from CancerActive
Researchers from Newcastle University have been looking into what happens to green tea once digested to see if the by-products really are healthy (Phytomedicine). It is all very well talking about the chemicals in your cup, but what happens to them once digested.
Dr. Ed Okello and his team of researchers showed that the bacteria and enzymes in the gut helped break down the chemicals from green tea, which were then absorbed and used in the body. They found that the digested chemicals were more effective that the undigested ones in the green tea in the cup and that the newly produced phytochemical by-products had significant anti-cancer and anti-Alzheimer’s properties.
(I have heard that white tea is even better!)
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Real Bread Campaign
from Andrew M Brown, writing in the Telegraph (online)
British bread, our daily bread, the sustenance that ought to be at the heart of our lives, is a mess. Why do we put up with the dreadful mass-produced loaf? Our favourite bread is pappy. It does not fill you up. It never goes off, remaining soft and spongy for an unnaturally long time. It contains weird enzymes that don’t even have to go on the label. And we gobble it up in vast quantities. It doesn’t really matter, I’m afraid, if it’s got a mixture of seeds mixed into it, it is still not bread as our grandparents would have thought of it. They thought of bread as something that took time to rise and a degree of human skill to make well. Since the 1960s, modern industrial baking has ruthlessly taken both time and skill out of the equation.
Why is mass-produced bread so awful? Three words: Chorleywood Bread Process. The dreaded CBP – dreaded, that is, by anyone who loves real bread – is responsible for 80 per cent of the bread we eat in Britain. Also known as the “no time method”, this technique, developed in the 1960s, is a high-speed, push-button industrial process, requiring minimal skills from the employees. The CBP is a million miles away from what most people think a real baker actually does. Bread was never supposed to be made in this way. The Chorleywood Process, and another method called “activated dough development”, use lots of strange additives and enzymes. And in both cases, these processes are inimical to the creation of bread with flavour, or, for that matter, bread that does you any good.
Then consider what’s happened to the raw ingredients of bread. Flour used to be made by grinding up grain between millstones, which would crush the wheat berry and mingle up its constituent parts, including the bran, the germ and the oil. The miller would sift the flour to take out the particles, but plenty of goodness was retained. And flavour.
Most flour you buy now is not like this. Roller milling is used to grind the wheat. This tears apart the grain with awesome efficiency. The steel rollers strip the wheat it of almost all nutrients, leaving mainly starch and gluten. As a result, in the post-war period white flour in Britain has, by law, been fortified with vitamins, to try to replace some of the lost goodness. Not that the millers mind, since they can make more profit by selling the other bits of the grain separately.
Mind you, we can’t really blame the millers and the industrial bakers: they are only giving us what we want. And, in any case, I detect signs of a renewal of interest in real bread. A group of bakers and food producers have launched the Real Bread Campaign, with an online “real bread finder” to point consumers in the direction of their nearest proper baker. In France a shop can’t call itself a boulangerie unless all five stages of bread-making are carried out on the premises – fermentation, mixing, kneading, shaping and baking. Now in Britain, too, artisan bakers on this model are springing up all over the place – not only in metropolitan centres, but in villages too. When I started making sourdough bread at home four years ago, it was nearly impossible to find the equipment. You had to look abroad to find things like wicker proving baskets or brotformen or the special razor or lamé that bakers use to slash the top of loaves. Now there are websites in Britain catering for the would-be artisan baker, such as BakeryBits, which sells every conceivable bit of kit.
These are good developments, never mind that they affect mainly the well-off and the interested. It’s a start. Good bread is so good, its appeal can readily spread. It can come as a revelation to people when they taste decent bread. And bear in mind that for Christians bread is both natural and supernatural. Jesus Christ himself was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew is “Bet lechem”: house of bread. Images of bread – or grains, or flour, or dough, or leaven – pop up throughout the Gospels. The last occurrence is when Jesus breaks bread, as Luke (24:13-32) describes, with Cleopas and one other disciple at the supper on the road to Emmaeus. “I am the living bread which has come down from Heaven,” Christ said. “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.” Therefore, we ought to take bread more seriously. It is too important to be left in the hands of the Chorleywood Bread Process.
British bread, our daily bread, the sustenance that ought to be at the heart of our lives, is a mess. Why do we put up with the dreadful mass-produced loaf? Our favourite bread is pappy. It does not fill you up. It never goes off, remaining soft and spongy for an unnaturally long time. It contains weird enzymes that don’t even have to go on the label. And we gobble it up in vast quantities. It doesn’t really matter, I’m afraid, if it’s got a mixture of seeds mixed into it, it is still not bread as our grandparents would have thought of it. They thought of bread as something that took time to rise and a degree of human skill to make well. Since the 1960s, modern industrial baking has ruthlessly taken both time and skill out of the equation.
Why is mass-produced bread so awful? Three words: Chorleywood Bread Process. The dreaded CBP – dreaded, that is, by anyone who loves real bread – is responsible for 80 per cent of the bread we eat in Britain. Also known as the “no time method”, this technique, developed in the 1960s, is a high-speed, push-button industrial process, requiring minimal skills from the employees. The CBP is a million miles away from what most people think a real baker actually does. Bread was never supposed to be made in this way. The Chorleywood Process, and another method called “activated dough development”, use lots of strange additives and enzymes. And in both cases, these processes are inimical to the creation of bread with flavour, or, for that matter, bread that does you any good.
Then consider what’s happened to the raw ingredients of bread. Flour used to be made by grinding up grain between millstones, which would crush the wheat berry and mingle up its constituent parts, including the bran, the germ and the oil. The miller would sift the flour to take out the particles, but plenty of goodness was retained. And flavour.
Most flour you buy now is not like this. Roller milling is used to grind the wheat. This tears apart the grain with awesome efficiency. The steel rollers strip the wheat it of almost all nutrients, leaving mainly starch and gluten. As a result, in the post-war period white flour in Britain has, by law, been fortified with vitamins, to try to replace some of the lost goodness. Not that the millers mind, since they can make more profit by selling the other bits of the grain separately.
Mind you, we can’t really blame the millers and the industrial bakers: they are only giving us what we want. And, in any case, I detect signs of a renewal of interest in real bread. A group of bakers and food producers have launched the Real Bread Campaign, with an online “real bread finder” to point consumers in the direction of their nearest proper baker. In France a shop can’t call itself a boulangerie unless all five stages of bread-making are carried out on the premises – fermentation, mixing, kneading, shaping and baking. Now in Britain, too, artisan bakers on this model are springing up all over the place – not only in metropolitan centres, but in villages too. When I started making sourdough bread at home four years ago, it was nearly impossible to find the equipment. You had to look abroad to find things like wicker proving baskets or brotformen or the special razor or lamé that bakers use to slash the top of loaves. Now there are websites in Britain catering for the would-be artisan baker, such as BakeryBits, which sells every conceivable bit of kit.
These are good developments, never mind that they affect mainly the well-off and the interested. It’s a start. Good bread is so good, its appeal can readily spread. It can come as a revelation to people when they taste decent bread. And bear in mind that for Christians bread is both natural and supernatural. Jesus Christ himself was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew is “Bet lechem”: house of bread. Images of bread – or grains, or flour, or dough, or leaven – pop up throughout the Gospels. The last occurrence is when Jesus breaks bread, as Luke (24:13-32) describes, with Cleopas and one other disciple at the supper on the road to Emmaeus. “I am the living bread which has come down from Heaven,” Christ said. “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.” Therefore, we ought to take bread more seriously. It is too important to be left in the hands of the Chorleywood Bread Process.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Sea Kelp and losing weight
Sea Kelp as a Weight Management Aid
Researchers at Newcastle University have found the properties of Kelp to be significantly better than some current weight loss aids, by reducing fat intake by up to 75%.
Impressive! Researchers have suggested that the fibre found in Kelp could be added to foods such as bread and yoghurts to create natural weight loss products.
If we look to Japan where seaweed, especially Kelp is consumed pretty much daily, alongside a much healthier diet in general than here in the West, we see very low rates of obesity. So much seaweed is consumed by the Japanese, that one must feel there is a clear link there backed up by this research says SeventhWaveUK
Kelp is also available from www.red23.co.uk in a format which allows you easily to add a tiny pinch to your food every now and then (but often out of stock) and included as an ingredient in the salt alternative, Herbamare from the A Vogel shop.
Always did feel good with anything seaweedy. One of my favourite face washes was based on seaweed. Well, they say we came from the sea!!
Researchers at Newcastle University have found the properties of Kelp to be significantly better than some current weight loss aids, by reducing fat intake by up to 75%.
Impressive! Researchers have suggested that the fibre found in Kelp could be added to foods such as bread and yoghurts to create natural weight loss products.
If we look to Japan where seaweed, especially Kelp is consumed pretty much daily, alongside a much healthier diet in general than here in the West, we see very low rates of obesity. So much seaweed is consumed by the Japanese, that one must feel there is a clear link there backed up by this research says SeventhWaveUK
Kelp is also available from www.red23.co.uk in a format which allows you easily to add a tiny pinch to your food every now and then (but often out of stock) and included as an ingredient in the salt alternative, Herbamare from the A Vogel shop.
Always did feel good with anything seaweedy. One of my favourite face washes was based on seaweed. Well, they say we came from the sea!!
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Caldo Verde
Was inspired to make a bastardised version as a meat accompaniment when poleaxed by flu
A bag of ready-chopped red onions - fry in olive oil and then add lots of butter to make up for lack of fatty chorizo sausage
Three large cloves of garlic chopped in an Alligator chopper
Two Heritage red potatoes, diced small and added to the pan
Stock - a cup of the usual Marigold bouillon
Cook
Rinse and shred a bag of Cavolo Nero - add to the pot (would also work with kale but I love Cavolo Nero)
Spice up with Bart's five pepper Bristol Blend, sea salt and seaweed, and some Herbemare for good measure. And for the piece de resistance, in the absence of smoked paprika, the dregs of a bottle of Organic Chilli Sauce from Trees Can't Dance!!! [Ed: Disappointingly, the organic version is no longer available]
Cook
Took me about 20/30 minutes.
You'll find a couple of great recipes for Caldo Verde - the real macoy - on the BBC Good Food website. The Hairy Bikers advise drinking a glass of port while you are making it!
A bag of ready-chopped red onions - fry in olive oil and then add lots of butter to make up for lack of fatty chorizo sausage
Three large cloves of garlic chopped in an Alligator chopper
Two Heritage red potatoes, diced small and added to the pan
Stock - a cup of the usual Marigold bouillon
Cook
Rinse and shred a bag of Cavolo Nero - add to the pot (would also work with kale but I love Cavolo Nero)
Spice up with Bart's five pepper Bristol Blend, sea salt and seaweed, and some Herbemare for good measure. And for the piece de resistance, in the absence of smoked paprika, the dregs of a bottle of Organic Chilli Sauce from Trees Can't Dance!!! [Ed: Disappointingly, the organic version is no longer available]
Cook
Took me about 20/30 minutes.
You'll find a couple of great recipes for Caldo Verde - the real macoy - on the BBC Good Food website. The Hairy Bikers advise drinking a glass of port while you are making it!
Monday, 2 August 2010
Baking halibut
The piece of fish I picked up looked beautiful - thick and succulent. But when I searched to find the best way of baking it, I discovered it's yet another 'bottom feeder' and thus, presumably, a detritivore (no, I didn't make that word up!!). It's a flatfish, like plaice and sole. How disappointing.
Cod, sea bass, sea bream and haddock are also bottom feeders. Not all bottom feeders live off detritus from the seabed so I guess a little more research is in order, but it seems I've been eating the wrong fish for ages.
However, it tasted great! I baked it in silver foil for about 25 minutes (it was a large fillet), starting at 220 degrees (because I was also roasting vegetables) and then reducing half way through. I squeezed lemon juice and poured olive oil. Added some fish seasoning from Bart's Spices. Topped with a couple of slices of lemon. Delish!
Tor good health, choose smaller fish because they have lived a shorter life and therefore have had less time to build up contaminants from the sea; eat infrequently eg once a week and vary which white fish you eat; eat oily fish up to twice a week : oily fish in preference to white; salmon in preference to tuna (wild, not farmed - fishing waters matter). The choice seems not at all simple.
Research says that benefits outweigh the risks from pullutants if you want to avoid a heart attack.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Crimini mushrooms - Swiss chard - Asparagus
Wonderful shop is Waitrose - now stocking crimini mushrooms no less! And organic Swiss chard.
Trying to interpret an American article, I assumed crimini mushrooms to be the same as chestnut - apparently not. But they are one of the best mushrooms for healthy eating. Chard and apparagus too.
Trying to interpret an American article, I assumed crimini mushrooms to be the same as chestnut - apparently not. But they are one of the best mushrooms for healthy eating. Chard and apparagus too.
Monkfish - with puy lentils and aubergines
A lovely meaty fish
Red braised monkfish, puy lentils with pak choi and spicy aubergines.
By: Maria Elia From: Good Food Live
Prep time:1 hr
Cook time:1 hr
Serves:4
A fantastic fusion of flavours and textures make this tasty fish dish from Maria Elia a sure fire winner at dinner
Ingredients
For the red braising liquor
200ml soy sauce
200ml shoyu sauce
250 ml sweet chilli sauce, Thai
150g yellow rock sugar
2 strips orange peel, dried
1 red chillies
6 cm ginger, thinly sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
0.5 litre water
4 monkfish fillets, each 150g, membrane and bones removed
For the lentils
300g Puy lentils, rinsed
50ml grapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely diced
2 cm piece ginger, chopped
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 plum tomatoes
For the baby choy
4 heads pak choi
For the spicy aubergines
1 aubergines
250ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
0.5 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 lemons, juice
0.5 bunch coriander, finely chopped
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Method
1. Place all the braising ingredients (except fish) into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced by half.
2. Place the lentils in a large saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for five minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water.
3. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic, shallots, ginger, and coriander for two minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes and a little braising liquor and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the lentils are al dente and most of liquid has been absorbed. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Set the oven to 190C/gas 5. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large ovenproof frying pan. Season the fish and fry for two minutes on each side. Add a little of the reduced braising liquor, transfer to the oven and bake for about five minutes, until the fish white and opaque.
5. Cut the pak choi in half lengthways and cook for 1 minute in a saucepan of boiling salted water.
6. For the spicy aubergines, heat a wok or deep fat fryer and fry the aubergine slices for about five minutes, until golden. Drain well.
7. Heat the grapeseed oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the cumin and aubergines and fry for one minute. Remove from the heat, cool and add the lemon juice and chopped coriander.
8. To serve, spoon the lentils into four deep dishes and top with the monkfish. Pour over the liquor, top with the pak choi and aubergines and garnish with herbs. Serve with spoon.
Red braised monkfish, puy lentils with pak choi and spicy aubergines.
By: Maria Elia From: Good Food Live
Prep time:1 hr
Cook time:1 hr
Serves:4
A fantastic fusion of flavours and textures make this tasty fish dish from Maria Elia a sure fire winner at dinner
Ingredients
For the red braising liquor
200ml soy sauce
200ml shoyu sauce
250 ml sweet chilli sauce, Thai
150g yellow rock sugar
2 strips orange peel, dried
1 red chillies
6 cm ginger, thinly sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
0.5 litre water
4 monkfish fillets, each 150g, membrane and bones removed
For the lentils
300g Puy lentils, rinsed
50ml grapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely diced
2 cm piece ginger, chopped
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 plum tomatoes
For the baby choy
4 heads pak choi
For the spicy aubergines
1 aubergines
250ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
0.5 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 lemons, juice
0.5 bunch coriander, finely chopped
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Go Result: 00.00
Method
1. Place all the braising ingredients (except fish) into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced by half.
2. Place the lentils in a large saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for five minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water.
3. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic, shallots, ginger, and coriander for two minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes and a little braising liquor and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the lentils are al dente and most of liquid has been absorbed. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Set the oven to 190C/gas 5. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large ovenproof frying pan. Season the fish and fry for two minutes on each side. Add a little of the reduced braising liquor, transfer to the oven and bake for about five minutes, until the fish white and opaque.
5. Cut the pak choi in half lengthways and cook for 1 minute in a saucepan of boiling salted water.
6. For the spicy aubergines, heat a wok or deep fat fryer and fry the aubergine slices for about five minutes, until golden. Drain well.
7. Heat the grapeseed oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the cumin and aubergines and fry for one minute. Remove from the heat, cool and add the lemon juice and chopped coriander.
8. To serve, spoon the lentils into four deep dishes and top with the monkfish. Pour over the liquor, top with the pak choi and aubergines and garnish with herbs. Serve with spoon.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Cooking with oils
Image via Wikipedia
These include :
high-oleic safflower oil (smoke point: 450ºF/232ºC)
high-oleic sunflower oil (smoke point: 450ºF/232ºC)
avocado oil (smoke point: 520ºF/271ºC), or
refined coconut oil (smoke point: 450ºF/232ºC).
Also, you may consider ghee, which has a smoke point of 400?-500?F (204?-260?C).
The World's Healthiest Foods website tells us :
As you'll note, the only oil we include on our website is extra virgin olive oil. At the heart of the Mediterranean diet, extra virgin olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and polyphenol antioxidants and has found to be heart healthy.
Yet, we don't like to cook with extra virgin olive oil (the highest we'll cook with it is up to 250?F121?C, which is fine for making sauces or heating up a dish but not high enough for sautéing).
The reason we don't like to heat extra virgin olive oil to higher temperatures is because it has a lower smoke point than the other oils mentioned. All vegetable oils are susceptible to heat damage-much more so than the whole foods from which they were pressed or extracted. But in the case of extra virgin olive oil, the susceptibility is especially great, notably in the destruction of its polyphenolic phytotnutrients. Extra virgin olive oil has such a great flavor let alone an amazingly rich nutrient profile that we want to preserve so we don't like to cook with it but rather enjoy it as a salad dressing or drizzled on foods after they have been cooked.
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Microwaved to death?
A microwaved DVD via Wikipedia
The Soviet Union banned the use of microwave ovens in 1976, note the key worded banned, why? (Click on the title above for a link to the original article from Ktterl)
The purpose of this article is to show proof that microwave cooking is not natural, nor healthy, and is far more dangerous to the human body than anyone could imagine. I could write a intense log of scientific explanation of why anyone should not use a microwave. Although after a few minutes of reading the average person gets bored! So when ever I write any thing I always think of “KISS”, what does that means “Keep It Simple Stupid”. So I cut straight to the chase and present my own study. You will need 3 plants, you will water one plant with tap water, the second with distilled water and the third with microwaved water. Water each plant daily and before the week is over the microwave watered plant will die! Of course we don’t have the anatomy of a plant, but the microwaved water lost it nutrients with the serge on energy from being heated.
WHFoods.com says :
We know that microwave heating can be fairly protective of vitamin and mineral content if foods aren’t covered with water during the microwave process. Heating briefly with a small amount of water (or no water) to reheat or defrost foods in the microwave corresponds to steaming on the stovetop.
Hunger for Health says :
There's little difference in timing - so steam instead!
Are Microwave Ovens Safe?">Mark's Daily Apple says
One study using Brassica vegetables found that microwaving resulted in comparable nutrient (glucosinolates, a possible cancer preventative compound) loss when compared to steaming or stir frying. (Actually, shredding the vegetable ahead of time had more impact on nutritional value than the cooking method.) However, another study using broccoli suggests that antioxidants can be significantly depleted. (Antioxidants, particularly water soluble vitamins, appear to be most at risk while minerals tend to be generally preserved in microwave preparation.) Yet another study review showed that microwaving with low power settings offered “equal or better retention of nutrients … as compared with conventional, reheated foods for thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folacin, and ascorbic acid.” University of Illinois research also showed that microwave blanching (brief exposure to high heat used for pre-freezing preparation to lengthen storage ability of frozen produce) was as or more successful in retaining nutritional value than conventional blanching methods. (Nonetheless, blanching does diminish nutrient levels.)
But how could microwaving actually preserve more nutrients in many cases? Not only do we generally use less liquid when cooking in the microwave, cooking times are typically shorter than those for conventional cooking. (As a side note, new ceramic cookware designed for microwave use shows promise to cut cook times further still, which can mean even greater nutrient preservation.)
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Monday, 3 November 2008
Two Ways to cook Mackerel.
Mackerel via WikipediaMackerel are very versatile and can just be fried or grilled but below are some different recipes for cooking Mackerel.Mackerel Parcels
Ingredients
4 Mackerels,
2 oz butter,
pinch of garlic salt,
1 small onion grated or chopped,
an orange cut into chunks,
grated rind and juice of 1 orange,
salt and pepper to taste,
few sprigs of parsley.
Preparation
After heading,gutting and cleaning fish season with salt and pepper.
Then mix butter until soft
add the orange rind and juice mixing until smooth.
Add the garlic salt and onion mixing well.
Divide this into 4 portions and place inside each mackerel.
Place each fish on a large piece of greased foil and fold and crimp edges together to form a parcel over each fish making sure no juices can escape.
Place the parcels on a baking tin or casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven (200F).
When cooked open parcels and decorate with orange pieces and parsley.
Serve hot or cold.
Honeyed Mackerel
Ingredients
2 X 1 lb Mackerel cleaned headed etc,
1 carrot,
1 stick of celery and
2inch piece of ginger
all cut into matchstick size strips,
2 Tablespoons honey,
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar,
1 Tablespoon soya sauce.
Salt and pepper
Preparation
Put the 2 Mackerel on a large piece of greased baking foil.
Brush the fish with the (Manuka) honey
Put the celery, carrot and ginger strips on the fish.
Pour over the (honeygar) vinegar and (shoyu) soya sauce
Season with salt and pepper.
Fold the foil over to make a watertight parcel as in above recipe then place in dish or on baking tray in a preheated oven (200F) for 30 mins.
With some pre-cooked quinoa heated up with the juices from the parcel.
Yummy!
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Thursday, 30 October 2008
Dietary Insoluble Fiber - anti-carcinogen
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water or during digestion and consists of cellulose, hemi cellulose, and lignin. Cellulose is extremely strong, giving plants their firm and solid structure. This type of fiber is extremely beneficial to your health. Since your body's enzymes do not breakdown this fiber, like it does food, it remains in tack as it travels through your intestines and colon.
Hemicellulose gives plants their flexibility and their plastic properties, whereas, lignans give plants their wood like strength.
Dietary insoluble fiber helps fecal matter travel faster through the small intestine, colon, and rectum. It provides bulk and weight to your fecal matter. It makes your stools larger, softer, and stimulates peristaltic movement as it moves through your colon.
Insoluble fiber, like soluble fiber, slows down digestion. It also slows down absorption of protein, starch and fat and has the ability to inhibit the action of digestive enzymes. It also prevents the re-absorption of estrogen, cholesterol, and toxins.
Insoluble fibers are found in vegetables, wheat, and wheat bran. This type of fiber is considered an anti-carcinogen and a digestive aid. It is credited with preventing colon cancer and many other colon diseases.
Sources of Insoluble Fiber
Bananas
Broccoli
Brown rice
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Corn
Lentils
Potatoes
Spinach wheat germ
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat crackers
Other sources of foods rich in soluble AND insoluble fiber are:
Oranges, grapefruit, nectarines, peaches, tangerines, apples, berries, apricots, bananas, figs, prunes
Zucchini, turnips, okra, cabbage, peas, sweet potatoes
Carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, okra, Zucchini, greens
Barley, chickpeas, split peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, navy beans, potatoes
Hemicellulose gives plants their flexibility and their plastic properties, whereas, lignans give plants their wood like strength.
Dietary insoluble fiber helps fecal matter travel faster through the small intestine, colon, and rectum. It provides bulk and weight to your fecal matter. It makes your stools larger, softer, and stimulates peristaltic movement as it moves through your colon.
Insoluble fiber, like soluble fiber, slows down digestion. It also slows down absorption of protein, starch and fat and has the ability to inhibit the action of digestive enzymes. It also prevents the re-absorption of estrogen, cholesterol, and toxins.
Insoluble fibers are found in vegetables, wheat, and wheat bran. This type of fiber is considered an anti-carcinogen and a digestive aid. It is credited with preventing colon cancer and many other colon diseases.
Sources of Insoluble Fiber
Bananas
Broccoli
Brown rice
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Corn
Lentils
Potatoes
Spinach wheat germ
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat crackers
Other sources of foods rich in soluble AND insoluble fiber are:
Oranges, grapefruit, nectarines, peaches, tangerines, apples, berries, apricots, bananas, figs, prunes
Zucchini, turnips, okra, cabbage, peas, sweet potatoes
Carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, okra, Zucchini, greens
Barley, chickpeas, split peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, navy beans, potatoes
How fibre works
It's my mother who needs this article - her and her prunes!
Soluble fiber consists of pectin, gum, and mucilage. Pectin is found in carrots, apples, beets, cabbage, citrus fruits, and bananas. Gums and mucilage are found in oat bran, sesame seeds, oats, oatmeal, legumes, guar gum, and gum Arabic
Pectin is used to make jam, forming into jell, when water is added to it. Apples and citrus fruits are high in pectin.
Besides helping prevent constipation and hemorrhoids, soluble fiber provides the following benefits.
reduces risk of heart disease
reduces risk of gallstones formation
helps to remove toxic heavy metals and toxins from your colon
helps to prevent appendicitis
regulates movement of sugar into the bloodstream during digestion
helps to prevent fissures
lowers cholesterol
slows absorption of fats in the intestines
and most importantly, help prevent the overgrowth of bad bacteria in your colon.
Good Sources of Fibre
Food Average Portion Size Total Average Fibre (g)
Butter beans 50g dry weight 8.0
Red kidney beans 50g dry weight 7.8
'All-Bran' 30g bowl 7.3
Wholemeal bread 3 slices (100g) 5.8
Mango 1 4.9
Papaya 1 4.7
Wholewheat pasta 50g dry weight 4.2
Blackcurrants 100g 3.6
Prunes, stoned 50g 2.8
Who'd have thought that prunes were so far down the list!
Soluble fiber consists of pectin, gum, and mucilage. Pectin is found in carrots, apples, beets, cabbage, citrus fruits, and bananas. Gums and mucilage are found in oat bran, sesame seeds, oats, oatmeal, legumes, guar gum, and gum Arabic
Pectin is used to make jam, forming into jell, when water is added to it. Apples and citrus fruits are high in pectin.
Besides helping prevent constipation and hemorrhoids, soluble fiber provides the following benefits.
reduces risk of heart disease
reduces risk of gallstones formation
helps to remove toxic heavy metals and toxins from your colon
helps to prevent appendicitis
regulates movement of sugar into the bloodstream during digestion
helps to prevent fissures
lowers cholesterol
slows absorption of fats in the intestines
and most importantly, help prevent the overgrowth of bad bacteria in your colon.
Good Sources of Fibre
Food Average Portion Size Total Average Fibre (g)
Butter beans 50g dry weight 8.0
Red kidney beans 50g dry weight 7.8
'All-Bran' 30g bowl 7.3
Wholemeal bread 3 slices (100g) 5.8
Mango 1 4.9
Papaya 1 4.7
Wholewheat pasta 50g dry weight 4.2
Blackcurrants 100g 3.6
Prunes, stoned 50g 2.8
Who'd have thought that prunes were so far down the list!
Pots and Pans
Amazingly scientific article about different kinds of pans, the effect of heat and varieties of non-stick finishes.
Red Rice
Structure of Anthocyans via Wikipedia
Recently red rice has become popular in Japan for its high content of antioxidant phenolic compounds. The red pigments in the bran are water-soluble anthocyanins that are bonded to some of the rice bran proteins. The qualities of the weedy U.S. strains vary, but most red rices had higher protein contents than ordinary rices.
Anthocyanines are water-soluble pigments that produce brilliant hues of purple, red, and blue in plants.
Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds which give tomatoes, watermelons, red grapefruit, and other plants their yellow, orange, or red colors.
Grown in the wetlands of southern France, Camargue red rice is a relatively new variety, the result of cross-pollination between cultivated and wild rices. Like other unmilled grains it has a warm, nutty flavour. Show off its russet hue in salads, or serve it simply dressed with good olive oil, salt and fresh herbs.
The recipe according to Delia is: Cook 275ml (?) of red rice with a level teaspoon of salt, and 1 pint (570 ml) boiling water, bring it back up to simmering point, then put a lid on and let it cook very gently for 40 minutes. After that, don't remove the lid, just turn the heat off and leave it for another 15 minutes to finish off.
Instead of grabbing a sandwich at lunchtime, I take a little carton of red rice salad with me. I have 2 versions, one with raw chopped veg (avocado, onion, tomato, red pepper with hemp seed oil for omega complex and lemon juice) or with roasted aubergines, peppers etc. You can add some tuna, or a bit of leftover roast chicken. Absolutely scrumptious!
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Monday, 27 October 2008
Fear makes you FAT!
Well, of course it does.
And here's the science!
Stress stimulates your appetite!
It asks you to eat carbohydrate-rich fatty foods that rapidly increase blood-sugar levels - to refuel after you've fought off the danger or run away. But then when the blood sugar levels drop, the adrenal system release more cortisol to compensate for the stress of rapidly falling blood sugar levels.
Meanwhile cortisol changes the amount and distribution of fat round the body, keeping it near the liver where it can be used quickly in case of another emergency. This would be all right if we were really running or fighting as we'd shift it. But being conditioned to living in fear, means that we end up with fat around the waist and an apple-shaped body.
So that's what's been happening since I came back to Neatwich!!
What to do?
Eat little and often
Eliminate sugar and refined carbohydrate
Use the good oils (boosts the metabolism; makes carbohydrates release more slowly!)
Don't eat on the run or diet - both of which stresses the body into thinking scarcity
Manage stress
ie
Prioritise
Delegate
Put yourself first
Relaxation techniques
Put things into perspective
Take time to eat
Take time to go to the toilet (!)
Do regular exercise
Spend time with your friends
Have a cuddle
Laugh
Get enough sleep
Try supplements - magnesium, zinc, Vit C, B vits, Co-enzyme Q, alpha lipoic acid, amino acids, seberian ginseng
Great article by Marilyn Glenville in Healthy Magazine
My problem? Fitting everything in!!
And here's the science!
Stress stimulates your appetite!
It asks you to eat carbohydrate-rich fatty foods that rapidly increase blood-sugar levels - to refuel after you've fought off the danger or run away. But then when the blood sugar levels drop, the adrenal system release more cortisol to compensate for the stress of rapidly falling blood sugar levels.
Meanwhile cortisol changes the amount and distribution of fat round the body, keeping it near the liver where it can be used quickly in case of another emergency. This would be all right if we were really running or fighting as we'd shift it. But being conditioned to living in fear, means that we end up with fat around the waist and an apple-shaped body.
So that's what's been happening since I came back to Neatwich!!
What to do?
Eat little and often
Eliminate sugar and refined carbohydrate
Use the good oils (boosts the metabolism; makes carbohydrates release more slowly!)
Don't eat on the run or diet - both of which stresses the body into thinking scarcity
Manage stress
ie
Prioritise
Delegate
Put yourself first
Relaxation techniques
Put things into perspective
Take time to eat
Take time to go to the toilet (!)
Do regular exercise
Spend time with your friends
Have a cuddle
Laugh
Get enough sleep
Try supplements - magnesium, zinc, Vit C, B vits, Co-enzyme Q, alpha lipoic acid, amino acids, seberian ginseng
Great article by Marilyn Glenville in Healthy Magazine
My problem? Fitting everything in!!
Thursday, 11 September 2008
I've found it tough following the regime for some time - I feel hugely bowed and burdened again by my mother's needs, the tearful phone calls, living on the edge never nowing when or what or how - I feel so sorry, such compassion but at the same time, when I try to speak on her behalf, I just end up with a load of grief from other people. It isn't good for me and I'm so incredibly disappointed to see how I've gone downhill.
But I think I've managed a little better in the last few days. Sort of. After sharing with best friend just how difficult I'm finding it - doing all the washing up finishes me off, so I end up eating properly once every couple of days and juicing once every four.
This evening : Alaskan salmon with ready-meal microwaved mash and a humungous mound of steamed asparagus, mangetouts and sugarsnap peas followed by a fruit salad from the Sainsbury's salad bar (mainly watermelon with a few nuts and seeds, mango and a little summer fruits in juice), a chocolatey yummy (you didn't notice that, right?!). At lunch time I had a beetroot/carrot etc juice while I was cooking shredded duck legs with salad onions and cucumber and hoisin sauce. It was a TREAT and I really enjoyed it (so there!).
My memory is so bad, I'm not sure I can remember exactly what I ate today - I missed breakfast as I woke late after a reflexology session yesterday.
I've discovered the Berry Company - really yummy real juices - SuperBerry Purple is THE best! I'm afraid that my allegience to Innocent has wavered a little!
But I think I've managed a little better in the last few days. Sort of. After sharing with best friend just how difficult I'm finding it - doing all the washing up finishes me off, so I end up eating properly once every couple of days and juicing once every four.
This evening : Alaskan salmon with ready-meal microwaved mash and a humungous mound of steamed asparagus, mangetouts and sugarsnap peas followed by a fruit salad from the Sainsbury's salad bar (mainly watermelon with a few nuts and seeds, mango and a little summer fruits in juice), a chocolatey yummy (you didn't notice that, right?!). At lunch time I had a beetroot/carrot etc juice while I was cooking shredded duck legs with salad onions and cucumber and hoisin sauce. It was a TREAT and I really enjoyed it (so there!).
My memory is so bad, I'm not sure I can remember exactly what I ate today - I missed breakfast as I woke late after a reflexology session yesterday.
I've discovered the Berry Company - really yummy real juices - SuperBerry Purple is THE best! I'm afraid that my allegience to Innocent has wavered a little!
Monday, 7 July 2008
And finally...a green juice
adapted from Alkaline Recipes
California Apple Tart Smoothie
Just juice the lot!
1. 2 cucumbers, or ½ bunch celery -
I used one third of a long organic cucumber and a stalk of celery
2. 2 hard Granny Smith apples (OK, so this one's not too alkalizing, but it's so yummy! Just make the cucumbers BIG! ;)
I used half a Granny Smith
3. 1 head kale, about 7 leaves
I used a double mega handful of pre-chopped and rinsed kale
4. 1 lemon, yellow skin removed, white pith intact
I used half a lemon
This produced over two small glasses of green juice. Still not entirely sure - I feel just a little queasy but the very thought of green juice does that to me. One glass would have been enough (but I wasn't going to waste the vitamins and the preparation!) Taste-wise : surprisingly palatable. The lemon adds both a sweetness and a zing - and pretty much hides the taste of the kale; the pith leaves a lingering taste on the tongue.
Interesting!
California Apple Tart Smoothie
Just juice the lot!
1. 2 cucumbers, or ½ bunch celery -
I used one third of a long organic cucumber and a stalk of celery
2. 2 hard Granny Smith apples (OK, so this one's not too alkalizing, but it's so yummy! Just make the cucumbers BIG! ;)
I used half a Granny Smith
3. 1 head kale, about 7 leaves
I used a double mega handful of pre-chopped and rinsed kale
4. 1 lemon, yellow skin removed, white pith intact
I used half a lemon
This produced over two small glasses of green juice. Still not entirely sure - I feel just a little queasy but the very thought of green juice does that to me. One glass would have been enough (but I wasn't going to waste the vitamins and the preparation!) Taste-wise : surprisingly palatable. The lemon adds both a sweetness and a zing - and pretty much hides the taste of the kale; the pith leaves a lingering taste on the tongue.
Interesting!
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Chicken and sun-dried tomatoes and Anya potatoes
At long last, a new recipe!
I had some chicken and some Anya potatoes and fancied using up some sun-dried tomatoes in oil...
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1011273
Use one and a half tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to shallow-fry your organic chicken, adding salt and pepper. Meanwhile, chop up a quarter of a cup of the sun-dried tomatoes, make a cup of chicken broth (or Marigold bouillon in my case), add half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Had to substitute basil for oregano.
When the chicken is cooked (I added a few thinly sliced onions and some freshly chopped garlic), keep it warm while you cook up all the other ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for three minutes or so to reduce to half a cup.
The ingredients are for four but it made a nice 'soup' for one, especially with the Anya potatoes chopped warm into a vinaigrette (also with balsamic vinegar, finely chopped onion and garlic).
This is Delia's suggestion for the potatoes (I did indeed steam them for 20 minutes while I cooked the rest of the meal).
It was really enjoyable. The original recipe suggests pounding the chicken between sheets of plastic until 1/2" thickness using a rolling pin. Probably would encourage the flavours to enter the meat.
Went well with an avocado starter and cherries for dessert
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/anya-potato-salad-with-shallots-and-vinaigrette,1643,RC.html
I had some chicken and some Anya potatoes and fancied using up some sun-dried tomatoes in oil...
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1011273
Use one and a half tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to shallow-fry your organic chicken, adding salt and pepper. Meanwhile, chop up a quarter of a cup of the sun-dried tomatoes, make a cup of chicken broth (or Marigold bouillon in my case), add half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Had to substitute basil for oregano.
When the chicken is cooked (I added a few thinly sliced onions and some freshly chopped garlic), keep it warm while you cook up all the other ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for three minutes or so to reduce to half a cup.
The ingredients are for four but it made a nice 'soup' for one, especially with the Anya potatoes chopped warm into a vinaigrette (also with balsamic vinegar, finely chopped onion and garlic).
This is Delia's suggestion for the potatoes (I did indeed steam them for 20 minutes while I cooked the rest of the meal).
It was really enjoyable. The original recipe suggests pounding the chicken between sheets of plastic until 1/2" thickness using a rolling pin. Probably would encourage the flavours to enter the meat.
Went well with an avocado starter and cherries for dessert
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/anya-potato-salad-with-shallots-and-vinaigrette,1643,RC.html
La Grande Bouffe - Dairy Delights :-(
I've been on a dairy 'trip' for the past few weeks.
Blue cheese no less, then ice cream. Chocolate trifles and rice puddings.
A certain amount of despair accompanied these meals.
Then finally I had food poisoning.
Cleared the system and gradually been getting my act back together. First with the occasional beetroot/apple/celery/carrot juice and some Big Tom spicy tomato juices.
Even had one of my mega-salads yesterday - in mini-format.
And today - eureka! - a new recipe.
Imperfect but better.
Once you get ill and you get too tired, it takes nearly all day to clear the previous day's cooking debris, and then you just want to rest rather than start preparing the next meal. I'm too tired to eat after all that. So I'm looking for snacks. Hummous with carrots still does it for me - but the thought of scrubbing the carrots put me off. I long for a proper decent tall fridge and a dish washer.
Have discovered hummous is rather nice with slices of apple!
And in spite of my despair over the amount of dairy I had reintroduced into my diet, it was good stuff and I did notice there was a progression from one 'fix' to another. So perhaps my body really did want these things.
Blue cheese no less, then ice cream. Chocolate trifles and rice puddings.
A certain amount of despair accompanied these meals.
Then finally I had food poisoning.
Cleared the system and gradually been getting my act back together. First with the occasional beetroot/apple/celery/carrot juice and some Big Tom spicy tomato juices.
Even had one of my mega-salads yesterday - in mini-format.
And today - eureka! - a new recipe.
Imperfect but better.
Once you get ill and you get too tired, it takes nearly all day to clear the previous day's cooking debris, and then you just want to rest rather than start preparing the next meal. I'm too tired to eat after all that. So I'm looking for snacks. Hummous with carrots still does it for me - but the thought of scrubbing the carrots put me off. I long for a proper decent tall fridge and a dish washer.
Have discovered hummous is rather nice with slices of apple!
And in spite of my despair over the amount of dairy I had reintroduced into my diet, it was good stuff and I did notice there was a progression from one 'fix' to another. So perhaps my body really did want these things.
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