Make Your Family Addicted to Home Cooking Instead of Fast Food By Sunil Punjabi

Being at a fast food joint might be a teen's privilege because it is the age when he starts to hang out with his friends and get initiated into the pizza-burger circuit. His parents might have equal rights to be inside a fast food joint because they are hard pressed for time, and if they want to grab a bite during the lunch recess or on their way back home from office, a fast food eatery might be the best refuge. And when everyone in the family is having their share of pizzas and chips and fries and coke, how can they deny it to the kid brother? So he too gets his fill. In short, everybody gets his share of fast food, but hardly ever its alternative, which is home cooking.

However, things are a bit on the reverse gear these days, and that is a welcome trend. Both the Internet and the print media are doing yeoman service here, because they offer an endless variety of free recipes and easy recipes. All these can help in improving the quality and variety of home cooking, which will definitely give a fillip to de-addicting people from fast food dependency. And fast food addicts would also do well to calculate the money that they are spending on these fast food goodies, which also go by the name junk food. With half the money that is spent on a junk food meal, people can have healthy and fresh home cooked vegetarian food. Interest in vegetarian delicacies is also a current trend, and is amply aided by the vegetarian recipes that are doing the rounds on the Internet these days.

Whether you want to eat to live, or live to eat, recipes could be an ideal answer to both. There are plenty of veg recipes that are remarkably fat free and have a high content of vitamins and minerals that are required by the body. These veg recipes are the perfect antidote to fast food, which drip with fat and aid obesity. However, there are plenty of non-vegetarian home cooking recipes also, that have low calorie value and high nutritive value and are easy to prepare. Some of these can be as tantalizingly attractive as fast food but will not do half the harm that fast food does. These provide step-by-step guidelines for preparation, including directions for the right way of garnishing.

Vegan recipes appeal to different people for different reasons. There are animal rights activists who swear by vegetarian food and so are always searching for new veg recipes. Then there are people who avoid eating non-vegetarian food for health reasons. Whether you are vegetarian or non-vegetarian, it is better to master a few veg recipes, because a certain amount vegetables have to be part of a person's daily diet. Having said that, chicken and mutton are kings of the cooking pot and vegetables can never completely replace them. There are elaborate recipes for preparing meat and fish, and some of the meat preparations are perfect home cooking recipes, even if they are a bit time consuming. No harm in trying out a couple of elaborate ones on festival days and holidays and you can ask the rest of the family also to join in the efforts. When you ask them to be a part of your cooking ventures, whether these dishes are based on easy recipes, or elaborate ones, you will be giving them the first lessons in home cooking and in the importance of keeping off fast foods.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=380543&ca=Food

Vegetarian Recipes - What is the Difference in Veg and Vegan Recipes? By Sunil Punjabi

Humans have been eating meat and animal products for many millennia, ever since evolution began and they evolved from apes. Vegetarianism on the other hand is a few thousand years old, and Veganism is just a few decades old and is an extreme form or subset of vegetarianism, where all animal products are avoided. Whatever food is consumed, whether meat based, veg, or vegan, cooking is an integral part of eating food and this requires Recipes. There are thousands of Vegetarian Recipes, Vegan Recipes and Recipes for meat based dishes that are available on hundreds of websites.

Some of these Home cooking recipes have been handed down through generations from mother to daughter and mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. Although humans have been consuming vegetables and plant products, along with meat and other animal products, for many millennia, vegetarianism dissuades consumption of all types of meat, and eggs too. Some communities do not consider eggs as a non-vegetarian item, but in countries like India, eggs are not considered vegetarian and are not consumed by strict vegetarians. Many individuals are used to meat and egg based dishes, along with a few veggies in salads and soups. But they are unaware that there are thousands of Veg Recipes available that can be used to make a complete meal, including soups, starters, appetizers, main course dishes, and desserts.

Vegetarianism evolved with religions and cultures over many millennia. Many religions like Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism have strict rules regarding food consumption. Meat and eggs, and products made from these are strictly prohibited in many religions, castes, and communities. Thus evolved the dependence on vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices. This led to the evolution of Vegetarian Recipes over the millennia, with each caste, community, and even individual households having their own variations of standard recipes and ways to cook food. Vegetarianism is gaining ground in western countries like the US, UK, and Europe, but the opposite is happening in Eastern countries like India, where people are becoming more aware of western meat dishes and recipes.

Although vegetarianism does not exclude animal products like milk, and products made from milk, like butter, Ghee, sweets, chocolates, desserts, ice creams, etc, Veganism excludes these too. Donald Watson and Elsie Shringley started veganism and the Vegan Society in 1944. Veganism excludes all animal products as food, including milk and milk products. Anything that involves exploitation of animals for food, clothing, or any purpose is excluded for use. As veganism evolved, so did Vegan Recipes, which excluded all animal products for food consumptions. Veganism still includes all vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices, and there are hundreds of Recipes available for vegans.

Although Fast food and eating out in restaurants has become a necessity due to the hectic lifestyle, many families are turning back to healthy home cooking and the recipes handed down from past generations are coming in handy. Many individuals are also willing to try new Veg Recipes, meat and egg based Recipes and even Vegan Recipes. As they say, variety is the spice of life, and adding some variety to daily meals is sure to entice the family back to the dining table, instead of ordering pizzas and burgers, or taking the family out to lunch and dinner, which is an expensive affair.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=380548&ca=Food