Recipes Archives - Mamas Like Me

How to Start Your Own Food and Recipe Website

Are you planning to create a food and recipe website? Whether you own a blog that reviews local restaurants or shares your recipes, a WordPress site that’s perfectly crafted can immediately grab the attention of users.

In this post, we’ll walk you through some helpful tips on how you can create your food and recipe site:

Starting a Food and Recipe Site

Many people will tell you that the food and recipe niche is already slightly oversaturated. But here’s the thing- everyone will always eat food, and new, fresh recipes will always be needed.

Moreover, if you have a unique voice and writing style, you’ll always bring something new to the table and stand out. To do this, you must pick a niche that resonates most with you.

When choosing a niche, ask yourself what foods you’re most passionate about.

Here are some suggestions:

Vegan food and meals
Health-conscious recipes
Kid-friendly food
Eating on a budget/ budget meals
Cultural dishes/ recipes
Fried foods

1. Setting up your food blog domain

When starting a food and recipe site, one of the first things on your list is to decide between food blog names and set up your food blog domain. At Syrian Productions (web design philippines), we recommend that our clients buy their domain separately from their hosting. Doing so saves money and makes things easier.

Keep in mind that domain and hosting selling are two entire activities. Moreover, most companies only do one quite well.

Your domain name will be your site’s address on the internet, aka your URL. Ideally, your chosen domain name should be recommended in your chosen food niche. Use keywords connected with the food or recipe genre you’ve chosen.

On the other hand, web hosting is where all your website’s files are stored. It would help if you had web hosting and a domain name to create a good website.

2. Install WordPress for your food blog

Installing WordPress is relatively simple if you’ve chosen Bluehost or something similar. All you need to do is to pick a theme for your WordPress site, put the title of your site, write your tagline, and you’re ready to go.

3. Pick the suitable food theme

You can opt for a free theme. Download and install one from the WordPress theme repository.

You can then access this from your dashboard:

Click Appearance > Themes > Add New

Then, look up a free WordPress theme that you like using via the search function. Similarly, if you’ve already downloaded a theme, you can upload it by clicking the Upload Theme button.

Once you find the theme that you like, click Install and Activate so that it will go live on your site. You can also customize it by clicking Appearance > Customize.

Using a built-for-purpose WordPress theme has a unique set of pros and cons. One of the biggest pros is that this theme is already pre-loaded with everything you need to develop a professional-looking site in the food niche.

On the other hand, one of the major drawbacks of having pre-loaded features is that it can significantly restrict your flexibility, especially when it comes to customization.

4. Install the perfect plugins

To access WordPress’s free plugins, you can go to the plugin repository of WordPress through your site’s dashboard.

Hit Plugins> Add New to get started.

You can then search for useful free plugins for your site. As soon as you find something you like, you need to click Install and Activate to test it.

5. Marketing and Strategy

Statistics — The growth curve is going in the right direction

Unless you want to record recipes and ideas for personal use, you likely want traffic to your site. It’s not just any traffic; you want your site visitors to be interested in the food, recipes, and ideas you’re sharing.

Let’s break the process down into three essential parts:

Audience

For who exactly will you be writing? You’ll have a tough time being a generalist blogger or without a particular niche.

Ideally, you want to choose a site wherein you have a specific audience that you want to focus on and specifically write content for them.

Traffic Sources

Next, you need to understand how you can get site visitors from various traffic sources. Since you’re opting for the food and recipes niche, one of the primary traffic sources for your blog will likely be Google Search, Pinterest, and Facebook.

You also need to stay consistent, keep learning and understand your Analytics. This gives you an idea of how visitors interact with your site.

Time and Adjustments

Over time, you’ll get a strong sense of what’s working and what isn’t. Make sure that you consistently update and publish content. Track your analytics and keep learning about sources from which you can get your traffic.

Over to You

So there you have it! Hopefully, these tips have helped you how you can create the perfect food and recipe site.

Healthy Meal Planning for Busy Moms

We can’t stop hearing about the importance of healthy eating as if it’s the easiest and most convenient for everyone. Working a full-time job and being a parent at the same time, leaves little time for cooking, errands, and pastime. So, if you’ve been looking for handy tips on starting healthy meal planning, you’ve come to the right place. We have a few tips that will help you prepare yummy food for yourself and your kids, even with the busy schedule you have.

Get a meal planning app

Living in the age of technology comes with many advantages. One of them is the ability to download an app for almost any purpose. You can have your virtual meal planning assistant in the palm of your hand in only a few seconds of downloading the app from your mobile phone’s app store. Get various ideas for quick and healthy meals, learn about meal planning and incorporate the best ingredients into a meal, for optimal nutrition. You can have a shopping list in the app and keep the contents of your fridge and pantry there to create recipes for new healthy meals and easily add the missing ingredients to your shopping list.

Create a vision board

Pinterest is one of the best platforms for creating vision boards. Food is one of the most visited topics, and you will find a full spectrum of other people’s meal planning vision boards there. It will be a good starting point for you, allowing you to create your vision boards for future meal planning. Create several vision boards, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for dinner. Have a separate board for meats, an individual one for veggies, and whatever else you think would be useful for you. Whenever you spot a convenient meal idea online or in the supermarket newsletter, screenshot it and make it a part of your vision board. Inspiration is all around you, so look carefully and use every chance to save ideas for the future.

Have healthy meals delivered to you

Sometimes, regardless of the effort that you put into trying to complete a task, the time isn’t on your side. If you think you won’t be able to make healthy meals in advance on your own, you can always count on online delivery services. Don’t worry, junk food isn’t the only food that you can have delivered to you. Now, you can easily have healthy home-cooked meals delivered to your doorstep in only a few clicks. Browse authentic homemade meals online and order enough meals for the entire family.

Look for inspiration online

Are you spending hours on social media scrolling through food posts? Well, instead of just scrolling, stop, look carefully, and start browsing. You will find many food bloggers who are experts in meal planning and healthy food prep. Use your online presence wisely to look for inspiration for your meal prep tactics. You can see tips like having a diary of meals that you’ll want to cook during a week. Cooking various meals one day and freezing them for future use is another option that can pop up.

Join a club

Busy mums are all around you, and you should all socialize and share your motherhood experiences. At support groups like that, you will be able to give tips to other mums and ask for help in return. Whether they’ve been more resourceful or have a knack for meal planning, you can learn all the tricks about meal planning from other mums. Having a calendar of various meals helps you keep up with meat intake and prevents you from eating too similar foods frequently. At a club, you can learn how to divide your meats and veggies equally to get as diverse a diet as possible.

Follow the 50% rule

The 50% rule will make your healthy eating so much easier. Namely, your plate should consist of 50% vegetables. The other 50% are divided between protein, such as lean meats, and carbs. Complex carbohydrates will be your best bet because they take longer to release glucose. Think squashes, quinoa, and brown rice as some of the best examples of complex carbohydrates that your body will love. If you realize you’ve made too much food, and it can withstand another few days in the fridge, store it as leftovers. Some foods like stew and minced meat that haven’t been cooked yet can go in the freezer for future use.

Final thoughts

Meal planning can be challenging when you’re a busy mum. However, all you need is a few tips like these to make every day filled with healthy meals easily enough. Read through them carefully and dedicate some time to making your meal schedule. Look for inspiration everywhere, and you will quickly get your ideas for new yummy meals everyone will enjoy.

How to Make the Most Delicious Pecan Pie in 7 Easy Steps

Crisp on the outside, chewy in the center, and with some of the best flavor you can imagine, homemade pecan pie is a special treat not to be missed. Although it’s considered a traditional dish for certain holidays, many people enjoy it year-round. In this article, we’ll teach you how to make an amazing pecan pie from scratch. We’ll take you to step by step through each stage of preparation so that your final product comes out perfect every time.

1. Purchase the best pecans and the best pie crust.

The rolling pin is used at the beginning of the process of making pecan pie

Here we go with some of the most important steps: buying pecans and a good pie crust. Of course, you can make your own dough, but if you don’t want to get out of bed or breathe in flour dust (it’s bad for your lungs), then buy pre-made dough at the supermarket!

As for the pecans, a lifestyle influencer and founder of a PR agency, Amra Beganovich advise to: “look for shiny ones!” If they seem dull, either their oil has dried up or they were previously microwaved. The latter is not a big deal since it only destroys a small number of nutrients, but still! You can also ensure that you’ll have tasty pecan halves by purchasing them from a store that sells them loose by weight. If you’re interested, just ask the cashier what other customers usually put in their bags when they leave 🙂

An old proverb says that the best pecans are always found where squirrels can see them. I don’t know how true this is, but it’s an interesting idea to think about while grocery shopping!

2. Put the pecan halves in a zip-lock bag or Tupperware container along with 1/4 tsp of salt per cup of pecans.

The next step, putting the ingredients in a container together, ensures that all of your efforts will be worthwhile! No more bland pie crusts or sad-looking pecan pies for you unless you follow these steps! You can add some honey or spices to the mix too, but it’s completely up to you.

3. Use a rolling pin to crush the pecans into more of a paste than a whole nut.

As for this step, if you don’t have a rolling pin then use what you have! I once used my credit card and that worked out just fine 🙂 This step is very important because it ensures even cooking throughout all parts of your pie crust. Or maybe it doesn’t do anything? I’m not sure what this step’s purpose is, but it certainly isn’t the most important one can pie without putting dough over the “filling” first? It would be like eating mashed potatoes with no gravy… what’s even the point! Whether you made your own dough or bought it from a store, make sure to roll it out so that you have enough for your crust AND so that there are no air bubbles before hardening it into a solid block of deliciousness 🙂

4. Bake the pecan paste at 300°F for 30-40 minutes.

There are many different baking methods out there! You can choose whichever suits your tastes best. Here are some tips to keep in mind though:

– Don’t let the pecans burn! If the baking process takes too long, then take them out of the oven.

– Don’t overcook! After 30 minutes, check on your crust every five minutes just to make sure that it’s not getting too dry and browned. Once it reaches a golden color, take it out IMMEDIATELY !!! Overcooking will cause all of those delicious nutrients in the pecans to denature and become useless.

5. Bake until golden brown on top.

Here it comes cooking time! In order to ensure that all of the flavors blend together just right, you should cook the pie for about 45 minutes to an hour. Just check it now and then to make sure that your crust is golden brown on top, but don’t take it out too soon! The best pecan pies are always cooked until all of the flavors have melded together into one delicious slice of goodness 🙂

6. Let cool before serving.

The last step, do not to eat your pie hot out of the oven … unless you want a mouthful of burnt sugar or dough! This step is important because it gives all of those scrumptious flavors time to blend together perfectly. And if you’re pressed for time because you can’t wait until tomorrow morning to try this recipe, I understand completely since I’m an impatient person too. Luckily, this pie tastes just as good at room temperature or even chilled! I know that the oven takes up a ton of space and you might not have any more room for other dishes, but don’t worry… there’s still one more step left after this!

7. But wait… there’s another important step!

Pecan pie is delicious by itself, but if you want to make it “pop” then serve it with vanilla ice cream! This completes the flavor profile because now your pecan pie will taste like caramel sauce drizzled on top of vanilla flavored creaminess. Adults and kids alike are sure to enjoy these two together at any time of year 🙂

Are you craving some right now? You know what to do!

I hope that you enjoy these steps and see for yourself how easy it is to make the most delicious pecan pie in 7 easy steps! Please let me know how you like this recipe if you decide to try it out, I’d love to hear from all of my fellow sweet tooths out there 🙂

What are your favorite fruits or nuts? Have any good recipes with them that you want to share? Let’s chat about it in the comments below! Also, don’t forget to follow me on my other social media pages for updates on when new blog posts go live! Thanks again 😀

3 Important Reasons Why Getting Proper Sleep Matters for Women

Not getting enough sleep at night has universal detrimental effects on people. In addition to daytime fatigue and impaired mental performance, sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, exacerbates symptoms of anxiety or depression, and increases one’s risk for serious health conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.

For a lot of women, though, sleeping poorly is unavoidable. Hormones play a huge part in why this is—specifically, the hormones that govern a woman’s menstrual cycle can cause changes in sleep patterns or increase the likelihood of developing sleep orders such as insomnia. In fact, studies show that women are 40% more likely to develop it than men. Other barriers to getting proper sleep include stress, mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, physical disorders such as sleep apnea or urinary problems, or lifestyle-related factors such as working too hard.

It’s therefore important to know what the consequences of not getting the rest you need at night are so that you can take the necessary steps to attenuate the factors that prevent you from getting proper sleep. Here are some of them:

Poor Sleep Can Lead to Unhealthy Weight Gain

When your body is deprived of sleep, its regulation of ghrelin and leptin—hormones that regulate hunger and the feeling of fullness, respectively—is affected. This signals to the body that it needs to consume more calories. The problem is that the comfort foods that most people tend to reach for when they’re hungry are also usually high in sugar, sodium, and fat. Add the fact that the person’s metabolism also slows down when they’re short on sleep, and the result is unwanted weight gain. If you feel that temporary lack of sleep is putting your body’s hormone balance out of whack, it would be best to pay close attention to what you eat and drink in the meantime. If possible, stick to healthy snacks such as nuts, seeds, or sugar-free granola and avoid foods that are rich in salt and saturated fats. You may also want to switch regular sugar out for zero-calorie sweetener if you’re the type of person who can’t drink their coffee or tea black.

Poor Sleep Can Affect Your Cognition and Concentration

Numerous studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lead to diminished alertness, impaired judgment, decreased levels of concentration, and reduced cognition. Since this can essentially lower a person’s level of focus and attention, their ability to accomplish tasks that require mental action and reasoning is also affected. And in an era when women are experiencing longer working hours, this can have a tremendous impact on their capacity to perform optimally. This can even increase a woman’s risk of injury to herself and to others, especially for individuals who work in hazardous environments or professions. Getting a good night’s sleep is also crucial if you’re driving long distances, as it will help you avoid highway hypnosis – a state more common in tired drivers.

It is thus very important to get between 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Consider taking the necessary steps to develop proper sleep hygiene, which usually calls for developing bedtime routines that prep your body to sleep. These can include taking a warm and comforting bath before bedtime, reading a book, or listening to soothing music. You can also buy comfortable womens sleepwear that can make falling asleep easier.

Poor Sleep Changes Your Appearance

Yes, beauty sleep really is a thing. Numerous studies have shown that getting too little sleep can result in drastic changes to your appearance—and dark circles around the eyes are only the tip of the iceberg.

In addition to replenishing energy, sleep is when your body regenerates itself, eliminating dead blood and skin cells and replacing them with the healthy ones that give you that telltale youthful glow. Sleep also lowers the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body, which is the main culprit of free-radical damage to the skin and other systems. Finally, sleep is when your body produces the most collagen, which helps keep your skin plump and bouncy, thus keeping sagging and wrinkles at bay.

So what are the changes that you can expect if you don’t sleep enough at night? Dark circles are a given, which can give you a tired, haunted look. Sleep deprivation can also lead to imbalances in the skin, causing it to become dehydrated and sallow-looking. It can also exacerbate certain skin conditions such as acne and rosacea. Over time, you’ll find that making a habit of sleeping poorly will have irreversible effects. Age lines will start to form around your eyes and mouth much earlier than expected, and you may notice blemishes and other forms of discoloration more.

If the occasional late night can’t be avoided, you can still easily correct or prevent any drastic changes to your skin by giving it a hydration boost. Make an effort to drink plenty of water if you’re going to be staying up. You can also try cutting down on your caffeine intake if it’s a work-related all-nighter, or stopping early if it’s one that involves going out with your friends. It’s also a good idea to keep to your usual skincare routine and make sure that your skin is well-moisturized to keep the effects of sleep deprivation from wreaking havoc on it.

Sleeplessness is unavoidable sometimes. Fortunately, there’s a lot that you can do to keep it under control. Consider keeping to a nightly routine that gets you in bed at a consistent time, wearing more comfortable clothes, optimizing your sleeping position, or taking melatonin supplements that can help you drift off to dreamland much faster. And for those nights when you absolutely need to pull that all-nighter? Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself adequately by drinking plenty of water and staying away from junk food.

Different Types of Pancakes That You Must Try

Pancakes are some of the most loved and ultimate comfort foods people love to cherish. They are cheap and are pretty easy to prepare.

By just following a recipe and using your creative mind, you can create your very own pancake that specifically suits your taste buds. You can either eat them for breakfast or as a dessert.

They may not be termed as a wholesale bakery item because you can just prepare them at your home in just a matter of time.

The following are some of the best pancakes that you must try.

1. Classic buttermilk pancake

The ingredients required for this classic pancake are so basic that they are readily available everywhere. The main one thing you need to prepare this dish is buttermilk.

It will be cheaper if you prepare pancakes from scratch rather than buying premixed dry ingredients. The effort required to make a classic pancake is easy in both ways. Krusteaz pancake mix is the best buttermilk pancake you can try out.

2. Traditional Buckwheat pancake

This healthy traditional buckwheat pancake is prepared from natural buckwheat and it is gluten-free. Buckwheat is nowhere close to wheat. The flavor is mainly nutty and robust, which results in more complexity compared to using actual wheat flour.

3. Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry pancakes are one of the most loved pancakes. You just cannot ignore these pancakes when they are in front of you. Using frozen blueberries is a great option to make these. Just ensure you defrost these berries before adding them into the batter. You can also use mashed egg whites to add some extra fluffiness.

4. Banana Nut pancake

Banana nut pancake is one of the most popular breakfast dishes and it has a lot of resemblance to the recipe of a standard pancake. When you add mashed banana into the batter, it creates an extra layer of moisture, which gives a flavorful finish to the product. You can leave some pieces of banana on the dish for added taste and flavor.

5. Mixed berry pancake

Mixed berries pancakes, as the name suggests, is simply a mixture of berries. You can add a few berries in the batter and use the remaining ones as toppings for the pancake.

Frozen berries indeed are a great option. This is one of the easiest easy recipes for those who like to eat more fruits.

6. S’MORES

S’MORES is a permissive and sugary dish that is more suitable as a dessert rather than breakfast. The toppings for this dessert include chocolate, marshmallow fluff, and graham cracker. These toppings take the pancake to a whole next level. Some people may even choose to sprinkle a few toppings in the batter for added flavor.

7. Choco chip pancakes

No matter what kind of chocolate you use, it will always taste good with pancakes. This recipe is specially made with mini choco chips. These small chips will add the flavor of delicious dark chocolate in every single bite of your devour. The best part, the ingredients will continue to enhance the actual taste of pancakes.

8. Peanut butter pancakes

If you mix peanut butter with wet ingredients of the batter, what you will get is a smooth and rich creamy flavor in each and every bite. Peanut butter consists of proteins and fats that help in balancing the protein, fats, and carbs in the pancake. So peanut butter pancakes not just taste good but they also provide you with healthy nutrition, great flavor, and taste.

9. Red velvet pancakes

Red velvet pancakes are nothing but a bigger version of cupcakes. These pancakes are mostly suitable for breakfast. The subtle flavor and bright red color of this pancake are extremely appealing, and the icing of cream, milk, butter, and sugar on the top of the pancake takes thisdish to a whole different level.

10. Chocolate pancakes

This recipe is only required when mini choco chips are not enough for a pancake. Chocolate addicts will need more cacao in order to enhance the flavor of chocolate in every bite they take. Mixing cacao powder in the flour before preparing the batter will add the distinctive best aroma of the chocolate in the pancake.

11. Sweet and spicy pancake

For all those who love sweets and spicy food, this pancake is the best for you. Ingredients such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg are added in the batter to give it a strong, tangy, and pleasant texture and flavor.

12. Savory herb

Pancakes need not always necessarily be sweet. Adding herbs and eliminating sugar is a great way to have a healthy, tasty, and light pancake for breakfast. For final seasoning, you can also add some ricotta and chili oil to get a lovely texture.

13. Cinnamon roll pancake

This recipe specifically induces the taste and aroma of a cinnamon roll in the pancake. To prepare a perfect cinnamon roll pancake, you need three main ingredients cinnamon fillings, pancake batter, and cream cheese icing. The recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes is a lot easier than an actual cinnamon roll. Plus, there is not a lot of difference in the taste.

14. Carrot pancake

As the name goes by, the recipe for this pancake includes carrots, raisins, and cinnamon, which makes it a flavorsome and subtle dish. The best icing you can add on top of this pancake can be cream cheese frosting, but if you are only looking out for a healthy option then this icing might not be the right recipe for you.

15. Toasted coconut pancake

This consists of four heavy doses of coconuts in the entire recipe. If you often crave coconut then you can also use coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut sugar, and toasted coconut in your recipe to satisfy your taste buds.

16. Mocha pancake

Mocha pancake is nothing but a combination of chocolate and coffee in the form of a pancake. This pancake is ideal for a brunch meal. The flavor of coffee and chocolate is assembled by adding cocoa powder and brewed coffee into the batter.

17. Caramel latte pancake

Caramel Latte is a simple, light, and fluffy pancake that presents added flavors of coffee to get a subtle aroma. You can also pour caramel sauce on top of the cake to balance the bitter taste of the coffee with buttery sweetness.

18. Pumpkin pancake

Pumpkin is fruit/vegetable that can easily fit in all kinds of dishes – even in pancakes! They are both inexpensive and healthy. You can add a can of pumpkin to increase the volume of your batter. It will also give you an earthy sweetness full of natural fluffiness.

19. Pina colada

If you ever get confused between a tropical drink and hot fluffy cake then this recipe is the best for you. This pancake gets its name from the combination of coconut flour, coconut sugar, and small pieces of pineapple. In the end, you can pour the mixture of maple syrup and coconut milk as a topping.

Recipe Of Jain Tawa Pulao – Restaurant Style Pulao At Home

It is sometimes difficult to find food for yourself if you are a Jain. In a place, where the base of every food that is tasty originates from ginger-garlic, Jains like us are sometimes at a loss about what to eat. When it comes to street food, it becomes all the more difficult. So, to make things easier only for you, we present this Jain version of Tawa Pulao. This famous street food is known for its mouth-watering tangy and spicy taste. Before we get on with the recipe, let’s see a bit more about this dish! The name Tawa Pulao got its name as it includes tossing rice on iron tawas! You would be surprised to know that this dish was invented by chance by a Pav Bhaji vendor when he tossed leftover Pav Bhaji with rice! Interesting, right? Tasty and spicy for sure, but without ginger, garlic, and onion!!

Ingredients

1 tbsp of butter and oil

One capsicum diced

¼ tsp of saunth powder (dry ginger powder)

2 tsp of Pav Bhaji masala

1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder

1 ½ cup of cabbage

Two tomatoes finely chopped

1 cup boiled green peas

1 cup cooked rice/leftover rice

Salt per taste

Coriander leaves

Juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

Start by heating a cooking pan with a tbsp of butter. Add a little oil to it to prevent the butter from burning. Add ¼ tsp of saunth powder, then start by adding the veggies- 1 diced capsicum, cabbage, finely chopped tomatoes, and boiled green peas. While it is easy to put masalas directly during cooking, sometimes it doesn’t spread evenly on the veggies and rice. To eliminate that, you can soak 2 tsp of Pav Bhaji masala and 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder for 5 mins. Continue stirring until the tomatoes become softer and then add the masala mixture kept aside. Now you can add boiled rice or even leftover rice if you want. Add salt as per taste. Make sure you separate any lumps of rice while tossing the rice. Keep on stirring it to coat the rice with the masala and veggies. After you cook it, switch off the gas and sprinkle coriander leaves on the rice. Squeeze a half lemon on the rice and make sure to mix it well.

Mostly, this Tawa Pulao goes well with curd or raita. Relish this dish to your heart’s content with your friends and family.