Bamboo Bedding Plus

My new website, Bamboo Bedding Plus , sells  100% bamboo sheets and 100% bamboo towel sets for individuals interested in “greener” options for their household bed and bath linens. The site will be an online shop for people looking for alternatives to the traditional cotton, cotton blend, and polyester sheet and towel sets.

Bamboo is an extremely environmentally friendly plant, once planted, it does not need to be replanted, grows quickly, and does not require pesticides or fertilizer to help it grow. It grows faster than cotton and does not need reseeding to grow once it is cut.

Viscose from bamboo is exceptionally soft and less expensive than silk or cashmere. Additionally, bamboo sheets and towels are more durable then these two fabrics and can be conveniently washed at home in the washer and dryer.

The bamboo yarn also makes the bamboo sheets both insulating and breathable, making them perfect to sleep on in both the summer and the winter. It acts as a thermal regulator to one’s body temperature. Research suggests that the bamboo material stays about two to three degrees cooler then there is warm weather and a few degrees warmer when the nights turn cold.

Bamboo Bedding Plus offers 100% bedding and bath linens for the environmentally conscious consumer. Please, take a look at the site, let me know what you think.  Also, as kind of a grand-opening, I am having a "Friends and Family Sale" for the next couple of weeks, so if you see something you like, please feel free to place an order.  There is no pressure, but I figured if anyone deserved deals it is you guys.

Weight Watcher's Provides "Cooking-Light" Tips

A few years ago, I did the points program from Weight Watchers' a few years ago.  It was a good program and worked for me, but the only reason I bring it up is that since I started the program (and ended it), I have been on their e-mailing list.  Some of the stuff has been useful, so I didn't see any reason to unsubscribe.  Anyway, that brings me to today's post...Weight Watchers' sent me an article this morning of twenty-four tips to lighten up your cooking, ways to reduce calories while improving texture and using "highly flavored" ingredients to lower calories of some of your favorite dishes.  Here are a few of my favorites.

1.  Butter or oil substitutes for cookies or cakes--they recommend no more than 1/3 of the total amount--for light batters, applesauce, for chocolaty batters, pureed prunes.  Two that I hadn't thought of that WW says to try are pureed pumpkin or pureed sweet potato.

2.  My sister, Deb, uses this tip for root veggies and brussel sprouts.  Sprinkle or mix the vegetables (peppers, carrots, onions..)with some olive oil, sprinkle them with salt (and pepper if you like) and roast them in the oven.  The process brings out the flavor and natural sweetness.

3.  Try fresh herbs, strong spices, citrus juices, relishes and chilis to add flavor when you reduce the fat in a recipe to replace the flavor.

4.  Thicken soup with prepared instant mashed potatoes or pureed cooked potatoes.  It is a fat-free alternative to cream.

5.  They also recommend thickening gravy with pureed cooked potatoes.

6.  Replace mayo in chicken, pasta, egg or tuna salad with plain low fat yogurt or pureed silkened tofu.  To add flavor use spices and vegetables.

7.  Use seasoned oats, cornmeal or corn flakes to coat your fish or chicken, instead of bread crumbs.

These are just 7 of the 24 tips Weight Watchers' offers.  Feel free to check the rest of them here.

Enjoy!

How long Can I Keep Food?

I am always flummoxed by how long I can keep food before it goes bad.  Real Simple ran an article a few weeks go that had some guidelines on how long you can store food.  The Ultimate Food-Storage Guide is a comprehensive guide that the people of Real Simple put together.   By their own admission, they erred on the conservative side of the time it takes for food to go bad.  I usually do  sniff test if I am unsure.  But, they did consult the USDA, as well as a number of other experts. You can take a look at the full article at your leisure but here are some of the things I learned reading the article:

1.  Meat and poultry can be frozen in its original wrapping inside a resealable freezer bag, unless you are planning on freezing it for a few months.  Then it should be wrapped individually and then bagged.

2.   Beef and Lamb should only be refrigerated for two to three days.

3.  Cold Cuts:  Deli Cut can last  for 5 days in the fridge.  If you buy them pre-packaged- 5 days once opened or up to 2 weeks unopened.

4.  Most fresh seafood should only be 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.

5.  Don't freeze fresh fatty fish (salmon and mackerel)--it will become mushy when thawed.

6.  For fruit and vegetables, they recommend keeping the produce in is bag or original packaging and washing before using.  Unless, you buy greens and they are dirty or sandy, like from a farmer's market.  Then they should be rinsed and dried and then wrapped in paper towel and placed in a plastic bag.

7.  To ripen food like apricots or avocados, put them in a paper bag on the counter.  The ethylene gas they emit is trapped and helps them ripen.  To ripen them faster, put an apple in the bag with them.

8. Dairy products and other refrigerated items: you can freeze semi-hard and hard cheeses, as well as grated cheese, but never freeze soft cheeses, sliced, either deli or packaged.

9.  Fresh mozzarella can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

10.  Unshelled egg whites can be frozen but unshelled whole eggs cannot.

Other related lists include, expiration dates for condiments, guide to leftovers and food storage, and the storing of pantry items.

I don't know if I will completely give up the sniff test but these lists are pretty comprehensive and give good guidelines for those foods that I buy infrequently enough to not know what to do with them.