Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

Crock Pots – Are They Any Good?

July 24th, 2010

Have you ever used a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, because it got stolen. Some thief must have heard the were great and pinched it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I guess that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this article, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for making soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have copied one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is scrumptious, simple enough to make and practically automatic to cook. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am certain.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

The Latest Hollywood Diet Is Kirstie Alleys Organic Liaison

July 15th, 2010

Every week there is a new version of the Hollywood Diet and each has its own benefits and downfalls. Many of the diets have been promoted by famous spokespeople or promoted as a way to lose weight quick.

A great deal of these diets is very unhealthy and designed for the sole purpose of losing a lot of weight in a short period of time. Many have been promoted through the idea of having to get into a special event gown so the weight had to come off fast. This is not only a short term solution but, an unhealthy one as well.

The newest diet promoted by a celebrity is Kirstie Alleys Organic Liaison. This diet promotes eating healthy, losing weight at a good pace and working on having a healthy mind. The entire plan is actually designed to assist everyday people with the struggles of weight loss.

Attempting to be on a diet that involves eating stuff you do not like will not work. The food has to be delicious as well as healthy and her plan has both. The weight loss program is called Organic Liaison which promotes the eating of organic, delicious and healthy food.

This plan eases the individual into switching the eating and shopping habits to one that is focused on the organic meals. The diet is fun and has numerous tools to help with support and communications to others also on the plan.

The plan also has optional supplements available such as nutrients for body cleansing and supplements to help you sleep while dieting. The plan is designed to promote exercise, good food, necessary supplements and support. It has been slightly designed around the Jenny Craig program which Kirstie was a spokesperson for.

When choosing a Hollywood Diet it is important to remember that many have been created and advertised as a quick solution to losing weight quick which is extremely unhealthy. For the best and most long term results, the plan should be one that promotes a healthy food plan, exercise routine and support.

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Wellness Treatments And Alternative Remedies

July 10th, 2010

The wellness industry has been perceived in many different ways by many different people. Sometimes it is thought of as something that is only practiced in strange, back-water, hippie communes. Other times it is seen as a valid method to improve physical health and emotional well-being without relying on expensive prescriptions.

There are a number of different products on the market that target different people and different problems. There are a few companies and products, like the D Gary Young Living Essentials that have come to the forefront of the industry and is the object of a lot of discussion – both good and bad.

Gary Young, the founder of a company that produces and sells essential oils, has been in business for a long time. His company focuses on using lavender and other essential herbs to distill oils that can be used for therapeutic purposes and improve various wellness conditions.

Whether you are looking for a cure to a simple headache or something for more complex situations, there are different D Gary Young Living Essentials that can be employed. Some of the essential oils can be used directly on the skin while others are included in dietary supplements.

A lot of people aren’t interested in the approach recommended by Gary Young, though. The medical community is certainly quick to point out a perceived lack of evidence to support the company’s claims. At the same time, though, many people don’t like the state of the healthcare system and are looking for different solutions to their problems.

These treatments and alternative medicines aren’t for everyone, though. The good news is that you don’t have to be a hippie living in that backwoods commune in order to try something different. In recent years, these products have actually hit the mainstream and a lot of people are taking a new interest. With a little research, they are learning that there are some potential benefits to these products.

Perhaps the hardest thing for people to understand when it comes to products like Gary Young’s essential oils is that they may have some health benefits, but what they really target is a person’s “wellness.” And where someone’s health is an easy concept to understand, the actual measure of their wellness might be a little more abstract.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should just forget about wellness. The modern world is extremely busy and hectic, and this can really be hard on many of us. If you are looking for something new and different, you might consider some of these alternative remedies and find out if they really help.

D Gary Young Living essentials or wellness oils from other companies are a wonderful way to live a healthier life. Products from Gary Young are known for being very high quality and are good products to start with.

Losing Weight Fast

June 28th, 2010

Other than physical appearance, weight affects a person in many ways. This could be the overall quality of life, self-esteem, depression, health risks, or physical incapabilities. There are a lot of plus-points to losing weight, which is why a lot of people are searching for a weight loss program that will trim down those extra kilos and get a beautiful, jaw-dropping body.

First of all, an overweight person ought to do is seek a health care expert to provide the best weight loss regimen for you. This will only be done after a full physical examination, which leads to the recommendation of a proper weight loss technique. To shed excess weight fast and effectively, four aspects of one’s life has to be altered: what to eat, how to eat, behaviour and amount of exercise.

Here are fast tips that can change an over-weight persons’s life:

1: Quick weight loss is achieved by a multi-faceted plan that is made up of mindset, exercise, and, in some cases, dietary supplements. Commence by following a diet regimen that can be easily adopted into your current way of life. Follow an exercise plan that includes at least fifteen minutes a day brisk walking, running, swimming and/or dancing.

2: Set yourself realistic goals. The ability to focus and have a proper mindset enables someone trying to lose weight to rapidly shed those extra kilos. You must develop discipline and a proper mind set, a dieter will not become discouraged and give up.

3: Listen to your body. Each person’s metabolism reacts differently to the various fast weight loss plans. Try substituting one program for another to gauge the body’s reaction. The exercise program ought to be suited to your body, because some can not exercise as strenuously as others. If walking is all that you can do, then walk, for this is one of the best exercises. Remember that muscles burn calories so it’s definitely a good idea to put on a little more muscle – it looks sexy too.

4: Eat more fibre because it makes you feel fuller sooner and takes longer to digest, making it longer before you will be hungry again. For example, a couple of slices of whole grain bread will remain in the gut longer and put off hunger longer than white bread, which turns in to glucose more quickly. giving you a quick, sugar spike, which soon dissipates, leaving you hungry again.

5: Stay away from fried food especially deep-fried, since it contains a large amount of fat. But remember, although fish and chicken appear to be much leaner than beef, these white meats can retain even more fat than beef if it is fried. It is advisable those on a strict diet opt for grilled food, since it does not have much fat after the food has been prepared.

6: Take lots of fluid. Drinking at least six to eight glasses of water a day keeps the body ‘flushed’ and because weight loss depends on how the body eliminates body wastes, the body must stay hydrated.

All in all, discipline and consistency is still the best practice and the key to quick weight loss success. Light dieting, workout, and the right amount of supplementation applied in a regular way everyday will result in a faster weight loss than having a massive action campaign that is only followed by a return to your bad old ways, since this would only lead to gaining more weight than before the weight loss plan was started.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with our blog why can’t I lose weight? If you have an interest in losing weight, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight? Check here for free reprint licence: Losing Weight Fast.

Cooking: Five Tips On Cooking Food

May 21st, 2010

There can not be many individuals who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I expect that there are a few of them. However, for the remainder of us, cuisine is a font of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is frequently used to denote a celebration. not only that, but various foodstuffs are used for the various meals or distinct celebrations.

Festive meals were undoubtedly planned around the seasonal foodstuffs available, but a number of foods were ferried enormous distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my father deemed it a grand treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day sixty years back. How the times have altered! Very few kids would think an orange a present, special or not, any day of the year in our time.

Nevertheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and subsequently, I have written a few good tips on preserving food underneath, so that you will obtain the best from that which you have purchased or grown in your garden even a long while later.

Chicken Stuffed With Spoons: a great way of preparing chicken to be eaten at a cold buffet or in sandwiches, is to put as many spoons as possible into the cavity of the chicken (not silver or plated ones though). Then, place the chicken in a large saucepan or pot and bring the water to the boil slowly. Simmer for 10 minutes, cover and leave until the water is room temperature. The spoons will retain the heat and cook the chicken from the inside out. it will be one of the most succulent chickens you have ever eaten.

Roasted Crisp And Light: if you like crisp-skinned roasties, it is best to parboil them first, but that is only half the story. so, boil the potatoes for five minutes and drain thoroughly. Put the lid on the pan and shake it about violently. Bang it hard on the chopping block several times. The harder the better. Then put the parboiled potatoes in the baking tray with the meat or fowl to cook as you would normally.

Salad Soup: Do not throw away salad that has been soaked in salad dressing. Whisk it up in a food processor with a can of tomatoes of tinned soup. Add lots of garlic to taste and adjust the thickness to suit your taste. Chill it down and you will have one of the most delicious summer soups ever.

Curdling Cure: if your mayonnaise has curdled there is one sure fire way to bring it back to life. stir in a couple of tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and your problem will be over.

Simply Scrumptious Topping: a really, quick, delicious and almost infinitely variable topping for a savory pie can be made in seconds. Choose the flavour you want from the crisp rack; puncture the bag to let our the air and then crush the contents in the gag. it really adds something to a pie. The same trick can be used on the bottom of a potato pie a Texan housewife told me.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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Are Fasting and Fitness Compatible?

April 24th, 2010

A lot of people do not understand their bodies. That much is clear because they think that fasting will help them become fitter. They feel certain that their bodies will burn off their surplus fat and that they will lose weight as a result. They also seem to think that they will automatically end up with more muscle, just in the right places too. Some take up fasting for fitness because they believe that it will rid them of the toxins in their bodies.

Another belief that these fasters have is that they are will be able to flush out all of the toxins in their bodies by drinking plenty of water at the same time as not eating food. Even if this is true, it would be a long procedure that would mean that you would have to fast for at least five to seven days though in order to conclude the detox process, although it is still not clear scientifically whether fasting is the right approach for those that desire fitness.

There are many other routes to fitness that do work well though. For example, you can cut back the amount of food that you consume. Cutting back is not fasting, it is dieting and it is not only far more effectual, it is also far less difficult. This, combined with drinking plenty of water and increasing your amount of physical exercise will help you to become fitter.

If you drink a lot of soda like cola or lemonade, which are full of sugar, like a lot of kids do, or lots of cups of sugared tea or coffee, like a lot of adults do, then just exchanging those drinks with water or weak tea will help you lose weight quite quickly even if you do not make any other alterations to your diet or your amount of exercise.

It is also possible to damage your body if you embark on a strenuous exercise routine only relying on body fat to keep you going. Your body probably will not be able to deliver enough energy to fuel such a change, because your metabolism will be too low.

Someone going about it in this way, can become very weak and light headed. It is not a good idea to risk injury because you have not given your body all the fuel it requires to complete the tasks you are asking it to perform.

It is better to consult a doctor before you make any alterations to either your diet or your fitness routine. Confer with your doctor about your thoughts on fasting and fitness. They will be able to inform you whether they feel it is something you can try or whether it is just too risky.

Fasting is all right if you have do it for religious purposes, but do not attempt much physical exertion. Ask a Muslim how he or she feels during Ramadan! Fasting for long periods can lead to high blood pressure and even liver damage. So, be very wary before attempting to starve yourself fit, there are much better ways.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with losing weight quickly. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

What Are Fad Diets?

April 23rd, 2010

A fad diet is a fashionable diet plan that promises to help you lose weight usually in a relatively short time. A fad diet usually attracts a lot of media coverage, which then attracts a large number of overweight people to try it in order to get back in shape. Fad diets are often quickly discredited, but they keep raising their head from time to time.

The grapefruit diet was or is an example of a fad diet. People wanted to accept as true that you could lose weight just by eating. The food in this instance was grapefruits, but there is also a cabbage diet. The trouble with these fad diets is that their slimming effect is only temporary, because you cannot eat no more than cabbage or grapefruit for the rest of your life, so the weight comes back as soon as you go back to normal.

‘If you always do what you always done, you will always get what you always got’ is a true axiom. But what is worse is that a lot of of these diets can be harmful to your health.

However, do not think that fad diets are a new phenomenon. Fad diets or fad medicines have an ancient history going back to fake witch doctors, medicine men and quack doctors who doubled as barbers! Fad practitioners have a long and scandalous history and they are still alive and doing very well, thank you very much, today.

These days, medicine is too tightly regulated for them, so they have turned their attention to susceptible, despondent dieters. Most of those that take up a fad diet are overweight teens longing to look like their favourite film star.

Fad diets usually concentrate on reducing or completely cutting out carbohydrates. It is the low intake of carbohydrates that brings about the rapid loss of weight. In fact, this rapid loss is due to the quick loss of water that these low-carb diets stimulate. Much of the fat might still be there, so that when you stop the diet, your body regains its normal amount of water and the lost weight is put back on just as fast as it was discarded.

In the normal course of events, carbohydrates are the source of energy for work and activity, but with these fad diets, the carbs are no longer there, so the body starts to break down its store of fat. This may appear advantageous but it is not necessarily so. The ketones resulting from the breakdown of fat are excreted via urine and often increased quantities of urine, which can cause dehydration. People with certain medical conditions have to be very cautious too; diabetics, for example.

Fad diets are popular, but they can be very detrimental to your body and when they do not have the desired result in the long-term, it can be very depressing leading to comfort eating. This is why many people begin a fad diet, lose weight and are radiant for a month or two, but then slip back when they are approaching their ideal weight. They go back to their old ways and the weight begins to come back. They become depressed, certain that they will never be able to lose weight; they comfort eat some more, maybe giving up any hope of regaining a normal weight permanently.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with lose weight fast and safe. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

How To Get Natural Weight Loss To Kick In

April 15th, 2010

The most renowned or notorious country in the world for overweight and obese people is the United States of America. Unfortunately, it has become one of the things that tourists first mention, when they get back from a holiday in the USA.

For example, my father was a Second World War teenager and had always wanted to go to America. It was the first thing he did when he retired. Three months going wherever he could think of by bus and when he came back he was full of tales about whom he had met and what he had seen. but he could not hide his astonishment about how many really fat people there were there.

I believe the organizations who say that this is largely to do with Americans’ love of hamburgers, pizzas and doughnuts; foodstuffs that have only recently become popular in Europe. Great Britain was the first country to follow the American way, as you would imagine, because it was easier for the advertisers, both countries speaking English.

Sure enough, Britons are becoming obese at an disturbing rate too. Those adverts and trends are also visible in mainland Europe, but at least there are enough warnings now. Anybody who falls for into the junk food trap these days, only has himself to blame. We have been warned.

I now travel a lot in Asia and it is a crying shame to see rehashes of old adverts promoting junk food. For example, Thai food is one of the best in the world, yet Knorr is trying to persuade family cooks that they do not have time to prepare sauces or soups; that they should tip the salty contents of one of their boxes into boiling water and that nobody would know.

I can assure you that they would know where I live. However, firms like Knorr know, that if they can sabotage one generation then they have won. Likewise with McDonald’s, get one generation of parents to take their children there every week and it becomes a family tradition. Bang! They are in!

I saw it happen in the UK and it is so hard to see it happening in Asia too.

If you want to know the secret of losing weight naturally, I will tell you. The best of all methods is to only eat food that you have prepared yourself. There you are, easy! Or at least easily said. We can moderate that rule if necessary, to include food that has been prepared by people with your interests at heart, people who love you. You can also include good quality restaurants, but that is just about the limit.

Do not eat potato crisps or chips, shop-bought biscuits, cakes, pies, pasties, hamburgers or sandwiches. If you yearn for that stuff, then get up and cook it yourself! This is how to lose weight naturally. It is called eating well and people used to do it naturally because in those days, there were no fast food stores and people took home made sandwiches and salads to work or school.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with how to lose weight online. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

Disappointment and Rapid Weight

April 13th, 2010

It is a good idea to set yourself targets, if you want to reach a goal. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this. For example, if you are a size 14 and you spend a fair bit of money on some gorgeous size 8 dresses as motivation, you will probably feel quite cheesed off if you are not wearing them a month later.

It is not a good idea to make yourself feel awful, so the right way to have done this would have been to set smaller, more easily attainable, less expensive goals. A consequence of disappointing yourself like that could be depression or / and desperation and desperation to meet your targets can lead to stupid decisions.

Foolish decisions like following a fad diet, because it promises you rapid weight loss. There is no such thing as sustainable rapid weight loss without a change of lifestyle. Yes, you can go for surgery and have lumps cut off yourself or you can pump yourself full of diuretics and squeeze the water out of yourself, but the weight will come back, unless you change the way you live.

Any diet that promises rapid weight loss without recommending a healthier, more active lifestyle is doubtful. Many of these kinds of diet are fad diets. The organizers of these diets are only interested in selling you magic potion drinks or powders as meal substitutes. I have even seen one company selling magnetic earrings which were ‘guaranteed’ to make you lose weight, if you dieted and did more exercise!

Of course you will lose weight if you diet and exercise, but carrying the earrings around with you is not helping. It just adds to the depression when you read in the newspaper that the guru you have been following is outed as a charlatan.

Here are a few tell-tale signs to help you spot a phony diet:

Any diet that requires you to miss meals should start red lights flashing. If you stop eating, you are reducing the number of calories you are eating, so you can expect to lose weight. That is not rocket science. You do not need to pay for advice like that.

However, this approach does not necessarily work either. If you skip a meal, your blood/sugar levels will drop and that has different consequences for different people, but none of them are advantageous. It will also increase the likelihood that you will overeat at the next meal. It would be better to eat a salad, an apple or a banana instead.

Any weight loss program that says you can lose weight without exercising or without dieting is definitely iffy too, because exercise is essential for good blood circulation and metabolism, which are vital to your losing weight and living healthily.

However, exercise alone will not guarantee good health, you have to diet too. In this context ‘dieting’ just means eating healthily.

You do not have to wear anything special to lose weight either. Electric vibrating belts, magnetic earrings, sweat-inducing cummerbunds and the like, do not work. Full stop. They do not work and in a similar vein, powder and liquid substitutes are not worth it either. Get a liquidizer and make your own or just eat properly.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with losing weight quicklys. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

Weight Loss And Bowling

April 11th, 2010

Bowling is a sport that can become quite emotional and because of that, it can also be used to relieve stress and tension. It is a good way to let off steam for people who lead a stressful life and have a high pressured job. Aside from these benefits, bowling can be a useful component in your weight loss program.

After all, you get to move a lot of your body muscles in bowling. It keeps you physically active, so you burn calories as well. Therefore, not only are you getting some physical activity, but you will be getting rid of some excess fat too. It will help keep your back, leg and arm joints supple, particularly if you are over 50.

If you take part in this sport, you will be almost assured to keep your physique in top condition. Depending on how much weight you need to lose and how frequently you play bowls, you may be able to give up your other weight control exercises.

That would suit most dieters as it is the exercising that bothers most people. It would also save you money as you will not have to pay to use a fitness center and buy work out clothes and track suits. The best thing to do would probably be to join a neighborhood team. These teams usually have local competitions, so you might be required to play twice a week.

The weight control advantages of bowling fall into the following categories.

Light muscle toning is achieved by normal bowling actions like walking, bending and swinging your arm in order to roll the ball. This is just like when you exercise by walking, which is one of the best physical exercises. Bending and swinging your arm to bowl is also good for your joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Moreover, it also promotes good blood circulation. So, overall, bowling is a fun way of exercising and losing weight in the process.

Mild fat burning will be achieved by the actions of walking, flexing, stretching, and swinging. If you play often you will be losing weight on a regular basis too. It can be extended by walking to and from the venue of parking your car half a mile away from the club. Walk up and down any stairs involved, do not take the lift

Melancholy can be avoided by mixing with your friends and fellow team members. Many dieters do become depressed when dieting. This can be for numerous reasons. Your weight loss might be slower than you hoped for or it could be chemical. A sudden drop in calories could leave you feeling down.

Bowling can assist here by helping you build friendships. You get to create good social relationships, which are known to promote better heart performance and good heart performance is a good match with weight loss or control.

So, you see, bowling is not just a great, fun game, it also helps build strength and helps you expend energy, which means calories, and gives you some exercise that you would not otherwise have had.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with how to lose weight online. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?