Freezing vegetables preserves the taste of your summer garden for enjoyment in the winter. Unlike canning, which requires special techniques and equipment, you only need a few simple tools to freeze raw vegetables. For best results, choose vegetables at the peak of ripeness and freshness.
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Soup is a quick, hot meal that offers plenty of health benefits. You can throw a variety of ingredients into a slow cooker in the morning before you leave for work or school and return home to a delicious meal in the evening. The healthiest soups include fresh, low-fat ingredients and a minimum of salt and extra fat.
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Egg whites, when whipped, form a light and airy froth that serves as a topping for pies, the basis for light cookies, and the elegant platform for a fruit-and-cream filled Pavlova. Sugar is an essential ingredient in meringue, serving several functions to turn egg whites into dessert.
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The vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables promote proper development of nerves and muscle tissue. Eating vegetables also helps maintain the health of your muscles and nerves, strengthening them and keeping them from breaking down. Both fresh and frozen vegetables impart health benefits.
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Cane syrup is made by simmering sugar cane juice in open kettles until it forms a thick, dark syrup that resembles molasses. Popular in the south, where it is used as a table condiment and in recipes, cane syrup tastes similar to molasses, but does not contain the sulfur found in molasses.
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Nuts provide healthy fats to help fight high cholesterol and heart disease. The Harvard Medical School says eating nuts several times a week can lower your risk of developing heart disease. Walnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds and peanuts are all healthy choices. But you can enjoy too much of a good thing.
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Cross rib steak is another name for shoulder steak, London broil or chuck steak. Lean beef such as cross rib steak provides protein without a lot of extra fat. This less-expensive cut of beef has less fat marbling than more expensive cuts of meat and requires careful cooking to keep it from becoming tough.
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Albacore tuna steak is a good source of lean protein and contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can help protect you against stroke and heart attack. A properly cooked albacore tuna steak can be delicious, but you should limit your consumption of this fish.
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A slow cooker is a convenient way to cook a beef roast. You put all the ingredients in the cooker and the roast cooks all day while you do other things. The long, slow cooking time tenderizes tougher cuts of meat, allowing you to enjoy leaner, less-expensive roasts such as the chuck or shoulder.
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Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, in the form of beta-carotene, an antioxidant important for the health of your eyesight and skin. Beta-carotene may also provide protection against heart disease and some cancers, according to the University of Illinois Extension.
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If you're out of baking chocolate you don't have to give up on the idea of homemade fudge. You can substitute cocoa for baking chocolate, using 3 tbsp. cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp. butter for each ounce of baking chocolate called for in your recipe. Add the cocoa with the sugar at the beginning of the recipe.
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Almonds make a nutritious snack or addition to recipes. An ounce of almonds contains 35 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin E, plus healthy fiber and protein. Roasting brings out the flavor of nuts. You can roast almonds quickly in your microwave, with or without additional fat.
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Too much fat in your diet can contribute to heart disease, obesity and other health problems. But your body needs some fat to function properly. Fat makes food taste good, slows digestion and carries fat-soluble vitamins. Vegetable oils such as canola oil and safflower oil can be a beneficial part of a healthy diet.
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The tiny brown, black or white seeds of the sesame plant add crunch and flavor to crackers, breads, cereals and even candy. But sesame seeds don't just taste good; they're good for you.. Toasting sesame seeds enhances their flavor. Grinding the seeds helps your body absorb more of their nutrients.
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Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by excess uric acid. As the uric acid builds up in your body, crystals form in your joints, causing pain and inflammation. Heredity, diet and other factors can lead to gout.
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In a person with asthma, irritants or allergens irritate the airways, causing them to contract and tighten. This make it more difficult for air to get to the lungs. Asthma patients may make a wheezing or whistling sound as they breathe, the result of trying to force air through these narrowed airways.
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Calcium plays an important role in regulating blood pressure and hormones and is the most common mineral in your body. Your bones are made primarily of calcium. Doctors most commonly prescribe calcium supplements to help prevent or slow the bone loss that occurs as people age.
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Pre-cooking pasta allows you to do the bulk of preparation before a dinner party. When party time rolls around, you only need to reheat the pasta with a quick plunge into boiling water. Restaurants use this technique to get pasta entrees to the table faster.
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Some pie recipes call for a prebaked pie shell. Custard pies or pies with pudding-type fillings, ice cream pies, or any pie that uses a filling that doesn't require baking in an oven, uses a crust that's baked ahead of time without the filling.
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Temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, dysfunction causes pain in the joints on either side of your head where your jawbone connects with your skull. If you suffer from TMJ dysfunction you may have difficulty chewing or even talking, or may suffer from headaches or earaches.
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