Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Key Lime Cake
| 18 1⁄4 oz package lemon cake mix |
| 3 oz package instant mix lemon pudding |
| 3⁄4 cup water |
| 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil |
| 4 egg |
| 5 tbsp key lime juice |
| 1 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar |
3 tbsp key lime juice
|
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
How to regrow food from scraps
Don't toss those old potatoes or celery scraps. Put them to work and grow a kitchen garden from leftover bits and pieces.
Lettuce, cabbage and bok choy
Instead of discarding the base of these leafy plants, put them in a bowl of
shallow water for the leaves to regrow. Place the bowl in a location with
ample sunlight and occasionally mist the leaves with water. After a few days,
roots and new leaves will appear and you can transplant your leafy veggie into
soil.
Bean sprouts
Have some extra mung beans or wheat berries? Simply soak
a few tablespoons of them in a jar or container overnight. The
next day, drain the water and rinse the beans and then put them
back in the container and cover it with a towel. Rinse the beans
the next day and recover. Beans will likely sprout in just a day or two,
but keep rinsing and recovering the beans until sprouts have reached
the desired size.
Avocado
Wash the seed and use a few toothpicks to suspend it (broad end
down) over a container of water. The water should cover about an
inch of the seed. Place the container in a warm place out of direct
sunlight and add water as needed. Roots and stem will sprout in
two to six weeks, and when the stem reaches 6 inches in length,
cut it back to about 3 inches. When the roots are thick and the stem
has leaves, plant it in soil, leaving the seed half exposed. Keep the
water moist and make sure the plant gets plenty of sunlight. When
the stem is 12 inches high, cut it back to 6 inches to encourage
new shoots to grow.
Ginger
Take a section of the ginger root and plant it in soil where it will
get indirect sunlight. It grows well both indoors and outdoors.
When you need ginger for a recipe, simply pull it up, harvest some
of the root and then replant it.
Green onions
Stick the white root base into a cup of water and place it somewhere
it’ll get plenty of sunlight. Change out the water every few days,
and as the onions grow, simply trim off what you need and let the
plant regrow again.
Celery
Cut off the base of the celery and place it in a saucer or shallow
bowl of warm water in the sun. It may take about a week for leaves
to thicken and grow in the middle of the base, but once they start,
you can transfer the celery to soil.
Garlic
If you have extra garlic cloves lying around, plant them in soil in full
sun. When a tiny stalk sprouts from the bulb, cut it off and give the
garlic several weeks to fatten up.
Potatoes
When your potatoes start to grow eyes, cut them into 2-inch pieces
that contain eyes. Let them sit out overnight so the exposed sections
can dry out, and then plant them in soil about 4 inches deep, eyes facing up.
Sweet potatoes
Cut the potato in half, poke toothpicks midway into the halves and res
t them in a container of shallow water, cut portion facing down. Within
a few days, roots will begin to grow from the bottom while stems will
appear at the top. Once the sprouts have reached 4 to 5 inches in
length, twist them off and set them in a shallow bowl of water. Slips will
begin growing from the roots in just a couple of days, and once the roots
have reached an inch long, plant them in soil.
Pineapple
Twist the top off the fruit and peel back the bottom leaves of the base.
Once several layers of the base are exposed, cut off the tip to get ride
of the excess fruit. Poke a few toothpicks into the pineapple top and use
them to suspend the fruit in a container of water. Keep the container in
a sunny area, and change the water out every few days, keeping it
filled to just above the peeled base of the top. Roots will appear in
about a week, and once they’re fully formed, transfer the plant to soil.
Keep the plant inside unless you live in a warm climate.
http://www.mnn.com/
Read more: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/how-to-regrow-food-from-scraps#ixzz35aWLNHB6
Beetroot and Chocolate cupcakes
I baked these cup cup cakes for my nieces birthday.
Ingredients:
- 75g cocoa
- 175g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 225g caster sugar
- 3 free range eggs
- 100ml stout
- 225g grated beetroot
- 100ml olive oil
- 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.2. Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.3. Blend the eggs, beetroot, stout and oil in a food processor until smooth.4. Stir the beetroot into the flour mixture until just combined (do not overmix).5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cupcakes have risen and the tops are springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.7. 100g cream cheese8. 100g unsalted butter9. the seeds of a vanilla pod
- 450g icing sugar
Caffeine-Free Tips for Increasing Your Energy
t’s no secret that we have severe schedules these days.
Between juggling work and family, it’s no wonder that you
r energy levels are low.
Although most people resort to caffeine to remedy their lack
of energy, there are viable alternatives that are much healthier.
Use these strategies to boost your energy without having to
step into a coffee shop:
1. Exercise. When you need a fast energy boost, exercise is
the best fix. Take a brisk walk or hop on an elliptical machine.
The energy boosting effects are nearly instant and can last up
to two hours. Doing even just one minute of jumping jacks in
place can give you a boost!
- Exercise increases your alertness and the level of endorphin's.
- Endorphin's are known mood boosters. So, you’ll have more
- brainpower to completing your paper, and you’ll also be happy
- to do it!
- A great resource on the subject of exercise, energy and menta
- l alertness is the book, Spark. Check it out!
2. Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Maintain a regular sleep
schedule and ensure your body gets enough rest to function
efficiently.
- A lack of sleep has can cause early physical signs of aging,
- such as hyper-pigmentation on eyelids, puffy under-eye
- circles, and wrinkles.
- It also literally makes you age prematurely at the cellular l
- evel!
3. Indulge in a power nap. A 15- to 30-minute power nap
can provide you with an instant boost of energy. If you don’t
have a half hour to spare, a 10 or 15-minute snooze may
provide enough energy to power you through the rest of
your day.
- You may be tempted to just forge on through your tight
- deadlines instead of taking a nap. However, after arising
- from your power nap, productivity increases from the
- rest you’ve given yourself and you’ll be able to accomplish
- double the results you would attain if you were to keep
- working without a break.
- In addition to immediately boosting energy levels, power
- napping also increases your ability to retain information.
4. Minimize the junk. Avoid unhealthy foods that are laden
with fat, sugar, and preservatives. These foods widen your
waistline and make you feel groggy after each meal as well
as tired in general throughout the day.
- Maintain a balanced diet. It’s okay to indulge in something
- sweet every now and then, but eating microwavable
- macaroni and cheese and cinnamon buns every night
- adversely affect your energy and work performance.
5. Eat often. Many people find that eating small meals
throughout the day keeps both their metabolism and energy
functioning at optimum capacity.
- Avoid skipping meals.
- Carry healthy snacks with you always!
- Eating heavy meals can deplete your energy fast.
6. Smell peppermint. Peppermint has a strong, refreshing
scent that can wake up even the drowsiest person.
Peppermint candles, peppermint oil, or peppermint scented
air freshener sprayed throughout your work area has the
power to invigorate your senses.
Combine several of these tips to supercharge your energy
level in a very short time. Say goodbye to the days of coffee
highs and crashes. Small changes you make today can make
a huge difference in how you feel and your performance
at work.
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