Boost Your Metabolism With Soups

Owing to the numerous advantages that they have, soups have made it to the kitchens of most households today. Warm, nutritious, cheap and easy to prepare, soups help boost general health and well-being. Besides adding variety to meals, they make for a healthy choice on a cold winter day.

• Soups help boost the metabolic activities in our bodies by reducing the intake of calories. As soups make the stomach full and satiate the hunger to a great extent, the amount of solid food consumed is considerably lessened. This is turn implies fewer calories and hence faster rate of metabolism.
• Soups are a great way of getting all the nutrients that are required daily. As they are made using vegetables and meat, an individual gets his desired daily dose of vitamins, minerals and proteins naturally. Soups are very light on the stomach and easy to digest.
• Weight-related issues can be taken care of by including soups in the daily diet. Take a low-calorie soup before having a mean. This is a proven way of controlling weight. Weight loss can easily be achieved as the need for high-calorie foods gets diminished.
• Soups are delicious and very easy to prepare. All one has to do is boil vegetables or meat in water and boil them till the desired consistency is obtained. Even people who don’t know cooking can make soups as there is not much effort involved. And the taste one gets is wonderful. One can add a variety of condiments and spices to create the flavor of soup that one prefers.
• In addition, soups are very light on the pocket. They are a largely economical meal, thanks to the minimal cost involved in preparing them. The veggies that are used are easily available in the market. For those people who don’t have much time to cook due their hectic schedules, soups are just the right choice. A soup can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Add to that the nutritional boost that they promise.
• During winters, a warm bowl of chicken soup is very effective in combating cold and flu. The other key factor is that soups help to retain the correct water balance in the body. This is very vital in order to maintain normal blood pressure. Some forms of soup are even known to lower the chances of breast cancer in women.

So if you want a meal that fulfills your nutrition needs without asking for much effort, go in for soups. They are tasty and healthy.

Tasty and Healthy Frozen Foods

Frozen foods have been used in households since a long time. The idea first came into being in the year 1929 when Clarence Birdseye offered his frozen foods to the public. Freezing as a method of preserving food has many myths associated with it. But the fact remains that frozen food is very healthy and nutritious; at par with the fresh food that we get from the markets and groceries.

Freezing is a natural process of preservation where food is stored at very low temperatures. Micro-organisms which are responsible for the spoilage of food cannot survive at such low temperatures. Thus frozen foods can be stored for longer periods of time without any deterioration in quality.

Frozen foods are made by picking up fresh foods and freezing them at very low temperatures immediately. This helps to retain the freshness and texture of the food item. The nutritional value is also maintained as all vitamins and minerals are locked inside. Some foods are not available all the year round. Freezing food gives an added advantage of enjoying  foods at any time of the year and that too at a very fair price.

Frozen foods are very healthy to consume since they do not contain any harmful chemicals or preservatives in them. Also, they help in reducing wastage of food to a great extent. Frozen foods can be stored for as long as one wants. With the work pressure that people have to deal with today, frozen foods offer a healthy and convenient way of having nutritious meals in no time. Frozen meats, frozen fruits and vegetables; these can be easily prepared in a matter of minutes.

Frozen foods are cost effective as well. They minimize wastage and spoilage of food without compromising on quality. They also taste great, as good as the fresh food and sometimes even better. This can be attributed to the fact that they are picked when they are absolutely fresh and immediately frozen. This keeps the flavor and the nutrients intact. Contrary to a popular belief, fresh food that we buy from the market may not be as fresh by the time it reaches the stores. This is because after harvesting, the food has to be transported and this process may take a few days. So the food we assume to be ‘fresh’ may not actually be that fresh.

So enjoy the benefits of having frozen foods. They are healthy, tasty, easy to use and above all do not burn big holes in your pockets!

Tortilla Chips: Healthy Snack For Kids

Tortilla chips come under the category of snack food and is relished mostly by people of all age groups, especially kids.  This is a Mexican recipe but is a favorite of all Americans. The corn tortillas that are made out of corn, vegetable oil salt and water are cut into wedges and then fried or baked. Although yellow corn is the usual type of corn use to prepare these chips, but red, white and blue corn is also used by certain manufacturers including various other ingredients like wheat, sugar etc. Since corn is the main ingredient of tortilla chips, these snacks are healthy and rich in fiber and various essential minerals and vitamins that are required for a kid’s growth. The various healthy nutrients contained in a single serving (1 oz.) of corn tortillas are discussed below:

Macronutrients and Calories
A single serving of tortilla chips include around 138 calories out of which carbohydrates contribute 76 calories, 54 calories are provided by fats and the remaining 8 calories are provided by proteins. A single serving includes 7grams of fat, out of which 1 gram is saturated. The protein content is 2 grams, 1.3grams of dietary fiber, 0.3grams of simple sugars and 18 grams of carbohydrates is contained in a single serving of tortilla chips.

Additional Nutrition
A total of 5 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for calcium is contained in a serving of tortilla chips which is required for healthy bones and teeth in kids. About 6 percent of Vitamin E and 7 percent of Vitamin K of total RDA is contained in an oz. of tortilla chips. The essential minerals contents in a serving are 9 percent for phosphorus, 7 percent for magnesium and 6 percent for selenium of RDA. One serving tortilla chips also consist of approximately 118 mg of sodium.

Salsa, queso, cheese dips and various other sauces are often eaten with the tortilla chips. These all are likely to be high in fat content. There are many other healthier alternatives to salsa and other dips and sauces which include celery, carrot sticks and slices of jicama, which are low in fat and calories. However, there are many low fat and low calorie frozen forms of dips and sauces available in stores that you can pick and eat with tortilla chips. You must also opt for baked varieties of tortilla chips because unlike the fried versions these have fewer calories and less fat.

Classic Foods offers a range of crispy tortilla chips and cheese dips including Premium Queso, Nacho Cheese Sauce, Yellow Cheese Sauce and White cheese Sauce. They also offer green & red pickled jalapeno is a perfect topping for tortilla chips. To order, contact them at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102 or call them at 817.332.1071.

Making Delicious Hamburgers At Home

The fast life of today has made fast foods like hotdogs, tacos, etc. rise in popularity especially with the people on the go. Hamburger is another such fast food item that has been accepted worldwide. It is a sandwich made out of a cooked patty enclosed inside a sliced bun. The patty is made of ground meat that usually is beef. The hamburger is often garnished with lettuce, bacon, onion, tomato, cheese etc. and is served with ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard sauce. The simple recipe of hamburger has turned to a gourmet’s delight, as now the simple beef patty is accompanied with a variety of mouthwatering ingredients. The recipe of this delicious fast food is easy to follow and economical to prepare at home.

Being the most important of the hamburger, the patty can be created by making use of different meats like pork, ground lamb, sausage and ground turkey. You can also add fish, chicken or a squash and cracker mix. You can also prepare a totally vegetarian version of ham burger by making the patty of tofu cheese or potato.  Although, the preparation of this fast food meal is easier, but still it requires skill and more importantly appropriate ingredients.

To prepare a patty, make sure that the meat is coarse grind. Finely ground meat becomes very soft and cannot be cooked into a patty easily. It can fall apart while grilling. Add diced vegetables instead of large pieces of onions and garlic to coarse ground meat so that they can mix up well and can be held together. You can also add breadcrumbs to the ground meat that absorbs the extra moisture and hold the meat together on the grill. When you are done with making the patty, prepare the hamburger by enveloping it inside a sliced bun. You can further dress up with lettuce leaves, cheese slices, sliced tomatoes, onions and finely sliced pickles. Serve this delicious hamburger with ketchup or cheese dip.

Sliders are the latest craze in the food industry.  These are nothing but mini hamburgers. Their tiny size and delicious taste make you eat many of these at one time. While watching TV, you can pop these mini snacks into your mouth. Just like hamburgers, the sliders are also versatile and can be prepared with a variety of ingredients and served with different dips and sauces. The slider burgers are made of ground chicken or turkey or more exotic meats like ostrich or beef. They can be used as appetizers in parties. These sliders served at various restaurants and eateries are delicious and quite affordable.

Classic Foods offer raw and frozen Beef Hamburger patties which are perfect for making all types of sliders.  To order, you can contact them at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102. You can also call them at 817.332.1071.