Salt vs. Herbs & Spices

Salt is an essential mineral providing the electrolytes of sodium and chloride. Some people with heart or kidney ceases are advised to limit their salt intake.

Unlike salt, herbs and spices have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-viral chemicals.

In this video:

• Salt advantages and disadvantages. 00:42
• Difference between salt, herbs, and spices. 2:15
• Are herbs and spices superfoods? 2:52
• Substituting herbs and spices for salt. 4:11

Marketing Tricks: OTC Hearing Aids

Heavily advertised low cost over-the-counter hearing aids may not improve hearing as claimed or require more manual adjustments like volume control.

They also are not designed for people with severe hearing loss.

In this video:

• OTC hearing aids versus PSPAs. 00:40
• OTC hearing aid marketing hype. 1:27
• Protecting your hearing. 4:46

Microwave Ovens

Most homes have a microwave oven. While some are used to cook foods, like baked potatoes, most are used to heat liquids, melt ingredients like butter, and heat frozen foods.

This video shares how microwave ovens cook and reheat foods, and how to prevent foodborne illness.

In this video:

• What is a microwave oven and its uses. 00:35
• Microwave oven power and cycle times. 1:25
• Not all microwave ovens are created equal. 4:01

To Sift, Or Not To Sift?

Some recipes, like cakes, call for sifted flour. Unlike countries that use metric weights in grams, U.S. recipes use cups. One cups of sifted flour does not equal 1 cup of four sifted. In both cases, it aerates and removes clumps of flour. But, the weight of sifted flour is less than unsifted flour. More flour can contribute to tough dry cakes.

Sifting ingredients does not mean you must invest in a sifter. A large sieve can serve as a sifter when needed.

In this video:

• Reasons for sifting. 00:37
• Why sift flour and sugar? 1:57
• When to sift. 2:30
• Use a sieve for sifting. 3:11

10 Ways Climate Change Can Bankrupt You

Whether or not you believe in climate change, it is all ready affecting peoples lives. While some people blame the increasing cost of food, insurance, and utilities on inflation and a liberal government, they ignore the impact severe weather is having on peoples lives and livelihood across the country and world. This video looks at how climate change can bankrupt you even if you are not affected directly.

In this video:

• Climate change and waste. 00:36
• Be ready to pay more whether or not you believe in climate change. 1:32
• 10 ways climate change can bankrupt you. 3:33

Tips For Novice Cooks: Little Or No Cooking Recipes And Meals

Eating healthy meals does not require a lot of cooking experience. A food industry myth is that eating out is more economical than home cooking. And yet, one of the first thing cut during hard economic times is dining out.

You do not have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing healthy meals. Hundreds of recipes and meals requiring little or no cooking. When you compare the cost of home cooked or prepared foods to commercially prepared foods you can eat organic meals for a fraction of the cost.

In this video:

• Cooking is older than homo sapiens. 00:36
• Recipes that do not require cooking. 1:54
• Simple cooked recipes. 3:34
• Slow cookers versus pressure cookers. 6:01

Carbs Versus Calories

Low carb diets have guaranteed weight loss and disease prevention for more than 60 years. Instead of low carb they should be called low refined carb diets.

Replacing carbs with fat and protein may not be enough to cause weight loss and prevent or cure chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Billions of people around the world eat high plant food diets and live long, healthy lives.

In this video:

• Sources of food calories (energy). 00:39
• What are carbs? 00:56
• Processed versus natural carb calories. 2:03
• Carbs and diabetes. 2:48
• Carbs and weight gain. 4:27

Tips For Novice Cooks: Recipe Blog Nutrition And Stylized Food Photos

Most cookbooks, cooking shows, and blogs use professional stylized photos you should ignore. In most cases your version will not look like the photo or video. Even foods plated by a cooking shoe host are stylized to make them more appealing. It is legal, but deceptive. Courts allow stylized photos citing “reasonable consumers” know they do not represent the actual foods.

In addition to stylized food photos are nutrition facts that are too good to be true. All commercially prepared foods must have accurate nutrition information. The requirement does not apply to recipe blogs. Nutrition information that sounds too good to be true probably is.

In this video:

• Ignore stylized recipe photos. 00:33
• Recipe blog nutrition facts accuracy. 2:48

Tips For Novice Cooks: Testing For Doneness & Kitchen Thermometers

Prevent over baked cakes and muffins and accurate, affordable kitchen thermometers to assure foods are safe and cooked to perfection.

It takes only minutes for cakes and muffins to go from moist to dry. Recipes have a range of cooking times to try to account for measuring errors and oven temperatures. And yet, those ranges are a guide. A wood toothpick is all you need to assure moist cakes and muffins.

Kitchen thermometers not only prevent overcooked meat and poultry, they can prevent under and over cooking.

In this video:

• Test for doneness, do not guess. 00:32
• Kitchen thermometers. 2:49
• Allowing for carry over heat. 4:29

Tips For Novice Cooks: Recipe Ingredient Measurements & Temperature

Some recipes require more accurate ingredients measurements than others. For example, cakes, muffins, biscuits, pastries and pie crusts.

Most recipe blogs and cookbooks using measuring cups do not specify which type of cup to use; wet or dry. There are significant difference that can drastically affect a recipe.

Also, some cake recipes specify sifted ingredients and room temperature ingredients.

This video clarifies when to use room temperature ingredients, what room temperature means and how to accurately measure ingredients.

In this video:

• Why use room temperature ingredients? 00:30
• Accurately measuring ingredients. 2:15

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