foodie infographic

How to Pick the Freshest Produce (Infographic)

January 8, 2019 By Joi Sigers

While I have often tried to focus on healthy eating on Get Cooking, I am really revitalizing my focus. Why? Because I’m revitalizing my focus on healthy eating in my own life and want only the best for you and your family as well!

Don’t worry, I have no intention of completely cutting out desserts and even less intention of completely cutting out carbs (they’d have to pull my potatoes out of my cold dead hands… whoever they are). But cutting back on less than healthy foods while increasing healthy foods only makes sense.

I’m lucky – I’ve always been a fiend for fruits and vegetables. Especially vegetables. I’m not sure if it’s because my parents always had gardens while I was growing up or if I simply enjoy the taste of just about every vegetable imaginable. Probably a little of both.

Below is a very useful infographic from Pounds to Pocket that’ll help you determine when a fruit or vegetable is the freshest.. as in ripe for the taking!

How to Pick Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in the Store

Infographic Created by Pounds to Pocket: https://www.poundstopocket.co.uk/pound-place/how-to-pick-fresh-ripe-fruits-and-vegetables/

Infographic: 15 Easy Ways to Make Food Taste Better

July 11, 2017 By Joi Sigers

The infographic below (from British friends of the food blog… hence yoghurt instead of yogurt!) includes some great tips for making your food taste even better. I love these tips – several of which I personally swear by.

Below are a few quick tips from my own kitchen:

When making a dish with multiple food components (stew, soup, salad…), chop the individual foods as small as possible. Sure, it’s more work (unless you use a food processor, Amazon link) but each bite will provide more flavor. After all, the more foods that can fit on a spoon or fork at once, the greater the flavor punch.
Ground Chuck simply tastes better than ground beef. There is no getting around it.
In addition to Kosher salt and black pepper, a few seasonings I keep on hand at all times (as in I’m apt to run out of just about anything before I ever run out of them) are: Cumin, Montana Mex Chile Salt (as well as their Sweet Seasoning Blend), Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Pink Himalayan Salt, Seasoned Salt, and McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning (All Amazon links). Experiment with seasonings – go bold! Just do so a little at a time, because you can always add more, you can’t add less.
Use herbs often and use herbs generously. I love growing my own herbs – even though there is a Battle Royale between me and raccoons – and they’re winning. Good thing they’re so darn cute! Rosemary, chives, parsley, and cilantro are my favorites but Basil and Oregano are fast-becoming members of the “in crowd.” Add parsley to scrambled eggs, cilantro to any and all Mexican-inspired dishes, rosemary to soups, and chives to everything else. Well, almost. Chives snipped onto fresh from the oven baked potatoes make all the cares of the world slip away.