Vegetable Stock

I'm a little crazy about creating healthy meals for my family. With 2 sons that are extremely picky-eaters they keep me on my toes trying to find ways to sneak protein and vegetables in their diets. Recently I've got my parents on my healthy eating bandwagon. They pay me to make 2 weeks worth of food for them. So far in a month my dad has lost 4 pounds and my mom has lost 2 pounds. But even better than weight loss is that my mom's doctor was so pleased that her cholesterol levels are down to a normal rate. See Mom and Dad...this healthy eating thing is pretty cool!

I recently learned how to make vegetable stock and it's one of those staples that are great to have in your fridge. A little vegetable stock can be used in place of oil when sauteing veggies, adds extra flavor and less fat! All you have to do is when you are cutting up vegetables for a dish put all the pieces of vegetables that you would normally throw in the trash in a large pot. I'm talking about the ends of an onion, the skin of an eggplant etc. And then fill with water and boil for an hour. Remove the large chunks of vegetables and throw away or put in your compost. Run the liquid throw a sieve. And wha-la you have vegetable stock..store in your fridge and add to sauces or use in place of oil for sauteing.

The added bonus is that you are using something once more before throwing it away!