Once a month cooking – who me? I don’t have time. Once a month cooking sounds like an option for the stay-at-home mother rather than today’s woman who juggles family and career and is more likely to found driving her kids to soccer practice than toiling away in the kitchen. It sounds like something that our mothers did not us.
But once a month cooking is a realistic option for a busy working mother. What is more it can save you money and make sure that your family gets nutritious food.
We hear so much about the problems of obesity and poor nutrition that results from a diet based on fast food. We know the virtues of good home cooking but finding time to do it is another matter. Once a month cooking offers a way of achieving that traditional ideal without spending every day in the kitchen. Once a month cooking offers a way of ditching the convenience food without becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Everthing you need for once a month cooking is already to hand in the modern kitchen. You may need to invest in a few more freezer proof dishes but you already have the freezer and a cooker.
What you are aiming to do is to cook all the meals you need for a month and freezing them. We are talking about a weekend really. The whole family can get involved. It can become part of your family time. Measuring, weighing, mixing, planning and working as a team all make an excellent educational experience for the children. They get lessons in math and life skills as well as nutritious meals.
I mention planning, and this is the secret to cooking one a month. You need to plan your menus for the whole month. No one wants pasta bolognese ever day for a month so build in plenty of variety. Think about any special dietary needs that members of your family may have. The vegetarian daughter needs her meals too. The advantage of cooking once a month is that you can plan for your whole family and provide alternatives.
If you are cooking alternative options for some members of the family you need to think about portion sizes. Some individual dishes should be frozen as well as larger dishes for the whole family. One of the advantages of cooking once a month is that you have far greater control over portion size than usual. You can calculate the calories contained in a meal.
When you plan meals in this way you can ensure that you include enough fruit and vegetables. When you grab hurried meals it is all to easy to miss out on fruit and vegetables and essential nutrients. With once a month cooking you become aware of just what you are eating. Taking time to plan lets you make rational decisions and to discuss the health benefits of eating a nutritious diet with your children.
Once you have planned your menu you can draw up a shopping list. Taking a shopping list to the supermarket is one of the best ways of avoiding impulse purchases that pile on calories that are empty of nutrients. When your children have contributed to planning the menu they are less likely to demand treats.
Once you get used to the idea of once a month cooking you can plan little treats in the form of cakes and desserts. Even home-baked bread or pastries for those occasional lazy Sunday mornings can be included in your once a month cook. The advantage of once a month cooking is that you know what is in these treats.
Another advantage of once a month cooking is that you have much greater control of your budget than usual. There may even be things you can buy in bulk and make savings that way. Quite apart from what you save by planning your shopping you also save on the cost of gas by making fewer trips to the store. You benefit directly from that and the rest of the community benefits from less pollution. You may also like to consider whether it would be better to use a store that will deliver. Internet shopping and home delivery may the best option.
One word of caution: if your friends and neighbours get to hear about once a month cooking you may find that you have started an once a month cooking business.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/once-a-month-cooking-how-to-make-it-a-reality-708802.html
Video game survey for all gamers
I’m doing a research survey for my school project and I need to know how many and what kind of people play video games and on what kind of basis. This information will help answer the question if playing video games have a certain affect on your personality, and MIGHT also be submitted to video game companies in an attempt to lower game prices, make games which appeal more to certain groups of people, and MUCH MORE changes YOU want so see in the video game industry. I need to know:
Your gender
Your age
Which console(s) you own or have owned
Which game you play the most
How often you play video games and for how long
If you consider yourself a hardcore gamer or casual game ( or don’t know what these mean)
How you buy your games (used or new)
How often you buy games
If you think games/consoles are overpriced
If you would spend a whole paycheck soley on games/accesories/consoles
Your Favorite video game series
The Rating of most of your games ( E,T,M)
What kind of music you like ( name all)
Your favorite kind of drink
If you like manga
What you watch on TV ( Anime, music videos, cooking, sports, reality, etc.)
Your favorite TV channel
What you do when not playing video games
Are you employed
If you play games right after school/work
If you play Video games right when you wake up or late at night
If you smoke/drink (Marijuana counts)
If you often imitate or pretend you are a certain video game character or are in a certain video game, and if so, when. Does it help?
If you consider yourself depressed,schizophrenicc,manic,psychotic, ( or none)
(Any extra information, optional)
EXAMPLE:
Male
17
Xbox 360/ wii/ GB/GBC/GBA/NES/SNES/GC/DS
Call of Duty 4
Every day for 2 hours
Hardcore
Mostly used
Once every two months
HELL YES!
Probably not
None
M
Rap/Rock/ Video game soundtracks
Soda: Dr.Pepper/Mountain Dew Voltage
No
Anime/ NFL games / reality
G4TV/Cartoon Network
work
yes
sometimes
no/yes
no/no
Yes, (Master Chief) when I am lifting weights and need an extra push, (Call of Duty 4) When I am Paintballing, (Super smash Bros Brawl) When I am using my punching bag.
Somewhat depressed
Call of Duty 4 ( and other FPS’s) have influenced my life so much, it is pushing me dangerously close to joining the Marines
Please, answer these questions seriously and honestly. I need straight answers in order to obtain the necessary information.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED TO THIS SURVEY, PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER AGAIN OR LEAVE COMMENTS, THANK YOU. SORRY THIS SURVEY IS SO LONG
+ Any suggestions you want to make to video game companies, along with you EXTRA information.
EXAMPLE:
Lower game prices, gas is too expensive enough!!!!!!!
thats really long….
References :
male
15
ps1/ps2/ps3/xbox 360
GTA IV
everyday for god knows how long
hardcore
new
everytime a good game comes out
nope
yep
Grand Theft Auto
MA 15+
METALLICA
coke
HELL NO
i dont watch tv. I play games on tv
HDTV 1 lol
Usually on the computer
nope
yep
yep
maybe lol
who the hell pretends theyre a video game character
no
References :
Male
15
Xbox, DS, PC, Gameboy, Gameboy SP, PS2
Call of Duty 4
For a looooooooooooong time, can spend a whole day playing.
Hardcore Gamer
I buy them new
1-2 times a month
Yes, they are way too overpriced.
Yes
Battlefield series
T, M
Techno, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, Pop, Classic Rock n’ Roll.
Hmmmm, Coke
Used to, but they cost too much.
Sports
ESPN
I study, I watch TV, I do sports, I see friends.
No
Yes
Yes
No smoking, drinking sometimes, but not enough to be drunk.
Hmmmmm, no, really not.
No, i’m too mature for my age, that’s my only problem XD
I’m don’t play a single game for a so long time, I often get bored and move to another game, just to tell you I have NHL 08, Deer Hunter, Rome: Total War, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tommorow, Need for Speed: Carbon, Call of Duty 4, Battlefield 2142 and GTA: San Andreas currently installed on my computer, which makes alot of games.
Hope this help you…
References :
male
16
Xbox/GC/GBA/PS2/nintendo 64/PC
oblivion
everyday for a long time.. depending on days with work and school etc
both depending on the game
used usually but new sometimes if i have cash or the game looks great.
i buy games as much as i can which isnt often since there usually isnt many really good games.
HELL YES!!!!!
no
FF
T/M
rock
any soda
yes
anime
G4/scifi(EUReKA)/all movie channels
watch tv/read/ hang with friends
yes
late night
neither. all drugs(besides caffine) can go to hell
no
sometimes depressed but not at all when im playing a game
References :