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| The Cook Fresh Box |
Want to cook something new, but are pressed for time? No time to buy groceries for a dish you want to prepare? Don’t have an idea about the measurements of ingredients? Okay then, http://www.cookfresh.in/ comes to your rescue!
A new online venture with an innovative concept especially beneficial for the professionals on the go. Cookfresh measures, packs and delivers fresh ingredients for a recipe you select on the website. This is claims to be India’s first food delivery service that gives you the tools you need to be a gourmet chef at home! Impressive, yeah? If you don't have a lot of experience in the kitchen, Cookfresh is a great way to learn how to cook and start working in the kitchen. You could use Cookfresh for a date night in cooking for your partner, or as a great gift for your foodie friends!
While you can read about them here http://www.cookfresh.in/about-us, let me show you what I received from them.
1. Ingredients for Greek Salad-
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| Neatly labelled, packed, delivered |
Freshly cut, assorted, neatly packed and labelled. The ingredients for salad included- Lettuce leaves, chopped capsicum, tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, black olives, canola oil, red wine vinegar, feta cheese and oregano.
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| Ready in 5 minutes |
So all I had to do was to mix all veggies together and add canola oil, vinegar, feta cheese. Sprinkle oregano as per your taste.
A healthy salad was ready in 5 minutes!
2. Ingredients for Moist Mug Cake
The instructions on the card read-
-Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl followed by mixing the oil and milk. Whip the mixture to form a smooth batter, ensuring no air bubbles are left.
-Drop Nutella in the middle of the batter. No need of poking or pushing it down.
-We placed the batter in microwave for 70 seconds. The only difference was we did not keep the batter in a mug but a microwavable bowl.
I call it Choco Lava Cake and it was ready in a minute!!!
Super impressive and quick it was. Yeah?
My take on this-
You see, mixing ingredients and getting the dish ready, barely takes time. What’s time consuming is assembling the ingredients. Finding time to buy groceries is the first step and then washing & chopping them consumes more time. For people like me, bad in the kitchen, are lost and scared about the measurement of the ingredients. For example, baking the perfect cake has been my dream since long but I could not make it because of poor measurements. Either baking soda would exceed the limit or sugar would fall short. Oops. May I confess, this Chocolate cake was the best ever made by me? (Okay, hubby helped, so made by us) Thanks to Cook Fresh to send the right mix and proportion of ingredients to churn out great delicacy!
They have a large array of dishes. Take a look at the available ones here- http://www.cookfresh.in/recipes
Cook Fresh delivers in most of the areas in Delhi NCR. Delivery is free, however a minimum delivery may be required for a location not listed in the website. Pay cash on delivery or online. Call +91 9971 835722 or shoot a mail to contact@cookfresh.in for more info.
The common ingredient for both the preparations is Canola Oil which is a storehouse of several benefits as follows-
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| Canola Oil |
- Minimal “bad” fats: Compared to common culinary oils, canola oil has the least saturated fat (7 per cent) – less than a third that of rice bran oil (25 per cent) and half that of sunflower (12 per cent), olive (15 per cent), soybean (15 per cent) and groundnut (19 per cent) oils. Canola oil is also free of trans fat and, like all vegetable oils, has zero cholesterol.
- Helps protect the heart: According to scientific studies, 1.5 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil a day may be enough to help keep the cardiologist away, when used in place of saturated fat. That is for just a few rupees a day. The US Food and Drug Administration authorized a qualified health claim for canola oil’s ability to reduce the risk of heart disease when used instead of saturated fat.
- Helps control blood sugar: Canola oil can help control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes when included in a low-glycemic index diet (one that minimizes changes in blood sugar levels), according to published research, because of its high monounsaturated fat content. Adding canola oil to the diet is a simple way of helping control blood sugar.
- May reduce belly fat: Canola oil was shown in a clinical trial to lower belly fat when used in place of selected oil blends in a heart-healthy diet for weight maintenance. Belly fat is one of the five criteria for metabolic syndrome. Reducing it can decrease blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides and increase in HDL cholesterol. Those who consumed canola oil on a daily basis for four weeks lowered their belly fat by 1.6 percent.
- Good source of heart-smart fats: Canola oil is rich in two polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid). These fats are considered essential because the body cannot make them on its own. Of all common cooking oils, canola oil has the most plant-based omega-3 fat (11 per cent). It substantially reduces total and LDL cholesterol levels when used in place of saturated fat.
- Good source of vitamins E and K: Canola oil is a good source of these fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin E is an antioxidant and vitamin K plays a key role in healthy blood clotting.
- May protect against breast and colon cancers: Early research indicates the potential of canola oil to protect against breast and colon cancers.
- Canola oil is a culinary delight: It can be heated to a higher temperature than most other oils before it starts to smoke (smoke point of 242 °C). This makes it ideal for high heat applications like sautéing and deep-frying. Its light texture, mild taste and colourless appearance are a good match for any type of cooking. Its neutral taste does not overwhelm the flavours of other ingredients in a dish, allowing the spices to work their magic and enhance the flavours.
- Canola oil enhances baking: The delicious nature of baked goods is enhanced by canola oil providing them with a moist, soft texture with no cholesterol and little saturated fat. Replacing solid fats like butter or lard with canola oil allows for a reduction in both total and saturated fat. In fact, total fat can drop by up to 25 percent, sparing calories without sacrificing goodness.
With cardiovascular disease a leading cause of death across the world, there is a need to improve our lifestyles and shift to healthier oils in our diets. Canola is a good choice of oil given its heart-healthy qualities, suitability with all cooking methods and cuisines, and affordability among other healthy oils. This is why and more and more people around the world are now making it a part of their kitchen.