Wash all fruits and vegetables under running water before you use them. This also includes items you are going to peel, like oranges and bananas. Using a clean produce brush is a good idea but never use soap or detergents to wash fruits and vegetables.

Scrub fruits and vegetables with “hard” skins such as apples, eggplants, cucumbers, and green peppers under cool running water. Dry thoroughly with a clean cloth or paper towel to prevent mold from sprouting on a damp surface, and refrigerate.

Wash leafy greens and refrigerate them wrapped in a paper towel inside a plastic bag, or refrigerate unwashed in a plastic bag and rinse thoroughly right before use.

Check for any decay on the fruit or vegetables and discard it.

If there are bruises or bumps on any vegetable or fruit, make sure there is no decay under the skin.

Use a clean cutting board when cutting fruits and vegetables. Always use different cutting boards to cut your fruits and vegetables and meat. Plastic or other nonporous cutting boards can be run through the dishwasher after use.

If you are planning to store your vegetables after cutting them, make sure you refrigerate them within two hours. Store all cut vegetables in clean containers or bags.

Precut and peeled fruits and vegetables are very convenient to use. They should be properly refrigerated and eaten quickly as they have a shorter shelf life.

These food safety tips will make sure your family gets all the benefits of a diet full of fruits and vegetables.

Pasta is considered as one of the most favourite dishes among children. In fact everyone in a family likes having pasta. Besides its taste and the variety of dishes that can be prepared from it, pasts is also very easy to cook. Here are some tips that will make pasta easier to cook and give you the best results.

• When you are buying pasta, make sure that you are going for best brand of pasta available in your area. Cheap pasta will make your cooking a mess. It is recommended that you should go for Italian brands.
• For boiling pasta, always choose a large pot. Smaller pots mean less water for the pasta. This will result in semi boiled pasta. Always use a stainless steel pot which can hole large volumes of water and has a big mouth.
• Always use the thumb rule to add 1 quarter water for every 100 gram pasta.
• Place the pot on the burner with the required amount of water. When water starts boiling, add salt to it. It is very important to add salt while boiling pasta. There is again a thumb rule present that you need to add 10 grams salt per quarter of water in the pot.
• Dried pasta usually becomes double in volume when cooked. Thus accurate measurement is very important to get the desired results. Hence always measure pasta by weight rather then cups. Usually one pound of pasta servers six persons.
• Once water with salt starts boiling, add pasta in it. When pasta completely submerges in water then stir it with a fork and keep stirring periodically.
• Keep the burner on high flame during boiling.
• On some pasta packages, time for boiling is mentioned, but in actual cooking and circumstances, time might vary. So keep checking pasta regularly to see when it is ready.
• To check whether the pasta is done, take out a small piece of the pasta using a spoon or fork; break it in the middle and check whether it is white from centre or its colour has changed. If it is still white from the centre core, it means that it is uncooked and if the centre core colour changes to same as out side, it means that it is ready to remove from the stove.
•  Never add oil of any kind to pasta while boiling to prevent the noodles from gluing with each other. Oiling will result in repelling of sauces and thus effects the taste of the dish.
•  When the pasta is boiled properly, add a glass of cold water in the pot to stop cooking.
•  Drain water from pasta but do not drain water completely. That will result in dryness of pasta. Allow some water to stay with the pasta and you can run it under cold water by draining the pasta in a colander under running water from the tap.

There are hundred of varieties of pasta sauces which you can make by yourself or can buy from the market as well. There is only one thing important to say that do not over sauce the pasta. If you do that then you will only have the taste of the sauce and not of pasta. Merge the pasta slowly in sauce so that the noodles or strands do not break and lose their actual shape.

• Go for a frozen turkey than a fresh one when buying from market.
• Remove neck and giblets from cavity before the turkey defrosts completely.
• Never use a deep roasting pan for turkey. A shallow roasting pan is more safe and convenient.
• If you want to enjoy the full flavour of a turkey along with all its juices, go for a cooking bag. It will prevent juices from evaporating or burning and sticking to the pan.
• Only stuff the turkey when you are going to cook it. Pre-stuffing and storing can produce harmful bacteria, so it is not hygienic and can spoil an uncooked bird.
• Small turkeys cook faster and are generally tender as compared to big ones.
• When cooking a turkey in the oven, an open pan is considered as the easiest method as it turns the turkey to golden brown and gives a great roasted flavour.
• If you cook a turkey in the oven with the pan covered, it will take less time.
• If you are thinking of cooking a turkey in the microwave, go for one which fits in your microwave.
• Use a microwave dish container while cooking the turkey, so that all its juices can catch in the dish.
• After thawing the turkey in microwave, never go for refreezing it again.
• If you roast the breast in down side until the last hour and then turn it up to make the breast brown, you will get moist white meat.
• From saving breast meat from drying in the oven, cover it with aluminum foil and grease breast with butter to prevent it from sticking. Remove foil after one hour for giving it a brown colour.
• A turkey weighing more then 16 pounds will take 15 minutes per pound and a turkey weighing less then 16 pounds will take 12 minutes per pound to cook properly.
• While using a thermometer for checking the temperature of a turkey, insert it in centre of thigh muscle and do not touch bones.
• Ingredients for stuffing the turkey should be made only before stuffing turkey.
• Keep wet and dry ingredients separate and mix together only at time of stuffing.
• Before serving, remove all stuffing from turkey cavities.
• After removing turkey from oven, let it stand for 20 minutes before you start carving so that all juices can settle. It will help to carve turkey more easily.
• You can freeze the leftover gravy and stuffing for future use.
• It is better not to reheat turkey again before serving as it will dry the meat.
• Always wash your hands, dishes as well as the sink and whatever comes in contact with raw turkey and its juices using soap and water.
• Never use a brown paper bag for storing or cooking the turkey as it is very unhygienic.

1. These berries contain a large number of important nutrients locked in them. The most essential nutrients contained in these berries are amino acids, proteins, antioxidants, anti aging substances and many types of vitamins like vitamin A, D, B1 and E.
2. Acai berries boost the energy levels of the human body and help in temperature regulations. They help the body to work more effectively and at a good metabolic rate. This property also helps to burn more fats and calories during this process. This in turn helps to solve many health related problems like obesity and weight gain.
3. They improve the digestive properties of the body and hence enable sound sleep. This is because acai berries contain properties of fibres which help in maintaining good regulation of digestive processes.
4. These berries are important sources of many vitamins, minerals and fibres, so they protect from many types of cancers and also obesity related problems. These cancers can be those of breasts, prostate, colon, rectal area, etc.
5. Acai berries contain substances that cleanse and detoxify your body from all the harmful toxins, waste materials and poisons. This helps in the purifying process of the body. The berries also enable good activity of the various cells, tissues and body systems. In this way they slow down the aging process of the body. This property also helps in the removal of dead cells like those of skin. The dead skin cells shed off revealing new, young skin beneath. This new skin is healthier and shinier. This property also helps in the quick healing of the wounds. When wounds are healed at a faster rate, it helps the body to boost up its immune system.
6.  This fruit has a great positive impact on the nervous system of the body. These berries improve the thinking, concentration and memory of the brain of a person. They improve the mental functions and also make you more focused in particular situations. This in turn also prevents mental disorders like dementia, complete memory loss and attention deficit syndromes.
7. Acai berries also help prevent atherosclerosis; they improve circulation and keep the human heart healthy and energetic.
8. They also have important medical values. They decrease and improve the inflammatory processes. In this way they help to make the wounds heal quickly and easily.
9. They regulate the cholesterol levels preventing strokes and also alleviate diabetes by normalizing the glucose levels in the blood.
10. These berries are extremely helpful in improving the eye sight of children and adults. Fresh homemade juice of these berries strengthens ocular muscles.
11. Being rich in fibre and being helpful for increasing body’s metabolism, these berries are and ideal food for weight loss.
12. It gives human body all the essential vitamins, fatty acids and amino acids. This makes our body and mind, strong and healthy.

Due to all these health benefits, you must try to add acai berries to your diet in the form of juices, jams or in raw form.

• First of all, it is important to know how to estimate the amount of water that should be drunk each day. Usually it is done in a very simple and easy way. By simply dividing the pounds of weight by two, you can get the ounces of water to be taken each day.
• The amount of water to be taken depends upon the type of daily activity of the person as well as the climate where the individual lives. People, who work out more in gyms and do jobs that include more physical work, should consume at least eight to ten glasses of water a day. If this doesn’t quench their thirst, more can be taken. This is because maximum intake of water till the thirst is quenched won’t do any harm.
• Climate has a great impact on the amount of water consumed by the individual. The hotter a place is, more water is needed by the person. If you live in a hot area, more water should be consumed to make you feel more satiated and cool. It will also prevent dehydration which is very common in hot areas especially on very hot days.
• During air journeys, more water should be consumed by the passengers, pilots and the staff. Journeys in aeroplanes can cause dehydration because of the dry environment created inside the aeroplane. At least one glass per hour of journey is recommended by the health organizations.
• Cold climates do not cause much sweating from the body and the metabolic rate of the body is not very high as well. So in the cold and dry places, four to six glasses per day are sufficient. But still that doesn’t mean that water should be completely avoided or its importance neglected in the colder areas.
• People working in offices have a stationary type of job and they don’t have to roam about in the place. So, they do not need an increased supply of water throughout the day, however six glasses are necessary.
• Another important point to be noted is that no matter now much water is taken in the form of beverages, fruits or other drinks, pure water has its own significance.

The above points clarify the fact that water is important for everyone of every age living in any place. Its consumption may vary according to the climate, amount of work, type of job and age, but adequate amounts of water are important for everyone.

• Fruits are a great source of vitamins, fibers and other healthy nutrients.
• Fruits are a rich source of phytonutrients including antioxidants, lutein, and flavanoids.
• Fruits help to cure many diseases due to the presence of vitamins and nutrients in them.
• Brighter colored fruits contain large amount of antioxidants which help in preventing cellular damage which is caused by free radicals present in our body.
• Consume a large quantity of orange juice in your daily meals. It contains vitamin C which protects you from colon and prostate cancer. It also combats heart dieses like heart attack and strokes.
• It is said that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” because it contains flavanoids which protect you from many cancers and heart attacks.
• Eating cranberries will reduce heart diseases and urinary infections.
• If you want to look young for a long time eat apple and prunes. They help in preventing wrinkles. Taking these fruits with tea helps the anti – oxidants present in them to make your skin fight against aging associated with exposure to sun.
• Berries and small fruits play important roles in keeping you healthy. They are helpful in age relating declines, heart related diseases and cancer. Doctors especially recommend strawberries and raspberries for protection from cancer.
• Fruits with high amounts of potassium like bananas and oranges are very good for health especially for heart disease patients.
• To make your bones more strong, eat fruits with sufficient quantity of potassium and magnesium.
• Fruits also prevent many lung diseases like asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.
• Pineapples contain enzymes that help in breakdown of protein so they are very useful in food digestion.
• Pineapple enzymes are also helpful in treating rheumatoid arthritis and tissue repair as a result of injuries, diabetic ulcers and general surgery.
• Mangoes are very helpful in stomach acidity.
• One of the most medicinal fruit is grapes. They are used in several cures like tumour reduction; they help in blood purification, invigorate the immune system, and help in flesh recovery of cancer patients.
• Sugar from grapes is easily digested and assimilated by the blood without tiring the digestive system.
• Papayas help in cleaning the digestive tract. They also play a great role in maintaining the acid – alkaline balance of the body.
• Peaches are very helpful if you are planning to lose weight.
• Melons have an anti-clotting action on the blood and provide many mineral elements along with a large quantity of water.
• Olive is especially recommended for tuberculosis and other chest infections as well as asthma.

With so many health benefits associated with fruits, do not forget to add at least two to three fruits in your daily diet for a healthy life.

• Vegetarians should be very conscious if they are taking the proper amount of proteins in their diet or not. Proteins are one of the most essential nutrients needed by the body. Certain green leafy vegetables and legumes are better sources of proteins than the others, so these vegetables should be added in any vegetarian diet and taken in more quantity. Examples of these protein rich foods are lentils, pulses, beans, chickpeas, brown rice and nuts.
• Like proteins, iron is also an equally important mineral needed by the human body. Vegetables can provide sufficient quantity of iron as well. Iron helps in the proper functioning of liver, pancreas and also keeps hair, nails and skin, strong and healthy. Vegetables that are very rich in iron are spinach, cabbage, celery, soy, and tofu. However, coffee or tea should be taken at least 3 hours before meals, as it decreases the absorption of iron. Citrus fruits and berries also hinder its absorption as they contain vitamin C.
• Calcium is equally important for kids, old people and young adults. Calcium makes bones and teeth strong and healthy. It also makes the skin look younger and fresher. Vegetables and fruits which are rich in calcium are sesame seeds, fortified orange juice, almonds, cabbage, tomatoes, spinach, carrots and broccoli. Milks of certain vegetarian foods are also very healthy and good. These include rice milk and soy milk. Soups of many vegetables like cabbage can be a good source of calcium as well.
• Vitamins, especially Vitamin B12 is easily available in various vegan foods like seaweeds, corals and nutritional yeast. But vegetarians should take vitamin supplements as well to get the right quantity of essential vitamins. These supplements should not be taken everyday as taking them once a week can fulfil the requirement.

Vegetarian diets protect the human body from several health related risks. They help to reduce cholesterol, excess lipids and extra fats from the body. Vegetables also have antioxidant properties, so they help to remove toxic materials from the body. A vegetarian diet prevents cancers of colon, prostate, breast and rectal area. Smokers should take extra vegetables in their diet than non-smokers, because many nutrients work slower in smokers’ bodies. So, smoking should be quitted in the first place and apart from that, more vegetables and grains should be added in the diet.

Vegetable Stock

Vegetable stocks are made from vegetables and are an ideal choice for vegetarians. Here are some tips and things you should know about preparing vegetable stock.

1. Chop all vegetables into small and uniform pieces. You can also add selected fruits as well to enhance the flavour.
2. Add 3 spoons of oil into a dish and add all solid ingredients into it, including vegetables and spices. For spices you can add a bay leaf, whole peppercorn and salt along with others as required by the recipe to enhance the flavour.
3. Cook the ingredients in oil for at least 10 minutes.
4. Add water to the ingredients and let the mixture boil for an hour.
5. When the liquid becomes half, pour the mixture into a boil and remove the vegetable pieces from it. You can also add the small bits of vegetables in the stock if you want.
6. When the mixture cools, put the stock into a suitable container for freezing and using later.
7. Never use cabbage including broccoli and cauliflower for vegetable stock as they can overpower the flavour of vegetable stock.
8. Some excellent vegetables to use for vegetable stock are onion, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, celery, mushrooms, peas, parsley, green beans, beetroot, bell peppers, green onions, shallots, fresh basil etc.

Poultry / Meat Stock

Ideally, meat stock is made from chicken, poultry, mutton or beef and meat stock is more popularly used in different recipes. Here are some tips to follow when preparing meat stock.

1. You can use leftover cooked chicken, turkey, meat or leftover bones when you de-bone a chicken or turkey breast. You can use fresh red meat as well for making meat stock.
2. For darker and rich stock, roast the meat and poultry bones in an oven on 450 degree for about 40 minutes.
3. Add all ingredients into the stock pot along with water and let them simmer for two hours.
4. Remove the foam as it rises on the top of the pot during boiling.
5. Take out the broth in a bowl and discard the bones and meat pieces, but you can keep the meat pieces if you want to.
6. Refrigerate the broth for few hours.
7. Any fat present in the broth will solidify on the top of container and can easily be removed.
8. Once you remove excess fat, the stock is ready for freezing and future use.
9. You can also add vegetables and fruit in meat and poultry stock.

Seafood Stock

1. You can use fish scraps, bones and even trimming which you can easily get from the fish market.
2. Crab, shrimp and lobster shells are also used to enhance the flavor of sea food stock.
3. Take at least two spoons of butter and melt it in a pot. Add onion and garlic into it and fry them for 5 minutes.
4. Add other ingredients including sea food pieces, lemon juice, whole black pepper corn, salt and water into it. Let the ingredients simmer for an hour.
5. Periodically remove the foam that will appear on the top of the pot.
6. Cool the broth and remove the solid ingredients.
7. Stock is ready for use or storage.

Follow these tips to make and store stock so which you can use in any recipe as the need arises.

1. Always use pots and dishes after washing them properly – Even if the pots and dishes are already clean, make your habit to use utensils after washing them again. You don’t need to wash them again with soap. Just place them under running water before using. There are chances that while you placed your washed dishes at night in the kitchen, an insect might have passed through. So never use unwashed pots or utensils to cook food.
2. Use sharp knives – Always use a sharp knife to cut vegetables but never use extra ordinary sharp knives in the kitchen. While cutting anything with a knife, be very careful. Also, buy proper knives for your kitchen to do different tasks, like cutting vegetables etc. Using a fruit knife to cut vegetables is not correct.
3. Pre-heat oil – If you are going to fry something in oil, pre heat the oil and then add the ingredients in it. If you add food in cool oil, the food will absorb more oil and become soggy and the desired crisp results will not be attained. Similarly, if you are going to boil something in water, wait till the water reaches its boiling point and then add the particular food ingredients in it.
4. Never cook on high temperature – It is strongly recommended that if you want to eat healthy food, always cook food on moderate heat. If you cook food on very high temperature, food usually becomes ready from outside and remains uncooked from inside. This usually leads to food poisoning especially in case of meat. If you cook food on low temperature, all the juices come out of food instead of locking inside. These juices then evaporate while cooking and you will not get the desired taste.
5. Always go for better ingredients – While shopping for cooking, always go for fresh vegetables and fruits. Never buy any fruit or vegetable which is wrinkled or leafy vegetables which are wilted. Similarly never buy a smelly fish. Go for fresh meat instead of frozen meat. However, it is better to buy frozen turkey then a fresh one, if you are not going to cook it on the same day. Never compromise on cheap food ingredients.
6. Brine meat before cooking – It is always helpful to brine pork, chicken and turkey before cooking. This process not only infuses water and some salt into the meat but also prevents meat from drying as it cooks which mostly happens with lean meat.
7. Use fresh spices – We usually buy grounded spices and use them for a long time. During this time most of the spices lose there prime quality. It is better that one should buy whole spices than ground spices. There are two reasons behind it. First of all whole spices are cheaper in cost as compared to ground spices and secondly when ever you will grind whole spices, you will have fresh spices, which you must use within six months. Never use very old spices or any spice about which you feel has lost its prime quality. Also follow our tips on buying and storing herbs and spices.
8. While cooking, only cook – It is common with most of us that while cooking we always try to do other chores as well, like cleaning, dusting or watching TV. Never do that. While cooking, keep your whole focus on cooking. It will not only give better results in food, but also save you from many accidents.
9. Never touch a hot utensil with naked hands – Always use mittens or kitchen clothes for this purpose. Similarly while using the micro wave; always use a cloth for taking pots out of the oven. It is good to keep different kitchen clothes for different purposes.
10. Turn off the burner before removing the pan from it – This will save you from burning your arm and hands or the cloth which you use to move the utensil while removing. Similarly always turn off the burner before leaving the kitchen as well. Also, most foods keep on cooking for a while when you remove them from the flame, so it is always a good idea to turn off the burner before removing the pan.

Follow these tips to avoid blunders in the kitchen. Also check our cooking tips to brush up your cooking skills.

1. If you want to grill, broil or pan fry your meat, select rib eye steaks, strip or shell steaks, T bone, which contains the strip and tenderloin steaks, sirloin and round steaks.
2. Top sirloin, tenderloin, standing rib roasts, and top rump roast are best for roasting.
3. For stir frying, flank, top round, and sirloin steaks are good.
4. Tenderloin is the best part for making kebabs.
5. Never choose a recipe that over comes the original taste of beef.
6. For best results, always cook beef at a low temperature in marinades.
7. Marinade should cover meat properly for effective working.
8. For marinating beef, put it in the refrigerator.
9. Never marinade beef in a metallic bowl. Use a glass or wood bowl.
10. Do not reuse left over marinade again as it contains bacteria due to contact with raw meat.
11. Never defrost beef in the microwave.
12. Never cook beef which is not fully defrost as the outside will cook while the inner part will remain uncooked.
13. While cooking beef, control the temperature and time of cooking for good results.
14. Trim extra fat attached to beef to reduce fat quantity.
15. Preheat your pan or grid before you place meat on it.
16. Once in the pan, never touch meat again until a crust is formed. Only touch the meat to turn over the piece.
17. Always use a tong for turning over instead of a knife or fork.
18. Cook beef until its temperature reaches 160 degree to kill all bacteria present in it.
19. Never overcook beef as it will make it tough and dry.
20. Sear your beef before roasting to lock all juices inside.
21. Always remove meat from fire a little before time to prevent overcooking because it will continue to cook after removing from stove for some time.
22. Start carving 5 minutes after removing from fire. This will let the juices settle thoroughly in meat and make carving easier without losing juices.
23. Always use a sharp knife for carving.
24. Never start carving in the roasting pan or oven pan. Place the meat on a cutting board and then start carving.
25. Prevent contact of any food material with raw beef as it contains harmful bacteria.
26. Place beef at room temperature only when you are about to cook it, as otherwise it will increase the growth of harmful bacteria.
27. Never refreeze beef which is once defrost.
28. Place a rack in the pan or baking dish before putting it in the oven and place beef on it to drain extra fats.
29. Fats from the surface of beef soups, stews or sauces can be skimmed before serving.
30. Cooked hamburger patties should be place between two paper towel and pressed to absorb all extra grease.

Use these beef cooking tips to make roasts, stews, and steaks. Be sure to go through out tips for making steaks. These tips will also come in handy in a lot of recipes given on our web site. Try the great recipes listed on our website to cook roast beef and enjoy healthy and delicious meals with your family.