December 27th, 2009
What the body considers a toxic substance can be one of two kinds — exotoxins (toxins that originate outside the body) or endotoxins (toxins that oringinate from within the body).
An exotoxin will be any one of tens of thousands of household, agricultural or industrial chemical substances that we’re exposed to on a fairly normal basis in our day-to-day life. To a certain point, we are able to restrict and limit our vulnerability to these types of toxic chemicals. The types of household products and produce we buy is one area of our lives where we can be in almost complete control. Increasingly more stores are offering high quality cleaning and personal care products that are free of toxins.
Endotoxins are less easy to control. Endotoxins are the by-products of our body’s natural metabolic processes. An endotoxin can be a bacterial waste product, anti-bodies our body makes to stave off a contagion, any of the many hormones in our body and cellular material whose constituents need to be eliminated.
Most of us who live in modern-day societies today meet an increasing amount of toxic overload. While our body is equipped to perform the detoxification and elimination of endotoxins, the body is more and more unable to deal with the rising quantity of exotoxins that we consume through our air, food, beverages, household products and personal care products.
Despite our most avid attempt to avoid environmental toxins, our power to do so is very challenging. The truth is, we are simply exposed to an overwhelming number and diversity of toxic chemicals that are totally foreign, if not actually damaging, to the body. Unsophisticated ways we can trim our exposure to toxins is to purchase natural health care and cleaning products, and to always purchase organic produce when available.
As well as minimizing our exposure to dietary and environmental toxins, we can do a lot toward assisting the body’s normal detoxification processes. Doing a monthly body detox program will cleanse your body and significantly curtail the physiological burden on your body that toxicity causes.
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December 10th, 2009
Those shiny, velvety chocolates that you love? They don’t get those fine qualities without tempering, the ultimate crucial step in making commercial-grade chocolate confectioneries. It’s a process that involves melting and cooling the three types of chocolates at particular temperatures.
Tempering chocolates is an important part of your production if you’re making chocolate candies for profit. Non-tempered chocolate, or one that has lost temper, has white streaks on the surface, gritty, crumbly and has a matte finish. Your market will automatically think “substandard” when they see these on your chocolates.
If you’re a small-scale chocolatier then you procure your chocolates from big manufacturers; they temper chocolates before they sell them. The thing is, as soon as you melt the chocolate for shaping and dipping, the chocolate loses its temper and thus becomes susceptible to a “substandard” appearance.
What makes tempering tedious, at least when you opt not to use a chocolate tempering machine, is that you have to monitor temperatures at all times. This is genuine chocolate confectioneries have cocoa butter, which has fatty acids that takes on six different crystal shapes at six different temperatures. Tempering helps to direct the crystallization process to make as many Type V crystals as possible. The Type V crystal is the one responsible for the texture, luster and longer storage for chocolates.
And without a chocolate tempering machine to automate regulating temperatures, chocolate becomes susceptible to changes in temperature. When this happens, you’ll have to temper chocolates again. Tempering by hand involves a lot of jockeying work between maintaining tempers, keeping proper temperatures, and working on your chocolates.
Artisanal chocolatiers temper manually in two ways: the marble-slab technique or the “seeding” method. As its name implies, you work melted chocolate on a marble-slab as it absorbs the heat from the chocolate gently. In “seeding” the crystal structure in the already-tempered chocolates will “lead” the loose crystals in bonding to produce as many Type Vs as possible.
Chocolate tempering machines are possibly the best investment you can make if you’re into chocolate candy making seriously. It makes keeping an eye on tempering temperatures a cinchwhich is the most important aspect in tempering.
Mainly, these countertop tempering appliances will ensure you have the same quality of confectioneries every production time. Moreover, manual tempering is also impacted by such other production aspects as heat and moisture in your production area and in your equipment, the reliability of your thermometers, and your ability to maintain focus despite a divided attention.
The secret behind chocolate tempering machines is their automation of the tempering sequence of melting, cooling and sustaining temperatures at proper levels. All you have to do is push buttons as the tempering machine comes with a microchip which dictates tempering temperatures, which will ultimately snowball into better products, more output, and increased profits.
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November 6th, 2009
The human body has the capacity to considerably exceed its limitations when there is a demand. As an “addict” if you eat chocolates, the regulatory hormone of gastric functions, serotonin, is released. Any excess of this hormone is used by the brain out of physiological necessity to control your appetites, moods, angers, excitement and energy.
Scientists do not concede that this habit is an “addiction”. They say you surrender to this habit due to the stimulation chocolate effects on your senses and this results in mood changes. Now you can buttress your desire to eat chocolates as it’s now easy to make them right at home. But your learning process starts with knowing the following:
- Cocoa beans, ground and roasted, will make available to you cocoa liquor and from cocoa liquor, you extract cocoa butter, the main ingredient of chocolates. The texture and flavor of the chocolates are the handiwork of cocoa butter.
- The unsweetened and hard chocolate you get after the cooling and molding is finished, is known as baking chocolate.
- Couverture, which contains 35% cocoa butter, gives the attractive shine to chocolate candies and truffles.
- The cocoa powder used for preparing instant chocolate drinks is produced by dehydrating chocolate liquor that had all the cocoa butter extracted.
- 35% of chocolate liquor is present in dark or bitter chocolates.
- If you intend to produce semi-sweet chocolate, you should add appropriate amount of sugar to chocolate liquor of 15% strength.
- Attractive chocolate candy bars are usually made with milk chocolate, which contains chocolate liquor, sugar and milk.
- Though chocolates do not originally occur with shine and smoothness, you can impart these qualities by tempering, which also enhances the shelf life of chocolates.
Planning is an important step in anything so that matters do not drift out of control. Therefore, plan to acquire items like a double boiler, a mixing bowl, candy molds or baking sheet and a spatula or spoon, as well as purchase the main ingredient, white or dark chocolate, before starting chocolate candy making.
Chocolate candy making starts by melting the chocolate bars in the double boiler, while you continue to stir it with a spatula or a wooden spoon while it’s being heated. Then you use a baking sheet or the candy molds or a freezer to set the melted chocolate. Fruit-filled candies can be had by enrobing fruits with the still-liquid chocolate. Make sure there are no air bubbles present.
If you skip the tempering process, there will be blotches or crystal formations; the crystals in the chocolate will be unevenly distributed; and the chocolates may lack luster and shine. Maintaining specific chocolate temperatures during melting is important to keep the chocolates tempered; but if you want to avoid this, you may opt to invest in a countertop tempering machine. “Addicts” are a good market for your handmade chocolates. Imagine the revenues if you can turn your “addiction” into a money-making proposition.
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September 21st, 2009
If you want to experience a culinary masterpiece, a visit to Takumi is a must. This Melbourne Japanese restaurant is the best of its kind. Not only is the food top notch, but the design of the restaurant creates a relaxing and enjoyable ambience.
Being the only Japanese restaurant in Melbourne that offers Wagyu beef, you can rest assure that it will be great. Wagyu is a premium grade cut of beef that is second to none. It is tender and juicy it melts in your mouth. . The Wagyu beef burger, grilled and marinated with Sukiyaki sauce is a popular choice among lunchtime customers. Personally, I recommend ordering the Wagyu Yakiniku Lunch Set. The beef is served raw and is cooked on a smokeless grill. Accompanied by veggies and a complimentary glass of beer or wine. Not only does this taste delicious, but being able cook it yourself adds an added touch of magic.
This Japanese restaurant may specialize in Wagyu beef, but that is not the only tasty delicacy it has to offer. A bento box is also a fun way to enjoy your lunch. Takumi offers a few options on the main entree for the bento box. A common Japanese entree is Gyoza. These pan fried dumplings are extremely good and addictive. I promise you cannot eat just one. If you like something different, give the Unagi bento Box a try. Unagi is smoked grilled eel and is a very popular and delicious Japanese restaurant dish.
The decoration and lighting of the restaurant has a very zen-like feel. It is relaxing and tantalising which makes you feel like you are right at home. The sleek tan chairs and subtle ornaments have a tranquillizing affect and lets you to feel like you are having a quiet meal at home, even though you are in the presence of other patrons.
Overall, Takumi is a fantastic Japanese restaurant. From their delicious menu offerings, to the many different Sake choices, this Melbourne Japanese restaurant is number one in my book.
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September 18th, 2009
Looking for a holiday destination that is truly breathtaking? Fancy someplace with a beach and sailing opportunities, plus the cuisine and ambience of a metropolitan city. A ideal vacation that has all of this is a trip to the French colony of New Caledonia, located between Australia and Fiji.
As New Caledonia is located further south than many of the other islands of the South Pacific, its climate benefits from southeast trade winds, plenty of sun, and balmy weather. If a sailing holiday is what you are thinking to have, New Caledonia is situated in a part of the Pacific that has the biggest coral lagoon in the globe. Sailing charters are freely available and with the help of the trade winds you can sail out of the capital city of Noumea along the coastal line, past the many small islands that dot the ocean around the New Caledonia. Other outdoor activities on the Island are scuba diving, snorkeling, horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking.
If you were thinking of a gourmet holiday, you can get everything you could want on New Caledonia. New Caledonia’s capital, Noumea, widely known as the Paris of the Pacific. Noumea boasts delicate gourmet French food and wine along with the other benefits of a active cosmopolitan town. The restaurants here are some of the best in the South Pacific. Colonized by France in 1853, New Caledonia has a distinct French influence when it comes to food.
There are lots of places to eat, ranging from sidewalk cafes to high-class bistros. French cuisine is easy to come by, but other selections include Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and African food. Seafood is a specialty of the Island, including spiny lobster, prawns, crab, and mangrove oysters. One of New Caledonia’s national dishes is Bougna, which is fish or chicken, mixed with sweet potatoes and bananas wrapped in banana leaves and then baked covered in sand on hot stones. For the adventurous traveler on a gourmet holiday, you can try out a dish favourite with the locals, bat stew.
New Caledonia is the vacation destination you want to be: a sailing holiday, a gourmet holiday, or a time to just relax by the beach.
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July 3rd, 2008
Wild Watercress soup is a delicious and nutritious recipe with the leaves available in spring and early summer. Watercress is rich in Vitamins A and C, iron, iodine and phosphorus. Watercress has been used as part of a holistic response to cancer of the lungs, larynx, oesophagus, prostate, bladder, uterus, stomach and intestines. It can be used in the treatment of:
skin problems
bronchitis
winter colds or flu
liver or kidney fatigue
sinusitis
However there are dangers: watercress may cause cystitis in some people and its medicinal use is not advised for those who have a delicate stomach or suffer from acidosis or heartburn. Excessive or prolonged use may lead to kidney problems. Some doctors advise against its use during pregnancy. Wild watercress often grows in streams inhabited by water snails which carry liver fluke. There is also the possibility of bacterial infection. Eating wild watercress in a raw state is not advised for this reason. Cooking the leaves for a short period removes the dangers. Also make sure that the watercourse feeding the stream in which the watercress grows is free from industrial or agricultural pollution.
Ingredients for watercress soup: Pick the watercress from clean water areas by pinching out the tops of the plants. Uprooting them will destroy this resource for everyone. Gather a good handful for each person who will be sharing this delicious spring treat. Other ingredients for a soup for 4 people are:
2 large potatoes
generous knob of butter
dash of olive oil (to prevent butter burning)
stock cube (chicken or vegetable)
salt and freshly ground pepper
single cream
Instructions:
1. Cube the potatoes and cook them gently in the oil and butter until they are starting to soften
2. Add boiling water and dissolve the stock cube. Simmer for 10-15 minutes
3. Coarsely chop the watercress and add to the mix for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Liquidise and add in some single cream to taste. Add Salt and pepper to taste
5. Use some purchased raw watercress leaves and pepper to garnish
This nutritious soup is warming when hot and a refreshing summer soup when served cold. Watercress is part of the Nasturtium family whose peppery leaves are well known for their nutraceutical value. In addition to containing high vitamin C contents and antioxidant Beta-carotene, it contains vitamin E and is a natural antibiotic. It is sometimes used in complementary medicine to speed up the body’s detoxification processes.
Thanks to Dr A. Dracea, J. Lust, R. Phillips
From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe.
If you wish to republish this article (with this resource box intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/wildwatercresssoup.html
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May 27th, 2008
Wines are one of the most elegant of all drinks. Wine is not good unless it is served properly and chosen correctly. Did you know that there are hundreds of different choices? Did you know that you could make your own? Wine is a wonderful quality drink that can add a lot of flavor and elegance to a dinner party or to a simple dinner with a loved one.
Wines are available to all people over the age of 21 to consume. Do not forget that wines do have alcohol in them and therefore should be drunk in moderation. It is important that you never consume wine when taking medication as well. It can make you very sick.
But, back to the good stuff. Did you know that drinking a glass of wine a day can keep you healthy? It can and does. Think for a moment about the French. The foods they eat are rich and full of calories, yet it is Americans who have the most weight problems. Why do the French get to eat all that good food without gaining so much weight? It is because they drink wines religiously. Wine has some of the most powerful antioxidants in it. Antioxidants help to cleanse the body of harmful toxins. It can aid in digestion as well. So, in this area, wines can be quite healthy.
Wines can be purchased in a variety of flavors. It seems that everyone has their own preferences and choices. There are red and white wines. There are chardonnays and there are zinfandels. There are many options. In order to know which type you like, you are simply going to have to try several!
Wines are made around the world. In general, it is wise to purchase older wines that have aged. That is because as it ages, the flavors become bolder and fuller. If you have the time, patience and expense, you can actually make your own wines. It can be quite a learning experience! Adding wine to the diet can be a great way to add a lot of flavor and maybe even a little bit of health! Why not add wines to your diet?
Tim Jackson
Wines Directory
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April 28th, 2008
The best way to make tea has been a subject of great debate
for centuries. As a tea drinker of some 30 years experience
here is my contribution as to what makes the perfect cup of
tea.
1. Always use fresh water if possible. Spring water is best
due to its purity and lack of additives such as chlorine
and fluoride which can affect the taste. If you use tap
water then run the tap until the water is cold and fresh.
Good quality water is essential for the perfect cup of tea.
2. Preferably use a teapot made of china or earthenware.
Pots made of certain types of metal such as enamel silver
or copper can impart flavor to the water. Stainless steel
is okay.
3. Warm the pot beforehand with a little hot water.
4. Add at least one level teaspoon for each cup of water
that you are going to add. Adding loose tea to the pot is
the best way for the tea to infuse properly but many people
prefer to use a tea strainer or infusing basket for
convenience sake.
5. Pour boiling water directly onto the leaves and then
stir the water before placing lid back on the teapot.
6. Let the tea steep for between four and five minutes. If
using green tea three minutes is best.
7. Remove or strain the leaves to avoid overbrewing.
8. The cup that you drink out of can greatly affect the
taste of the tea so choose wisely. A good quality cup made
of china will definitely enhance the whole tea drinking
experience. Avoid wide shallow cups which cause the tea to
cool in next to no time.
9. Pour milk into the cup first. Ah, yes this is the step
that causes most controversy. Many an argument has been
had concerning whether or not it is best to add the milk to
the tea or vice versa. I have always preferred milk first
then tea but my husband argues that it is easier to
regulate the right amount of milk by adding milk
afterwards!
Now scientists have waded into the debate and the verdict
is clear. The UK Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)has warned
against the practice of adding milk to tea after it is
poured. It seems that dribbling a stream of milk into hot
water makes “denaturation of milk proteins” more likely.
And who would want that?! At high temperatures, milk
proteins - which are normally all curled up foetus-like,
begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This is what
happens in UHT [ultra heat-treated] milk, and is why it
doesn’t taste as good a fresh milk,” says Dr Andrew
Stapley, a chemical engineer at Loughborough University.
It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the bottom
of the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows the
milk to cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raise
the temperature of the milk.
So it is now settled. The milk or tea first debate is now
over! Umm, somehow I don’t think so!!
10. Lastly, drink tea without any sugar. I must admit to
being a reformed sugary tea drinker and you know what that
means. Yes, I am now passionately against putting sugar in
tea. As one who has sat on both sides of the fence I can
say that tea is so much better without sweetening. Sugar
only serves to mask the taste of the tea. Not only that too
much sugar is not good for you and why spoil what is now
being recognized as one of the world’s great health drinks
by adding sugar. When I stopped taking my two spoonfuls of
sugar in my tea it took me about three or four weeks to get
used to the new taste. However once I got used to it there
was no going back.
So there you have it - the perfect cup of tea!
Lorraine Bevere is the webmaster and operator of FOG
Tea which is a
premier source of information about tea. For questions or
comments about this article, please visit:
http://fogtea.com
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April 12th, 2008
Many people these days want to control their diets so they are eating low calorie foods, but low calorie foods that still taste great. The way to get low calorie foods that taste great is through light calorie cooking. There are a few tips to consider when embarking on light calorie cooking adventures where the calories are low but the taste is high.
Margarine As Opposed to Butter
When following recipes when preparing a meal, there are many recipes that now list a choice between using butter as an ingredient or margarine. By using margarine in the recipe instead of butter the cook cuts the caloric content significantly yet still keeps a good taste overall. It is very hard to tell the difference between margarine and butter that is used in cooked foods and since margarine is lower in calories it is a great substitute. So, the next time you are cooking and run across a choice between butter or margarine as an ingredient make the healthy and low calorie choice by using margarine. The taste will remain great and it won’t affect your waistline!
Splenda as Opposed to Sugar
Another great way in which to save on the caloric intake is to use Splenda in one’s recipes as opposed to sugar. Splenda consists of sucralose, which was approved for sale on the market in the late 1990s. Not only is this ingredient low in calories but it is great tasting as well. Splenda is also a wonderful ingredient to use in baked foods as it is heat stable and there is no real loss of the substance during cooking. For these reasons, Splenda is a great ingredient to use when cooking using those recipes which call for sugar. You won’t notice a difference, but you will enjoy great foods and beverages with considerably less calories!
These are two ways in which a calorie-conscious individual can make fantastic light calorie meals that are abundant in the taste department and easy on the waistline as well.
DivineRecipes.com features over 25,000 food and drink recipes including light cooking and vegetarian recipes. Visit www.DivineRecipes.com to start cooking tonight.
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March 31st, 2008
According to a Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital study of children in Philadelphia and Baltimore schools, students who usually ate school breakfast had better math grades, higher standardized test scores, decreased absences and tardiness, reduced hyperactivity and improved social relations in comparison to children who seldom ate school breakfast.
The word “breakfast” literally means to break fast. As we know, fasting is the act of not eating over a period of time. We
may not think of it this way, but we virtually fast while we sleep even if we dream about food. The act of eating breakfast is literally breaking the fast!
The National Weight Control Registry is a database of more than 3,000 people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for at least 6 years. Seventy eight percent of these people in the registry found that eating breakfast daily was an
excellent weight control strategy along with eating a low-fat diet and exercising for an hour or more every day.
Cereal is the number one food bought in supermarkets today. The first breakfast cereal was created in 1863 in New York by a vegetarian.
So What Is a Healthy Breakfast Anyway?
Is it pancakes slathered in maple syrup or green eggs and ham? Well, first and foremost, a healthy breakfast should be a
balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats. Fiber is also very important. The protein can come from meat, eggs, beans or soy
products. Fiber can be found in whole grain cereals, grains or in fruits. Sure, every once in a while you can treat yourself
to biscuits, pancakes or pastries for special occasions but on a daily basis, they should be avoided along with sugary
cereals and white breads. These foods will bring insanity to your blood sugar level, jolting you out of the Zone. Those
sorts of foods are digested quickly and will leave you hungry and tired in a just a couple of hours.
Research done by the Cardiff University School of Psychology, LED BY Professor Andrew Smith has shown that eating breakfast helps children function better in school than those who skip the first meal of the day. Dr. Smith says that it is
clear that starting the day with cereal enhances mental, cognitive and physical ability. The children are less emotionally distressed, less tired and less anxious. The study examined 213 children from 4 - 11 years old.
The results revealed children who start the day with cereal are:
9 percent more alert
11 percent less emotionally distressed
13 percent less tired
17 percent less anxious
10 percent less likely to suffer memory and attention span difficulties, than those that have no breakfast
33 percent less likely to suffer from stomach complaints.
Ryan Joseph is a writer/researcher. More Zone Diet information as well as Zone Diet products from Dr. Barry Sears can be found at http://www.nutritionzone.biz/products.html
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