cooking – Page 2 – Just a Dash

For the last two weeks I’ve been creating a weekly menu (Monday-Thursday, Sunday I just cook whatever I put my hands on). I got the idea here my first week on Pinterest. I’ve found this to be very cost effective as it helps me to prepare a better shopping list as I know what I will be cooking. It also encourages me to cook! I can take out the meat the night before and put it in the fridge or the same day early in the morning because I know what I will be cooking. That way I don’t get frustrated trying to figure out what to cook and end up taking out meat too late and then dinner is also late and rushed.

This menu also makes me get creative with what I’ll be cooking as you don’t want to repeat meals too often. I’d say I spend a good half an hour or more just trying to think of meals for 4 days! Also I try not to cook too much wheat as it’s one of the foods that I’m sensitive too but I just try not to indulge too often. That means I’m left with potatoes, rice or rice pasta.

Last week’s menu looked like this:

Monday: Lamb stew with rice and peas (in Barbados, rice and peas are cooked together so in the future this is what I mean when I say rice and peas)

Tuesday: baked pork chops, macaroni pie (basically baked mac & cheese) and potato salad

Wednesday: Sautéed chicken strips and rice

Thursday: Home-made fried chicken and chips (we were travelling the next day)

This week:

Monday: “Shepherd’s Pie” (made with idaho and sweet potatoes and turkey not beef)

Tuesday: Chicken chow mein

Wednesday: Beef stew and rice and peas

Thursday: Spaghetti and ground beef (mixed together)

I try to think of meals that will be easy to pull together as I don’t always have a lot of time to prep and prepare meals. When I went to the supermarket on Monday, I found fresh diced onions. I jumped for joy (on the inside) and grabbed the white and red onions. This was amazing as I hate cutting onions, and I use them in every meal so this has made me hop into the kitchen faster. I hope to keep this up and not drop it within the next two weeks. As it is, my husband and I check each other’s schedules on Sunday to know how the week will go so I’ve added this menu planning to that. It’s so much easier to have a general idea of the week ahead instead of diving head first into it and just scrambling for the rest of the week. Hope I helped you with your planning this week :).

A few weeks ago, my dad sent me a power point presentation on ginger and it’s properties. When I was younger he’d often push for me to drink ginger tea when I wasn’t feeling well but it was always so strong that I didn’t want to go near it. But after reading this presentation ~~and being “older and wiser”~~ I decided to give ginger a shot in the best way I knew I could take it – my food. On a trip to Whole Foods market for some other stuff (*see side note) I bought some ginger and it sat in the fridge a few days before I actually used it. I decided to try it with some chicken first. I cut a small piece, probably, 1 inch in diameter and a half inch in thickness. I grated this, added soy sauce, garlic and black pepper to the chicken and let it marinate for an hour. When I was ready to cook it, I heated 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of sugar, put in the chicken and browned it. Added a few seasonings, a little more sugar and let it get sticky. BEST CHICKEN EVARRRR!! I was quite surprised that the ginger wasn’t overwhelming but there was just a hint of it there; not overpowering. This has encouraged me to try it in other meals but also to know to start with a little, and as I become more comfortable with it, to know if to add more or less to a meal to get a desired taste. When trying something new, start with a small portion and familiarize yourself with the product.

*As my personal training sessions were all about weight training, I tried to focus more on meat for my breakfast as I didn’t want to get full on bread, and egg and I aren’t friends more than 2 days a week. So on the advice of my trainer, I went to Whole Foods to purchase some fresh sausage (less sodium and preservatives) from the deli there to spice up my breakfast, and while I was there I remembered GINGER!!

Here are a few pointers from the presentation. I hope you start using ginger as well and appreciate it’s properties.

Ginger contains anti-viral, anti-toxic, and anti-fungal properties, and is used for the prevention of and treatment against the common cold. The warming effects make it a natural decongestant as well as an antihistamine, making it the perfect remedy for colds.

Ginger acts as an antihistamine and aids in the treatment of allergies.

Ginger contains special enzymes responsible for catalyzing the proteins in your food, thus aiding in digestion and the prevention of cramps.

Good for those with constipation!

The ancient Greeks used to eat ginger after a large meal, in order to ease the digestion process.

Chewing on fresh ginger, can help freshen the breath.

Being a warming herb, ginger can help knock out a fever. This property also makes it effective in stimulating circulation of the blood.

It can also help relax muscles around the blood vessels and is said to help prevent blood clots from forming.

Some studies show that it can even help inhibit the replication of the herpes simplex virus.

To discover the health benefits of ginger for yourself, simply make a tea by steeping about 5 slices of ginger in hot water.

Ginger doesn’t only spice up your food it can also help to put some extra spice in your intimate life too. It improves blood flow to your sexual organs, and contains Vitamin C, zinc and magnesium.

There are plenty of other great qualities in ginger, and it’s not limited to being used as tea or in food. So go out and educate yourself more on this wonderful root/herb and find the best way you’d like to incorporate it into your daily diet.

Tag: cooking

Thank you for dining with us!

Hooray for Ginger!