Posts Tagged ‘breakfast’

Everything about cereals and grains part 3

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Because we must focus our attention on these aliments due to their important role in our eating habits,  let me tell you more about cereals, muesli and grains, some tips and tricks that are worth sharing.

When consuming cereals, we must take into consideration the following:

- when consuming fats with grains or cereals, the absorption and carbon hydrate digestion decrease.

- the acidity from citric fruits, vegetables and vinegar increases iron absorption, so please do consume rice or pasta, for instance, with vegetables and sauces.

- muesli and breakfast cereals may contain large amounts of sugar, so consume them moderately and choose minerals and vitamins enriched ones.

- fats can be contained in small quantities in breakfast cereals. So do not fall into the FITNESS type of cereals, because all types contain pretty much the same amount of calories. Just choose the ones that taste better :p.

100 g FITNESS CHOCOLATE CEREALS CORNFLAKES SPECIAL K
CALORIES 363 382 374 374
PROTEINS 8 g 8,4 g 7,3 g 15 g
CARBOHYDRATES 79,8 g 76,2 g 83,1 g 75 g
LIPIDS 1,3 g 4,8 g 1,5 g 1,5 g
FIBERS 5,1 g 5,9 g 3 g 2,5 g

-rice and corn do not contain gluten, so these cereals can be consumed by gluten intolerance sufferers

- basmati rice is considered to be the easiest to digest

- popcorn without oil added is very low on calories

- cook pasta ‘ al dente’ to make it easier for your organism to digest. Pasta cooked with tomato sauce contains less fats

- focaccia and ciabatta are bread assortments with spices and olive oil and their energetic value increase from 215 cal/100 g to 280 cal/100 g.

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Posted in Heathy Eating | 1 Comment »

Eating in vacation…

Friday, July 31st, 2009

We are always waiting for the holiday, right? And we wouldn`t like to spend our limited free time on cooking, even if we`re spending our vacation at home or not! here are some tips and tricks to making your holiday regime perfeeect!


- It is absolutely mandatory to organize your vacation ahead, because,you also have to adapt your way of cooking to the new activities.

Considering the fact that vacations don`t necessarily mean being sedentary, but taking walks through the park, field trips or  practicing sports, we should combine harmoniously the two types of cooking, vegetarian and complex.

- In order to keep the figure, it is also indicated to have an `eating timetable`, even though this should come in not so handy, due to the tendency of getting up late, or partying all night :). I`m not saying that a very strict program of eating should be the solution, but, it is necessary to have organized meal hours for staying fit, getting all the nutrients and having an easy digestion.

So, breakfast remains the most important meal if the day, right? DON `T FORGET ABOUT IT!!! even though you`re getting up later than usual! if you`re planning some hiking that day, your breakfast should be even more consistent than usual! be careful with drinking too much coffee, because sun and lots of coffee don`t mix so well together, and also No Alcohol!

- Lunch also shouldn`t be skipped, but do not eat heavy ingredients like steaks with all sort of gravies or lots of meat.

Try a salad, but not only vegetables, try it with a little bit of cheese (feta) with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, green salad, maybe a little bit of onion (if you enjoy onion), or if you still consider this to be unsatisfying, you can also add one hard boiled egg, or some boiled or grilled chicken breast. It tastes great, and also offers you the nutrients that you need at lunch time in order to keep you going for the rest of the day!

-Dinner… hmm… tricky aspect. Maybe on vacations we can manage to change our day-to-day lifestyle regarding the last meal of the day, because, let`s face it, when we come tired from work, dinner represents our biggest meal (if not, WELL DONE!). So, at least now let`s try and change this. If you want to lose weight, try some vegetables, boiled or grilled. Nutritionists consider fruits  not so appropiate in the evening, because fruits offer you energy, due to their sugar content, energy that has no place to be consumed, considering the fact that your day is almost over.

If you have no problem with your weight, just have a light meal, best with 2 hours before bedtime. This can contain anything you like, in SMALL PORTIONS,  excepting, of course, fats or sugars, which are ALWAYS bad.

-Also between these  meals of the day, some snacks are welcomed. Try fruits (well washed), yogurts (but not fruity ones, because they contain a lot of sugars), maybe a healthy sandwich, if somehow you`re very hungry.

-Especially in the summer time, it is most important to keep ourselves hydrated!

Minimum 2 liters of water a day, maybe even more if you`re sun bathing or exercising a lot. But BE CAREFUL! The sodas and  coffee you consume DON`T ADD to these 2 liters, only water counts, because this is what your organism needs!

-Sugar cravings can be easily tricked by eating HONEY, instead of sugar!

So have fun, party, but don`t forget to stay healthy!

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The Secret of Health

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

The old Chinese knew the organs’  schedule. The body sends  its whole energy to some of its parts at a certain time. It is scientifically proven that persons that do not respect this inner rhythm  are prone to getting sick faster and more often.

 

  • 6:00        Your organism  wakes up. Even though you’re still sleepy, your body rushes into producing hormones. The sugar content in our body, the amino acids and hormones take action at full capacity. Alcohol and nicotine must be avoided.
  • 7:00        Your heart shifts into fifth gear. Sexual hormones production begins. Who enjoys exercising in the morning is making a big mistake because the heart is over solicited, and the result is the same. At this hour, you should stick to serving your breakfast , but before, drink a glass of water to help digestion.breakfast-picture
  • 8:00        Your organism craves fuel. Unfortunately this is also the hour at which most heart attacks and cerebral vascular accidents happen. It’s the perfect time to take your blood sample. At any other hour, the blood composition may be changed because of stress.
  • 9:00        The body almost doesn’t feel pain and is immune toward fear. Chemotherapy and shots should be done at this hour, because the risk of complications is minimal.
  • 10:00        It’s learning time! The brain is the most receptive. Making decisions and solving problems is easy. The body temperature reaches the highest level. It is the perfect time for taking a ride in your car, because attention and reflexes reach their peak.
  • 11:00         The body burns the fat. Just eat all you can. Your heart and blood circulation are at the top. Avoid going to the cardiologist’s because he may assert you a wrong diagnostic.
  • 12:00         Half of day is over! You should take a nap. The organism is tied up in producing acids and the brain is not exactly in its best shape. Get your room well ventilated! The stomach is the only organ truly active. It gets prepared for processing food .
  • 13:00   lunch-time         Attention drops, everything focuses on digestion. It’s lunch time , and then a little bit of relaxation. After lunch the gallbladder starts the digestion and absorption of lipids from the intestine.
  • 14:00           All functions are low. The body must rest.
  • 15:00          The brain starts moving again. Attention and focus are at their peak again. Start working!
  • 16:00           The body starts working. It is the ideal time for exercising. Lungs and air ways are widely opened. Just take a walk. Stomach drugs work at best at this hour.
  • 17:00       Hands do their job perfectly. Painters create masterpieces, magicians are excellent.  Sportsmen obtain the best results.
  • 18:00         It is time for cultural activities! The senses become sharpened; the taste buds and nostrils reception even the finest taste and scent. The nails and hairs have their biggest activity. The body is yet a little tired and the nerves react to pain or anger.
  • 19:00         Best time to take your medicines. Your skin craves nourishment, the pores open up and assimilate at best all cosmetic products. But be careful, the blood pressure drops.
  • 20:00         Visual capacities increase. It is the moment to choose fabrics and designs. Don’t take the last meal of the day later than 20:00, because all bodily functions are already decreased. The liver works perfectly, so alcoholic drinks are tolerated at best at this hour.last-meal-of-the-day
  • 21:00         Body temperature and metabolism decrease. No food is assimilated. Just the stomach and liver are working.
  • 22:00            The livers stops its functions for the day. Stop smoking, because, with the liver functions stopped, all the nicotine is absorbed  without filtration by the organism.
  • 23:00           The day dreaming begins. The body cools down. The blood pressure, heart rate are reduced at minimum. Cortisol (the stress hormone) production is shut down. The skin regeneration process starts.
  • 24:00            The organism auto regulates itself at minimum. You should sleep at this hour. At night, between 2 and 4, all the senses are inhibited. Between 3 and 5 the blood pressure drops.
  • sleeping-picture

It is easier to remember information in the morning, but to memorize them, they should be repeated in the afternoon.

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Posted in Around the kitchen | 3 Comments »

Egg Nutrition

Friday, May 15th, 2009
  • Eggs are one of the few nearly complete foods for a human body—nature designed them to be the sole source of food and nutrients to the fast-growing chick embryo. Their protein content is high, 13 percent (or 6 grams in each large egg). Even the egg shell is nutritious, 96 percent calcium carbonate, an essential element for building human bones (but how do we eat it?). If the kids get upset with bits of egg shell in their scrambled eggs, assure them that you are just trying to help them build strong bones.modern boilled egg
  • Once a favorite breakfast food in the  Anglo-Saxon world, egg consumption has steadily declined since the 1950s. Americans ate 402 eggs apiece annually in 1945 (1.1/day). By 1991 per capita consumption had dropped to 234 (0.6/day), but it is slowly rising again. In 1998 the annual consumption is 255 eggs. The major reason for the decline is all that   cholesterol in the yolk, a health concern to many people today. A large egg contains an average of 215 milligrams of cholesterol. Its total fat content is a moderate 5 grams or 10 percent of each egg. All the cholesterol and fat are in the yolk.
  • Food scientists are working feverishly to reduce the cholesterol level of eggs, attacking the problem on several levels. One approach is to cut down on the development of cholesterol before the hen produces the egg. Biologists are putting laying hens on special boiled-eggs to do that.
  • Another approach is to chemically remove some of the cholesterol after the hen lays the egg. If we can take the caffeine out of coffee beans, surely we can reduce the amount of cholesterol in eggs to a tolerable level. It is just a matter of time. But to do this, biochemists have to remove the eggs from the shells and add chemicals that bind with the cholesterol, then remove the chemical together with the cholesterol. This part was easy. They ran into problem getting the eggs back into their original containers after they reduced the cholesterol. At this time they can only market the low-cholesterol eggs as scrambled or separated into yolks and whites.
  • Genetic alteration of the hens is another approach they are working on. In early 1995, a small egg farm in the Milwaukee area introduced “designer” eggs with 25 percent less fat and 25 percent lower cholesterol using this technique.

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