Tag: <span>frozen food</span>

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Take care of your child’s health: –

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child” -Forest Witcraft.

Most of us believe that we are healthy if we don’t fall sick often. Sorry to say it is not true. World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. So for living a ‘healthy lifestyle’ we need an ideal combination of:-

A. Physical well-being:- includes nutritious food, physical exercises, appropriate weight, adequate sleep and rest.

B. Mental well-being: – consist of having a #optimistic sense of worth, upbeat stance/thoughts and actions, self-possession #can realize their potential, live and work productively #can manage their daily stress #can socialize, maintain good relationships with others and contribute to society.

C. Spiritual well-being: – encourages inner peace, resourcefulness and provides a sense of satisfaction.

These few suggestions will help you and your child develops healthy eating habits:

# Make sure to eat breakfast every day even if it’s just fruit and a glass of milk. It provides energy for the day.

# Eat slow, take time eating and chewing food as it takes approximately 20 minutes for the brain to tell the body that you are full.

# An ideal diet should aim for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

# An ideal meal should comprise more of whole grains like Dalia, brown rice, barley, corn, quinoa, millet, popcorn, and rye.

# Reward them with praise, not with sugary snacks, chocolates or ice-creams.

# Childhood obesity isn’t always genetic or uncontrollable, healthy weight can be maintained by correct diet and exercise.

# Processed foods are full of sugar, sodium, calories and unhealthy fat as it hampers the healthy brain development and immune system of the child.

# Exercise regularly. Persuade outdoor sports to promote a healthy lifestyle. Sixty minutes daily physical activity is advisable for children even for you. Plan more of indoor and outdoor activities for your child.

# Switch off the television, iPad, Xbox, computer, mobile phone, surfing online and motivate them to spend more time playing outdoor games. Play with your child, dance together, go for a walk together after dinner rather than watching television.

# Instead of going to the mall or theater go for hiking or climbing.

# Stay away from tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

Substitute – Biscuits/chips/cookies/ cakes/ pastries

With – Fresh fruits/nuts/ salads/ sprouts

Substitute- Soda/ sugar-sweetened drinks/ packaged juices/ instant soups

With – Fresh juices without sugar/ fresh soups/ whole fruit

Substitute- White pasta/ white bread

With – Wheat pasta/ wheat-multigrain bread

Substitute- High calories fast food/ junk food/ frozen food/ processed foods

With -Healthy homemade food which includes more green and leafy vegetables and whole grains.

Substitute- Cheese, tinned vegetables, ready to cook meals

With – Healthy protein foods like lean meat, poultry, fish, egg, seeds, nuts, beans, legumes, soy products, and dairy products like milk, yogurt, paneer.

Substitute- Butter

with – Olive oil/ ghee.

# Don’t insist on ‘clean plate’, they will never learn when to stop and overeat just to finish the food even when they feel full.

# Instead of ‘don’t eat too much of chocolates/ biscuits’ say eat healthy fruits/ salad. This won’t make them feel deprived.

# Drink plenty of water. At least 8-10 glasses a day.

Finally, positive role-modeling is crucial. Practice what you preach.

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Source by Rupal Jain

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I recently received correspondence where the writer asked me if she could combine both the Medifast and the weight watchers diets. Specifically, she wanted to use the Medifast shakes, the oatmeal, some of the soups, and the pudding while also making use of weight watcher’s smart ones frozen food line. She wanted to know if I would advise this practice and if I thought it would work to help her lose some weight. I will tell you what I told her in the following article.

Combining The Weight Watcher’s Smart Ones Foods With The The Other Diet’s Food Options: I suppose it would not be fair for me to tell the writer that she could not try this practice. After all, it is physically possible to do so. But, my opinion is that she should not do this for the long term. Of course, I’m certainly not a doctor or an expert and I would most certainly want her to seek the opinion of one. But, from my research and own experience, the smart ones meals have way too many calories, carbohydrates and sugars for you to be able to successfully and quickly lose the weight that you would have lost on the other diet. Keep in mind that my experience has been on this particular diet, so my opinion might be a biased one based on my own positive results.

But, I believe that Medifast works because it limits calories, as well as sugars and carbs. In doing this, it allows for your body to get into ketosis where it is able to burn fat rather than carbohydrates. From my research and experience, I know that the average person consumes way too much sugar and carbs. And from looking at the nutritional information for the smart ones, it appears that these foods do very little to address this problem. I will look at some specific foods in both diets to demonstrate this point below.

Comparing The Nutrition, Sugars, And Carbs In Smart Ones With The Similar Content Of Medifast Foods: To examine the content of both foods, I’m going to look at concrete examples from both diets. First, I’ll look at some breakfast meals. The weight watcher’s English muffin sandwich has 210 calories, 3 grams of sugars, and 27 grams of carbs. The Medifast cinnamon apple oatmeal has 100 calories, 1 gram of sugar, and 15 of carbs. As you can see, one diet has about 1/2 of the bad stuff as the other.

Medifast asks that you eat one healthful fresh meal that you prepare each day. This is known as the “lean and green” meal and most people take this at dinner. It is for this reason that I’ll be now comparing lunch foods. From the smart ones line up, I’ll look at the Santa Fe beans and rice. This one logs on 310 calories, 6 grams of sugars, and 51 carbs. Now, let’s check out the Medifast chili. You’re looking at under 1/2 the calories (with only 110.) You’re looking at much less sugar, at only one gram. And, the carbohydrate content is a low 15 grams.

The Bottom Line: Obviously this article is based partially on my own experiences and biases. But, I also believe that comparing the foods side by side makes a pretty persuasive argument that one of these diets gives you a greater chance of success than the other. It has less than half of the calories, carbs, and sugars of the other. In my experience, you need for all of these numbers to be favorable to lose the most weight in the quickest manner possible.

It doesn’t make sense to interrupt the success that you might have by eating foods outside of the plan a couple of times per day. In this way, you are potentially derailing your progress and undoing all of the strides that you’ve made that day. Medifast is designed to work as a system. There’s nothing to stop anyone from taking bits and pieces from two different diets, but why would you? In my opinion, the reason people go on a diet is to lose weight in the quickest manner possible. And in my opinion, combining these two diets does not have the potential to accomplish this as well as sticking with one diet as directed.

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Source by Lindsey Price

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What is a Kitchen?

A kitchen is where people prepare meals for themselves or other people. The parts of a kitchen are the scullery, the prep areas, bread room, store room, meat room, the lunch room and the office.

Different parts of a kitchen.

-The scullery (wash up area, is where you wash the utensil, pots and pans).

-The prep area is where you prep the food. Vegetables prep (where you prep the vegetables carrots and cabbage etc) meat room (where meat only is prep)

-The bread room the prep area for the bakery, the bakery (where you bake all the cakes, pie and bread rolls). The storeroom (where the all the foodstuff is stored).

-The main kitchen is where the hot side is located the stoves, fridges and the tables.

-The office is (Where the Manager and supervisor work from).

-Equipment use in a kitchen stove, where the main meals are cooked, fridges freezers (where you keep cold or frozen foods, cold foods and prep foods).

-Mixers you use to cream and mix cake.

Food Preparation.

Food preparation can vary according to the business you are working in. You can prepare from vegetables to meat once you have a large freezer and the staff. You can bulk prep and store making sure you use the FIFO method, First in First Out.

Safe Food Preparation

Food preparation must be safe to produce food free from food borne illnesses, Food can be easily contaminated. Leaving food uncovered for even a short time may not seem harmful, but in that space of time, flies can get on the food and deposit their eggs. You cannot see the fly eggs with your naked eyes, but after you digest the food in a couple of hours, you can feel sick.

Everyone loves salads, but salads are one of the most dangerous and one of the most easily contaminated foods .They should be kept on ice at all times. Leaving salads that have mayonnaise or salad dressing on them without chilling can be potentially dangerous.

Leaving salads at room temperature builds toxins. The incubation period is 1-6 (meaning in 1-6 hours after eating the food you will fell sick). There will be no fever just a slight tummy ache.

In the incubation period, which is 6-72 hours, the bacteria invade the tissues and fever is present. There is also vomiting and diarrhea, you must treat these symptoms or they can result in death.

Personnel in a kitchen for a food establishment: manager, supervisors, cooks, prep cooks, general workers and porters.

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Source by Angela O Ellis

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Some celebrity chefs stick with their cookbooks and TV shows, some just lend their name and some go the full route of actually producing a line of products. But like many sports figures who actually make far more money from their endorsements than from their sport, many cooks seem to have hit pay dirt with their own personal line of gadgets, cooking apparatus and seasoning lines. The list is seemingly endless, but here is who tops the hit parade:

Michael Chiarello – this Italian foods chef seems happy with his family vineyard, award-winning Napa restaurant and cookbooks, all of which keep him busy.

Guy Fieri – wild and vivacious restaurant owner and Food Network star, he hawks a simple line of kitchen gadgets, cutlery and T-shirts on his website.

Rachael Ray – better known for her chirpy, giggly personality than her cooking, she showcases a line of kitchen gadgets, cookware and bakeware, which is ironic since she’s the first to tell you she doesn’t bake.

George Foreman – likable ex-boxer who followed Ron Popeil’s lead and hawks his own incredibly successful counter top grills.

Martha Stewart – a mega industry in and of herself, with videos, cookbooks, linens,and even her own magazine.

Giada de Laurentis – following Martha Stewart’s lead, she is a veritable corporation with her own cookware, gadgets, cookbooks and has recently ventured into the restaurant business.

Paula Deen – Southern cook sells an extensive line of gadgets, cookware and utensils plus baked goods, and of course her famous Savannah restaurant (strangely missing from her line is a large butter dish).

Bobby Flay – prefers the route of cookbooks and eateries but does sell a simple line of discount grilling gear including (no surprise here) stainless steel BBQ sauce pots with a built-in silicone brush.

Ina Garten – focuses on cookbooks (and husband Jeffrey) but could definitely profit from a king-sized salt shaker.

Gordon Ramsay – so incredibly busy with his TV shows, cookbooks and restaurants, he does endorse a simple tasteful line of tableware for British china giant Royal Doulton, along with cutlery.

Jamie Oliver – quiet, unpretentious Brit who sells an extensive line of kitchen gadgets.

Nigella Lawson – popular British food writer and cooking hostess has her own line of dishware, cooking supplies, and utensils.

Emeril Lagasse – beloved New Orleans-style chef, popular cooking show host and restaurant owner, he offers an extensive line of sauces and seasonings as well as high quality cutlery.

Paul Prudhomme – top New Orleans chef who practically invented Creole and Cajun cooking, understandably made his mark not only as a successful chef and restaurateur but created an expansive line of spices and marinades.

Wolfgang Puck – does it all, with restaurants, food products and cookware (his line of frozen foods bombed a few years–can’t win ’em all).

Thomas Keller – world-class chef and restaurateur, he sells a pricey set of cookware through Williams Sonoma called TK (clearly not for those on a budget).

Paul Bocuse – French chef considered the “Father of Culinary Art” runs the gamut with cookware, restaurants, food products and even a double oven cooking range for serious and professional chefs only (or those who can afford to pretend they are).

Jack LaLanne – America’s most recognized early TV exercise guru, he revolutionized the juicing industry and still has his name on a top line of juicers.

And no one can count out foodie president Thomas Jefferson, who missed the boat by almost two centuries with the first French ice cream maker, which he discovered in France and brought back to America in the early 1800s.

Sadly several of the above mentioned professionals are no longer with us, but their legacies live on in their products lines.

So the big question remains: do these chefs really design and test their products, do they simply lend their name, or are they micro managers of production and marketing? No one’s talking. Are the pricey ones better than the economical ones, or are consumers just paying for a high-priced name? It’s anybody’s guess. But in this author’s humble opinion, she’d sure want to “try before you buy” and then perhaps just stick with a good old paring knife, a little elbow grease and the pots and pans her mother used.

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Source by Dale Phillip

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I was going to title this true story “Welcome Bigfoot Friends” but then only Bigfoot fans would probably read it. And, if you don’t read this, you would miss out on meeting a father who marches to a different drummer, while making an incredible difference in the life of his son.

Nonetheless, here’s what you should know about me. I strive to be a Welcome Ambassador to Everyone I meet. I know that’s a tall order. I sort of act like a Walmart greeter on steroids. I smile, open doors, as I shop, make positive comments about team logos that I see total strangers wearing. When I see acquaintances and former co-workers in the wilds of the frozen food section of the supermarket, I start a brief catch-up conversation with them. I am a people person.

But what’s this story got to do with Bigfoot, a large hairy-ape like creature between 6.6-9.8 feet tall weighing over 500 pounds, covered with brown or reddish hair? He’s a legend hiding in the forest somewhere. Over the years there have been many eyewitness reports about him, large footprint tracks of him, handheld film recordings, audio recordings, blood and hair samples. There also have been many hoaxes and pranks related to finding Bigfoot in the wilds. But where there is smoke there usually is fire.

Stage set. Now I can proceed with my encounter.

I was waiting for the garage door repairman to fix or replace the runner on my garage door. My wife accidentally caught it backing up the car. I tried to fix the metal runner, but I crinkled the bend worse, making it almost unrepairable.

As the repairman ambled out of the truck, I opened the garage door and wondered if he would get the job done without installing expensive and new runners. He had jeans, and a dusty bulging black T-shirt. No uniform. No Mr. Goodwrench-look. He looked like a mountain man or a World Federation Wrestler. I know first impressions aren’t always correct, yet I wasn’t impressed.

I said hello and welcomed him to my garage and my problem, adding these works “I decided to get an expert to help me.”

He said, “I am not an expert in this area, but I have fixed a number of doors like this.”

He wrestled with the bent runner and after quite a struggle he bent it back to working form, and shot some oil into the little revolving wheels. He told me that I was all set, good as new.

I asked him if he wanted a bottle of cold water. He said that he had some in the truck.

I wondered what made this man tick; in other words, what he cared about beside his job. I thought that I might be surprised. I was already totally wrong about my first impression.

I asked, “So what do you like to do for fun?”

He eyes arched upward recalling a fun scene and he said, “I hunt for Bigfoot with my son in the mountains.”

As my mouth dropped open, I asked “Do you believe in him?”

He answered, “Well, we have fun looking for him. It’s an adventure. We don’t want to hurt him, just hangout. Maybe take a few photos. We bring fruit, nuts, and cold water to share with him. If he doesn’t show up, we eat the goodies ourselves. My son, Ryan, loves hiking and the outdoors.”

“How old is your son?”

“Well, he’s 12, but he has the mental age of 5. Ryan has a brain disorder. He literally has problems doing things. The nerve endings in his body are mixed up. He has to think things through to do normal things. But he has been getting better and better. That’s what counts. And he loves talking about Bigfoot, looking at pictures of Bigfoot, and learning about big animals. We frequently read together. I work two jobs so that I have enough money to get the best help for him.”

Tears circled in my eyes. I wrote him a check for his services, and said “Wait a second, I have a present for him, and I ran upstairs to get a copy of the poetry book Waiting to See the Principal and Other Poems.

I signed the paperback for Ryan and I said, “There are lots of lines that are repeated in my poems. Ryan and you will have fun repeating them. After awhile both of you will have them memorized which makes it even more fun to read.”

“Yes, he will love this book! And the pictures in it are funny too-something like Shel Silverstein’s books. Ryan loves all of his books. Thanks so much. I gotta get back on the road. Thanks again.”

“By the way, does Ryan really believe in the existence of Bigfoot?”

“OH, YEAH! He says Bigfoot is just a good hider.”

And I said to myself: we are all good hiders unless the right questions are asked by an interested person.

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Source by Joe Sottile

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Folding Box Board packaging is a special form of packaging made from layers of mechanical and chemical pulp that is bleached. This material produced is usually a manilla white colour. This type of folding board is the base for many packaging solutions. It is used in food, cosmetic, medical, photographic and frozen food industries and many others. The folding box board can then be coated for various packaging needs. It can have many treatments applied including adding lamination or aluminum foil to serve certain requirements. The board can be highly polished to a matt or gloss shine.

A greaseproof lining is sometimes used in folding box boards to accommodate different products. The board can be adapted to be suitable for many things including toys, beverages and clothing. If you need packaging for your product then you should find out more about cheap and effective packaging like a folding box board. Specialist suppliers can answer any questions you may have about this form of packaging material. There are several specialist companies on the Internet. It may be worth taking a look at their services and the products they can produce for you.

Samples of folding box board designs can be requested to assess the suitability for your requirements. The box board can be coloured, decorated, embossed, varnished and various other adaptations. Most suppliers will have an in house design service or you can provide your own prototype idea for production. Marketing, promotion and product launch samples are some of the services provided. A good supplier will have an impressive client list and produce quality goods. A good retailer will work with you whether your design is in house or bespoke.

Folding box board packaging is very flexible and absolutely ideal for many multi purpose packaging requirements. It has been tried and tested in transportation and durability for many decades. It is a solid, lightweight yet strong material that is a cheap, reliable and effective enclosure for any product. It is also easy to crease and fold into place to be interlocked or glued together. This type of packaging is very cost effective even when buying small amounts. The single or multi layered board can be printed on to with commercial ink and printers.

Folding box board is used in the creation of many kinds of packaging. It is used in regular packaging as well as promotional or sample packs. It is a very versatile pulp substance that can be molded into any shape or size. It is more often used for outside packaging rather than inner linings. The raw materials of these box products are primarily hard and soft wood, and recycled paper. The dual pulping process extracts the wood fibres to form this heavy duty cardboard.

Bleaching is done mainly for cosmetic purposes but it does increase the purity of the finished product. The material also appears to be a lighter colour following the bleaching process. Folding box board is low density and its layers reinforce its stiffening properties to make it ideal for cartons. This board packaging material is the perfect home for many well-known brands.

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Source by Lawrence BT White

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Among the modern appliances and equipments that made remarkable contributions to the culinary world, the microwave oven deserves a very prominent place. A fast and convenient appliance, microwave oven is now an unavoidable utility in the modern kitchen. No wonder, it has attained unprecedented popularity through out the world. Consumers are fascinated by the innovative features incorporated in the latest versions, thanks to the evolving technology. Today it is a multipurpose kitchen appliance used for not only defrosting or reheating stored food, but also for baking, roasting, grilling and toasting. A remarkable feature of the microwave oven is that it facilitates fat free cooking, which is recommended for persons with health problems.

Widely used in the catering sector as well as in the households, the microwave oven is lauded for its rapidity and energy efficiency. The early versions of this utility were mainly used to reheat the frozen food and to make popcorn. The special feature of this facility is that the food gets heated first, and then the heat will be slowly radiated to the cookware. As a result, cooking process will be less messy. The absence of smoke is another advantage.

Microwave ovens are available in different sizes. Portable sizes can be accommodated on the kitchen worktop. Larger ones are capable of handling casseroles and bigger utensils. Such large sized ovens are used for cooking food also. Convection microwave oven is a new version with heating element and a fan to facilitate heat transfer upwards. This type of oven is expensive than conventional appliance.

However there are many disadvantages attributed to this type of cooking method. According to the experts and dieticians, regular and continuous use of microwave ovens will affect the nutritive value of the food adversely. The radiation process involved in the microwave cooking actually heat up the molecules to the extent of destroying the vitamins and certain natural nutrients contained in the food. Some experts estimate that almost ninety seven per cent of the nutritive value will be lost by the microwave cooking. It is therefore advised that microwave oven should be used sparingly for the purpose of defrosting or heating the stored food. If necessary it can be used to expedite cooking process in unavoidable circumstances. However, the fact remains that the quality of food will be less nutritive than the food cooked in the conventional stoves.

Keeping in mind such hazardous consequences, consumers can buy and use microwave ovens for limited purposes. Varieties of models are offered by the market to cater the increasing demands for this modern utility. Many new features are incorporated in the new models. Non-stick interior quoting to facilitate easier cleaning of spilled food items and grease filters which can be removed for cleaning are some of the additional features. In some models removable turntables are provided for the convenience of the users. The consumers should insist on warranty and after sale service while buying microwave ovens. Many online dealers offer attractive discounts and free shipping.

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Source by Fredrick Joy

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Authentic Italian in NYC

No, you need not visit Italy just for a meal! Thankfully there are a bunch of restaurants around that let you taste authentic and traditional dishes of Italy right here in New York. While there are a number of average Italian places mushrooming all over the city, Casabianca NYC is the ‘ristorante’ to enjoy a traditional meal. It is a family restaurant that invites you to savor reinvented recipes oozing typical flavors of authentic Italian dishes.

The menu at Casabianca was curated to introduce the real-deal Italian to food lovers in New York. They have a lot of secret Sicilian recipes that will simply bowl you over. Going by the reviews, their Grandma slices are to die for! Just one bite of their slices and you’ll be coming back for more very soon. Garlic Knots and Parm Hero are among the most popular dishes on the menu. Also, they never go wrong with their pasta sauces- Vodka, Alfredo, or Bolognese- all of which are made fresh and in-house using age-old recipes. Dig into their specials to take a tour through the culinary history of Italy.

Traditional, Fresh & Homemade

At Casabianca, their top priority is serving fresh food at all times. Quality is ensured not just in what is served on the table and delivered to your doorstep but also in what goes into preparing the meals.

All spices and ingredients are picked carefully and no frozen items are used. Right from the meats to the greens, everything is sourced locally. Sauces are made fresh every day, so are the bread. And you can taste it all distinctly in their dishes!

A Perfect Family Meal

Casabianca’s menu is a delight if you are planning a loving meal with your family. There’s whole lot of goodness to explore, spreading across appetizers, pizzas, pasta, heroes, rolls, entrees and more. Then there are specials and baked surprises too. You can go with your traditional Italian order or explore the Sicilian secrets with their specials, either way, it’s going to be a great meal to savor and share. Wrap up your feast with a sweet indulgence that comes in the form of Cannoli and Tiramisu. To top a great meal, the ambiance at Casabianca is perfect to have a great time and a lovely meal.

No reason why you should keep yourself drooling! Casabianca NYC is the perfect excuse to indulge the Italian way!

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Source by Eva Irvine

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Get into Pesach mode with a family meeting

Look over the calendar and fill in your cleaning and shopping schedules

Review notes from last yearWork on completing House purchases and renovations

7 Weeks to Pesach

Complete major house purchases

Set appointments for other house needs-carpet cleaning, renovations, other work dates

6 Weeks to Pesach

First Phase of Cleaning-Bedrooms, Closets, and Storage areas

First Phase of Clothes shopping

5 Weeks to Pesach

Look over your Pesach Kitchen Inventory

Order Matzahs

Create a pantry for Pesach food: include storage for non perishable foods, frozen foods, and matzah

Move your Chametz foods out of this newly assigned Pesach food area

Accumulate your Kitchen Inventory (i.e., pots and pans, cutting boards)

A Freilichin Purim!

4 Weeks to Pesach

Continue to build up your Kitchen Inventory and non-perishable Pesach shopping

Buy paper goods, kitchen lining supplies

Order meat, wine, fish

Create Meal Plans

Make personal appointments

Clean Dining room Breakfront

3 Weeks to Pesach

Clean fridge and freezer designating one chametz area

Begin giving kids Pesachdik snacks

Complete clothes shoppingClean other rooms (i.e., laundry rooms, office, hallway, bathrooms) and tape

up areas

2 Weeks to Pesach

Clean cars

Finalize your Meal plans

Shop for perishables

Clean the kitchen. Include: appliances, cabinets, chairs, countertopCs, floor, garbage, highchair, oven, phone,sink, stovetop, table, windows

Kasher and make your kitchen pesachdik: line countertops, kasher oven, sink, etc.

Think about how you will eat challah on Shabbos

1 Week to Pesach

Cook!!!

Prepare for Seder

Vacuum EVERYWHERE

Let’s go into the very first task together on the 8 week list and understand it well, the Family Meeting.

What is this meeting all about and why is it the first step?

An effective productivity system has three steps. Collect, Clarify, and Organize. Having a family meeting is the first step because…you guessed it, it is the “collecting” stage.

Your meeting is essentially a Collection basket. Before your meeting collect all the thoughts running through your head about Pesach. Also collect all your paperwork: menus, recipes, and lists, etc., from previous years. Tour the house with a voice recorder or notepad, entering everything that has to be done. You can have fun doing this with your husband and the kids. Have people “call out” when they see something that needs to be cleaned or completed. Ask everyone what his or her own thoughts are with regards to making Pesach.

Clarify what needs to get done for Pesach. Use checklists. Create your own or use the ones found in my book, Pesach Perfectly Organized, which indicate everything from ordering meat to emptying your purse to studying the Haggadah. Get very clear about what needs to get done.

Organize. Decide when you will do all of the tasks you’ve clarified. All of your decisions about Pesach are personal and unique to your family.

The family meeting is a great first step for getting everyone into the Pesach mode. Its goal is to bring you together as a family around this major project of the Jewish year: what tasks need to be accomplished, who is available to assist, and any other requests or opinions that family members have.

The family meeting will help you understand what you personally need to do differently than other people and will empower you with the knowledge that your way of doing things is correct and sound for your family.

Is there anything different this year for your family? For example, if you have a wedding or a birth before Pesach, you may need to start earlier than in other years. (Organize) If you are caring for an elderly family member, you may want to cook chametz until the last possible minute. Or, if you have a Pesach kitchen in the basement, you may be able to start cooking well before you’re finished cleaning. These are all aspects of Pesach that are personal and unique to your family.

If you have school-aged or teen-aged children, let them help you make a master list of tasks. (Clarify) (Identifying very clear tasks is an absolute critical step to being productive.) When children participate in the planning, they are usually more willing to do the work. Ask them to check off the tasks they will do, along with the timetable for doing them. Now is also the time to clarify who needs new items of clothing for the holiday and when you will go shopping.

You can discuss at the meeting any family that is coming from out of town and where they will sleep. Will any of the children be displaced? Do you need more beds? More linen? Will you be asking neighbors to provide sleeping space?

Talk about when Pesach falls out; it’s Monday night this year. Does this have ramifications for your job or your husband’s? Can you afford cleaning help? If so, will it be your regular cleaning lady? A professional service? Or specialized help, like oven or carpet cleaning? Will you need to arrange for a babysitter so you can clean? Do you want to do any renovation or decorating before Yom Tov? Are you going to budget money for eating out during the last week before Pesach?

There is no right or wrong way. It is whatever works best for your family.

The meeting you have with your family is the earliest task you can complete on your Pesach checklist. It is simply the best way to begin Pesach planning and task completion.

The jump from non-Pesach to Pesach can be a tough one. Let’s transition ourselves gently before the Purim…Pesach dance gives us a shove and know exactly what can be done first and do it early on.

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Source by Rivka Slatkin

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Professional chefs and home cooks find creative uses for leftovers. Their recipes are often excellent. I had some leftover spaghetti on hand and some frozen shrimp that was starting to develop freezer burn. A thrifty person, I couldn’t discard these ingredients, and decided to combine them in an original recipe.

When I looked in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator I found a red pepper, a small zucchini, and a yellow onion–foods that go well together. When I checked the pantry shelves I found some rosemary bread sticks imported from Italy. Ta da! I had the makings of a marvelous meal.

I live in the Midwest and fresh fish, other than Walleye and trout, is hard to get. Supposedly fresh fish is displayed in store cases, but this fish can be frozen fish that has been thawed. Eating fish that has been frozen, partially thawed or thawed, and re-frozen can put you at risk for food poisoning.

Years ago I ate a breaded fish patty sandwich (frozen fillet) and developed Scombroid Fish Poisoning. Much to my shock, gigantic hives appeared on my body. One hive covered an entire thigh. I’ve never forgotten this experience and am careful about keeping frozen fish totally frozen. If I buy frozen fish I ask the staff person if it’s really fresh, or defrosted fish.

Since this recipe contains lots of vegetables, I didn’t bother to fix a salad. If you want to round out the meal with salad, go ahead and do it. Don’t expect a thick sauce with this recipe. Instead, the pasta and shrimp are flavored with a thin sauce made with butter, wine, and garlic.

Choose a dry white wine that will compliment the recipe ingredients, not overpower them. My husband and I loved this recipe and I think you will enjoy it too. Because it’s winter in Minnesota, I warmed the pasta bowls before I dished up dinner. Serve this recipe with bread sticks, crusty bread, or garlic toast.

INGREDIENTS

20 frozen, cooked large shrimp

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, halved and cut into crescents

1 small zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2″ chunks

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into 1″ strips

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons small capers, drained

1 cup dry white wine

Parmesan cheese for garnish

METHOD

1. Thaw shrimp according to package directions. Remove tails and set aside.

2. Coat skillet with olive oil. Turn heat to medium.

3. Add onion crescents and cook until soft.

4. Add zucchini and red pepper. Cook 5 minutes.

5. Scatter shrimp over vegetable mixture. Add pasta and toss with tongs to combine. Turn heat to low.

6. Season pasta and vegetables with garlic salt, black pepper, butter, and capers.

7. Pour white wine over mixture. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5-8 minutes.

8. Spoon into large soup bowls. Garnish liberally with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.

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Source by Harriet Hodgson