The Nutritional Benefits of Cabbage

The nutritional benefits of cabbage are instrumental especially for people that have diabetes as well as dealing with a weight problem. Cabbage is known to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and assist in weight loss along with many other leafy green vegetables, some of which include spinach and broccoli.
Studies have shown that a person that includes more than one serve per day of leafy green vegetables into their diet can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 15%.

Cabbage contains a rich source of vitamin C, which reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; cabbage is also very low in calories and high in fibre, which in turn helps promote weight loss. Red cabbage has a natural pigment that can boost insulin production and is rich in anthocyanins. Be aware that sauerkrauts are high in sodium, but the fermentation of this cabbage has higher levels of anti-cancer compounds.

The nutritional benefits of cabbage are tremendous for all of us, but can be very helpful for people that have diabetes.

Following is a recipe that can be incorporated into your diabetes diet:

Sliced Apples with Red Cabbage
Ingredients:
1 apple cored and sliced
4 cups of red cabbage, finely sliced
1 small onion diced
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 chicken cube stock crushed
teaspoon of allspice
Sprinkle of pepper
cup of water
2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Method:
Combine all the ingredients except for the water and brown sugar into a saucepan, mix and then add the water. Cover and simmer for around 20 minutes or until the cabbage is tender, finally stir in the brown sugar until completely combined.

The other nutritional benefits of cabbage is that it has the capability to lower blood sugar levels which is one of the main objectives when you have diabetes.

A study conducted in women found that those that included cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli in their diet actually had a 45% lower breast cancer risk than women who did not include these in their diet.
If you need to lower the GI of a meal that you wish to prepare, simply combine cabbage with vinegar.

Cabbage is one of the best medicinal vegetables you can include in your diet. The remarkable medicinal compounds contained within cabbage, as we know heals cancer, however, it is also known to be a wonderful natural remedy for stomach ulcers.

The nutritional benefits of cabbage is recommended for diabetics and buy eating a handful of raw cabbage each day, adding cabbage to your salads, or by drinking a cup of cabbage juice will definitely help you to achieve good health and general well-being.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/S_Kennedy/187152

Healthy Foods Recommended For Losing Weight

When you have a few extra pounds and want to shed them fast and easily, you must think about a healthy eating plan. This does not have to be some crash diet, eat only salads type of eating plan. It is rather a change of lifestyle, choosing better foods that contain more nutrients. Your healthy foods can be from any group and are all needed for fast weight loss results. Below you will find some of the foods recommended by professionals.

Fruits
We all know that fruits are healthy, and we all admit that we don't eat enough of them. Well, if you are serious about losing weight, then you should make a plan to eat lots of fruit. You can make fruit salads for breakfast and snack on fruits instead of chocolates and crisps. Fruit helps the body to function better. They provide fiber and nutrients and also contain fructose which is better for you than other sugars.

Low Glycemic Index Foods
Carbohydrates provide energy, and therefore are imperative to your weight loss success. The amount you need will depend on how much you exercise. These should be low GI carbohydrates though, low glycemic foods. Low GI (meaning glycemic index) ratings measure the rate at which the energy is released. The slower this happens, the better, as you will be full for longer and not eat as much.

Lean Protein
Proteins are also very important as they help to build muscles and work in conjunction with the carbohydrates. You must make sure that you eat only lean proteins though. This means that you should stick to fish and chicken where possible, but if you want red meat, eat the leanest cut possible. You can also choose protein rich foods like eggs and nuts.

The Super Food Options
Super foods are those that have fundamental properties regarding health like improved weight loss, prevention of diseases, and more. These super foods have been found all over the world and ones that have been recently introduced to society include mangosteen, acai berries, pomegranates, aloe and green tea.

Nutritional Content
This is very important when making healthy food choices. You should check the nutritional contents of all foods to see how much they are giving you vitamin and mineral wise. Some of the best nutritional foods include red peppers, yellow peppers, chilies, broccoli, strawberries, carrots, grapes, apples, and kiwi fruit among others.

Eating Healthy Foods is Not Boring
Most people think that eating healthy foods is boring because you are limited in what you can make. This is most untrue. You have a huge variety of choices with all the healthy foods that exist. You just have to search for some recipes to learn some secret traits. One such secret involves using plain yoghurt instead of cream in sauces.

For healthy foods that you can enjoy and actually use for life, you should try some of those above. You can also find more of your own and create delicious meals every day that are hearty and tasty, and without any guilt.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/James_Zane_Johnson/348246

Perfectly Flavored Slow Cooker Recipes

Because the process of slow cooking enhances the flavor of any ingredients you use, adding other flavors to crockpot recipes is slightly different than seasoning dishes on the stove or in the oven.

If you are using another cooking method, the recipe will often advise you to use fresh herbs, or dried herbs if you are unable to get fresh ones. With slow cooker recipes, the opposite is true. Dried herbs suit the long cooking process better than dried ones.

The moistness inside a slow cooker does not do much for fresh herbs except wilt them, so use dried herbs when you can, for the best flavor. If you have fresh herbs and you want to use them, add them just twenty or thirty minutes before the end of the cooking time. If you want to use bay leaves, you will find that one big one or two small ones is sufficient.

Extracts such as vanilla, rosewater, almond and orange flower can be added to crockpot recipes. These are delicately flavored and you will only need a drop or two, since the slow cooking will boost their flavor.

Adding Prepared Sauces to Crockpot Meals
Prepared sauces and pastes are handy to use in many recipes, including recipes for the slow cooker. It is important to realize that the long slow cooking process can make potent sauces stronger, so do not add too much if you are using something like a spicy curry paste or chili in adobo. The finished meal might turn out much hotter than you had planned on!

Ketchup and Worcestershire sauce are good to add to beef-based stew recipes. Anchovy, oyster and fish sauces are good for fish dishes and hoisin sauce or soy sauce are good with Asian crockpot recipes.

Take Care When Slow Cooking with Alcohol
Using alcohol in crockpot recipes is not the same as using it in non-slow cooker recipes. Because the liquid in a crockpot does not evaporate, neither will the alcohol, so you do not need to add very much.
Try wine, beer or cider with meat. Sweet liqueurs or rum can complement slow cooker dessert recipes but again do not add too much, else you might overpower the other flavors in the dessert. If you ruin a dish on the stove you can throw it away and start again but ruining a slow cooker recipe which has been cooking for ten hours can be very frustrating!

Spicing Things Up
Most spices should be added at the beginning of the cooking time but some get bitter if you overcook them, such as chilies. You can add these about halfway through the cooking time.
Ground spices are best for non-crockpot recipes and whole spices are best for slow cooker recipes because the slow cooking process gives them time to cook and release their delicious flavors. You can use a pre-made spice mix to save time. Good spices for crockpot cooking include peppercorns, coriander, cumin and whole cinnamon sticks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christine_Szalay-Kudra/414787

Using Food Blogs For Crockpot Recipe Inspiration

The internet is full of recipe search engines, recipe websites and food blogs, making it is easy to while away a pleasant afternoon browsing them. You can learn new recipes, discover new combinations of herbs and spices to use with your favorite meat and fish, or drool over colorful food photos.

Actually, food blogs can be a real inspiration if you are stuck in a rut when it comes to preparing dinner. If you tend to make the same dishes over and over, you might need a few new ideas, not just to give yourself a fresh challenge in the kitchen but so you can make something new and tasty for your family.

Why Crockpot Recipes are Popular Again
If you regularly read food blogs or use recipe search engines, you might have noticed that crockpot recipes are very much sought after. They were already popular in the middle of the last century of course but then seemed to become less so over the next few decades. These days slow cookers really are back in vogue. This is mainly because the modern lifestyle demands it.

With both parents out working all day, it can be difficult to make good quality meals. If mom and dad both get home at five or six in the evening, after a long day at work, the thought of having to make dinner from scratch can be a daunting one. This is one of the main reasons that crockpot cooking is taking off again in a big way. Throwing some ingredients into the crockpot in the morning and leaving the meal to cook to perfection by itself is very tempting.

Getting home to a hot meal which is all ready to eat is wonderful. That is why crockpots were all the rage when they were launched and why they are enjoying a renewed popularity now.

Modern slow cookers have come a long way since half a century ago. There is even a "smart pot" now, which is the new, improved crockpot. This is a programmable crockpot which has more temperature settings, better features and improved reliability. Slow cooking has always been a timesaver but with this new wave of crockpots and smartpots you can do even more.

Food Blogs with Crockpot Recipes
There are various types of food blogs. Some detail restaurants, recommending them and showing photos of restaurant meals. Others have recipes on with corresponding photos of the delicious food you can make if you follow the recipes.

There are hundreds of food blogs featuring slow cooker recipes. If you have an old crockpot you can use it to make some of the newest and most exciting crockpot recipes. If not, why not invest in a slow cooker or even a "smart pot", so you can make some easy slow cooker recipes to impress your family?

Remember that food blogs are written in the voice of the blog owner. That means you might not necessarily agree with everything he or she has to say. Rather than believe everything you read on food blogs, why not adapt the recipes? This means reading the recipes and adjusting them. Use the basic idea but tweak the ingredients and seasonings to come up with a new and delicious slow cooker recipe of your own.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christine_Szalay_Kudra/73485

Quick and Simple Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

Chicken Teriyaki is one of the signature dishes of Japanese cuisine and is one of the most popular dish ordered in Japanese restaurants in all parts of the word. Teriyaki is actually a glaze which is applied to the meat just before it is grilled. Traditional the teriyaki sauce is a combination of Soy Sauce, Sake and Mirin. Check out the simple Chicken Teriyaki Recipe that you could try out at home.

Make sure that you have all these ingredients ready in your kitchen so that this could make the cooking process much easier and faster.

Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves (about 10 ounces)

Directions for making delicious Chicken Teriyaki

• Take a mid-size bowl and mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, ginger, garlic powder and black pepper together
• You will then need to slice the chicken into strips. You can then add the chicken to the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for atleast 2-3 hours so the flavours can penetrate the chicken. If you don't have that much time you could also consider marinating the chicken for a shorter time period - say about 15-30 minutes, but then it will not be as delicious as the one prepared with a longer marination period.
• Preheat the broiler. Make sure the top oven rack is in the highest position, just under the broiling unit.
• If you have metal or bamboo skewers, thread the chicken strips onto the skewers and lay the skewers on a baking sheet. If you don't have skewers, place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet. Discard the marinade.
• Broil the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until it is completely white and is just beginning to turn brown. Skewers make the turning-over process go faster.
• Serve immediately.

The beauty of this dish is in the delicate and distinct flavour of the sauce and the way it blends with the chicken. Teriyaki Sauce is definitely one of the most loved contributions of Japanese cuisine and it sure is on the top of my list whenever I think of Japanese food. As with most such food though, the key is in the marination. The longer you marinate, the better will be the absorption of the flavours by the meat. If you are short on time then you can perhaps shorten the marination time, but then you might have to compromise a little on the taste.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dick_Ransome/477110

Tips On Cooking Chicken Breasts

Chicken breasts are possibly the planet's most liked meat and the reason for this is perhaps its soft texture and adaptable nature that allows it to suit lots of cooking techniques. Its unproblematic to incorporate chicken-breasts into more or less all dishes - one can bake, grill, fry or boil them with ease.

The flexible character of chicken breasts enables it to be used easily in almost all recipes - be it quick & easy or exotic and complex recipe. However you must know that if you don't remove the skin then the chicken is twice as fatty and therefore it's ideal to remove the skin before you commence cooking. It's also an actuality that lean chicken is more nutritious because it has lots of Vitamin A and Vitamin E aside from possessing lesser cholesterol and fat.
Tips on cooking chicken breasts:

1. Chicken or in general any meat must ideally be heated to a temperature of 165 deg since this assists in removing any all the bacteria and makes the chicken pieces devoid of food transmitted disease.

2. If stored in warm places the taste and odor gets worse and can even result in spoiling the meat, so stack it in the coldest section of your refrigerator and this applies to both the cooked & marinated chicken.

3. Uncooked chicken should be dealt carefully and you should not hold other food items while you are in contact with raw chicken. When you are through, clean your palms thoroughly.

4. Soft & moist breast pieces taste best, but cooking them for too long can make them hard and dry.

5. If you utilize moist mode cooking, do so with low heat and cook for longer periods. In case you like roasting, sauteing, baking or grilling then do so under high flame for short intervals. Grilling ought not be done for more than 20 minutes and the pieces ought to be frequently turned all through that time to stay away from burning them.

6. Here is a small secret. If you like the pieces really soft and juicy then dip them in salt water solution for close to 45 minutes prior to cooking.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Romika_Maitra/805140

Pine Tar Soap Recipe

Pine tar is used on horse's hooves to help with cracks and other injuries or problems, but is very good for soothing eczema, psoriasis, dander and other skin problems on humans. You can buy pine tar at any feed and seed store. It is kept on the isle where salve and other ointments are kept and is in a metal jar. The pine tar can be very thick, but if so open the lid and place the can in the top part of a double boiler. Let heat until the pine tar is thin enough to pour. Keep the water level low enough so that it does not boil into the pine tar.

You can add pine tar to any favorite soap recipe you make. Add as much or as little as you'd like, I'd personally not add more than ½ the jar for a 7 1/2lb soap recipe, but it's up to you. I wouldn't add any fragrance as the pine tar has a very strong scent and would overpower most fragrances anyway.

The recipe I have supplied is a very simple recipe that anyone can make using oils and shortening bought from the store. You can substitute the oils for any you'd rather use, just make sure to run through a lye calculator to ensure that the lye content is still correct for the modified recipe.

I measure everything in lbs on my kitchen scale.
This recipe will make 7 ½ lbs.
Equipment needed:
Rubber gloves (not necessary, but a precaution)
Goggles (not necessary, but a precaution)
1 stainless steel soup pot (medium size will do)
Wooden spoons
Spatula
Candy thermometer
Kitchen scale
Heavy duty plastic pitcher or tempered glass 8-cup measuring cup
Mold
Ingredients:
3 lb all vegetable shortening (store)
1 lb coconut oil (store, generally Wal-mart carries)
1 1/2 lb olive oil (store)
2 lb distilled water
¾ lb lye (100% lye) can be bought at Ace hardware
4 oz pine tar (Feed and seed store)

Using the pitcher or tempered measuring cup, fill with the measured amount of distilled water and then carefully pour the lye into the water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the lye is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Using the soup pot add measured shortening and oils. On low heat melt the shortening and oils together stirring with another wooden spoon until completely melted. Remove from heat.

You will need to check the temperatures of the lye water and oils every few minutes until they have both cooled down to 100-105.

When the lye water and oils have cooled down to around 100-105 degrees (use candy thermometer) slowly stir the lye water into the oils with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until well mixed, about 5 minutes.

Add the pine tar and continue to stir. Remember the pine tar will speed up the tracing from 0-60 in just a couple seconds. Stir well to incorporate the pine tar into the soap mixture. When the soap mixture is at a thick trace quit stirring and pour into your mold, using the spatula to get all the soap out of the pot. Insulate the mold. Let set 24 hours. You can then remove the soap slab from the mold and cut into bars. This recipe can make 30-soap bars depending on the size of your mold. Let cure for no less than 2 weeks before using.
Re-batching soap to make Pine Tar soap.

What you will need:
Up to 15 regular bars of soap, but no less than 7
1 cup water for 15 bars or ½ cup water for 7 bars of soap
Crock-pot (regular to large size)
Knife
Water
Pine tar 4 oz for 15 bars, 2 oz for 7 bars
Lined mold
Spatula
Wooden spoons

If you don't have a mold then make one using the top from a copier paper box or similar box top. Take the box top and insert into a kitchen size trash bag. Smooth down the middle of the box and over the sides to make a nice neat liner.

Slice the soap bars into thin slices (about 8 slices per bar). Put these into the crock-pot and add the water based on the number of soap bars you are using (above). Cover and turn crock-pot on high for 1 hour. Stir the soap. Continue to stir every 30-minutes until the soap has melted down to the consistency of oatmeal. The soap will never be smooth like the original batch. When the soap has melted down to oatmeal consistency add the pine tar, again based on the amount of bars you have cut up. Stir real well so that the pine tar is completely incorporated into the soap mixture. Pour or spoon into the prepared mold. Let sit at least 24 hours before cutting into bars.

You do not need to let the soap cure for two weeks as the original soap was already cured, you just re-batched it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Loyce_Henderson/531607