When eating food with family and friends try not to eat unhealthy, high fat and high calorie foods. Food does not have to be tasteless neither when you eat with family and friends. Making a few small changes in your meal choice can make a huge difference.
You don’t have to avoid meat to eat healthier. Just make better choices when choosing meat. Meat is more leaner today than it has been in the past because of the fat trimming done by meatpackers or butchers. The best choices are beef that has been labeled round, loin, and extra lean. Cuts like tenderloin, sirloin, or top round qualify as lean and healthy according to the Wisconsin beef council. In addition to buying lean meats, there are some healthy ways you can cook meat as well; including baking, braising, broiling, grilling, roasting, and steaming. Use cooking spray instead of oil or butter while prepping and use nonstick pans. One way to decrease fat is to strain cooked ground beef, afterwards rinse it with hot water, and drain it very good before continuing to cook.

When we think of lean meat, we often think about chicken. Many times we turn the healthy chicken into something unhealthy such as fried chicken. Try avoiding fried chicken including chicken tenders, patties, and nuggets. Try baking, broiling, roasting, and steaming chicken instead. Remember to use cooking spray with a nonstick pan. Take note that the dark meat of poultry contains twice as much fat as the white meat of poultry. The skin of chicken contains a lot of fat. You can always remove the skin from chicken or buy skinless chicken. You can usually find skinless chicken breast in the grocery stores.
Eating lean turkey is a wonderful choice as well. When preparing turkey, cook the stuffing separately. By cooking the stuffing separately you will decrease the fat content because you will keep the stuffing from soaking up the fat from the turkey. Also use less margarine or butter when preparing the stuffing and skim fat from the gravy. You can use a gravy separator or refrigerate the gravy. Choose the light meat over the dark meat because light meat has less calories. You can give the dark meat to someone who wouldn’t mind the extra calories.
Instead of serving vegetable casseroles or cheese based vegetable meals, try serving steamed vegetables. You don’t have to add any fat to vegetables when you steam or microwave them. You can replace margarine with herbs, lemon juice, or vinegar. You can also replace oil, cheese, or butter with spices and herbs or imitation butter sprinkles for taste. When sautéing vegetables you can reduce the amount of oil and use flavored vinegar and broth as a replacement for oil.

When choosing bread choose whole grain. For example you can choose whole grain noodles, whole grain/wheat bread to make sandwiches, whole grain dinner rolls, whole grain breading for stuffing, whole grain hamburger buns and the list goes on and on. Refined/white bread is known to be high in calories and refined sugar than whole grain bread. The refined sugar is bad carbs. If you can’t resist white bread try eating a version with less calories.

Top photo credit: Turkey, preparing to be dried by rklau

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In text photo credit: Steaming Vegetables for lunch by Eyebee

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Ginseng is used in a very popular health drink in several Asian countries including China, Japan, and Korea. It has medicinal abilities and a distinctive taste. The Chinese term “jen-shen” which means in the image of man, is where the word ginseng came from. Ginseng is in reference to a group of herbs from the plant family Araliacae. The three main types of ginseng are American ginseng (panax quinquefolius), Oriental ginseng (Chinese or Korean), and Siberian ginseng (Eleutheroccus senticosis).

According to traditional Chinese medicine each type has their own distinctive benefits. Ginseng contains complicated mixtures of carbohydrate and nitrogenous compounds in addition to other important minerals and vitamins. Research has found ginsenosides compounds as the main active component in ginseng. Ginseng is very useful for respiratory tract disorders, improvement of blood circulation, and fever because it has a cooling effect. Research has shown that the active component in ginseng called ginsenosides is responsible for the health benefits of ginseng. Because of the health benefits ginseng possess people all over the world is using it as an alternative medicine.
People consume ginseng in many different ways. Some people consume it through a health beverage while others may consume it in a ginseng candy that is sold in a lot of health food stores and some may use ginseng in their tea. Throughout Asia people drink a ginseng health beverage. It is believed that ginseng assists with the following: helps prevent diabetes, increase stamina, detoxify poisons, decrease effects of alcohol intoxication, treat the flu, increase secretion of body fluids, decrease fatigue, help liver to regenerate, prevent coughing, prevent asthma, increase formation of red blood cells, helps get rid of anemia, prevent tuberculosis, treat infections, increase the strength of the gastrointestinal system, helps prevent neuroses, get rid of hangovers, and normalize pulmonary functions.

Ginseng is also used to increase mental and physical performance and fights mental and physical stress. Studies have shown that people who consumed ginseng supplements were able to overcome higher levels of physical and emotional complications. Regular consumption of ginseng can decrease the chances of developing cancers such as liver, lungs, and ovaries and can make you feel better and more alert. It may also improve memory. Some consumers of the ginseng health beverage may add gingko biloba, a healing ingredient.

Regular consumption of ginseng can treat impotence, improve sexual performance, and assist in increasing sperm production. Research shows that ginseng promotes the release of nitric oxide and improves blood flow to the penis, which improves sexual performance and pleasure. More research is still being done to learn more about ginseng effectiveness for medicinal purposes.

 

Top photo credit: Fresh ginseng roots by u m a m I

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In text photo credit: Korean Ginseng Drink [front] by robotbrainz

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Everyone is talking about the health benefits of white tea. There are several benefits of white tea and we will take a look at some of those benefits. First let’s explain what white tea is. White tea is made from the unripe tea leaves that are picked before the buds have opened fully on the plant. The name comes from the silver fuzz that covers the buds, this turns the tea white as it dries up. There are different varieties of white tea which depends on the amount of leaves to buds that is used in each mix. For example, the white peony has one bud for every two leaves in its mix. The silver needle, which is the best is made from only the down buds and are picked within two days during early spring. Now that we explained a little about white tea, it’s time to talk about some of the benefits a person can receive from using white tea.

Anti-Fungal Effect
Studies indicated that white tea has an anti-fungal effect on chrysogenum, penicillium, and saccharomyces cerervisiae. In the presence of white tea extract chrysogenum, penicillium, and saccharomyces cerervisiae were completely inactivated.
Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Viral Effects
Research conducted at pace university discovered that white tea extract may hinder the growth of bacteria that can cause streptococcus infections, staphylococcus infections, dental carries, and pneumonia. It was also discovered that white tea is more effective than green tea when it comes to inactivating bacterial viruses and it has an anti-viral effect on human pathogenic viruses.

Cell Damage Protection and Skin Cancer
Scientists have discovered that white tea extract can provide protection against the Langerhans cell destruction. Not only did the extract protected the skin after it was exposed to sunlight but also the immune system was restored as well. The DNA damage that happens to cells after sunlight exposure was limited also. The white tea extract anti-oxidant properties may be the reason for it being so effective. The extract may provide you with anti-aging benefits.
From reading the above information you now know three benefits of white tea that can help you live a happier and healthier life.

Top photo credit: white tea by Marntzu cook
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In text photo credit: White Tea by u m a m I
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In since U.S. food manufacturers have to now label the trans-fat content in their foods, some have decided to switch to healthier oils such as coconut and palm. This change is for the better. It will be wonderful if more and more food manufacturers do this as well.

There are some people that don’t know palm oil is a healthy saturated fat. Just like coconut oil, palm oil has been mistaken for being unhealthy for a long time. In actuality palm oil is a really healthy saturated fat. Both oils have been included in the diets of tropical people for thousands of years and helped people to stay healthy and lean for years. Just like coconut oil, palm oil is excellent for frying and baking. It is also very solid and stable at room temperature, therefore it do not need hydrogenation and does not have Trans fatty acids. Trans fat is bad for you, so you should avoid it. According to Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD, of the Weston A. Price Foundation, palm oil is a healthy and natural fat consisted of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.

After soy oil, palm oil is the second greatest utilized dietary oil in the world. It is healthier for the body than soy oil. Palm oil doesn’t come from the same palm tree as coconuts. In Africa a palm tree produces small fruits that contain the palm oil. In its original or unprocessed state palm oil is a reddish orange color and a rich source of carotenes and Vitamin E. For some people it can take a little time getting used to unprocessed palm oil because of its strong taste. When palm oil is processed it has the flavor removed and some it’s nutrients. Even if it’s processed it is still better for the body than canola or soy oil.
Switching to palm or coconut oil is better for you. Look for food products that contain non-hydrogenated palm or coconut oil or you can make your own healthy foods with these oils.

Top photo credit: Jukwa Village Palm Oil Production, Ghana by oneVillage Initiative
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In text photo credit: Jukwa Village Palm Oil Production, Ghana by oneVillage Initiative

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