Minestrone Soup recipe. How to be a healthy weight balancing energy in and energy out
Reaching or maintaining a healthy weight is all about balancing the energy we take in with the energy we burn off (energy out).
Tips for watching the energy you take in:
Enjoy a variety of foods from each of the five food groups in the amounts recommended Watch your portion sizes particularly foods and beverages which are high in kilo-joules Limit your consumption of energy-dense or large kilo-joule foods and drinks (check the kilo-joules on the menu when exercising ) Should you have an energy-dense meal, then choose meals or beverages that have fewer kilo-joules at other meals in the day.
Strategies for seeing the energy you burn off:
Be active in as many ways as possible throughout the day take the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus a stop early and walk break up sitting period at work
Do more activity when you eat more kilo-joules.
Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is good for your general energy and well-being and helps prevent many ailments.
Before you jump to Minestrone Soup recipe, you may want to read this short interesting healthy tips about Help Your Heart with Food.
You already are aware of how important it is to have a fit and healthy heart. Here’s something for you to think about: if your heart is not healthy then the rest of your body won’t be healthy. You already know that if you want your heart to be healthy, you must follow a good and healthy lifestyle and work out on a regular basis. Did you already know, however, that there are some foods that can help your heart be healthy? Continue reading to find out which foods are best for your heart.
Fish is probably the heartiest food you can eat up. You probably already know this because you’ve probably been told to make sure that you eat fish at least two times a week. This is especially true for people whose hearts aren’t healthy or doing well. Be aware that fish is loaded with Omega 3’s which are what enables your body to process bad cholesterol. Try to eat fish in two meals each week.
There are many foods that you can eat that will be good for your body. It’s true that every food brought up in this article can help your body in many ways. They are particularly great for the heart, though. Start consuming these health food on a regular basis. Your heart will thank you!
We hope you got insight from reading it, now let’s go back to minestrone soup recipe. To make minestrone soup you only need 18 ingredients and 32 steps. Here is how you achieve that.
The ingredients needed to make Minestrone Soup:
- You need 1 clove garlic
- Get 1 red onion
- Take 2 carrots
- Provide 2 stalks celery
- Provide 1 courgette/zucchini
- Get 1 small leek
- You need 1 large potato
- Get 1 x 400g (15 oz) tin or can of cannellini beans
- Get 2 slices higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
- Get olive oil
- You need 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Get 1 fresh bay leaf
- You need 2 x 400g (14-oz) tins or cans plum tomatoes
- Provide 1 litre (4 cups) organic vegetable stock
- Prepare 1 large handful of seasonal greens, such as savoy cabbage, curly kale, chard
- You need 100 g (4 oz) wholemeal pasta
- Prepare 1/4-1/2 bunch fresh basil (optional)
- Get Parmesan cheese
Instructions to make Minestrone Soup:
- Peel and finely chop the garlic.
- Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Trim and roughly chop the carrots.
- Trim and roughly chop the celery.
- Trim and roughly chop the courgette/zucchini.
- Then add the vegetables to a large bowl.
- Cut the ends off the leeks, quarter them lengthways.
- Wash them under running water…
- Then cut into 1cm slices. Add to the bowl.
- Scrub and dice the potato.
- Drain the cannellini beans, then set aside.
- Finely slice the bacon.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bacon…
- And fry gently for 2 minutes, or until golden.
- Add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, courgette/zucchini, and leek.
- Add oregano and bay.
- Cook slowly for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the potato, cannellini beans and plum tomatoes….
- Then pour in the vegetable stock.
- Stir well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon.
- Cover with a lid and bring everything slowly to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. Meanwhile…
- Remove and discard any tough stalks bits from the greens…
- Then roughly chop.
- Using a rolling pin, bash the pasta into pieces while it’s still in the packet or wrap in a clean tea towel.
- To check the potato is cooked, pierce a chunk of it with a sharp knife – if it pierces easily, it’s done.
- Add the greens and pasta to the pan, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
- This translates as ‘to the tooth’ and means that it should be soft enough to eat, but still have a bit of a bite and firmness to it.
- Try some just before the time is up to make sure you cook it perfectly.
- Add a splash more stock or water to loosen, if needed.
- Pick over the basil leaves (if using) and stir through.
- Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then serve with a grating of Parmesan and a slice of wholemeal bread, if you like.
Another thank you to our reader, herewith some tips of preparing food safely.
It’s extremely important to prepare food safely to help stop harmful germs from spreading and growing. It is possible to take some actions to help protect your own loved ones from the spread of harmful germs.
Wash your hands
Your hands can quickly spread bacteria around the kitchen and onto food.
Before beginning to prepare food After touching raw food like meat, poultry and veggies After visiting the toilet After touching the bin after touching pets
Do not forget to dry your hands thoroughly as well, because wet palms spread bacteria more readily. Keep worktops clean
Before you begin preparing meals, it is significant worktops, kitchen utensils and chopping boards are all clean. If they’ve been touched by raw poultry, meat, eggs or vegetables you’ll need to wash them thoroughly.
You should shift dish cloths and tea towels regularly to avoid any bacteria growing on the material.
Raw foods like fish, poultry and veggies may contain harmful bacteria that can spread very easily by touching:
other foods worktops chopping boards Knives
You ought to keep raw foods away from ready-to-eat meals, like salad, fruit and bread. This is because these types of food will not be cooked before you eat them, so any germs that get onto the food won’t be killed.
To help prevent bacteria from spreading:
Don’t let raw food such as fish, poultry or veggies touch other foods Don’t prepare ready-to-eat food using a chopping board or knife which you’ve used to prepare raw food, unless they’ve been washed thoroughly
Buy raw meat or fish and store at the bottom shelf of the fridge, where they can’t touch or drip onto other foods Do not wash raw meat before cooking Wash, peel or cook vegetables unless these are described as’ready-to-eat' on the packaging
Examine the tag
It’s important to read food labels to make sure everything you are likely to use has been saved properly (according to any storage directions ) and none of the food is past its’use by' date.
Food that goes away fast usually has storage directions on the label that state just how long you may keep the food and if it must go from the refrigerator.
This sort of food often has particular packaging to help keep it fresh for more. But it will go off immediately as soon as you’ve opened it. For example, you might see’eat in two days of opening' on the tag. Use by dates
You’ll also see’use by' dates on food that goes off fast. You shouldn’t use any food after the’use by' date, even when the food looks and smells nice, because it may contain harmful bacteria. Best before dates
The’best before' dates marked on many foods are more about quality than safety. When this date runs out, it doesn’t mean that the food will be detrimental, but its own flavour, texture or colour may start to deteriorate.
An exception to this can be eggs, which have a best before date of no longer than 28 days after they are laid. After this date that the caliber of the egg will deteriorate and if any salmonella bacteria are found, they can multiply to high levels and may make you sick.
If your plan is on using an egg after its best before date, be sure that you only use it in dishes at which it’s going to be completely cooked, so that both white and yolk are strong, like in a cake or as a hard-boiled egg.
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