Cooking Is One of My Specialties

Cooking is one of my specialties. While in the US Army Reserves I learned about Cooking. Indoor, outdoor and campfire cooking was fun and easy with cast iron cookware. I remember the outdoors and the smell of campfire cooking, accompanied by the chorus of the squirrels, crickets and birds, during bivouacs, Almond lemon cake italian cooking.

The most ordinary form of outdoor cooking is campfire cooking. For families it is particularly well fitting, it is an activity which presents an opportunity for pleasant evenings and outings. It has its own taste and fancy. Skill and knowledge is required, but both are easily acquired. Campfire cooking is a tradition in itself and some cooks have years of experience both on safaris and at home. It is one of my favorite things in life. It is great; however, most campfire cooking is done in campgrounds.

Credit to improvements in camping cooking gear and a horde of easy-prep and in-store ingredients, it need not be limited to burgers, dogs and smokes. Another unique way of campfire cooking is to cook some food items inside of other foods. Another unusual campfire cooking method is cooking in paper. An unfussy and simple way of campfire cooking is to set a large coffee can on the coals. The days of utilitarian campfire cooking of yesteryear are gone. Try out a few odd techniques the next time you're out camping.

Happy Cooking

With my family’s busy life, we often find it difficult to have fun together. Sometimes I feel that the only time we spend any quality time together is when we are eating dinner. My grandmother always said, “A family that eats together, stays together”. So the other day I decided to take that motto a step higher; a family that cooks together has fun together! Last week I tried something new and found that it was a great family bonding experience, Pollo alla cacciatora with mushrooms.

Last Friday I got this idea, it was about 4 in the afternoon and I had one hour until quitting time. I hate to admit it, but I was so tired and cringed at the thought of going home and having to slave over the stove to put dinner on the table. I know countless times in the past I’ve suggested that someone help me cook and every time I was turned down. “I have homework…” “I’m watching TV…” “Let’s get fast food” or the infamous “I don’t know how to cook…” The excuses are endless.

I thought to myself, “How can I make cooking seem fun to my family?” Suddenly, it came to me. I thought that everyone might be more excited to help cook if they knew that the final results would be something they love.

Body Nutrients

Think of your body the way a farmer tills the soil. Your body, just like the soil of the earth, extracts nutrients from the food it's given. Enzymes, which are found in (living and raw) foods, aid in the process of digestion (transporting nutrients to the cells). By choosing alkaline rich foods, (foods with a ph level of 7.0 or higher), these foods contain vital and living enzymes which aid in the digestion and the absorption of nutrients. These nutrients are extracted from the food by the body through the process of assimilation, same Italian pasta.

If the food is alive, then the process of digestion is easier. The nutrients are then distributed to the cells and then the healing of the body begins. "Let thy food be thy medicine" is a proverb that has been used in indigenous cultures all over the world for thousands of years. But if the food is void of nutrition, then the healing process is compromised. According to Wellness Educator, Carmellita Brown:

"For the average person, 80% percent of what we eat has no nutritional value. About 40% of the foods we consume are meats and animal products such as milk, cheese, butter, which have nutrients, but these nutrients do not assimilate well in the Human body. We eat it because we enjoy the way it tastes and because it gives us a temporary sense of fullness.

The other 40% is processed foods such as pastas, breads, canned foods, and frozen foods. Only about 20% of what we eat is actually raw fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. This ratio not only promotes anaerobic pathogens, it also causes obesity, nerve damage, allergies, and stress."

Proper Nutrition

There’s a grape diet, a cabbage soup diet, which is fun for all concerned and an eat anything you like but stop at 4pm diet. We’re all heard of the Atkins diet and we’ve probably all heard of the low GI diet, both are quite popular at the moment. There is, however, one diet that no one should ever like to be on and that is the eating for cancer diet. The obvious prerequisite is that you should have cancer of some kind and be about to undergo treatment.

The right kind of food and proper nutrition can help a cancer patient feel better, stay stronger and even cope with the side effects of treatment. It is best to seek the advice of a registered dietician before undergoing treatment for cancer but below are a few handy tips for you to consider.

Patients need to build up a stock of bodily reserves so they need a diet high in calories and high in proteins such as milk, cream, cheese, eggs, sauces, gravies and to have their food cooked in more butter, oil or margarine. They may need to eat less fibre as this might aggravate upset stomachs or sore mouths. This is the time to treat the patient. Food is pleasure and should be treated as such.

Make meal times as fun as possible, if there are children present include them in the preparation of the meal. Prepare everyone’s favourite meal once a week; include at least one of the patient’s favourite dishes in each meal. Think positively and keep an optimistic attitude, this increases the appetite, at the very least it will stop the appetite from decreasing.

Even though it has been said that you must eat food high in calories and fry the hell out of it, it must now also be added that you need to try to eat as healthily as possibly. It seems very contradictory but if you include your daily 5 portions of fruit and veg and get all your fats your should be doing ok. This will help build up your reserves to prevent body tissue from breaking down during treatment and to maintain your defenses against infection.