1 . Advice for Cooking on a Tight Schedule

From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don’t cook more often: ability, money, and time.

    1    Money is a topic that I’ll talk about another day. So today I want to give you some advice about how to make the most of the time in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

Think ahead. I usually think cooking is a pain when I’m already hungry and there is nothing ready to eat. So think ahead of the coming week. When will you have time to cook? Do you have the right materials already?    2    

Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread?    3    It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

    4    This may surprise you, but one of the best ways to make cooking worth your time is experimentation. It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

Hopefully that gives you a good start.    5    And don’t let a busy schedule disappoint you and stop you from making some great changes in your life!

2 . My husband and I intended to have a quiet, low-key New Year’s Eve this year. We wanted to spend it with our kids and other immediate family and make it a special ________ for them, instead of ________ a babysitter and going out on our own.

The logical way to do this was through ________. As we all know, food had a magical way of making a night ________, and our New Year’s Eve certainly ________ that way, thanks to doughnuts (甜甜圈).

I decided to make doughnuts because my cousins had ________ a batch (一批) on Halloween and I found it very ________. I used a recipe from the 1976 Mennonite cookbook More With Less and it ________ a curious ingredient — two cups of mashed potatoes that ________ made the texture lighter. The doughnuts were rolled out and cut from a sheet of dough (生面团), then left to ________ until ready to fry in hot oil. Then they took several seconds to ________, which meant that my enormous batch of 100 doughnuts was ________ cooking in a fairly short time. We glazed (浇上浆液) the tops and then ________ them for the rest of the evening. The leftovers disappeared at breakfast.

This will become an annual ________, I have no doubt. Whether we host a bigger party or keep it small, there will always be ________ doughnuts, because when you have hot homemade doughnuts, you can’t help but have the best time.

4 . Using Healthy Cooking Methods Is Important

Eating healthier meals is a big part of taking good care of yourself and your family, but eating healthier meals doesn't mean you have to give up your favorite food.     1    

Boil vegetables and meats without using any oils or fats.     2     . It's not only healthier than using lots of fats, but also it keeps the nutrients of the foods. All you need to boil food is a large pot, water, and a little bit of salt. Carrots, cabbages, potatoes, chicken and beef are just a few choices for food you can boil.

Steam vegetables and fish to keep all the nutrients unbroken. You can place a steaming basket over a pot of boiling water and place them in the steamer basket to contain all the juices. Simply bring a pot of water to boil.     3    . Add your food to the basket. Add some salt or lemon juice to your steamed vegetables or fish for some extra flavor.

    4    Barbecue is great from a certain point of view because it makes your meat soft and tasty while also letting the fat drip away from it, which is healthier for you. It also passes on a nice flavor to meats and vegetable. You can roast steak and chicken, as well as vegetables, like potatoes, peppers, onions, and even lettuce.

Try eating raw foods to avoid losing any nutrients through cooking. Focus on eating uncooked foods.     5     Eating only raw foods isn't recommended for children or for women who are pregnant.