Retro Sundays

I created the Retro Sundays series to help newer readers easily navigate the very best of this blog's enormous back catalog of content. Each Retro Sundays column serves up a selection of the best articles from this week in history here at Casual Kitchen.

As always, please feel free to explore CK's Recipe Index, the Best Of Casual Kitchen page and my full Index of Posts. You can also receive my updates at Twitter.

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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:

Groundnut Stew: A Classic and Exotic Vegetarian Recipe (November 2007)
This popular, healthy and laughably cheap recipe combines everyday ingredients into a stew so exotic you'll hardly believe you made it in your own home. It's been a staple in our kitchen for well over a decade.

When High-Fat Food ... Can Actually Be Healthy For You (November 2007)
Believe it or not, it's okay, occasionally, to eat energy-dense, fat-laden food. This controversial article was one of my early efforts at exploring diet and athletic training.

Ten Tips on How to Cut Your Food Budget Using the 80/20 Rule (November 2008)
By now most readers know my near-fetish for the 80/20 Rule. This post--one of the most popular from 2008--contains a barrage of easy ways to save money on your food and other kitchen expenses.

How to Write A Killer Links Post (November 2009)
Links are the currency of the internet, and this post explains how to spread link love and attract new readers by sharing useful and compelling content on your blog.

Speed-Weaning: How to End Your Caffeine Addiction in Just Three Days (November 2009)
The idea of weaning myself off of coffee was utterly inconceivable until I discovered this easy, three-day process. Try it, and you'll see that kicking the caffeine habit is far less frightening than you'd think. (For the raw-curious readers out there, this was a critical preliminary step before my 100% raw foods trial.)


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2 comments:

Sally said...

Recently I've been consuming more fat and animal protein in my diet than I have in a long time. Not only am I satisfied with less food at my meals, I feel hungry less often between meals, so, less snacking. I don't count calories, but suspect there's a net loss.

About the 80/20 rule for saving money on food: I've gone "back to basics" in my cooking and eating. Most of my meals come from pantry and refrigerator basics plus meat and in season produce. If I decide to make something that calls for an ingredient I don't normally have on hand, I make sure I have plans to use all of it in a timely manner. If I don't think I'll be able to use an ingredient in a timely manner, I don't buy it.

I started thinking about what my family ate when I was growing up. There was a lot less variety than there is now. Yet, we were all healthy and well fed -- and I don't recall anyone being bored by a lack of variety.

I'm not bored by the lack of variety, either. Instead, I'm surprised by how much variety there is in a limited number of basic ingredients.

Daniel said...

Sally, these are great insights. I think you've hit the nail on the head: as a society we increasingly fail to recognize the value in basic, simple good things. It is to our detriment. Thanks for sharing.

DK