Welcome to Mom Tips

Keep bananas fresh longer

To keep bananas fresh longer cut off the tip of it instead of hanging them by it. The peel will still turn brown but the inside will stay fresh for twice as long.

Strawberries That Last Longer

After you have washed and capped fresh strawberries, put them in a colander and pour boiling water over them. By doing so, you kill the bacteria that makes them get moldy & mushy. Afterwards, refrigerate as you normally would, and the berries should last a lot longer.

Virtuous Vinegar

1 Tbls salt dissolved in 1 Tbls vinegar is a gentle abrasive that magically removes tea or coffee stains from china and glass cookware.

Oily cooking scents?

When you have finished frying foods, and that oily smell surrounds you, pour off the excess fats, add enough vinegar to cover the bottom of the pot/pan and simmer for 20 minutes. This liquid will loosen the baked on grime and the fumes will neutralize the oily smells.

Helping Toddlers Learn Shapes

To make eating more fun, cut your children´s food into different shapes. Cut scrambled eggs into triangles, or sandwiches and fruit into circles or squares. Don´t limit yourself to simple shapes, but use your imagination and create different designs. You might enjoy having a theme for a day. Serve round foods like crackers, cookies, or tortillas for a snack. Mention that all of the snacks are round. Do the same with foods of other shapes or use pasta that comes in shapes, including letters and numbers.

Great Grapes

Do not wash grapes until just before serving to prevent premature brown spots and spoilage.

Keep onions longer

When you are only using half an onion make sure to save the half with the root. It will stay fresh longer.

Cast Iron

Never wash your cast iron cookware in soapy water. Scour with steel wool, rinse and re-season with oil or shortening.

Baby Food from Scratch

Want to make your own baby food? Mash leftover vegetables (no additives like salt ,pepper, butter etc.) Fill ice cube trays with the results. When frozen, pop out, bag the cubes, label with date, use each as a single serving.

Soft, Chewy Cookies

If homemade cookies have dried out and gotten hard, soften them by placing a slice of bread in the cookie jar overnight. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread and will be soft and chewy again.

Citrus Scents

Leave lemons and limes in the fruit bowl rather than refrigerator. They act as air fresheners.

Stained Plastic Containers?

Spray your tupperware with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces~no more stains!

Dark/Non-Stick and Glass Pans

Dark nonstick or glass baking pans readily absorb heat and are best used with the baking temperature reduced by 25°.

Virtuous Vinegar

De-glaze the frying pan after pouring off the excess fats and oils by simmering 1/4 " of water and 1/2 cup vinegar. You will notice a remarkable reduction in the lingering oily smells.

Virtuous Vinegar

By simply adding a few drops of vinegar to the water when boiling cabbage , brussels sprouts or broccoli you will allow all other delicious cooking aromas to share the air.

Pizza Cutter

Pizza cutters can be a wonderful kitchen tool for more than just pizza. Use them to take the crust off of kids´ sandwiches, cut sandwiches into manageable quarters, cut up pancakes, etc. The wheel-shaped slicers is quicker and easier to use than the more time consuming knife.

Low Fat Baking

Substitute half applesauce for the vegetable oil in your baking recipes~you´ll greatly reduce the fat content! (Example: 1/2 cup vegetable oil=1/4 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup oil)

Look-a-like Cups?

Party time or just lots of kids visiting? Don´t mix up look alike cups. Use masking tape and marker to label each with the owner´s name.

Virtuous Vinegar

Keep the coffee pot dripping as fast as possible. Once a month , fill with 1/2 and 1/2 water and vinegar , ( remove the "gold" filter ) and run through the cycle. Follow directly with a second pot of clear water.