Thursday, July 19, 2007

I Love A Good Chili Recipe

Those who like to cook chili con carne con carne con carne con carne always desire to detect that one chili formula that volition have got their household and friends talking about for ages and maybe even affect a few chili competition judges.

Below is one of the best chili formula for you to seek and I believe you everyone who is involved will be well impressed

Ingredients

4-5 lbs. land beef cattle of your pick

¼ cup of olive oil if needful to brownish meat

64 ozs. V8 Juice for 4-5 lbs.

1 onion for each pound of meat

1/4 cup of brownish refined sugar or honey

1 bell common pepper for each lb. of meat

2-3 cloves Allium sativum for each lb. of meat

3 cayennes or 1 habanera

2 tablespoonfuls Cuminum cyminum

½ cup finely chopped Petroselinum crispum or coriander

2 tablespoonfuls of chili con carne pulverization (your favorite)

1 teaspoon of cultivated celery seed

1 bay leafage for each lb of meat

1 - 16 oz. can dark kidney edible beans for each lb. of meat

salt and common pepper to savor

10 mushrooms per lb of meat

1 tablespoonful of the secret ingredient

Ground beef cattle or land unit of ammunition should be at least 80% lean. Brown land beef cattle with olive oil.

Salt and Pepper-to taste sensation throughout the recipe.

After meat is browned, add onions, bell peppers, bay go forths and garlic.

Add secret ingredient.

Add chopped mushrooms.

Add cultivated celery seed.

Add brownish refined sugar or honey.

V8 juice is added next.

Cook down for about 10 proceedings at a simmer.

Add edible beans last and cook them until they are done to your taste.

Cook this full batch of chili con carne until you acquire it comin' up. Bubbling a little. Bash not boil. Bend it off and allow it sit, allow it sit, and allow it sit. You can even allow it sit down so long that it acquires cold.

Then, reheat it.

Siphon off the lubricating oil when it chills - the milk looking material on the top.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Cheat Days

For most people the definition of a diet is to reduce calories in order to lose weight. Most of the calories that are cut come from the foods that many of us find delicious such as chips, sweets and fast food. Its a bad idea to eat these on a daily basis even if you're not on a diet. Another bad idea is to never eat the foods you love again for the sake of your health.

While diet and nutrition have a huge impact on your overall health, eating foods you enjoy can have as big of an impact on your psychological health. Eating foods that you enjoy can bring you happiness. Food is a part of everyone's culture and should be enjoyed.

Healthy diets are about moderation. Have a piece of cake but don't eat the whole thing and don't have it everyday. Diets were never about completely cutting out parts of your life that you enjoy. Cheat days can help you get through the hard times of a diet.

Once you have a stable diet that you are used to, a good idea is to institute a cheat day about once a week. This day isn't about reversing the progress you've made by eating everything you see. Its about relaxing and not worrying about the amount calories to consume or foods that are off limits.

On your cheat day you can forget about counting calories. You can use this day to go to your favorite restaurant and eat your favorite dessert. Keep in mind that even though you've worked hard the rest of the week, it doesn't take much to derail your weight loss efforts. Enjoy yourself but don't go overboard.

Don't start your cheat day until you're sure that your diet is on solid ground. Its pretty easy to enjoy yourself a bit too much and have another cheat day and another. Don't have them back to back and remember that once tomorrow comes the rules of your diet are back in effect.

Advanced Guide to Dieting

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Monday, May 14, 2007

History Of Whole Wheat

Long before refrigeration, microwaveable foods, and artificial chemicals, people traveled from place to place to find food. They would pick and eat whatever grew wild and whatever they could find. However, when the population began to grow and more and more food got harder to find, the travelers had to settle and figure out how to grow food themselves.

Wheat could have possibly been one of the first plants to be cultivated, due to how well it adapts to harsh environments this seems likely. After it was discovered you could grow wheat, big changes started taking place. People realized they could grow their own food, so they no longer needed to wander in search of it. The stable food supply caused people to settle permanently.

The travelers became farmers, and as the growing of wheat progressed, so did the farmer's knowledge. They began to make the wheat easier to grow and eat. Gradually they started choosing kernels from their best wheat plants for the next years' planting. Which eventually ended up producing better crops and better quality of wheat that was passed down from one generation to the next. Very quickly wheat became one of the world's most important crops and to this day is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop!

It has been said that the first evidence of wheat was discovered in the Middle East. When farmers began producing enough crops to feed people from other lands, trading between the various lands and cultures began. Eventually wheat made it's way from the Middle East to England and other countries, then into the United States with Columbus back in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Over time, the growing of wheat spread to many continents and countries and is still one of the highest producing crops in the world.

All of the wheat grains were consumed or milled whole with the bran, germ, and endosperm part of the wheat still intact. However, a new way of milling and mass refining took hold in the wheat business when the industrialization wave hit America in the later 1800s. These manufacturers began removing the bran and germ from the wheat, because it meant that the wheat products could sit longer on grocery store shelves without spoiling. However, during this process almost all the essential vitamins and minerals (not to mention the dietary fiber from the bran) are removed. Since this time there have been increasing health problems throughout America and other countries.

Today, whole wheat has been taking the notice of nutrition experts to contain healthy phytochemicals and nutrients that are essential for good health. So let's get back to eating whole wheat, people used to eat it whole long before we started eating it without the bran and germ, and in most cases they even lived longer back then!

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Foods for Gaining Weight

Gaining weight is all about eating more calories than you burn and doing it over a long period of time. When you first start changing your diet, it'll be hard to find the foods that will add enough calories to allow you to gain weight. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between meals have to filled with calories in order to gain weight.

The cliche that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is true. If you go to sleep around 10pm, your last meal was probably around 7 or 8. When you wake up at 6am, you've been fasting for almost 12 hours or half a day. This isn't good for weight gain.

When you're trying to gain weight, you need to eat a lot and often. Fasting for 12 hours isn't ideal. Since avoiding this is hard and impractical, you can take steps to minimize the impact. This is where a nutritious and calorie filled breakfast comes in. Try to eat a meal that is high in protein and carbohydrates while low in fat. Don't totally avoid fat since it plays an important role in our diets. Some good choices for breakfast include eggs, cereal, oatmeal, orange juice and milk (regular or chocolate). Have more than one choice for breakfast since your body is begging you for energy.

You have plenty of options for lunch. For many people, lunch is a break from work and means going outside to the closest restaurant. If you're trying to quickly gain weight then there's nothing wrong with this approach, but there are better options. If you aren't in the mood to cook, consider lunch as a big snack. Eat some sandwiches, nuts, fruits and have some (non-alcoholic) drinks. The calories will add up quickly.

Dinner, like breakfast is also an important meal. While you sleep your body repairs the damage you caused from working out and doing daily chores. To do this, your body needs energy (carbs and fat) and amino acids, the building blocks of muscles (protein). If you eat a dinner that's high in calories, your body will have the resources it needs to rebuild, repair and recover. If not, you won't gain muscle as quickly as you'd like. Meals for dinner are limited to only what you can cook up and imagine. Pizza, chili, pasta, fish, chicken, steak, potatoes and lasagna are all good options as well as the hundreds that aren't mentioned here.

Snacks are very important even though they aren't full meals . If you have 3 snacks per day at 200 calories (a very low estimation) each, it adds up to 600 calories which can be the difference between a 2400 and 3000 calorie day. Snacks are an excellent way to add calories to your daily diet. Nuts, sandwiches, drinks and fruits are all good ideas.

No matter what kind of food you like, the most important point to remember is that gaining weight can only be accomplished by taking in a lot of calories and eating often.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Fillet Of Sea Bass East Meets West Fashion

Fillet of sea bass East meets West fashion

This recipe is very easy to prepare and is very successful.
Make sure not to overcook the spring onions.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Preheat oven at 450°F 220°C

Ingredients

4 fillets of sea bass, boned, scaled,
and with the skin left on


3 to 4 spring onions


1 ginger clove peeled and finely shredded


1 small tomato, peeled,
seeds removed and diced


8 tbs olive oil


2 tbs lemon juice


2 tbs light soy sauce

Preparation

1- Salt and pepper the sea bass fillets on the meat side.


2- Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray. Brush with one tablespoon of olive oil.


3- Arrange the fish fillets on the baking tray, with the skin on top. Brush the skin of the sea bass fillets with one tablespoon of olive oil.


4- Place in the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the fish fillets.


5- When cooked, remove the fish fillets from the oven and arrange them on serving plates.


6- Pour the vegetable sauce over and around the fish.




Sauce


1- Slice the spring onions, place in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté them briefly (for about 1 minute), so the onions remain "al dente".


2- Remove the pan from the heat; add the ginger, the diced tomato, 4 tablespoon of olive oil, the lemon juice and the soy sauce.

Notes:


Make sure the olive oil is not cooked. If the sauce is cold, reheat it a little; serve lukewarm.
Don't over mix the sauce. All the ingredients should remain separated.
We have added on the picture a brick or fillo leaf. (Sprinkle any sort of spices, crushed pistacchio nuts... a little oil and bake 3 minutes in the oven at 450°F/220°C.)



Here you can see the picture

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Role of Nutrition in Prevention of Illness and Health Maintenance

"Given the history of Western medicine to date, many people seek empowerment in the health care of themselves and their families; nutrition is really basic component of preventive medicine and also an area that can be effective in corrective medicine for many common health problems." *

Nutrition is a basic element of health and should not be overlooked during disease. Some well renowned practitioners state that every disease is a result of improper dietary habits.

Because of the rapid increase in cost of medical care and desire to live longer and healthier, higher and higher percentage of the population is becoming concerned about nutrition and maintaining their health. Without a doubt, nutrition plays a big role here.

Proper nutrition and regular physical activity can help us avoid taking drugs or even have surgeries to correct the results of fast-paced, fast-food consuming, multitasking life with no exercising.

Healthy dietary habits (the way we eat) are the foundation of healthy nutrition. Choosing nourishing (whole, unprocessed, without chemical additives) foods alone is not enough.

Simpler meals (with specific combination of foods for better digestion and absorption) are becoming the top-choice of many, who are oriented toward optimum health.

However, the factors that are often overlooked, but just as important in healthy nutrition are:

  • the way our food is prepared and served,
  • the time of the day when we eat,
  • the setting in which we eat and
  • how we feel when we eat.
The way of the Western world is that poor nutrition is readily available everywhere, any time and cheap. Farmers' markets and health-food stores, on the other hand, are harder to find in some areas. In the end, all comes down to common sense. Our body is sending us messages all the time and if we would only learn to listen to these messages again, there would be no need whatsoever for trying out all the countless diets which don't work. So, even though our biofeedback is a perfect messenger, we tend to override the signals and follow heavily advertised addictions.

This kind of behavior affects the way we feel now, as well as over the long term. Being overweight is mostly the result of poor nutrition and low activity level. The only way to lose extra pounds permanently is to change the lifestyle. Choosing less fattening foods is a good choice, but not sufficient.

Because certain emotions and fear of creativity and change also promote unhealthy (over)eating habits, we need to choose personal growth (over addictions), decide what we want and stay focused on our goals.

Dietary habits and eating patterns from our family's traditions affect us all in our young age. As adults, however, we are making our own choices and decisions and we should keep asking ourselves why we're doing the things we do - and keep the answers in our sight.

When body is in a detoxification stage (like during cold or flu when bowels, secreting cells and mucous membranes become more active), it is simply trying to eliminate the buildup of toxins we consumed throughout the longer period of time. Eating lightly (especially fruits and vegetables) and drinking more liquids (clean, fresh water and herbal teas), supports the cleansing process.

Our dietary needs are changing with the seasons of the year as well as with our age. Growing children need richer diet to construct and expand tissues. When we stop growing physically, we only need to maintain our body, which calls for lighter, fiber and nutrient rich natural foods. As we age even more and our metabolism slows down, our food requirements decrease further.

Just like fitness activity is equally important at any age, so is the low level of stress. While under stress, our body may not digest and absorb the necessary nutrients so well and sometimes the additional supplements are needed.

When we lose our appetite in response to the stressful situation, that is a very helpful reaction. As mentioned before, in stressful times our body does not process foods so well. Not eating will allow us to "hear" better what the only body we have for this life, is signaling us, and explore our feelings.

Human body needs food as a source of energy and as a fuel to maintain life. It is quite obvious that nutrition plays a major role in health as well as sickness. Fortunately, there are more and more practitioners available who are nutritionists. There are also more and more choices of wholesome, nutritious foods offered online and in the brick-and-mortar stores. Information is plentiful. But it's up to us to decide to do and choose what's best.

*Haas, M.D., Elson M.. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. 1. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts Publishing, 1992.

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