Thursday, December 29, 2011

Baked Cod Fish Recipes Are Full of Nutrition

If you are looking for some delicious seafood recipes, you should probably start with baked cod. Cod is a flakey white fish this is packed with nutrients for the health conscious individual. These nutrients are recognized a good for the heart, blood and brain. It is also one of the most frequently seen fish in most restaurants across Europe and the United States.

Cod is a typical delicacy that comes from the icy waters of the North Atlantic regions and other frigid waters around Norway, Iceland and Canada. This icy water is what makes cod too good for you. They produce the type of fish oils that are known for being good for lowering cholesterol and other types of conditions. Recipes using this fish are going to be the best kind that you could feed your growing or otherwise grown family because it will lay down a foundation for a much healthier life.

You can take a look back into history and find that the Vikings spent a lot of time in the frigid waters that produce cod, and you can bet that they found them not only good for their bodies but filling to their stomachs as well. In fact, they consumed large quantities of cod on a daily basis. Their recipes were likely a bit different than the ones we know today. At times it is even certain that they ate this fish raw right from the water. It is also traditionally noted that fish was dried and then taken on journeys with them throughout the world.

These nomadic fishermen understood what it took to keep body and soul nourished, and today's recipes from that area of the world reflect that knowledge. However, it seems that in today's wild and wooly world, unlike that of yesterday, cod-fish are being threatened by too much harvesting. Restrictions are in place to help preserve this amazing food source for future generations.

What would we do when wishing to satisfy our needs for omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A and D if these wholesome fish were to disappear? We might have to miss out on this mildly flavored fish that has served previous generations so well. Baked cod-fish recipes are one of the most outstanding of all baking fish. Anyone who has ever taken the time to fully appreciate this delectable fish understands that there are many different recipes that can render this a delightful treat for the family.

All it takes is to have basic baked cod recipes and understanding of the way seasonings change the flavor for even the novice cook to turn out a wonderfully flavorful dish that is sure to have guests and family turning to you ask asking "more please." You are encouraged to play around with ingredients and make your own special recipes for this highly nutritional fish.

Isabella Black is the lead author and editor the newest blog from Food is Fenomenal. Locally offering fantastic recipes and easy shortcuts for over three years. Try out our milder tilapia recipes.
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Four Easy Ways to Add More Spinach to Your Diet

Spinach is nutritious, relatively inexpensive, and easy to prepare. Here are four easy ways to add more spinach to your diet.

Spinach can be used instead of lettuce for a more nutritious salad. Simply rinse the leaves with water and then tear with your hands into bite-size pieces. The flavor of spinach is complemented nicely with vinagrette dressings, dried cranberries, toasted almond slivers, sliced onions, bacon crumbles, soft cheeses like feta and goat, and even fruit such as mandarin oranges and strawberries. Spinach has more fiber and vitamins than lettuce, so you can feel good about eating your salad!

Another easy way to add spinach to your diet is to make a green smoothie. Making a smoothie is very easy if you have a blender, just add your fave ingredients and blend until smooth. Spinach pairs especially well with almond milk, regular milk, vanilla or greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, or ripe bananas. You can adjust the consistency of your smoothie by adding either ice cubes or more liquid. Smoothies are also a great place to add vitamin supplements like flavored protein powder or flax seeds, for an even greater nutritional impact.

The third easy way to add more spinach to your diet is to throw it in to dishes you are already making. If you buy the baby spinach that is already washed and bagged, then it literally adds no additional steps to your cooking. Try adding a thin layer of spinach in your lasagna, or putting chopped and cooked spinach into your potato soup to add flavor and nutrition to your homemade meals.

The fourth easy way to add more spinach to your diet is to cook it and eat it! To cook spinach, you can cover it with salted water and bring to a boil. After the water boils, remove the spinach from heat and let sit for five minutes. Strain the water out of the spinach and then season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of butter or vegetable oil. Spinach can be eaten as a meal with a slice of homemade cornbread or used as a delicious side item for another meal, such as meatloaf.

Now that you have four easy ways to add more spinach to your diet I hope you will consider adding this inexpensive, delicious, and highly nutritious food to your diet and that of your family. Enjoy and bon appetit!
Heather Boger loves to eat spinach, especially in her Simple Spinach Quiche. She blogs her simple recipes at thirtythreemom.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Boger

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Diet Trend You May Want to Consider - The Eat Clean Diet

One of the trendy diets that have gained some attention is the Eat-Clean Diet. The Eat-Clean Diet is "a lifestyle way of eating that allows you to eat more, weigh less, and become the healthiest you can be." We will look for the positives and negatives of this diet, and how it would fit with a proper diet for the average person trying to lose weight on a long-term basis.

This diet is rich in plant food, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, nonfat dairy and healthy organic fats. Their emphasis for good health and weight loss is 80% food, 10% exercise, and 10% genes. Cornerstones of the plan are regular exercise and a calorie-controlled diet high in fiber, with lean protein to satisfy hunger on fewer calories.

A nutritious breakfast with high fiber carbohydrates, lean protein and some healthy fat throughout the day will boost metabolism. Each meal during the day should be between 200-300 calories, a complex carbohydrate with protein should be part of every meal, and drink at least eight cups of water daily. Add weight training and physical activity a minimum three days a week for about 30 minutes, and you should lose about three pounds a week. So far, we would agree with everything they say.

Exercising, consuming fruits, vegetables and lean meats while controlling portion sizes, and exercising is the recommendation of any credible diet. Also, the total elimination of artificial ingredients, preservatives, sugars and trans fat no credible dietician would disagree with. But we disagree with the total elimination of saturated fat, foods "whose ingredients you can't pronounce", the elimination of alcohol except perhaps a once a week glass of red wine. We also disagree with the part about bringing your own food when to avoid eating in restaurants.

There must be more latitude to cheat on your diet, or only those willing to live the most Spartan lifestyle will be able to maintain it over the long-term. Dining out occasionally is a social experience, and for any program to ask you to eliminate that would be asking quite a lot. Instead, work the dining out experience with eating healthy, portion controlled food, and if the portions are too large have the discipline to take the surplus home.

If you are in the habit of eating out just because you don't want to go to the bother of cooking, either get into cooking (which if you give it a shot you might find you like it), or get into one of the many great meal delivery plans available. And as for alcohol, studies have shown that small amounts can be cardio-protective, and the same goes for saturated fats: too much might be harmful but the body can handle small amounts.

So our conclusion on the Eat-Clean Diet is in its basic form with its nutrition-rich recipes and easy to read manner can be very helpful for dieters to move to a healthy lifestyle. But its highly structured approach takes so much fun out of dining that most people may see it as too restrictive to maintain on a long-term basis. Look it over, and apply its beneficial aspects.
Whenever you want to put your diet in the hands of nutritional professionals, healthy Meal Delivery Plans are a great answer. The plans we recommend will build in those little treats we call Diet Cheat Day that make a diet easier to handle on a long-term basis. Rich Carroll is a writer and health enthusiast living in London.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Carroll

The 7 Day Soup Diet

In some cases, the surgeon cannot pursue the required surgery unless the patient loses weight. Other times, the patient's health may depend, literally, on losing enough weight. The 7 day soup diet is a great way of losing weight in a natural and safe way, and is applicable for most people.

The fat burning soup is the secret of the 7 day soup diet. The tasty soup contains no calories and is made up mostly of vegetables. Following the plan, you being losing weight fast, and you can eat with no restrictions. You may indulge on as much soup as you can. Results are best experienced when this diet is combined with your regular exercise program. You may not need to worry about the taste of this soup because it may include various ingredients such as: beef, chicken, potato, brown rice, and fruits and vegetables.

With the 7 day soup diet, the impossible is now possible! Many have claimed that they have lost an average of 7 kilograms on their first week, with that rate, your weight loss goals in easily within your reach. You would surely experience a dramatic change. You may even start feeling motivated, outgoing, confident, and happier.
This 7 day soup diet is sure not a waste of time and it will guarantee you great results as long as you commit to the diet. There's no reason for you to fail with the fat burning soup plan.

A major obstacle when starting to lose weight is getting started. You have to overcome this first. In most cases, individuals who want to lost weight don't have the idea where to begin, which later leads to failure. The thing is, it doesn't really matter how big or small you goal is, or whether what method you are using.

One of the firsts step in your weight loss journey is setting up goals. This gives you a clear picture of what you want to achieve. These goals will also keep you focused and motivated. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bounded. An important question to ask yourself is how much you like to lose and by when would you like to lose that much.

You should write you goals into a piece of paper. Write your answers to questions you have created, make notes on them, and place them anywhere in your house as long as their visible and that you can see it every day. This helps keep you reminded of your plan. However, setting up goals is not enough. The plan must also be put into action and commitment is essential.

For more information on 7 Day Soup Diet, Please visit: 7 Day Soup Diet and 7 Day Soup Diet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julius_Sheeron_Tubog

Saturday, December 17, 2011

10 Great Snack Ideas For Your Handbag

Have you ever been out when hunger takes hold and you don't have a nourishing snack within quick reach? Prevent the predicament of looking for junk food products by maintaining a source of healthier snack food items inside your handbag. Even when you are not hungry, you will be totally ready whenever the hunger pangs hit.

One very good tactic is to have a healthy snacks checklist placed inside of your kitchen cupboard as a simple and easy personal reference and prompt for some healthy snack food choices. There isn't any reason not to have a wholesome snack food selection to select from.

Here are 10 healthy snack ideas for your handbag:

Almonds - Odor free as well as compact, a handful of almonds a few times weekly are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin E, B vitamins and essential minerals. Store in a small plastic bag or container to ensure that they're fresh all week.

Bananas - Bananas truly are a good "out and about" snack because they come in their very own protecting cover hence they don't need washing. Bananas are a superb source of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, manganese and vitamin B6.

Rice Biscuits - Low-fat not to mention crispy, they really are the healthy potato chip alternative.

Cherry Tomatoes - A handful of tasty cherry tomatoes held in a compact container can be quite a good snack that gives you a massive burst of tastiness once you bite into them. Cherry tomatoes are low in sodium, and very low in fats and cholesterol.

Rice Cakes - Smear a bit of your most popular spread between 2 rice cakes. These can be a healthy and balanced, easily transportable sandwich option.

Dried Fruit - Long lasting, dried fruit is a good snack to prevent those hunger pangs. Enjoy just a few because they are rich in natural sugars.

Grapes - Choose crispy fresh red or green seedless grapes that burst with flavour. Fresh grapes are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Popcorn - Fast to make inside the microwave, pick the reduced fat, low salt popcorn alternatives. Take a small bag of your own and then save the rest for your kids' afternoon tea.

Celery, carrot and cucumber - Keep a supply sliced up and in your fridge in small storage containers to enable you to very easily put it into your bag. These kinds of veggies are extremely low in fat and also help you take in your 5 servings each day.

Fresh fruit - Nothing can beat a piece of fresh fruit. A few fruits are less difficult as compared to some others to transport and consume while on the move for instance apples and mandarins, so either leave the messy ones for home or slice the fruit up and take it along inside of a small container with a fork if required.

Since you now have some excellent healthy snack ideas, there isn't reason to pick an unhealthy alternative when you happen to be out and about.


Click on the link for healthy cooking tips and more healthy snacks ideas and click this next one for loads of Meal Planning and Family Meals ideas.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Mundell

Foods With No Calories - Shirataki Noodles

An effective diet plan consists of eating foods with no calories. This is due to the fact that excess fat is stored in the body that has a high calorie count. The aim is to remove the excess items with products like shirataki noodles. This can be done effectively by consuming these items on a daily basis. This is a very healthy way of reducing the amount of content. You will want to bridge the gap between the total amounts that is stored within the anatomy. The intake of different elements such as protein and carbohydrates come into the picture if you want to succeed in the plan to lose weight. Generally we want reduce them in order to create an affect that leads to us getting thin.

Miracle noodles is the staple that I create my lunch and dinner around. Next on the list are vegetables because they are considered the best source of nutrients. The prime examples being asparagus, cucumber and tomatoes, celery, carrots, herbs, and many leafy greens like spinach. Shirataki noodles are a very useful commodity if you are watching your overall calorie count. Many of these commodities contain a lot of fiber and vitamins that are required to regulate the daily functions of the body. The metabolic rate is also affected in a good way that further aids in calorie burning of the stored fat. You will not gain any unwanted weight if you consume these items. The fact is by replacing the pasta with a tradition meal you will save on average 400 calories.

Other products that fall in the category of foods with no calories are fruits and lentils. They are very beneficial for the loss of excess weight. If a healthy eating arrangement is looked at including them at a moderate level is perfect. Some of the fruits that you should consume regularly are pears, apples and black berries to name a few of them. Cheese is also considered a good alternative especially the cottage cheese. Turkey and meat can be added in and used to a great advantage as long as you select the lean cuts of meat. Never indulge in the skin on the meats as they are packed with a ton of fat that will pack a lot more calories. The complete importance to putting a meal together with no calories foods is to choose your ingredients wisely.

The eating plan should consist of a healthy combination of the essential protein and carbohydrate that is required to maintain a good metabolic rate. Skipping meals is not a very good step to take as it could harm the body in the long turn. Our bodies require food on a daily basis; it is fuel to gain the energy we need to get through every day. Use the different food items wisely to get thin and healthy for a lifetime. Consider utilizing a calorie calculator to keep track of your calorie count on a daily basis. Create a plan that you are able to follow for thirty to sixty days. Do this by including your favorite products from the no calorie foods and replacing shirataki noodles with at least one regular meal. This may be the easiest way for you to finally get slim!


Learn more about the miracle no calorie shirataki noodle and how it will help you lose weight.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_K_Blake

Sunday, December 4, 2011

How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce

If you are a busy person, you probably find it challenging to eat healthy while you are on the go. As a result, you seek more convenient options, such as eating fast foods.

The sad part is, while these fast food companies' profits go up, your health dramatically goes down over time. Many Americans often fall victim to the bad eating habits that result from a fast-paced lifestyle. Let me remind everyone that statistically speaking, we are the fattest country in the entire world, with 67% of overweight Americans, and 35% of the American population struggling with obesity.

But things do not have to be this way. If you know you have a fast-paced lifestyle, and you take your health seriously, then you want to assure that the food you eat is made with ingredients you can pronounce. If an ingredient is either too hard to pronounce, or sounds like a chemical, chances are, it is probably bad for your health. Get in the habit of cooking the recipes yourself, and learn about healthy homemade recipes that you can cook in less than half an hour.

One such healthy recipe is homemade cranberry sauce. I know most people choose cranberry sauce that comes in a can. This is dangerous, as the canned alternative contains loads of calories. For example: one hundred grams of fresh cranberries contain only 46 calories. On the other hand, 100 grams of canned cranberry sauce is packed with approximately 150 calories. The extra hundred calories that you get from the canned cranberry sauce, represents approximately six teaspoons of sugar. We all know that excess sugar causes fat retention over time.

Based on this simple difference between fresh cranberries and canned cranberry sauce, homemade cranberry sauce is the better option.

How do I make homemade cranberry sauce?

Here are the ingredients you will need for your homemade cranberry sauce:

Ingredients

1 orange, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 pack of 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions

1) Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan, and let it boil on the stove
2) Add the fresh cranberries to the saucepan, and bring them to a boil; stir occasionally
3) Reduce the fire to a low flame, and add the orange zest, as well as the peeled orange. Let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries start making popping sounds. Stir frequently
4) Remove the saucepan from the stove and let it cool.

Voila! Your homemade cranberry sauce is done. Now, just let it cool off in the fridge.

How to make homemade cranberry jelly?

Another variation of the homemade cranberry sauce is the cranberry jelly. To make cranberry jelly, spoon the cranberry sauce into a strainer; press it with the back of a pot spoon, and collect the juice in a bowl. Repeat until the desired amount of juice is collected. Then place it in the fridge until it solidifies.

That's it. Now you know how to make healthy homemade cranberry sauce and cranberry jelly!

Kodjo Hounnake is a home fitness enthusiast who believes the average person can get and remain in great shape right at home. You do not need expensive gym equipment to achieve the body of your dreams. Your body weight is sufficient enough. See the hundreds of home workout videos on my fitness blog at http://Kodjoworkout.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kodjo_Hounnake

A List of Foods for Reducing Cholesterol

Dealing with high cholesterol can be a difficult process. There are many things that you can do to lower you cholesterol and get your numbers back into a healthy or normal range. Did you know, that one of the best (and easiest) things that you can do for your high cholesterol is to incorporate foods for reducing cholesterol into your daily diet? It doesn't take much more than that to totally change your cholesterol for the better.

Typically when high cholesterol numbers come in, your doctor will first tell you to change your diet. This means cutting out all the yummy, but bad for you foods; like French fries, pizza, burgers, and steak. It's sad to cut out favorite foods. But it doesn't have to be all bad.

Often you can make small changes to the foods you love and add in foods for reducing cholesterol and often just those two things together will be enough for a serious decrease in your high cholesterol levels.

When it comes to your favorite dishes the best thing to do is the look at them in a new way. First, look at your favorite meals and see if there is a way to switch out some of the ingredient for healthier options. For example; change any meats into leaner cuts or into chicken, turkey or tofu choices. With dairy, opt for the low fat or non fat options. If you use canned goods or broth in your cooking pick the low sodium or non fat varieties. Add in vegetables whenever possible.

On top of making small changes to the foods you already love, try to add in a few healthier foods for reducing cholesterol into your daily routine. Here are a few ideas on how to add in foods for reducing cholesterol into your meal plans.
  • Breakfast - try to have a breakfast of oatmeal every morning. Oats are high in soluble fiber; which helps to move cholesterol through your body and prevents it from absorbing into your blood stream. Oats have been proven to help lower cholesterol levels when regularly added to the diet. But watch out for sugar and syrup additives. These foods are often high in saturated fats and sugars which are counter-productive to your cholesterol health. Instead add blueberries or sliced strawberries to your morning oatmeal and get the added benefits of antioxidants.
  • Snack - add a handful of walnuts or almonds into your daily snack. Nuts are high in fats that are good for you and your cholesterol. But they are also high in calories, so keep your snack to just a handful.
  • Lunch or Dinner - try for a salmon salad with an olive oil vinaigrette for your large daily meal. Salmon is one of the best foods for reducing cholesterol. Not only will it help to lower high bad cholesterol, but it will help to increase the good cholesterol. Adding the olive oil will also help to keep your arteries running clear and clean.
  • Drinks - add in a couple cups of orange juice into your day. Orange juice is high in antioxidants and other minerals that are good for lowering cholesterol. Green tea is another of the foods for reducing cholesterol, just make sure you drink enough cups of it to make a difference to your health.
The author loves to share information about the different kinds of foods for reducing cholesterol. For other sure fire methods to lower your cholesterol in a natural approach, get your 100% FREE mini-course by visiting us at http://decreasecholesterolnaturally.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Heitman