Cooking has many benefits. Cooking saves money, as you can spend less on fast food and casual dining restaurants, and eat less expensive, home meals. Cooking is healthier than fast food, as you can use less oils and fats to prepare food. This article can help anyone learn to cook.

Substitute Greek yogurt for mayonnaise in creamy salad dressings. If you are on a diet or just trying to eat healthy, you can still make creamy salad dressings with healthy ingredients. Just substitute the mayonnaise in them with a low-fat Greek-style yogurt. This will make the dressing much healthier.

Prepare your ingredients, cookware, and cooking utensils in advance of starting to cook. Your time spent in the kitchen will be greatly reduced, and you will have less chance for error, when you do this. Make sure you remember to get the spices you will need ready as well.

Cook your rice in vegetable or chicken stock instead of using water. Choosing a stock will add both extra taste and valuable nutrients. The cooking process and time are the same as with water, so you won’t be adding any extra work by trying this method.

Make sure that if you are planning a party with friends and family, to have each course planned out in advance. You should have an appetizer course, salad course, main dish and dessert. Breaking your meal into courses will give people a chance to digest and appreciate what you have cooked for them.

Have you been making the same berry shortcake for a while? Make the flavor pop with the following tip. Mix your berries with a pinch of salt, a little fresh mint and a small spoon of lime juice. Your guests will never guess how you enhanced the flavor of the old family recipe.

Are you using fresh basil to cook with? Try putting a bunch of basil that is fresh inside a glass. Pour water in the glass until the stems of the fresh basil are completely covered. The basil can remain fresh for several days if it is placed in indirect sunlight. If you pay close attention and frequently change the water in the glass, you are likely to see basil roots starting to grow. You can encourage the basil’s growth even further by trimming it back from time to time, keeping it fresh and healthy even longer.

Seasoned salt is used on virtually any kind of food, not just meat! Try roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled with the seasoning for a tasty snack or mix it in your scrambled eggs. Simply sprinkling on these kinds of seasonings can turn your dish into an instant hit.

Know the gender of your eggplant! There are both male and female eggplants, and it pays to know the difference. The seeds of an eggplant can be very bitter. A female eggplant’s seeds have a tendency to be more bitter than those of a male eggplant. You can identify a male eggplant by its base – it will be smooth and round, whereas the female base is more oval in shape and deeply indented.

As stated before, there are many benefits to cooking, including financial and health benefits. Using the sound advice found in this article, you can create fantastic dishes that will save you money by avoiding spending money on restaurants, and make you healthier, by using fresh ingredients that are low in fat.