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For the uninitiated, MSG stands for monosodium glutamate. It is found in food items such as instant popcorn and even in the pizza that you order for dinner. Many Chinese recipes use Ajinomoto, which is MSG with a different name. Its primary function is to act as a food additive and flavor enhancer.

This is a kind of sodium salt and is dangerous to consume for babies less than one year of age. It is not any good for us adults either as it can worsen the asthmatic symptoms in a person.

So make a healthy choice and don’t consume foods that contain MSG!

Lemons are a great source of Vitamin C. Your daily food intake must include at least one slice of freshly cut lemon. This will help in enhancing your resistance power to minor illnesses such as common cold.

Remember that a lemon must be used fresh only. Don’t cut it into pieces or extract its juice to store for a long time. Though buying lemon juice off the shelf is convenient, it does not contain all the nutrients that fresh lemon juice will have. It might have preservatives as well.

So stock up on lemons when you visit the greengrocer today!

We all can easily make out the stale veggies and fruits from the fresh ones. But how many of us take care to check the expiration date or ‘best before’ date when we buy packaged food?

All food items, whether fried or non-fried, have a certain time limit in which they need to be consumed. After that date, it is risky for your health if you eat such a food product. It might cause indigestion or have other side effects.

So check the expiry date every time you buy frozen food or ice-cream or any food item and finish it before that date!

For a balanced diet, all of us need to follow the food pyramid. But are you aware what a food pyramid is?

A food pyramid is a symbolic representation of the various kinds of food that should be included in our diet and their proportion too. The bottom has wheat breads, cereal and rice items that should be consumed majorly, followed by vegetables and fruits. Then you have the dairy and meat groups that support the above food items.

Obviously enough, all junk food like biscuits, pastries and chips must be consumed sparingly and they feature on the tip of the pyramid.

I have heard about many men and women who have sudden food cravings in some part of the day. Then such people resort to eating chocolates or any other snack.

They binge on food and feel better. But are they really hungry? Does their body need those extra calories? The people who do this never seem to think about it as much as we do. Research suggests that such people suffer from some sort of depression and find food to be comforting.

If you know of somebody who has such a problem, try and help them out by taking them to a counselor!

I know there are many like me who start getting watery eyes when they are chopping onions! Especially in summer time, this can be very irritating too. I will share this nice tip that you can use next time.

Place onions in the fridge for about half an hour before you actually cut them. So when you start chopping, the fumes released by the onion are greatly reduced and you don’t appear to be crying while doing the job. Now you can have a nice time cooking with onions!

Of course, you can also use the food processor for a no-tears onion cutting task!

I am sure you too are amazed by the glossy photographs of various recipes in food magazines. They are so tempting that I feel like having them right away! Who is the brain behind all this?

There are professional food stylists and photographers who are trained in this art of capturing images of that lovely recipe on camera. They make the food look attractive with their skills.

You can search for training courses for food photography on the internet and find out more about it. It can be a viable career option for those who wish to get a head start in the photography niche.

When you are traveling or going to a picnic you need to pack some food like sandwiches or chips with you. But simple plastic carry bags don’t suffice.

I use Ziploc brand bags for this purpose. You can seal them and the food also stays fresh. Another alternative is to use a cling wrap for veggies such as cabbage, broccoli or greens and store in the fridge. If you know a Tupperware distributor, buy some containers as they are made from a very good quality of plastic that does not react with the food inside.

Aluminum foils are good enough too.

Just like meats and spices, there are some rules that need to be adhered to while storing fruits and veggies. Most of the vegetables stay fresh at a room temperature of 45-55 degrees F.

Such vegetables are green beans, okra, English peas, bell peppers, green onions, celery, radishes, lettuce, parsley, cauliflower, broccoli, beans sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, collard greens, mustard greens and corn. Remember to store sweet and white potatoes in a dark place. Onions and green tomatoes can be stored at room temperature.

Get back to me if you know anything else about storing veggies or fruits. I will be waiting!

I have told you about how organic food and natural produce is good for health. But many are confused about where to find these in their neighborhood so I am giving you a link that can be used you can find one in your area. This is a small listing of the local organic food supermarkets that are being searched regularly on the Internet. It has the contact numbers and addresses of the supermarkets for you. It is as below:

http://www.food-storage-info.com/organicfoodsupermarkets.html

This is good news as it means more and more people have realized the importance of being health conscious and eco-friendly.