#many of them require carrots and celery too

[vegautistic]

I wanted to share our vegetable soup recipe because we made some last night and I’m still reeling from how good it was

Adjust proportions as needed or desired :)

Ours made enough for roughly 5 or 6 people, so definitely adjust as needed.

3 medium-large sweet potatoes (skin removed)

3 carrots (you don’t need to peel them)

4 tomatoes (skin on! Good nutrients.)

3 stalks of celery

1/2 an onion

3 red and/or yellow bell peppers (also skin on)

1 1/2 containers of vegetable stock, or whatever necessary for the desired consistency

As many cloves of garlic as your heart desires (I used 2 because I don’t really like garlic that much… 🧛🏾)

As much coconut milk as desired, or a different nondairy milk or cream. If you don’t want those, I’ve heard of people blending white beans to add creamy flavor, so you could try that.

Seasonings of choice

Chop produce into chunks, keeping them roughly the same size so they cook evenly.

Place them on a baking tray and lightly cover and toss them in oil. Or don’t, if you’re worried about too much oil (though, it may not brown as well).

Bake as 400°F until they’re fully cooked and browned on top.

Get a large pot and proceed to cook your garlic until nice and fragrant. An optional step we did this time, we cooked a little bit of green mango with the garlic.

After they’re cooked, add your cooked veggies to the pot with some of the vegetable stock and blend with an immersion blender until smooth, or desired consistency - if you don’t have an immersion blender, a blender or food processor might work. Although please be careful with blending hot food! Maybe wait until it cools.

Continue adding your veggie stock until it’s slightly thicker than desired - enough to add some of the milk/cream.

Season to taste - I added a little bit of seasoning salt, dried thyme, basil, and oregano, garlic & onion powder, pepper, and a little bit of curry powder (I definitely recommend the curry powder it was so so good)

Adjust seasonings and broth to taste, and when serving feel free to crack some black pepper on top. I served it with some fresh sourdough bread… enjoy :)

This recipe if very easy to change around, the only requirement is that everything is cooked through, so don’t worry too much about specifics.

[shitposthalf]

Hey, here's a little one pot rice cooker recipe that is really tasty and makes for an easy meal.

I'll show you the version I make first, then put explanations and variations under the cut.

Serves 1-2, depending on portion size

Ingredients:

-1/2 Cup Jasmine Rice -About 1 cup vegetable stock (I used homemade) -Approx 1 tablespoon soy sauce -Approx 2 teaspoons mirin seasoning -1 diced carrot (about a 1/2 cup) -Diced celery (about a 1/2 cup) -Frozen Peas (about a 1/2 cup) -Frozen Corn (about a 1/2 cup) -Diced bacon (add to hearts desire) -Shredded dried seaweed (add to hearts desire, mind amount based on how salty the stock, bacon, and soy sauce are) -Minced garlic (use to hearts desire, I used jarred)

Method:

Put 1/2 cup rice in rice cooker, rinse or not idc

Add in rest of ingredients. I like to add the liquids first then the dry ingredients

Cook in rice cooker with lid on (except for stirring occasionally to prevent sticking/burning) until rice has absorbed the stock, the carrots are soft, and the bacon is hot.

Enjoy. Explanation and variations under the cut.

Explanations/FAQ/Variations I guess?

Q. Why use so much stock? A. The general ratio of cooking jasmine rice with water is 1:1.5. Meaning 1 cup of rice cooks with 1.5 cups of water. Ergo, half a cup rice needs 3/4 of a cup of water. The additional quarter cup of water is used to cook the rest of the ingredients. If I was using fresh peas/corn, I would probably add a bit more water.

Q. What can I use instead of these vegetables? A. Literally add whatever vegetables you want. You'll just have to adjust water content depending on what they are/how many vegetables you add. I recommend frozen veg, as non-frozen veg requires cutting up into small pieces so they cook through properly. But most frozen veg is pre-cut/already the right size.

This recipe uses about 2 cups of vegetables in it. That's about 4 serves of vegetables. So like, generally 2 cups veg total should be good. I dunno.

As for recommended vegetables? I dunno, I like broccoli so I'm planning on making it with broccoli in the future. Maybe cut up tomato?

Q. Its too salty? Why!? A. I used fresh stock, which has less salt in it than stock powders and bottles of stock. Either water your stock down, use less powder, or adjust your salty ingredients (such as soy sauce, seaweed, and bacon)

Q. What other meats/proteins can I use? A. I would recommend pre-cooked meat, as I don't believe the time in the cooker is long enough to cook through most meat unless cut very small. So I recommend meats such as ham, salami, bacon (although err on the side of caution with bacon!), pre-cooked chicken, etc.

If using pre-cooked meats (instead of cured), maybe add them in near the end so they don't dry out as much. Idk though, experiment with it!

Also, tofu would be tasty in it. Using firm: cut into cubes. Using silken, maybe stir in near the end.

Q. Do I have to use vegetable stock? A. No, you don't. Use whatever stock you want, just know different stocks will have different levels of salt, so you might have to adjust the recipe based on that.

Q. Do I have to use soy sauce + mirin? A. I mean, no. But I would recommend seasoning it in some other way, otherwise it'll probably be boring. At that point it won't be this recipe any more though.

Q. Do I have to use jasmine rice? A. No, could use any other rice. Again, will have to adjust water content depending on the type though. If you used basmati you could probably get away with using the same amount of water.

Q. Why share this recipe? A. It's the only hot meal I've had the energy to make the past 2 days. It has a good flavour, good amount of protein, carbs, nutrients, and veg. So like. It works. And it's quick + low on washing up (especially if you don't have to cut anything)

[asokkalypsenow]

Here is my current go to lazy dinner i am really enjoying:

Required: Can of Chickpeas, Can of Diced tomatoes ideally non salted but whatever you got is fine, some kind of carb, before i made this with rice and today im doing those frozen tortellini you can get from the store. Frying pan, thing to cook your carb. Salt, pepper, liquid umami source (this can be soy sauce or worsticichire sauce, fish sauce if you go light, etc), oil

Optional: chopped up vegetables, today its onion and zucchini but you could do carrots, celery, mushrooms etc. bell pepper even.

While you prepare your carb, stir fry the vegetables in some oil. If you chopped them yourself you can wash your knife and cutting board at this time too. When the vegetables are cooked, add the chickpeas (drained) and the tomatoes (not drained) and cook for like another 10-15 minutes while adding seasonings to taste.

Frozen vegetables would work fine too, and if your stove was broken you could always even do just the chickpeas and tomatoes in the microwave with seasonings and then dip bread in it, or serve on toast. I like it bc its a fairly cheap meal i can make with ingredients that stay good for months and its great for using up vegetables that you bought too many of or are going bad otherwise

[milk-and-violets]

hello please give us your soup recipes ( ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

apologies to anyone who has ever sent me an ask please know I read them and weep and then forget to answer them

if anyone has questions about these soups, please feel free to ask in the replies or dm me!! also, you are welcome to reblog and add your favorite soups, I would love to see what other soups y'all enjoy :)

ANYWAYS here are some of my favorite soup recipes (part one ? I may post more if people like them)

This soup. This soup. Several things to say about it. Firstly, it benefits greatly from buying the nice crushed tomatoes, like the $5-6 cans if you are able to. The tomato makes up a lot of the broth flavor, especially if you want to make it vegetarian and thus leave out the sausage.

Secondly, double the garlic cloves (eight garlic cloves? yes, I'm serious) and use canned brown lentils. A whole can. Two if you feel like it, I often do. It's really very little detriment to the recipe over dried ones, and the soup comes together much quicker when you're not waiting for them to soften. You will need to decrease the cook time, or it will become mush.

Lastly, replace the water with chicken or vegetable broth, it's just better, and the celery is optional, especially if you're allergic, since apparently that's possible.

I acknowledge that this one is a stew, not a soup, however...

This dish is a delicious cross between a more English beef stew (see: NYTimes Beef Stew if you're interested, I highly recommend) and french Coq au Vin. It calls for boneless pork shoulder, but if you can't find that, bone in is fine, just more work. You will need to cut out the bone, which can then be roasted in the oven, I like to use the preheat time (this recipe requires some oven braising) to do so -- just pat dry, coat with olive oil and salt. You can also save the bone in a zip lock in your freezer, for making tonkotsu ramen broth, if you're like me.

Martha uses a pound of "small shallots" which I really find to be a bit much. Use that many if A) they're on sale, B) you've replaced them with pearl onions, or C) you really really love shallots (I respect that.)

I like to add eight cloves of smashed garlic to this, and 4-5 yukon potatoes, washed (but not peeled) and sliced into 1.5 inch cubes (you can assess their size based on vibes and how long you want to cook them for, approaching two-bite sized is generally good).

You can reduce the garlic cloves by half if that's too much for you, or if you're adding a significant amount of shallots still. I've used only 3 large shallots ones before and found it to be enough, so use what you've got. The potatoes add texture and body to the soup, and something to chew on other than the pork, which balances the dish.

Also, Martha suggests you cut your carrots lengthwise, but I personally prefer medallions, as they're much easier to serve and eat. If you're very worried about overcooking your carrots, maybe do large chunks.

This recipe does call for hard apple cider, which it really does need, but if you have to leave it out due to allergies or food restrictions, I suggest adding an 1/8 cup or so (maybe less, that might be a bit sour) of nice apple cider vinegar, and substituting the rest of the liquid with more chicken broth. Serve with some nice crusty bread! Or maybe egg noodles, if you leave out the potatoes and want a really Coq au Vin-esque experience.

Alright, so I think I did the formatting correctly, and you should be able to click this image to access the recipe link, but just in case:

https://sharedappetite.com/recipes/rustic-tuscan-style-sausage-white-bean-and-kale-soup/

Anyways, this recipe calls for 2 cans of cannelini beans. If you can't find those, great northern beans are basically the same. For the sausage, it may also be sold as mild italian sausage, and you do not need to buy it in links, buying loose ground sausage is much easier.

It also calls for two bunches of kale, which is frankly a ridiculous amount, I would only put in that much if this is the only source of vegetables you'll be getting for a month. One (Large!) bundle of kale should be fine. After rinsing, you can simply rip the leafy parts away from the stems, and then discard the stems, or steam them if you really want to eat them. Personally, I don't think they belong in soup.

The onion you use for this should be a yellow onion, maybe white if you're desperate and fear no onion. It calls for 1 potato, you should use 3-4, medium to large sized (Russet!) potatoes. Use your heart to decide when it's enough potato for 52 oz of broth. Likewise, you should consider doubling the amount of garlic that goes into this.

If you don't want to do the math, 52 oz of broth is a little less than 2 whole packages of store bought broth. You may find that you want to add the last bit when you add the potatoes, just to give them a bit more liquid to cook in, since you should use more potatoes than the recipe calls for. If you make your own chicken stock (which is quite easy, and I do recommend it, but it's not essential here) 52 oz is about 6 and a half cups of liquid.

The serving suggestion is to top with cheese, which is really up to you. If your spice tolerance is in the negative, like mine, you may enjoy eating a nice cheese on the side with your bread. Port Salut is a very good spreadable option, or perhaps an aged gouda or white cheddar. Having bread alongside this is really a must.

I suggest making a garlic oil to top the soup, to replace the plain olive oil for drizzling. To do this, simply mince another 2-3 cloves of garlic (more depending on how much oil you want to make), heat generous amount of olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic and saute until fragrant. Do not let the garlic get completely golden brown, unless you really enjoy it crunchy. This is going in soup, and should be minced fine, so having slightly raw garlic will not be an issue. You can store this in an air tight container in the fridge, just scoop some out to top your soup before reheating.

[autisticandroids]

best meatless chicken salad

btw if you skip the meat part and are not as gung ho about letting it sit in the fridge it will also work for normal fish or chicken salads.

the meat:

ok this is the simply part. go to the freezer of your local store-that-sells-fake-meat and pick up some gardein teriyaki chik'n strips. they have to be those ones because of the texture. but also if you experiment with substitutes please tell me how it works out. the important part is to find a meatless chik'n with

- no breading

- a nice texture (on the tender side)

good flavor is always preferred (and i do like the way the gardein things taste) but is entirely optional because this shit is gonna be flavor blasted. actually now i think about it like. a Whole Tofurkey like you might get for roasting might do the job. but you would have to roast it first. also if you try it and it sucks know that you could have used gardein like i said.

anyway assuming you're using the gardein, open up your packages (to feed three people for several days i usually get three packages) and fry up those chicken strips in olive oil.

DO NOT ADD THE SAUCE.

DO NOT.

you can put the sauce aside for later if you think you'll use it or just toss it. but you do NOT want your chicken strips sauced.

anyway. fry them until they are tender but minimally crispy, then set aside to cool.

the fixings:

these are the things you will add to your chicken salad that complement the meat. between one third and one half of your bowl should be fixings. like, they should be way more emphasized than in your average chicken salad.

there are two types: big fixings and small fixings. the big fixings are things that are good to have taking up a lot of space volume-wise. by volume, most of your fixings should be big fixings. small fixings should be more like a garnish. you aren't necessarily getting them in every bite. also, all fixings should be diced quite small, not longer than a half inch in any direction and that's an absolute maximum. this goes double for small fixings, which should be sliced almost as though they are spices.

anyway here's a list of possible fixings. obviously don't put all of them in one salad, and add your own as you see fit, but these are fixings that i have added to salads in the past or plan to add in the future. generally speaking my recommendation is like, maybe 2-5 big fixings, and as many small fixings as you think build a nice flavor profile. one thing you should NOT do is omit all pickles. pickles are essential. there are many types of pickles here but you need at least one. your big fixings should also include at least one fresh fruit/vegetable or the final salad will be absolutely overbearing. anyway.

potential big fixings: celery, apples (something with crunchy crisp flesh that will stand up to a bit of abuse. i use honeycrisp. i wouldn't use, say, a macintosh because i like them but the texture will quickly become gross in this context because they will get smashed up from the mixing), shredded carrots, shredded cabbage would probably be good but i have never tried it in this recipe and it might be too tough, heart of palm, pickles (i always use spicy pickles because i love them but regular or sweet pickles would work too), sweet pickled beets (i prefer safie's but any are fine as long as they're something you would willingly eat plain with a fork), fried tofu (firm or extra firm. cut into smaller than half inch cubes, marinate in soy sauce for fifteen minutes, then fry in a half inch of olive oil until crispy enough on the outside to have a slight crunch but still quite soft on the inside) (i know i know don't deep fry in olive oil it will burn. well, this is only a half inch, and the tofu should fry quickly and not require a super high temperature).

potential small fixings: pickled jalapeños, pickled cherry peppers, really any pickled peppers, roasted beets, olives (i tend to use castelvetranos because i'm a wuss but if you're braver than me you could use like, kalamata), dried cranberries/cherries, raisins, pickled ginger, i don't really like the texture of nuts in my chicken salad but flavor profile-wise i bet pecans would kill in this, walnuts would be okay too, pickled radishes, giardiniera, basically any pickled item you have that's crispy (no pickled eggplant), canned artichoke hearts, sweet relish, fresh mango, fresh avocado (IF you are planning to eat the whole bowl today), fresh herbs (i personally opt for dill (LOTS of dill) and chives and parsley, but i bet cilantro would also work, or lemon balm, or green onion, and someone very brave could add some fresh basil or rosemary or mint if they wanted to see what would happen), lemongrass paste (i've never managed to get my hands on fresh lemongrass so i don't know how to work with it but i encourage experimentation!), ginger paste (JUST a little), lime flesh (as in: the innermost flesh that you would have to peel out of the clear filmy skin), grapefruit flesh or canned grapefruit chunks, roasted salted seaweed (NOT too much, and make sure it's in small pieces, because it will get soggy), spicy chilli crisp, chunky cherry jam, you could definitely add roasted garlic here but although i am ordinarily a garlic forward person this particular recipe demands a light, tart flavor that too much garlic would interfere with.

anyway. shred the chicken a bit with two forks, and mix in the fixings as you cut them so you can maintain a reasonable ratio.

do NOT add mayonnaise at this stage.

the spices:

anyway, your next task is to raid your spice cabinet and get everything out including the weird stuff in the back that you never use. when you are adding spices, always remember to taste. when i'm adding a spice i haven't tried in this recipe before i get a spoonful of the chicken and fixings and put some of that spice on top and if it's good i add it in. anyway one important thing to remember when spicing is that a lot of spice mix type things have salt in them, so be careful not to accidentally oversalt your chicken salad.

anyway, the most mandatory spices in this recipe are old bay seasoning (enough that you can taste it in each bite but not enough that it makes everything salty), and paprika (if it's not smoked, turn the whole bowl orange. if it's smoked, be gentler, but not too gentle).

anyway here's a list of other potential spices: cayenne pepper, basically any pepper powder (i have a friend who has some smoked ancho powder that i'm DYING to use for this recipe), msg, i would be a lot more gung ho about dried basil than fresh, all the herbs i mentioned above in the fixings would also be good dried, basically any herb in your cabinet actually, caraway seeds would be interesting but be sparing, celery seeds (do NOT be sparing), celery salt, mustard powder, basically anything that can reasonably be considered a pickling spice (as long as it's not too big so e.g. no whole mustard seeds or peppercorns), sesame seeds, black pepper, furikake, almost any spice mix that is intended to be added to a finished dish would probably work (e.g. trader joe's everything but the bagel), powdered ginger, garlic powder but again be sparing and i wouldn't use course crystalline garlic powder i would get the fine stuff, lemon zest, orange zest, you could definitely experiment with garam masala though i haven't tried it on this yet, ditto with cumin, really anything in the spice cabinet is fair game as long as you taste first. the only thing i regularly use that i absolutely would not add is mushroom powder.

anyway now you're spiced. mix it all up and taste to see if you need to add more.

you have now completed the big bowl of stuff you're gonna be putting in the fridge to eat out of later. do NOT put mayo on until immediately before eating, as this will help it keep.

the mayo:

okay now here we are. the final step. this one is pretty simple. grab a serving from the big bowl (or several servings, if you're about to eat with others). into this smaller bowl you are going to add mayonnaise (just plain ol' regular mayo is perfect, but i like to use olive oil mayo instead sometimes instead because it makes the chicken (which was fried in olive oil) pop) and mustard. it doesn't matter what kind of mustard: french's, dijon, spicy brown, it's all fine, but you NEED the mustard to make the salad get up and go.

anyway there's lots of other stuff you could add here if you wanted, but it's all optional and you shouldn't go crazy with it: hot sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, plain yogurt, liquid smoke, vegan worcestershire sauce, vegan fish sauce, sriracha mayo, any aioli you have kicking around your fridge.

anyway. you're done. congratulations and bon appetit

[outer-space-face]

Top five cryptids!!!! :)

Oooh okay here's my list:

5: Jackalope

These are just plain cute :) there's no real significant reason I love 'em, I just think they're neat. I wanna feed them some little carrots or celery from my hand.

4: Mothman

The moth boy himself!! Such a fun little guy. Love his look too. Something about an unhinged winged creature looming over people and cities is just so darn cool. Also, according to that one statue of him, incredible dumpy. Absolutely caked up.

3: Ogopogo

One that I don't know how many people know of outside of Canada but it's one that I've always loved. Similar energy to Nessie but more sea serpent-like. There's something so whimsical about Ogopogo and I love that. Also the name is objectively the best thing in the universe.

2: Fresno Night Crawlers

LOOK AT THOSE LITTLE GUYS. JUST. SUCH LITTLE GUYS. I LOVE EM'. WHO WOULDN'T?? Really fun to draw too! They're very quintessentially foresty and fun about them. Gotta love it :)

1: Loch Ness Monster (nessie)

Aaah a classic. There's something so oddly gentle and calm about her, I just wanna give her a little pat on the back. She deserves so many pats. I also feel like she probably lives a pretty peaceful life and considering there hasn't been many recent sightings (at least not that I know of) she's probably not been bothered for a while which is good :) also I am legally required to quote the ICONIC linein twilight. (YOU NICK-NAMED MY DAUGHTER AFTER THE LOCH NESS MONSTER??? 🤬😤😠)

Thank you so much for the ask chir! And also sorry I am kinda late to this ask lol. But this was super fun! Please lemme know what you're top 5 are 'cause I'm very cuious :)

[justakon]

Sometime during the mid-morning, Isane made her way to the Twelfth on the pretext of submitting the forms for the extraction of dangerous compounds from a few of her flowering and fruiting plants. As she did so, she casually enquired of the main SRDI office if their lieutenant was busy. Upon being told that he was occupied at the moment and asked if it was something urgent, she shook her head. It would be unconscionable to interrupt him at work, particularly if he was working on something with a rapid rate of decay or needed close monitoring.

Instead, she left a three-tiered food thermos jar and a transparent tub with the laboratory technician she had spoken to, asking for it to be delivered to their lieutenant. A handful of irregularly-shaped savoury mashed banana fritters in the see-through container will not win any awards for their appearance but were included because she recalled a conversation where he expressed an interest in trying them. The contents of the insulated vacuum, however, were more mainstream in the form of congee with shredded chicken, matchstick-sliced ginger, broccoli florets and carrot slices on the first layer; takikomi gohan with diced parsley, chicken, celery, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and abura-age on the second; and finely blended red bean soup with sago and reconstituted slivers of dried tangerine peel on the third. Mindful that these dishes would likely be tested for poisons and other substances, care was taken to include a sealed note with the thermos.

This missive simply reads: Dearest Truffle, Forgive this intrusion into your work. As it is chilly today and you have been hard at work lately and probably functioning on little sleep, something hot for lunch, dinner and tea breaks might do you some good. Please excuse the porridge for being on the watery side. Sago has been added to dessert to bulk it up a little. I hope you won't find it too thin or the main dish too plain. It should keep warm if you want it for tea. The fritters can be kept till supper or breakfast the next day. You might have to reheat the rice for dinner in case you want it hot. Apologies for putting you through the trouble and for the uninteresting meals. Thank you for the pink moonflower by the way. It has been planted opposite the white one at the engawa. Please remember to wrap up when you step outdoors to smoke and rest when you feel tired. Your Tomato.

Waiting until the officer shuffled away out of sight, presumably either to the control centre, the command centre or the laboratory Akon had secreted himself on, she returned to the Fourth for some sleep before the night shift.

The days seemed to be melding into one another and he hadn't really recognised that he had been stuck in the labs and away from his quarters. he did pop in every other day to restock food and water for da vinci since he could not be a neglectful father to his already hiding from his cat. there were just too many deadlines to meet and they all required his supervision and direction and guidance or the usual chastising.

it happened that way sometimes. too many projects happening all at the same time and needing all hands on deck. which meant relying on stimulants and forgoing sleep altogether. sometimes even sustenance too. since this was the 12th and they could manage to bypass those things regular shinigami couldn't. there were always ways around it. but nothing was without any consequence of course.

and ever since he started to become closer to isane, he could almost feel her disapproving gaze on him for being the way he was. but he also knew she would be understanding despite her concern. he knew what he was doing. and this was hardly his first time doing this sort of thing.

funny how as his thoughts were on that certain grey-haired lady that the lab technician happened to bring him something and when he asked who had sent it -- even if he knew before he was told -- he was coloured surprised for sure. there was no outward smile. he maintained his usual indifferent expression but inside dare, he say he felt somewhat giddy? it was most odd, for sure. to be remembered and have food that she made herself sent to him. it was quite thoughtful and something he'd never experienced anyone doing for him. like ever.

for a brief moment, his eyes scrolled over the missive she had written in that no-nonsense handwriting of hers. there was no intrusion. leave it to her to think it was so. sure, maybe he got a few odd stares once he'd received the thermos but no one dared say or ask him anything about it. and he did appreciate the instructions. she was always good at that. but he really should get back to work. even if a part of him wanted to explore what she made. he would have to get back to it during a break.

[text] got your delivery. you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me. but thank you. i shall see you soon. possibly a few more days. take care of yourself, isane.

after he sent the message he tucked his phone back in his labcoat and back to work it was.

[rimaakter45]

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Green Onions?

Onions are an indispensable ingredient in many dishes, but not suitable for bearded dragons due to their acid content being harmful for their delicate digestive systems. Furthermore, onions contain high levels of phosphorous to calcium ratio which could result in calcium deficiency for your reptiles.

Celery sticks and leaves can be fed regularly to beardies as can cucumbers. beardeddragon.cyou

They are poisonous

Green onions are a common ingredient in many diets and cuisines around the world, yet bearded dragons should never consume them. Even small amounts can lead to stomach ulcers and blisters for these reptiles due to being highly acidic for their delicate digestive systems. Therefore, it is advised that pet owners feed their bearded dragons vegetables and fruit to provide various sources of nutrition for optimal health.

Squash, collard greens, mustard greens and seedless watermelon are all safe for bearded dragons to eat, as are dandelions and cilantro as occasional snacks rather than as regular diet staples.

Bearded dragons can enjoy other fruits such as blackberries, cantaloupe and figs for their nutritional and health benefits, such as providing hydration as well as vitamins C and A. However, fruits should only account for 10% of their overall diet to avoid too much sugar which could lead to diabetes and other health issues.

They are acidic

Beardies are omnivorous fish, making a plant-dominated diet suitable. However, to keep them happy it's also essential that their diet includes animal products - they require at least 80% live insect protein from crickets or mealworms and grass should only be given in an environment free from pesticides.

Green onions (commonly known as scallions or spring onion) are generally safe for beardies to consume in moderation, since they have a milder flavor and less thiosulfate than other types of onions. You can feed green onions raw or cooked; in fact, green onions provide Vitamin A which young dragons require. Green onions should not be fed tomatoes due to moderately high oxalates levels while avocados contain toxic fungicidal toxins that could damage their gut linings; therefore avoid feeding young dragons these tasty green onion greens for optimal health!

They are high in phosphorus

Bearded dragons require a varied diet in order to remain healthy, including leafy greens, fruits, juvenile insects and juvenile foods such as vegetables such as carrots and cabbage which contain vitamins, minerals and fiber; plus acorn squashes like spaghetti squash as well as bell peppers which provide vital antioxidant support.

As a rule, it's best to avoid onions altogether, particularly green onions which contain toxic amounts of thiosulfate that could potentially poison your lizard - however if necessary scallions would make for much milder feed options and occasional treats; just ensure they're washed thoroughly beforehand! Other alternatives you could offer as treats would include snow or snap peas (particularly snow or snap), alfalfa hay/chow, kale/parsley as well as stink bugs which carry pesticides and contain harmful defensive chemicals that could harm their diets or pose dangers to their hosts - just avoid feedings in case your lizard!

They are unbalanced

Bearded dragons are omnivorous animals and require both plant- and animal-based foods for optimal health. To promote growth and vitality, they should consume an assortment of fruits, vegetables and insects such as crickets and mealworms as food sources. Furthermore, greens such as collard greens, turnip greens, kale spinach parsley bok choy Swiss chard watercress clover should also be fed regularly to your beardie. However green onions should be avoided at all costs since these could potentially cause stomach ulcers blisters acidity issues as well as liver damage!

Scallions offer an ideal alternative to green onions in terms of mildness and lower thiosulfate levels, though they should still only be fed occasionally and never as part of your pet's regular diet; no more than 10% should consist of onions. They may also cause respiratory issues in bearded dragons which could result in pneumonia if left untreated; symptoms include wheezing, coughing or difficulty breathing as well as food allergy-induced respiratory issues. Please visit here https://beardeddragon.cyou/  for more information.

[myhapserv]

5 Mistakes When Using The Refrigerator.

How to better preserve food, and keep it fresh and in good condition.

If the kitchen is the heart of the home , then the refrigerator should be considered the heart of the kitchen. Low temperatures keep food fresh and stop harmful germs from multiplying. Thus, perishable foods can be kept in good condition and for longer.

But how long food stays healthy and fresh in the fridge may depend on precisely where and how you store it. It turns out that organizing the refrigerator is both an art and a science. Here are five common mistakes to avoid to get the most out of this must-have appliance.

FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE

Mistake 1: Storing raw meat and poultry on the top shelves

Place items that require a lower cooking temperature on the upper shelves and those that require a higher cooking temperature, especially poultry, on the lower shelf. The explanation is this: If something leaks or spills, it won't contaminate food that isn't heated to a high enough temperature to kill harmful germs, according to StateFoodSafety, a food safety training company. For example, the  minimum proper cooking temperature for poultry is 165°F,  according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), but only 145°F for seafood. Leftovers and casseroles should still be heated to 165°F, so store those on the bottom shelf as well.

GODREJ FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE

Mistake 2: Storing Eggs on the Door Shelf

The temperature of foods stored on the door shelves fluctuates more than those stored inside the refrigerator, so avoid putting perishable foods in the door . Keep the door closed as much as possible to avoid rapid changes in temperature, recommends the USDA. Also, keep in mind that even when the door is closed, the temperature inside the refrigerator tends to be higher on the top shelf than on the bottom. For this reason, store your eggs on the lower shelves that stay cooler.

SAMSUNG FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE

3rd mistake: incorrect use of the drawers

Yes, there is a logic to knowing which fruits and vegetables should go in which drawer, since many are designed with different levels of humidity to preserve freshness. In general, thin-skinned or skinned vegetable products should be stored at a higher humidity level. Some fruits and vegetables, especially those that release ethylene gas when ripe, need to be stored with low humidity. Here are some examples, according to appliance makers KitchenAid and General Electric.

LG FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE

The foods that are best preserved in the high humidity drawer are:

studs

broccoli

Brussels sprouts

carrots

celery

cherries

corn

lettuce and other green leafy vegetables

spinach

tomatoes

The foods that are best preserved in the low humidity drawer are:

apples

avocados

grapes

melons

fungus

oranges and tangerines

peaches and nectarines

pears

raspberries

strawberries

WHIRLPOOL FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE



Mistake 4: Waiting too long to keep food hot

You don't have to wait for food to cool down before putting it in the fridge. Hot food will not harm it. However, if you divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers, they will cool more quickly, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The risk of  leaving food out to cool for too long  is that foodborne germs can begin to multiply rapidly at temperatures between 40 and 140°F, a range the USDA calls the "danger zone." The FDA recommends keeping the refrigerator at 40°F or below for this reason.

Mistake 5: Overfilling the fridge

Cold air must circulate around refrigerated foods for them to stay adequately cold, the FDA says. Do not stack food containers or use materials that impede the free circulation of air. Take care that the ventilation grills are not obstructed.

Cooling tips

Marinate food in the refrigerator. Food left out at room temperature can develop bacteria very quickly. Do not use the same liquid from the marinade as a sauce unless it is brought to a rapid boil first.

Clean the refrigerator regularly and spills immediately. This helps prevent bacteria such as listeria, which can be spread in other foods.

Check expiration dates. Don't forget that an expiration date is when the factory recommends eating the food for the best flavor or quality. The date is not for food safety.

Check if you don't have spoiled food. Get rid of anything that looks or smells bad. Mold is a sign of spoilage, so it is best to discard it from the food.

VIDEOCON FRIDGE SERVICE IN COIMBATORE

Routine Refrigerator Maintenance

Get used to routinely throwing away food that is no longer in good condition to eat. Keep in mind that the expiration date indicates when the product may lose flavor or quality, but it is not a food safety date. The exception is formula and baby food. However, the FDA recommends that if a food item looks, smells, or tastes suspicious, you throw it away. 

When something spills in the refrigerator, clean it up immediately with hot, soapy water, then rinse. Avoid cleaners with solvents that can transfer a chemical taste to food. To counteract odors, place an open box of baking soda on a refrigerator shelf.

The condenser coil should be cleaned regularly to remove any dirt, lint, or other debris. This will keep your refrigerator running efficiently, according to the USDA. Typically, the coil is located under the refrigerator, behind the bottom grill, or at the rear. Consult your owner's manual or the manufacturer's website for more information on cleaning the condenser coil.

[stay-healthy-org]

Foods You Can Eat Without Gaining Weight Copy

Foods You Can Eat Without Gaining Weight - Eat and not gain weight. That's the dream aye? And NOT gaining is critical when you’re trying to lose weight, right? You cut calories, exercise, and you'll cut fat. And also anything that’s crammed with carbs, sweetened with sugar or dipped in a deep fryer is suddenly a big no-no, nada, off-limits! But eating healthy & trying to lose weight doesn’t have to require deprivation. Many delicious (and healthy) foods can still be part of your dining repertoire. Some members of the produce family are so light in calories and fat that you can eat them with (relative) abandon.

Foods You Can Eat Without Gaining Weight

Vegetable love

The one category of foods that you can eat loads of without suffering the consequences of weight gain are non-starchy vegetables. Mostly any vegetable besides potato, corn and peas, you can eat endlessly, for instance. A cup of chopped broccoli or a grilled portobello mushroom contains just 30 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. You can chow down on two entire cups of lettuce and consume less than 16 calories. Because of its high water content, a whole tomato has a mere 22 calories. Cauliflower, kale, carrots and sprouts are similarly nutrient-dense and light in calories. These produce mainstays bring a few other things to the table. What makes them so incredible and so beneficial for weight maintenance and weight loss is they are high in macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients . And they’re rich in fiber. Fiber keeps your blood sugar levels stable, which helps you avoid sudden attacks of the munchies that might otherwise make you crave junk foods. 10 Healthy Foods You Can Eat Without Gaining Weight Indulge in these to your heart’s content, along with a balanced diet. - Celery - Lettuce - Watermelon - Broccoli and cauliflower - Grapefruit - Mushrooms - Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries) - Kiwi - Carrots - Spinach and kale

If vegetables aren’t your favorite, you might be thinking how unappealing this way of eating sounds. But there are ways to spice up your veggies to make them more palatable. Roast them in olive oil spray, then add a blend of garlic and other herbs and spices. YUM! If you love dip, try salsa to add even more vegetables into the mix. Or blend a ranch flavor packet into plain Greek yogurt. Now you have a really high-protein, very healthy dip that you can use along with your vegetables.

What about fruit? Fruits are a different story. With most of them, you don’t want to go overboard. Grapes are a perfect example. A lot of people love to snack on grapes and could eat the whole bag in an afternoon without really thinking about it. But grapes are a high-sugar food. Keeping most fruits to a cup-and-a-half for the day is a good goal to have. The exceptions are berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries), kiwi and grapefruit. These fruits are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index — which means they won’t boost your blood sugar too much. Just be careful before eating grapefruit to make sure it doesn’t interact with any medications (such as statins) you take. And don’t load it up with sugar to make it taste sweeter. Filling up the healthy way If you’re looking for all-you-can-eat foods, it may be worth revisiting your entire diet to make sure it’s satisfying. When people eat the right meals throughout the day, that tends to fill them up much more, and they don’t have that constant hunger.

Many other foods pack a powerful nutritional punch for their calorie count. Examples are healthy proteins such as fish, chicken, tofu or beans, which should be part of each meal. You also want to add healthy fats from nuts and olive oil, vegetables and whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice to your meals. These foods will create satiety, and you can go longer without feeling that urge to snack, so you won’t overindulge.

Snacking on other high-protein, high-fiber foods will help to hold you over until dinnertime. A can of tuna, an apple with a tablespoon of peanut or almond butter, a handful of nuts, a cup of plain air-popped popcorn, a half-cup of cottage cheese or a hard-boiled egg all make excellent options. Though they do contain calories, they’re high in protein, so you won’t be tempted to overeat at your next meal. Drinking a glass of water or having a cup of bone broth (which contains protein in the form of collagen) might also help fill you up before a meal. Revamping your diet When it comes to dieting, the aim is not “How low can you go?” Your body needs calories for energy. Try to focus less on the numbers and more on the overall quality of your diet. The most important thing is to eat whole foods — ones that aren’t processed in a factory.  Eating nothing but low-calorie foods could rob your body of the nutrients it needs, such as the calcium that keeps your bones strong. Plus it could leave you starving and have the opposite of the intended effect. Those low-calorie diets lead to blood sugar instability and harsh crashes. You’re bound to crash at some point and overcompensate with even more food than you had originally planned to eat.

When making changes to your diet, you don’t need to go it alone. It’s preferable to get some help from your primary care doctor or a dietitian. Your doctor can check your vitamin and cholesterol levels to make sure you safely embark on your new way of eating. A dietitian can assess your needs and create a meal plan that’s not only tailored to your goals but also sustainable over the long term. Can Foods Have ‘Negative’ Calories? Some fruits and veggies, notably celery, grapefruit and cucumber, have been touted as “negative-calorie foods.” The premise is that these foods are so low in calories that the very act of chewing and digesting them burns more calories than the foods contain. Hm, OOOKAY. Sounds good but, it this real? It might seem a logical assumption. After all, celery is mostly water, and a whole stalk contains less than 6 calories. For a while, drinking celery juice on an empty stomach was all the rage with dieters. But what limited research exists on the subject has pretty much debunked the negative-calorie claim. Researchers tested out the negative-calorie hypothesis by feeding celery to humans, as well as to bearded dragon lizards, and in most cases, it was a mostly BS. Bottom line: Celery certainly won’t make you gain weight, but it won’t take weight off, either. Read the full article

[lord-squiggletits]

Quick pro tip from someone who regularly cooks her own meals and has eaten mostly homecooked meals for the past ~3-4 years:

The reason recipes list things like “a $1.47 recipe” is because it’s talking about per serving. Yes, of course you can’t buy idk $1 worth of meat at the supermarket but look at it this way.

Let’s say a soup recipe’s ingredients cost $8 but it produces 16 servings. (This seems high but if you use 8 oz tupperware to freeze portions, it’s very possible with high volume low cost recipes like soup.) Each serving cost you $0.50. How does this save you money? It’s so that you can compare the cost of that recipe to the cost of other meals/snacks you buy for comparison. For example, let’s say a box of 12 Poptarts costs $5, each package/serving size is 2 poptarts, so that comes out to 6 servings per box or roughly $0.83 per serving.

This shows me that although the upfront cost of cooking the soup seems more expensive than the Poptarts ($8 versus $5), making the soup is actually more cost effective because it will provide me more than double the servings of the Poptarts despite costing only about half again as much money. That’s not even considering how the Poptarts are highly processed and contain high amounts of sugar, whereas the soup recipe is much more likely to be healthy considering it’s made of vegetables.

My conclusion is then that I should spend $8 on soup ingredients rather than $5 on Poptarts because the soup will provide me more meals over a longer period of time, in addition to being much more healthy for me.

The key to budgeting, grocery shopping, home cooking meals, and nutrition is looking at cost per serving + the number of servings you can make in relation to the overall cost of the recipe. Another skill that compounds this is batch cooking based on shared ingredients: for example, a $3 bag of potatoes isn’t cost-effective if you’re only making one recipe that needs about 4 potatoes (what if you don’t use the potatoes and they end up spoiling?), but if you make three different recipes at once that use potatoes in them, that $3 becomes a very wise investment indeed.

[erinbeast]

Mererid’s Gardens

Mererid puts a lot of pride into his ability as a gardener (and plant enthusiast) and deicides what gets planted and where.  There are many gardens spread through the Imperial Palace, inside and out.  

 Outside are many vegetable patches and groves of fruit bearing plants.  

Mererid ensures that the vegetable patches have:

Carrots: Three types appear in the patches; Candysnax which is delightfully sweet and disease resistant carrot, Purple Sun, a dark purple carrot that when cut open reveals a yellow/orange sunburst in the middle, and Dragon, a more wild variety of carrot that is a but spicy similar to radishes.   Mererid himself prefers the Dragon variety while our dear Emperor will sneak the Candysnax variety out of harvest basket not being actively tended to.  Purple Suns are used during banquets and feasts, as out of the darkness comes the sun.

Celeriac: Also known as Celery Root is a wonderful little nutty tasting root that stores incredibly well and makes for a good snack that’s easy to eat even while working in the gardens, throughout the palace, or behind a desk or pacing.  Also used in many stews and will occasionally be served mashed at dinner.

Garlic is a staple in the Imperial Palace and among Nilfgaard in general, every house has some. The two varieties you’ll find are; Bavarian Purple, noted for its very strong flavor, and the Chesknok Red, which is incredibly nice in cooking.  Bavarain Red is mostly used chopped or fined diced in spreads and dips.  The cooks in the palace will use recipes from anywhere, however they always add more garlic than the recipe calls for.  Who only uses 1 clove of garlic?!

Lettuce is another staple with two varieties.  Milagro, a hearty disease resistant lettuce that is sweet and tender, Butter Crunch which does well in hot summers and into the fall season and holds well for a lettuce. Bullet Lettuce is sprinkled throughout as a sort of ‘back-up’ lettuce as it is a vigorous and hardy type.

Arugula which is mainly used in salads for small dinners hosted by the Emperor, comes in two types; Bellezia which is a hardy type, great for the sometimes drastic changes in between Nilfgaard seasons; and Speedy, which is quick to harvest.

Onions pop up in almost every vegetable patch as they are used for almost every dinner, feast, and banquet within the palace.  Among the varieties you’ll find Oneida, a large onion that stores well for long periods of time; Monastrell, a disease and sun burn resistant type that’s a boon in the summer time; and Talon, a type of onion that can grow almost anywhere, even where most won’t even start to try and have a long storage life.  A chef once accidentally dropped sliced onion into hot oil and now both Mererid and Emhyr can’t seem to get enough of fried onions. A few guests have also taken to them and try to replicate the dish.  

Wega Parsley is the main strain of parsley you’ll find throughout Nilfgaard known for its tough nature that prevents bolting and bitterness and can be harvested late in the growing season.

Pepper plants pop up in planters around the palace they serve as colorful decoration and a source of food.  Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry are best at being both.  Their foliage is fantastic and the peppers produced are sweet and crisp. Emhyr hates noisy food, any crunching or slurping will drive him mad(more so than usual I suppose) but he makes an exception when Mererid munches on these as the man looks too damn happy to guillotine.  Padron, a shishito like pepper that is sturdy and produces peppers all season long for a continuous harvest.

Potatoes are found in large numbers in a few patches with Dark Red Norlands, which produce a heavy yield and are disease resistant, to the Carola which are resistant to disease but still require monitoring but, produce a heavy harvest.  A staple on the plate of almost every dinner and feast.  Do not mash them, the Emperor will have your head for it.  Mererid bless him, can only sigh and shake his head and secretly mash potatoes for him and few others servants/slaves.  

Sweet Potatoes, a favorite of the Emperor when roasted with salt and olive oil.  The Beauregard is the go to for being sweet and does well in cooler times.

Radishes, of which Mererid will go out and get a few and eat straight from the garden, you’ll find the Nile, which does well in heat, produces a sweet spicy root and edible leaves used for cooking.  The Celeste can be found near fall as the are wet/cold tolerant and can stay in the field for sometime before being unharvestable.  

Squashes of many varieties can be found; the Chiffon which grows upwards on tresses, or Cube of Butter which is a low growing kind with a heavy harvest.  Butterbaby saves some room on the ground by growing on tresses like the Chiffon and is known for a sweet and rich fruit.  The Golden Star has a tight plant and is disease resistant with a continuous harvest.  Squash rarely shows up on the Emperor’s plate, Mererid however will always take some if there is any to be had, just a small bit.  

Olympic Spinach can be found year round in the vegetable patches and on the table, Emhyr likes a good strawberry spinach salad and it’s an almost guaranteed way to make him eat something, at least in the summer time.  

[tencrowns]

American Witches’ Herbal, Entry #??

Today we’re talking about burdock! The photos in this post were taken from a wild burdock growing in my garden as of August 2020. This is probably how most people in North America are familiar with it, as a common weed, but it was originally brought to this continent as a food and medicinal plant.

Arctium lappa

Common Names:     Greater Burdock, Cockleburr, Gobo, Beggar’s Buttons, Thorny Burr, Happy Major, Lappa, Cockleburr

Type:     Biennial, often grown as Annual

Element:     Water

Astrological:     Venus

Magical Uses:     protection, healing, plenty

Botanical Family:    Asteraceae

Region of Origin:     Temperate Europe and Asia

Arctium means “bear,” while lappa refers to the burrs the plant is so famous for, “to seize.”

Growth and Care

Usually considered a weed in the US, burdock was likely imported to this country as a food, or accidentally on the catching, hooked burrs that it takes its name from. It can get quite tall, anywhere from 3-5 feet tall. It develops a deep taproot too, almost as long underground as it is above it.  A very tough plant, it needs very little care and will tolerate a wide range of soil types--harvesting is a lot easier if the soil has a loose texture, either loamy or a little sandy. Seeds require stratification in cold before they will germinate, but after that, you should manage your plants as they will spread themselves over time with very little effort.

It blooms prolifically between July and October with pink, thistly flowers.

General Use

The leaves and shoots are slightly bitter, but edible, and a tea made from them has a reputation for purifying the blood and supporting kidney function as a very mild diuretic. As far as edibility though, it’s really the root that most people go after, and is actually a fairly widely used vegetable in Asia. Burdock root for culinary purposes is usually harvested in the first year, before the plant has a chance to go to seed. After that, the root may grow tough and unpleasant texture. I’ve not tried it myself yet, but it’s said to have a mild flavor somewhere between celery and potato, with a mild, carrot-like sweetness to it. If you’re curious but don’t want to grow it yourself, check in your local Asian grocery markets.

Tea or a poultice made from the ground root has been used to treat oily and acne-prone skin. Containing a high amount of starch, it may help absorb excess oil and helps stimulate blood flow to the applied region, which may in turn help to combat localized infections like blemishes and acne.

The hooks on its seedpods viewed under a microscope gave Swiss hiker and engineer George de Mestral the inspiration to create Velcro.

Magical and Symbolic Use

In Turkish Anatolia, the burdock plant was believed to ward off the evil eye, and so became a common decorative motif in the kilims (a kind of flat-woven rug) for protection. In the middle ages too, leaves were braided into hair by Germanic peoples to confer the protection of Thor, the idea being that it gave one the appearance of the wild, bristly hair that the thunder god was known for having.

In the county of Essex, England, burdock features in local superstition. Children throw hooked seedpods at their friends’ backs--if the burr sticks, their sweetheart returns their affections. They’re also an important component of the costume for the Burry Man, a figure that appears in a Scottish tradition. On the second Friday of August in the South Queensferry area of Edinburgh, they hold the Burryman’s Parade. A local man is covered from head to ankles in the burrs and other flora and paraded through the town with flowers and attendants--this event takes place at roughly the same time as the weeklong Ferry Fair, and is first recorded at the time the Ferry Fair started in the 1687, but is believed to have its roots in a much older celebration. The Burry Man must be given money, or more importantly, whiskey, to bring the village good luck for the year, with the promise of bad luck if the practice falls off. There are of course many parallel practices throughout the British Isles with figures that tend to be very regional and localized, all roughly similar in concept to a sort of sacrificial Green Man, wicker men or John Barleycorns.

To utilize burdock’s protective powers, it can simply be strewn around the home, but dried burdock can also be included in protection incenses and sachets. For a protective charm, slice the root of burdock (preferably collected under a waning  moon) into small pieces and string them on red thread to make a necklace or bracelet.

[ao3bronte]

Butter

I have been utterly enchanted by the spoiler images Zag keeps posting of Chat Noir and Ladybug's rooftop dinner date in the movie and I simply had to write about it for Christmas because it's so darn romantic! I've also been honing my food writing skills, which I hope you'll enjoy as well! This story is part of the @mlsecretsanta​ exchange and I was paired up with a Tumblr user named @yuki-sukinomoto​. I hope they like what I have put together for them. Also on AO3.

Like many people around the world, Adrien has a special place in his heart for Disney films. He and his mother had enjoyed many a fireworks celebration at Disneyland Paris, not to mention the mini-vacation he'd taken with her at Disneyland Hong Kong while they were there for Father's flagship store opening. Even now, he regularly enjoys flipping through the archives of Disney+ just as frequently as he does his other streaming services; there's nothing like a rewatch of a favourite film to get his mind off the bigger shadows lording over his life.

He's halfway through his last year of lycée when it occurs to him that he hasn't watched Ratatouille in ages. There are only a few animated films set in Paris that he can think of off the top of his head and he's always enjoyed the romance of Un Monstre en Paris more than the trials and tribulations of a rodent gourmand. It warrants a look though, especially since he's got nothing better to do; the glacial December rain is no place for Paris’ favourite cat.

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.”

Something about that statement resonates within him, like the missing piece of a puzzle finally slotting into place. Adrien gawks at the screen, then down at his fingers.

“I’m pretty much fearless,” he murmurs, the cogs of his brain suddenly propelling into motion. “And if that Linguini guy can learn how to cook, then so can I!”

~

That evening, Sous Chef Maurice humours the youngest Agreste when he strides into the kitchen and affably demands to be taught how to cook. The spritely blond’s attitude has always been world’s away from his boss’ brusque, frigid demeanor and Sous Chef Maurice welcomes the change of pace, if only to lighten up the evening as the snowy skies grow dim.

“So, where do we start?”

“With the basics, of course,” Sous Chef Maurice responds, tapping away at the mounted iPad on the wall nearest to the pass. “Watch this video and familiarize yourself with the classical knife cuts of French cuisine. Once you’re finished, bring three large carrots and two bulbs of fennel from the garde manger to my station to practice.”

“Yes, Chef!”

And so, with all of the flagrant gusto of an Agreste on a mission, Adrien watches the videos and does exactly as he’s asked. Wielding the chef’s knife is a bit of a task but he manages not to amputate any fingers, much to Sous Chef Maurice’s relief. All in all, he ends up with a fairly decently sliced pile of carrot batonnets on one side of the cutting board and half a julienned fennel bulb on the other.

“That’s all? There are several other techniques you’ll be required to master if you want to learn to cook.” Sous Chef Maurice frowns beneath his wiry moustache. “Cut a medium and small dice from the batonnets. And as for the fennel, slice the rest of the bulb into wedges. Monsieur Agreste requested it braised this evening.”

Adrien’s tongue wriggles out between his lips as he hacks the carrots into even smaller pieces. “What’s braising?”

“A cooking technique,” Sous Chef Maurice replies, “One you’re about to learn in a moment. Now chop.”

“Yes, Chef!” Adrien flashes his million watt smile before diving head first back into the task that was given and quickly catches on. He’s no Guy Savoy, of course, but he manages well enough with the careful precision of a boy who secretly destroys things for a living. Once he’s finished, he watches as Sous Chef Maurice crafts the rest of the evening’s dinner beneath the copper hooded hearth, stirring and seasoning every dish. Spreads of freshly baked bread and Saucisson Sec jostle for space on the platter, nestled in among wedges of Crottin de Chavignol and small jars of stone fruit jam that remind him of summer. On the burner, Sous Chef Maurice reverently sautées tomatoes in a magnificent French oven until buttery tender.

“Why, exactly, have you decided to learn how to cook all of the sudden?” Sous Chef Maurice asks as he sprinkles a fragrant chiffonade of basil over the tomatoes. “Don’t you have enough on your plate, so to speak?”

Adrien shrugs. “I was watching a movie and realized that I don’t know how to cook anything.”

“And now you suddenly have the inspiration to become a chef?”

“Not exactly,” Adrien says, passing him the pepper mill. “Cooking is...daring. You have to be fearless to be a great chef!”

Sous Chef Maurice begins to chuckle. “You’re doing this to impress a girl, aren’t you?”

“I…” Adrien’s jaw practically drops to the floor. Why didn’t he think of that sooner? Ladybug wouldn’t be able to resist his Chat Noir charm if he could pull off the ultimate homemade dinner for Christmas! She’s always appreciated his do-it-yourself gifts over the ones he’s bought her over the years...he could ask about her favourite foods and create a holiday masterpiece for her to devour as the perfect Christmas present, just for the two of them! “Yes! How did you know?”

“I was a young man once too,” Sous Chef Maurice points out, shaking his head with mirth as he turns his attention back to the hearth. He pulls the olive oil braised fennel from the oven and slathers a huge spoonful of buttery fava bean purée onto the serving platter, smearing it across the china like a streak of bright green paint. Then, he artfully stacks the braised vegetables over the purée and drizzles the juices from the pan in haphazard circles from a height, dressing the dish like Father would a high fashion model. Adrien can hardly believe his eyes as Sous Chef Maurice sprinkles Maldon sea salt on top and places it onto the pass, ready for service.

“Like modelling, cooking is an art. It requires patience and mastery,” Sous Chef Maurice explains, turning towards the youngest Agreste with a smile playing at the edge of his lips. “If you’re serious about learning how to cook, I suggest you start studying the books of Paul Bocuse.”

“Do you think Father will let me?”

“I heard you discussing your latest school project with Mme Sancoeur just yesterday in the dining room. Perhaps you can change the focus of your study to better suit your interests.”

The lightbulb above Adrien’s head suddenly flickers to life. “Yes! Thank you so much! You’re the best!”

As Adrien races from the kitchen to the dining room in a frenzy of inspiration, Sous Chef Maurice simply wipes down his knives and smiles.

~

Cooking, as it turns out, is easier said than done.

The first task on Adrien’s check list is to find out what Ladybug likes to eat. She doesn’t really know what to make of Chat Noir’s sudden barrage of questions about what her favourite meat is or what types of soft cheese she likes to spread on freshly baked baguettes. But she’s spent years by his side at this point — his chaotic behaviour always seems to stem from some haywire plan to prove his worth — so she goes along with it as he goes along with her crazy ideas; trust has always been integral between the two of them.

The second task is to watch as many cooking TV shows as he possibly can. Adrien stays up into the wee hours of the morning bingeing Masterchef and soaking up every detail he can memorize. Always salt the boiling water before cooking pasta; add acid to bring out the flavours of your food; season, season, season! Instant coffee powder accentuates the subtleties of chocolate; toast the spices to release their full potential! Adrien writes it all down and figures that it can’t be that hard to break down a whole chicken for roasting — the judges make it look so easy!

“Merde! I am so sick of this stupid—Plagg, transforme-moi!” Adrien growls that very afternoon after mistaking the back of the chicken for the breast...again, “Cataclysme!”

(Sous Chef Maurice finds the smoking pile of chicken soot in the bin later that evening and doesn’t have the heart to ask.)

~

There are two weeks left until the beginning of his school’s winter holidays and Adrien is bound and determined to host an evening that Ladybug will never forget. Anaïs gives Chat Noir permission to use one of the transparent bubble tents on his restaurant’s rooftop patio as a favour after de-akumatizing him back in September; Le Cochon Joufflu gives him a live edge cheese board to use in exchange for getting his beloved kitten down from the chestnut tree hanging over the patio. Ladybug mentions that she loves strawberries the most out of all of the fruits and Chat makes sure to stop by the Dupain Cheng Boulangerie Patisserie to order a Frasier for pickup in two weeks time.

It’s all coming together...kind of.

The cooking bit is still an issue. Adrien has figured out the difference between the top and the bottom of the chicken (after an embarrassingly long time, though he’ll never admit it). Yesterday, Sous Chef Maurice taught him how to put the mirepoix on the bottom of the roasting pan first, then settle the chicken on top.

Seems simple, right?

Except how much of what goes into the mirepoix? What’s the ratio again? Adrien pinches the bridge of his nose and tries desperately to remember on his own, especially after Sous Chef Maurice nagged him for looking things up too often on the iPad. Cooking is supposed to be about instincts and...well, Adrien’s aren’t proving to be very reliable. Is it two parts celery to one part onion and carrot? Or does he have it all mixed up again?

“I have a secret to share with you,” Sous Chef Maurice says, standing alongside Adrien as they peel potatoes together. “It’s the secret ingredient to make a woman fall in love with you, even when you’ve made a mistake...what do you think it is?”

“Is it...love? Like, when you’re cooking from your heart?”

“That helps, certainly, but it’s not what I had in mind,” Sous Chef Maurice reaches into the wash basket for another potato, “Let me give you a hint. It’s as quintessentially French as it gets.”

“...camembert?”

“I—” Sous Chef Maurice takes a weary breath. “...no. It’s butter. All French cooking tastes better with butter. In fact, no meal is complete without it.”

“Don’t tell Father that,” Adrien says with a grimace.

“What Monsieur Agreste doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Sous Chef Maurice raises his brows conspiratorially. “Besides, it makes a world of difference. It’s delicious. It’s decadent. It’s a chef’s little secret. And if you want this girl to fall in love with you, there’s no better way than with butter.”

“Really? She’ll fall in love with me right away?”

“I promise. It’s one hundred percent guaranteed.” Sous Chef Maurice plops a package of Charentes-style butter in front of him. “No woman can resist a homemade meal made with French butter. Just a little makes a world of difference to the richness of the taste and tonight, I’m going to show you how.”

To Adrien’s unlimited delight, Sous Chef Maurice teaches him how to make the creamiest, silkiest mashed potatoes to ever grace his palette. His knees weaken at the thought of Ladybug sliding a spoonful of his mashed potatoes past her lips...he can imagine the way she’d groan just like he had when Adrien had finished whipping what felt like an entire block of butter into the spuds. His body burns and tingles with the notion of her enjoying his creations and he doubles down in the kitchen, taking it upon himself to slather the skin of his chicken with an obscene amount of butter before popping it into the oven and hoping for the best.

It comes out perfectly.

~

“Happy early Christmas!” Chat Noir delights, opening the little door to their plastic bubble tent for Ladybug. “I know we promised to exchange gifts on the 23rd but I...I just really couldn’t wait any longer!”

“Why am I not surprised, Kitty?” Ladybug rolls her eyes and bops him on the nose. “Did Anaïs give you permission to use this?”

“Of course he did,” Chat responds, pressing his hand to his chest in mock-insult, “I am a cat of honour! I don’t just go stealing things without permission.”

“Mmhmm,” Ladybug teases him, tapping his bell as she climbs inside. The supporting structure of the transparent dome is decked out with sparkling fairy lights, adding a warm ambiance to the table and chairs set for two. “Is that a bottle of wine?”

“Yup,” Chat confirms, latching the door behind him and scurrying around her to pop the cork. “It’s a 2001 vintage. I picked it myself.”

“Fancy!” Ladybug’s smirking tone falters for a moment as she takes in the elaborate spread. “Did you...is Anaïs picking up the tab for dinner too?”

“Not exactly.” Chat pulls Ladybug’s chair out from the lip of the table and gently drapes her serviette across her lap once she sits down. “I made you dinner tonight.”

“Uh oh.” Ladybug starts laughing. “Is there an ambulance parked outside?”

Chat sticks out his tongue and sits down across from her. “I took lessons! And I had a little help from a professional.”

“So it’s safe to eat? Should I call the hospital just in case?”

“Very funny. And no. Everything here is edible. I know because I tried it.”

“Just because it’s good enough for an alley cat—”

“—hey now, I have a very sophisticat-ed palette!”

Ladybug’s eyes sparkle with mirth. “Come on then, Kitty. Show me what you’ve got.”

“As you wish, M’Lady.” Chat bows his head and pulls the aluminium foil off of the dishes with a flourish. “May I present to you your dinner this evening. It’s roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and a frisée and endive salad.”

Ladybug’s eyes bug out of her skull, much to Chat Noir’s delight. “You made all this yourself?”

“I did!”

“And you made this...for me?”

Chat practically preens with delight. “It’s all homemade. I’ve been practicing for weeks.”

“Wow…” Ladybug trails off, her stare bouncing from dish to dish. “I’m...I’m speechless, Chat. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” Chat whoops, jumping up to serve her. He carefully places a chicken thigh onto her plate and scoops a dollop of mashed potatoes beside it. “These are the best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat, by the way.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Ladybug responds, her voice wavering a little as he spoons out the salad. “They smell good though.”

“That’s because they are good!”

“...I’m still skeptical.”

“Buuuug!”

The conversation between them flows like the wine from their bottle, leaving them both a little lightheaded and enchanted by it all. It’s warm in their garden igloo, an Eden of good company and beating hearts cocooned against the December chill and the gently falling snow cascading from the heavens. Chat wishes he could spend the rest of his life like this, laughing and joking with Ladybug over a homemade Christmas dinner made just for the two of them.

“Well?” Chat asks as Ladybug takes a dainty bite of his roast chicken. “What do you think?”

“It’s...it’s actually pretty good.” Ladybug chews thoughtfully, her cheeks flushing pink.

“Yes!” Chat narrowly keeps himself from pumping his fists into the sky. “Try the potatoes!”

Ladybug leans forwards to dip the tines of her fork into the exquisitely satiny spuds and Chat holds his breath as she brings them to her lips.

This is the moment she’s going to fall in love with him!

thump thump

Tentatively, Ladybug opens her mouth.

thump thump

She slips the fork between her lips.

thump thump

Chat can hardly breathe as her eyes flutter closed.

“Oh wow.” Ladybug moans, driving her fork into the potatoes and shoveling an enormous helping into her mouth. “Thish ish so goo!”

Chat truly can’t help himself and starts giggling with glee, every nerve ending in his body firing as his heart nearly bursts in his chest. “I knew you’d like them!”

“I love them,” she gushes around another mouthful. “You have to teach me how to make them.”

“Or I could just make them for you again.” Chat grips the edge of the table so firmly that the wood creaks beneath his fingers. “You know, next time I make you dinner.”

To his absolute elated delight, she doesn’t even sass him. “Deal. But bring your own bowl next time, this one’s all mine.”

Their Christmas dinner lasts long into the evening, their teasing and laughing comments as breezy as the winds coming off the Seine. It’s safe here, just the two of them together, tucked away from prying eyes and miscreant moths looking for trouble. Through it all, she talks and tastes and laughs like an indefatigable hybrid of Brigitte Bardot and Aphrodite. There’s no doubt she looks at him differently now, the stars reflecting in her eyes no longer just the reflection of the fairy lights in their snowy igloo. His heart beats a thousand times a minute as she snags him by the wrist while he tidies their empty plates, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“Dinner was amazing,” Ladybug says, still seated beneath him. “I can’t believe you made this all yourself.”

“Anything for you, M’Lady,” Chat breathes, his voice shaking from the heat of her touch.

“I’m not sure how to thank you.” Her eyes trail away for a moment and glance outside at the falling snow pooling around their dome. “Actually, I think I do.”

With a small, tentative smile, Ladybug tugs him down to her level and ruffles his hair when his jaw drops open at the sudden proximity. He’s helpless when she gets into his space and she knows it; it’s why she’s always got the upper hand whenever they’re together. He turns to jelly as her expression turns mischievous — he knows she’s up to something, but what? What could she possibly be thinking? Chat glances down at her lips before catching himself, dragging his eyes back up to meet hers once again.

“L-Ladybug?” Chat’s voice cracks, pitching up into the stratosphere. She giggles and he feels like dying and flying all at once.

“I think you deserve a well done kiss after all that hard work.” Ladybug tips her head to the side and grins as he begins to stammer and splutter all over himself. “But where? On your cheek? On your forehead?”

Gently, she wraps her fingers around his bell and steadies him, fully aware that he might just come crashing down on top of her. She hovers a hair’s breadth away and hesitates only for a moment before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

It only lasts for a fleeting moment but Chat swears the world grinds to a halt on its axis, stealing the ground from his feet and the air in his lungs. She kissed him. She kissed him! She honest-to-goodness kissed him — by her own volition! On the lips! She kissed him on the lips with her mouth! Her lips touched his lips! They kissed! They kissed!! They kissed!!!

“Not that your reaction isn’t sweet enough,” Ladybug teases, bopping him on the nose to shake him out of his reverie, “But what’s for dessert, Kitty Cat?”

Chat Noir may be Paris’ number one cat hero, but tonight he’s nothing but a puddle in the wake of her smile. “One Christmas Frasier, coming right up!”

[augiepets]

A comprehensive guide and some ideas to having a pet turtle at home

Taking care of a pet turtleis not as simple as it may appear. The decision to keep a pet turtle should be carefully considered. If your child has been begging for a pet, a turtle may seem like an obvious choice. It may appear to be more exotic than a goldfish and require less maintenance than a cat or dog. Turtles take particular attention and cleaning, and they don't get along well with children—turtles may bite and dislike being handled—but they're still fascinating pets to watch. Pet turtles need a lot of care and upkeep, and their lengthy lifetime makes them more of a long-term investment than a pet.

Image Alt Text: pet turtle

Image Title: pet turtle

Description: The decision to keep a pet turtle should be carefully considered.

This is your guide to everything you need to know about How to take care of a pet turtle

1. Choosing the right breed of your pet turtle: Turtles come in a range of shapes and sizes, and some make better pets than others. Some may grow to be quite huge, while others are recognised for being more social and less aggressive, and they will all have distinct space, lighting, and dietary requirements.

Most people are not prepared to deal with the fact that turtles live for many years. Getting a pet turtle is a serious commitment. It's not a creature that will live for a few years. Not only do these creatures live a long time, but they also demand enormous cage.

Turtle house pets of all sizes, whether inside or out, require plenty of space. It's critical that they have a suitable enclosure; they must be allowed to exercise in order to be healthy.

There are many different species of turtles, but box turtles and red-eared slider turtles are the most often brought home as pets (and the simplest to care for).

Dark skin with yellowish patterns and towering, dome-shaped shells give box turtles their name. Adults generally reach a length of around 6 inches. One of the most popular aquatic turtle species is the Red Eared Slider.

They're more social and friendly than some of their cousins, they're very active, and they're readily accessible. These are the ones you'll see swimming about in aquariums at your local pet store. While young pet turtles are typically 4 inches or less, adults may grow up to 11 inches in length, which means you may need to expand your tank in the near future.

These pet turtles are usually kept indoors, but with the appropriate shelter, cleanliness, and warmer temperatures, they may thrive in an outdoor pond as well. It may become simpler to offer them with the space they require outside as they get older.

Image Alt Text: buy turtles online

Image Title: buy turtles online

Description: buy turtles online, water turtle breeders near me live turtles for sale and baby freshwater turtle store.

Red Eared Sliders may grow to be quite large, so their tank should be large and have plenty of places for them to bask. UV lighting and a good water filtration system are required.

2. Housing your turtle: When it comes to housing, bigger is better. Because many aquatic pet turtles are strong swimmers, use the biggest feasible enclosure.

Aquaria made of glass are a popular choice. For smaller species measuring 4 to 6 inches, a 30-gallon tank is the absolute minimum size.

A 55-gallon tank is suitable for turtles measuring 6 to 8 inches in length. Tanks in the 75- to 125-gallon range are best for turtles measuring more over 8 inches.

If you're starting with a younger, smaller pet turtle, a smaller tank is OK as long as the enclosure grows with your turtle. Plastic tubs, which can be found at most home or hardware stores, are another option for turtle housing.

Some tubs featuring both a water and a land section are particularly intended for pet turtles. An indoor or outdoor pond is another wonderful choice if you have the space. Clean water is one of the keys to successful turtle keeping.

A decent filtering system will help a great deal with this. An internal aquarium filter or a canister filter are both good alternatives for pet turtleaquariums. Whatever option you pick, make sure to clean the filter on a regular basis.

Pet turtles make a lot of messes. Keep tank ornaments to a bare minimum. Any attempt at aqua scalping is usually rejected by most turtles. Pet turtles are classified into two groups depending on their habitat: terrestrial and aquatic.

Box turtles are terrestrial turtles that live on land. They may be found in wet locations all over the world, such as the mossy sections of woods. An outdoor cage with high walls and a roof to fend off predators is a great home for a box pet turtle if you live in a temperate climate (with an average temperature of 75-85 degrees).

Image Alt Text: What do pet turtles eat?

Image Title: What do pet turtles eat?

Description: pet turtles can eat vegetables, and fruits should all be included in an adult pet turtle's diet.

Set up an indoor space for your box pet turtles if you live in a colder or warmer region. Box turtles enjoy digging, so make sure they have enough of dirt, potting soil, shredded newspaper, or carpet scraps to keep them occupied.

Box pet turtles require a certain amount of moisture to thrive, so make sure your turtle's cage has lots of decaying dry leaves and damp soil, as well as a comfortable shoe box or flower pot where the turtle may hide or nap. Your outdoor turtle should never be kept in a glass aquarium.

The glass will heat up like a greenhouse, and your poor creature will be cooked! Aquatic pet turtles, such as the red-eared slider, prefer marshy, muddy regions with dense vegetation, such as lakes and ponds, as their native environment.

They require a habitat that includes both clean water for swimming and dry terrain for resting, hiding, and sunbathing. A tank with a capacity of at least 40 gallons should provide enough space for your pet turtle to walk about in.

Fill the bottom of your pet turtle’s tank with tiny rocks so it may dig around and have fun. You may also create a private island for your turtle by placing a huge rock or floating log in the centre of the water.

3. Feeding your turtles: What do pet turtles eat? Most pet turtles are omnivores, which means they consume both meat and vegetation. Animal products, vegetables, and fruits should all be included in an adult pet turtle's diet.

Younger pet turtles , between the ages of 7 and 10, require a greater proportion of animal-based meals. The amount of animal and vegetable food your pet turtlerequires is determined on its species.

Sources of animal food Processed pet meals like drained sardines, turtle pellets, and trout chow are examples of animal-based food sources for turtles. Cooked chicken, beef, and turkey are also good options.

Moths, crickets, shrimp, krill, feeder fish, and worms are examples of live prey. To assure quality and safety, purchase insects from a pet store or an undeveloped area, or cultivate them yourself.

Sources of plant food Leafy greens like collards, dandelions, and mustard greens should be the main sources of plant-based diet for your pet turtle. Some of these veggies, such as chives, parsley, and spinach, have high amounts of oxalates, which should be avoided.

Apples, cantaloupe, bananas, berries, and mangoes are examples of fruits. Non-toxic aquatic plants such as water hyacinth, water lettuce, and duckweed can also be fed to them.

Feed an adult pet turtle once or twice a day, and a juvenile turtle one to two times a day, depending on the species. The amount of food your pet turtle should eat is determined on its species.

As a general guideline, only let your pet turtle consume as much as they can in approximately 20 minutes, especially with pellets and other non-living items, and then remove any leftovers.

When it comes to eating habits, sea turtles and land turtles have distinct tastes. Because aquatic turtles can only eat when submerged, you'll need to put food in their water tank. Place your land turtle's food on a flat, firm surface, such as a rock or grass, if you have one. Many turtle owners like to cut a variety of veggies to feed their pets so that they don't simply consume one type and miss out on other, more nutritious plants.

Pet turtleshave different nutritional needs depending on their species. Research the nutritional requirements of your pet turtles species, and if you have any questions or concerns, contact your veterinarian.

Pet turtles, like humans and many other creatures, may become fat. Overfeeding your turtle can cause them to gain weight, making it difficult for them to withdraw their arms and legs inside their shell.

To minimise overfeeding, make sure your turtle has plenty of room to roam about. Tanks for turtles up to 6 inches long should be 30 gallons at a minimum, and up to 125 gallons for pet turtles over 8 inches long.

Image Alt text: pet turtles

Image Title: pet turtles

Description: Pet turtles need a lot of care and upkeep, and their lengthy lifetime makes them more of a long-term investment than a pet.

Live prey allows your turtle to hunt and get some exercise. If pet turtles food isn't balanced, they might get vitamin A deficiency. A reduction in appetite, swelling of the eyelids and ears, renal failure, and lung infections are all symptoms of too little vitamin A in turtles.

Carrots, squash, bell peppers, and other red, orange, and yellow vegetables are high in vitamin A, which pet turtles require. Low-nutrient foods, such as lettuce and celery, should be avoided.

A veterinarian may prescribe Vitamin A therapies, either injected or given orally, to address Vitamin A deficiency. Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to growing a healthy turtle.

A healthy, well-balanced diet is essential for success. Provide as many varied meals as possible, with a high-quality pet turtles food serving as the mainstay of the diet. Keep in mind that a pet turtles nutritional requirements fluctuate as it grows older.

Although many are predominantly carnivorous as hatchlings, as they grow older, they ingest more plant stuff. Plant matter may even make up the bulk of the diet of some adult pet turtles.

It might be a symptom of sickness if your pet turtles aren’t eating enough, but other variables could be at play. Make sure the temperature of your tank, as well as the water temperature, lighting, and size, are appropriate for your turtle's species.

Pet turtleslack of appetite might be caused by hibernation or stress. Consult a veterinarian about any symptoms or behaviours, and schedule an appointment if problems persist after you make adjustments.

4. Controlling the light and temperature: Unfortunately, this is the most frequently overlooked aspect of a pet turtleenvironment. When purchasing a pet reptile from a pet store, many individuals choose not to purchase the most expensive element of the set up.

These same folks frequently rely on the pet store assistant to assist them in purchasing items for their new pet turtle, and they are frequently informed that UVB illumination is not required.

Your pet turtle will develop metabolic bone disease, be unable to synthesis Vitamin D (causing calcium metabolism issues), be sluggish, and have a lack of appetite if UVB illumination is not provided.

For these reasons, UVB lighting is critical. In most enclosures, supplementary heat is required since many turtles demand basking temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

Heat lamps are favoured over under-tank heaters because they allow you to adjust the temperature of the surrounding air. Under tank heaters sometimes have few or no controls for controlling the heat, and they primarily warm the bottom of the enclosure while failing to increase the surrounding air temperature, making it difficult to achieve a correct thermal gradient.

Heat lamps for tortoises and turtles come in a range of wattages, but it's vital to figure out what bulb wattage the cage requires to maintain the proper temperature. Larger enclosures often require greater wattage bulbs, whereas smaller enclosures require less wattage to maintain proper temperatures.

Aside from the mercury vapour bulb, which emits UVB rays, there are ceramic heat emitters and ordinary reptile heat lamp bulbs in various wattages. Ceramic heat emitters produce just heat and do not produce light, and they screw into a clamp light.

These are wonderful since they last a long time, are less brittle than light bulbs, and may be used at any time of day or night because they emit no light. In addition to heat, regular reptile heat bulbs can emit white, red, or blue/purple light.

Some concluding pointers!

1. Turtles require a lot of energy and time into proper maintenance. Pet turtles need a lot of care and upkeep, and their lengthy lifetime makes them more of a long-term investment than a pet.

2. Pet turtles are usually kept indoors, but with the appropriate shelter, cleanliness, and warmer temperatures, they may thrive in an outdoor pond as well.

3. Pet turtles make a lot of messes. Keep tank ornaments to a bare minimum.

4. Turtles, like humans and many other creatures, may become fat.

5. UVB lighting is critical. In most enclosures, supplementary heat is required since many turtles demand basking temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

How can Augie help you?

We have an ideal mix of Products and Services that can aid you in your efforts to take care of your pets. We work with different pets viz. Dogs / Cats / Other pets

You can reach out to us and we can aid you. Looking forward to working with you

Have a great Day Ahead!!

[olive32sworld]

Healthy Snacks For Weight Loss And Health

Dieting and exercise have been a major trend for the last three decades although past years have focused on fast weight loss through diet pills and crash diets. However, over the last ten years, more and more people have began to understand that losing weight starts with a balanced diet of healthy snacks, which includes all food groups along with a regular exercise regiment. Fewer people are eliminating whole categories from their diets and focusing on eating the right foods for fat loss. Eating healthy snacks can be one of the most rewarding ways to lose weight while still being able to enjoy a large variety of foods.

Fruits are Nutrient-Packed Snacks for Weight Loss

Fruits are one of the few foods that provide one with a number of vitamins and minerals while tasting absolutely delicious at the same time. However, fruits should always be fresh or at the least frozen. Canned fruits are considered processed foods and may contain an excessive amount of preservatives, syrups, extra sugars, and other ingredients that create high calorie content that can offset the benefits of the fruit itself. Fresh fruits also have the advantage to be bagged and taken as a quick snack. For instance, oranges are healthy snacks for burning fat and can be cut days in advance and stored in a plastic baggy in the refrigerator. Apples, bananas and some other soft fruits may also be bagged although they should be sliced as close to time of eating as possible because of their tendency to darken. Fruits are a great addition to both hot and cold cereals as well and can make breakfast more filling. A quarter cup of strawberries or blueberries make a great addition to practically any breakfast cereal or even a bowl of oatmeal and are definitely healthy snacks for weight loss.

Oh Nuts! Another Great Snack for Burning Fat

Good snacks for losing weight include a variety of foods that contain protein of which nuts are a viable source. There are many nuts that are available in the local grocery store such as peanuts, pecans, cashews, Macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, and many more. Nuts are perfect snacks for fat loss that are very convenient. For instance, before going to the gym, many people may eat a handful of peanuts for an added protein kick to help them through their workout. Even peanut butter is relatively healthy although too much peanut butter can lead to excess calories that take away from its benefits. One thing to remember about buying nuts is the sodium content. Excess sodium can lead to a number of health problems and contribute to weight gain in some cases. Nuts that are dry roasted with no salt are the best healthy snacks for weight loss although now many companies have low salt or "lightly salted" available as well. Nuts can be easily measured for the proper serving size and can be bagged up to carry in pocket books and lunch boxes for that quick snack that packs a punch.

For Healthy Snacking To Lose Weight, Include Vegetables

Most everyone has been told at some point in his or her life to eat all of their vegetables. This rings true for practically every lifestyle, and vegetables are very healthy snacks for weight loss. Some vegetables, like broccoli and celery, even contribute to weight loss while being eaten. It has been said that these two vegetables require more calories to chew and digest than they produce within the body. However, like fruits, vegetables should be fresh or at least frozen. Fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, celery, and even sliced peppers are very convenient healthy snacks for weight loss although sometimes people may make mistakes when eating them. Many people eat dressings on their vegetables. Many of these dressings, particularly store-bought creamy dressings, have large amounts of fat, calories, high fructose corn syrup, and other chemicals that are very undesirable for a proper diet. Fresh vegetables are best eaten without creamy dressings and most can be pre-cut and bagged for an easy snack on the go. Makes these foods one of many go to healthy snacks for weight loss.

Yogurt and Cheeses

It is a common misconception that all cheeses are dairy products loaded with fats, which make them unhealthy. However, that is not necessarily the case, and they can actually be great snacks for your fat loss that are quite tasty. Cheeses such as ricotta, cottage, and yogurt all contain healthy saturated fats that are necessary for proper metabolic function. There are many varieties of yogurt to choose from that are healthy snacks for weight loss such as regular yogurt, strawberry, blueberry, and other flavored yogurt. Yogurt can also be combined with strawberries, blueberries, or bananas to make smoothies, which are especially healthy snacks for weight loss that provide essential vitamins and nutrients that also promote health and healing. Cottage or ricotta cheese is a great addition to any salad and can even replace unhealthy store-bought salad dressings.

A Time for Tea

Instead of potato chips on the couch, many people are beginning to enjoy teas for healthy snacks for weight loss, especially as a midday snack. There are many teas that are considered healthy snacks for weight loss such as oolong, green, and white teas. These teas can be an excellent snack during their morning or afternoon break. Green and white teas are an excellent source of antioxidants, which contributes to optimal blood flow and a reduction in stress. Stress causes the body to store carbohydrates and proteins, which lead to the build up of fats in the body. Tea is excellent for burning fat and provides the body energy and cardiac benefits as well olive snack.

Spice Up Your Snack Life

While most people hail the benefits of healthy snacks for weight loss, many people don't know that there are spices that may add zest to their healthy snacks for weight loss as well. For instance, cinnamon is a spice enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people across the world. Cinnamon can be a great addition to fresh fruit in a bowl of cereal. However, cinnamon can be a healthy snack for weight loss as well because it acts as a metabolic stimulant within the body. This spice makes other healthy snacks for weight loss even better. Make healthy snacks for weight loss a little bit tastier with the addition of one of the many metabolic spices available at the local grocery store.

Conclusion

With so many healthy snacks for weight loss to choose from, one can enjoy a variety of foods without sacrificing one particular group over another. While some healthy snacks for weight loss may be simply low in fats, such as yogurt and cheeses, some foods may directly benefit other total health as well such as the antioxidants in teas. By creating a balanced meal plan along with healthy snacks for weight loss, people can enjoy a healthy lifestyle that contributes to a longer life.