TWilliams's Profile

Two tips that I don't think have been mentioned yet:
1) Marinate (I use yogurt) or brine the chicken before cooking it to avoid that reheated chicken flavor (I agree, really gross).
2) If you are not averse to breading, try a dusting of bread crumbs or flour. The reheated meat will stay moist (unless you cut into it too soon and the juices run out).

I use these two techniques for making chicken nuggets for my toddler. The frozen nuggets heat up moist every time after a couple of seconds in the microwave.

I think even the "experts" often focus too much on diet, exercise, and potential metabolic issues rather than considering why our bodies might tend to store extra energy. When our minds perceive stress/challenges, our bodies are driven to consume and store more energy to be able to deal with what may lie ahead. Our bodies are the machinery we utilize to interact with the world around us and gaining weight ensures we have reserves to use when difficult situations arise.

I am no doctor or nutritional expert, but from experience, what has helped me maintain a healthy body is quieting my mind. Every perceived stress triggers a "craving" for calories. In fact, just the stress of not feeling like you're at an ideal body weight actually thwarts your efforts to lose weight. So, ironically, when you stop worrying about your weight, you're actually more likely to be able to lose it and maintain it.

I agree with many of the other comments that suggest talking to a doctor about your diet and exercise regimen. However, it really couldn't hurt to try meditation and other spiritual practices to help reach your weight goals. When your spirit is well-fed, your body is less hungry.

@ChristieMT The Kitchn did this post a while ago http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-steelcut-138355 that said that the nutritional value of steel cut oats is the same as any other kind of processed oat. I have a feeling steel cut oats might turn into little rocks when toasted, but I've never tried it. Give it a go and report back :).

"If anything, using bread flour will give you a heavier and denser loaf..." I don't agree with this statement. Better gluten formation using bread flour means that the dough will be able to support larger air pockets (from the CO2 expelled by yeast), resulting in a lighter crumb, not denser. The air pockets in AP flour break down sooner, resulting in a tighter crumb. This effect bears out both in theory and in practice. However, another thing that bears out in practice (trust me) is that either flour can result in heavy and dense bread if the gluten is not developed and aligned in the dough. The amount of surface tension in the final shaped loaf will also influence oven spring. I would suggest looking up stretch and fold techniques and dough shaping techniques to improve dough strength and structure.

In addition to the "strength" of the dough, the protein content of the flour influences the tenderness of the crumb in the baked product. Lower protein flours like cake flour result in a more tender crumb, whereas, higher protein flours like bread flour result in a more chewy crumb.

Just a comment on the domestically farmed tilapia recommended in this recipe, while this variety may be better from the perspective of sustainability, farmed tilapia in the U.S. and more generally, farmed fish, tend to have higher levels of heavy metals and organic contaminants than the wild variety. This makes sense because the farmed fish are consistently exposed to the same pond sediments and same fish feed, so they accumulate more of whatever toxin is present in those sources.
Farmed fish are also often nutritionally inferior (think fatty acids) to wild fish because the nutrition we gain from them depends on what they were fed. If they are fed inferior quality feed (cheapest stuff they can grow on, a.k.a, fish junk food), then the nutrition we gain from them will also be inferior to that from wild fish that grow on a much more varied diet.

While it is important to make environmentally conscious choices, it would be good not to lose sight of the fact that we eat to nourish our bodies. If you are eating fish as part of a healthful diet, it makes more sense to eat wild caught fish.

As several other people have pointed out, you risk flavor loss and overproofing at higher fermentation temperatures. Let your yeast ferment more slowly and err on the side of underproofing to get a more flavorful and lighter loaf.

Jonathans for baking, Jonagolds for raw consumption.

Use it for curry.

...or a glass top would be even better. You could arrange pretty cookbooks underneath it to keep you inspired in the kitchen.

ccp mbd, that was my first thought too.