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Factors You Should Consider When Buying A Stand Mixer

January 28th, 2010 No comments

Shopping for a stand mixer can be very confusing given the various capacity, power, functions and accessories available in the market from all the different models. If you are looking to buy a stand mixer, you need to be aware of your needs first because that will help you to narrow down your choices. Once you know what you are looking for in a mixer, then you can start shopping around for one that fits your needs and budget.

Therefore, as a start consider how you will be using the stand mixer. For example, do you bake bread often? How many people are there in your family that you need to bake for? By assessing your needs, you can then decide on the capacity of the mixer and its power. If you are always making dense and stiff dough in large quantities, you will need a mixer that comes with a bigger bowl and is powerful enough to be able to handle your ingredients with ease. On the other hand, if you have a small family and regularly bake things in small quantities, such a large capacity mixer is not only a waste, it might be difficult to use to process the small amounts of ingredients you need.

Once you are able to determine your needs, you will also have a better idea of the type of the accessories you will need. Some mixers can also be used to grind meat, make cheese and perform a wide range of other tasks. You will need the right attachments for the different jobs but the options are available if you want them. While most mixer standard packages comprise only the beater, whisk and dough hook, you can opt for the other accessories to make your work easier. You can buy them separately if you so choose once you know what your needs are.

As with all electrical appliances, it is also nice to have a safety feature included. This means the mixer will shut off automatically when it overheats. Since we tend to use the mixer a lot during the festive seasons, it is advisable to have an overload function available so that we can cut down on the risk of it overheating and malfunctioning just when we need to use it the most.

When it comes to mixing action, you should try to get a mixer that can cover as wide an area as possible. Some mixers are not able to mix the ingredients properly because they do not get close enough to the side of the bowl. Usually, a mixer with the beater moving in one direction and the shaft moving in the opposite direction will result in the ingredients being more evenly mixed.

As for the weight of the mixer, try to get one that weighs at least 25 pounds. A light mixer tends to crawl and bounce around the counter top whenever you are mixing dense dough in large quantities. If you don’t want to contend with such a problem, get a heavier mixer instead.

The last thing you might like to look into is how durable the mixer is. A mixer made of metal, including the gears, would be dearer but it will be longer-lasting. You would need to evaluate the quality, capacity and power of the mixer against your budget and needs before you make the decision to buy.

Read up about the Kitchenaid Artisan Series Stand Mixer, why you should have it and the various Kitchen Aid Dough Hook models. Learn a little more before you buy if you don’t want to end up regretting your purchase!

The 7 Steps To Becoming A Vegetarian

January 28th, 2010 No comments

So you want to become a vegetarian, you’re ready to leave meat behind. Congratulations! You’ll find vegetarianism to be a healthy change in your life. Right now, you might be anxious to start being a vegetarian, but are faced with a very simple question – how do I do it? While the answer might sound simple enough (stop eating meat), we know old habits die hard. So here’s seven steps to make the switch.

1. Have a big ‘why’. Answer a simple question; why do you want to become a vegetarian? Like any massive change in lifestyle, you will need a very good reason to do it. Your motivation is the single driving force behind a change so grand.

2. Read up. Start reading about vegetarianism, get a good grasp of what it is and is not. Start searching for vegetarian recipes that you’ll like and be able to do

3. Slow and steady wins the race. A change in diet is nothing more than a change in habit. Don’t go trying to eliminate all meat from your diet starting tomorrow if you know you either 1) can’t do it or 2) can’t maintain it. But if you know you can go cold shoulder, then go for it. I know I did.

4. Meal exchange. Start exchanging your typical meat meals with more and more vegetarian meals, until one day, before you know it, you’re a vegetarian. In the beginning, start by substituting meals where it’s comfortable and build from there.

5. The meat sabbath. Choose any day of the week you are most comfortable with and make that a vegetarian only day. Commit to eating vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts and no meat. Soon you’ll be comfortable expanding those meatless days throughout the days of the week till all seven days are meat-free.

6. Your circle of friends. The company you keep has a great influence on you. Start filling your circle friends with vegetarians. They’re very friendly people. Being in contact with them will spur you to stay on course to becoming a vegetarian.

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Negative Calorie Foods: An Informative Guide To Healthy Living.

January 28th, 2010 No comments

Weight gain is a contentious issue that people have to deal with once in a while. But losing weight is hard for some because dieticians are strict about the food we eat. Now losing weight is somewhat simpler if you consume negative calorie food. Negative calorie food can burn out fats in the system without you having to stop eating at all. So whilst you eat you’ll actually be burning out excessive fats in the system without you feeling it at all.

You don’t have to go far to get negative calorie food. A simple grapefruit is enough to fend off fat burning acids. Grapefruits are those fruits that look like oranges though they don’t exactly taste like them. On top of this they contain essential vitamin C. Other foods that contain these calories are grapes; green beans; garlic; lemons; lettuce; oranges; tomatoes; watermelons; pumpkins; peaches and papaya. Incorporate these foods in your diet and you’ll be well on your way to losing weight.

It doesn’t take a lot to understand how negative calorie foods function. The secret is behind what they contain. When it comes to citrus fruits like lemons; oranges and grapefruits you should know that they contain acid. It is this acid component that is used by the body to digest and breakdown fats. Metabolism is dependent on acidic conditions.

Vegetables that possess negative calories are cabbage; lettuce and broccoli. Now, these foods are fibrous and they have a lot of fibre in them. So the reason why these are good when it comes to dieting is that they take long to digest. If they take long to digest that means they require more energy to digest and it is this quality that makes them bur out fats. They also give the feeling of being full, something that will inevitably make you eat way less than usual.

Negative calorie foods shouldn’t just be eaten carelessly. The fact that these foods can burn out more fat than they possess shouldn’t be a reason for you to incorporate them recklessly. Eat negative calorie food in their fresh state. If you’re going to have cabbage I would suggest you eat it raw as part of a salad. You need not add anything like salt or salad dressing because doing so will weaken their effectiveness.

A balanced diet is key to reaping the most benefits from negative calorie food. Don’t just eat negative calories alone because you really want to lose weight. Eat other foodstuffs as well and don’t neglect proteins; carbohydrates and vitamins. Eating a lot of these negative calories doesn’t exactly mean you will lose weight faster.

Be careful of the myth related to foods like these. Some people now think eating a lot of negative calories is key to losing the most weight. Your body still requires calories from other foods. Calories are essential to the normal functioning of the body and it would be very detrimental to your health if you solely depended on negative calories.

Negative calorie foods are not enough to meet your weight loss needs. Inasmuch as it is claimed that these foods can help you lose weight they alone are not enough. You will have to couple your diet with a regular exercise regime. So next time you eat oranges or lettuce be sure to go for a jog or a walk so that you can make the most out of negative calorie foods.

And if you want to know more about a negative calorie soup recipe, please take a look at my blog, or have a look at this article about the spin off cabbage soup diet.