Food How to Dry Herbs

Here at Food Hacks, we're very fond of finding ways to regrow food. That means taking things like carrot tops and leftover bits from garlic, onions, chives, and other herbs and aromatics to create mini reusable herb gardens. Don't Miss: Vegetables & Herbs You Can Eat Once & R ...more

Besides being one of the super nutritious "superseeds," chia seeds also absorb liquid and then take on a jelly-like texture. These properties make chia seeds the perfect hack for an easy, healthy jam compared to the normal jam-making process—which usually requires lots of suga ...more

A recent study offers information that might help combat a deadly virus that affects an estimated 300,000 people each year in West Africa. In late June of this year, the World Health Organization reported an outbreak of Lassa fever with 501 confirmed cases and 104 deaths. The ...more

For foods that encompass both tastiness and convenience, it's hard to beat boxed mac and cheese. Mac and cheese in a box takes 15 minutes to make, dirties only one dish, requires no skill, costs only two bucks, and is, despite all of the above, wildly delicious. Yet it can get ...more

As much as I love eating weird foods, when it comes to my favorite food, there is only one simple choice: cheese. Since cheese is my favorite to eat, it should come as no surprise that it's one of my favorites to make as well. Don't Miss: 11 Ways to Keep Cheese Fresh for as L ...more

The produce section is full of fruits, both familiar and quite strange. Depending on the season, you may see giant, bright-green bananas on display next to the normal bananas that you know and love. No, those aren't super-unripened bananas—they're plantains, and they are defin ...more

My daughter moved into her first apartment last year, a huge rite of passage in any young person's life. With a mother and two grandmothers who are good cooks (to say the least, in the case of the latter), it's not surprising that she turned to us for some advice about how to ...more

Norovirus outbreaks occur all year long, but peak in the winter months, which means we are in the middle of norovirus season. But there's still time to protect yourself from the highly infectious bug. There's no vaccine for the virus that causes one to three days of misery—ab ...more

There's something great about sweet, ripe strawberries coated in a bit of hardened chocolate. They're decadent, beautiful, and make for the perfect after-dinner dessert. We love to make them for a group, but are often thrown off by the long and messy process of it all. Then w ...more

Scrambled, sunny side up, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, over easy, and poached: there are only so many ways to cook an egg before you get bored and look for inspiration somewhere else. Don't Miss: 10 Egg Hacks That You Shouldn't Live Without Luckily, Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny P ...more

Making your own leaf skeleton is a fun, DIY project where you strip green leaves of their outer coating and tissue, leaving behind the "skeleton" of delicate veins underneath. Leaf skeletons can then be used as framed art pieces, or delicate decor for homemade cards or ornamen ...more

Whisking liquids seems somehow quaint, especially since there are good, cheap devices out there like immersion blenders and hand mixers that can whip cream, turn egg whites into meringue, and mix batters for you. However, I still love my whisk and use it often, and here's why ...more

If there's anything the Internet has taught us, it's the fact that, just because two things shouldn't go together, does not under any circumstances mean that someone won't find a way to make them go together. Take this recipe, for instance. When you think of Pixy Stix, all ki ...more

Pitting cherries is really annoying. There's no neat way to do it with a knife and, though they make a tool that does it, not everyone has space in their kitchen for a gadget that does so little. But fresh cherries are so delicious when they're in season... it's almost worth t ...more

We like picnicking of all sorts, from picnics in bright, sunny weather to grey or rain-drizzled picnics. So it's not a stretch to say that we've become quite good at packing sandwiches to enjoy later. But we're always looking for a better way to do things, and that includes ou ...more

Whether you were exposed to the COVID-19 virus or just taking precautionary measures, self-quarantining is a tremendous disruption for anyone. Still, we all have to eat, pandemic or not. But unless you like eating canned food for two weeks, you're going to want to explore othe ...more

The other day I was doing the math on roughly how many eggs I eat each year. I estimated about 500. That's a lot of eggs. And, subsequently, that's a lot of eggshells to throw in the trash. I felt weird realizing that I trash about 500 eggshells a year. And it wasn't the envi ...more

I own two aprons—a cute one for company, and another for the hard-core cooking duties, like cutting up chicken and making stock. The sad truth is that I almost never remember to wear either of them. So, much of my clothing ends up spattered with grease, liquid, and bits of fru ...more

Summer's coming, and that means burger season. Okay, never mind... every season is burger season. Burgers are universally loved; they're the one meal you can find at numerous fast food shacks and haute cuisine spots. Don't Miss: Secret Tricks for Tender, Juicy Burgers Every T ...more

The balanced and refreshing taste of a cocktail should always entice you into another sip. You'll know you're drinking something of quality when no specific ingredient, including booze, dominates its taste. A great cocktail can even mirror a great meal by exhibiting flavors li ...more

Baking used to be a fun, relaxing hobby and a way to make treats for friends and family. These days, this hobby has become a creative battleground among out-of-work graphic designers with Pinterest accounts. People everywhere are now upping their baking game by adding interest ...more

To flip, or not to flip, that is the real question. When you're nervously standing over the stove or grill, what do you do with that steak before you? I always believed that to have a perfect medium or medium-rare steak, I needed to let a thick cut of meat sear on one side fo ...more

In my opinion, spices are the key to a successful kitchen. With a healthy array of spices and spice mixes, you have the foundation for nearly any dish that you want to make; the culinary world is your oyster. With a depleted cupboard of spices, however, nearly every recipe loo ...more

Cocktail rims are an easy way to add extra fun and pizzazz to your favorite drink; Most cocktail rims only take a few minutes to put together, and are a great way to add a burst of flavor to compliment what you're drinking. The best part is that you can save money and get a m ...more

Spices are a necessary ingredient in any kitchen. It doesn't matter how good of chef you are—without proper spices, your food will always fall flat. But where do you store all of those herbs and spices needed for kitchen mastery? You could try the cupboard, but then you will ...more

Wheat toast. White toast. Sweet potato toast. Okay, one of these things is not like the others... Don't Miss: Screw Sandwiches—Toast Is Where It's At Kelsey Preciado, the blogger behind Little Bits Of, first came up with this so-crazy-it-might-be-genius idea when she didn't ...more

Fast food is a guilty pleasure in which we all indulge. When you're short on time and long on hunger, being able to whiz through the drive-thru or run 'in and out' of a fast food joint can be a real lifesaver. But sometimes you crave those good-but-not-so-good-for-you goodies ...more

It has become a popular and must-have beauty essential—the bath bomb. Not only does it bring an aromatic and calming feel to bath time, but it also leaves your skin soft and will make you smell wonderful for a whole week! Vasseur Beauty—a bonafide YouTube beauty guru—with hel ...more

If you have ice cube trays lying around in your refrigerator and chilling your drinks with ice cubes is not a huge priority for you, you can still make use of these handy kitchen tools in a number of useful ways, both edible and non-edible. If you ever have leftover sauces, j ...more

Fairs and festivals are awesome, and one of the best parts about them is the food. Sure, it's all deep-fried and terrible for you, but it's so delicious. It's also always on a stick, which makes eating fried food even easier for us fat Americans. The trouble is, frying at hom ...more

I may be in the minority when I say this, but I love leftovers. Whenever I'm cooking for less people than the recipe calls for, I cook the full yield anyway. And when I go to a restaurant, I order whatever I want—regardless of how much I can actually eat in one sitting. For t ...more

Eating out is great, but being able to cook the delicious ethnic foods you eat at restaurants is even better. It may seem daunting to put together a bunch of ingredients with which you might not be familiar (some with names you've never even heard of!), but with the guidelines ...more

Cast iron is one of the best surfaces to cook on, but taking care of it is a whole 'nother story. It's not as simple as just washing it in soapy water like all of your other pans, and everyone has different ideas about how it should be done. It seems intimidating at first, but ...more

Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble... it's time for another Halloween-themed food hack. This time, we'll be tackling the pumpkin cooler—an idea that has been done to death on DIY blogs around the internet. And there's no point in reposting something that everyone else has done, ...more

Many of the beauty products you buy at drug and department stores are loaded with potentially toxic ingredients like parabens, while their active ingredients are made of things like glycolic, lactic, malic, and alpha hydroxy acids and retinoids, which are all derived from food ...more

Oatmeal isn't the most glamorous breakfast, but it's definitely one of the best. It's healthy, filling, delicious, and easy to personalize. And, if you have instant packets, oatmeal is also a very quick and easy breakfast. Like so many foods, instant oatmeal is healthier and ...more

It's hard to argue with the notion that wine and pasta are a winning combination. I mean, millions of Italians can't be wrong. But this classic combo can be taken one step further to become the ultimate comfort food dish—by turning that wine into an actual pasta sauce. Best o ...more

Cold pizza is the holy grail of leftovers. That's a statement that elicits a slew of impassioned feelings. Either you love the idea of biting into soft crust and cold, fatty cheese, or scowl at the idea of pizza that isn't hot, crisp, and melty. Yet if we were to stand by the ...more

Sprinkles are a gateway to excitement, whether it's a birthday party with friends or an ice cream sundae by yourself. It may seem like these colorful creations can only come from the grocery store, but it's actually pretty easy to make beautiful sprinkles in your own kitchen. ...more

Eating vegetarian isn't just for vegetarians. There are plenty of reasons, health and economics-wise, to consider forgoing the meat for a meal or three. Rather than get deep into the world of fake meat (although there's many a tasty alternative to be found there, to be sure), ...more

Among the many gifts that Italy has bestowed upon the world, culinary and otherwise, pesto stands alone. The exact birthplace of pesto, that herby sauce made of pine nuts and olive oil, is an area of Italy called Liguria, whose microclimate is particularly kind to basil, one o ...more

Everyone has their own reality, and in that same vein, everyone has their own guidelines for what makes the "perfect fried chicken." Now, I'm not saying that my version is the ultimate for everyone, but it's definitely a crowd pleaser in my experience. In my book, a perfect f ...more

Most people give their fruits and veggies a cursory rinse under the faucet before eating or cooking them, but is that few seconds under running water really enough to remove any remaining dirt, pesticides, or wax clinging to the surface? Nope. Fresh fruits and veggies are pa ...more

One of our favorite kitchen items, hands down, is a good old-fashioned wooden spoon. It's practical, versatile, and can last for decades if cared for properly. There are specific ways to nurture wooden utensils in order to keep them from cracking and to help them maintain thei ...more

Disposable shower caps are great for keeping your hair dry while showering, and they are also perfect for covering your hair during a DIY house painting job. Other than covering your head, you can also use disposable shower caps for covering bowls of food, your bike seat on a ...more

Growing populations and higher temperatures put pressure on world food supplies. Naturally occurring soil bacteria may save crops in drought-stressed areas, put more land into crop production, and produce more food. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra ...more

Most of us lead busy, work-filled lives, often clocking in a 9-to-5 five days a week. And when that clock signifies the hour to leave, the last thing on anyone's mind is: "Time to go to the grocery store to pick up more fresh produce!" (Well, to be fair... maybe more people ar ...more

Bringing your lunch to work doesn't always have to involve boring brown paper bags and plastic ziplocks. If you want to avoid crushing your homemade bagel sandwich on the way to work, store it in a CD spindle case. Tired of stealing ketchup packets from food courts? Place you ...more

Do you have a major mosquito problem? Well, here's a solution used by the military to drastically cut down their numbers. Video: . Step 1: Getting Started. Grab a plastic bottle from your recycle bin. The bigger the better. This concept will work with many types of containers ...more

Mushrooms are glorious: they're nutritional powerhouses, add meaty savor to just about any dish, and are cheap and plentiful (mostly). But just when you thought you knew best how to use edible fungi (in gravies, as portobello burgers, stewed and served over pasta, just to name ...more

You've probably seen someone in your family truss the turkey on Thanksgiving before roasting it, even if you don't recognize the word. To truss a bird or roast just means to wrap it up as compactly as possible before placing it in the oven, and it's usually done by tying it wi ...more

Are you looking for a little microbe magic? Think composting. Composting is a great way to reuse food and plant waste that you would otherwise throw into the trash, which would just end up in a landfill somewhere. During the composting cycle, microbes reduce this organic wast ...more

Often, the most frustrating part of crafting the perfect dinner is feeling like you have to clean every single pot and pan in your kitchen after cooking just one meal. With so many components, it can feel like each step of a single dish requires its very own pot. Yet there ar ...more

Need to scrub stubborn mineral deposits from your toilet bowl or leftover food gunk from your oven rack? Use a pumice stone, which will remove hardened material from the surface without leaving behind a scratch. Commonly associated with removing calluses and dry skin from the ...more

A robust appetite for imported foods is leading to increased disease outbreak in the US. Despite the locovore and slow food movements, America's demand for foreign foods is picking up. According to a study published in the journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, demand for i ...more

When we were kids, snacks on-the-go or in our lunch box were often Kellogg's Nutri-Grain cereal bars. There were flavors like strawberry, blueberry, and our beloved apple-cinnamon. Don't Miss: Make These Easy Granola Bars with Only 2 Ingredients As we grew older, we realize ...more

Hard as it is to imagine, there are people out there who loathe garlic and onions. Some might have allergies or medical conditions like IBS, or are supertasters (i.e. people who carry a certain gene that makes them extremely sensitive to how certain foods taste). Others might ...more

While there are countless ways to welcome in the new year, many of them involve imbibing copious amounts of delightfully spirited libations. If you're anything like me, I know you're fearing the monster hangover on New Year's Day. The good news is, you don't have to. If you w ...more

A perfectly-roasted artichoke is a thing of beauty, but not everyone has the time (or patience) to deal with the extra fuss. So if you want an artichoke and you want it now, look no further than your ever-convenient microwave, which lets you steam one in only 10 minutes—no ste ...more

I recently had a small gathering of friends over for a quick cookout consisting of mostly burgers on the grill. One of my friends informed me beforehand that she didn't eat red meat, but that she would be perfectly okay with eating a turkey burger. It would be impossible for ...more