The best vegetables to steam are those you're going to eat. Okay, we can get a little more detailed than that!
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Steaming vegetables is the lowest calorie and highest nutrition way that you can prepare your food. In other cooking methods, like frying or baking, you're going to be putting oil in the pan to stop your food from sticking--oil adds a lot of calories to an otherwise low calorie meal! And cooking them in these ways leeches the nutrients out of your food. Steaming keeps these nutrients in, and does it without adding unnecessary calories.
You can steam most vegetables, but they're all going to have different cooking times. This is something that is very important to keep in mind when you go to prepare your food. There are electric appliance options these days that have multiple tiered baskets that allow you to cook different foods for different periods of time, and these devices will be extremely handy if you plan on cooking multiple foods at once. Also, always keep in mind that you want them to be able the same size. When preparing your items wash them and make sure they're approximately the same size so that they will all get a good even cooking.
The most popular vegetables to steam are probably green ones. Asparagus, broccoli, green beans, and peas come immediately to mind. Another great green suggestion is brussel sprouts. A lot of people have bad feelings about them, but it's because they've been eating them overcooked! A properly prepared sprout will have a nutty flavor that may surprise you. When cooking a green food item, a good tip is to watch them while they cook. You'll see how they start turning a brighter shade, eventually this week peak, and then it will start getting dark and becoming mushy (overcooked). Once you've done this a few times you'll get a better instinctual feel for when this peak time is, until them, stick to cooking times and watch them as they go.
New potatoes are a great food item to put in a steamer! Potatoes have higher calorie counts, so they really benefit from the lack of added calories. Depending on your potatoes size, cutting it up into fourths is a good way to go for cooking size.
Other great ideas include red peppers cut into strips, eggplant cut into strips, sliced zucchini or yellow squash, carrots, cauliflower, bok choy, and mushrooms.
I'm about to tell you the secret to one of the most important questions of our time and the question is, "What are the best specialty coffee shops near you?" A lot of people would have a Starbucks at the top of their list. If you use sales to decide which is the best one, it's hard to make a case against Starbucks as the best. But every coffee drinker knows the best coffee shop is decided by the one that has that cup of java that tastes so good and makes you feel great. A good cup of coffee can take you to your own little paradise. A personal best coffee shop is like a place of worship for some. So let's talk about it. What's the best specialty coffee shop near you?
Starbucks Coffee
Starbucks, like most specialty coffee shops, has a huge variety of flavored and iced drinks. In addition to Starbucks freshly brewed dark roast, the Starbucks drink menu includes, Evolution Fresh Cold-Pressed Juice, hot chocolate, smoothies, iced tea, Espresso, Fizio Handcrafted Sodas, bottled drinks, Frappuccino Blended Beverages, and iced coffee. Starbucks customers really love having their favorite cup and conversation with friends inside the stores trendy decor. Starbucks is one of the largest and best-known chains in the country and a favorite of everyone from Baby-Boomers to Millennials.
Dunkin Donuts Coffee
It's not fair. Drinking Dunkin Donuts Coffee and eating Dunkin Donuts might put Dunkin Donuts on a lot of peoples favorite specialty coffee shop list. I mean, who doesn't love a good donut. But there's a Dunkin store in the airport where I work and when I'm able to resist buying donuts I really enjoy Dunkin coffee all by itself. At the end of the day, Dunkin Donuts understands that it's a donut shop. So the coffee is meant to be a great compliment to their pastries. Oh, and it's always regular with 3 cream and 3 Splenda for me. For some reason dark roast tears my stomach up. But Dunkin has taken a lot of my coworkers to their own little happy place like not many other things can thank God.
Krispy-Kreme Coffee
Wait a minute! What are a couple of donut shops doing on a list of the best specialty coffee shops Well, these days every store that sells coffee claims to have their own special brew. That includes Krispy-Kreme. The mega success of chains like Starbucks has caused Krispy-Kreme and others to put more into refining and marketing their Joe as special brews. Krispy-Kreme may be David versus Goliath, but Krispy-Kreme customers love their Joe along with a hot Krispy-Kreme donut. Cheaters! Actually, Krispy-Kreme is taking their coffee to the streets. You can find it on store shelves in Keurig K-Cups for Kuerig Brewing Systems. Krispy-Kreme is sold right alongside Dunkin, and Green Mountain K-Cups in your favorite supermarket.
Yes, some folk will tell you that Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy-Kreme donuts are some of the best specialty coffee shops in the world. But the best specialty coffee shop in your world is wherever you get your favorite cup of Joe. We buy coffee at these shops and just about everywhere from Main Street USA to Wall Street. So leave a comment below to tell us about the best specialty shop in your town.
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