Food Prep Hacks, Healthy Eating

Shock Your Broc!

I was just prepping some food for dinner tonight and thought “Hey, why don’t I share this hack just in case there are others who are unaware of it”. So here you go.

The Green Broccoli Hack. ๐Ÿ™‚

The best way to cook broccoli is to steam it until it’s just tender, but not cooked or over cooked. Or better yet, the way YOU like it ๐Ÿ™‚ But either way it is always nicer to have green, green, broccoli. So how do you do it?

I just use a simple steaming pan like this with about an inch of water in the bottom pan. Put the broccoli in the steamer pan part and top with the pot lid. Start out on high and keep and eye on it and lower it is you like. You just need steam so that is really your goal. And it does not take long so keep you eye on it!

Everyone should invest in one of these pans. If you don’t have one but you have a metal strainer you can try that with one of your current pots too. Learn to be open minded when cooking and try improvising when you have to.

The strainer pan sits inside a pot of the same size

Once it is steamed to how you like it, right away put it into a cold water bath. I use cold water with a few ice cubes.

Broccoli in a bowl of cold water with ice – getting shocked ๐Ÿ™‚

Once the initial shock wears of your broccoli you can transfer it to another dish for saving for later or you can add the broccoli into whatever you are using it for. If you are going to have it later you can dip it in hot water to warm or just steam it for a few minutes to reheat.

I hope you found this helpful and let me know how you enJOY your green, green broccoli. ๐Ÿ™‚

Cooking, Family, Healthy Eating, Your Amazing Life

Canada’s Food Guide Says to En-JOY our Food! Yipee!

The new Canada Food Guide was just recently updated and released. It has a lot of great things in it.

Toward the bottom of this post I will share their eating recommendations with links right to the official Government of Canada site, but what I am really en-JOY-ing are these recommendations:

be mindful snp

I love that they are encouraging us to be mindful and present and aware of our food, what we put into our bodies, and to really connect with that. ๐Ÿ™‚

cook more often snp

This is also so encouraging. I know that we are all busy but cooking and preparing our food should be of the utmost priority if we want to have a healthy and balanced life. And it can be so much fun. I myself, finally started using my Instant Pot and am eager to dig in and try new things. In fact, I am doing so, while I am writing this blog post…. I take a little break and prep a few ingredients. In this case I am chopping some veggies for a tomato sauce I am going to make.

I have written articles in the past about getting our kids involved and making it fun. In my community they now have programs where they are teaching kids to cook from scratch and I love that.

Happy family in the kitchen cooking dinner together

Let’s commit to doing this in the home more too. It’s a great way to get the kids off of screen and available to share conversation with you so you can find out how they are feeling and what is going on in their life, at the same time as teaching valuable skills.ย  And if you feel you are lacking in your cooking skills, why not watch a Youtube video or cooking show together with the kids or other family members or friends, and try out a recipe with guidance.ย  The Canada Food Guide website has great recipes also.ย  You can sign up here to get recipes too!ย Sign up for Recipes from Canada Food Guide

eat meals with others snp

Well we’ve talked about cooking together, but even more fun is eating together. Try to make time to have sit down meals with your family, even if it’s just a night or two a week, if your schedule is hectic.ย  And better yet, why not make it special too. At our house we put out placemats and often I like to use a pretty plate or special serving dish to enhance the whole experience. The more sacred and special we make mealtimes, the more beneficial they are to our health all around.

If you live alone, why not reach out and suggest to another person, who is in your same shoes, to get together and cook a meal or to prep a few meals for your upcoming week? This can be a great way to offset lonelinessย and foster a sense of community and being connected. Food has been a catalyst, since the beginning of time, to connect people. It is a common thread that is woven into everyday of our lives.

I hope you en-JOY-ed today’s thoughts on the new Canada Food Guide. And please feel share this blog post so that we can inspire others to eat healthier and cook more often and together. ๐Ÿ™‚ And as promised here are the links for more detailed information about the new Canada food guide here:

Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods. Choose protein foods that come from plants more often.ย 

Limit highly processed foods. If you choose these foods, eat them less often and in small amounts.

Make water your drink of choice

Use food labels

Be aware that food marketing can influence your choices

Maggie Holbik.com isย  a Board Certified Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach who goes on and off with her spurts of cooking and developing recipes. However, she’s learned not to judge herself so much anymore, because that does not make her feel good, :-), so she just keeps plugging away and always looks for ways to add in more JOY in her life, and food is one of her favorites! ๐Ÿ™‚

And if you want to follow Maggie’s personal blog where she shares inspiration and uplifting life’s musings, here is the link:ย Maggie’s Blog – Follow Along ๐Ÿ™‚