healthy Valentine’s Day! #NewMapsgirl #TeamSilva

February 13, 2014 by Wendy S

Healthy Valentine's Day 2014 This year we’re celebrating a very Healthy Valentine’s Day!

We’re not getting chocolates or candies. As much as I love chocolate and candies, it doesn’t fit in our healthy eating choices.

 

I still wanted Valentine’s Day to be fun!

This is a super easy way to make some fun, healthy treats for your kids…oh, and you too!

You’ll need:

  • a heart-shaped cookie cutter
  • a knife
  • pink or red fruits (eg. Watermelon and strawberries)

Directions:

Watermelon:

Health Valentine's 2014

I sliced the watermelon as thick as the cookie cutter is tall, but you could make them thinner as well.

Then I lined up the point of the watermelon to be the point of the heart and cut out the heart shape.

Strawberries:

Health Valentine's 2014

I sliced the strawberries in half and cut off the green parts.

Then with the flat inside part facing up, I cut the “v” shape out of the top.

Pack for lunch:

Once everything is cut up, it’s ready to be packed up for lunch!

Health Valentine's 2014

 Other great red and pink fruits to do fun things with:

  • cherries
  • raspberries
  • grapefruit
  • apples

Happy and Healthy Valentine’s everyone!!

Filed Under: faith hope love, food, Life Tagged With: healthy, recipe, strawberry, Valentine's Day, watermelon

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mapsgirl@gmail.com

Why “mapsgirl” ?

Wendy is a cartographer! She draws maps!

When not mapping, Wendy is also a mom to two daughters. They are the inspiration of this blog. Passionate about child passenger safety, Wendy was a certified Car Seat Technician in Ontario, Canada from 2008 to 2020. [Read More …]

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