Читать книгу The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook - Laura Lea - Страница 52

smells. You can also put them down your

garbage disposal to make it smell fresh and

clean. Similarly, I like to keep one or two in my

refrigerator, which helps eliminate funky odors.

• Cooking with sea salt. When I refer to

salt throughout the book, I am referring

to fine-ground non-iodized sea salt. This

is the ideal all-purpose salt for cooking,

baking, and seasoning, in my opinion. I

prefer sea salt over traditional table salt.

Sea salt retains beneficial trace minerals, as

it is less processed, and table salt contains

anticlumping preservatives. You cannot

substitute one for the other, because table

salt is much more finely ground and the

same amount will yield a much saltier

result. Table salt also often includes iodine,

a crucial mineral, but one that we can get

from eating wild saltwater fish and seafood.

I prefer to control my intake of nutrients,

and this is difficult to do if they’re in the

salt you use every day. My favorite brands

are Selina Naturally and Frontier Natural

Products Co-op. If you want to indulge in

some lovely finishing salts, my favorites

are sea salt flakes and pink Himalayan sea

salt. Finishing salt is unrefined, natural

salt, usually with a slightly larger grain,

that is sprinkled on a dish before serving

to enhance the flavor.

FREEZING LEFTOVERS

When you’re trying to get healthy, whole-foods

meals on the table every night, the freezer can

become your best friend. That is, if you know what

to do with it. Here are my tested tips and tricks for

using your freezer to your advantage, as well as

some ideas for how to get creative with leftovers.

• Always ensure that your freezer is set at 0° F.

• Freeze fruit, vegetables, and soups in zip-

top storage bags in a thin layer and place

horizontally in the freezer. This way, you can

stack multiple bags, as well as easily break

off pieces to use. I suggest double-layering

the bags to prevent freezer burn if you plan

to keep them in there longer than a week.

• You can also use silicone muffin trays or ice

cube trays to freeze sauces. When frozen,

pop out the chunks and store in a zip-top

food storage bag.

• For quick meals, freeze individual portion

sizes in plastic pint containers that you can

order in bulk online.

• If you plan for an item to be in the freezer longer

than a week, double-bag it or wrap it with plastic

wrap before putting it in a container.

• LABEL all of your freezer bags and

containers: what and when. You need to

know how long something has been in there.

Also make some sort of symbol that denotes

if a food is about to go bad, and that’s why

you froze it. If you take it out to thaw, you’ll

know you need to eat it ASAP.

• Keep a notepad or whiteboard in your kitchen

that lists everything you have in your freezer

so you don’t have to go rummaging around

when deciding what to make for dinner.

• Invest in an insulated food and beverage

container. They’re an amazing tool for on-

the-go lunches, keeping food either hot or

cold. I like Thermos Foogo or FUNtainer

food jars and LunchBots.