Making your own meals is an excellent way to stay healthy, lose weight and save money. Whether you are a seasoned cook or can barely follow a recipe, we think you will find the tips in this article useful and informative. So read on for some excellent cooking suggestions!

Keep spices in a dark and cool place. Exposing spices to heat, humidity, and light will shorten their lifespan. Try to find a cool, dark cupboard if you want to increase the flavor and lifespan of your favorite spices. Fresh spices can greatly enhance your meals, making this effort well worth your time.

It is extremely embarrassing to have lumps in your gravy. It happens to everybody from the beginner cook to the master chef. There is a simple trick you can use to eliminate them. Drain the gravy through a fine strainer and discard the lumps. This technique can be used for other sauces or soups too.

When you are going to the store, do not always have a large shopping list which can restrain you to just getting certain items. See what you like and what you are in the mood for and purchase based on that. This will give you the spontaneity to cook whatever you choose.

They will soak up a ton of water, just like a sponge. Instead, you want to wet a clean cloth and use that to wipe the mushroom off.

Herbs and spices have a powerful impact on the quality of your cooking. To preserve these important, expensive ingredients, keep them in a cool, dark place with minimal humidity. All too often spices are left near ovens and sinks. The heat, light and moisture in such places leach the flavor out of high-quality spices.

Cooking can be a joy if you invest in a good, sizable cutting board able to handle all of your cutting and chopping needs. If a butcher block table is out of the budget, look for a durable bamboo or sturdy maple for the job. A cutting board with a recessed groove surrounding the cutting surface is handy to catch juices from carving meats and makes clean up easy. If you will be using a cutting board on a smooth surface, look for one with rubber feet to avoid slipping. Maintain your cutting board with food-grade mineral oil (vegetable and olive oils can turn rancid) and make sure that you properly clean, and more importantly, dry your cutting board after each use to prevent warping.

The tips and suggestions mentioned in this article will be useful to a variety of readers with a variety of schedules. Although many people think that cooking their own meals is simply too difficult, you can now see how easy it is! Making your own meals is healthy and economical – your wallet, waistline and stomach will all thank you!