More than ever before people are watching what they eat.. One method that has shown great success in helping people quickly drop those unwanted pounds is through low carb cooking and dieting. This method of weight loss seems to have taken the world by storm promising quick results for the simple (or not so simple) lifestyle change of eliminating as many carbohydrates as possible from our diets.

The notion sounds simple on one hand and is appealing to not only women hoping to drop those vanity pounds but also men who welcome the idea of eating all the steaks they can handle throughout the year. Low card cooking is becoming a way of life for many families as a result though the idea of this particular lifestyle change and the reality of it do on occasion seriously collide with one another.

If you are interested in dropping those unwanted pounds and keeping them off, this is a doubt that without a doubt gets results. The problem is that you must stick to the diet in order for the results to remain consistent even after you’ve met your weight loss goals. This means that you are not really embarking on a diet so much as a complete overhaul in the way you eat.

The excellent thing about low carb cooking is that it is so widely popular. This means that you will have no trouble finding resources, tips, tricks, advice, and even amazing substitutes for those things you often miss most when engaging in the low carb lifestyle. Popular stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes are great places to go for specific foods that are low carb in nature and designed to meet the chocolate or breading needs of those who feel more than slightly deprived by the rigorous restrictions of a low carb lifestyle. Many mainstream grocery stores are also beginning to see the value of catering to this ‘high end’ market of consumers and offering a wider variety of low carb friendly foods to consumers.

You can find recipes that are low in carbs by the mouthful at your local libraries and bookstores around the world. You can also find many resources on the Internet to help assist and encourage you in your low carb lifestyle incorporation. In addition to the cookbooks, recipes, and encouragement you also need to weed out the fact from the fiction when it comes to low carb cooking. The best way to do this is to go straight to the source. If you are going to incorporate this lifestyle altering diet into your way of life, you want to make sure that you are following it to the letter and not some knock off version that may not be as effective.

When it comes to low carb cooking you have the perfect excuse to use your grill well and use your grill often. In fact, I highly recommend a George Foreman grill (or some similar knock off) for your home for those days when grilling outside simply isn’t an option. Around our house, those are the days when the snow reaches the bottom of the grill but we are the exception rather than the rule. Most importantly about low carb cooking you should keep your goal in mind. Just adjust they way you cook and eat to reach your goals.

Cooking can be Fun

Cooking can be fun, especially when you have a plan!
How many times have you asked the question, “What’s for Dinner?” Well, sometimes you have it all planned out. Other times you don’t. On the days when you don’t, that’s when people tend to make bad food choices and also waste unnecessary time in the kitchen or shopping blindly for ingredients you may or may not need.

A good way to get around this is to plan things out in advance. Come up with two weeks worth of dinner menus and shop for the ingredients at the beginning of each week. You can find recipes in cookbooks or come up with some of your own. However, if the recipe is in your head, it could help to write it down in its entirety. That way you won’t forget any of the ingredients. There are few things that are more frustrating than being in the middle of a recipe only to realize you don’t have what you need.

How To Cook Prime Rib

Cooking prime rib is almost like cooking any other beef roast, but with much better flavor than regular roast. Individuals want to start by making sure that the prime rib is at room temperature before placing it in the oven. This will take at least two hours.  If it is frozen it will take longer to cook. Then individuals will want to trim excess fat off the prime rib, but they will want to leave a thin layer of fat for it to baste itself on. Then individuals will want to pat the rib roast dry with a paper towel or napkin.

Start cooking prime rib by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Individuals need to spread butter on the cut ends of the roast. Place the roast fat side up in a roasting pan that is at least three inches deep on the sides. It is recommended that a heavy stainless steel pan be used. The rib bones create a natural rack so a metal one is not needed.

Sear the prime rib at 450 degrees for fifteen minutes then reduce the heat to 325 degrees to fully cook prime rib. Every half an hour baste the prime rib with the fat on the bottom.  About thirty minutes before the end of the cooking time individuals should stick an instant read digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the prime rib. Be sure to stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, not into the fat or near the bone. Once an internal temperature of 120 degrees is reached, remove the prime rib from the oven and wrap in aluminum foil. Let it set for twenty to thirty minutes.  While wrapped the prime rib will continue to cook reaching an internal temperature of 125 degrees to 130 degrees. The cooked prime rib is ready to be served and eaten.

Rib
Count
Approximate Weight
Oven
Temperature
Total
Estimated Time
Meat Thermometer Reading (Rare)
2 ribs
4  to 5 pounds
450°/325° F
60 to 70 minutes
120° F
3 ribs
7 to 8.5 pounds
450°/325° F
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours
120° F
4 ribs
9 to 10.5 pounds
450°/325° F
1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours
120° F
5 ribs
11 to 13.5 pounds
450°/325° F
2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours
120° F
6 ribs
14 to 16 pounds
450°/325° F
3 to 3 1/4 hours
120° F
7 ribs
16 to 18.5 pounds
450°/325° F
3 1/4 to 4 hours
120° F

To carve the cooked prime rib, individuals should use a long, thin sharp knife. Use the knife to cut off the feather bones, these bones are the large end bones. Slice off large steak size pieces with the desired thickness.

Invest in a Good Set of Knives

A good set of knives is easily the most important thing that you could have in the kitchen. That and a large cutting board. A lot of people buy the least expensive knives they can find. If you want to learn how to cook and be as efficient as possible in the kitchen, skimping on the knife set is not a good idea.

Visit your local home store and check out their knife display. Most of the knives are locked up but you can probably find a salesperson and explain to them your needs. They’ll let you hold them so you can judge how they feel.

Don’t buy a knife just because it is expensive, however. The grip and balance may not be what you need. Test out knives that are in all different price ranges. There is nothing wrong with buying something inexpensive, as long as it feels good. A good set of cooking knives is essential to being a good cook!

Top chefs seem to really have it together when they are preparing meals. When we watch them cook, they don’t scramble around the kitchen looking for last minute ingredients. Everything always seems to be right in front of them.

The French have a term for this – mise en place. This basically means “preparing the ingredients”. You chop and measure things out in advance. It may seem as if this will lengthen the cooking time. But it actually shortens it and helps make your food come out better.

Not convinced? Consider this. How many times have you left onions or garlic to sauté in a skillet, only to realize that you need to add the mushrooms ASAP but they are not cleaned or chopped yet? And by the time they are chopped, the onions are a burnt mess. Well all this could have been prevented if you prepared the ingredients ahead of time.