The Food Section  defines hypercooking as "an environmentally conscious way of cooking that seeks to maximize the impact of the energy used during the cooking process."  Hypercooking seems to be the kitchen equivalent of hypermiling, in which drivers change they way they drive and use specific techniques to go as far as possible on a gallon of gas.

I'll tell you though, from the research I've done, hypercooking seems to be just a new word for the way our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers cooked before us.

Jackie Newgent offers hypercooking tips and recipes in the Big Green Cookbook. Many of these tips were already familiar to me from watching my own mother cook as I was growing up. Clara also shares many of the same tips on Depression Cooking, one of my favorite You Tube cooking shows.

So after the initial jump, try these tips to save energy and maximize every last bit of energy you use.

Skip Preheating

With the exception of baking, I've never preheated my oven for dishes like casseroles or baked pastas. My lasagna always turns out fine starting out in a cold oven. Think of all the energy you're missing out on every time you let your oven preheat with nothing in it.

Turn the Oven Off Before the Dish Is Done

It takes a long time for an oven to cool down. Take advantage of that residual heat by letting your dish finish cooking in it.

Green-Grill It

Same idea as above. Turn the grill off and let those veggies finish cooking over the dying flames.

Don't Use an Oven

Instead of an oven or other large appliance, use a smaller, more efficient toaster oven, pressure cooker, slow cooker or rice cooker. Hey, it worked for Evan Kleiman.

Get Creative

Take advantage of the hot steam coming off a pot of boiling water for pasta. Put a glass bowl with your sauce ingredients over the pot, as the pasta cooks, the ingredients will warm up. Instead of dumping that boiling water pasta water down the drain, use it to heat your serving bowl.

Turn Things Off

When you're done cooking and eating, make sure you're still not using energy. Corral small appliances like the toaster, coffee grinder, and food processor all onto one power strip. This will allow you to cut down on vampire power. Electronics that are plugged in, even if they are off, still suck power from the electric grid. Just flip one switch when you leave and you will have cut off the flow to all of your appliances.

No one disputes that the $2.3 trillion we devote to the health care industry is often spent unwisely, but the fact that the United States spends twice as much per person as most European countries on health care can be substantially explained, as a study released last month says, by our being fatter. Even the most efficient health care system that the administration could hope to devise would still confront a rising tide of chronic disease linked to diet.

That’s why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry.

Read the rest...

Source: NY Times | Op-Ed

By Anita Campbell (Small Business Trends)

If you are like many business owners, you wonder (er, worry) about whether you’ll be able to keep your business running if employees and their families start coming down with H1N1.  How will you maintain operations?  That’s not even counting your concern over your employees’ well-being and that of yourself and your own loved ones.  Not to mention what will happen if customers start staying home.

We may all wish that H1N1 turns out to be much ado about nothing, like the bird flu scare of 2007 – but don’t count on it.  Here are 7 practical things you can do in your workplace to cut down the chances of you and your employees getting the H1N1 flu:

(1)  Encourage your employees to get regular flu shots and H1N1 flu shots as soon as they become available.  Since symptoms of regular flu may be hard to tell apart from mild cases of H1N1, get both kinds of flu shots. If your company-provided health insurance doesn’t cover the cost, then I recommend that you reimburse employees for the flu shots.  Give employees time off from work during the day to get flu shots at a local flu-shot clinic or pharmacy.  The cost of prevention will be minimal compared to the cost of dealing with an outbreak in your business.

(2)  Install hand sanitizer dispensers near entrances and bathrooms.  These should be for employees, customers and anyone else. Not only does it cut down on the spread of germs, but it’s a visible reminder about sanitation -- for everyone.

(3)  Start a trend of sneezing into your upper sleeve, rather than into your hand.  The best thing is to sneeze into a tissue that is promptly discarded.  But if none is at hand, health officials recommend sneezing into your upper sleeve rather than your bare hand.  It just spreads germs to sneeze into your hand, and then turn around and touch surfaces in the work place, shake hands with others, etc.

(4)  Do not share phones, keyboards, mice or pens.  Lots of germs reside on these devices. Occasionally have a phone and keyboard cleaning session – make disinfectant spray available liberally in the work place.

(5)  Encourage everyone to wash hands frequently.  Put your money where your mouth is, and go a few steps further.  Make sure there is ample soap and towels in restrooms at all times.  Consider upgrading to touch-less paper towel dispensers and touch-less waste cans, too.

(6)  Remind employees not to come to work sick.  Among some people there’s a belief that dragging yourself to work even when you’re obviously down with something and contagious, is somehow heroic.  Let employees know that it’s just the opposite. It’s unsafe and inconsiderate. 

(7)  Be a good role model yourself.  Take care of yourself.  Get enough rest and don’t let yourself get run-down and susceptible to illness.  Also, get flu shots as soon as possible to avoid getting the flu. Stay home if you’re sick.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a Preparedness Guide for Small Businesses that has a lot of additional tips and will help you create a preparedness plan for your business.  See: “Planning for 2009 H1N1 Influenza.”

So you've been gardening all summer. Your friends, family and neighbors are beginning to get "that look" when they see you arrive with yet another basket of berries. And still you have fruits and veggies coming out of your ears. What's a merry gardener to do?

Becky Striepe at Green Options has some terrific suggestions on how to preserve your summer harvest!

It’s easy enough to eat local in spring and summer. Your garden is booming, CSA’s are in full effect, and farmers markets abound! So how can you make that bounty last into the winter, when fresh produce is a little more scarce? Here are some DIY solutions!

1. Start canning! Directions and videos can be found here.
2. If you’ve got bunches of extra fruit (even tomatoes) try dehydrating fruit…in your car!.
3. Turn that abundance into convenience! Patrick Donnelly talks about making your own fast food.
4. Garden Guides has a great list of guidelines for freezing your veggies.
5. Get pickling! Just a warning: I did some pickling of my own and am finding that I now look at every food item and wonder if it can also be pickled.

What I love most about things like pickling and canning is that feeling that I’m taking part in food traditions that have been around for almost as long as people have been preparing food. It makes you feel really connected to the food and to history.

What do you all do to make that great spring and summer produce last a little longer?

Proving that one man's winged rat is another man's pricey appetizer, members and editors of travel Web site VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) have come up with a list of 10 of the world's most unusual foods. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Pig's Blood Cake; Taiwan
In Taiwan, pig's blood cake is sold on a wooden stick and eaten like ice cream. Easily found at street markets, it's a sweet treat generally made from pig's blood and rice.

2. Live Octopus; South Korea
Unlike calamari which is dead and still, octopus in South Korea often arrives at the table alive and moving. Connoisseurs of the dish say it's best to eat quickly.

3. Grasshopper; Uganda
Caught during the rainy season and eaten cooked or raw, these are a perennial favorite. Sold with or without wings and legs, they are easily found at the local markets.

4. Pigeon; France
While considered a dirty street animal by many, this poultry dish is an expensive and much-loved delicacy that graces the plates of some of the country's finest restaurants. Considered to have a robust flavor, it still struggles to gain culinary acceptance in much of the world.

5. Durian; Malaysia
Some Malaysian hotels put up signs banning the durian. The ultra-strong aroma of this spiky fruit may turn off tourists, but many Malaysians love its doughy taste.

6. Lutefisk; Norway
Marinated in lye, this gummy fish takes days to prepare and is described as one of the most vile-tasting foodstuffs ever created. In spite of this less-than-tasty reputation, it remains hugely popular in this part of the world.

7. Grubs; Australia
These white, high-in-protein snacks are actually the larvae of moths and an important insect food of the desert, once a staple in the diets of some Aborigines.

8. Snake Wine; Vietnam
Said to have medicinal properties, this strong cocktail is best downed quickly. Not only is it made from snake blood, it's bottled with a snake inside and occasionally other creatures, like scorpions.

9. Donkey; Italy
Sliced and eaten much like prosciutto, this sandwich meat can be found — and accidentally ordered — fairly easily in the country's bars.

10. Ostrich; South Africa
Low in cholesterol and considered healthier than other meats, the ostrich is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Everything from ostrich burgers to omelettes made from the bird's eggs are turning up on menus.

Source: MSNBC

Photo: Blah.Burrp

School lunches cost more each year. Schools offer plenty of options but not all of them are healthy. But even parents that qualify for state free lunch programs are finding that there are still costs involved when their children are served up unhealthy foods. Making your child’s school lunch is an economical, and healthier, alternative. Luckily is not a hard task either.

Kids like school lunches because they are provided with a variety of choices. Homemade lunches can offer the same varieties but with a smaller price tag. I am very proud of the fact that my son prefers the lunches I make and so do his fellow students and his teachers! A bit of time planning, shopping for the best deals, and a little prep time is all it takes.

1. Think REUSABLE, not DISPOSABLE!!!

I did a cost comparison of a few popular lunch box items…prepacked vs. make and pack yourself.  And “REUSABLE” saves…not only waste, but money as well!

• Carrots: 1 lb. bag of baby carrots $1.77 vs. 1 lb. bag of whole carrots $.67 - Take 3 minutes to peel and cut yourself.  $1 a week = $36 savings on the year!
• Raisins: Large 15 oz. box of raisins $2.49 vs. 7 oz. of smaller mini boxes $1.99 - Divide out raisins into small containers instead of sending the little boxes.  $1 a week = $36
• Jello (sugar-free): $.72 for make your own jello vs. $1.89 for jello cups - Make a large bowl and then divide it out into smaller containers.
• Cheese Cubes: 16 oz. cheese block $2.99 vs. 7 oz. prepacked cut cheese $2.50 - Per ounce, you could save $2 a week by buying a large block and cutting your own cheese cubes!
• This principle applies to all prepackaged “convenience” foods!

2. Spend 15-20 minutes on a Sunday night making jello, cutting carrots and cheese cubes, and dividing up raisins.  If you could save $2 PER LUNCHBOX PER DAY by doing a little legwork yourself each week, you could save over $350 PER LUNCHBOX this school year!  If you pack more than 1 lunch, there is potential for saving LOTS of $$$!

3. Give your kids a choice about what they want in their lunch.  Offer grapes, raisins or blueberries.  Don’t say “What do you want?” Because they’ll likely ask for a sugar laden snack!

4. Wrap your small blue ice pack in a small kitchen towel to keep the “thawing condensation” from making a mess in the lunchbox.

5. Keep sugar content LOW.  Bake your own muffins vs. sending a “high fructose corn syrup” snack.  Your teacher will thank you!

6. Of course, use coupons and watch sales.

7.  And don’t forget a sweet note of adoration every few days!

Visit LunchinaBox.net and LaptopLunches.com for more great ideas!

Source: Five Dollar Dinners

And How to Get Them to like It

By Hellen Wyeth 

Going to the grocery store you see the shelves full of junk foods targeted at kids for snack time. These foods are full of preservatives and sugars that wreak havoc on your child's health and behavior. To get your kids to transition from the junk, make it fun and give them lots of choices. If they get to pick, they'll be more apt to eat it without a fight. Below are some simple health snack alternatives that your kids will love.

1. What kid doesn't love finger foods, especially if they come with dip? Baby carrots, fresh broccoli or even belle peppers sliced up with a side of low fat ranch dressing is a fun healthy choice. Let your kids pick which one they want or give them a variety.
2. Celery can be pretty boring and flavorless for a kid. Spice it up and make ants on a log. Cut your celery sticks down so you have 2 or three from each. Spread some peanut butter on and then let the kids take over. Give them a small bowl with raisins in it to place on top of the peanut butter to create the ants on the log. Finding creative ways for kids to have fun with their food will encourage them to try new healthier snacks.
3. Cottage cheese can be a big hit as well. Serving it plain might be a big turn off, but this snack is always good accompanied by fruit. You can use your child's favorite fresh fruit or add a small can of fruit cocktail. Added fruit will make the snack bright and colorful as well as a sweet treat.
4. Do your kids like granola bars? Instead of getting those expensive bars that have added unnecessary ingredients like chocolate chips, buy granola in bulk. Grab a tub of low fat vanilla flavored yogurt and some fruit. Mix them together and you have a fruit and yogurt parfait. Frozen strawberries, blueberries or raspberries are great on top.
5. If your on the go but the kids are still going to need something to munch on grab some trail mix. Trail mix is loaded with dried fruits and nuts that will hit the spot and rejuvenate.

Make snack time fun and give them the opportunity help out. Let your kids be your guide to healthy snacks that they'll love. Getting to chose what they are going to eat will give them more motivation to happily gobble it down. If you need some creative help on how to encourage your kids to eat healthy snacks ask them. Get out all your ingredients and ask what creative ways you can mix them together. Then think of fun names for your new recipes. Now not only do your kids have healthy snacks but snacks that they have created and can be proud of.

Source: Associated Content

Photo: Eatingbender