You might have seen pictures of the old food pyramid on posters in your doctor’s surgery or in magazines but you might not have seen the new food pyramid yet.

The old food pyramid stacks four food groups on top of one another. The largest food group is at the base and this is bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. Next, up you have fruit and vegetables. The second from the top is dairy, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans and right at the top, with the smallest space, is fats and oils. You can use this food pyramid to tell at a glance how much of each type of food you should be eating.

The new food pyramid uses vertical rainbow colored stripes to indicate the different food groups and it tells you how many cups or ounces per day you should have rather than how many servings like on the old food pyramid. Most people would not know how much a “serving” should be, so this does simplify things.

Is it Important to Follow the Food Pyramid?

They say variety is the spice of life, but where would we be without spices? Even a little table salt and pepper makes our food more palatable and tasty. Garlic is another common seasoning that adds a lot of oomph to our dishes. Without spices, food tastes bland and uninteresting. Add a little spice, and it becomes delectable.

With more opportunities to try the foods of other cultures, we are getting more familiar with new spices or spice combinations. Today, it is almost common to eat Chinese on one night and Italian the next. You may try Indian food for lunch and then have Japanese for dinner. Regional spices can be found on the supermarket shelves more than they were ten years ago. As we become more familiar with them, we begin to use them in our own cooking.

The Care and Storage of Spices

It is easy to come home to a hot dinner every night when you use your crockpot. Taking the time to fill up the crockpot in the morning will reward you with a delicious meal in the evening with no fuss. When you get home, just dish everyone up, and have a wonderful meal.

Easy Crockpot Tips

There are a few things to remember when using a crockpot that will make your meals turn out perfectly. The most important one is do not overfill the pot. Never fill it more than three-quarters full. If you fill it all the way to the top, it will not cook properly. At the same time, do not fill it less than half full. By not filling it enough, your food will cook faster than you anticipate and you will come home to food that is overdone.

Fresh vegetables should be placed in the bottom of the crockpot because they take longer to cook than your meat. You may have trouble believing it, but try putting them on top and see what happens. Frozen vegetables should be placed on top of your meat since they do not take long to cook.

A lot of people have never used a deep fryer but deep fried food is a wonderful treat that most of us love to savor from time to time. Deep-frying is actually an easy cooking method when you know how to do it and a deep fat fryer is the safest and cleanest way of deep-frying your food.

How to Deep Fry Food

It is important to read the deep fryer instructions carefully because different fryers work in different ways. You will also need to have the correct oil to cook with because oils need different cooking times and the results vary depending, which oil you use.

You need to pour the oil into the fryer, making sure it is well below the max fill line. If there is not a max, fill line, check the fryer instructions. You need to have enough oil so your food is immersed under it but not too much because the food displaces some of the oil and you do not want it to spill over the sides.

Food is an essential component in Mexican holidays and no self-respecting Mexican would celebrate one of his national holidays without enjoying the very best Mexican cuisine and Mexican drinks. One holiday that you might have heard about is Day of the Dead, which is on November 1 and 2. This holiday is when families get together to remember their dead loved ones.

Day of the Dead traditions include visiting loved ones’ graves to leave gifts of their favorite foods and drinks and building altars to honor them.

Cinco de Mayo is another famous holiday in Mexico. This is a regional holiday and especially close to the hearts of Mexicans living in Puebla because, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in 1862, at the Battle of Puebla.

A lot of people are under the impression than Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day but that is another holiday altogether and it is on September 16. Mexicans would say that Independence Day is their most important national holiday.

The Best Mexican Holiday Foods

Mexican food is vast and varied. Mexico is actually said to have the second most varied foods in the world, after Chinese cuisine. Each part of Mexico has its own Mexican food recipes. The Yucatan area of the country is especially fascinating because the food there is a wonderful combination of Mayan, Mexican, Lebanese, and Caribbean influences.

Some Mexican dishes are spicy but not everything is. Chili peppers are widely used in Mexican cookery and there are lots of variations of them, including pasilla, habanero, serrano, poblano, and jalapeo. Mexicans like to vary their diets by eating meat, fish, poultry, seafood, fruit, vegetables and grains, or at least the ones who can afford to. Stews, soups, and sauces are common Mexican foods and cooking methods include baking, deep-frying and slow roasting.

Mexicans prefer fresh produce and anything more than two days old is no longer considered optimally fresh. Pesticides and herbicides are not used much because they are expensive and vegetables and fruit are picked when ripe or just about ripe. Seasonal produce is preferred to imported food and almost everything is grown locally. The exception to this is in Mexico City where the goods, which are not likely to be sold, are exported.

How many times have you been planning meals and came up disappointed when you discovered you didn’t have time to make the meal you wanted? Most people will not even think of putting a recipe in the crockpot unless it is written expressly for the crockpot. Did you know that many standard recipes could be converted to crockpot recipes?

In general, the low setting on a crockpot is approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The high setting is usually around 300 degrees Fahrenheit. One hour of cooking on high is about equal to 2 or 2.5 hours of cooking on low. Most recipes you find for crockpots recommend cooking your food for 8 to 10 hours on low.

Recipe Conversion Tips

If you want to convert a standard recipe to a crockpot recipe, there are a few tips to know so you get the best results. When you are changing a recipe to suit your crockpot, reduce the amount of liquid called for in the recipe. Liquid does not evaporate out of the crockpot; in fact, you normally end up with quite a bit at the end of cooking. Unless you have rice or pasta in your finished dish, reduce the amount of liquid by half.

Making homemade soup can take a long time, but with your magic crockpot, you can get a wonderful batch of chicken noodle soup while you are taking care of other tasks. While you are out and about, your soup will be happily simmering, creating a delectable bowl of comfort. This is a meal you can easily make whether you are an accomplished chef or if you only cook when absolutely necessary. Your chicken soup will turn out much better than any canned soup you can buy.

Using Fresh Ingredients

If you prefer only fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market, the crockpot can still serve you well. Take the skin off your chicken before cooking. You can use whatever you have on hand… a whole chicken, parts, or boneless pieces. Place the chicken in the crockpot with enough liquid to cover it. Add a stalk of celery, a whole carrot, half an onion or whatever you want to help flavor your broth. Simmer on high for at least 3 or 4 hours.

Most of us are finding that time is growing a lot shorter these days, and if we are not careful, we start eating out for most meals, or heating up another frozen dinner. When you have had a day that just will not end or time is running short, it can be hard to remember to cook.

If you have been feeling unhealthy, gaining weight, or feeling tired and slow, convenience eating might be the culprit. While processed boxed food and takeout are easy and quick, they are not good for us, and they do not set the best example for our families, either.

The good news is that you can cook healthy, delicious meals at home, without having to go to a lot of effort. Some planning, a little pre-cooking when you have the extra time, and using ingredients like boneless chicken that don’t require a lot of prep can make it simple and easy to eat home cooked meals. Instead of cooking a whole chicken, then cleaning and deboning, or even having to deal with bone-in chicken parts, such as wings, you can get started on the meal right away.

Mexico has a unique cuisine that is both healthy and colorful. Mexico was home to the Aztec, Zapotec, and Mayan civilizations, and as such, had a well developed agricultural society. They ate staples like corn, beans, peppers, avocados, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and squashes. Meat sources included turkey, venison, and small animals like rabbit and quail. Chocolate is also native to this area, and was originally prepared as a bitter beverage served to the Aztec royalty.

When the Spanish discovered Mexico, they brought their own favorite foods. Cream, beef, bread, and cheese were combined with the foods growing in Mexico. They brought over livestock like sheep, pigs, and chickens, as well as crops like wheat and sugarcane. When Spain stopped ruling Mexico three hundred years later, they had made quite an impact on traditional Mexican cuisine.

Corn is a major part of Mexican meals. Cornmeal, known as masa, is made into a dough that can be formed into tortillas, empanadas, or tamales. Corn is also added to soups, stews, and other dishes. Tortillas made of flour are more common in northern Mexico. Chili peppers are also a main part of the Mexican diet. Jalapenos, poblano, and Serrano chilies are just a few of the common choices in the Mexican household.