Dirty Dishes? How Your Dishwasher Might be the Problem

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Have you ever opened your dishwasher, only to find a stack of dirty dishes? Dishwashers are designed to make our lives easier, but when they stop working correctly they can leave us with our hands full!

More households than ever before rely on a dishwasher to clean their dishes, with dishwashers found in as much as 46% households. It’s far from uncommon for your dishwasher to fail to clean dishes properly. Below, we’ve listed four common reasons for your dishwasher to fail to fully clean its contents, from blockages and valve damage to issues with your water temperature or pre-washing process.

Failing water inlet valve

Dishwashers have an inlet valve that controls the flow of water into the dishwasher. Over time, this valve can become worn out and less durable than normal. After a lot of wear, it’s possible that the valve can fail, preventing water from flowing into the dishwasher effectively.

Most of time, a failing water inlet valve will start to become noisy, creating a tapping sound that you should be able to notice while your dishwasher is operating. The solution: for this problem, you’ll need to call in the experts to have the valve replaced and the dishwasher repaired.

Inadequate water flow

Even if your dishwasher’s water inlet valve is working properly, it’s possible that too little water is flowing into the machine from your home’s water supply.

If you have low water pressure at home, this could affect your dishwasher. It’s also possible that the pipe supplying water to the dishwasher could be blocked, reducing the pressure and holding back water that should be flowing in.

In either case, you can check this problem by opening your dishwasher door during the washing cycle, just after it’s finished filling with water. If the water line isn’t above the heating coil, there’s simply not enough water inside for the dishwasher to function correctly.

Overly low water temperature

Your dishwasher needs hot water to be able to soften food waste and other debris that’s stuck on your dishes. Even with the right amount of water and detergent, a lack of heat can make it impossible for even the most powerful dishwasher to get rid of stubborn food scraps.

Just like inadequate water flow, this usually isn’t a problem with your water heater. Instead, it’s usually caused by setting the water temperature on your boiler too low. To check, use a thermometer to check the temperature of your hot water as it comes out of the tap. If it’s not between 50°C and 65°C, it’s probably not hot enough to soften any leftover food scraps on your dishes.

Not enough pre-washing

While your dishwasher should be more than powerful enough to clean away most food waste, it isn’t a piece of magic technology. If you put plates with lots of firm food waste stuck to to them in your dishwasher, there’s a good chance it won’t be strong enough to completely wash it away.

To get the best results from your dishwasher, try pre-washing your dishes before you put them inside. This is particularly important for dishes covered in food waste that can harden, such as rice, porridge and other starches, as well as some sauces. It also helps to use the right type of detergent. If you still see food waste on your dishes after pre-washing, consider trying a more powerful detergent that’s better suited to loosening food waste.

Easy Ways to Cook Healthy Food

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Cooking food at home is definitely the way to go if you truly want to be as healthy as you can be, here are some easy ideas that will make this process a breeze!

If you regularly eat food from restaurants, you will find it very difficult to lead a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in any meaningful way. Part of this has to do with the fast cooking methods that are used, methods that imbibe your food with highly damaging elements that will be a serious burden on your health. Cooking food at home is definitely the way to go if you truly want to be as healthy as you can be, and there are tons of easy recipes like simple low calorie tuna salad, chicken wraps, and more! Almost 90% of people you see around you do visit the gym a couple times in the week just to keep fit; but some of these people do visit the gym consecutively for the whole week just to keep fit and exercise of course. BUT – it’s not enough if you don’t eat a healthy diet either.

These are some ways in which you can make the food you cook at home a bit healthier for everyone that might be eating it as well as becoming a better home cook the easy way!

Make Low Fat Sauces

Cooking healthy food does not necessarily mean that you will have to eat bland offerings regularly, you just need to cut down on the aspects of your meals that are contributing the most to the fact that they are truly unhealthy. For example, you don’t have to stop eating pasta. Indeed, pasta can be a delicious meal that can leave you feeling nice and full therefore preventing mid meal snacking which can be a huge cause of unintentional and often uncontrollable weight loss. It’s not the pasta itself which is bad for you, it is the other things you add to it.

Sauces are a great way to flavor your foods and they add a delicious element to your meals that would make you truly enjoy them. That being said, if your sauces are full of cream, cheese and butter, they won’t be very food for you. Using the pasta example once again, making a light tomato based sauce would be a much better idea. You would get a delicious meal without any of the unhealthy ingredients that are full of saturated fat.

Change Your Cooking Style

Chicken in and of itself is not an unhealthy food. Indeed, it can be a perfectly healthy way to fill up your stomach and give your body some much needed protein. However, deep fried chicken is definitely not good for you at all. So what is the difference here between the same pieces of meat, why is one healthy while the other is so terrible for you? A lot of this has to do with the manner in which the chicken has been cooked. Deep frying soaks the chicken in unhealthy fat which is why you should avoid it as much as possible.

However, if you were to grill your chicken, not only would it still be absolutely delicious but it wouldn’t be nearly as unhealthy as the alternative. Steaming is also a great way to cook your food without making it bad for you, although steamed chicken might not taste all that great. If you really want fried chicken, there are alternative frying methods that you can opt for instead of deep frying. Shallow frying is not exactly the best way to cook your food healthily but it is miles better than deep frying and often results in absolutely delicious chicken. If you want to avoid oil completely and still fry your food, air frying is a great option that you can think about.

Use a Meal Prep Service

One of the most difficult aspects of eating in a truly healthy manner has to do with the fact that you might not know exactly what you want to cook on any given day. Making choices like this can be so hard that you might retreat to the same old comfortable options you are used to, options that are not exactly well known for being healthful in any serious way. You can opt for a healthy meal prep delivery service to help yourself out in this regard. These meal prep services will give you all the ingredients you need for your meal along with a recipe that will tell you how to cook your meal. This is certainly going to make the cooking process far easier than it would have been otherwise, and will give you a plan that you can follow in your quest to eat healthier food.

How To Turn Your Simple Recipe Into A New And Fun Cakes

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Spice up your cake baking by turning a simple recipe into a whole other ball game. Here’s how!

Baking is fun but believe me no matter how much tasty your cake is, if you keep repeating the same recipe of plain old cake, after a certain time, your kids will be like “Again??!!”. It is going to be really frustrating experience that after all the effort and love you put into it, no one is appreciating it because its just your simple old recipe.

There doesn’t have to be a magic trick to make things better. It just lies in simple ways that can be used to make your kids believe that you have made something new. Before we look into tricks that you can play on your cake, let me share my favourite cake recipe that never fails.

The Simple Cake Recipe

I first came across this recipe in the book that offers 1 cake mix that you can turn into 100 amazing recipes. This is a flawless recipe that has never gone wrong. Here are the ingredients:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees before you start mixing the ingredients.
  2. Take 6 ounces of plain flour with one table spoon of baking powder. Sift and mix well.
  3. Add 3 eggs (beaten), 6 ounces of sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional), 6 ounces of softened butter. Mix all these well.
  4. When the mixture is smooth, add 2 tablespoons of milk.
  5. Pour this mixture into prepared tin and bake on 180 degrees for 35 minutes or until baked well.
  6. Let it cool down before you try your luck at decorating the cake.

I have tried more than half of variations of cakes in this book, and none of those cakes have turned out poorly. So, try them and you will like them too.

Get geared up for a picnic. Bake your cake, decorate it with love, get a Chick-fil-A Original Biscuit and you are all set for a wonderful treat.

How to turn cakes into amazing ones

The good thing about turning cakes into fun ideas is that everyone is going to like it. If you think you do not have what it takes to make awesome ones, then remember the adage of practice makes a man (even a woman) perfect.

  • Buy food colour:

There are so many things that you can do with food colour. It definitely makes the cake’s appearance more appealing.

  • Use allspice:

Not all cakes have to be full of sugar; instead you can tantalize your senses with allspice or such ingredients that you don’t normally use in your recipes.

  • Experiment with fruits:

Fruits should be an essential part of your diet, and there is no easier way of increasing your kids’ intake of fruits than to put them in cakes.

There are countless ways that you can play around with icing; try it and it will get better with each time.

  • Buy a piping cone:

Piping cone comes in handy when you are trying cake decorations; start off with one piping cone and you will love the results.

  • Buy good quality biscuits:

You can use some good quality biscuits in your recipe or for decoration; you can try different shapes and sizes.

  • Try colourful MnM:

MnM are a simple trick of making any cake irresistible.

  • Dust with sugar:

Even if you are in a hurry, simply dust your cake with sugar and you are all set to go!

  • Try funky candles:

When you go out to buy candles next time, shun the traditional cakes and buy some different type to decorate your cake.

  • Go pro:

If you feel confident enough, you can experiment with buttercream and sugar paste; they definitely yield better results.

  • Stick candies everywhere:

If you are out of ideas to decorate candies, you can utilize candies, and stick them all over your cake to make it look fun and appealing.

  • Edible flowers:

If you think you will not be able to do justice to any cake frosting, you can purchase edible flowers and use them to decorate the cakes. There are endless varieties available with different shapes, colours and sizes.

  • Use nuts:

Using nuts in your recipe is a great way of giving it a new flavour and extra nutrients. You can use any nuts according to your preference.

Once you have tried your hand on a few ideas, then you can check online for more cake decorating ideas that you can try. It doesn’t have to be a Master Chef style wedding cake, but you can start off with simple ones and master the art of decorating the cakes.

Baking is an art that comes with practice. Do not be disheartened if your cake decoration looks miserable compared to the recipe you have seen online. Trust us, it gets better with practice.

Easy Wheat Germ Cherry Muffins – Old Original Recipe!

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These wheat germ muffins really bring back childhood memories. I finally found the original recipe from an old recipe book. Take a look!

Wheat germ muffins are one thing my grandmother always used to make and bring back tons of childhood memories when food used to be made of simple, and real ingredients. It’s hard finding recipes that use original and traditional ingredients instead of being packed with sugar, sweeteners and cheap flour. I finally managed to find this recipe in an old cook book of my mothers. These cherry wheat germ muffins are super easy to make and taste delicious. 

You can follow the recipe below and add a cup or two of cherries, however much you like. You can also add raisins instead or even try with blueberries. This recipe is very versatile, so the choice is yours. Hope you enjoy! Let me know in the comments if you miss these old-school recipes… I sure do!

4 Great Christmas Gifts for Foodies

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Do you have friends that love food? Here are some delicious Christmas gift ideas for foodie friends!

We all one or two foodies in our lives. They can be family or friends, but there is always someone who takes their time taking pictures of their and everyone’s meals before it is eaten. They always know the trendiest foods to eat and where the hottest restaurants and off the wall food joints are located. If you are still thinking of what to gift the special foodie in your life, here are some great food ideas that will add some sparkle this Christmas to your gifts! 

Homemade Dessert

Who does not like some great dessert? They are the perfect treat for a less than stellar day or just something to end your meal with. Show your love for your foodie friend by making them a dessert yourself. It would be great if you can temper your own chocolate to create some delectable treats. Start with some good quality chocolate like Santa Barbara Chocolate, a wholesale gourmet chocolate supplier. And because you bought in bulk, you will have enough chocolate to make gifts not just for your foodie friends but everyone else! And you may even have enough to have a secret stash of Christmas biscuits that you can get from any time you need a pick-me-up snack.

Food Trails by Lonely Planet 

Got a foodie friend who wants to try more than just the trendiest restaurants in your town, get them this book. There’s no better source than the Lonely Planet. And with Food Trails, you’ll get a guide to some of the best places in the world to get the best food. You get not just a map and a simple guide to the place, but you’ll see gorgeous photographs and some of the best writing that will definitely pique your interest and get your foodie friend already packing their bags in their head and planning their food adventure.

Snackoo Box

Here’s a good unique idea for a foodie. You might think that subscription boxes are already overrated, but this one is a great choice. If you have a foodie friend who seems to like snacks that have an Asian flavor to it, choose a Snackoo Box. You’ll find flavors from countries in East Asia like Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China and more. While you’ll get the usual and popular brands like Pocky, Meiji and Calbee, expect to also see some unique snack items that their team has personally handpicked. Or you can opt in for something delicious and unique like a flower bouquet made from beef jerky from the Awesome Gifts Company.

Ceramic Knife Set

While not all foodies are proclaimed chefs in the kitchen, you might know someone who has translated their love for eating to also creating their own meals for their friends and families. And any good chef will tell you that a well-made knife is essential for any person who loves to cook. For those who like to cook even when going on a road trip or a vacation, a ceramic knife would be a great gift so that they no longer need to use dull knives when going camping or the like.

7 Tips to Make Your Kitchen Better

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 Give your kitchen a makeover with our simple, easy, and budget-friendly kitchen decorating ideas!


Designed By: Craig Veenker

Once in a while, your kitchen needs some improvement. As time goes on, you might discover you need more functionality, a better way to stay organized or some features of your kitchen just need updating. This article will show you 7 tips to make your kitchen better, whether your kitchen is for family or commercial use.

Freshen Up Your Cabinets

However, here are a few simple, affordable ideas to do to your cabinets. One idea is to paint your doors or the entire cabinets a totally different color. Another idea is to replace the pulls and knobs on the doors. One last option is to simply take the doors off and have and open shelf look.

Get Organized – Or Reorganized

A kitchen can easily become a haven for clutter. Some storage areas become catch-all’s for unnecessary stuff. You can start by first thinking about what you actually need. Then try to gain some space back by getting rid of clutter. If that is not enough, find some storage choices that will help you get organized.

“Light” Your Way to a Better Kitchen

It may be time to say goodbye to the old lighting scheme. More and more people are switching to LED lighting. It costs more upfront, but in the long run, it will pay for itself. If you can’t afford to modify your wiring, consider an LED fixture. The cord is already installed. All you need to do is hang it with the included chains, and plug it in.

Shut the Valve On Your Old Faucet

Replacing your kitchen faucet can make a huge improvement. It will give your kitchen a new look, and the water bill savings are sure to manifest themselves in due time. Many people okay with the DIY option for replacing the faucet. However, if you’re not comfortable, it’s also okay to get help.

Unique Countertop Improvements

If your countertops are worn, you could replace them with recycled glass countertops – if your budget allows it. But some have found a way to conceal the small, but obvious damaged spots. For laminate tops, you can get a touch up kit from a countertop manufacturer. Or you could just hide it. Microwave ovens could work well here if your top has the room.

Use An Area Rug For Accent

You could take a long, narrow runner and place it by an opening to another room, on the kitchen floor. If you have your dining table in the kitchen, place the table, chairs and all, over an area rug that will accommodate the arrangement.Be careful when choosing. You’ll want to avoid these mistakes when choosing a rug.

Install a Backsplash

Consider subway tile as a replacement. It’s inexpensive and looks great.This is a very common DIY project. Those who have attempted it have been pleased with the improvement to the kitchen, sand gratified by the experience.

Summary

We hope you found this article helpful and were able to find a good idea to make your kitchen better.

Turn Your Love for Baking into a Business

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Are you passionate about baking? Why wouldn’t you want to turn your passion into a profitable business then!

This may sound complicated at first, but with a good plan, everything is possible. Let’s take a look at a few interesting ideas, and some useful advice which we’ve singled out for you.

What are the pros and cons?

First things first, you should weigh all the pros and cons of turning your baking hobby into a business before you make your final decision. For example, one of the obvious advantages of doing this is that you’ll be able to do something that you really enjoy. On top of that, you already have a lot of experience which will make the job a piece of cake. However, don’t forget that all food-related businesses require numerous licenses. Additionally, keep in mind that, unlike at home, you’ll have to deal with tough competitors and give your maximum to outshine them.

What baked goods will you sell?

Once you’ve decided to embark on this business journey, you must make sure to set clear goals and decide on what kind of baked goods you want to sell. It’s highly advisable to start small and choose a few products that will become your trademark. Once you’ve attracted customers and expanded your business, it will be much easier to experiment further with new ideas and come up with more innovative recipes. Lastly, don’t forget to pay attention to decoration as well since this detail can turn an ordinary-looking pastry into a true work of art.

Invest in quality equipment

Another crucial step in this process is investing in quality equipment. With them, you’ll be able to produce bigger quantities of your baking goods and thus stay ahead of your competition. For example, combination weighers from Yamato will help you pack your products efficiently and thus further improve your business. Additionally, don’t hesitate to invest in other essential gadgets, such as cooling racks, mixers, food processors, and pastry brushes that will make your job much easier.

Come up with a solid marketing plan

You may be a master chef, but if you don’t advertise your business properly, don’t be surprised if things don’t end up the way you imagined. So, instead of waiting for potential customers to discover you on their own, you can start by printing flyers and distributing them in your neighborhood.

Additionally, don’t forget the power of social media, like Facebook and Instagram, where you can set up your business profile. Of course, just doing this is not enough if you don’t make sure that your page is transparent and that it contains all the necessary information about your baking goods. Finally, in case you feel that you could use some help, feel free to contact experienced marketing agents that can do an amazing job for your new business.

Determine the right prices

Finally, determining the right prices for your goods may be tricky especially if you don’t have any experience in sales. However, there are a few tricks that can help you out. For example, checking out your competition is a great start and can help you realize what the reasonable prices for this kind of products are. On top of that, lowering your prices in comparison to theirs or making two-for-one deals is a great way to divert customers from other businesses towards yours.

As you can see, turning your passion into a business can be a fun experience. You just need to come up with a good plan and a marketing strategy, as well as be open to accept professional help. Finally, make sure to be innovative and unique since that’s the true key to success.