Vegetables Tips and Tricks Exposed

Oh Sweet Vegetables! We should be eating 3-5 servings of vegetables everyday. Vegetables are great because not only do they taste good, but because there are so many of them so the chances of us getting bored with them are pretty low. They can be cooked all sorts of ways from baking to steaming even grilling! My mom always grills ears of corn of the grill every summer! So yummy! Lets go over some tips, that you should keep in mind when choosing, eating and preparing them.

Fun Fact: Corn is used to produce fuel alcohol. Fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution, and it
doesn't pollute the water.

Tip 1: To remove the corn silk easy, just dampen a tooth brush and brush downward on the cob. Every strand will come off.

Tip 2: Corn tastes better when the leaves from the corn are removed and used to line the bottom of the pot while corn is cooking, so don't throw em out!

Tip 3: To be extra fancy when buttering corn in the summertime, why not just have melted butter in a dish and dip a celery stalk into the butter and brush on corn! No knives needed. Plus, works great for young children.

Tip 4: Don't add any salt to corn when boiling it on stove. It will toughen the corn kernels.

Fun Fact: Mushrooms are not a true vegetable in the sense that it does not have any leaves, roots, or seeds. Its actually a fungus!

Tip 1: Never immerse mushrooms in water when cleaning them, they will absorb too much water causing them to become soggy. Yuck!

Tip 2: When buying mushrooms, always buy the "whole" mushrooms never sliced and make sure the gills are not showing, they will last a lot longer.

Tip 3: Mushrooms turn brown when you sauté them? No worries, just add a teaspoon of lemon juice and they will stay white and firm.

Tip 4: For easy cleaning for mushrooms, just brush lightly with a clean nail brush. Works every time!

Fun Fact: Celery can last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator! Always keep in the bottom of your refrigerator.

Tip 1: To make celery curls, just cut celery into 3-4 inch pieces. Cut each piece into narrow strips, leaving about an inch at the end uncut to hold the piece together, then put them in ice water until they curl, about 30 minutes.

Tip 2: Cook a stalk or two of celery with broccoli, cabbage, and sauerkraut to prevent any odors when cooking other things.

Tip 3: Don't discard celery leaves just dry them out and crush. They can be used into soups, and in salad dressings to add more flavor.

Tip 4: It takes more calories to eat, chew and digest celery then the calories that are actually in it! Wow!

Fun Fact: If asparagus is grown right, they can grow 10 inches in a 24 hour period. Wow, talk about fast food!

Tip 1: When buying asparagus in the can, always cut cans from the bottom to avoid breaking the tips.

Tip 2: Want asparagus more tender? Just peel the lower parts up to the tender part with a potato peeler. They taste much better this way.Try it!

Tip 3: To revive uncooked asparagus that went limp, just stand them upright in a small amount of ice water in a deep pot and cover with a plastic bag. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes, then cook!

Tip 4: Asparagus has no fat and cholesterol. It is also very very low in sodium! Great for diets!

Fun Fact:  Artichokes can be frozen, just wrap tightly in foil and pack in plastic freezer bags or other airtight container for 6 to 8 months.

Tip 1: Don't need your artichoke right away? Just wrap unwashed artichokes in a damp towel and store in a large zip lock bag and store in refrigerator for up to 5 -7 days.

Tip 2: Don't cook artichokes in an aluminum or iron pot. They will turn your pots gray.

Tip 3: To prevent their discoloring when cooking, just dip trimmed base in lemon juice right before cooking.

Tip 4: Wear rubber gloves when snipping off the ends of the leaves, that way you don't prick your fingers.

Fun Fact: Onions contain vitamins B6, B1 and Folic acid, they also have a high water content.

Tip 1: Onions fall apart when cooking? No worries, just cut a small cross, one-quarter inch deep, in the stem end.

Tip 2: Once an onion had been cut in half, just rub a little butter on the leftover onion and it will last longer.

Tip 3: Peel fresh white onions easily by plunging them into boiling water for two minutes.

Tip 4: Onions making you cry? Just hold a piece of garlic in your mouth and no more tears!

Fun Fact: The worlds largest potato chip was made by the Pringle company in 1990, it measured 23 inches long and 14.5 inches wide. That's a BIG chip!

Tip 1: Speed up dinner by boiling potatoes in salted water for ten minutes before popping them into a hot oven. They will cook faster!

Tip 2: Cut a thin slice from each before popping them into oven, they will also help speed up cooking time.

Tip 3: If your watching what you eat, cutting sweet potatoes, thin like fries and place them in the oven for about 20 minutes, is a great alternative to regular chips. Dash a little bit of cinnamon on them. Very Tasty!

Tip 4: Do not place any type of potato in the refrigerator. This will cause them to have a hard core plus giving them a nasty taste.

Fun Fact: Tomatoes are actually a "fruit" but so many people still believe they are part of the vegetable family.

Tip 1: Tomatoes keep better when left on your counter top and not in the refrigerator. Keep them with the stem upside down as well.

Tip 2: Always add a pinch of sugar to tomatoes when cooking with them, it enhances their flavor.

Tip 3: Tomatoes go flat when baking them? No problem! Just place each tomato into a greased muffin pan tin, and they will stay straight up!

Tip 4: Peeling a lot of tomatoes? Just place all tomatoes in a onion nettting bag and plunge them into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. The skins fall right off!

Fun Fact:  1/2 cup of cauliflower only contains 14 calories and no fat! Load up your salad with this vegetable!

Tip 1: To keep cauliflower a bright white, just add a little milk while cooking it!

Tip 2: Cauliflower odor is almost eliminated if you drop a few unshelled walnuts into the pot.

Tip 3: People with thyroid problems, should avoid eating this vegetable, because it interferes with the body's absorption of iodine.

Tip 4: Cauliflower is high in fiber so this one of the best vegetables to eat, if you wanna stay full longer! Great plain with a little ranch dipping or steamed with a little seasoning.

Fun Facts: Red beets are often used in hair dye, since they have a strong natural color.

Tip 1: To keep beets red, cook them whole with two inches of stem. Also add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the cooking water to prevent fading.

Tip 2: You can use red beets, when dyeing Easter eggs, Just place beets in the pot with the eggs you wish to be red, and they will come out completely red, without food coloring.

Tip 3: Beet contain no more than 10% sugar.

Tip 4: Smaller beets tend to be more tender. Large beets tend to have a rougher bite to them.