Knowing how much to cook for a single meal is a tough guessing game. More often than not, you have to deal with left overs since people usually would rather have food surplus than food scarcity. Here are some tips on preparing left over food without the ageing bland taste. Especially with all of those 4th of July leftovers.

Bread: Put butter or margarine on almost-stale or day-old bread for a richer taste. Add cheese and a poached egg on top for a satisfying breakfast or snack. You can toast the bread first if you like your bread warm and crunchy.

Cooked vegetables: Keep them chilled in the refrigerator for a quick cold salad. To give a different taste from the previous dish you cooked, add some bleu cheese or Italian dressing.

Coffee: You can freeze old brewed coffee in ice cube trays. Add them to your iced coffee drink for colder drink that packs more flavor. You can also use old coffee in cake frostings for an instant mocha cream on your desserts.

Small pieces of cheese: Do not throw small pieces of cheese away just because you can’t make a decent thin square slice for sandwiches and pasta. You can stir this little pieces of cheese into fillings for stuffed vegetables. Or you can grate them finely together to make grilled cheese sandwiches, tacos, chillis and potato toppings.

Broken cookies or biscuits: Gather the cookie or biscuit crumbs together for a quick refrigerator cake or pie crust. You can also use these as toppings on your ice cream, parfaits, frozen yogurt or sherbet.

Flat beer: Use flat beer to make beer batter for fish and chips. You can also opt to boil shrimps in flat beer instead of water for a more tangy taste. Flat beer can also add more flavor when used in simmering pot roasts and meat.

One of the best ways to lose weight is for you to count calories. Making sure that you control the portions you eat and that you don’t exceed the daily caloric limits would help ensure that you won’t be taking in added energy (that gets stored in the form of fat). Here are some basic tips to help you count those cals.

Set a target calorie input. If you plan to lose weight, you need to trim down the number of calories typically required. Here’s a target weight calculator that would help you identify the target weight and target calories. Keep in mind that you also need to take in a percentage of carbohydrates, proteins and fats during the day.

Get a food diary. No need to get a fancy diary. A small pocket planner would do. Just log all the things that you eat at the course of the day and their corresponding calorie count. Here’s a calorie chart to help you get started. In no time, you’d be able to remember the food items that you regularly eat.

Check food labels. Sometimes, processed foods would not be listed in the calorie chart. So this is where you should start checking food labels. Manufacturers are now required to place pertinent nutrition information on food labels and the calories. Be sure to check  for which amount the  stated calories are. Sometimes, one pack may contain two or more servings. That pack of chips might say 170 calories per serving but the pack contains six servings. Finishing the whole pack would mean you’ve just taken 1020 calories.

How hard can this be? If you’re like most people, you simply just place anything in the refrigerator. But if you’re more particular about not getting sick from food poisoning, you might want to take just a bit more precaution when storing leftovers. Here’s how.

Consider storage within three hours after the food was prepared. Three hours can be enough time for bacteria to find its way on the food and start the spoilage process.

Wash your hands with soap and warm water. This would give you good, clean mitts to handle the food. Mind you that, at times, it’s because of your mishandling with dirty hands that can actually spoil the food.

Avoid storing piping hot foods inside the fridge. Divide the food into small batches and place them in shallow containers. Allow them to cool a bit on the counter before sealing and storing.

For a tighter seal, consider placing a layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil on top of the food before placing the lid on the container.

Allow some space in between the containers to allow cool air to circulate properly. This will ensure that the food is cooled evenly and would avoid hot spots of packets of heat to get trap which can, again, start spoilage.

Label the containers. Write what they are and when you stored them. Meat products should be consumed within three days even if properly stored.

Healthy food can be hard to find while on vacation especially if you haven’t visited the vacation spot before. Most of the readily available food are fast food. And we all know these are not exactly the prime example of healthy food. For a more healthy eating experience even while on vacation, here are some tips that you should keep in mind.

If your baggage permits, bring lots of water, fruits and low-calorie snacks with you during your trip. This will prevent you from potentially snacking on junk food when you feel hungry in between meals. Load up on water, fruits and fruit juices, pretzels and crackers. You can stop over at any supermarket while on the road if ever you forget anything.

Opt to eat big meals at midday instead of dinner time. This will keep you recharged and refueled for the day’s activities. Also, it will give you a chance to ditch the hot midday sun.

Keep your itinerary full and avoid very long breaks. Long periods of inactivity promotes boredom and this makes eating more inviting than just sitting still. Bring along books, magazines or small puzzles that can keep you entertained if you don’t have anything planned or if you are still in transit.

You can still sample the local dishes without having to forego your diet. Share an entree with a travel companion if a dish is high in fat or calories. You can also ask the restaurant for a smaller portion of the dish you ordered. As another alternative, take some small packets of herbs with you and ask the server to prepare your chosen food without the salt. Season your dish with the packet herbs to your desired taste.

When you are on vacation, even the simplest need like purified water may not be readily available. You’re lucky if you are within the city where bottled and tap water are easily accessible. However, this might not be the case if you choose to spend your vacation in a remote island or high up in the mountains. For this situation, you have to improvise. Here are some tips on preparing your own purified water.

(NOTE: Some of these methods are to be done only when absolutely necessary. Try at your own risk.)

Boiling water still remains to be the most effective way to purify water. High levels of heat destroys germs, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms without changing the water’s taste. To prepare your purified water, bring the water (from tap or other water source) to boiling temperature and let it stay for at least 5 minutes.

Use water-purification tablets to purify the water should boiling become an improbable option. Water-purification tablets are available in camping-goods stores so be sure to have a pack before leaving for vacation. Follow the directions carefully to assure yourself and your travel companions safe and purified water for everyone’s use.

Filtration can also be done to purify water. Sporting-goods store sells filtration kits which can be used to prepare your purified water. Be careful though as some of them might not be effective in purifying water. Consult with the local health department or the travel clinic before purchasing a filtration kit.

Add Iodine or Chlorine to water to purify it. Five drops of Iodine or two drops of chlorine to a quart of water can effectively disinfect it. Leave it for about 30 minutes before sampling. If you cannot taste the iodine or chlorine, at one or two drops more and let it be for another 30 minutes. A word of caution though: people with thyroid ailments should not take this treated-water without consulting a physician.

With all the busy, fast-paced lifestlyle everyone is immersed in, rarely do people have the time to cook their own food in their own leisurely pace. Sometimes, fast-food is the only option for all the meals of the day — nevermind the extra calories and the lesser nutritional value. However, good food can be prepared without the long wait and the extra effort. You just have to know where to cut corners and discover cooking shortcuts. Here are some tips on cooking shortcuts.

Know how to estimate measurements. Being overly conscious about exact measurements takes a lot of time and can the measuring tools will only add to your pile of dishes to wash. By estimating measurements, you can also adjust to the flavor that you prefer. Remember that measuring is still important for baking so don’t throw away your measuring cups and spoons.

Invest in cooking utensils that is famous for cutting cooking time into half. Rice cookers are your best bet for cooking rice without have to tend over it every so often. Just remember that cooking time and the amount of water will be different for varying types of rice. Pressure cookers and specialized cooking pots and pans can also cut your cooking time and you can still experience restaurant quality meals.

Snacks need not have to be tiresome to prepare to be nutritious. For a quick healthy snack or appetizer, slice some raw vegetables and prepare our dip quickly using your blender. Chop some onions and mix them with canned clams and cottage cheese in a blender. You can also use fresh parsley or garlic cloves as substitute for the clams. Blend them well while preparing your choice of vegetable sticks.

Buy pre-marinated meats and mixed chopped vegetables on your next stop at the supermarket. This will defintely help you cut back on food preparation time. They may be more expensive but you can achieve the convenience that you need. Choose the flavoring that you most prefer so that you won’t have to buy extra sauce or dressing to mask its taste.

Babies don’t like their milk cold and they sure can’t take anything piping hot. Whether it’s stored breast milk or baby formula, you still have to warm their bottles.

If you’re giving the baby frozen breast milk (to best preserve it), you have to thaw it thoroughly. When thawing, leave it on one of the fridge racks to thaw overnight. Leaving it in room temperature will make it prone to spoilage or attract germs. For a quick fix, you can place the bottle under running tap water.

To warm the milk, you can submerge the bottle in a bowl of warm (not boiling!) water. Commercial baby bottle warmers are also available. Test a few drops onto your inner wrist. It should feel about body temperature (just like breast milk) and not hot at all.

Do not use a microwave. The heat can destroy some of the nutrients in the milk or formula and microwaves can heat it unevenly and cause hot spots which can scald your baby.

Some babies don’t mind taking milk in room temperature. If you’re using baby formula, try making it using bottled water at room temperature. “Heat” the bottle by clasping it in your hands for a minute or two. Try it out with your baby. There seems to be no medical consensus that having the milk or formula at body temperature is better for the baby health-wise.

Most cooks would agree that it is better to overestimate than to underestimate the amount of food to prepare. After all, it’s an unpleasurable experience to run out of food especially at a party or a special meal with family and friends. However, taking care of left over food can be a challenge. Here are some tips on left-over food storage.

Transfer cooked food to clean, shallow containers. Ensure that the lid is tightly in its place and store in the refrigerator immediately. Warm food invites bacteria growth. They can double in number in just 20 minutes if food remains warm.

Opt for clear containers so that you can easily determine the contents when you open the the refrigerator door. More often, food will spoil inside the refrigerator because people have completely forgotten that they have them in the first place. Also, food should only be refrigerated for only a few days. These should be completely consummed within this time frame.

Have separate containers for stuffing, sauces, and spreads. These tend to spoil at a different rate than meat, poultry and other dishes. At least, you would have spared the other food in contact from spoiling if they ever spoil. At the same time, you can have extra stuffing if ever the meat got spoiled first.

As painful as this sounds, discard food that already smells and looks weird. These are significant signs that the food is already spoiled. Remember too that food that causes food poisoning doesn’t have to appear different from other clean and safe foods. Follow this general tip: when in doubt, better ditch it.

Fast-paced and hectic lives have many of us simply taking breakfast as a convenience rather than the all-important meal-of-the-day that it is. Is what you’re eating on a daily basis really the breakfast of champions? Here are some of the bad breakfast choices that you can make.

Cereal. Believe it or not those poofs and puffs that you drown with milk can be bad for you. Even the “healthier” variety of muesli and whole grain cereals from the box can contain a whole lot of sugar. Choose cereals that have high fiber content and low sugar.

Bacon and sausage. Well, yes. Even if you get the idea that these would constitute the breakfast of champions, they’re not. Really. Especially the store-bought kind. These food items are full of nitrite and contain a high degree of fat. If you’re active at work, these can be forgivable at time but for those with sedentary work, avoid these.

Muffins and bagels. These food items are high in fat and carbohydrates. And if you’re going to smother these with butter or cream cheese, you’re just upping the bad ante.

Pancakes. Similar to muffins and bagels, pancakes contain an unusual . You also tend to use butter to lube the pan and butter it some more when eating. Maple syrup’s nice but that’s literally spoonfuls of sugar you’re drowning your pancakes with.

Even if you raid all the groceries and supermarkets for all the needed ingredients of your low-fat cuisine, low-fat cooking will not be complete without the proper kitchen equipment. Running low on the right kitchen equiment might mean having to add more oil and fat to your food just to keep them palatable. Here is a list of must-have kitchen equipment to complete your healthy, low-fat cooking.

• Non-stick skillet or wok. These are really useful for cooking your stir-fry and sauteed dishes without having to put in extra oil or other fat.
• Vegetable steamer. A good steamer can cook your favorite vegetables without losing all the vegetables’ vitamins and minerals.
• Two, heavy stainless steel saucepans. We list down two because you’ll need small sized saucepan for soups and sauces and a medium to large sized saucepan for cooking pasta.
• Strainer or skimmer. These are useful in removing the hardened fat from chilled soups and stews.
• A good set of sharp knives to chop off the animal fat prior to and after cooking.
• Wooden spoons and silicone spatulas. These are essential kitchen equipment to prevent damages on your non-stick cookware
• Measuring cups and spoons to ensure that only the needed amount is added to the food.
• Microwave. Some recipes can be cooked in the microwave without adding extra oil and fat.