3 Tips to Bring More Love to Your Kitchen
by Amber Abbott
We’ve all seen a woman or two in the kitchen without a clue, or worse yet, who is without or has lost passion for spending time there; who’d rather just heat up a couple packages and throw them on the table for her family. Maybe what she, or what you need is some healthy knowledge to make things easier, more enjoyable, and more rewarding! Read on to glean a few tips from Amber Abbott, who is taking our Healthy Homesteader course right now, and see if you can’t think of a few ways to kindle the passion for feeding those you love greater, too!
Full-Tang Knives
I can’t begin to express my joy in being involved in the Healthy Homesteader course through Women’s Wellness University! Chef Frank Giglio and Tera Warner (including her amazing team) have been especially supportive and a wealth of knowledge so far! The last 2 lessons have taught some new tricks and extra special tips in surviving in and managing the kitchen. In Lesson 2, we touched on knives and cutting boards. I learned a new term; full tang. Who knew there were so many terms of importance when it comes to items used in the kitchen? In case you didn’t know, full tang refers to the knife blade, hopefully stainless steel, and that steel extending the entire length of the knife and to the end of the handle with the handle basically being 2 pieces screwed into the steel. The benefits of having full tang knives is that they will last longer, be stronger, offer better balance, and be easier to use.
How to Care for Your Cutting Board
My favorite part of Lesson 2 was learning great ways to use and care for cutting boards. As most of us know, plastic can emit chemicals, especially when paired with heat, so we want to make sure we’re not putting hot foods on plastic cutting boards thus negatively impacting our health. Colored plastic cutting boards can be fun to use for groups of food (ie; green for veggies, yellow for fruit, blue for fish, red for meat, etc), but the best option is a hardwood or bamboo cutting board that is at least 1 inch thick. The maintenance of the cutting board is what intrigued me the most.
Here are a few options for disinfecting a cutting board:
· Food-grade hydrogen peroxide
· Lemons (great way to find use for the leftover lemon you used to squeeze in your water)
· Vinegar
After spraying the cutting board and letting it sit for about 5 minutes, every once in a while you will also want to coat it with mineral oil, coconut oil, or even essential oils such as lemon, lime, rosemary, thyme, etc. Doing this occasionally will renew and maintain the life of the cutting board, plus put a nice seal on it.
Storing and Keeping Your Food For Good
In Lesson 3 we went over organization and food storage. This lesson inspired me to invest in a large supply of mason jars, start going through my cupboards, and move all the food and herbs from their plastic containers into the mason jars. I can’t express enough how much this has de-cluttered my cupboard space. Not only can I see everything now, but I also know that my herbs and superfoods will remain fresh longer and that I am decreasing waste. Another fantastic idea is to also remove the doors from the cupboards that way you can see everything. This will also spark your creativity for meal preparation and allow for less waste. What a fun idea!!
Awaken Your Kitchen Warrior
I can definitely tell you that these courses are awakening my inner kitchen warrior! You can visit the Women’s Wellness University to learn more about the amazing courses offered and get a sneak peak at the upcoming lessons in the Healthy Homesteader course. Getting back to nature is something we have to re-learn, and this course with a focus on food storage, wild edibles and healthy homesteading is the perfect re-introduction to healthy, sustainable living.