My toddler ate fresh pineapple for the first time a couple of weeks ago and she loved it! I found pineapples on sale this week, so I purchased one and now it is sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for me to work up the initiative to slice it. I have to work up the initiative because I’ve always found cutting into a pineapple to be a … [Read more...] about Easy Ways to Open and Serve Hard-to-Cut Fruits
cooking tips
Cost of Homemade vs. Prepackaged Breakfast Sandwiches
Homemade foods tend to be healthier and often cost less than their prepackaged counterparts. Thus, whenever possible, I try to make homemade varieties. Sometimes I wonder if it is really more affordable to make homemade versions. This week my husband and I crunched some numbers so we could compare the cost of homemade versus prepackaged … [Read more...] about Cost of Homemade vs. Prepackaged Breakfast Sandwiches
12 Flavorful Ways to Marinate Chicken
We tend to eat a lot of chicken. In fact, we eat so much of it that sometimes I get tired of it! Without a little creativity, it just gets old. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to jazz up chicken so it’s not boring. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to do this is to use marinades. After a few hours soaking in one of these, … [Read more...] about 12 Flavorful Ways to Marinate Chicken
Why Do Fruits Ripen so Quickly When Placed in Paper Bags?
I’ve always heard that you can accelerate the ripening of fruits by placing them in paper sacks. I know from personal experience that this works quite well, but why is this? The curious side of me can’t help but wonder what is so special about paper sacks. According to this cooking website, paper sacks trap a gas around fruits that … [Read more...] about Why Do Fruits Ripen so Quickly When Placed in Paper Bags?
Healthy, Easy-to-Prepare Breakfast Options
You, the readers who comprise the community here at Of The Hearth, often ask thought-provoking questions in your comments and emails. It’s likely that these questions are shared by many readers, so I’ve decided to answer some in posts. I hope you will contribute by adding your input in the comments! Leslie in Florida asked the … [Read more...] about Healthy, Easy-to-Prepare Breakfast Options
How to Get Toddlers to Enjoy Vegetables
By the time most children enter toddlerhood, they’ve tasted enough flavors to realize that some foods taste a lot better than others! This, combined with their inability to sit still for long periods of time, often turns toddlers into picky eaters. Vegetables are frequently the first foods toddlers reject. These are so important for … [Read more...] about How to Get Toddlers to Enjoy Vegetables
Easy Ways to Increase Your Consumption of Vegetables
Do you love vegetables or do you view them as necessary evils? I really enjoy a number of them, but there are also many that I don’t like. My husband enjoys far fewer than I do, so we struggle to eat recommended amounts of these very important foods. Because the health benefits of diets rich in vegetables are so significant (decreased … [Read more...] about Easy Ways to Increase Your Consumption of Vegetables
Food Safety at Barbecues and Picnics
‘Tis the season for picnics and barbecues. I’m eager to eat a juicy burger, flavorful baked beans, and refreshing watermelon. What I’m not eager for is foodborne illness, a surprisingly common consequence of improper food handling at these gatherings. Fortunately, several commonsense measures can keep us safe as we enjoy our favorite foods … [Read more...] about Food Safety at Barbecues and Picnics
