Posts Tagged ‘fun recipes for kids’
Cooking Light Recipes, European Style
Everyone assumes that European cooking is heavy and unhealthy. Especially when it comes to Swiss cooking and Swiss recipes, everyone thinks, cheese, chocolate, potatoes, meat, etc. but that’s just nonsense. Cooking light recipes is what the Swiss are great at. Their lunches and dinners tend to be much smaller in proportion, and not as filling as American dishes. Often times, European dishes are thought of as heavy, greasy and overwhelming, but in reality, when you visit Europe, the meals tend to be light and perfect proportioned.
I personally remember when I traveled across Europe. Often I was still feeling hungry after I ate. Typically a breakfast will be small, either oatmeal with fruit, maybe some bread and cheese, or even just a soft boiled egg and some yogurt. The typical meal is just enough to keep you feeling less hungry, but not overstuffed.
Here in the United States, too many restaurants believe in overstuffing their customers. Unlike many European restaurants, we Americans are allowed to take things home in a “doggie bag” or “to go” container. In many European restaurants, if you don’t finish your food, well, too bad, it will be thrown out. Generally they do not give you “to go” containers. You may even take the chances of insulting the Chef if you don’t finish your food. They might think you did not like your meal, or something else was not to like. It’s better just to come hungry and eat all that you can.
The Swiss are great at cooking light recipes. Bircher Muesli, is the perfect example of a tasty, light recipe. It is basically chilled oatmeal with fresh fruit slices of oranges, apples and even raisins. Not only does it taste great, but it’s a healthy way to start the day. It will give you tons of energy and is very low in calories. For lunch, you could try a Sausage salad, otherwise known as Wurstsalat. It may sound like a heavy meal, but it is actually quite light. You can always use thinner slices of sausage, if you don't feel that hungry. Just like any salad, you can use as much or as little sausage as you would like. I generally cut enough just to cover the top of the salad and leave the rest for onion slices, pickles, lettuce and other ingredients.
Staying healthy does not mean you have to throw out flavor. There are several recipes that are low fat and tasty. If you are into cooking light recipes, and want to try something new, you may consider Swiss Recipes. There are dozens of great Swiss Cooking websites and recipes to be found online. Here are a few:
- http://swisscookbook.com
- http://www.about.ch/culture/food/wurstsalat.html
- http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=15,187
- http://homecooking.about.com/b/2009/07/07/swiss-cheese-recipes-hole-y-delicious.htm
When it comes to making your own food, you can choose to cook light and cook healthy. Choose your ingredients correctly and you will always have delicious, healthy meals that you will love.