Olive oil gives the best results in terms of healthy food when it is used uncooked or in very mildly heated state. The olive oil recipes mostly include the salads and dips which are used either as side serve or as the starting course of the meal. There are various ways to use it for cooking healthy food and get more nutrients packed into a meal. Some of these ways are:

Dressing of a Salad: You can bind into the oil some spices like paprika, mustard seeds powder or healthy salt and fold the raw or half-boiled vegetables into it. This makes salad very delightful to taste by adding more flavors. The dressing is certainly less fatty than the ones made of cream or other oils. Thus, the very purpose of eating salads, which is cutting the fat from the food, is met tastefully with the use of olive oil as a dressing.

For more acidic flavor in the salads, the olive oil can be combined with rice vinegar, fruit vinegar, champagne vinegar and etc. For making two cups of salad, amount recommended is one tablespoon of olive oil. The vinegar and juices (orange or lime) are also used in combination with the olive oil to make tangier tasting salads. Vinegar and juices are shaken together first, then the olive oil as recommended in healthy recipes is added slowly. To keep the fat content low, the care is taken not to douse the vegetables or fruits into the oil but only as a dressing.

As a Sauteing Medium: There are various recipes in which the vegetables are half-boiled and then sauteed or stir-fried for a crunchier texture. Olive oil is best for cooking where sauteing is involved. It not only sticks to the vegetables nicely; it does not burn so easily too. Thus, the sauteed vegetables will have natural flavor intact and the healthiness of the oil will come as a bonus for the lovers of healthy food.

As a pickling agent for Storing Vegetables: Preserving vegetables is a nice option when you want ready ingredients to fix a quick dish for that hunger pang. If you have taken ample care while pickling the vegetables, olive can act as a trusted medium for using vegetables even a week apart. For pickling purposes, two parts and one part vinegar are mixed together. Salt and pepper are added to it. This works as great preserving agent. You can use vegetables like avocados, carrots, cabbage and broccoli nicely blanched and fold them in the olive oil and vinegar and leave them for margination. The vegetables marinated this way can be taken out for stir-frying or used as filling for sandwich when needed. The shelf-life of this pickling method is about a week.

So, when you need to have little bit of oil in your healthy food, you can switch to olive oil. This oil, high in anti-oxidants and minerals has lots to offer in terms of health and taste. Well-known as an excellent source of healthy fats, the olive oil is a very versatile ingredient which when used in everyday recipes helps to elevate their flavor.

One of the best things about cooking, is that whether you are not so great at it or a cooking virtuoso, you can benefit from recipes and great cooking tips. Anyone can follow a recipe and implement tips. Whether you think you’re a great chef or if you think that you can’t cook at all, here are a few cooking tips you can use today.

Get the most juice out of lemons. Fresh lemon juice is much more tasty than the kind that comes out of a bottle, but it is sometimes surprising how little juice you can get out of a lemon. Heat the lemon in a microwave for 20 seconds on high power. Then, roll the lemon on your cutting board using as much pressure as possible. This way, you will get about twice the amount of juice out of the lemon, and your dish will be much more flavorful!

You can save a lot of money by buying potatoes for your favorite dishes in larger quantities. Make sure you store them in a cool dark place (preferably in a root cellar). Place them in a crate loosely and keep the storage temperature between 45 and 50 degrees F. Avoid storing them in the refrigerator as they become sweet.

Cooked turkey freezes beautifully, as does stuffing. When making a big holiday meal, be sure and make plenty so you not only have enough for turkey sandwiches, but to enjoy another turkey dinner in a month or two, without all of the work. Use a spare 9″ X 13″ pan that you line and divide with aluminum foil into two or three compartments. Cut some turkey for one compartment, add some stuffing in another and if you would like, leftover mashed potatoes can be put in the third compartment. Drizzle some gravy over everything you desire, cover with aluminum foil and freeze. When ready to enjoy turkey again, or perhaps when pressed for time and out of ideas for dinner, grab the pan from the freezer and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Remove the foil from the top of the pan after 45 minutes, bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes and enjoy!

Cooking can be a joy if you invest in a good, sizable cutting board able to handle all of your cutting and chopping needs. If a butcher block table is out of the budget, look for a durable bamboo or sturdy maple for the job. A cutting board with a recessed groove surrounding the cutting surface is handy to catch juices from carving meats and makes clean up easy. If you will be using a cutting board on a smooth surface, look for one with rubber feet to avoid slipping. Maintain your cutting board with food-grade mineral oil (vegetable and olive oils can turn rancid) and make sure that you properly clean, and more importantly, dry your cutting board after each use to prevent warping.

Cooking is not something you stop learning. You eat every day of your life, so you can use cooking skills every day of your life. What you learn about cooking today, you can use forever. Use these tips to boost your cooking skills and put your own spin on them, to make everyday eating a pleasure.