10 Simple Kitchen Tips You Wish Someone Told You Earlier

I’d like to think that I’ve got enough imagination to fill up this blog with ideas of my own. But today I stumbled across something I wish I had thought of and didn’t. I guess it’s because I can cook and often forget that there’s an entire generation who never learned. So here it is…

10 Simple Kitchen Tips You Wish Someone Told You Earlier
by Darya Pino, PhD

1. Use tongs to cook pretty much everything
Spatulas are awesome for anything that needs to be flipped or scraped, like eggs and pancakes. For everything else, tongs are the way to go. They're much more nimble and less awkward to use, and you'll find far fewer things jumping from your pan onto the floor. If you have teflon cookware, be sure to use tongs with nylon tips. And always go for the 12-inchers.

2. Store everything in Tupperware
As much as I'd like to be the kind of person who trims their herbs, puts them in an vase then wraps them in a damp paper towel so they last a week, I'm way too lazy for that. The good news though is that tupperware keeps almost everything fresh for much longer than your crisper, including berries, salad greens and produce that has already been cut. Because it is reusable, it is also more ecofriendly.

3. If you own a knife, don't use a garlic press
Peeling and pressing garlic is a huge waste of time. To use a clove of garlic, set it on a cutting board and smash it with the flat side of a big knife (any chef's knife will do). The papery skin will come right off, and you can mince it real quick right there in about 10 seconds. Done.

The Plate

The Food Pyramid is history. Enter, The Plate. The new food icon, introduced today by First Lady Michele Obama, is split into four sections: fruits, vegetables, grains and protein with a side plate of dairy. The idea being that it will be easier for busy parents to use it as a visual guideline when it’s time to feed the kids and themselves…it provides a clearer picture of what a healthy plate of food should look like.

Evidently the pyramid was not effective as 68% of American are now considered over weight or obese. First Lady Michelle said, “As long as [our plates are] half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden. That's how easy it is."

So, what did you eat tonight? Did it reflect the plate?