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Lifehacker
Results for posts tagged "food hacks" on Lifehacker Australia.
Honing your outdoor culinary skills is a lot more simple than it seems, given the right tools, a little preparation, and a few tips on technique. Take a look at some pointers on getting the right gear, turning out great meals, and even preparing for uncooperative weather, after the jump. Photo by Another Pint Please....
If there's one useful thing that I learned when I moved to California, it's how to slice and pit a ripe avocado. Forget scooping out the pit with a spoon and losing any bit of that precious green butter inside—tap the pit firmly with a knife to lodge it there, and twist the pit out. Hit the play button above to see how.
Posted by Sarah Stokely at 3:40 PM on May 9, 2008
Snacking is often thought of as something people do because they're bored or they are overeaters. But the Dumb Little Man blog today takes a different tack, saying you should aim to consume 200 calories every two to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels from dipping too low.
"Always plan to snack. It's thinking that you won't eat anything between breakfast and lunch that leaves you standing in front of the candy machine at 10.30 in the morning, starting a cycle that's going to ruin our day."They've helpfully made a list of the criteria for a healthy snack:
You're about to do some weekend baking and pull out the container of brown sugar only to find it's dried into a collection of hard clumps. The LifeSpy blog says you can use a slice of bread to soften it up again.
Place the sugar in a microwavable container and place a slice of bread in the container on the sugar. Seal the container tightly and microwave for 15 seconds. The moisture from the bread will raise the pressure in the container and the steam will soften the sugar and you can now easily work on the clumps.A slice of bread can also keep cookies fresh, too. Thanks, Jason!
Few foods evoke the feeling that warm weather has returned like the pineapple, but even fewer foods inspire such quizzical reactions when it comes time to actually serve the thing. Instructables posts a guide to getting the most juicy yellow stuff out of that expensive (for moderate-climate buyers, anyway) purchase. You'll need a large, sharp knife and a small thin blade, but the author notes a bread knife and thin fillet or boning knife are the best combo. Need to cut for rings or slices? Check out one of my favourite one-purpose sites, How to cut a pineapple.
Water—it helps maintain energy, it can break a sugary soda habit, but glass after glass of the plain stuff can leave you longing for something with more kick. The Wise Bread blog offers up a few not-so-common suggestions for adding a little kick to your H20 without spending or stressing:
Ginger - If you like spices, ginger is a great way to add a "zing" to your water. If it is added to boiling water it is also a great way to clear your throat and sinuses during a cold.
Citrus - My husband's family members often freeze a small citrus fruit called kalamansi in ice cube trays and then put the ice cubes in water for flavour. The same can be done with other citrus fruits and the water produced would be infused with vitamin C.
Herbs - Mint, lemongrass, and parsley are great for adding aroma and a hint of green to your water. If you want to release the flavour you can crush the plants a little bit before putting them into your water.
Posted by Sarah Stokely at 8:55 AM on March 25, 2008
The Naturopathy Works website has an interesting table of common food cravings which suggests what food deficiency your craving might point to. For example, chewing ice could indicate that you're low on iron. The cool thing about the table is that it recommends healthy alternatives to fuel you up on whatever the deficiency is. For example, if you're low on iron it suggests meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens or black cherries.
I don't know how successful I'll be in convincing myself that my chocolate craving is all about a lack of magnesium, but who knows, maybe raw nuts and seeds, legumes or fruits really can fill that need. :)
Food cravings... [Naturopathy Works]
Posted by Sarah Stokely at 2:06 PM on March 5, 2008
Ah, beer. Fans of the amber stuff may not wish to share their tipple, but according to the Wise Bread blog you can put beer to several uses in your garden - as a slug killer, and to help protect your garden visitors from bees.
Salt is a traditional slug-killer, but as the post says "that means you have to find them first":
"Instead, entice them with a little beer, which slugs love. Simply pour a little into some empty jars and place them in the soil, with the rims of the jars at ground level. The slugs will drop in for a drink, but they can’t get back out. And what a way to go; Certainly better than the salt-shriveling death."
Cooking in the cold winter and out of a core ingredient for a dish? Substitute what you've got in your fridge and cupboard with what the recipe requires. Here is an example as suggested by weblog Gothamist:
1 teaspoon baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
The organised bloggers over at Unclutterer say that answering the question "What's for dinner?" is a lot easier if you've got a plan—a weekly meal plan, that is. Map out your "utilitarian meals" on a simple grid where you list recipes for each day of the week and compile your grocery list in the sidebar. Put together your plan on Sundays before your grocery store visit, and take all the work out of figuring out what to eat next. Unclutterer offers a PDF or Excel spreadsheet weekly meal plan worksheet for download, too.
