Healthy Kitchen Hacks #46

*Twister as a Tablecloth * How to Store Whole Grains * What’s the Difference Between Kosher Salt and Table Salt? * Beet Bread * How to Tell the Difference Between Hardboiled and Fresh Eggs*

Disclosure: I’m an adviser to the Egg Nutrition Board, but I’ve been eating – and loving eggs all my life. And so does my mom!

I’m on vacation in my home state of Montana this week with my parents, so I used Mom’s kitchen to test out this week’s #HealthyKitchenHacks

Here’s what I found…

1. Add Fun (and Activity) to Snack Time
@Carolyn O’Neil

My kids and I are master Twister players. Besides fun, we play for a bit of activity when it’s too hot (or cold) outside. So imagine their surprise when they found the Twister game was not on the floor – but Twister was the tablecloth. Ordinary snack time became fun time.

I got this colorful idea from my friend Caroline O’Neil. She also suggested using the spinner to add red, yellow, green and blue fruits and veggies to your plate.

And of course, an active game of Twister could still be played before or after snacks/meals – on the floor not the table 🙂

2. How to Store Whole Grains
@Cooking Light

According to the editors at Cooking Light magazine, the best place to store whole grains is in the freezer inside freezer bags. Oops. Previously, I’ve been storing millet, quinoa and wheat berries in the fridge. But they’ve all been moved. I also helped Mom move her brown rice and barley in right next to her ice cubes (see above)!

And so you don’t forget what’s in those freezer bags, use my #HealthyKitchenHacks for freezer organization.

3. How is Kosher Salt Different from Table Salt?
Chef John @Food Wishes

Do you know the difference between kosher salt and regular iodized table salt?

Chef John’s YouTube video explains how an equal volume of kosher salt and table salt can vary widely in their actual weight. For example, 1/4 cup of kosher salt weighs 39 grams while 1/4 cup of table salt weighs 76 grams.

So for those wanting to cut down on their salt intake, using kosher salt could be a great trick. Here’s where I’d recommend kosher salt:

• Salad dressings: Replace the recipe-called-for amount of table salt with kosher salt
• Savory recipes: For meat, fish, veggie or other savory recipes, using kosher salt is a good idea
• A salt shaker: I now fill my shaker with kosher salt. Yes, plenty of the larger grains still fit through the shaker holes – although no one in my family has noticed the difference!

4. A New Way to Enjoy Shredded Beets
Anna @Hidden Ponies

The only way my kids will eat beets is in this shredded Beet & Apple Salad with a sweet orange dressing. Then I saw Anna’s Carrot & Beet Muffin recipe, originally based on her zucchini muffin recipe.

So I tried swapping out the 3 cups of zucchini in my favorite Zucchini Bread recipe for 3 cups of beets. The result >> A super yummy snack bread that looked gorgeous with bright jewel tone shreds of beets.

However, shredded zucchini is much moister than shredded beets; plus I subbed 1 cup whole wheat white flour for 1 cup all-purpose flour; so my first crack at this recipe lacked moisture – resulting in a low-rising bread even though it was delish! When I make it again, I’ll add a few tablespoons of milk.

Bottomline: You can replace most or all the shredded zucchini in your favorite zucchini bread/muffin recipe with shredded beets. (You may have to tinker with the liquid a bit.) The best way to store whole grains + 4 more #HealthyKitchenHacks via @TspCurry Click To Tweet

5. How to Identify Hardboiled vs. Fresh Eggs

This was an aha moment for me. For years I’ve tried to find a way to identify hardboiled eggs vs. fresh eggs in my fridge. Usually I just put a bowl of hardboiled eggs ‘front and center’ so the kids and I see see this healthy snack option first. But occasionally the bowl gets knocked over and the eggs go rolling…and cracking.

But when I opened the egg carton in the very organized fridge of my mom, I found she simply labeled the hardboiled eggs with a pencil “HB”. Duh! And there they stayed, safely tucked away in a protected carton.

(Yes, I know you can also try the wobbly egg trick with your kids, which is fun. But usually I just want to grab the right type of egg quickly!)

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Would you try any of these hacks? Do you have any healthy kitchen or healthy living shortcuts to share? Shoot us an email (or share in comments below and we’ll try them out.)