Friday 20 January 2012

21 Daniel fast

HI all,
just a quick update on health related issue.
I started the 21 day Daniel fast, basically no meat, dairy, only water intake and no sugar or preservatives.
on day 10 now, the body is settling into new routine but took 5 days, i,m finding that i can taste food more richly ,the flavours hav eincreased.
low on energy though so trying to sort that out
Neil

Thursday 19 January 2012

Healthy Food for the Brain


Healthy Food For The Brain



Healthy Food For The Brain

By N. Curtis



Researchers have discovered that overweight people have 4% less brain tissue, while obese people have 8% less brain tissue as compared to normal people. (1) This tells us that if we want our brains to be healthy, we must shed our extra pounds and stay trim. So lay off fast food and sodas, don't snack when you're not hungry, and stay away from fried, fatty foods. Below is some healthy food for the brain.

1) Include almonds, walnuts and blueberries in your diet. Almonds are walnuts are packed with omega-3 acids which help in busting stress and enhancing the mood. Also walnuts and almonds help replace melatonin, which is required to maintain brain health. Blueberries have the highest levels of antioxidants of all fruit,help reduce belly fat, and helps maintain a healthy urinary tract. These food items help reduce blood sugar, and low blood sugar levels improve thought and reasoning.

2) Herbs are rich in antioxidants. Basil and Ginseng, in particular, help control production of cortisol, which is a hormone that causes stress. Stress can cause memory lapses, as well as headaches and depression so make sure you include these herbs into your daily diet.

3) Eat foods with a low glycemic index like Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. These foods prevent elevated blood sugar levels, which can impact the brain cells. These foods are very rich in fiber and antioxidants as well, and help produce more HDL (High Density Lipoprotein), and helps scrub off LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) from artery walls. HDL is considered good cholesterol and LDL is considered bad cholesterol.

4) Do you eat fish? If not, it's time you started because eating fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines is good for the brain. These fish are full of omega-3 fatty acids right up to their gills, and as you know, omega-3 fatty acids are great for the brain. They can fight depression and improve your memory.

However, do not fry your fish - have it grilled or baked. Frying counter acts the health benefits inherent in any food. If you buy fish do not buy farm raised fish. Instead buy fish that is wild caught. If you're concerned about mercury in your fish (as you should) then take krill oil supplements.

5) Avocados are high in monounsaturated fats, which increases blood flow to the brain and the entire body. Avocados also lower blood pressure, which also benefits the brain.

6) Eggs are a great source of protein that make you feel alert and help neurotransmitters in the brain function better. Choline is a nutrient in eggs that our body doesn't make enough of naturally. Choline is essential in brain health and can improve memory and reduce inflammation.

Source

1) exploringthemind.com/the-mind/does-being-overweight-make-you-stupid

N. Curtis has written dozens of health articles and is the author of the Amazingly Informative and Extremely Entertaining Free Special Health Report "It's Your Body, You Can Die If You Want To!" Check it out now at http://www.youcandieifyouwantto.com.


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Tips healthy recipes


Tips to Create Healthy Recipes



Tips to Create Healthy Recipes

By Dr. Daisy Sutherland



Eating healthy doesn't have to be a chore. It doesn't have to be difficult either.

All it takes is planning in advance and some basic knowledge of nutrition. Planning a week's worth of meals is also the best way to create dishes you can be proud of, while keeping the cost and time commitment to a minimum.

Below I will share 4 Simple Tips to creating healthy recipes you and your family will enjoy.

Tip #1

Using convenient appliances such as microwaves and my favorite, a slow cooker you will save yourself a huge amount of time when planning and preparing meals. There are many delicious and nutritious meals that can be started in the morning and left to cook all day in a crock pot or slow cooker.

A microwave comes in handy when you prepare your meals ahead of time and all you need to do is re-heat and serve. There are many microwavable healthy meals you can make at home and single serving microwave safe containers allow every member of the family to eat on their own schedule.

When planning your meals for the week, be sure to use a chart and display in your kitchen for the family to see. A great tip - plan the quickest and easiest to prepare meals for the busiest days of the week.

Tip #2

One of my favorite tips is to get your family involved in creating the week's meal plan. Ask for their input and make a note of everyone's favorite meals..this will help increase their interest in healthy eating right away.

Don't stop there! Get your family involved in the preparation of the meals as well. Younger children can help by setting out the dishes, chopping vegetables and clearing the table. While the older ones can help in the cooking and learning to cook all at the same time.

Tip #3

Cook large quantities of healthy food recipes and freeze the left-overs. This routine will not only save you time but will also save you money. Consider cooking large amounts of stews, soups, chili and casseroles. Remember when freezing leftovers to clearly label the containers. Using freezer tap and permanent markers will save the guessing games. Be sure to keep the oldest foods near the top to avoid having to throw away expired items.

To help with the cooking of large quantities, stocking up on meats when they are sale will be very helpful and another great way to use that valuable freezer space. A great way to stretch your dollar is to stock up on frozen foods such as chicken, turkey, ground beef, steaks, roasts, chops and the list is endless. Making this part of your routine will enable you to make healthy meals and save you money as well.

Tip #4

Keeping a well stocked pantry is as important as keeping a well stocked freezer. The preparation of healthy meals will be much easier when you have a good supply of staple items like canned vegetables, canned fruits, soup stocks, sauces, dry pasta, beans and rice. Stocking the pantry will also save you money and keep you from running to the grocery store when you need a particular item for your recipe. Keeping your eyes open and aware of store sales will make it easier to stock up on the staples.

Some great staples to stock up on are whole grain cereals, pastas, tomato sauce, baked beans, canned salmon, canned tuna, dry and canned beans. You can also purchase breads on sale and freeze for future use.

Keeping such staples on hand will definitely make it easier to whip up a healthy meal your family will enjoy.

Dr. Mommy (aka Dr. Daisy) is a Doctor of Chiropractic by profession, wife, mom to 5 beautiful children, freelance and content writer, speaker and Health/Wellness Advocate. Her passion is to teach the public how to live healthier and happier lives. Visit her site for health tips: Dr. Mommy Health Tips http://drmommyhealthtips.com


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Quick healthy Meals


Quick Meals Healthy Recipes



Quick Meals Healthy Recipes

By Jessica Emily Lynn



We are frequently searching for the quick way. We want the shortcuts. We would like to be promoted right away. We have to get rich right away. We want to be accomplished right now. These are a few of the things that we would like to quick track in our lives. And it seems that even our cooking and meals are getting drawn under this philosophy. We often favor simple and fast recipes that we disregard the wellbeing values on the meals we take in. Simple and fast recipes do not need to be harmful. Every thing can be healthful with the right combination of elements and a proper way of preparing them.

One particular of the downside of quick and easy ways of cooking is that we frequently exchange clean products with processed types. This is so we can put together our dishes more quickly. We go to bottled and canned components just to keep up using the time element of preparing and cooking the dishes. Even though, some products would claim that no preservatives happen to be added to their goods. Prioritize these item lines when undertaking your weekly groceries.

So the best point really is to trust in only refreshing elements. What you should do is shop and be prepared the components early. This will cut a load off your cooking time. You can now cook foods quicker and have more time enjoying your meal.

One other way is convert a current recipe into some thing healthier. Understand to substitute unhealthy materials with more healthy ones. If the recipe is going to prepare noodles, go with wheat noodles. Replace meat with high grade varieties that have much less fat in them. The substitution can also be a little drastic. You'll be able to go with the veggies you like rather than adopting that the recipe informs you.

Also, study to lessen or decrease the quantity of the harmful parts with the food you are preparing. Salt, for example, may be bad when you use too a lot. Just keep the salt to a minimum, do not go adding extreme amounts to what you are cooking. The similar goes with butter, cheese, lotion, and sugar. The taste will likely be affected, naturally, but in the long run you might have a more healthy meal plus you'll appreciate far more the natural tastes of the ingredients throughout a food. The veggies are crisper and also the tastes are fuller...

Look for greater means to ready your meal. If the recipe tells you to fry your chicken, why not broil it or grill it rather. There will invariably be some healthy options that you are able to use to prepare your dishes. The kitchen area and the recipe book shouldn't tie you down with convention. Guaranteed you will find standards, but study to imagine and try out your cooking. Now if your objective could be readying a fast and quick meal, experimentation might not be the good way to go. Nevertheless, utilizing different ways to cook your foods can get very satisfying and every now and then surprising results.

Quick and easy recipes can be quite balanced if you just put your mind and put some additional effort into your cooking. Certain, the quick and easy ways are incredibly tempting but not having the proper nutrients is just not worth sacrificing over speed and convenience. But why sacrifice one other once you can have both.

A nutritious way of cooking dishes quicker and simpler than ahead of ought to be your new approach in cooking your meals.

How many times have you wished you could know more about cooking? Visit cooking101.org and see the top cooking advice and tips on the internet healthy turkey roasting recipes.


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Healthy Cooking


9 Tips For Quick, Healthy Cooking (And More Enjoyment In The Kitchen?)



9 Tips For Quick, Healthy Cooking (And More Enjoyment In The Kitchen?)

By Christopher Warden



You're changing your lifestyle and want to eat healthy, but the obstacle that keeps tripping you up is the food preparation.

"It takes too much time! Is there any way to make 'eating healthy' quick and easy?"

Sure there is!

You could find a loved one who loves to cook every meal for you... or you could hire a personal chef. But if that's not an option for you right now, here are 9 tips that can make your time in the kitchen "quick" and, perhaps, more enjoyable...

9 Tips For Quick, Healthy Cooking

1. Make Your Preparation More Efficient. There are two main ways to do this:

� Pick a specific day and time to do basic preparations for the week (Sunday afternoon or evening, for example)

� Prepare start food preparations immediately upon returning from your food shopping trip.

Personally, I've always preferred the second option - preparing food immediately after shopping. Separate meats into individual portions before storing in the fridge or freezer. Wash veggies and fruits and store them away. If you're going to be consuming them in short order, cut/chop/julienne/dice/mlanger them and set 'em aside so you don't have to do it when the cooking actually starts. (Note: Always do this food preparation with attention to keeping the food as fresh as possible.)

2. Plan Meals In Advance. Cooking time often increases because you spend time just trying to figure out what to eat in the first place! If you plan your meals in advance (which, frankly, also speeds up your shopping), you can speed up your cooking time. The bonus to this is that, after a few weeks, you'll have a nice Rolodex of recipes to choose from and rotate through.

3. Get Started The Night Before... Or The Morning Of. Pull frozen meat portions out of the freezer to begin thawing. Organize the ingredients you'll need, either together in the fridge or on the counter top, whichever is appropriate. When feasible, do basic food preparation in the form of cutting/chopping/julienne-ing... Pull out the kitchenware you'll need to use. Now you're ready to roll.

4. Prepare Your Kitchen. Do you have all the tools you want/need to get your cooking done effectively and efficiently? If yes, proceed immediately (!) to cooking. If no, time to shop for some kitchenware!

5. Eat Raw. Aside from the obvious that "eating raw" saves on cooking time because, well, there isn't any, consuming lots of quality, organically-raised vegetables and fruits (and some meats) raw, or close to it, actually benefits your body. Essentially, the more "alive" the food is, the more available and beneficial it is for your body. (Think: Life supports life. Dead, or significantly overcooked supports... )

6. Review Your Current Schedule. Are there things you "can't stand" that you can remove from your schedule to create more free time? Remove them! Can you reorganize your schedule to create more time to do what you want? Reorganize it! Of course, if you've got loads of time and the "thing you can't stand" is the cooking and prepping itself, refer to 7 & 8 below... or consult with me and we'll figure out how to help you generate the income for that chef you've been dreaming about.

(Now, heading into "mindset considerations" below... )

7. Remember That Change Isn't Always Easy... And You'll "Get Quicker" With Practice! Stick with this change in lifestyle and cooking habits. Do the best you can, focus, and realize that, with more practice and experience, things will only get easier.

8. Remember What You're Doing This For! The alternative may be ready-made food, but if the ready-made stuff is the junk that was making you unhealthy, less energetic and fat in the first place, what good is it going to do you? To get what you want, this is the route you want (and need!) to take.

9. Recognize That "Slowing Down" Is Okay... And Important! "Oh, the horror!" or "Yeah, right!" are the two most common responses to this one, but is the suggestion really unreasonable? As hard as slowing down can be, it's a great way for you to get in touch with your nature (gathering your food and cooking like this used to be the "norm," after all), with yourself and your dreams. Yep -- the kitchen can be your place of inspiration, even if you're slowing down in quick-like fashion. And who knows, the inspiration you find may make you even more motivated and productive... freeing up even more time to cook!

You're on your way to a healthier, fitter you, and the food you eat (and how you eat it) is a central component to your success -- so stick to it! As the saying goes... "If things don't change... nothing changes!" You are MAKING CHANGE, and by sticking to the simple tips listed above, you'll make all the change you dream of.

Keep it up!

Christopher Warden in an internationally recognized natural health and fitness expert helping people to achieve long-lasting body transformations with his holistic, 'training from the inside-out' approach. You can learn more about him at http://www.christopherwarden.com.


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Cooking for one person


Cooking For One Person - Simple Tips For Great Tasting Single Meals



Cooking For One Person - Simple Tips For Great Tasting Single Meals

By Nick Daval



In all my years of cooking, recipes most often specify quantities that serve 4-6 people. That's great if you're cooking for a dinner party, but most often we just want meals for ourselves, or meals for two.

There certainly seems to be a shortage of "cooking for one" recipes, or even "cooking for two" recipes. Cooking for singles seems to be low in demand but I think it is something that needs to be catered to.

When using and modifying a recipe, I have found that simply dividing the quantity of all the ingredients by 2 or 4 or whatever didn't always result in a good meal. Sometimes it was overcooked, other times the liquid/sauce boiled away to almost nothing.

It was then I realised that although I had reduced the quantity of ingredients, I either kept the same cooking times or used the wrong sized equipment (or both). As well as that, I found that some ingredients don't need to be reduced in quantity as much as others.

So here are some tips for cooking smaller portion sizes. I hope this will help you cook meals for yourself that taste just as nice as when you make them for 5 other people!

Cooking Equipment Size

The rule of thumb here is: smaller portion size = smaller pan size.

When cooking for 4-6 people, you obviously need larger saucepans and frypans.

Why? Firstly, the pans have to be big enough to hold all the ingredients, and secondly, they have to be the right size to allow even cooking without allowing the juices/liquids to evaporate away. I call this the quantity-of-ingredients: pan-size ratio

So, when cooking for one person, the smaller quantities mean you need to cook in a much smaller pan. That way, the quantity-of-ingredients: pan-size ratio remains more or less the same.

If you cooked in the same larger pan, the ingredients will be spread out through the pan much more thinly and will be more prone to boiling or evaporating away. The end result is you end up with dried out dinners.

Quantity Of Liquids

The rule of thumb here is: don't reduce the liquid ingredients by the same percentage.

The thing about liquids is that they partly evaporate away during cooking. Since you'll be cooking at the same temperatures, the less liquid you start with, the more (proportionally-speaking) will be boiled away during cooking, ultimately leaving you with food that's either too dry or hasn't enough sauce.

The kinds of liquids that are affected by this include:

- Evaporated milk / cream / regular milk

- Liquid stock (eg. Chicken stock, beef stock)

- Juices (such as orange juice, pineapple juice etc.)

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but gives you the idea that thinner liquids (as opposed to thicker sauces) are more prone to evaporation.

What I have found works best is that you should reduce the quantities of these liquids as half as much as you do the other ingredients.

For example, if you're cooking a meal that the recipe says would serve 4 just for yourself, then you would divide the quantities of all ingredients by 4. For any liquid ingredients, you should divide the quantities by just 2.

If you find that there's too much liquid left at the end of the cooking time, then either cook a little longer to boil it off, or use a slotted spoon to remove everything else from the pan leaving as much liquid behind as you want.

Cooking Time

The rule of thumb here is: reduce cooking times when cooking smaller quantities.

Similar to the above section about quantities of ingredients, I have found that cooking times can vary depending on the quantities being cooked. This is especially true for cooking in a frypan.

However, it's difficult to come up with a hard-and-fast rule about this. With experience, I've learned to tell when food is cooked just by looking at it (OK, and occasionally cutting into a piece of chicken to double-check!).

The problem is that although you would be cooking smaller quantities in a smaller pan when cooking for one person, the heat levels remain more or less the same.

By the way I certainly don't recommend reducing heat levels when cooking! Food needs to be cooked at certain temperatures to ensure it's free from bacteria.

That leaves time as the only other variable that can be changed. Again, food needs a minimum amount of time to cook properly but overcooking isn't good either.

I would suggest shaving about 10 to 20 percent of the cooking times off when cooking for one person or two. Of course, you should check first that the food is properly cooked (especially with items like chicken or fish) but by checking early you can avoid overcooking your food. If you think it needs a little longer then let it cook for another minute or so, and check again.

Finally, remember to enjoy your cooking. If at first you don't succeed, just try again!

Nick Daval has been cooking simple and delicious meals for over 15 years. You can learn from his experience and pick up some great cooking tips and tricks by visiting his website's Cooking Technique page at http://www.basic-cooking.com/cooking-technique.html.


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