Electricity Saving Tips For The Kitchen

How's your electric bill this month? Ours has increased a bit-from 500 baht to 600 baht. Maybe because a plumber used a drilling machine for a day when he changed the drainage pipe of our bathroom. If it wasn't for that, we could have maintained our monthly electric bill.

When it comes to using electricity saving tips in the home, it helps to take things one step at a time. Even small measures all add up to reduce your bills and help save the environment. Let's start saving electricity in our kitchen. Our kitchen is one of the areas of the home where we use the most energy, so here are a few tips for cutting down on the electricity we use.

Refrigerator

Since I was a child, I always heard my mom reminding us not to always open the refrigerator. If we want to get something we'll make sure that we get all we need so that we could minimize opening the ref. And if we open the ref's door, we'll be conscious not to leave the doors of our refrigerator open for longer than we need. It's because the longer you keep them open when you’re looking inside, the more it’s going to have to work to get back down to its original cold temperature. That reminder lingers to me that we practice it even in our own home. Some other methods that will stop it working too hard include not overfilling it, making sure that the door doesn’t leak any cold air, and not placing it near any direct sources of heat or in a sunny area of the kitchen.

When You’re Cooking

There are so many electricity saving tips for cooking that won’t negatively impact the way you cook, but can make a huge difference when it comes to saving energy. When you’re using pans to do your cooking, make sure you always cover them for the most efficient heating. You should also match the size of the pan to the size of the coil heating it.

Cooking food in bulk is a fantastic way to save both time and energy. You can simply freeze the leftovers and save them for those evenings where you don’t have time to cook a whole meal from scratch.

Another “lazy” way to save energy is to try cooking more one-pot dishes. This means that everything is cooked in the same container, making it easier to cook yet saving electricity at the same time. Or use a pressure cooker to speed up cooking times for certain meals.

Other great electricity saving tips include turning off the burners just before food is finished cooking. The residual heat will keep on cooking it for you. This works especially well with pasta: simply get it to boiling point, place a lid on the pan, turn off the burner and leave it to cook for as long as the instructions state.

Using the Oven

If you’re using the oven, don’t keep opening the door to check it’s ready. This can reduce the temperature by 25 degrees each time, meaning your oven will need to use more energy to heat back up again. If your oven is electric, then you can use the same tip as above and turn it off when the food is nearly done. The oven will stay hot for ten minutes and keep cooking the food.

As you can see, none of these electricity saving tips involve you sacrificing your favorite meals. They just mean thinking ahead a little and getting into new habits that will soon become second nature. When you see how much difference they can make to your energy bills, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t try them sooner!

Family Friendly Cooking for Fall

Megan Gates is an active blogger who provides written work to the blogosphere pertaining to NYC Rentals, Nassau Real Estate, home improvement and the latest architecture, design and fashion.  Follow her on twitter @MEGatesDesign.

Children love helping out, especially in the kitchen.  Here are some fun cooking ideas you can do as a family:

"PUMPKIN" PLAY DOUGH

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 T. vegetable oil
2 cups water
4 tsp. cream of tartar
orange food coloring
a shake of nutmeg
a few drops of cinnamon extract

An adult will need to help supervise cooking up this fun dough. The children will enjoy pulling, measuring and dumping the first five ingredients into a clean, cold skillet or electric skillet that is turned to the off setting. Once ingredients have been added, heat skillet to medium and continuously stir the dough until it begins to come together. Working quickly, add the coloring, nutmeg and extract. When the dough is completely pulled away from the sides and forms a ball, it is ready. It can be turned onto the counter and ready to be played with in a few minutes. Use pumpkin and leaf shaped cookie cutters, as well as rolling pins and plastic scissors for hours of Fall fun!

HARVEST SALAD

6-8 cups baby greens
1 small apple, cored and thinly sliced
shredded carrot
aged shredded white cheddar
pumpkin seeds
golden raisins
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk

In a large salad bowl, have children toss together the baby greens, apple slices, carrots, cheddar, pumpkin seeds and raisins. Set aside. In a small plastic bowl with tight fitting lid, have children measure mayonnaise, milk and dressing mix. They can take turns mixing the dressing with spoons and shaking the bowl (with lid) until the dressing is completely mixed. Chill salad and dressing for about an hour. Enjoy!

CORN AND CHICKEN CROCK POT SOUP

1 Rotisserie chicken (from supermarket, cooled)
1 pkg. shredded carrots
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of potato soup
2 soup cans of milk
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of corn (undrained)
sea salt, pepper and onion powder to taste

Have children pull apart the cooled, roasted chicken, teaching them what to keep and what to discard. Next, they can fill the cold crock pot with shredded chicken, carrots, soups, milk, corn and spices. Mix the ingredients well and heat on low for about six hours. It may be necessary to thin or thicken the soup to preference.

When the soup is ready, supervised children may ladle a portion of soup into a bowl and garnish with, shredded cheeses, sour cream, chives, bacon and croutons.

The Safe Way to Lose Post-Pregnancy Weight

Childbirth is one of the amazing moments in a woman’s life. It is such a rewarding experience after nine months. But the challenge does not end there. During the entire course of a pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through several changes caused by different factors and without a doubt those cravings and meals could take a toll as well. One thing hat lingers on the mind of every moms is how to shed those pounds gained from the pregnancy.

You have to remember that the weight loss won’t happen overnight. Rather than dwelling on this matter focus more on your responsibilities as a new parent as this is more important. Also keep in mind that it pays to have a weight loss program that is effective and safe in order to avoid any health risks in the future. Make sure that you are doing it the right way. Do not rush. Follow the guidelines and never attempt to do exercise routines without the help of fitness professionals.

Child delivery is something that your body will need sometime to recover. If you are thinking of getting back to that treadmill immediately but it will be best to ask your doctor first. Allow your body to heal before doing workout activities. This way you can be sure that your body is ready and injuries are prevented.

Be careful with your diet programs especially if you are breastfeeding. Crash diets could post a great risk to your health and at the same time it can affect your baby too. Choose healthy and all-natural foods and avoid the processed ones. Stay away from fatty meals and limit your sweets. But do not deprive yourself from these pleasures, a small slice of chocolate once a month is a good way to reward your body.

It is also possible to work out and lose weight while still taking care of your baby. A walk around the park or mall with your child is just one of the many options.

Kate is a freelance content writer is also fond of traveling and outdoor adventures.She enjoys working on a project on hypothyroidism diet and sees this as an opportunity to share stories and inspire the readers.

Kristen Stewart: Now I feel like a woman!

Kristen Stewart already caught my attention long before she became the Twilight actress. Who can forget her heroic role as a 12-year-old daughter who robbed a bank for her father's surgery in Catch that Kid ? Or her major role in the Hollywood film Panic Room playing the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother(Jodie Foster)? That film received generally positive reviews, and Stewart garnered positive notices for her performance. She was even nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.

She seemed to have this endless look of a bit scowl-ly and tomboyish which she admitted that this made her deathly self-conscious.But the actress has told British GQ in their November issue that her style is about to change.Kristen graces the cover in a black retro bikini with perfect hair and makeup and looks the best she ever has.Her dark hair was styled in Old Hollywood waves and she sported bright red lipstick while laying on a sun lounger by a pool. 

The sexy transformation has led Kristen to declare she is ready to grown into her womanhood. 

''I looked like a boy for a long time,'' she told the publication. ''Now I feel like a woman.'' 

Kristen will also show off her curves during honeymoon scenes in the second installment of Breaking Dawn. 

She and her co-star and real life beau Robert Pattinson filmed beach scenes in St Thomas where she donned a bathing suit. 

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 is out next northern summer.

   

What do you think of her bikini bod?