I’m 15 years old and I live with my dad. Long story short, he doesn’t know how to cook at all. We usually eat fast food (mostly Quizno’s or Subway). The other day I told him I wanted to start eating healthier meals at home. He went out and bought Ramen Noodles. Lol.
I would like to learn how to cook for both me and my dad. Are there some websites I can use to learn? I know the basics, but I want to learn how to cook full, healthy meals. Any websites or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you. ^_^
Miss L - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
Almost everything you’ll ever need to know about eating healthy:
*) Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), whenever possible, in place of butter: it’s a healthy fat.
*) LEAN MEATS such as white-meat chicken, egg whites, fish, turkey are all lean cuts of meat with less fat than others such as hamburger or red meat.
*) BOILING or GRILLING are the two healthiest methods of cooking meats. Boiling can be bland but can be flavored up by using fresh herbs and spices. Grilling is always a winner if you ask me. And the things you can grill are endless; veggie kabobs, meats, potatoes, shrimp, etc…
*) The DARKER and more COLORFUL the veggies, the more vitamins and nutrients (a general rule of thumb).
*) Honey can sometimes be used as alternative to honey in your tea or marinades or salad dressings.
*) SALADS are healthy until you gob on salad dressings: use an oil based or vinagrette dressing, italian is also a healthy option.
*) Eat WHOLE-GRAIN and/or MULTI-GRAIN versus processed white breads (for bread’s, noodles, rice, any carb basically). Another plus about multi/whole grains is they are digested a lot slower, leaving you with a fuller feeling and are not converted into sugars like the white breads or starches are!
*) Put some lemon in your water for a little Vitamin C!
*) STEAM veggies, only until al dente. There is a chemical reaction with the heat that breaks down the nutrients and vitamins in veggies when cooking when cooking. Drizzle with EVOO, fresh minced garlic-cook garlic 2 minutes on low-med in EVOO, then top on veggies, and salt and pepper.
Some healthy meal ideas:
_Whole wheat pizza crust with your favorite toppings (spinach, motzerella, and chicken would be a really healthy option)
_Egg white omelette with your favorite veggies, I don’t care for the taste of just egg whites and a regular omelette would be healthier than a lot of other breakfast choices but just using the whites is the healthiest.
_Marinade Chicken all day in fridge, grill up with some steamed veggies and brown rice.
_Make a whole wheat shrimp pasta, toss with EVOO, fresh grated parm, cherry tomatoes, a little lemon juice, and clam juice, very healthy! Serve with a spinach salad.
_Marinade cod or tilapia (any white meat fish) in lemon juice, garlic, and EVOO and bake or grill, even frying wouldn’t be bad.
_Honey, orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce makes a healthy marinade for chicken or fish
_Hard boil eggs, make an egg salad sandwhich on whole wheat pita, bread, bagel…
_Chicken, grape, walnut, green pepper, red onion, whole wheat pasta cold salad. Use mayo, sugar, and apple cider vinegar as a dressing…yummy! Mayo is a little high in fat, but the salad is packed with good stuff!
MOHAMMAD sman - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
groom night
Rutherford - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
Check this out
http://readersfood.com/category/recipes/
There are lot of recipes that you can make and it is included with the how to cook.
bess - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
Both of these web sites are good and show you how to prepare the food in easy to follow videos.
I hope you find this useful ……Happy cooking
Ten Minutes to Table – Top recipes for healthy meals on video … Watch our latest food and drink videos, including Ten Minutes to Table: a year of top recipes and healthy meals delivered from fridge to plate in ten …
www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkvideo/
25 Ingredients Into 15 Fast Healthy Meals DVD/CD Video PowerPoint Buy 25 foods to stock your kitchen using My Pyramid and make 15 different meals during the week that are easy to make and taste GREAT! This Video DVD show …
foodandhealth.com/…/25_Ingredients_Into_15_Fast_Healthy_Meals_DVD_CD_Video_PowerPoint-208-47.html
Preggy with #1! - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
lol,ramen noodles.Men are so funny.That is great that you want to cook healthy meals for you and him!Try Allrecipies.com,they have a lot of good stuff on there.Adding meat and veggies to the ramen noodles makes them a lot better.You could make sandwiches with ham,turkey,lettuce,tomato,ect with a salad for dinner.Teach him how to make things while you are at it so ya guys can take turns
Fiona - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
It is great that at age 15 you are prepared to cook properly. It is a wonderful skill and will help you through your life.
Have a look at the site below. There is a monthly meal plan and free recipes. The idea is that for every main meal you cook, you will get a clever leftover meal. This saves your time and money.
I have teenage kids and they have had a lot of input into what I put on the site. If you are just cooking for the two of you, you may want to half the recipes, although, personally, I would cook the full amount and then freeze the leftovers for busy days.
Good luck and good strength.
Alan D - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
Hooray for you, you are making a good choice and you and your dad will probably feel much better for it. If your dad has time and is rested after work, he might enjoy helping. Read all of the answers, there was some other good advice and their web sites may be better then mine. I didn’t get a chance to review them.
Healthy is a relevant term. If you are vegan that means no meat or anything that involved the possibility of an animal suffering. Vegetarians have different standards some will eat eggs and dairy products while others won’t. Some actually eat fish, these are sometimes called another name I don’t have at hand.
If you are starting out and especially since you have been eating fast food, I do not suggest cutting out meat. At least not entirely, as your dad would probably poo poo the whole eating at home thing. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks. You yourself may not like it, it is very drastic change that usually takes commitment. Another warning about vegan or vegetarian diets is it takes a lot of discipline or they can be unhealthy. You see you have to read up on what you need to take or you may suffer deficiencies. such as your protein intake would change drastically so you have to concentrate getting enough of that, plus I would suggest a vitamin B complex. The kind that absorbs under the tongue. B vitamins are difficult for the liver to process while the ones under the tongue go directly into the blood stream. So you see these sort of diets require knowledge and strict discipline. the other side of the coin is that meats and dairy products today carry a lot of hormones and antibiotics that aren’t really good for you. so it is a good idea to keep these in moderation.
With all that out of the way four ounces of meat is suggested for the meal. Both of you may find even this difficult but when you make casseroles it is a lot easier. I like casseroles because it is much easier to get the veggies we need. Once in a while try a completely vegetarian dish, there are many out there that are delicious. You and your dad are going to have to experiment to find what ones most appeal to you and that can be a fun adventure and a great conversation piece at the table. Cooking can be creative, fun and ego boosting when you are delighting the palate of the ones you love. Use your imagination it is fun to create new dishes and after a while you will find yourself altering recipes to your own tastes or coming up with some right out of the top of your head. Mix it up don’t get hung on one type of dish or that can be just as unhealthy as fast food.
You will want some basic seasonings on hand. Never use or buy seasoning salts as it is posible to over salt a dish this way and keep people away from your food and out of the kitchen. One time I was making a soup at a party and everyone that came in tasted the soup and said not enough salt and added more before I could stop them. I was busy on the other side of the room. At the table everyone said it was to salty.
basic supplies: Salt, Pepper, sugar, flour, corn starch, Garlic powder, onion powder, (you may also use granulated instead of these, granulated keeps longer.) tarragon, sage, (tarragon and sage are great for soups and foul, basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, and more I can’t think of. Don’t go out and buy these all at once. It will put a hole in you budget. Just buy as you need them. the first seven will do as starters if you don’t already have.
Here are some sites you can check. I have not checked them because it is late and I am tired. I tried to add some more recipes and couldn’t it was too long.
grownupgeek.com/cooking-for-beginners -
www.reluctantgourmet.com/
collegeuniversity.suite101.com/…/quick_and_easy_recipes -
www.recipelink.com/quick.html -
www.recipelink.com/quick.html -
I am giving away some of my secret recipes here.
always lay out your ingredients before you begin. This way you will know if you have everything you need. At times you may have to figure out substitutes or leave out some ingredient.
Pat’s Alfredo
The following are approximations.
2 Cups Whipping Cream
2 Cups Meat
1cup Cup Shredded Romano Cheese
½ Tsp. Sweet Basil to taste (or Regular Basil with a heaping ¼ Tsp. of brown sugar.)
¼ Tsp. Garlic or cloves
1 Tsp. Onion powder
½ Cup Parmesan
3 pinches Nutmeg
8 drops Lemon Juice
Pepper lightly to taste.
Linguine Noodles
Prepare hot Chicken or Beef over noodles. Season meat while cooking with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and fry. For the sauce mix the whipping cream, Romano, Parmesan, basil, nutmeg lemon juice, and you can add garlic & onion powder to taste if you like. Stir constantly so the sauce doesn’t break and the cheese collect all at the bottom in a thick clump. It will thicken as it cools. Put meat over noodles poor sauce over this and enjoy. You can eliminate the meat and serve vegetarian style if you wish.
Dyke - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
This is a great site to learn the basics. It shows you videos that are really helpful. It also has some great recipes.
Bigbears Wife - said
March 15 2011 @ 12:36
Healthy Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
This Healthy Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting is not only low in calories; it taste wonderful too! It only has 160 calories per serving!!
Ingredients
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
3/4 cup fat-free milk
For Frosting
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons fat-free milk
Directions
To make the cake: Place a strainer over a deep bowl. Spoon applesauce into the strainer and set aside to drain 15 minutes (you should have about 1/3 cup drained applesauce.) Discard the liquid.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13×9" baking dish with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat peanut butter 2 minutes. Add drained applesauce and beat 2 minutes. Beat in brown sugar 3 minutes, or until creamy.
Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then egg white. Beat in milk.
Add flour mixture and mix on low until moistened.
Pour batter into baking dish and bake 20 -25 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when pressed. Cool completely in the dish on a rack.
TO MAKE FROSTING: in a large bowl, combine half of confectioners’ sugar, the smart balance, cocoa and vanilla extract. Beat until sugar dissolves. Add remaining sugar and 2 teaspoons of milk. Beat just until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add remaining milk.
Spread frosting on cake when cake is completely cooled.