Author Archives: blogger

Beat The Heat And Ensure Good Health With A Cup Of Iced Tea!

Posted on by

You can say the concept of drinking iced tea was serendipity by a plantation owner Richard Blechynden in the year 1904. Since then the practice of drinking tea topped with ice continues. The beverage has been brewed in many different ways and has been served differently to enhance taste. So, if you are looking for a refreshing anti-oxidant boost, you know what to order for. You can also make such rejuvenating beverage at home without any difficulty. Nevertheless, you should know that drinking a cup of tea topped with ice is not just a thirst quencher; it has loads of health benefits too like –

1. It comprises anti-oxidants, vitamins C and E, and amino acids. These substances strengthen the immune system of the body and prevent against cell damages. The beverage is also good for maintaining a sound cardio-vascular health. Anti-oxidants like flavonoids present in the tea reduce the possibilities of heart attack and cardio-vascular stroke. Anti-oxidants are also effective in combating blood circulation problems as they can reduce inflammatory processes.

2. According to a recent study, catechins present in iced tea can prevent cancer. Such substances work by inhibiting enzyme activities that lead to cancer. The effect of catechins is most pronounced in cases of liver, skin, and stomach cancers.

3. Flouride content in iced tea maintains tooth enamel perfectly. Moreover, researchers have found that there are substances in iced tea, which are known to prevent bacterial growth inside the mouth thereby preventing bad breath and plaque.

4. Experts say that bone health is enhanced by drinking such a beverage. People who drank iced tea throughout their life are found to have more bone density during their old ages than non-drinkers. Therefore, to ensure healthy teeth and bones, you should switch to drinking iced tea.

5. According to the Nutrition Research Journal, presence of compounds like L-theanine, improves the immune response of the body to infections like cough and cold and flu. Intestinal health is also enhanced by drinking iced tea regularly.

While there are loads of benefits of iced tea, you should make it a point to consume tea freshly brewed from the leaves. Avoid using powdered instant and ready-made bottled teas. Nevertheless, it is also important to ensure that you are buying the best quality leaves from a reputed dealer. As, by doing this you will be able to experience the aroma and flavor of unadulterated tea leaves and above-mentioned health benefits.

Craft Ideas Using Empty Baby Food Jars

Posted on by

There is just something about a baby food jar that makes you want to prolong its usefulness. Its stout cuteness spurs the imagination. If you have children, there is a good chance you also have a stash of empty baby food jars hidden somewhere. Here are several fun craft ideas using empty baby food jars, so you can finally justify keeping them all this time.

Storage Containers
Baby food jars make great storage containers for individual colors or types of beads, buttons, and other crafting tools. Make sure the jars are clean and dry and fill with craft tools of your choice. They are pretty enough to store on an open shelf.

Candle Holders
Baby food jars make great candle holders for tea lights or votive candles. You can also make candles from hot beeswax, melted crayons, or melted candle wax scavenged from used candles by pouring it into a baby food jar over a suspended wick. Tie the wick to a heavy washer on one end and a toothpick on the other end. Rest the toothpick over the opening of the jar with the wick and washer dangling inside. The wick should be just long enough for the washer to lie flat and the wick to remain taut.

Jar Gardens
Make a jar garden with baby food jars. You’ll need a small amount of clay or florist foam, silk flowers, glue, and a small swatch of fabric. Unscrew the cap from a clean, dry baby food jar. Glue the clay or florist foam to the lid. Arrange tiny silk flowers in a design on the foam. Screw the jar onto the cap, being careful to get all the flowers inside the jar. Glue or tie a square of fabric around the jar lid for a pretty presentation.

Shakers and Sound Makers
Empty baby food jars make great baby toys. You can make shakers or sound makers by filling the baby food jars with different items. Try rice in one, nuts and washers in another, beads in another, and more with pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters. These toys are pretty enough to be displayed. Take care to always supervise children when they are using these toys. Baby food jars are made of glass and can break, and many of the fillers are choking hazards.

Dispensers
Baby food jars make cute dispensers for salt, pepper, cinnamon-sugar, and homemade spice blends. With a drill press or awl, poke holes in the jar lid. Fill with desired spice, and screw lid and jar together tightly. Try garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper for a great steak seasoning. You can also use this kind of dispenser as a glitter shaker.

Air Freshener
Poke holes in the jar lid with a drill press or awl. Fill jar with potpourri, room freshener gel, or essential oil and water. Try lemon and grapefruit essential oils for the kitchen, lavender and lemon essential oils for the bedroom, and rose potpourri with rose oil instead of a sachet in your linen cabinet or clothes drawers.

Snow Globe
Here’s how to make an innovative gift out of a baby food jar. You’ll need a strong water-proof glue, large grain glitter, water, and a toy or object that is small enough to fit inside the baby food jar. It needs to have a flat surface that can sit flush with the baby food jar lid. Glue the object to the baby food jar lid and let dry for several hours. Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of glitter to the baby food jar. Fill the baby food jar with water, leaving about 1/4 inch of space at the top. Put glue around the inside edge of the jar lid and screw lid on, carefully inserting the toy. Flip over the jar and you’ll see glitter “snow” falling around your toy inside the globe.

Energy Drinks and Food Bars – Important Information

Posted on by

Some can be good for you if not over used but it’s important that you know what you are getting into instead of believing the company who’s trying to sell it to you because they aren’t worried about your health so much as their bottom line. With so many energy drinks available you must find out which ones really are good and which are more of a junk food in a “healthy package”.
One of the more recent “natural” sweeteners to become popular is agave nectar, but it turns out that this is actually a processed food that’s high in fructose. You will find some energy drinks that have either been regulated or banned all together. Of course we all know just how many of these products contain a high amount of sugar ordinarily but watch out for those who disguise the sugars in the food and beverages. You’re also not getting essential fibers and healthy fats when you eat too many food bars instead of meals. You need to choose one without added sugar especially if you are looking to lose weight. Healthy food bars can be good snacks and, when combined with something like a salad, part of a nutritious meal, but they can’t be considered meal replacements all the time. There is a wide variety of availability these days in energy, food, diet bars and drinks on the market and some are definitely better for you than others. There has been much controversy over energy drinks and food bars in recent years. High school athletes, professional athletes, middle aged men and women alike do it. You will find a lot of people who swear by them and others who make claims to the contrary. The information you’ll find below will help you determine which ones really are ok for you to consume.

As you can see from this information it’s imperative that you use common sense when it comes to food bars or energy drinks. This is not a product you want to tangle with if your goal is weight loss. High fructose corn syrup is commonly found in these products. s.

Read our full review of food bars and energy drinks and their full impact on your health and well being.

Top 10 Must-not-miss Thai Food

Posted on by

Thai cuisine is one of the best gourmets in the world. It is well known for the diversity of ingredients, outstanding spiciness and ample medicinal properties. Most of Thai food is cooked and refined with more than two types of herbs or spices which are beneficial to health.

The (mostly unconscious) principle Thai food is the balance of five flavors which are spicy, salty, sweet, sour and bitter. The one indispensible ingredient which is generally used in seasoning a majority of Thai cuisine is fish sauce. Thai food is eaten either as a single dish or with rice. Steamed rice is the staple food although sticky rice is more popular in the north and northeast of Thailand.

Thai food is one of many things that you should not miss while you are traveling in this beautiful Land of Smiles. Since there are numberless delectable Thai dishes, I am writing this guideline for you to select the most distinctive and authentic ones out of the plethora of Thai signature dishes.
The following list is a top 10 rank of Thai food that you must not miss. The consideration and ranking is based on the popularity, uniqueness and authenticity of the delicacies. Here are the winners.

10. Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan (Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts)
Even though Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan does not represent the overview of Thai food but it is a very nice treat to your bland taste buds. Since it is by no means spicy or hot, this slightly sweet and salty chicken fried with crunchy cashew nuts is aptly satiating for children or beginners who are not used to spices.

9. Por Pia Tord (Fried Spring Roll)
Fried spring roll is one of the most popular appetizers among foreigners because it is not spicy and comes with sweet and sour dip. Spring rolls are crispy pastries with fried vegetable fillings. Though spring rolls are commonplace in many Southeast Asian countries, Thai Por Pia is different in flavors with a special dip prepared from Japanese apricot.

8. Panaeng (Meat in Spicy Coconut Cream)
Panaeng can be cooked using either pork, chicken or beef. Panaeng tastes like Thai red curry but the coconut milk sauce is relatively thicker and richer. Compared to Thai red curry, Panaeng is mildly spicy and sweet. Paneang is best served with warm steamed rice. There is nothing to dislike about Panaeng expect the fact that it can be too greasy or fleshy for some people.

7. Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad)
Som Tam is one of the most popular foods among Thai people for its fiercely spicy and sour flavors. Som Tam, which literally means Sour Pounded, is a spicy salad made from a mix of fresh vegetables including shredded unripened papaya, yardlong beans and tomato. Som Tam is unique that the spicy dressing and salad vegetables are pounded and mixed in the mortar using a pestle. Somtam is usually served with grilled chicken and sticky rice. Som Tam is good for your health that it contains no fat, low calorie and high vitamins. This is a truly authentic Thai dish that will make a great impression. The only reason why Im ranking Som Tam at No.7 (though it deserves higher rank) is its strong spiciness that might leave your tongue burned and swollen. Just say Mai phed (not spicy) to your waiter if you really want to try.

6. Moo Sa-Te (Grilled Pork Sticks with Turmeric)
This tantalizing sweet-flavored grilled pork sticks are refined with rich, juicy sauce made of turmeric and curry powder. Moo Sa-Te makes a savory hors d’oeuvres that will appease any taste buds. These juicy grilled pork sticks are usually served with two saucy dips one is a mildly spicy thick sauce with ground peanuts, coconut milk and curry powder and another one is a sweet and sour vinegar sauce with chopped shallot, pepper and cucumber to mitigate its oiliness.

5. Tom Yam Kai (Spicy Chicken Soup)
Chicken soup is very good to eat when you have a cold but Tom Yam Kai or spicy chicken soup is a yummy treat that you will fall in love with just in a first sip. Tom Yam Kai is a clear chicken soup seasoned with a blend of chili, lime and fish sauce. The broth is simmered with Thai herbs as lemon grass, shallot and galangal which give it a unique and satiating aroma. My foreign friends order this tasty soup anywhere they go so you should not miss it by any means!

4. Tom Kha Kai (Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup)
Although Tom Kha Kai is another variation of chicken soup, it deserves the No.4 because of its unparalleled taste and popularity. Similar to Tom Yam Kai, the broth is prepared with many types of Thai herbs with the special addition of coconut milk that makes this soup unique. Though the soup is seasoned with chili, lime and fish sauce just like Tom Kha Kai, thanks to the coconut milk, the broth is milder and less spicy. This is probably more liked by non-spicy eaters.

3. Kang Keaw Wan Kai (Green Chicken Curry)
Since we are having three dishes in a row made of Kai, you would have guessed that it is chicken in English. Not that chicken is particularly popular in Thai cuisine; it is usually used in most curry and soup. Kang Kiew Wan, literally translated as Sweet Green Curry, is nicely sweet and slightly spicy and tastes very delightful with a proper blend of the spiciness from green curry chili paste, blandness from coconut milk, sweetness of sugar and saltiness of fish sauce. It is usually eaten with steamed rice or served as a sauce to rice noodle known as Kanom Jeen likewise to how you eat Spaghetti.

2. Pad Thai (Fried Noodle)
This national dish prides itself for its long history traced back in previous centuries. Pad Thai flaunts the authenticity of Thai culinary arts in using only fresh and best ingredients and the well-balancing of the five fundamental flavors. The stir-fried noodle becomes popular because it tastes yummy and comes with a choice to add in a set of seasonings to suit your appetites. Through history, Pad Thai has evolved into two different styles: the classic and the variation. The classic Pad Thai is a stir-fried noodle with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili pepper plus bean sprouts, shrimp and tofu and garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander while another style is relatively dry and lightly-flavored. The latter is easily found in street vendors and dominant in Thai restaurants in the West but the having classic Pad Thai freshly cooked in its original country is a way to go.

1. Tom Yam Goong (Spicy Shrimp Soup)
No other dishes can defeat this renowned Tom Yam Goong as the optimal representative of Thai gourmet. Tom Yam Goong is truly one of a kind with its fierce spiciness and sourness and a blatant use of fragrant herbs including galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, shallot, tamarind and chili pepper. There are two styles of Tom Yam; the clear spicy soup and thick spicy soup. The latter is cooked by adding coconut milk or milk to the broth in order to thicken the stock and give the dish a milder flavor. Tom Yam is very versatile and can be made with prawns, chicken, fish and mix of seafood, and mushroom. Tom Yam Goong is the most popular variety of Tom Yam since Spicy Shrimp Soup is the original. Though not very surprising, Tom Yam Goong is definitely a signature dish of Thailand.

Even though it is commonly known that Thai food utilizes many health herbs and spices, there have always been debates whether Thai food is really good for health since they tend to be somewhat greasy. It is important to note that it depends on each dish; some can be highly caloric but many dishes make a good use of herbs. Garlic, for example, is very good healthwise because it can prevent heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and cancer.

No matter what the food is, the same old concept of moderate intake comes into play. From Mcdonalds burger to Japanese Sushi, a key to optimal fitness is to avoid overconsumption. Thus, a claim that Thai food is mainly coconut-based and fattening should never be an adequate reason for you to still order a Big Mac. Ravish your taste buds with Thai food – tasty and healthy!

Is a Weight Loss Plateau Stopping Your Diet

Posted on by

Every person sooner or latter is faced with a problem with plateaus or set points. Usually they occur after 20 lbs. of weight loss but in some
people they occur early or even later. Here are the two big issues to face when it happens to you.

Managing Portion Sizes.
This is a dilemma in each and every weight loss plan. Neglectfulness, monotony, and tiredness usually lead to the consumption of larger portions. Make certain you stick to the foods that offer simple portion control. Many containers or packages of foods, even low-calorie foods, hold more than a single portion. To determine the number of calories in the container when it is not a individual portion (and this should scare you), multiply the amount of calories per helping by the actual number of servings in the container. Forget about trying to determine calories per portion using grams or ounces; which may get too difficult. The majority of people acknowledge that a family-size bag of chips or snacks contains more than a single portion and then they assume that a smaller bag consists of only a single portion. Nevertheless, this might not invariably be the circumstance! The medium-size packages are frequently deceptive. If the package contains a solitary portion, eat just that amount. Better yet, look for foodstuff that offer “natural” portion control. Moreover, frequently snacking prevents very low blood glucose and guarantees simpler portion control.

Seeking for Concealed Calories.
Another typical issue that has contributed to stalled weight loss is “hidden calories.” These are the calories in high-calorie foodstuff that men and women eat without even realizing they are doing it. A number of well-liked food items have disguised . calories. Sometimes, the little things-not the large slices of cake-stall weight loss. Understand that eating 100 excess calories per day can lead to a 10-pound weight gain in a calendar year. In addition, burning off those additional a hundred calories necessitates up to thirty minutes of nonstop walking, Twenty minutes of nonstop riding a bicycle, 15 minutes on a treadmill machine, or 10 minutes on an elliptical trainer every day. The following table lists several of the high-calorie everyday foods that may contribute extra calories to your diet:

Condiments :Butter, margarine, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, olive oil, oil, cream cheese

Salad Dressings Caesar, bleu mozzarella dairy product, ranch, olive oil vinaigrette, croutons

Mixed Alcohol Drinks: Margaritas, martinis, bourbon and cokes, vodka and tonics, screwdrivers, Pia Coladas