Tips For Cooking At Home

     I have recently started eating healthier and exercising.  I want to set an example for my children that I can be proud of.  Cooking at home is part of my family's normal everyday routine.  Home cooking gives me and my family complete control over what goes into our recipes and the way we cook it.  Eating healthy at home is so much easier and cheaper than eating out. 

Here are some facts about cooking at home for you to consider.

• Buying food and cooking it at home saves you money.
• You can plan your menus to include all the food groups and the correct servings of each of the food groups.
• You can season your meals as you like it and control the amount of processed foods your family eats.
• You can accommodate each member of your family's eating preferences when you cook for them at home.
• You can keep your children away from foods that contain chemicals and additives that are found in some foods from restaurants.
• When you cook at home it's so much easier to control portion sizes.  
• Eating out is considered to be a major cause of obesity in America, according to a recent report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Preparing meals at home gives your family quality time together, it's fun and a learning experience for all involved.

Here's a recipe you may want to try.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry with
Whole Grain Brown Rice

Yield: 4
Total cook time: 30min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup UNCLE BEN'S® Fast & Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice, dry
• 1 3/4 cup water
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 pound beef sirloin, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves minced (approximately 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 4 whole green onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cups broccoli florets (approximately 1 head), blanched or partially steamed

Instructions Kid Friendly Step

1. Gather all equipment and ingredients.
2. Prepare and measure all ingredients. Tip: cut all vegetables before cutting meat to maintain proper sanitation, or wash cutting board in between tasks.
3. Prepare rice according to package directions.
4. While rice is cooking, heat a large (10") sauté pan with just enough non-stick cooking spray to coat. Add beef, and sauté until browned.
5. Carefully add garlic, green onion, blanched broccoli, and soy sauce to sauté pan.
6. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Once rice is cooked, serve beef & broccoli over rice.

Tips

• For crispy beef, coat beef strips in about 1 tablespoon of corn starch before sautéing. Prepare remainder of recipe as listed.
• For saucier recipe, consider finishing dish with a commercially prepared teriyaki glaze or stir fry sauce.
• For a spicier recipe, sprinkle 1/2 - 1 teaspoon red chili flakes as garnish.
• For a sweeter recipe, add 1 tablespoon orange juice with soy sauce, and garnish with 1 tablespoon orange zest.

To empower and encourage parents to connect with their kids, one meal at a time, Uncle Ben’s has launched an exciting national contest called Ben’s Beginners! By entering the contest, you could win $20,000, along with a $50,000 grant towards a cafeteria makeover for your child’s school. In addition, you will have a chance to appear on The Rachael Ray show! Uncle Ben’s is calling for parents with children ages 5-12 to submit a 2-3 minute video of you cooking a rice-based dish with your children. For more info on the contest, please check out Ben’s Beginners on Facebook!


About Uncle Ben’s
Uncle Ben’s®, the number one rice brand in America, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for convenient side dishes and savory main courses. Uncle Ben’s® offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, Uncle Ben’s® is the top-selling branded rice in the United States and products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. Uncle Ben’s® Brand products are manufactured by Mars Food NA, part of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.UncleBens.com.

More info on Uncle Ben’s: http://www.unclebens.com/

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.