An Individual Health Recipe to Enjoy
Too many people start their day with a muffin because it is easy to eat on the go.
Here is an alternative to store or street bought (and sugar loaded) muffins. Take a
Sunday night and prepare yourself for the week. Your body will thank you and you
will find yourself having an Energy Rich
Filed under: Club Scout | No Comments »
Pregnancy is a time where women really need to be sure that they take extra good care of themselves. A growing fetus is very demanding on the body of a woman, and if she isn’t sure to take great care of herself it could prove devastating for herself and her child. Mostly, a woman must be in touch with her body, open to suggestions from her doctor, and willing to do things a bit differently than she would if she were not pregnant.
First, a woman should seriously consider taking prenatal vitamins. You can buy these over the counter in almost every drug store, or your doctor can write you a prescription. These vitamins are considered essential by many experts as the developing fetus will often rob the mother of the vitamins and nutrients that her body needs to maintain its own health and stability.
A balanced diet is very important, as well. Most women will naturally crave balanced meals that consist of calcium rich foods, fruits, vegetables, as well as proteins. If you do not normally have a balanced diet because of your food preferences or religious beliefs, you need to consider how this will affect your growing baby. If you do not eat meat or you have an aversion to fruits and vegetables you should let your doctor know this so that he or she can work with you or set you up with a nutritionist so that you can have a healthy pregnancy. Not only does your baby need you to eat a balanced diet, you need you to, as well!
Exercise is a part of a healthy pregnancy, as well. While your regular exercise program may be safe in the beginning of your pregnancy, you will need to discuss your exercise regimen with your doctor. A lot of women think that they need to give up exercise during pregnancy, and for most women this simply is not true. In fact, the better shape you are in when you deliver the easier the delivery will be and the faster you will recover. If for some reason your doctor thinks you need to modify your exercise program you can do that, but most women can continue to exercise normally for most of their pregnancy as long as the exercise is neither too invasive or does not engage the abdominal muscles.
A positive outlook and support from friends and family is essential for a healthy pregnancy. While pregnancy is usually a very hopeful and exciting time, it can also be quite overwhelming, and even scary. If you have the help and support of family and friends, those scary and overwhelming feelings will subside quickly so you can continue to care for yourself and your baby during your pregnancy.
There is no doubt that pregnancy is one of the most physically and emotionally challenging times of your life, only outdone by parenthood itself! Taking care of yourself during pregnancy requires caution, care, and planning, but it can be done quite simply. Having open communication with your doctor and those around you will help you be well informed so that you can make the decisions that will lead to a healthy pregnancy. Websites such as www.pregnancysafe.com can help you plan for the most healthy pregnancy possible.
Learn how to stay healthy during your pregnancy at http://www.pregnancysafe.com.
Filed under: Club Scout | No Comments »
Before you say that there is not a single T in homemade cookies, I’d better tell you that the T’s stand for types and texture. They are the two prominent features in our favorite sweet. One often can not be without the other.
We classify cookies based on how we get them ready for the oven.
1. Drop Cookies - If you have ever made chocolate chip, peanut butter, or oatmeal cookies, you undoubtedly use the dropping method. Any kitchen utensils such as tablespoons or ice cream scoops can be used to portion the dough. The trick is to make these portions relatively equal in size so that they bake uniformly. A variation of this technique is rolling cookie dough into balls. Drop cookies tend to have a soft and chewy texture.
2. Icebox or Refrigerated Cookies - I suspect that this type of cookies was invented when someone who did not have time to bake right after preparing the dough. Instead, she shaped it into logs or rectangles and refrigerated it. When she had time later, she sliced the chilled dough into individual pieces and baked them as needed. Many elegant homemade cookies such as pinwheel and checkerboard are of this type. It allows a busy home baker an opportunity to show off her creativity. These cookies usually have a crisp texture.
3. Cut-Out or Rolled Cookies - Dough for this type of cookies needs to be firm. To minimize scrap, start cutting cookies from the edge of the dough, working inward as close to one another as possible. Scrap can be re-rolled but tends to yield tough cookies. Cut-out cookies are often baked on parchment lined or ungreased cookie sheets to keep the dough from spreading and loosing its shape. An alternative is to hand-shaped the dough into spheres, crescents, or other traditional shapes.
4. Bar or Sheet Cookies - It takes almost no time at all to transfer cookie dough from a mixing bowl to a baking pan. This is the best method for a busy cookie lover.
5. Pressed or Spritz or Bagged Cookies - The right flour and proper proportion of ingredients are prerequisite for success in baking this type of cookies. The dough should be soft enough so that it can be easily forced through a pastry tip or cookie press. Using eggs as the only liquid will help cookies retain their small, distinct and decorated shape.
6. Wafer Cookies - Being extremely thin and delicate is a distinguishing trait of these cookies. They are made from a batter that you pour or spread directly onto a baking sheet. The cookies need to be molded immediately into shapes after coming out of the oven.
Generally, cookie dough with a relatively high proportion of fat, granulated sugar, and eggs would promote spreading and chewiness. High fat and sugar but low in eggs (liquid) tend to result in crispness. The opposite condition will add softness to your homemade cookies.
Reference
SARAH R. LABENSKY, EDDY VAN DAMME, PRISCILLA MARTEL, KLAUS TENBERGEN. On Baking - A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals. Pearson Education, Inc. 2005
For easy recipes pertaining to each of the above types of homemade cookies, visit Baking Perfect Homemade Cookies with Five Essential Rules.
Copyright 2006 Trinh Lieu
Filed under: Club Scout | No Comments »