Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Mother’s Touch
Most mothers would be very particular when it comes to their children. Having to deliver these kids from their own body, they tend to have a much stronger bond with their children. This is why they would need to make sure that their kids are at their best all the time. Not only that, mothers are also the type who would scrutinize everything that their child does from the toys they play to the food they eat.
When it comes to eating, mothers would want to make sure that their kids get to eat only the healthiest options available. They tend to shy away from the typical fast food and junk food items normally desired by most children. Going for healthy and organic snacks is always the best option around to make sure that kids get to have the nutrients and minerals they need to grow and develop. After all, this is a critical phase in one’s progress and advancement.
Packed With Vitamins
We would need food in order to get ourselves energized in a given day. Food as well as water is essential to get our bodies the right amount of vitamins and minerals. This allows us to have the energy we need for the day. Without food or water, we are likely to get sick or even die if we are not to take in the right amount of food.
When it comes to these food items, raw snacks are considered to be the type of food with a lot of vitamins and minerals still contained in them. Cooking tends to lose the nutritional content of many food items, which is why it is best for vegetables to be eaten raw. This is the reason why many individuals have gone for the raw food diet. There are simply a whole lot of benefits with it.
Crispy Health
Vegetable chips are thin slices of vegetables that are deep fried or baked until they are crisp. These chips can be made from a wide assortment of vegetables, and they can also be flavored and seasoned to taste. A variation of vegetable chips are soy crisps which are made from soy beans. These soy crisps are getting to be very popular among those people who are looking for an alternative healthier snack.
Soy crisps are the perfect low-fat baked alternative to traditional high-fat chips. Each serving contains a unique blend of soy and rice offering seven grams of soy protein and a surprisingly low three grams of fat. The different flavors include Rich Cheddar Cheese, Zesty Barbecue, Tangy Salt & Vinegar, Nacho, Deep Sea Salted, Roasted Garlic & Onion, or Creamy Ranch. If you want a sweet treat, you can try the Apple Cinnamon Crunch.
What is Herbalife Formula 1?
There is a product that contains up to 20 essential vitamins and minerals plus health enhancing herbs. It also contains 9 grams of soy protein and healthy fiber. All these are found in Herbalife Formula 1 shakes. Formula 1 shakes provide high-quality protein, healthy carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients to provide the cells of your body what they need for optimum health. It is available in powder form that can be mixed with milk for a refreshing drink.
Two heaping tablespoons of formula 1 nutritional shake mix can be stirred or blended with 8 fluid ounces of non-fat milk or soy milk for a filling snack or meal. It can be used in weight management to replace two meals a day. For those who are trying to gain weight it should be taken with regular meals. For general good health, it can be enjoyed as a meal replacement or in addition to regular meals. Listen to what your body needs and develop a plan for personal use.
Fish in our diet
As we have been informed from health specialists the higher the amount of fish consumed as part of our diet, the better off in a long term we will be. The best approach would be to include at list two fish portions in our weekly food consumption. Oily fish are the better one and can include Salmon, Trout,Cod, Herring, Fresh tuna, Sardines, simply to name a few. Omega 3 fatty acids are present in high concentrations within those fish, they also contain protein , minerals and vitamins. Other types of fish like Swordfish or Shark contain mercury and should be consumed less frequently. In order to have a larger variety of choices you may also incorporate shellfish or even crustacean such as crab, lobster or shrimp. Frozen fish are also providing the same amount of Omega 3, protein, minerals and vitamins and can be a good substitute but be aware of freezer burn product.
When purchasing fresh fish always look for the two s. Shine and smell. First the shine : fresh fish should have a brilliant reflection of the light, if not, if doll looking it is not fresh. Second : if it smells fishy don’t even think about buying-it.
Always remember the purchase of your fish should be the last item before you heat the cash register and if you are in a hot climate have the store clerk provide you with some ice for your trip back home, fish can spoil very rapidly if exposed to warm temperature and has to be refrigerated as soon as you get home.
Bon Appetit and to your health
Food-borne illnesses
I don’t pretend to be an expert in this matter but when it comes to food it seems that these days we can get microbes in our food and disease either from fresh products, prepared food or restaurant food and i believe it is mainly due to the poor hygiene of individual handlers and extreme use of pesticides on the part of the commercial growers and regardless how careful we are on washing and selecting where and what we heat, the danger of getting hill from it is more common and we need to increase our personal protection.
Do you know that each year roughly 76 million of American get sick from something they ate, about 350,000 end up in the hospital, and some 5,000 die from their infection. Therefore the first step is to get more educated about the problem. There is over 200 different microbes that can cause food-borne illnesses and it takes considerable recherche to define the culprits, from E. coli Salmonella, Giardia,Cyclospora just to name a few.
There is a few simple steps that could help reduce the risk and will protect you and your family and food safety starts with you. Buying food from sustainable farmer if available is a preference. They grow a varieties of chemical free vegetables fruits and herbs, grass fed beef, pastured hogs and laying hens. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after you prepare food, before you eat and after using the bathroom. Wash your foods, including fruits and vegetables, poultry, fish and meats. Wash your utensils and cutting boards. Cook your food to the proper temperature. refrigerate all foods properly at 40 degree F. or lower, keep your freezer at 0 or lower, and don’t eat anything that looks, smells or tastes unusual.
Staying in good health also means choosing the right food and exercising enough to burn off excess calories.
About Asparagus
Do you know that Asparagus are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein and are only about 3 calories a spear. About 8 medium spears of cooked asparagus provides two-third the daily value of Folate, a B vitamin that promotes cell division and might reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and dementia, as well as a 114% of the daily value for Vitamin K an essential nutrient for bone formation and blood clotting. They are also high in Potassium and a good source of Vitamin C and A,thiamin,riboflavin,manganese, vitaminB6, copper,niacin and phosphorus.
Even though they are available year around, at spring time they are less expensive and are fresher. Different types are available but the most common in the States are the green ones, in Europe the preference is for the white ones, they come from the same plant but are grown out of the sun under a mound of dirt so they don’t develop chlorofil, and they require more labor to be harvested, therefore are more expensive but are not as nutritious.
The thinner asparagus come from older plant and the large spears grow on younger, more vigorous plant. Steaming them is better then boiling and cook them to tender to preserve their nutrients. Once cooked they can be served sprinkled with fresh grated cheese melted under a broiler or cut and mixed with fresh sliced tomatoes with a parsley vinaigrette as a salad or simply plain with your favorite seasoning and a dab of light mayonnaise.
Prior to cook them you may trim of the woody stem about 2″ (which is the opposite of the head or tip) and disregard-it or save -it to make soup.
Building Muscle
Most guys out there would like to bulk up and build more muscle, and all it takes is commitment, time management, and a few changes in diet. First you will need to workout (obviously). This can be done with home equipment like a Bowflex or Nautilus, or in the gym with weights. The key is to focus on what areas of your body you want to bulk up (upper body, arms, legs, etc.) and then create an exercise plan that targets those areas. For bulking up and building muscle, you tend to want to do low repetition, high resistance. This means your workout should be hard, but not too long, and most of the time you should be lifting near your maximum for the particular weight. You will want to do this at least three times a week, with a day in between each time.
For dieting, you will want to consume high protein foods like meat, eggs, and some dairy products. Protein supplements like protein bars or a protein drink can speed up bulking and building muscle.
About Eggs.
For something that most everyone eat regularly, it seems that a lot of people don’t really know much about the incredible Egg. For instance while at the market i have been amazed on how much time individuals are spending analyzing and looking at which one they should purchase,* The brown ones or the white ones, cage free or not, regular or Egg-land’s Best, what size* . Of course first the price is an important factor and can go from one extreme to the other, and is there a important nutrition difference between them ?
One thing to know is that eggs are healthy food, the white contains Proteins and the yolks are high in Cholesterol. So if your Cholesterol levels are on the wrong side, you should stay away from the yolk and stick with the White.Eggs are generally graded as, small, large, extra-large and jumbo, in conventional recipes the eggs recommended are the large ones. Small ones have about 50 calories, large and extra-large 75, jumbo 90.
The white eggs are from white feather chicken and the brown ones are from red or dark feather chicken and there is absolutely no difference in the nutrition value.
Cage free should be qualified as an animal roaming free on the surrounding of its chicken coup and therefore have a varied diet of grains , insects, grass and other goodies from the hearth but not always defined as such, if you truly want caged free, the best way is to buy them at your local weekly farmers market or from your neighbor farmer. In general the yolk of the true free range hens are much darker.
Egg-Land’s Best are from vegetarian fed Hens, High in Vitamin E and Omega 3 and have 25% less Saturated fat and also are the most expensive.
Overall Eggs are the same from one chicken or an other but they are different based on the hens diet.
Eggs can be kept for 30 days passed their expiration date if refrigerated at or below 45 degree F.
Spices part two.
A spice is a dried, seed, fruit, root, bark or leaf used as a food additive for the purpose of flavor or color, for example: Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree black pepper is a fruit seed, cloves are dried buds and ginger is a root.
Herbs such as basil, thyme, rosemary , sage, oregano, tarragon and bay leaves are not spices although they have similar uses in flavoring food and can be purchased dried or fresh which is preferred in order to provide the best flavor.
Whether you are using spices or herbs, some are very potent and when not familiar with a particular one and it’s effect use it sparingly and check your seasoning until it is to your satisfaction, remember it is easy to add more but to much can ruin your dish. In some recipes in order to intensify the flavor of ground spices you can cook them for a minute or two in a little butter or oil before any liquid is added, it is called blooming, if you are using whole spice as in Indian recipes you can follow the same technique and discard them before the dish is served or for instance in a braised dish or stew you can wrap them in a piece of cheese cloth like a little bag tied with a piece of cooking string that you remove before serving.