Hills Hills - Healthy Cooking for One

Healthy Cooking
for One Mari Hills Copyright 2004 Mari Hills. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author. Note for Librarians: a cataloguing record for this book that includes Dewey Classification and US Library of Congress numbers is available from the National Library of Canada. The complete cataloguing record can be obtained from the National Librarys online database at: www.nlc-bnc.ca/amicus/index-e.html ISBN 978-1-4120-1592-9 Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-4122-1877-1 eBook This book was published on-demand in cooperation with Trafford Publishing.
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Trafford Catalogue #03-1969 www.trafford.com/robots/03-1969.html 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Contents This is my first book, I would not have written it without the inspiration and motivation of my son. Dennis, I love you always. Photography: Mari Hills About This Book This book is intended to be a useful cluster of quick and simple recipes. All made with common ingredients and fresh products available in most grocery stores. In Healthy Cooking for One, each dish has been designed to serve one in style. Fast food restaurants are not in my favorite list as they are mostly high on fats, carbohydrates and calories; while fast food restaurants offer biggie sizes, I prefer the small sizes.

When you talk about eating well, size matters. I like to cook my own food, being fresh, tasty and having control of the serving portion and the amount of fats that I intake. Even I have a full time job; I prefer to dedicate a short time to prepare my own meals looking for tasty and fast recipes that allows me some evening time for myself, while eating well. Long cooking projects are being left for another book; this one is dedicated to those after-work early-evening meals and snacks full of taste in a short time. Being a single mom demands to cook in small portions and minimize leftovers. Unlike others who might prefer to cook large amounts and leave leftovers for next day, I rather cook less quantity of food and have minimum leftovers.

For my taste, freshly prepared foodjust taste better. I choose fresh products, roots, fruits and vegetables. My favorite dishes go from sandwiches, dips, salads to stir fries, all with a potpourri of different flavors. In this book you will find recipes that I have prepared for a long time. Youll see that garlic, olive oil, cilantro and spices are in most of my recipes. If you are looking for ideas to prepare quick, tasty dishes, in single portionsthis book is for you.

Tips and Ideas Meats, Beef, Chicken and Fish Right amount, always handy: As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I take advantage that meat/beef/chicken/fish is thawed to divide it into single portions. Then slightly season it, put it into zippered plastic bags and freeze; this way you only need to unfreeze the amount you want to cook. It is easier to slice beef, meat or chicken breasts if you put them in the freezer for about hour. To prevent bacteria, defrost sealed frozen food in the refrigerator on a plate instead of on the kitchen counter. Seasonings Prepare your Maris Home-Made Seasoning, keep one small portion in the fridge in a sealed container, enough for 1-2 weeks; the rest can be frozen in an ice-cube tray; once frozen, you may pop them into a zippered plastic bag. This will avoid odor spread into the other food in the freezer, while having handy individual portions.

For Home-Made Seasoning, see Maris Home-Made Seasoning recipe in this book. Mix your favorite dry herbs and spices and have it handy to shake over food. Ideas Zippered plastic bags-convenient to keep food in fridge or freezer; space-saver; see-through; re-usable (wash well before re-use). Ice-cube tray-great for freezing seasoning & small portion of sauces. Mortar-great to crush garlic & spices When cooking rice, add a cube of chicken or beef broth to the water When you beat food with an electric or hand mixer, always use a large bowl to prevent splatters. Locate mixing bowl in the clean sink, and just wash sink out when done.

To thicken soups, add a little of instant potato flakes, or add a slice of potato very finely chopped. To crush garlic in a mortar, add a bit of salt and pepper before crushing Add shredded parmesan or cheddar cheese, cilantro and crushed garlic to mashed potatoes Refrigerate fresh cilantro wrapping the roots with a slightly wet paper towel in a plastic bag. To prepare herbs-butter, leave butter at room temperature to soften, and then add crushed garlic and herbs. Put back into refrigerator. Soften ice cream at room temperature; add small chunks of fruits; blend and re- freeze. If you are counting calories, substitute ingredients with low-fat or low-sugar.

Add or change spices as you like, be creative in adding those you like most. When cooking pasta, do not add oil to the water, oil will not allow sauces to stick well to the pasta. To keep the ice cream from getting crystals, cover it with plastic wrap before putting the lid back on. It is easier to cut soft cheeses, such as mozzarella or goat cheese, if you put them in the freezer for a couple of minutes before cutting. To speed ripening of an avocado, put it in a dry dark place (for example, kitchen cabinet or unused oven) for a couple of days. Check daily for ripening, avocado skin will not change color while ripening, but its soft to the touch.

Keep cut apples, bananas and avocado from browning by squeezing a few drops of fresh lemon juice on them. Save counter space by removing all those small appliances that you dont frequently use. Organize your refrigerator by grouping like items together. Place all beverages on the same shelf. Place all fruits on same shelf. Use see-through plastic bags and containers; you will always know whats inside.

Storage cereal, flour, pasta, etc in clear (see-through) containers. Stack the containers in your cabinet or pantry and save space by using square containers, these will take up less space than rounded ones. If you have a plant in the kitchen, locate it next to the sink, you wont forget to water it. To get more juice out of the lemons, roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before cutting and squeezing. To remove stuck food from the skillet, add soapy water and bring to a boil. It will be much easier to clean.

Use low-fat or regular ingredients based on your eating habits. If tomatoes are too ripened, puree them into tomato sauce or dips Top your soups with avocado, finely chopped. Kitchen Ergonomics: keep utensils near your stove, keep dishes near the dishwasher, keep seasonings near the cooking area, keep working area near the stove/oven, good lighting, prepare ingredients beforehand. Add several slices of lemon and/ or orange to a pitcher of cold water. For single recipes, more convenient (prevent leftovers) if you buy grape, cherry or plum tomatoes. Perfect size for small portions.

For recipes, use the ones you most prefer adjusting the amount required for the recipe. Fresh fruits and vegetables dont last long; estimate what you really consume in a week and buy only that amount. And Some More Ideas Save in paper towels, have some hand towels instead. Dont go to the grocery store in a rush; take your time to read the labels! To prevent ice-cream to stick to scoop, wet the ice-cream scoop in warm water before every scoop. Crack eggs in a separate bowl one by one before you add them to the mix, this way youll avoid any rotten egg to spoil the mix. To prevent bacteria spread, use one separate cutting board only for poultry and meats.