Cooking food for kids:

A school going children definitely needs a well balanced diet to supply the energy to study and to involve in extra curricular activities. Also they should not skip the breakfast, if so the entire day will be good and energetic for them. Packed lunch for them should provide plenty of nutrients. Here are some tips how to cook food for kids at home.1. Toast the bread with egg or peanut butter. It will be a good breakfast for kids.
2. Boil the water; add oatmeal and stir up to the water is absorbed. Then add cinnamon, walnuts and dry grapes, stir it for 5 minutes and serve it for kids.
3. Cook 2-3 green chilies, mint leaves and coriander leaves in little oil and grind it to a fine paste then mix it with steamed rice. Add little more salt if required.
4. Take two bread slices and apply tomato sauce on one slice, place boiled potato slices, some finely sliced green vegetables then cover it with the second bread slice.
5. Add vegetables to burgers and cook oven-baked fries instead of deep fry in oil.
Avoid too many processed foods as they tend to contain few nutrients and too much salt, sugar, additives and saturated fat. Find ways for children to enjoy eating vegetables. Try with different combination; prepare always delicious and nutritious food for them.

Foods that makes the body healthy:

* Oats 5-6 servings for a day.
* An Orange and an apple each one per day.
* Spinach 1 cup (steamed) per day.
* Green tea with lime 1 cup daily.
* Yogurt 2 cups daily.
* 1 tomato per day.

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EASY COOKING TIPS

What is cooking?

Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat. First important thing is you must listen to your inner knowledge of what foods work well for you, what foods combine well when cooked and what tastes good. If you don’t know how to cook, start learning cooking with simple recipes. Here some basic things about cooking are listed out to cookers at home.

Before cooking:
1. Don’t wash the vegetables after cutting or peeling, so that the water soluble vitamins can be preserved.
2. To get whole vitamins and minerals in a vegetable, peel it as thin as possible.
3. Water used to boil the vegetables can be added in gravies.
4. Soak onions in water for 5 minutes before cutting, so that the burning of the eye can be avoided.
5. To avoid discoloration, soak the potatoes in water after cut.
6. The stems of green chilies can be removed to stay long and fresh.
7. Make a hole in the egg by piercing a pin before boiling it; the skin can be removed easily.
8. Keep lemons in hot water for twenty minutes before squeezing. They will yield more juice.
9. To retain the color of green vegetable add them to boiling water, do not cover and wash in cold water when cooked.
10. Keep yourself organized and efficient; gather all ingredients and equipments needed before start cooking.

While cooking:
1. Measurement plays an important role in cooking. Proper measuring of ingredients will give tasty food.
2. Proper use of seasoning is also one of the secrets to cooking.
3. Timing is also a factor to be considered while cooking. Because over cooked food won’t be tasty.
4. Aluminum, Copper and Iron are reactive metals. If these are used for cooking, it will discolor the food and may impart a metallic taste. Always use, stainless steel and glass utensils.
5. Try to use low fat calorie ingredients while cooking, this will help to avoid weight gain.
6. To increase fiber in your daily food, use whole grains instead of refined products, such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat flour, barley and cornmeal
7. Choose right cooking methods to avoid deadly diseases like cancer. Avoid roasting, deep frying methods. Because oil can pack in number of diseases in your food.
8. Use always think bottomed vessels on medium flame to get better results.
9. First rinse the pan with water and then pour milk and heat. Then there will be no milk scrums at the bottom of the pan.
10. Do not hold any spice powder packets directly on the dish while cooking, the hot vapors get into the packet and spoil the powder. Use the spoon to take the required amount of powder and then add it to the dish.

After cooking:
1. Identify spots in the kitchen that accumulate clutter and take a few minutes every day to clear those spots.
2. End each day with a clean, empty kitchen sink.
3. White vinegar on a soft cloth is a great way to remove spots from your stainless steel cutlery.
4. Make a paste of baking soda and water and rub into coffee and tea stains.
5. Squeeze half of the lemon onto the cutting board and then clean it with warm water to avoid bacteria.
6. When cleaning glass and crockery add small amount of salt and then rinse with water to get it sparkling clean.
7. Do not use vinegar or orange based cleaners to clean marble. The acid in them will damage the surface.
8. To remove burned on food from the surface of a stainless steel stove, boil some water and pour directly onto the spill. Then wipe it with dry cloth.
9. Baking soda can be used to clean all the items in the kitchen; also it will remove the strong odors in hands.
10.Using a cloth dipped in hot water and wipe the inside and outside and the top of the refrigerator every week.
Cleaning up the kitchen is part of cooking. Always remember that preventing your kitchen from becoming dirty and messy will guarantee the health of your family so try to take care of it.

Cooking is an art and also very fun and interesting. Use your imagination and try to prepare new foods. Take various ingredients you find in your home and mix them with condiments. It is possible for everyone to succeed in cooking something entirely new and delicious.

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