Tag Archives: #TastyTuesdays

Health and Fitness, Physical

8 Foods to Fight Stress

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Under stress – whether it is work, study or a relation, dietary habits change substantially. Some people lose their hunger when under stress whilst others tend to overeat – most often fatty, sugary and junk foods. Always blaming stress for making poor food choices is not the right approach. In fact, making the right food choices will help stabilize blood sugar levels and your emotional response. Good nutrition helps in balancing your stress hormones, relieving stress and boosting your mood.

Here are 8 foods to reach out for when you have just about had enough which will calm and soothe you.

đŸŒŸOATS: Being a complex carbohydrate, oatmeal causes your brain to produce serotonin, a feel-good chemical. Serotonin calms you down and makes you feel good. Oats are also rich in beta-glucan, which help in lowering blood cholesterol level and also help in weight management.

🌰NUTS: Nuts help replenish Vitamin B stores that are depleted in stress. The B vitamins help us manage the fight or flight response in stress. The potassium in nuts also helps keep the blood pressure in check thus reducing the strain on the heart.

🐟SALMON: Eating salmon on a regular basis has been linked to reducing the risk of getting depression because of the omega 3 fatty acids present in it. It can reduce stress and anxiety in individuals when eaten even twice a week.

đŸ„ŹLEAFY GREENS: Leafy greens contain folate that produces dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is involved in the emotional regulation in the brain thus keeping you happy. Besides folate, magnesium in the leafy greens also helps in keeping us calm and good.

đŸŒ±SEEDS: Seeds like the sunflower seeds, flax seeds, watermelon seeds, etc have stress-reducing benefits. These tiny powerhouses are rich in magnesium that promotes a healthy nervous system. They also are full of tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps in the production of serotonin that helps you feel calm.

đŸ„‘AVOCADOS: Avocados are rich in the stress relieving B vitamins, Vitamin C and folate. They also contain potassium that naturally helps in lowering blood pressure. This makes them one of the best foods for relieving stress and anxiety.

đŸ„›MILK: Milk contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is a precursor for the neurotransmitter Serotonin. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical known to promote relaxation and calm in a person. And, milk taken with another carbohydrate will help in the absorption of tryptophan.

đŸČLENTILS & BEANS: Being stressed can be detrimental to your nerve health. Lentils and beans are rich in magnesium, folate and potassium which help calm the nerves, reduce anxiety and promote brain health.

Researchers have found that eating a diet of processed, sugary and fatty foods increases the chances of stress and depression. So, as a general rule steer away from these foods if you are looking to improve your mood. Eating a healthy diet not only helps in maintaining a healthy body weight but also helps in keeping the moods in order.

CafĂ© Nutrition with their weight loss clinic in Mumbai offer weight loss in Mumbai and over the world through their online and offline nutrition services.

Arati Shah is an expert nutritionist who crafts personalized weight loss programs at CafĂ© Nutrition. Having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition along with a Post-Graduation in Sports Sciences and Nutrition from S.N.D.T Juhu, she runs one of the top weight loss clinic in Mumbai. She heads the team of weight loss in Mumbai and takes a personal interest in each and every client of CafĂ© Nutrition.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Arati_Shah/2280869

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9962741

Financial, Health and Fitness, Lifestyles

3 Slow Cooker Meal Ideas That Are Budget-Friendly

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Cooking home-cooked meals every day for the whole family can cost you, but food doesn’t have to be expensive to be delicious especially if you know how to budget your money. If you’re on a tight budget but still want to enjoy fulfilling home-cooked dishes with your family, here are 3 slow cooker meal ideas that everyone will love – so will your wallet!

Try these slow cooker meal ideas today:

Coco Sweet Potato Curry

What you need:

  • 1 kilogram sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into chunks
  • 2 onions, halved and sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 red chillies, seeded and sliced
  • 2 red peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 1/4 cups passata
  • 2 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped (for serving)

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and cook onion until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic amd ginger then season with paprika and cayenne. Pour mixture into a crock pot. Return pan to heat then cook chillies, red peppers and cabbage in 1 tablespoon oil for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring mixture to crock pot. Heat remaining oil and cook sweet potatoes for 5 minutes. Add potatoes to crock pot. Pour passata and coconut milk over everything. Stir, cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. When ready, stir in peanut butter and top with coriander.

Rosemary & potato wedges
Image from https://www.pxfuel.com/

Mixed Herb Potato Wedges

What you need:

  • 2 large potatoes, sliced into 8 wedges each
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried mixed herb
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, mix together flour, mixed her and cayenne pepper. Add potatoes and oil. Season with salt and pepper then toss to mix ingredients and to coat potatoes. Transfer to a crockpot and cook for 1 to 2 hours on low or until potatoes are cooked through.

Spicy Garlic Mushroom and Tomato Pasta Sauce

What you need:

  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 stick celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 red chili, seeded and finely chopped
  • Small bunch parsley (leaves only)
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped tomato
  • 2 cups spaghetti pasta, cooked
  • 1 2/3 cups sliced chestnut mushroom
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Pinch of salt

In a pan over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil then cook mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic then cook for 1 minute more. Transfer mixture to a bowl with parsley. Set aside. Return pan to heat, add remaining oil, onion, celery, tomatoes, chili and salt and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a crock pot and cook for 15 minutes on low. Toss spaghetti with tomato sauce and top with garlic mushrooms.

A delicious meal doesn’t have to be expensive – try these slow cooker meal ideas that are budget-friendly!

Donna H. is a nutrition expert. Although not professionally, she has dedicated over a decade of her life researching and interviewing licensed nutritionists to gain the knowledge she has today – all for the love of healthy eating and dieting. She is an avid slow cooker and has contributed countless of recipes to countless popular websites.

Check out helpful tips and tricks as well as easy and delicious slow cooker recipes when using a crock pot.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Donna_H./1519703

Financial, Health and Fitness, Internal, Physical

4 Big reasons to fix meals at home instead of eating out

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Right now in the US we’re all at a certain level of sheltering in place at home. While we all love to eat out, it might not be as easy to do depending upon your location and what phase of reopening your community is in. So besides the obvious obstacle, what are some other reasons to eat at home or at least put eating at home in a positive light?

Spending some precious quality time with your family.

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

In a lot of homes, family dinner was a thing of the past prior to this global pandemic. We were all just too busy doing other things outside of the home. This can be a good time to reconnect with your family, not just around the dinner table but in the kitchen during meal prep.

So many mothers in particular are sharing their frustration with having to make a never ending series of meals during quarantine. Get your kids to get in there and help. As the good book says:

 If anyone does not want to work, neither let him eat.

2 Thessalonians 3:10

Cooking with kids gives you an opportunity to teach them to make healthy food choices. It also allows them to have hands-on learning with fresh, affordable foods. Just call it Home Economics! (Remember that class?)

Getting a refill on your drink as soon as it’s empty.

We’ve all been there. Even with the best waitress or waiter in the world, you end up sitting for a minute or two looking at the bottom of an empty glass. At home there’s no need to sing like Elle Varner; just get up and get your refill.

Another benefit is if you partake of alcoholic drinks, no worries over whether the drinks are being made with a really light pour. You know what we’re talking about; the barely there tequila in your margarita or the mostly Coke & a whisper of rum in your Cuba Libre. You know exactly how strong (or weak) the drink is going to be when you make it at home AND you don’t have to buy another drink for a refill.

Avoiding that restaurant markup.

Each ingredient at your favorite restaurant has a markup. (Obviously – otherwise they wouldn’t be in business very long.) But how much do you think they mark up their meals? 50%? 100%? Nope. The average markup for each ingredient at a restaurant is 300%! A $9 hamburger (that’s right – without cheese) at a diner would cost you less than $2 to make at home. If you’re trying to stretch your dollars, cutting back on restaurant-prepared meals can make a big difference.

Cooking at home can improve your health.

A recent study conducted by the University of Washington found that those who cooked at home 6 times per week met more of the US Federal guidelines for a healthy diet than those who cooked meals at home 3 times per week. In other words, if you’re eating at home more often than you’re eating out, you’re more likely to be getting in your fruits, veggies, and other essentials of a balanced diet.

Taking better care of your health and saving money? Now that’s a reason to fire up the backyard grill!
Wishing you wellness!

Sources:
Plate IQ: “Should You Get the Guacamole on Your Burrito? A Price Analysis of Your Favorite Foods.” 4.3.2018
ScienceDaily: “Cooking at home tonight? It’s likely cheaper and healthier, study finds.” 3.14.2017

Health and Fitness, Internal, Lifestyles

Cooking 101 – Simple Tips And Tricks To Make You A Better Chef

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By Will Hanran

When you’re thinking about taking up a hobby, consider cooking. Cooking is often overlooked because you are probably doing so much of it, but the truth is that cooking can be a wonderful source of relaxation for the home chef, as well as a way to create and explore. Here are a few tips to help your cooking exploration.

Make sure that you have the place settings set beforehand so that you can reduce the stress that you will have when you are bringing your food to the table. High levels of stress do not mix well when you are cooking, given the danger, so you will want to reduce this as much as possible.

When deep frying foods, hold the food below the oil with the tongs for a few seconds. Holding the food under the oil for around five seconds will create a useful seal around the food. This seal will work to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

To improve your level of convenience in the kitchen, one of the things that you can do is to freeze the excess sauces that you create, in ice cube trays. This will allow you to reheat them when you need sauce again and also to save money on the excess sauce that you kept.

As you cook your meal during the course of the night, make sure that you taste it at several different points. This will allow you to pinpoint exactly when it is done, so that you do not run the risk of overcooking it. Tasting your food is important to achieve the quality you desire. Looking for an indoor grill? Check out the electric Hamilton Beach Grill and see why this little indoor grill is big on features and flavor.

When it comes to cooking, a good habit to do after preparing garlic is to rub your hands on the stainless steel sink vigorously for about 30 seconds. This will remove the unwanted odor from your hands. Washing them less than 30 seconds will not take all the odor away.

When you are cooking for your family, try not to stick to one style. If you cook the same meal over and over, it can get boring and your family will become jaded with the dishes that you make. Change things up every night so that you can introduce new meals and cuisines to your family.

One important tip to remember when cooking dishes focuses on the size of the dish being prepared. The smaller the dish is that you are cooking, the higher the baking temperature and less time needed to cook the dish. Smaller dishes generally take only a few minutes at high temperatures to fully cook.

You may or may not have heard of schmaltz, but it is a very useful component when cooking. Schmaltz, otherwise known as chicken fat, is very rich. The flavor of schmaltz is deeper than duck fat and can be used for many things, such as cooking meats or poaching fish.

Plan your meals in advance. One of the biggest time wasters is engaging in the “what am I going to fix for dinner?” debate. Often, we could have dinner on the table by the time we fuss with examining the options. Over the weekend – or whenever your free time occurs – think through the upcoming week and loosely plan four or five meals you know your family will enjoy. This advance planning allows you the time to stock your fridge and pantry with the items you need.

Be certain to use only wines that you enjoy as ingredients in your recipes. You risk the final flavor of any dish if you make it with an unfamiliar wine or one with an off taste. Look through your grocery store to find wines that are used specifically for cooking.

If you and your significant other loves cooking, then consider taking a cooking class for couples! Couples cooking classes can help you explore new cuisines, enjoy each other’s company and also learn more about working together in the kitchen. A well-kept secret is that the guys enjoy these classes as much as the ladies and it often leads to the fellows taking a greater role in cooking at home.

Take these tips and use them in your dishes to make them come alive. Serve them to guests, bask in the compliments and then do it all over again. The wonderful thing about cooking as a hobby is that you can always recreate or create anew; you’ll always need something to eat!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Will_Hanran/2496001