Farmington West Provident Living

Eggs are one of those things that we use almost every day (unless you have egg allergies but no worries we've got you covered at the end of this post.) I'm sure we have all had that experience where we are making something whether it be cookies, cake, or brownies and suddenly find we don't have enough eggs.  Then we are forced to go to the store or borrow from a neighbor.  Wouldn't it be nice if you never really had to worry about running out of eggs?!! Aside from getting chickens, which some of us have, the other alternative is to get them in powdered form, either dehydrated or freeze dried.     There are a few versions of powdered eggs: whole eggs, egg whites, and scrambled eggs, so make sure you pay special attention to what you are actually buying.  Scrambled eggs are just that, eggs that have been scrambled sometimes by themselves and other times with things added in and then they are dehydrated or freeze dried. These are not the type of eggs you want ...

Powdered milk has come a long way since we were kids.  Anyone who has ever tasted it and thought " I will never drink that no matter what!!", it might be time to revisit your stance on that.  There have been improvements to the process of creating powdered milk that have vastly improved the taste. Below are some quick facts about powdered milk and the difference between regular and instant.  If you would like a more comprehensive overview we put together this info sheet on powdered milk.      QUICK FACTS:        There is a big difference between Regular Nonfat Dry Milk and Instant Nonfat Dry Milk            Regular can be turned into a variety of milk products: cheese, yogurt, butter, evaporated, etc.       Instant is best used for drinkable applications: milk, hot cocoa, etc.      There are almost twice as many servings in Regular Nonfat Dry Milk as in Instant.   ...

It's summer time and what says "summer" more than camping and sitting around the campfire.  I have so many memories of sitting around the campfire with my family and telling stories, jokes, singing, and most of all just having good conversation.  The conversations are what I treasure most.  Lately I have been reading and listening to talks instead of other things, because lets face it, most of what is out there right now doesn't really bring me peace or happiness.  This week I saw a video based on a talk by Elder Gong from the October 2018 conference, titled "Campfires of Faith" , I also read some articles ( here , here and here ) and all of them had one central theme-faith through the hard times.   In the video, he talks about painting with Elder Richard G. Scott and a specific painting titled Campfire at Sunset that Elder Scott had painted.  It's beautiful and evokes a lot of emotion and thought.       Elder Gong said, " As we paint...

Did you know that there are 40,000 different varieties of rice? Each type of rice has its own taste, texture and properties, that make it work well with different cooking applications.  ANATOMY OF RICE    Each grain of rice is enclosed in a tough outer hull, or husk, that needs to be removed before it can be consumed. This layer is removed in all rice types.   Under the hull, the bran layer is  not  removed in all rice types such as brown, red, and black (forbidden) rice. The bran layer may be consumed, but it is often removed when further processing rice.  Once the bran and germ layers are removed, white rice remains. Known as the endosperm, this is the part of the rice that is most commonly consumed.  Found under the hull, the germ, or rice kernel, is nutrient-dense. Full of B vitamins, minerals, and proteins, it helps give rice its color and added nutritional benefits.    All rice contains 2 types of starch:  amylopectin and amyl...

 Faith, Family and Religious Freedom,  February 26, 2015, at the Fish Interfaith Center at Chapman University located in Orange, California

When you think of cooking with beans you probably think of the usuals like, chilis, baked beans, bean soup, and of course refried beans. But what else can you cook with beans or even bake? The good thing is no matter what the recipe calls for, for the most part, you can sub dry beans for canned beans and vice versa.  There is a great website out there called the Bean Institute and it has all things beans including several recipes and tips on how to use them. If you are just getting started with using dry beans they have a page that tells you how to prepare and cook your dry beans.  Honestly it is a treasure trove of bean knowledge.  A few years ago we did a bean class with some great recipes that will open your eyes as to the many ways to use beans even in cooking desserts. Tricia even made a pizza dough using beans and it was so good!!    Some of my favorite things to make with beans that are easy to freeze and have on hand are black bean quesadillas. Just ...

For a food that is incredibly nutritious and versatile in its uses, beans sure do get a bad wrap.  The reality is the more you eat beans the less likely you are to have the adverse effect that most people fear when eating beans.  Beans are actually incredibly good for your digestion and helps keep your GI tract healthy because of all the fiber that they contain.  It is recommended that the average adult consume about 25-38g of fiber a day (let's face it most of us don't get that), by eating a 1/2 cup of beans everyday you will get closer to achieving this goal and it will actually help your body adjust enough that you won't have the embarrassing side effects. The other great thing about beans is it is a good source of protein.  By replacing beans for whatever other meat you would have normally eaten that day you will reduce your overall cholesterol, sodium, saturated and trans fat intake.      So how do dry beans and canned beans stack up against each ...

If you have ever bought some freeze dried fruits or vegetables thinking they would be great in an emergency, but now find yourself wondering how to use them, this post is for you. Cooking with freeze dried foods is super simple and easy and requires far less water than you might think.  In fact there are some uses where you don't have to rehydrate at all. There is a little bit of a learning curve but hopefully this post will lessen the curve for most of you. Another great thing is that you can freeze dry pretty much everything so there is a huge variety of foods or pre-made meals that are available.      DRY USES- The best part of freeze-dried foods is that you can just eat them as they are (yes, even meat!).  Just pop them in your mouth and let them melt.  I really enjoy doing this with yogurt bites (greek yogurt ones are the best) and any type of fruit. Freeze dried meats and all meals are cooked before they are freeze dried so you don't have to worry abo...