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Health Benefits of Pressure Cooking

Health Benefits of Pressure Cooking

Do you remember the days when your mom used a pressure cooker to prepare yummy, delicious foods and meals? Perhaps you’ve thought those days are gone, or you thought pressure cookers were only for beans. Well, with today’s modern pressure cookers, your family can enjoy succulent, delicious and nutritious meals in a fraction of the time it would take to boil, bake or slow cook your favorite recipes.

Because pressure cooking uses the steam from the liquids used in your favorite recipes, the vitamins and nutrients are preserved in the food instead of being “cooked out” as they are in traditional boiling, baking or microwaving. And because pressure cooking reduces the amount of cooking time by up to 10 times, pressure cooking is a lot healthier than running out to a fast food joint.

Another way using a pressure cooker to cook our meals is healthier is because the ingredients used are fresh, whole, natural foods, not processed or packaged foods. Not only is using natural foods for all your meals, opposed to processed or packaged, healthier it also saves you money on your grocery bills every month. When you get in the habit of eating natural foods you’ll find you often have more energy, less weight gain, lower sodium and lower cholesterol levels as well. And because you can choose what goes in your pressure cooker you have more control over the amount of salt and other ingredients you are digesting.

Using recipes that are low in fat, salt and carbohydrates are easy to do in a pressure cooker, and they come out tasting delicious, even more delicious than if you baked, boiled or microwave them. Not to mention you will tend to make more vegetables when you use a pressure cooker because it is easy, efficient and pressure cooking makes your vegetable, frozen or raw, come out succulent and melt in your mouth. You may find that you prefer your vegetables without butter or salt once you start cooking them in a pressure cooker! Think of all the health benefits in that alone.

An added health benefit to using a pressure cooking is to make some of your favorite desserts in a pressure cooker. That’s right! You can use your pressure cooker to make desserts like homemade applesauce, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and cinnamon and apple flan w/ maple syrup. You can choose the ingredients that go into your dessert to make them more nutritious for you and your family.

You Can Even Make Dessert with a Pressure Cooker

You Can Even Make Dessert with a Pressure Cooker

Preparing desserts has never been easier or less time consuming than with a pressure cooker! Not only are they easy and take less time than they would if you baked them, pressure cooked desserts also taste better and are healthier. Here are some favorite dessert recipes you and your family will love.

Creamy Cheesecake with Fruit Glaze – Delicious and quick to put together!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. butter

• 4 tbsp. bread crumbs

• 2-8 oz. pkgs. Cream cheese

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

• 2 tbsp. flour

• 6 tbsp. sour cream

• 2 eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 cups water

Preparation:

Butter a 7 inch spring form mold or other baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and set aside. In a bowl, blend the cream cheese, sugar, cream, vanilla, lemon zest, flour and sour cream. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks and pour mixture into the baking dish.

Center the uncovered pan on a piece of 24” long aluminum foil. Cover the top of the pan with another piece of foil and pinch around the edges to seal. Create a handle by scrunching up the ends of the foil over the top of the pan. Set the trivet in the pressure cooker and pour in the water. Lower the foil covered pan into the pressure cooker and place on the trivet.

Lock the lid into place and bring to pressure. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes at 15psi. Remove from heat and release pressure using the natural release method.

Remove the pan from the pressure cooker using the foil handle. Loosen the foil and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Before serving, arrange fruit topping or fruit preserves in thick layer over the cheesecake. If using a spring form pan, release and remove the rim of the spring form pan.

Rice Pudding – A favorite especially on those chilly fall or winter days!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. butter

• 1/4 cup long grain rice

• 2 cups milk

• 1 cup water

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup evaporated milk

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• Cinnamon to taste

Preparation:

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker and add the rice coating it with butter. Pour in the fresh milk and water and then stir in the sugar and salt.

Lock the lid in place and bring to pressure. Lower heat and cook for 12 minutes at 15 psi. Release pressure using natural release method and remove lid.

In a small bowl, combine egg, evaporated milk and vanilla. Stir in a little of the hot liquid from the pressure cooker then add the mixture to the pressure cooker. Cook uncovered over medium heat with a wooden spoon, stirring constantly until the rice pudding begins to barely bubble. Immediately remove from heat and allow to cool 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Transfer to individual dessert bowls, and refrigerate to continue cooling. Sprinkle with cinnamon when serving.

Makes 4 servings

Cooking Beans and Lentils in Your Pressure Cooker

Cooking Beans and Lentils in Your Pressure Cooker

Pressure cooked dry beans and lentils are so much better than canned beans. Here’s why: dry beans cost much less than canned beans; dry beans taste better than canned beans and contain no preservatives; dry beans are healthier than canned beans and more environmentally safe because they don’t require any metal packaging or salt water and preservatives that canned beans are soaked in; and using a new generation pressure cooker is the fastest way to cook beans and rice.

Here are a couple of recipes for you to enjoy using your pressure cooker

Hummus – Healthy, environmentally safe and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dried chickpeas

• 1/3 cup Canola oil

• 1/3 cup EVOO

• 1/3 cup tahini

• 1/3 cup water

• 4 tbsp. lemon juice

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 tsp. cumin

• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Soak chickpeas for at least 4 hours. You can put them in water before you head for work to prepare in the evening. Dispose soaking water and rinse. Place chickpeas in pressure cooker with 3-1/2 cups water. Lock the lid and bring to pressure, then lower heat and cook for 9 to 14 minutes on high (15psi). Use natural release method to allow pressure to drop. Blend cooked chickpeas and all other ingredients until creamy.

Makes 4 servings

Old Fashioned Baked Beans – Perfect for a family barbeque or Thanksgiving Dinner!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry navy beans (aka white beans)

• 3 tbsp. Canola oil

• 1 large onion diced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1-3/4 cups water

• 1 can (2 fl. Oz) tomato paste

• 3 tbsp. brown sugar

• 2 tbsp. molasses

• 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

• 1/4 tsp. cumin

• 1/8 tsp. chili powder

Preparation:

Rinse and soak navy beans for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans. Add all ingredients except the beans to the pressure cooker and stir thoroughly. Then add the beans. Bring to a boil, then stir and lock the lid in place and bring to pressure. Lower heat and cook for 40 minutes at 15 psi. Release pressure using the quick release method or auto release and remove lid.

Makes 4 servings.

As you can see, making your family favorites is quick and easy using a new generation pressure cooker! Now you can have low-cost, healthy meals in the fraction of the time it would take you to bake, boil or use a slow cooker!

10 Foods That Fight Stress

10 Foods That Fight Stress

It’s easy to forget the importance of everything we put into our bodies. While you can’t always eat a completely balanced diet, you can reduce your stress levels simply by choosing stress-fighting foods.

Since everyone is different, some stress-relieving foods might work for you while others may not. Your best bet will be to try them all and then incorporate the ones that work for you into your regular diet.

Here are some foods that can help alleviate your stress:

1. Green Leafy Vegetables. Leafy greens contain a lot of magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral that has the power to relax muscles.

2. Fish Oil. Fish oil contains essential fatty acids that help with serotonin uptake in the brain. Serotonin makes you feel good mentally and enables your brain to better cope with stress. You can get your fish oil from certain kinds of fish, such as salmon, or from supplements.

3. Milk. There is a reason that milk is sometimes referred to as a “wind down” food. The proteins in milk can help reduce anxiety while the calcium is another mineral that can help with muscle relaxation.

4. Chocolate. A small piece of dark chocolate each day can actually provide you with many health benefits. Chocolate has a stimulating effect. The caffeine also helps to increase serotonin. It’s okay to indulge in chocolate in small amounts!

5. Red Wine. Many experts believe that a glass of red wine each day provides health benefits. The only drawback is that it’s easy to overdo it when drinking alcoholic beverages. Wine is packed with beneficial antioxidants and can temporarily lower blood pressure and help you relax.

6. Oatmeal. Oatmeal and other carbohydrates also help increase serotonin levels in the brain. In fact, your brain needs carbohydrates in order to function normally. This is why it’s essential to include good carbohydrates like oatmeal in your regular diet.

7. Lean Meats. Lean meats can help you combat stress by providing a good source of protein. Turkey, eggs, chicken and fish are all good choices because they contain necessary amino acids for healthy brain function. Remember not to eat fatty meats because the fat can interfere with proper digestion of the amino acids.

8. Coffee. Yes, caffeine is a stimulant and there is also a risk of developing an unhealthy habit. However, moderation is the key. Coffee can help stimulate the brain into working with more energy and efficiency, helping you feel more motivated and less stressed.

9. Nuts. Nuts help you maintain your proper blood sugar. They also contain plenty of the vitamin B complex, which combats fatigue.

10. Spinach. Spinach is one of the world’s super foods. It contains many vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3′s. This means it would be hard to eat spinach and not feel good!

Vitamins & Supplements

Of course, it’s always best to get your nutrients from the natural source. If this isn’t possible, or if you can’t stomach a certain food, it’s best to look for vitamin supplements so you can still derive some benefits from it.

Vitamin supplements help your body get the nutrients it might be missing. Once you start consuming these necessary nutrients, you’ll be on your way to feeling healthier and stress-free.

3 Pressure Cooker Beef Recipes

3 Pressure Cooker Beef Recipes

Pressure Cookers aren’t just for beans! Using a pressure cooker saves time and money over baking in the oven or using a crock pot. In addition to that the meat is juicier and much tenderer. Below are some quick and easy recipes you can use with beef. The recipes times are based using a 15psi pressure cooker. For a lower psi pressure cooker, add 12% to 15% more time.

Old Fashioned Meat Loaf – Prepare the meat in the morning and chill to firm for a nice evening supper.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb. chopped or ground beef

• 1 tsp. salt

• Ground black pepper

• 2 slices bread, soaked in water and squeezed dry

• 2 tbsp. parsley

• 1 med. Onion, minced

• 1 Garlic Clove

• 1 Egg

• 2 tbsp. Chicken Stock

• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil

• 1 cup Tomato Sauce

• 1 cup Water

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine the meat, salt, pepper, bread, parsley, onion, garlic, egg, chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into two small loaves. Wrap each in wax paper and chill several hours to firm.

When ready to commence cooking, heat the oil in the pressure cooker and brown the loaves well on all sides. Transfer to the cooker basket. Discard the oil and combine the tomato sauce and water and season with salt and pepper and spread over the loaves. Lower the basket into the pressure cooker, lock lid and bring to pressure. Lower heat and cook for 15 minutes on high pressure (15psi). Allow pressure to drop by quick release method or automatic release method, slice and serve.

Serves 4

Beef Stroganoff – A family favorite, serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 lb beef stew meat or round steak cut into 1” cubes

• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp. flour

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 tsp. garlic

• 1 cup beef broth

• 1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

• 2 tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 cup sour cream

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• 1 pkg. egg noodles cooked

Preparation:

Brown meat in pressure cooker. Add flour and mix well. Stir in onion, garlic, beef broth, mushrooms, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, blend thoroughly.

Lock the lid and bring to pressure. Lower heat and cook for 25 minutes on high pressure (15psi). Allow pressure to drop by the natural release method and remove lid. Stir in sour cream and blend well. Serve over hot egg noodles, or you can stir the cooked noodles into the meat mixture.

Pot Roast – A quick and easy recipe family favorite that serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. Canola oil

• 1.5 lb. pot roast

• Salt and pepper

• 1 chopped onion

• 1 bay leaf

• 1-1/2 cups water or beef stock

Preparation:

Place canola oil and roast in pressure cooker and brown on all sides. Place roast on trivet in cooker. Season roast with salt and pepper, then add chopped onion, bay leaf and water or broth.

Lock the lid in place and bring cooker to pressure. Lower heat and cook for 35 minutes at 15psi.

What Do I Do With All This Harvest?

What Do I Do With All This Harvest?

Gathering the last of the harvest in the fall months leaves windowsills, tables and baskets full of tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, peppers, beets, apples and sweet potatoes. These yummy foods sit waiting to be used up. You’re left with so much fresh, precious food and so little time. The neighbors get to share in the excess and you send it home with anyone who darkens your door. All your labor of the spring and long hot summer has finally paid off, in rich dividends. Now, what do you do with everything you have left?

Now is the time to save some money. So many dishes can be made from these wonderful veggies and fruits. Here are some ideas for your next meal or two, or three or more.

Fresh Salsa

Fresh salsa is a big hit for fall. You can use the yellow, red or green peppers finely sliced along with some fresh onion and garlic to create your own salsa. Depending on the peppers you have planted you can make a Mexican salsa as well as a simple tomato salsa. If you have harvested peaches or apple, you can even make a salsa with these items. If you choose to can salsa make sure you follow a recipe that is tried and sure to keep the acid out of your salsa.

Sweet Potato Dishes Galore

Sweet potatoes have huge nutritional benefits. A sweet potato pie is just one of the many yummy things you can make. This root makes wonderful custards, casseroles and stews. It keeps fairly well if kept in dark places. Once is has become woody, it is no longer good for use.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini makes the best bread and is a treat in the fall. You can freeze this vegetable and use it all winter long in breads and potato pancakes (try adding zucchini to this.)

Decorate Your Home with Squash & Gourds

Squash and gourds can be used as decoration in your home or yard. If you’ve harvested them you will know that they are everywhere in the fall. Take some fall flowers (mums are particularly hardy), squash and gourds and make table decorations from them. Of course you can prepare and freeze squash for winter use.

Hash It Out Over Hash of All Kinds

Beets diced up finely with some fresh potatoes and a little pot roast or corned beef finely diced will make a tasty hash. Don’t count this out in the fall. You can make a hash with apples, sweet potatoes, butternut squash or really anything you desire. The word hash encompasses a lot of different foods of your choice. If you wanted to omit the meat you could make a simple veggie and fruit hash. Search the net for some recipes.

Apples, Apples, Apples

Apples not only taste good but they make the house smell delicious as well. Applesauce is a great way to use up the apple leftovers and you can also freeze this for later use. Apple pies, apple cobblers (and peach too), apple crisp and apple butter are just a few of the ways you can use up your harvest.

With winter fast approaching, you will want to get as many of your goodies up in cans tucked away or frozen. There’s nothing like going to the pantry or freezer and seeing your hard labor waiting for you. Happy Harvest!

Fend Off Tooth Decay and Treat a Soldier This Halloween

Fend Off Tooth Decay and Treat a Soldier This Halloween

While our U.S. soldiers are overseas serving our country, dentists all over America are participating in a buyback program that treats our soldiers while trying to prevent cavities in our little ones.

Children trample all over the neighborhoods, visit their friends and family on Halloween all in hopes of coming hope with the lots of yum-yum gooey sugar. They dump the candy out on the floor or table and begin to go through the candy piece by piece. They pick out what they really like and for the most part, the rest goes into a bowl and sits there for several months until mom finally dumps it into the garbage.

This magnificent mound of candy is not seen as glorious by any dentist. Dentists see tooth decay and unnecessary trips to their office for children instead. Of course brushing and flossing is the biggest prevention of tooth decay but the less sweets you eat the less chance you have of developing tooth decay. This nightmarish vision sparked within dentists everywhere to come up with the candy buyback program.

I became aware of this program last October when I got a notice from our dentist’s office. They would buy back any candy that we didn’t want from our Halloween take-home at a dollar a pound. The intent was not to rob the children of their childhood Halloween memory but to let them have a choice of what they wanted to sell back. What a deal! They explained that they would then send the goodies we sold them overseas to our soldiers.

Trying to convince young ones of how great it is to send their candy to someone else is no easy task. However, if you let them know the dentist is offering to pay them for their goods, they may be more compromising. Personally, I thought of giving the money back to the dentist in order to help with the shipping cost. My seven year old was not so agreeable.

After my son went through his candy for a couple of days, on November 2nd we went down to our dentist’s office for our first buy back. It felt good knowing that the troops were being treated; my son was making a little cash and we were doing more to help prevent cavities as well.

Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization out of California, distributes the candy to soldiers and I attempted to talk my son into splitting the amount of money he received for his candy. After a bit of coercing and explaining to him why this was such as good idea, he finally agreed.

If you’re interested in participating in the candy buy back for soldiers, ask your dentist or look for a dentist in your area that takes part in this program. Eat up soldiers and thank you!

What is EFT Therapy?

What is EFT Therapy?

Whether you’re a potential client or counselor, you may have come across a kind of therapy called EFT. This stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and is a way for a recipient to gain nearly instant freedom from their pent up emotions.

The Man Behind EFT

Gary Craig is the founder of EFT Therapy. Craig is an ordained minister at the Universal Church of God located in southern California. He’s also a Stanford graduate from the college of engineering. However, he always had a deep interest in psychology and personal development.

EFT Therapy: The Definition

EFT is a type of therapy that uses an emotional form of acupressure. With EFT Therapy, you can tap on a certain part of the body with a finger and provide a recipient with therapeutic healing that may have taken years with other methods.

Your body has a tendency to store up past emotional problems. When this emotional form of acupressure is utilized on the body’s meridian energy points, the pent up emotional energy can then be released. If this seems too good to be true, you can refer to the testimonials of countless past users who’ve described it as life altering.

The beauty of EFT is the ability to provide the client with instant healing. Many would have you believe that traditional conversational therapy is required in order to truly heal emotional problems, however, you can achieve excellent results even with online-based EFT systems.

A free manual about EFT is available for download in order to give you a full education on the Emotional Freedom Technique. It goes over information on how it came about and then describes the technique so you can try it for yourself. The actual technique is only two pages of instructions and easy to understand.

Some problems EFT Therapy has been known to solve include:

1. Insomnia and Anxiety. These two problems often go hand in hand. With EFT, you can learn how to quickly cope with these problems. You’ll also gain confidence, which will reduce the occurrence of both anxiety attacks and insomnia. Many long time sufferers are shocked by the easy results they can achieve.

2. Phobias. Phobias can vary from minor and relatively harmless, up to major ones that interfere with daily life. EFT has been known to fully erase even debilitating phobias in a matter of hours.

3. Anger. Anger management can also become easier with help from EFT therapy. Repressed anger is a common pent up emotion that can easily be released with EFT.

4. Addiction and Weight Loss. EFT therapy can be used on all kinds of addictions, from alcohol and drugs to excessive eating. This form of therapy can make dealing with cravings more bearable and – in some situations – the cravings can disappear entirely.

The Mind/Body Connection

No matter what kind of therapy you engage in, you may begin to notice mind and body connections. Mental conditions such as stress can take a toll on the body.

Stress can cause all sorts of problems including:

* Backaches

* Headaches

* Fatigue

* Discomfort

Once your stress has been relieved, you may also notice that these physical symptoms fade as well. Clients of the EFT Therapy method undergo simple procedures and then find that their physical symptoms vanish without having to endure longer or more emotionally painful treatments.

Like most things in life, EFT Therapy is not fail proof. The system is not perfect and there are certain individuals and situations that cannot be helped. On the flip side, there are certain people that have tried nearly everything without luck until they finally came across the Emotional Freedom Technique.

It could be the answer to your physical or emotional challenges and, since it’s a quick and painless process, it’s worth a try. EFT practitioners are located in every major city and many towns throughout the country. Seek one out in your area or study the field on your own, and reap the benefits!

Beauty is around me to be discovered and experienced.

Beauty is around me to be discovered and experienced.

As long as I allow myself to see the beauty that surrounds me, my life is enhanced a hundred-fold. Therefore I strive to release any negative thoughts and feelings that can blind me from this beauty.

Beauty abounds in my loved ones and my relationships with them. Each one has their own unique beauty unlike anyone else. I see this beauty in their smile, feel it in their caress, and hear it in their song of life.

They share their beauty in their hopes, dreams, and aspirations. I listen and am lifted up as I encourage them. When I feel down, they let their beauty shine through to bring me back up again.

I find beauty in everyday things – a wildflower lifting up its bloom through the rocky soil, the puppy that greets me with glee, the crystals of the morning dew, and the soft comfort of my bed at the end of the day.

Even humdrum routines bring a beauty of their own. When I get something done at work, it’s a beautiful thing! When I make a tasty dinner, that is beautiful also and I thoroughly enjoy it.

The moments of my life are filled with such beauty and I make it a point to take the time to discover and relish it for all it is worth! When I focus my thoughts on experiencing the beauty of the moment, I find that things almost always go my way!

Today, I choose to discover and cherish the beauty that comes with each moment of this wonderful day in my life.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I take time to stop and smell the roses?

2. What beauty shines through each of my loved ones?

3. When was the last time I noticed beauty in the little things I see every day?

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