This week, I have even more great tips that I know you want to see! I’ve selected some gems and have them here for your perusal:
*I save the ends of carrots, celery, turnips, outer layers of onions (not the papery skin), and other washed vegetable trimmings together in a freezer bag for making broth. After cooking these and straining the broth, I add leftover beans and other vegetables or freshly chopped vegetables, pasta, etc., as I wish for a great low-fat (or even low-carb if pasta, rice, and potatoes are omitted) homemade soup. It’s easy, quick, fresh, and different every time.
~Barbara from CT
*The movie “Supersize Me” turned me off fast food eateries completely! It graphically showed the hazards of high fat and sugar consumption, when a perfectly fit young man became seriously ill after one month of fast food eating. I’m finding I don’t even want to eat at sandwich shops, etc. because instead, I can guarantee myself clean, healthy food that I make myself! The same thing happened to my 15 yr. old daughter and her friend.
Also, thank you so much for prodding all of us towards healthy food and the constant reminder to feed our hearts and our family’s hearts while we feed their bodies. God bless you!!!
~Dianne from PA
*This tip is not mine, it’s from the legendary Adele Davis, but I have been doing it for YEARS and it’s great.
I keep a plastic bag in my freezer where I put leftover vegetable cuttings and peels, chicken and meat bones, the outer leaves of lettuce & cabbage, and any other stuff I’d normally discard before or after cooking.
When it gets full I throw everything into a soup pot and boil it up for about an hour with a tablespoon of vinegar, which Davis said brings out more of the nutrients from the bones. Boiling it sterilizes everything, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning anything before throwing it into the freezer bag. Then I strain it and discard the solids. The result is homemade broth that I always have on hand to use as a base for soup and for boiling rice and other grains. It is MUCH tastier and more nutritious than using plain water and MUCH cheaper than buying canned broth from the store.
~Keely in Philadelphia
*My kids like to take applesauce in their lunch boxes. I don’t buy the prepackaged individual containers of applesauce because the packaging is bad for the environment and it is much more expensive than buying a bigger jar of it (not to mention that most of it has added sugar). We got the idea to try freezing the applesauce in ice cube trays and it has been a hit! My kids put 2-3 applesauce cubes in a reusable plastic container. They like that it stays colder much longer in their lunch boxes. I like that it is so quick and easy (and neater than trying to get to the bottom of the glass applesauce jar) to get their fruit ready for their lunch box, and I can buy the applesauce that doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup, etc. added to it, but in a big jar, which is a savings of grocery money.
~Sara
Don’t forget to send in your questions and tips to [email protected].
PS–You can receive delicious menus (complete with shopping lists!) delivered right to your email inbox by subscribing to Dinner Answers today!