Absinthe is one of those historic fascinations that never quite go away. We were just on the verge of letting absinthe settle into the dustbin of history when two events happened. One, the Goth kids heard about it, especially that (whoever the 19th century poet they pretend to have read) drank it, which means they must have a glass immediately so everybody knows how cool they are. Two, the cult classic (and tragically short-lived) HBO series "Carnival" featured a character who drank absinthe the way the Small Lebowski drank White Russians, so the art scene found out about it.
For satisfying this crowd of looky-loos, you could just about add green food coloring to ordinary vodka and slap on a new label and most of them wouldn't know the difference. Truly, would you yourself know absinthe if you tasted it? But for the barkeep who's serious about doing their homework and offering the real deal, here's all the research in one place.
Absinthe is (or was) a highly alcoholic, distilled liquor with a kick of anise flavoring, made from a complex set of herbs including the plant known as "grand wormwood", with a light bitterness and great complexity imparted to the flavor by multiple herbs. Be sure to correct those who call it a 'liqueur' - it had no added sugar. That's why you have that goofy spoon - you put a lump of sugar on the spoon and hold it over the glass and pour the absinthe over it. It was consistently green in color, like watered-down green apple schnapps.
Due to its sky-high proof (around 75 percent pure alcohol) and concentration of oils, absinthe drinkers typically add from three to five parts ice-water to a shot of absinthe, which causes the drink to turn cloudy; often the water is used to dissolve the added sugar (from step one) to increase bitterness. This preparation is considered an important part of the experience of drinking absinthe, so much so that it has become ritualized.
Now, here's where the kid angle comes in: The ingredient wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), contains the neurotoxin thujone. Thujone is chemically similar to THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, and some speculate that the two compounds act on the brain in similar ways. Of course, the first thought running through the head of a shrouded Goth is "So it's like legal pot???" Well, try to break it gently to them, but no, it isn't. Thujone is only similar to THC, not equal. You'd have to chug a gallon of the stuff to get the thujone effect, passing out in a drunken stupor first. And finally, it is, for the most part, illegal in many parts of the world even today.
The reason behind its illegality is that it was demonized as a ruining influence in 19th century France. All their poets and painters, gargling their late night glasses by gaslight in the cafe society of the belle epoch, supposedly went mad or at least slacked off on production. Vincent van Gosh lopped off his ear and he drank absinthe, so, with the same logic that causes today's courts to ban violent video games whenever kids go on a shooting spree, absinthe was promptly outlawed.
Studies have since shown that the real problem was probably alcoholism in general (including wine served at every single meal), that any specific drink. Perhaps, because absinthe was so strong, alcohol poisoning and the occasional shot of methanol (after all, it was the 19th century, and they were working by gaslight) probably struck the absinthe drinker with more regularity.
Today, most countries do not have a legal definition of 'absinthe' like they do 'scotch whiskey'. But it is technically illegal in a patchwork quilt of countries all over the globe, whatever it is. In some places the laws say absinthe's OK as long as it isn't so-and-so percentage this and that, some countries outlaw it based on its alcohol content alone, and some countries make no sense and ban drinks with wormwood in them, while ingredients like sage and sage oil (which can be 50% thujone!) get off Scott free.
Hey, sage! That's a plan. Maybe you could take Everclear, dilute it with something weak but complicated-tasting, add some sage oil, and sell it as "absinthe"! All it would take is a patent and trademark on the name, you'd have brand recognition for years to come. What's that, Everclear is illegal in some states, too? Oh, phooey, they won't let us have any fun.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
For One Cup Convenience Use A Tea Pod
For many years, a person who wanted a good cup of coffee, but only one, had many methods for making it. If they wanted it to be really easy they bought a packet that had a one cup serving of coffee, put it in the brewer and waited for it to be ready to drink. Now that same convenience is available for tea drinkers. You can by a tea pod with the exact right proportion of tea sealed in a pod and ready to be put into your pod brewer. This is probably the quickest way to make gourmet tea. You can have a cup ready to drink in half a minute and because the pods are sealed they remain fresh.
The only problem is that sometimes the tea pod made by one company will not fit in the pod brewer made by a different company. This can be handled one of two ways. Either make sure that the tea you prefer is available through the company that makes the brewer you like best or buy the tea packets that say on the package that they are compatible with a variety of brewers. Check to be sure your brewer is listed. Some of the companies that make the pods have a little device they will sell you that will make them compatible with just about every pod brewer you can buy. If you are also a coffee drinker you can buy brewers that can use pods for both tea and coffee.
Although a somewhat more expensive way to buy tea these pods are catching on. An average price is five dollars for a tin of thirty pods. This is for a variety of types of tea including your old standbys like Earl Grey, other black teas and green tea as well as a variety of herbal teas. The tea pod brewers cost anywhere from two hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars. But, for many who are looking for speed and convenience with little mess to clean up, this is the way to go when making tea.
Not all retail outlets will carry the pods, so you may have to do some checking around town before you find a store that will carry what you need. Health food stores, as well as specialty supermarkets are good places to begin your search. Should you have no luck finding what you need locally, then log onto the Internet. There are a number of online stores that will provide you with a wide variety of teas available in pods, as well as quick shipping and handling.
The only problem is that sometimes the tea pod made by one company will not fit in the pod brewer made by a different company. This can be handled one of two ways. Either make sure that the tea you prefer is available through the company that makes the brewer you like best or buy the tea packets that say on the package that they are compatible with a variety of brewers. Check to be sure your brewer is listed. Some of the companies that make the pods have a little device they will sell you that will make them compatible with just about every pod brewer you can buy. If you are also a coffee drinker you can buy brewers that can use pods for both tea and coffee.
Although a somewhat more expensive way to buy tea these pods are catching on. An average price is five dollars for a tin of thirty pods. This is for a variety of types of tea including your old standbys like Earl Grey, other black teas and green tea as well as a variety of herbal teas. The tea pod brewers cost anywhere from two hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars. But, for many who are looking for speed and convenience with little mess to clean up, this is the way to go when making tea.
Not all retail outlets will carry the pods, so you may have to do some checking around town before you find a store that will carry what you need. Health food stores, as well as specialty supermarkets are good places to begin your search. Should you have no luck finding what you need locally, then log onto the Internet. There are a number of online stores that will provide you with a wide variety of teas available in pods, as well as quick shipping and handling.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Bulk Candy Chocolate
More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate changed hands in the United States on Valentine's Day this year. The holiday's total chocolate sales approached $1 billion. Yet this confection's link to hearts is extending beyond the lucrative candy business.
Bulk candy chocolate and cocoa powders are derived from beams that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids. In recent years, research has correlated consumption of tea, red wine, and other foods rich in these compounds with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Realizing that this observation might transform chocolate's reputation from junk food into health-promoting snack candy companies and the American Cocoa Research Institute (ACRI) in McLean, Va., have begun pumping money into studies of chocolate's antioxidants.
Those investments now hint at big payoffs. New findings - many reported for the first time last month in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - suggest that chocolate's chemistry confers cardiovascular benefits.
Though preliminary, the research indicates that cocoa and chocolates not only contain natural compounds that can protect the heart and blood vessels but also that the quantities present in commercial products may be sufficient to exert measurable effects.
These studies are prompting manufacturers to reevaluate how they make chocolate, since some techniques unintentionally eliminate flavonoids. Mars, Inc., recently developed a proprietary process to preserve flavonoids. By next month, the company plans to be labeling U.S. products made with the process, which they call Cocoapro. Then, observes Harold H. Schmitz, Mars' director of nutrition and analytical services in Hackettstown, N.J., consumers can identify chocolates retaining much of a cocoa bean's initial flavonoid riches.
A 40-gram serving of milk chocolate typically contains around 400 milligrams of antioxidants, about the same quantity as a glass of red wine, according to research published last year by Joe A. Vinson of the University of Scranton (Pa.). Dark chocolate aficionados will be happy to learn that a serving of their favorite contains more than twice that quantity - roughly the same amount as a cup of black tea. Unsweetened powdered cocoa starts out with almost twice as much of these antioxidants as dark chocolate. But to make a cup of hot chocolate, the cocoa is diluted with water or milk and sugar, so the flavonoid total per serving plummets to about half of that present in milk chocolate.
At least as important as the total amount of flavonoids, however, is the potency of these antioxidants, Vinson notes. And the potency of those in chocolate is impressive, his team reported in the December 1999 JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY.
Vinson and his colleagues found that, matched molecule for molecule, chocolate's flavonoids are more powerful than vitamins such as ascorbic acid in limiting the oxidation of cholesterol circulating in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and very-low-density lipoproteins. Arteriosclerosis studies have suggested that oxidation of these lipoproteins is an essential step in the creation of artery-clogging plaque.
Vinson, whose work was supported by ACRI, doesn't know which chocolate products the institute gave him to test or the complex mix of flavonoids within them.
Yet individual flavonoids - some 4,000 have been identified in plant products so far - vary not only in potency but also in mode of action. The primary family of flavonoids contributing to the antioxidant prowess of chocolates is the procyanidins, notes Schmitz. Their basic unit is a three ring molecular structure. The mature cocoa bean contains pairs known as dimers, triads known as trimers, quartets known as tetramers, and larger ensembles of these units.
Test-tube studies by German scientists recently showed that chocolate's tetramers were the top performers among this group in curbing the type of oxidation that free radicals can wreak in blood vessel walls. That's potentially important, Schmitz notes, because such naturally occurring radicals can inflame vessels, a process that fosters a dangerous rupturing of arteriosclerotic plaque (SN: 2/6 99, p. 86).
Chocolate's tetramers and larger procyanidins also help relax the inner surface of blood vessels according to studies in isolated tissues headed by C. Tissa Kappagoda of the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.
This relaxation "is a major player in vascular health," he explains. People in whom it's absent or grossly impaired often have high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, or other symptoms of cardiovascular disease.
In healthy blood vessels, Kappagoda noted at the AAAS meeting, much of this relaxation is controlled by the production of nitric oxide (SIN 3/23/96, p. 180). His research, funded by Mars, indicates that chocolate's compounds exert their relaxing effect by increasing nitric oxide concentrations.
Test-tube studies by Schmitz's team at Mars dovetail with the findings by both groups. Chocolate procyanidins can dampen the activity of enzymes that trigger inflammation and ratchet up production of nitric oxide, Schmitz reported at the meeting. Moreover he notes, both of these actions may be independent of the flavonoids' antioxidant role.
Yet Cesar G. Fraga of the University of Buenos Aires hails the procyanidins' antioxidant activity. In work funded by Mars, he has demonstrated a rise of chocolate-derived procyanidins in the blood of men and women who had just eaten semi-sweet chocolate candies. His team found that blood sampled 2 hours after candy consumption protected its circulating lipids from oxidation. The more chocolate eaten, the better the protection.
Earlier test-tube studies, he says, indicate that the procyanidins may function as a first line of defense against damaging oxidants - sparing vitamin C and other antioxidant vitamins that would otherwise be destroyed in the battle. In these experiments, while all of the tested procyanidins appeared active, the pentamer offered the best protection.
Nutritionist Carl L. Keen, Fraga's collaborator at UC Davis, has conducted additional Mars-funded work. At the AAAS meeting, he unveiled data from new studies indicating that flavonoid rich foods may benefit the heart yet another way, by damping the reactivity of blood platelets.
When stimulated by any of several chemical triggers, these cells turn sticky, helping blood to clot. Doctors often recommend that people at risk of heart attacks take aspirins to reduce clotting. Keen's data now show that chocolate's procyanidins work like especially mild aspirins.
His group gave water, procyanidin-rich cocoa, or alcohol-free red wine to groups of 10 men and women. The researchers sampled and tested the volunteers' blood 2 and 6 hours later.
"This is important," Kris-Etherton says, "because a higher ratio of HDLs to LDLs is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease."
Why should consumers trust the tantalizing data on chocolate if they're all coming from industry-funded research? 'That's a valid question," acknowledges nutritionist John W. Erdman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who co-chaired the AAAS symposium on chocolate. Though he believes people should be skeptical, he also points out that these studies would never get off the ground without candy industry financing.
Erdman likens the situation to Quaker Oats' funding of research that laid the foundation for studies that proved oats' ability to lower serum cholesterol. Similarly, soy producers funded most of the initial work showing that proteins and antioxidants in their crops could fight heart disease. When it comes to potential neutraceuticals - foods offering health benefits - publication of a critical mass of promising, peer-reviewed, industry-financed studies appears necessary before the government will step in with financial support, Erdman says.
While U.S. chocolate makers would love to be able to adorn their labels with health claims, Schmitz says that "a lot of research needs to be done before we get to that point."
If that ever happens, chocolate will have come full circle, says Louis E. Grivetti, a nutritional historian at UC Davis. His research team is documenting extensive medicinal use of chocolate and cocoa that dates back at least 500 years throughout Europe and the Americas. Healers used them to treat dozens of conditions, including tuberculosis, anemia, gastrointestinal upset, and kidney stones.
For more details visit our site: http://www.thecandylandstore.com/
Bulk candy chocolate and cocoa powders are derived from beams that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids. In recent years, research has correlated consumption of tea, red wine, and other foods rich in these compounds with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Realizing that this observation might transform chocolate's reputation from junk food into health-promoting snack candy companies and the American Cocoa Research Institute (ACRI) in McLean, Va., have begun pumping money into studies of chocolate's antioxidants.
Those investments now hint at big payoffs. New findings - many reported for the first time last month in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - suggest that chocolate's chemistry confers cardiovascular benefits.
Though preliminary, the research indicates that cocoa and chocolates not only contain natural compounds that can protect the heart and blood vessels but also that the quantities present in commercial products may be sufficient to exert measurable effects.
These studies are prompting manufacturers to reevaluate how they make chocolate, since some techniques unintentionally eliminate flavonoids. Mars, Inc., recently developed a proprietary process to preserve flavonoids. By next month, the company plans to be labeling U.S. products made with the process, which they call Cocoapro. Then, observes Harold H. Schmitz, Mars' director of nutrition and analytical services in Hackettstown, N.J., consumers can identify chocolates retaining much of a cocoa bean's initial flavonoid riches.
A 40-gram serving of milk chocolate typically contains around 400 milligrams of antioxidants, about the same quantity as a glass of red wine, according to research published last year by Joe A. Vinson of the University of Scranton (Pa.). Dark chocolate aficionados will be happy to learn that a serving of their favorite contains more than twice that quantity - roughly the same amount as a cup of black tea. Unsweetened powdered cocoa starts out with almost twice as much of these antioxidants as dark chocolate. But to make a cup of hot chocolate, the cocoa is diluted with water or milk and sugar, so the flavonoid total per serving plummets to about half of that present in milk chocolate.
At least as important as the total amount of flavonoids, however, is the potency of these antioxidants, Vinson notes. And the potency of those in chocolate is impressive, his team reported in the December 1999 JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY.
Vinson and his colleagues found that, matched molecule for molecule, chocolate's flavonoids are more powerful than vitamins such as ascorbic acid in limiting the oxidation of cholesterol circulating in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and very-low-density lipoproteins. Arteriosclerosis studies have suggested that oxidation of these lipoproteins is an essential step in the creation of artery-clogging plaque.
Vinson, whose work was supported by ACRI, doesn't know which chocolate products the institute gave him to test or the complex mix of flavonoids within them.
Yet individual flavonoids - some 4,000 have been identified in plant products so far - vary not only in potency but also in mode of action. The primary family of flavonoids contributing to the antioxidant prowess of chocolates is the procyanidins, notes Schmitz. Their basic unit is a three ring molecular structure. The mature cocoa bean contains pairs known as dimers, triads known as trimers, quartets known as tetramers, and larger ensembles of these units.
Test-tube studies by German scientists recently showed that chocolate's tetramers were the top performers among this group in curbing the type of oxidation that free radicals can wreak in blood vessel walls. That's potentially important, Schmitz notes, because such naturally occurring radicals can inflame vessels, a process that fosters a dangerous rupturing of arteriosclerotic plaque (SN: 2/6 99, p. 86).
Chocolate's tetramers and larger procyanidins also help relax the inner surface of blood vessels according to studies in isolated tissues headed by C. Tissa Kappagoda of the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.
This relaxation "is a major player in vascular health," he explains. People in whom it's absent or grossly impaired often have high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, or other symptoms of cardiovascular disease.
In healthy blood vessels, Kappagoda noted at the AAAS meeting, much of this relaxation is controlled by the production of nitric oxide (SIN 3/23/96, p. 180). His research, funded by Mars, indicates that chocolate's compounds exert their relaxing effect by increasing nitric oxide concentrations.
Test-tube studies by Schmitz's team at Mars dovetail with the findings by both groups. Chocolate procyanidins can dampen the activity of enzymes that trigger inflammation and ratchet up production of nitric oxide, Schmitz reported at the meeting. Moreover he notes, both of these actions may be independent of the flavonoids' antioxidant role.
Yet Cesar G. Fraga of the University of Buenos Aires hails the procyanidins' antioxidant activity. In work funded by Mars, he has demonstrated a rise of chocolate-derived procyanidins in the blood of men and women who had just eaten semi-sweet chocolate candies. His team found that blood sampled 2 hours after candy consumption protected its circulating lipids from oxidation. The more chocolate eaten, the better the protection.
Earlier test-tube studies, he says, indicate that the procyanidins may function as a first line of defense against damaging oxidants - sparing vitamin C and other antioxidant vitamins that would otherwise be destroyed in the battle. In these experiments, while all of the tested procyanidins appeared active, the pentamer offered the best protection.
Nutritionist Carl L. Keen, Fraga's collaborator at UC Davis, has conducted additional Mars-funded work. At the AAAS meeting, he unveiled data from new studies indicating that flavonoid rich foods may benefit the heart yet another way, by damping the reactivity of blood platelets.
When stimulated by any of several chemical triggers, these cells turn sticky, helping blood to clot. Doctors often recommend that people at risk of heart attacks take aspirins to reduce clotting. Keen's data now show that chocolate's procyanidins work like especially mild aspirins.
His group gave water, procyanidin-rich cocoa, or alcohol-free red wine to groups of 10 men and women. The researchers sampled and tested the volunteers' blood 2 and 6 hours later.
"This is important," Kris-Etherton says, "because a higher ratio of HDLs to LDLs is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease."
Why should consumers trust the tantalizing data on chocolate if they're all coming from industry-funded research? 'That's a valid question," acknowledges nutritionist John W. Erdman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who co-chaired the AAAS symposium on chocolate. Though he believes people should be skeptical, he also points out that these studies would never get off the ground without candy industry financing.
Erdman likens the situation to Quaker Oats' funding of research that laid the foundation for studies that proved oats' ability to lower serum cholesterol. Similarly, soy producers funded most of the initial work showing that proteins and antioxidants in their crops could fight heart disease. When it comes to potential neutraceuticals - foods offering health benefits - publication of a critical mass of promising, peer-reviewed, industry-financed studies appears necessary before the government will step in with financial support, Erdman says.
While U.S. chocolate makers would love to be able to adorn their labels with health claims, Schmitz says that "a lot of research needs to be done before we get to that point."
If that ever happens, chocolate will have come full circle, says Louis E. Grivetti, a nutritional historian at UC Davis. His research team is documenting extensive medicinal use of chocolate and cocoa that dates back at least 500 years throughout Europe and the Americas. Healers used them to treat dozens of conditions, including tuberculosis, anemia, gastrointestinal upset, and kidney stones.
For more details visit our site: http://www.thecandylandstore.com/
Monday, July 27, 2009
Why Cook with Cast Iron Cookware?
I'm a recent fan of cooking with cast iron cookware. My interest started with my frustration with Teflon coated pans and their tendency to lose their nonstick coating over time. I really dislike replacing my pans. And of course some people express concerns about the safety of ingesting tiny particles of Teflon, although there's so far no definite evidence of health hazards.
While talking with my mother I learned that she was looking at cast iron cookware as an alternative. When properly seasoned it is fairly nonstick, and it can last for generations.
I guess my husband paid attention to my complaints about my nonstick pans. He got me a cast iron pan the following Christmas. I was and still am delighted. I now also have my grandmother's old cast iron pan. It's a true delight.
Cast iron cookware can actually make your cooking a bit healthier. It adds a bit of iron to your food. How much depends on the age of the pan and what you're cooking, but the tests have been done, and they are quite clear. It's really nice knowing that something good for you is being added just through your choice of pan.
Cast iron heats very evenly. It may take a touch longer, but it's really not that much of a wait for it to heat up. You can even use it in the oven, which most other pans are not supposed to do.
It's very affordable. When I price cast iron in comparison to stainless steel pans, the iron ones often come out cheaper.
It's more nonstick than stainless steel or aluminum pans. Food can still stick, but in my experience it really doesn't do so all that badly. And if you want a quick way to remove it, I've read that filling the pan with water and then heating it to boiling makes it easier to get the food off.
One thing you will always have to do with cast iron is make sure that you dry it completely, or you do risk it rusting. The easiest way to do this is to place it on the stove and turn on the burner until the pan is completely dry. Give it a light coating of vegetable oil, and you're in good shape.
This bit of extra care is very much so worth it to me. I have pans that I will probably never need to replace, and can be handed down after I am gone. No health worries due to what the pan is made of. All in all I find it to be a very good deal.
While talking with my mother I learned that she was looking at cast iron cookware as an alternative. When properly seasoned it is fairly nonstick, and it can last for generations.
I guess my husband paid attention to my complaints about my nonstick pans. He got me a cast iron pan the following Christmas. I was and still am delighted. I now also have my grandmother's old cast iron pan. It's a true delight.
Cast iron cookware can actually make your cooking a bit healthier. It adds a bit of iron to your food. How much depends on the age of the pan and what you're cooking, but the tests have been done, and they are quite clear. It's really nice knowing that something good for you is being added just through your choice of pan.
Cast iron heats very evenly. It may take a touch longer, but it's really not that much of a wait for it to heat up. You can even use it in the oven, which most other pans are not supposed to do.
It's very affordable. When I price cast iron in comparison to stainless steel pans, the iron ones often come out cheaper.
It's more nonstick than stainless steel or aluminum pans. Food can still stick, but in my experience it really doesn't do so all that badly. And if you want a quick way to remove it, I've read that filling the pan with water and then heating it to boiling makes it easier to get the food off.
One thing you will always have to do with cast iron is make sure that you dry it completely, or you do risk it rusting. The easiest way to do this is to place it on the stove and turn on the burner until the pan is completely dry. Give it a light coating of vegetable oil, and you're in good shape.
This bit of extra care is very much so worth it to me. I have pans that I will probably never need to replace, and can be handed down after I am gone. No health worries due to what the pan is made of. All in all I find it to be a very good deal.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Beyond the South Beach Diet - How to Cook Low-Carb Long Term
The South Beach Diet is one of the most popular diets in decades. All over the world, people are taking off weight by stripping carbs and, in the process, learning to eat healthier meals. One of the true beauties of South Beach is that it teaches you a whole new way of eating for a healthier, happier lifestyle. Eating healthy the South Beach way requires an adjustment in your cooking styles, too, though. Once you learn to cook low-carb, you'll find it easier to maintain your new weight and your new healthier lifestyle. Here are some tips to help you put it all together.
1. Invest in a good cookbook.
The third phase of the South Beach diet is a lifetime maintenance plan that lets you eat a wide variety of healthy foods. If your recipe repertoire was based on high-fat meals with creamy sauces and processed foods, you'll need to build up a stock of new recipes. The South Beach Diet book is a good start. It contains a lot of easy to cook recipes that will get you started on building a new repertoire of healthy meals. You'll also find dozens of South Beach cookbooks on the market that will give you some ideas on the best ways to put your new-found food savvy to use.
2. Think fresh!
Processed foods are the very antithesis of healthy low-carb eating. Even processed meats are packed with fillers that add in carbs and calories without offering anything in the way of nutrition. Try to shop the outside aisles of the supermarket - fresh fruits and veggies, meats and dairy - and avoid all the filler meals in between.
3. Learn simple cooking methods.
Learning to cook the South Beach way is surprisingly simple - a lot simpler than the techniques you probably use for cooking now. Steaming, poaching, braising, roasting and grilling involve very little prep time. If a recipe calls for dredging in flour or dusting with breadcrumbs, throw it out. You'll learn a whole new appreciation for real, whole foods when you cook them simply.
4. Color your plate pretty.
A healthy plate is full of vibrant, brilliant colors. When you prepare a plate for yourself, think in color. Deep green, dark orange and bright red vegetables are low in healthy carbohydrates, minerals and vegetables. White potatoes, rice and breads are not. Your best bet is to eat your veggies when they're at their peak of color - before overcooking robs them of their minerals and vitamins.
5. Spice it up!
Spices are a great way to brighten up flavors in your foods. There's a whole world of spices at your fingertips, and learning to use them can really wake up your plate and your palate. Learning about the spices used in various regional cuisines can help you turn a meal from bland to POW with just a few shakes of the spice bottle. Some spices and spice combinations to try are:
Curry isn't just for Indian food anymore. A sprinkle of curry (use a light hand!) can really wake up the flavor in a fresh fruit salad, especially when you add a dab of vanilla.
Cinnamon is an unusual and delicious spice addition to chicken dishes.
Lemon grass oil adds a tart edge to salads and vegetables. Just a dash added to the olive oil when you saut
1. Invest in a good cookbook.
The third phase of the South Beach diet is a lifetime maintenance plan that lets you eat a wide variety of healthy foods. If your recipe repertoire was based on high-fat meals with creamy sauces and processed foods, you'll need to build up a stock of new recipes. The South Beach Diet book is a good start. It contains a lot of easy to cook recipes that will get you started on building a new repertoire of healthy meals. You'll also find dozens of South Beach cookbooks on the market that will give you some ideas on the best ways to put your new-found food savvy to use.
2. Think fresh!
Processed foods are the very antithesis of healthy low-carb eating. Even processed meats are packed with fillers that add in carbs and calories without offering anything in the way of nutrition. Try to shop the outside aisles of the supermarket - fresh fruits and veggies, meats and dairy - and avoid all the filler meals in between.
3. Learn simple cooking methods.
Learning to cook the South Beach way is surprisingly simple - a lot simpler than the techniques you probably use for cooking now. Steaming, poaching, braising, roasting and grilling involve very little prep time. If a recipe calls for dredging in flour or dusting with breadcrumbs, throw it out. You'll learn a whole new appreciation for real, whole foods when you cook them simply.
4. Color your plate pretty.
A healthy plate is full of vibrant, brilliant colors. When you prepare a plate for yourself, think in color. Deep green, dark orange and bright red vegetables are low in healthy carbohydrates, minerals and vegetables. White potatoes, rice and breads are not. Your best bet is to eat your veggies when they're at their peak of color - before overcooking robs them of their minerals and vitamins.
5. Spice it up!
Spices are a great way to brighten up flavors in your foods. There's a whole world of spices at your fingertips, and learning to use them can really wake up your plate and your palate. Learning about the spices used in various regional cuisines can help you turn a meal from bland to POW with just a few shakes of the spice bottle. Some spices and spice combinations to try are:
Curry isn't just for Indian food anymore. A sprinkle of curry (use a light hand!) can really wake up the flavor in a fresh fruit salad, especially when you add a dab of vanilla.
Cinnamon is an unusual and delicious spice addition to chicken dishes.
Lemon grass oil adds a tart edge to salads and vegetables. Just a dash added to the olive oil when you saut
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Fast Foods Don't Have to be Fat Foods
Let's admit it, man cannot live on bread alone. Day in and day out, we consume fast food like we need to drink water or take a bath. And can we help it? Those scrumptious mouthfuls satisfy our fancy like we couldn't imagine. We eat away not withstanding the fact that they contain very high amounts of fat, calories, cholesterol, sugar and sodium. Not all fast foods though are unhealthy and by eating them in moderation, we are not putting our bodies too much at risk. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can do to alter your daily intake of fast food.
If we limit eating or skip the fattening dressings or toppings on burgers and salads, then we can guiltlessly enjoy them on occasion. Avoid sandwiches with cheese or mayo dressing topped with soda. Pick broth-based soups instead of the cream-based ones. Try to eat healthier, grease-less breakfasts at home as much as you can. Keep away from having them from your favorite diner or taking them to-go. Usually too, crispy foods means deep-fried so this is one more thing to watch out for. Stay more on the likes of broiled, grilled, baked or stir-fried ones rather than deep fried. Try not to order combo meals as well as they force you to finish up what you could normally eat sometimes. Instead, order the smaller servings/sizes. If it cannot be helped to order in bigger amounts then you can just save what you have left to-go and have it for lunch or dinner.
If you really have that itch and are going fast food crazy, try substituting your diet with "alternative" fast foods such as canned tuna, canned juices, cereals, instant oatmeal, granola bars, dried/fresh fruits, yogurts. These stuff you can add in your grocery list and you can easily stock them up in your kitchen and pack them with you for work or anywhere you need to be.
It wouldn't hurt to satisfy our taste buds with the traditional fast foods we come to know and enjoy once in a while. But always remember that you are what you eat. Hence, be mindful of the nutritional content of your meals. There's nothing more rewarding than giving your body what it's worth and by changing the way you define and eat fast foods, then you are giving yourself a delightful treat more than you know.
If we limit eating or skip the fattening dressings or toppings on burgers and salads, then we can guiltlessly enjoy them on occasion. Avoid sandwiches with cheese or mayo dressing topped with soda. Pick broth-based soups instead of the cream-based ones. Try to eat healthier, grease-less breakfasts at home as much as you can. Keep away from having them from your favorite diner or taking them to-go. Usually too, crispy foods means deep-fried so this is one more thing to watch out for. Stay more on the likes of broiled, grilled, baked or stir-fried ones rather than deep fried. Try not to order combo meals as well as they force you to finish up what you could normally eat sometimes. Instead, order the smaller servings/sizes. If it cannot be helped to order in bigger amounts then you can just save what you have left to-go and have it for lunch or dinner.
If you really have that itch and are going fast food crazy, try substituting your diet with "alternative" fast foods such as canned tuna, canned juices, cereals, instant oatmeal, granola bars, dried/fresh fruits, yogurts. These stuff you can add in your grocery list and you can easily stock them up in your kitchen and pack them with you for work or anywhere you need to be.
It wouldn't hurt to satisfy our taste buds with the traditional fast foods we come to know and enjoy once in a while. But always remember that you are what you eat. Hence, be mindful of the nutritional content of your meals. There's nothing more rewarding than giving your body what it's worth and by changing the way you define and eat fast foods, then you are giving yourself a delightful treat more than you know.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
How To Take Care Of Your Dry Skin
Dry skin can be a real pain to care for and to live with. If you have dry skin you know exactly what I mean. Your skin can become flaky and sometimes may even appear red and irritated. There are many over the counter skincare products that make promises to cure dry skin problems most usually these claims are unfounded and they rarely live up to the hype.
You don't have to be stuck with dry skin. We will share some simple changes you can make in your daily skincare routine that will help you to make your skin more healthy and vibrant in no time.
People suffering from dry skin have exactly the opposite problem of those with oily skin in that they suffer from a lack of sebum or oil production where people with oily skin have an overactive production. Sebum, which is made from skin cells, is vital to healthy, elastic skin. Because people with dry skin have insufficient oil production it must be replaced from the inside and the outside.
For starters, find a good moisturizing cream that is very rich but not too heavy. Natural creams that contain chamomile and aloe vera are very soothing and will help with dryness and healing.
The next thing you need to look at is your diet. You must take a hard look at what you are eating and how healthy or unhealthy it is. Your skin is actually the largest organ of the body and needs nourishment just like the rest of the body. Some of the best supplements for your skin include Omega-3 oils, Vitamin E, and B-Complex vitamin. This is one of the easiest and best things you can do to take care of your skin.
Taking this two pronged approach will reward you with lasting results that you will be able to see in a short time.
You don't have to be stuck with dry skin. We will share some simple changes you can make in your daily skincare routine that will help you to make your skin more healthy and vibrant in no time.
People suffering from dry skin have exactly the opposite problem of those with oily skin in that they suffer from a lack of sebum or oil production where people with oily skin have an overactive production. Sebum, which is made from skin cells, is vital to healthy, elastic skin. Because people with dry skin have insufficient oil production it must be replaced from the inside and the outside.
For starters, find a good moisturizing cream that is very rich but not too heavy. Natural creams that contain chamomile and aloe vera are very soothing and will help with dryness and healing.
The next thing you need to look at is your diet. You must take a hard look at what you are eating and how healthy or unhealthy it is. Your skin is actually the largest organ of the body and needs nourishment just like the rest of the body. Some of the best supplements for your skin include Omega-3 oils, Vitamin E, and B-Complex vitamin. This is one of the easiest and best things you can do to take care of your skin.
Taking this two pronged approach will reward you with lasting results that you will be able to see in a short time.
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