Solitude

Want to make cooking easier and more enjoyable? Try these fun and surprising tricks I found in my foodie travels this week, from my two favorite new (and still under-the-radar!) sites. 1. YouTube it with experts. Why cook and screw up when you can learn from the chefs themselves?  Newcomer ChefDay (A fun start-up that delivers pre-measured fresh ingredients you need to cook chef-designed recipes) features step-by-step tutorial videos with chefs walking you through the recipes.  (Stri-fried Green Bean Vermicelli or Parmesan Veal Milanese, anyone?) Most dishes take around 30 minutes total to prepare, and they’re sorted by level of difficulty to make things easier for even the most amateur chefs. 2. Get creative about salt substitutes. I always thought the only swap for salt was, well, saltless salt. Until now. In talking with Sodium Girl Jessica Goldman Foung, my eyes were opened to a slew of awesome alternatives. Did you know...

Giving healthy food to their children is a constant concern for parents no matter what social status they belong to. But not all parents are aware of what constitutes healthy nutritious food. The Human Development Report (2009) prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported high rates of malnutrition among children in slums, and the urban elite. Malnutrition among slum children is not a surprise as they do not have access to nutritious food. This report highlighted the co-emergence of malnutrition and overnutrition where rich urban children eat excessive calorie rich but nutrient empty food (devoid of minerals and vitamins). Intake of palatably tasty but nutritiously poor fast foods, aerated drinks, foods high in trans fat, saturated fats and sugar (such as pizzas, burgers, sodas and colas, cakes and pastries, samosa, French fries) do not provide the necessary minerals and vitamins required for daily intake although they may provide the necessary calories. Obe...