Healthy Diet and Recipes

How to make a Pineapple Fruit Cake.

This Fruit Cake has a great fruity flavor and the Pineapple makes it fairly moist.

It is also very easy to make, and suitable for almost every occasion, including using this recipe for making your Christmas cake.

My Mum used to make this Pineapple Fruit Cake for us when we were kids and she told me that her mum had made it for her and her brothers and sisters, so this fruit cake recipe has been around in our Family for many, many years.

My own family tell me that this Pineapple Fruit Cake is one of their favorite things that I cook for them but then I say "oh, yeah what about the Corn Flake Biscuits and the Lemon Pudding"

Ingredients.

These are the ingredients you will need for the Pineapple Fruit Cake.

* 1 x cup of sugar.
* 1 x 15oz (420grms.) can crushed pineapple.
* 2 x eggs.
* 1 x lb (45Ogrms) mixed fruit.
* 4 x ozs (110grms).butter.
* 1 x teaspoon bi-carb soda.
* 1 x teaspoon mixed spice.
* 1 cup sifted self raising flour.
* 1 x cup sifted plain flour.

Cooking Instructions.

1. Place Sugar, Pineapple, Mixed fruit, bi-carb, Spice and butter into a saucepan, mix it well with a wooden spoon. Bringing it to the boil slowly, boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool to almost cold.

2. Sift Self Raising Flour and Plain Flour together then add alternately with well beaten eggs in to the fruit mixture.Mix well with a wooden spoon to make sure all flour is well absorbed.

3. Grease and line bottom and sides of an 8 inch(20 cm) cake tin with either baking paper or brown paper.
Place mixture into tin, smoothing it to make sure it is even on top.

4. Bake in moderate oven for approx 1 1/4 hours, reduce heat to moderately slow and bake for a further 15 or 20 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean.


Remove the Pineapple Fruit Cake from the Oven

After taking it out of the oven place on a cooling rack and leave in tin for approx 15 minutes, then take it out of tin and place upside down until it has cooled a little, then up the right way again, it seems to cool evenly doing it that way.

Some variations that you may like to try.

* Raw sugar could be used in place of brown sugar.
* On this cake that I baked today I crushed Walnuts and sprinkled them on top before baking.
* Crushed almonds or almond slithers can also be used.
* Or just plain. It tastes good which ever way.

It is a lovely tasting fruit cake for any occasion, it could even make a nice and easy Christmas Cake,

I have never decorated a fruit cake, but you could if you like.

My family love this particular Fruit cake I hope you do too. :) :)

Simple Steps to Cooking Jams and Jellies

The summer is the perfect time to make your homemade jams and jellies. I make my jam every summer and give it out for holiday gifts, housewarmings, or any other fun occasion. It is a great gift and I always get many compliments for the jam. Plus, my family always has homemade jam for marinades, toast, PB&J, etc. The best part is that the process is quite simple.

This summer, I have made strawberry jam, blackberry jam, peach jam, triple berry (blackberry, raspberry and blueberry) jam, and strawberry-blueberry jam. Personally, I like the triple berry the best, but they all are very good.



Supplies You Need to Make Jam or Jelly

1. Jars and lids: There are 6 jar sizes to choose from. I prefer either the half pint (8oz) or pint (16oz) sizes. One batch of jam will fill around 4 pint jars or 8 half pint jars. The half pint jars are great for small gifts. There are two mouth sizes you can choose from as well. The mouth size is determined by the diameter of the jar opening. I like the wide mouth jars because of the aesthetics, but the regular mouth jars are easier to find. Either mouth size is fine. All jelly jars have a regular mouth size. Your jars and screw tops may be reused, but all lids must be new. If you have the jars, the lids can be bought separately.
2. A water bath canner or a very large stockpot for heating jam after it's ladled into jars: I use a 12 quart stock pot.
3. Large stockpot for cooking jam: I use an 8 qt. stock pot
4. Small saucepan for heating lids
5. Canning funnel: This isn't a necessity, but I highly recommend it. Cleaning really hot jam off of the sides of the jar before it's put in the water bath is not fun. The funnel allows you to ladle the jam into the jars without the mess.
6. Jar lifter: Also not a necessity, but a great utensil for lifting the jam out of the hot water bath. The funnel and jar lifter can be bought cheaply at Target.
7. Ladle and long spoon for stirring jam
8. Liquid and dry measuring cups
9. Mixing bowls for the fruit and sugar
10. Fresh fruit: You can use frozen and dried fruit, but fresh is the best
11. Sugar
12. Pectin: I have used both liquid and dry pectin and haven't seen any difference in my jam. I always buy extra pectin. It can be added to runny jam to thicken it. If your jam is overly ripe it can cause it to be runny.
13. Lemon: Some recipes call for adding lemon.

Prepare ahead of time...

I like to have everything ready before I start cooking the jam.

1. Wash lids, jars and bands in hot soapy water. After I have washed the jars, I put them in a rinse and hold cycle in my dishwasher to keep them warm. You want your jars warm when putting the hot jam in them so they don't break.

2. Simmer water in canner or large stockpot. There should be enough water that when jars are put in canner/stockpot there is one inch of water on top of the lids. I usually fill a little more than half of the stock pot.


3. Boil water in a small pot, take off of heat, place flat lids in pot, cover, and let stand until ready to use. Drain the lids well before using.

4. Prepare fruit as directed in chart below.

5. Measure sugar separately in a bowl and set aside. Reducing the amount of sugar can cause the jam not to set. You can try the low sugar fruit pectin recipes if you want to cut on sugar.

6. Cut open pectin and place in a cup next to the stove top.

Time to cook your jam! Jam Recipe

1. Place fruit and sugar in saucepan. I used a pastry blender or potato masher to mash my fruit before adding the sugar. Using a food processor breaks down the fruit's natural pectin and can cause the fruit to not set. Add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to reduce foam. All recipes that I have come across strongly advice you to not double the recipe. The setting of the jam can be tricky, and doubling the recipe can cause problems with your set.
2. Bring fruit and sugar to a FULL ROLLING BOIL on high heat and stirring constantly. This a boil that won't stop even when quickly stirring.
3. Add pectin and return to full boil. Stir constantly when boiling for exactly one minute.
4. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
5. Place hot jars on flat surface and quickly ladle jam into jars using the funnel. Be careful, jam should be extremely hot! Fill jars to within 1/8 of an inch of the top of the lid. Wipe jars and rims so that no jam is on the outside of the jar and place lid and bands on jars. Screw on bands tightly.
6. Place filled jam jars into the water bath canner or large stockpot with simmering water. Water must cover jars by 1-2 inches. You can always add boiling water if needed. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Process jams in boiling water for ten minutes. Adjust processing time based on your altitude. See chart below.
7. After processing for 10 minutes in water bath, remove jars with jar lifter and place upright jars on a towel to cool. After jars have cooled check seals by pressing on the middle of the lid with your finger. If lid springs back up, the jar didn't seal. The jam needs to be refrigerated and eaten soon. Many times you'll hear the lids make a popping sound. You know they sealed when you hear this!
8. Jams can take up to two weeks to set. Try not to move your jam for at least 24 hours to aid in the setting process.
9. Unopened jams can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Opened/unsealed jam must be refrigerated and can last up to 3 weeks.

The question of whether it is healthier to eat butter or margarine is a confusing one. One day research comes out proving that butter is a healthier choice, the next day another set of research proves that margarine is healthier. Professional tennis matches cause less whiplash!
Saturated Fat Vs. Trans Fat

The controversy is caused mainly by disagreement among experts about the health effects of several different types of fats, as well as cholesterol. The number of calories and the amount of total fat in butter and margarine is virtually the same.

Butter is made from cream. It is high in saturated fat, a type of naturally occurring fat found in most animal and some plant foods. Butter also has relatively high levels of cholesterol. High consumption of saturated fats is associated with higher levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and certain conditions, including heart disease.

Margarine is made primarily from vegetable oils that have been hydrogenized to make them solid. Margarine contains little or no cholesterol, but high levels of a type of unsaturated fat called trans fat. Small amounts of trans fats occur in some natural products (including butter) but in a different form than the trans fats produced by the process of hydrogenation.

In general, unsaturated fats, which are also found in liquid oils such as olive oil, are believed to be healthier than saturated fats. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that trans fats are actually worse for the body than saturated fats.

In 2007, a large study found that women with high levels of trans fats in their bodies had three times the risk of developing heart disease than women with low levels. Other studies have connected high trans fat consumption with increased risk of a number of different types of cancer, including breast cancer, and a number of other health conditions, including stroke, gallstones, and type 2 diabetes. Trans fats are also associated with reduced immune system functioning and lower breastmilk quality in breastfeeding mothers.

Finally, although margarine, unlike butter, contains no cholesterol, trans fats are known to raise levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, just like saturated fats. Unlike saturated fats, trans fats also appear to actually lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol.

The Benefits of Butter

If you like margarine, you can reduce the amount of trans fats by purchasing soft margarines. Margarine that comes in tub, rather than stick, form is less hydrogenated and contains lower levels of trans fats. Some tub margarines contain no trans fats at all. Unfortunately, soft margarine is not as good for cooking as stick margarine, so I suggest substituting olive oil or for stick margarine when possible and butter when not.

Despite its saturated fat and cholesterol levels, butter actually has a number of significant nutritional advantages over margarine.

* Butter is one of the best natural sources of vitamins A, D, and E. Vitamin A is important for healthy immune system function. Vitamins A and D both aid calcium absorption and help build strong bones and teeth and prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin E is an important anti-oxidant.
* As mentioned above, butter contains a naturally occurring trans fat called Conjugated Lineolic Acid (CLA) that, unlike its synthetic relatives, appears to offer many health benefits, including lower levels of obesity and higher bone density.
* Butter is a good source of iodine, which is necessary for the proper function of the thyroid gland, and selenium, another important anti-oxidant.
* Butter contains a type of fatty acid called glycospingolipids, which are important to proper digestive tract function, especially in young children.

Aside from its high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, the primary disadvantage of butter is that it concentrates hormones and pesticide residues consumed by the cow at levels 2-5 times the level found in liquid olive and vegetable oils. (Margarine also concentrates pesticide levels, but does not contain growth hormones.)

However, a healthier alternative is organic butter, preferably from cows that have been exclusively grass-fed. Studies have shown that dairy products from grass-fed cows are higher in many of the beneficial nutrients mentioned above than conventionally raised cows, and lower in saturated fat and cholesterol! Because grassfed butter is lower in saturated fat than conventionally raised butter, it is also softer and easier to spread. For more information about the health benefits of grassfed dairy products, and a directory of farms, please visit Eat Wild.

It is especially important to provide toddlers and young children with full fat, organic butter, because children are more susceptible to the harmful effects of trans fats and pesticide residues, yet fat (including saturated fat!) is very important to proper brain and body development in early childhood.

For adults, both margarine and butter have benefits and problems. However, I believe the nutrient-dense qualities of butter, especially grassfed butter, outweigh the disadvantages of higher saturated fat and cholesterol levels.