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  • Kiwi fruit – summer special

    07-Apr-2011
    Tags: Kiwi

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    What's your favourite fruit this summer? Gone are the days of strawberries and mangoes. Try some Kiwi this year. The fruit makes for a heavenly topping for tarts, cakes and even salads. It can tenderise other foods such as salads and meat, and is a cause of 'latex allergy' (which often manifests with itching in the mouth for those who are allergy sensitive).

     


     

    Interesting ways to serve Kiwi:

    • Eat Kiwi in scooped or cut in slices.
    • The peel contains many nutrients, and can be eaten once the hairy bits have been removed by soft brushing.
    • Kiwi fruits add an exotic tropical feel to salads, try it!
    • A delicious combination can be made out of yogurt, strawberries and kiwi fruit. Also add bananas and pineapples to make it more delicious.
    • Chicken and fish can be served with a sauce made with sliced kiwi fruit, pineapple and orange.
    • You can make a lip-smacking chilled soup out of blended cantaloupe and kiwi! For more consistency add yogurt.
    • Fruit tarts can be decorated and enhanced with kiwi fruit slices.

     


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  • Make the most of vegetables

    03-Aug-2012
    Tags: Health , Vegetables , Veggies

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    veggies                  
                         
                    
    Vegetables are an essential part of our diet because they supply the body with carbohydrates which are our basic energy nutrient. In addition, vegetables supply essential vitamins, minerals and bulk. A daily fiber consumption of around three quarters of an ounce should be aimed for.

    But nutrients are mainly concentrated in the outer layers of plants, so that too much trimming can result in nutrient loss. This is exacerbated during handling and preparation but can be lessened by following a few basic rules.

    The preparation of vegetables can particularly affect the vitamin C content, especially if mincing and storage occurs. Simple cutting  appears to have little effect on nutrient losses, but soaking and/or washing can increase nutrient loss due to the larger surface areas exposed to water.

    To minimize loss wash fruit and vegetables before chopping or slicing, minimize chopping and cutting, and avoid mincing if possible. The biggest loss in nutrients, up to 50%, comes from heating and cooking. Vitamin C is particularly unstable under heating in most foods and losses of thiamin, riboflavin, carotene and niacin can also occur under certain conditions.

    Boiling results in a significant loss of nutrients unless the cooking water is used for base stock or gravy, in which case the value is maintained. Steaming results in a greater retention of nutrients and again fluid can be re-used. Pan-frying or stir-frying can reduce the nutrient loss but the food should be cooked at low temperatures and for only short periods.

    In summary, to minimize nutrient losses in vegetables this is what you should do. Store food for the shortest possible time, choose food that looks in good condition, and make chopping and cutting time as short as possible. Retain the outer layers of vegetables. Re-use cooking water for stock or soup, and serve food right after cooking. Cooked food should not be left and then re-heated and refrigerated food that has thawed out should not be re-frozen. 


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  • Laughter - Good for health

    16-Dec-2011
    Tags: Laughter , Health

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    Every human is gifted with the most beautiful expression - laughter. A single line of smile or laugh can alter a serious situation to a fun filled environment. Even medical professionals have declared laughter a great medicine. Healthy, non-ridiculing and connecting laughter provides physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits you probably never realized or imagined. Every one of us should know to laugh about everything in life that isn't really funny.

     


    Benefits of laughter therapy:

     


    • Sharing laughter and humor with others is a powerful remedy for stress. Laughter therapy decreases the stress hormones.

    • It works great for people suffering from a deadly disease like cancer.

    • Laughter therapy helps in the production of endorphins, which are the body's natural painkillers.

    • Laughter therapy boosts the immune system.

    • Laughter therapy enhances your positive emotions, thus acting as a tool to help fight against the disease.

    • Laughter also fights against the infections of upper respiratory tract.

    • Laughter is one type of aerobics. It provides a workout to your diaphragm and increases your body's ability of oxygen usage.

    • Laughter greatly provides better cardiac conditioning, particularly for those who are unable to do physical activity.

    • Belly laugh greatly helps in muscle relaxation. When you are laughing, the muscles inside your belly that don't participate in the laugh get relaxed. Once after you finish laughing, the muscles that participated in the laughter begin to relax.

    • Japanese researchers have said laughter may be an adjunct medicine for patients with diabetes.

    • Women get great benefit than men in controlling high blood pressure through laughter.

    • Laughing for 15 minutes a day burns somewhere between 10 and 40 calories a day.Thus helps you to lose weight too.

     


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  • 3 Easy Ways to Reduce Stress During the Holidays

    14-Dec-2012
    Tags: Reduce Stress , Tips , Home Remedies , All Natural , Holiday Season

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    reduce stress 
     
    Sure, we all know that exercising regularly is a great way to reduce stress. Unfortunately, this holiday season leaves many of us without enough time, (or energy), to make it to the gym as often as we should. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Feeling guilty about not working out is liable to leave you even more stressed. 

    If you have just 5-15 minutes, you can reduce your stress levels with these 3 simple tips. And don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you about, “Quick and easy exercises you can do on your lunch break,” or anything remotely exercise related. 

    Easy Ways to Reduce Stress without Exercise

    1. Laughter Really is the Best Medicine! The busy holiday season may not seem innately funny, but if you look hard enough, you’re sure to find reasons to laugh each and every day. 

    Pushy people in line at the store ruining your holiday shopping experience? Rather than letting them stress you out, try laughing at how silly they are for getting all worked up over shopping. Laughter is totally contagious and by laughing in public, you may even help people around you relax.

    Having a hard time finding things funny? Watch your favorite comedy movie or check out some standup comedians online. Late night talk shows always crack me up. Especially The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Can’t wait until late night for some laughter therapy? You can watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the Comedy Central website. As an added bonus, they have lots of great standup comedian videos too. 

    2. Get More Vitamin D – Sunny days may be limited a bit more during winter, but they do still exist. Take advantage of each and every sunny day you can by spending at least 10-20 minutes outside. Natural sunlight is a great source of Vitamin D and studies show that spending time outside also helps to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. 

    Shorter winter days may seem against you getting your time in the sun, especially if you have to work late. If you head into work before sunrise and don’t get home until after dark, try to run outside for a quick dose of the sun’s rays at lunch. Someone at work need an errand done? Volunteer to do it for them if it means you’ll get to spend some time outside. As an added bonus, your coworkers will think you’re awesome for volunteering.

    3. Take a Bath. I don’t know about you but more often than not, I shower rather than taking a bath. I enjoy baths and I’ve always found them relaxing but at some point I’ve convinced myself that showering is faster. As a busy working woman, I obviously don’t have time to take a bath! 

    Studies confirm that spending just 15 minutes in a hot bath, (or a hot tub should you be so lucky to have one), can be more effective at reducing stress and anxiety than prescription medications. Just 15 minutes! I sometimes spend longer in the shower! I love baths and with the added benefits of stress and anxiety reduction, I’ve started taking a lot more of them.

    Don’t let the stress of the holidays overwhelm you. Give yourself permission to take 5-15 minutes to relax and reduce stress naturally with these all-natural, super simple, and totally free stress reduction tips. Enjoy!


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