A Healthy Pasta Salad

Pasta has always been associated with weight and a heavy feeling. True, pasta is rich in carbohydrate, a food group most often than not, shunned by weight watchers. However, there are still people who find it hard to avoid this altogether. And they are right in thinking so.

Although it tends to add weight if taken in excess, carbohydrate is very important because it gives the body the energy it needs to enable it to do its work properly. So for those who cannot give up pasta, there is an alternative.

Instead of having it the traditional way (with meat and bacon, and cream and all the fatty substances), why not have it as a salad? Below are three fantastic recipes gathered from all over:

TURKEY PASTRAMI AND PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. TURKEY PASTRAMI, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8-ozs. rotini, cooked and drained
1 14-oz can artichokes, drained and cut into quarters
1 cup carrots, chopped (2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)
1 4-oz can black olives, drained and sliced
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 /2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 lettuce leaves

Instructions:

1. In large bowl, combine pastrami, rotini, artichoke, carrots, onion, celery and olives.

2. In small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss together with pastrami mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Serve on lettuce leaves.

APPLE PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:

1 container (8 oz.) plain nonfat yogurt
1 can (8 oz.) unsweetened crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 tsp salt, optional
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 Tbsp honey
2 cups uncooked rotini pasta
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup raisins
3 cups diced, unpeeled apples (suggested: Empire, Gala, Ida Red, Jonagold, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious, or Rome)

Instructions:

Thoroughly combine yogurt, pineapple, salt, spices, ginger, and honey; refrigerate. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly. Cool completely. In large bowl, combine all ingredients including yogurt dressing. Chill thoroughly before serving.

GARDEN PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:

1 can (16-ozs) mixed fruit in juice or extra light syrup
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 pkg. (8-oz) spinach spiral pasta
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
- Romaine lettuce leaves

Instructions:

Drain mixed fruit, reserving liquid. Drizzle fruit with vinegar and set aside. Cook pasta in boiling water until tender; drain and cool slightly. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, whisk together reserved liquid, cornstarch, basil, and garlic.

Stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat; stir in mixed fruit and vinegar. Toss pasta with tomatoes, celery, and green onion. Fold in fruit and sauce; chill. Spoon onto Romaine lettuce to serve.

Organic Food And Your Eating Lifestyles

Although some people would like to go organic and lead a healthier lifestyle, they find themselves stopped by a few things. Among these little stumbling blocks in their paths to going organic, are things like the cost of organic foods, the ready unavailability of organic foods, as well as the little fact that they will also need to find organic food recipes to go with their new lifestyle.

This is in fact a major stumbling block for many people who balk at the thought of not only changing their eating and dietary lifestyles, but of also having to change a lifetime’s worth of cooking experience to accommodate their new healthy lifestyle.

The fact of the matter is that people will go to the trouble of finding organic food suppliers, and of buying their costlier organic meats, dairy and produce, but when they have to actually sit down and find organic food recipes to go along with everything they’ve done thus far, their enthusiasm starts to wane.

This is where people actually tend to go wrong and miss the point. There is no such thing as special organic food recipes just as there is no special method of preparing the foods you buy which are organic.

The whole point is not to have to slog away looking for organic food recipes, replacing the ones you already have and know how to cook well, but to make your entire lifestyle healthier, of which the use of the use of organic foods in your cooking endeavors being a large part.

The trick then to going organic and finding yourself cooking organic food recipes, is to use the same old recipes which you’ve been using thus far and transform them into something other than artery clogging, waistline expanding, sugar level increasing foods.

In other words, now that you’ve gone organic and are using organic foods in your life, you also need to make your cooking style a healthier one as well. This means that if you’re using what amounts to a gallon of fat or oil per day, you might want to cut down on it to almost nothing!

Of course any dietary changes that you make, if they are going to be extensive should be discussed with your physician as you will then be able to get a better picture of what proper changes you need to make. The same advice applies if you have an underlying medical condition which requires you to have a special diet.

Replacing your normal foods with organic foods is fine, but you will need to make sure that when you turn your normal everyday recipes into organic food recipes, that you don’t change your dietary habits in such a radical manner as to be harmful to you. If you’re careful and follow a sensible dietary plan, you won’t really have to make too many food-sacrifices if at all to offset your newly acquired organic food habits.

Oatmeal

One of the biggest problems with trying to eat cheaply is to make sure that you are eating nutritious foods. My secret weapon is oatmeal. Not the flavored crap sold in little packets! You want the type of oatmeal that comes in large flakes and that takes a long time to cook. It is possible that your local supermarket won’t even carry it.

Personally, I go to the nearby health food store for my oatmeal. I get large flake rolled oats. You can also find steel cut oats in some stores. Either way, you are buying food that hasn’t had a lot of processing. Oats, when unprocessed like this, are very good for you.

When money is scarce, a bag of quality oatmeal costs under $2 and will last for a week or two. You can have it for breakfast every day with a bit of milk or yogurt. I don’t even bother to cook my oatmeal, just mixing it with yogurt or putting in some milk. If you find a cheaper meal which has the same level of convenience, while being healthy, please let me know.

It may be obvious, but canned food is generally loaded with salt, sugar and other useless ingredients while at the same time containing highly processed food that is degraded nutritionally. If you have to be frugal then you should put a bit more time into your own food preparation, so that you can eat better and eat cheaper. For example, buy very large bags of beans and rice. You won’t find wholesome food any cheaper than this.

Finally, there is a concept out there that will generally apply to the foods you purchase. The more processed the food is and the more convenient it is, the more likely it is to be expensive with respect to its nutritional value. Oatmeal is a fantastic exception because while it is as convenient as a box of cereal and has a long shelf life it is unprocessed, healthy and almost as cheap as dirt.

Green Tea-Saving Your Skin

Green tea has become the miracle drink of recent years. It is mentioned as a cure for everything from stomach trouble to fatigue, from rheumatoid arthritis to tooth decay. People in the Far East have been turning to green tea for various ailments for centuries, so it isn’t surprising that the beverage has become a popular remedy worldwide.

Perhaps the most interesting claim of fans of green tea is that it can be beneficial in the war against cancer. A 1994 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that green tea lessened the risk of cancer of the esophagus in Chinese subjects by close to 60 percent. In addition, a study at the University of Purdue found that, because of its chemical makeup, green tea can also reduce the growth of cancer cells.

Green Tea’s Effects—More Than Skin-Deep

There is also evidence that green tea can be beneficial for your skin. In an article on “Green Tea and Skin” published in the Archives of Dermatology in the year 2000, Santosh K. Katiyar, Nihal Ahmad, and Hassan Mukhtar discussed how green tea could be effective in fighting skin cancer. Because of its composition, green tea can prevent inflammation and cancer in the skin.

Still, you might be wondering how this is possible. In the data examined by Katiyar, Ahmad, and Mukhtar, the polyphenolic compounds in green tea were tested and found to provide protection against cancer in mouse skin. In addition, some successful experiments were conducted on human skin in the lab. The analysis conducted by the authors shows that green tea polyphenols have cancer-fighting properties.

As a result, it appears that green tea could be used successfully in skin products to treat various skin disorders, which could help immensely in the battle against skin cancer. As Mukhtar stated, “Of all the antioxidants known to mankind, the components of green tea are the most potent.” Still, the authors caution that additional study is needed to fully explore the cancer-combating capabilities of green tea.

Why Green Tea is a Superior Disease-Fighter

Of course, you might be wondering why green tea might be effective against skin cancer, when other types of tea are not. While green, black, and oolong tea are all derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, green tea is processed in a way that helps to preserve its antioxidant nature. That’s because green tea leaves are steamed, preventing their cancer-fighting compounds from being oxidized. As a result, black and oolong teas are not nearly as effective in fighting disease.

Taking a Closer Look at Green Tea

It might be helpful at this point to take a closer look at green tea and its unique properties. Dr. Stephen Hsu, a scientist at the Medical College of Georgia, has done extensive research on green tea and its medicinal effects. Hsu has found that the compounds in green tea known as polyphenols destroy free radicals, which have been known to give rise to cancer because of changes they make in DNA. Essentially, the polyphenols kill cancer cells, while protecting healthy cells.

Hsu and his research team compared the growth of normal skin cells to the growth of cells that had been exposed to green tea polyphenol. The researchers were surprised to learn that the tea component rejuvenated dying skin cells. The reactivation was limited to the epidermis, or outer layer of the skin. Still, Hsu believes that the research will have a profound impact upon various skin conditions.

A Green-Tinged Fountain of Youth

In addition to combating cancer, green tea could be effective in treating a variety of other skin conditions, including ulcers, psoriasis, rosacea, and hard-to-heal wounds.

As a result of such research, some have referred to green tea as being a veritable “fountain of youth” for the skin. While additional research is obviously necessary, the initial results are incredibly encouraging. In fact, Hsu has been working on developing skin products in which green tea plays a significant role. In this way, Hsu has found a way to apply his lab work to the cosmetic counter. It appears that green tea is particularly effective in protecting the skin from sun damage—a major contributing factor to skin cancer.

The Future of Green Tea

Given the public’s interest in alternative medicine, it would appear that green tea will be increasingly used as an agent for enhancing health. In fact, each year people turn to green tea for its therapeutic benefits. Research on green tea’s beneficial effects on the skin appears to be particularly promising. In fact, green tea may be revolutionary in its impact on skin treatments. Not only might it lead to younger-looking skin—it may also help to keep skin cancer at bay—which would be welcome news to the fair-skinned and anyone who has a history of skin cancer in their family.

Is Natural Organic Food for You?

Natural organic food is not for everyone. There are many circumstances where even the person who might like to go organic and consume only natural organic food and food products will be at a loss as to how to go about this in an economically viable manner.
The reason for this might seem self evident to some people, but the truth of the matter is that no matter how far organic food and food products have come down in cost, it is still bordering on the expensive, and most middle to low income families find it almost impossible to buy natural organic food on any kind of regular basis.

Therefore there has to be some impetus, a driving force if you will, behind their desire to buy natural organic food and the stumbling block of increased monthly outgoings. These factors vary from person to person and according to each personal situation.

For instance a middle income family with two teenaged kids and a toddler or baby might find that they have to make certain sacrifices to go organic. This can involve anything from cutting down on restaurant outings to cutting back on certain unwanted luxuries such as gourmet roasted coffee to redistributing the natural organic food chain within the family itself.

This can lead to mom and dad getting only a small percentage of organic foods, or none at all in their diets, with the bulk of the natural organic food and organic food products being purchased for their children.

This is of course in the cases where the benefits of organic foods have tipped the scales for parents, and where they want their children to consume less of pesticide and chemical fertilizer enriched food, and more of natural organic food.

It is also true that families without very young children, or one-person families, will also go to the extent of consuming natural organic food if the need is great enough or if they feel that it won’t significantly change their easy lifestyle.

The one thing that remains steady throughout is the desire of more and more people to add natural organic food and food products to their weekly grocery bill, despite the considerable dent it would put in their pockets. People are looking more and more at what they are consuming, and are taking more of an active interest in finding “natural” outlets for this.

It was into this niche that natural organic food and food products crept into and took hold. These days, the mantra on the lips of many people is, eat healthy and live healthy. The diet and fitness revolution is truly upon the world now, but it is being crowded to a corner by the natural organic food revolution which takes things that one step further.

Organic Food Is Not For Everyone

Natural organic food is not for everyone. There are many circumstances where even the person who might like to go organic and consume only natural organic food and food products will be at a loss as to how to go about this in an economically viable manner.

The reason for this might seem self evident to some people, but the truth of the matter is that no matter how far organic food and food products have come down in cost, it is still bordering on the expensive, and most middle to low income families find it almost impossible to buy natural organic food on any kind of regular basis.

Therefore there has to be some impetus, a driving force if you will, behind their desire to buy natural organic food and the stumbling block of increased monthly outgoings. These factors vary from person to person and according to each personal situation.

For instance a middle income family with two teenaged kids and a toddler or baby might find that they have to make certain sacrifices to go organic. This can involve anything from cutting down on restaurant outings to cutting back on certain unwanted luxuries such as gourmet roasted coffee to redistributing the natural organic food chain within the family itself.

This can lead to mom and dad getting only a small percentage of organic foods, or none at all in their diets, with the bulk of the natural organic food and organic food products being purchased for their children.

This is of course in the cases where the benefits of organic foods have tipped the scales for parents, and where they want their children to consume less of pesticide and chemical fertilizer enriched food, and more of natural organic food.

It is also true that families without very young children, or one-person families, will also go to the extent of consuming natural organic food if the need is great enough or if they feel that it won’t significantly change their easy lifestyle.

The one thing that remains steady throughout is the desire of more and more people to add natural organic food and food products to their weekly grocery bill, despite the considerable dent it would put in their pockets. People are looking more and more at what they are consuming, and are taking more of an active interest in finding “natural” outlets for this.

It was into this niche that natural organic food and food products crept into and took hold. These days, the mantra on the lips of many people is, eat healthy and live healthy. The diet and fitness revolution is truly upon the world now, but it is being crowded to a corner by the natural organic food revolution which takes things that one step further.
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Speed Up Your Metabolism with Mustard

Mustard is known to be very helpful for digestion, and can help to speed up your metabolism.

Mustard produces such a tiny seed yet it yields many health benefits. Mustard is one of the most popular spices in the entire world and is used in every country as a favorite spice. Part of the cabbage family, mustard can be used in its whole seed form, as a ground powder or combined with wine, vinegar or some other liquid to create a loose paste.

There are three varieties of mustard: black, brown and white. The mustard plant grows to be quite tall and has a bright yellow flower.

It was imported to US through Spanish missionaries and seen as a cure-all. Its sharp and bitter taste, especially mixes into paste with vinegars, gave off a medicinal fume long before its health benefits were discovered.

Better than a Vitamin

Mustard seeds are a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as calcium, dietary fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, protein, selenium and zinc. Selenium is a nutrient that has been shown to help reduce asthma, arthritis and certain cancers. Magnesium also reduces asthma and lowers blood pressure. The effects of mustard are currently being studied for menopausal women and on migraine attacks.

Other Healthy Benefits

Just a few of mustard’s possible healthy benefits include:

Speeds up metabolism
Stimulates digestion, increasing saliva as much as eight times more than normal
Inhibits cancer cell growth and possibly prevents other types of cancer as well
Treatment of skin diseases through the application of sulfur found in mustard
Reduces in the severity of asthma
Decreases symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Lowering of high blood pressure
Prevention of migraines
Facilitation of gastric juices which aids digestive problems and gives digestive aid
Soothing of sore throats, bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia
Disinfectant qualities it provides

Additionally it has four powerful qualities: it is antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic and has anti-inflammatory properties.

How to Add Mustard to Your Diet

Mustard is for more than just hot dogs at the ballpark. Whether in ground powder form, seed form or out of the bottle, there are multiple ways to include mustard into your diet to reap its benefits. And since its pungent, tangy taste enhances food so uniquely, it can easily replace fattier condiment options such as mayonnaise, butters and sugary catsups.

Mustard is often used in Indian, French, German and Irish foods. But there are many more options as well.

Include powdered mustards in salad dressings, egg dishes, pickles, marinades and vinaigrettes.

Sprinkle whole mustard seeds on salads, over vegetables and rice and on roasting meats. Try roasting them first in a dry skillet for a nuttier taste.

Mustard paste is useful. Bottled mustard can be rubbed on meats before roasting. Try dipping cut vegetables in a mustard sauce for a unique, flavorful dip. Mustard paste can easily be added to mayonnaises, vinaigrettes, marinades and barbeque sauces.

Mustard is so versatile; you will find many exciting and new ways to use this old standby.

The Favorite Spices

Pepper is native to the monsoon forests of the Malabar coast in southwest India. The pepper vine is now grown in much of tropical Asia. Pepper is the most popular spice in most of the recipes in cookery, to aid digestion, to preserve food and to enhance its flavor. Pepper has a warm, woody smell that is fresh, pungent and agreeably aromatic. Pepper is neither sweet nor savoury, just pungent, and can therefore be used in both types of dish. It is so popular that it has given its name to a wide range of dishes.

Pepper is perennial vine with stout stem, dark green leaves, white flowering spikes and green to dark red fruit. The vine takes seven to eight years to teach full maturity, and continues to bear fruit for 15-20 years. It is trained up posts of the tress grown for hade in coffee plantations.

There are black, white and green peppercorns. The black pepper which are the whole berries picked unripe and sum dried until shriveled. Is the most widely used, while the white peppercorns are ripe berries with the red skins removed before being bleached white by drying in the sun. it is hotter and less subtle than the black. It is mostly used by sprinkling it in powdered form in many cooked dishes. Green peppercorns are the immature berry pickled in brine or freeze-dried while still fresh, is not as hot and has a clean, fresh taste.

Pepper is said to help relieve flatulence and to have diuretic properties. It is the main source of heat in tropical Asian food.

Lemon Grass
Scientific name:Cymbopogon citrates Stapf
Family:GRAMINEAE
Vernacular name:Takhrai

Lemon grass is found throughout Southeast Asia. The culinary stem and leaf have a distinct lemon flavor. The base and lover shoots of the plant are used in cooking, and give a fresh, elusively aromatic taste in many Thai dishes.

A perennial tufted grass, up to 1.5 n has clumped, bulbous stems becoming leaf-blades and a branched panicle of flowers. Lemon grass grown readily in almost any soils, its bulb and leaves constantly multiplying. It is easily grown and thrives in a hot, sunny climate with some rainfall. It is better suited in sandy soil, which produces a higher content of the essential oil.

It is a common ingredient in Thai cooking. The coarse, long flat leaves are normally discarded, and only around 10-15 cm of the bulbous base used. If the lemon grass is to be eaten raw, the outer layers of the bulb should be peeled away until the pinkish ring inside appears; the tender portion is then finely sliced. Lemon grass is also bruised and added whole to many curry dishes, or sliced before pounded to a paste with other ingredients and added to many dishes. Lemon grass remains fibrous safer cooking so avoid chewing it. It combines well with garlic, shallots and chillies, and with fresh coriander to favor fish, shellfish, chicken and pork.

In the past, lemon grass was prescribed to relieve flatulence and as sedative. The culinary stem is used for stomachache, diarrhea, headaches, fevers and is antiseptic. The essential oil is used for cosmetics and food, and in aromatherapy to improve circulation and muscle tone. The antiseptic oil treats athlete’s foot and acne, and when sprayed, reduces air-borne infections.

Tea Helps With Weight Loss

One research study that evaluated the benefits of tea on weight loss was conducted by the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. This study was conducted on just under 200 healthy men and women between the ages of 20 and 65. The subjects were divided into three groups; the control group, low dose group and high dose group.

The study lasted for 12 weeks. During the study period, the control group was fed 3 bottles of placebo drink. The low dose group consumed 2 bottles of a drink containing tea catechins and one bottle of placebo drink and the high dose group consumed 3 bottles of the tea catechin drink.

At the end of the twelve week study, those subjects in the low dose and high dose group showed a significant decrease in body fat compared with the control group. Both body weight and BMI were reduced in these two groups. In addition, abdominal fat was significantly reduced.

This reduction in body fat around the abdominal area is significant. Fat around the midsection is the fat that is most dangerous to our health. Abdominal fat is the type that is most likely to be an indicator of heart disease. Reducing your waist size, and the fat around your midsection is the most important weight to lose in order to protect your health.

Another interesting result of this study was that the subjects who had slightly elevated cholesterol levels also experienced a reduction in LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is the “bad cholesterol”.

When too much of this type of cholesterol circulates in the blood, it oxidizes into plaque that clogs the arteries. This causes the arteries to narrow, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke.

When you combine this information with other studies that have shown a positive relationship between the amount of tea consumed in a day and the amount of overall body fat, it certainly suggests that drinking tea can be an effective way to lose weight and keep it off.

We all know that it’s critical to eat well and get regular exercise in order to maintain our health and keep our weight in check. However, understanding how simple things like drinking tea can provide assistance can make this challenge a little easier and faster.

B12 Deficiency

The elderly, vegetarians and people with some specific illnesses can suffer from a Vitamin B12 deficiency, and today many foods that form to make the average diet also have too low levels. Problems that can arise through having a vitamin B12 intake that is not high enough include feeling weak, fatigued, paranoid or mentally impaired as well as damaged nerves, pernicious anemia, delirium and CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).

Certain studies have indicated that if your vitamin B12 levels are too low your homocysteine levels will be elevated. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is thought to be responsible for heart diseases, CFS and fibromyalgia. Alzheimer’s and depression have been linked to high levels of the amino acid also. B12 is largely responsible for preventing these homocysteines from getting out of hand and causing problems.

Anywhere up to a quarter of the American population over eighty could possibly have this deficiency. This is the belief of The Jack Miller Center for Peripheral Neuropathy at the University of Chicago, who also teaches their students that those who have strict vegetarian diets are commonly lacking in the vitamin also. Although vegetables can be a good source of B12 vitamins, their content is lower so the amount needing to be consumed is much higher than for those who eat meats and dairy. Vegetarians should definitely take supplements every day.

Studies conducted in America indicate that any person who has a deficiency of B12 vitamin will be two times at least more likely to get depression. Those who have sufficient levels were considerably less predisposed to it, and reported feeling overall more calm and capable. This is due to the fact that B12 has many important roles in maintaining brain health and manufacturing brain chemicals. For more info see http://www.omegaflaxseedoil.com/benefits/omega3/diseases_Related_To_A_Deficiency_In_Omega_3.html

Food that is rich in B12 should play a large role in your diet every day. These are foods such as dairy, eggs, pork, organ meats, fish and beef, and if taken with a good B12 supplement, should resolve your problem or prevent you from developing one. Another solution to a B12 deficiency is to have a B12 injection, which you can ask your doctor about.

Many people have a deficiency in vitamin B12 but think they are simply run down and overworked. By taking a good B complex that covers all B vitamins and folic acid, you will feel less stressed, have more energy and avoid the many health issues that come with not getting enough through food. By keeping the B12 levels up, the homocysteine levels will stay in check and you will lead a healthy, happy life free from the high risk of depression and ill health.

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