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Humans have been using spices to better their cooking, and their
health too, for centuries. People in the ancient times knew which spices
would cure an upset stomach, relieve pain and so on. Some recent
studies have also suggested that they are indeed helpful in driving away
several kinds of ailments and keeping the body healthy and fit.
Organic
spices are the biggest trend to have hit the food scene. The organic
products movement has really taken off. With increasing awareness about
the environment, many people are consciously opting for healthier
lifestyles with minimal impact on the environment.
Organic is a
much better option than the conventional spices in almost every
conceivable sense. The spices are definitely of a much superior quality.
The color, texture and taste of organic spices are significantly
better. People are increasingly realizing the importance of opting for
organic spices for their health.
There are primarily three reasons
to go organic - better flavor, better health and a better planet. The
nutritional value is much higher than that of the conventional foods.
Organic spices taste better too. The standards of processing, storing,
packing and shipping of these products ensure that they are fresh and
favorable.
When you opt for organic products, you are doing Mother
Earth a favor. As organically grown food does not use harmful products,
the natural balance of the soil is maintained and the soil, river,
lakes etc. have less chances of becoming polluted. Organic spices are
grown without the usage of any harmful chemicals and fertilizers. Keep
in mind that insects are much tougher than humans. Whatever kills them
will not be good for you too!
In organic farming, users are saved
from ingesting chemicals that may lead to heart diseases, cancer and
other ailments. They are grown on lands that have been free from
synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides for a minimum of three
years. The natural method of growing crops is not compromised in any
way. This does immense good to the eco system.
If you are looking
to add that zest to your cooking and enjoy superior medicinal benefits,
going organic is the best way. There are several ethnic cuisines all
around the world that rely on organic spices to bring out the
traditional flavor of the dish. Whether you use organic spices in your
restaurant or home, they are widely popular for their great taste and
the amazing health benefits they offer.
By
Gaurav Kaushik
read more about food in foodNetworkWorld
Spices are what make our food delicious and flavorful. Storing
them in a proper manner will help bring out the true flavor of the
flavoring agent. Most women want to know the best way to store spices so
that they last for a long time. Here are some tips to help everyone
better organize and store spices.
Keep the spices
close to where you use them . If you use them primarily while cooking,
keep them near your stove area. If you use them while preparing your
food, keep them near your preparation area. If you use them as
seasonings, store them close to the serving area.
1-If there is a large quantity of spices to store, and there is not
much space in the kitchen, you can sort them by frequency of usage.
Store the more frequently used spices in the kitchen and the rest in a
storage cabinet outside the kitchen.
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2-It helps to store the spices alphabetically as they do it in the
grocery stores. This makes it easier to find them. Also, you would be
able to check how much there is of a spice and if you have any
duplicates. This will save your space and money.
3-Most people keep their spice on the spice rack or the kitchen. While
using them, we might leave the lids open by mistake, which makes the
spices lose their aroma fast. Properly storing the spices is as
important as deciding which spices to pick to be used in a meal.
4-The best thing you can do to maximize the aroma of your spices is to
buy whole spices, not ground. The latter starts to deteriorate after
3-4 months and more so if stored improperly. Whole spices can last many
years. If you need small amounts, take a little of the whole spices and
ground them. You can also grind in the coffee grinder and use.
5-It is best to store spices in a dry and dark space. Air, moisture,
light and heat are not good for spices. They decrease the flavor of the
spices. If storing in a spice rack, make sure that you avoid keeping the
rack over an oven or a dishwasher, as the heat will affect the flavor
of spices.
Even though proper storage of spices helps
to maintain their flavor and freshness, it is essential to know when it
is time to throw them out. The golden rule is once a year. If the spice
starts to smell musky, or does not give any odor, or changes color, you
can replace it.
By
Gaurav Kaushik
read more about food in foodNetworkWorld
Smoked salmon is certainly tasty, and is good in sauces with
pasta, or as a canapé, perhaps with a little cottage cheese and toast or
crackers. There is a relatively high amount of protein in smoked fish
such as salmon, which have the advantage of being low in saturated fat.
If you are trying to increase your muscle mass as part of an intensive
exercise program, then you could add some smoked fish to your diet.
However, the US Department of recommends two portions of fish (not
necessarily smoked though) as part of your weekly diet; so if you eat
one portion of unsmoked mackerel, for example and one of smoked salmon,
that would be acceptable. Both of these fish are considered oily and so
have those important Omega-3 fatty acids. These are cardio-vascular
protective and we may not be getting enough of them in our usual diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids are present in smoked salmon as well as raw; the
smoking process doesn't eliminate them.
** Smoked salmon and health
Pregnant
women are advised not to eat smoked salmon or other smoked fish as they
could contain parasites. These can cause intestinal upsets and
irritation, although food poisoning will only be caused if you consume a
contaminated product. Contamination can occur at any time of the food
processing and food poisoning can result, although it happens rarely if
you consume smoked fish. However, if you buy salmon that was wild, there
is an increased risk of its having parasites, but if you buy a farmed
salmon, particularly the Atlantic salmon, which has been fed pellets,
there is less risk of parasites being present in it.
Nitrates and
nitrates are by-products of the smoking process and may be present in
high levels in any smoked fish. These have been linked to stomach
cancer, so the key here is to eat smoked fish in moderation. You need a
balanced diet, so you shouldn't simply eat one kind of food. While fish
are good for you, if you eat too much smoked fish this could lead to
health problems rather than benefits.
Smoked salmon and other
smoked fish contain sodium, so if you are on a low-sodium diet, eating
smoked salmon is not a great idea. A one ounce serving of smoked salmon
contains 222 milligrams of sodium.
Basically you can eat smoked
salmon (if you are not pregnant) as long as you eat it in moderation.
However if you ate nothing else, this would, of course, cause health
problems over time. Stick to Aristotle's advice: "all things in
moderation."
If you have found this article interesting, why not click on the
link to find out more about the foods we eat? There are also recipes
that are a fusion of Asian and European foods and information about the
plants we can use as medicine
By
Lynne Evans
read more about food in foodNetworkWorld
It's estimated that over 100 million people all over the world are
overweight. Although, there is a lot of good information on how to lose
weight, there is also a lot of misinformation. For you to lose a few
pounds the healthy way, you need to avoid the following mistakes.
Mistake #1: sticking to a fixed calorie plan
Many
people set their calorie intake at a given number and expect to lose
weight at a constant rate over a period of time; therefore, they look
for fixed diet plans such as 1000 and 1800 calorie plans.
You
should note that fixed calorie diet plans don't work. This is because if
you burn 2000 calories a day at the start of your diet, you will most
likely not be losing the same calories after a given time. For example,
you might be losing 1500 calories after one or two weeks.
This
means that if you maintain constant calorie intake you will face
decreasing calorie expenditure and as result you won't lose weight as
expected.
If you want to lose weight at a constant rate, you need
to lower your calorie intake in order to accommodate the calorie
expenditure drop. You also need to exercise more in order to increase
calorie expenditure.
Mistake #2: lack of sleep
In
the current busy lifestyles it's common for people to sleep five or
fewer hours. A recent study done by the University of Chicago showed
that people who sleep fewer hours tend to have more fat and less muscle.
This means that if you want to a leaner body and
more muscles, you need
to get a full night sleep.
If you are having problems with
sleeping you need to get rid of any destruction. For example, you need
to avoid taking caffeine after 10 PM. You can also try
to go to bed on
an empty stomach.
You should also get rid of any light in your
bedroom. This is because even a dimly-lit alarm clock has the ability of
throwing off the body's sleep/wake cycle.
Mistake #3: going on a very low calorie diet (VLCD)
Since
many people know that calories are the ones that bring about
weight
gain, they resort to taking very low calorie diets, which is wrong. A
VLCD brings about a drop in metabolic rate.
In addition to this a
VLCD creates an illusion of fast weight loss but in real sense you will
be losing water. Finally, as a result of very low calories in the diet,
you body lacks energy and as a result you can't sustain the low calorie
diet for a long time.
Instead of going for a VLCD, you should go for a balanced diet that contains all the necessary nutrients
By
James D. Foster, Ph.D.
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