Ingredients :

1 head cauliflower
1 cup good quality olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs chopped parsley

Separate cauliflower into flowerets and cook just until tender. Drain and keep warm. Heat the oil and salt in a pan and cook garlic and parsley for 2 minutes. Pour over the warm cauliflower and serve with additional chopped parsley if desired.

Source : foodasfood

Heart health benefits of Concord Grape Juice

May promote healthy arteries: Researchers from the University of Wisconsin conducted a small study to investigate the potential health benefits of Concord grape juice back in late ’90s. They found that people who drank about 2 cups of Concord grape juice daily for 2 weeks had significantly more flexible arteries. The same group of researchers followed up with a second study two years later. They found that similar health effects can be achieved by drinking just one cup of Concord grape juice. The results of this study were published in the American Journal of Cardiology in September 2001.

May lower blood pressure: Researchers from South Korea investigated the effects of drinking Concord grape juice in men with high blood pressure. They found that subjects who drank about 1.5 cups of Concord grape juice daily for 8 weeks significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The results of this study were published in BioFactors in December 2004.

You should be wary of drinking grape juice if you have a specific disorder that is causing your fatigue. People with fibromyalgia, polymyalgia rheumatica, and chronic fatigue syndrome are actually cautioned against drinking grape juice because it contains too much sugar and can actually worsen fatigue.

When using grape juice to fight fatigue, you should be careful what brand you choose. Many “juices” are actually grape drinks or cocktails. These beverages have extra sugar added to them. While sugar may give you a boost in the short term, eventually your high will wear off. You’ll probably crash and feel even more burnt out than you were in the first place. For the most benefit, find 100% grape juices with all natural ingredients. If you can’t find a brand you like, just get some grapes and make your own.

Source : healthcastle

First point:

Weigh yourself everyday

You’ll find that almost every other dieter will tell you to weigh yourself only once a week. I recommend the exact opposite. I am very goal oriented and I like to see results everyday. The reason I recommend buying a scale that is accurate to the .2 is that there is a very big difference between weighting 170.8 one day and 170.0 the next day. Losing .8 pounds in one day is excellent. However, if your scale is not accurate enough to report the loss and still shows 170 after a day of healthy eating and working out, you will feel extremely discouraged. A more detailed scale makes it easier to keep a positive outlook. The more successes (days with positive weight loss) the easier it is.

Drink 8 glasses of water everyday

Water makes up more than two thirds of the weight of the human body, and without it, we would die in a few days. Water is important to the mechanics of the human body. The body cannot work without it . Drinking eight glasses of water per day helps you “feel less hungry.” when I am at work, I drink 4 cups in the morning and 4 cups in the evening. On the days that I don’t drink the water, I feel hungrier, earlier. Also, on the days I don’t drink water I feel sleepier, sooner. Don’t feel intimidated by trying to drink 8 glasses of water. Try doing what I do: I have a pint glass I keep at work, it holds sixteen ounces (as all pint glasses do). All I do is drink two pints of water in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Make your diet public

Tell people you’re on a diet. There’s no reason to be ashamed to be on a diet. I found that trying to keep my diet a secret was harder than just telling people. In fact, telling your coworkers, girlfriend, family, etc. will increase your accountability. It motivated me knowing that my coworkers and family knew that I was dieting because I did not want to fail. I also chose a typical “fat picture” and put it on my fridge, in my cubicle, and on my wall. I wanted to have a continual reminder to lose the weight. I know it’s a cliche, but it was important for me to remind myself of my ultimate goal.

Don’t diet on the weekends

This is another unconventional bit of advice. I was able to lose 50 pounds without dieting on the weekends. I found myself tired, depressed, and unmotivated if I tried to continue my diet into the weekend. I felt that Friday and Saturday (my weekend) was a time to celebrate 5 days of dieting. You may not find this necessary, especially in the first few weeks of a diet. However, as many weeks passed, the weekend became a time for me to celebrate my weekly successes and get myself mentally prepared for another five days of dieting.

“We thought weekends would present a problem for some people attempting to lose weight, but the consistency of our findings before and during the [study] interventions was surprising,” says study author Susan B. Racette, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy and of medicine. “Subjects in the diet and exercise groups lost weight during the week, but over the weekend, subjects in the diet group stopped losing weight and those in the exercise group gained because they were eating more.”

Don’t sacrifice your life for your diet

On occasion, you will find yourself unable to eat healthy. Whether this is because of lunches with your team at work, birthdays, or special occasions, there will be events that you just can’t (or don’t want to) eat healthy. A diet will feel overwhelming if you have to sacrifice special events in your life.

Make the small changes

This is a pretty common tip, however, I have a twist to it. Rather than giving up what most diets say you should give up (soda, coffee, beer, caffeine, etc.) just make healthier decisions. I didn’t want to give anything up, so I decided to make some changes instead. The first switch I made was switching to diet soda. Don’t worry, you’ll quickly get used to the flavor. Before I started my diet, I swore I would never drink diet soda. The second switch I made was to drinking black coffee. Cut out the sugar and creme, and you get the benefits of coffee (caffeine) without the calories.

In addition to making the small changes in your diet, make the small changes in your life: park further away, walk to the end of the train platform and get in the last car, and vow not to take an elevator for an entire week.And remember : slim down with spice,breakfast on the go,evening exercise is O.K,make fast food diet-friendly
Gain perspective by understanding the fractions

Your diet is an incredibly small fraction of your life. If you live for 80 years, and dieted for four months, that would only be .42% of your life. That’s right, if you diet for four months, it will be less than one half of one percent of your life. On the other hand think of the major benefits you can get from .42% of your life. If it helps you stay motivated, count down the days starting at 120.

Rationalize your workouts

Finding the time to get to the gym can be very difficult. However a 1/2 hour workout is only 2% of your day (assuming 24 hour days). For me, the most motivating thought was comparing my workouts to sitcoms. As a huge Everybody Loves Raymond fan, every time I would sit down to watch an episode, I would remind myself that in the 1/2 hour that I was sitting and doing nothing, I could complete my daily workout.
Have a red flag weight

Once you’ve lost the weight, you need to keep it off. This is where the red flag comes in. You need to pick a weight and vow to never get heavier than it again. It is normal for your body to fluctuate five to ten pounds. I Setting a red flag weight allowed me to keep off every pound for over 1 year.

Source : lifehack

To make the most of the Pyramid, you need to know what counts as a serving.

* Food Group–Serving Size
* Bread–1 slice bread, 1\2 bagel or English muffin, 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal, 1\2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta, or 5-6 small crackers
* Vegetable–1 cup raw, leafy vegetables, 1\2 cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables or 3\4 cup vegetable juice
* Fruit–1 medium piece of fruit, 1\2 cup mixed fruit or 3\4 cup fruit juice
* Milk–1 cup milk or yogurt, 11\2 ounces natural cheese or 2 ounces process cheese
* Meat–2 – 3 ounces cooked lean meat, poultry or fish (about the size of a deck of cards)
* Other foods which count as 1 ounce meat: 1\2 cup cooked dry beans, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1\3 cup nuts

Fat is a valuable energy source and carries fat-soluble vitamins needed for proper growth and development. It also contributes important taste and textural qualities that are part of enjoying food.

Too much fat, however, can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and other health problems. When moderating fat intake, it’s important to consider these points:

* Health authorities recommend Americans consume 30 percent or less of their total daily calories from fat, with 10 percent or less of those calories from saturated fat. Remember, the 30 percent refers to your total fat intake over time, not single foods or meals. Use the following chart to guide your fat intake.
* If you eat this Total fat Total saturated
number of calories per day fat per day
per day: (grams) (grams)

1,600 53 or less 18 or less
2,000 65 or less 20 or less
2,200 73 or less 24 or less
2,500 80 or less 25 or less

* Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help determine how much fat is in foods. Remember, it’s the total fat intake over time that’s important. A food high in fat can be part of a healthy diet as long as it’s balanced with other lower-fat food choices.
* All fats are a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Each of these types of fats have different effects on the body, but all contain nine calories per gram.
* Blood cholesterol levels are influenced by family history, weight, age, smoking, physical activity and eating habits. Studies have shown that diets which are too high in certain saturated fatty acids and dietary cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy naturally occurring fat that is made by the liver. Cholesterol is a paradox. On one hand, it contributes to such vital bodily functions as building new cells, insulating nerves, and producing hormones. On the other hand, it is a potential killer due to its association to various cardiovascular diseases. The risk of developing these cardiovascular problems is complex and depends not only how much cholesterol but also what kind of cholesterol you have in your blood. Generally speaking, LDL (low-density lipoprotein), the so called bad cholesterol, is associated with increased risk of dying from coronary heart disease; HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol is associated with decreased risk. This is because the LDLs serve on raw material to clog coronary arteries; in contrast, the HDLs gobble up the LDLs, and cart them to the liver, where they are annihilated. Obviously, the more HDL and the less LDL you have in your blood, the safer your arteries.

It is believed that oxygen free radicals play a important role in clogging coronary arteries when combined with LDLs. When oxygen free radicals in the blood collide with fatty LDLs, they oxidize the LDLs. The LDLs then turn rancid and are quickly gobbled up by the cell, called macrophage. Stuffed with fat globules, the macrophages enlarge into dreaded foam cells, which insinuate themselves into artery walls, triggering artery destruction. LDL cholesterol is not so dangerous to arteries unless it is converted into a toxic form by oxygen free radicals in your blood.

Mounting scientific evidence has indicated that eating foods packed with protective antioxidants, can block LDLs toxic transformation, therefore, may intervene at the very genesis of atherosclerosis, at every stage of life, blocking the cascade of arterial event that create clogged arteries, heart attacks, and strokes. Foods are powerful weapons in combating your cholesterol problems and other cardiovascular diseases!

What is it?
Proteins are the building blocks that grow and repair your body. Proteins are needed not only for muscle but also for hair, skin and internal organs. Some proteins travel around your body in the blood as hormones, enzymes and red blood cells. Protein is unique because it is the only food source of nitrogen, which is essential to all plant and animal life.

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids. For each protein, there are specific amino acids in a specific amount, and they are joined in a unique order. This is what makes a chicken different from cheese or a fingernail different from a strand of hair. There are 22 amino acids. Eight of these are called the essential amino acids because they cannot be made by the body and must be provided by the diet.

What does it do?

* Antibodies, which are made of protein, help you resist disease and infection.
* Each day, your body loses protein in the form of hair, skin and nails. You also use up protein in all the activities of running and maintaining your body.
* If you eat protein daily, it is supplied to your body tissue to replenish any loss and repair any injury.
* For growing infants, children and teens, protein, along with sufficient calories, is necessary for growth of the entire body.
* Pregnant and breast-feeding women need adequate protein for the fetus, for supporting maternal tissue, and for the production of breast milk after delivery.
* If you have a cut, undergo surgery, or have an injury or illness, you need protein to recover and to rebuild your body.

Where do you get it?
Protein foods are classified in two ways: complete and incomplete. Complete proteins, which come from animal sources such as chicken, fish, dairy and soybeans, contain all the essential amino acids that help build your muscle and body tissue. Incomplete proteins, found in plant foods, such as grains, seeds, nuts, beans and vegetables, provide a varying but limited array of amino acids. A greater variety and amount of incomplete proteins must be consumed to cover all the amino acids needed for protein building.

We can compensate for the amino acid deficiencies in an incomplete protein by combining it with another protein, thus providing all the building blocks for protein creation. This is the concept of complementary proteins, in which proteins with opposite strengths and weaknesses complement each other.

For example, many cereals are low in an amino acid called lysine, but high in methionine and cystine. Lima beans, soybeans and kidney beans are high in lysine but low in methionine and cystine. Many cultures, including Mexican and Indian cultures, have limited animal protein sources but eat combinations of incomplete foods. Examples of appropriate combinations include:

* rice and beans
* cereal and milk
* beans and corn
* bread and cheese

Recent research indicates that such combinations need not be eaten at the same meal. If they are consumed over the period of a day, the necessary building of muscle and body tissue will occur. Vegetarians thrive on non-animal protein diets because of our body’s ability to do this.

Use the following chart to help select foods that are good sources of protein.
Food Grams of Protein
6 oz. canned tuna 40
4 oz. chicken breast 35
3 oz. beef* 26
3 oz. turkey 25
3 oz. salmon 23
8 oz. (1 cup) garbanzo beans 15
8 oz. (1 cup) milk 8
8 oz. (1 cup) yogurt 10
4 oz. (1/2 cup) tofu 10
4 oz. (1/2 cup) cottage cheese 14
1 egg 6
1 oz. cheddar cheese 87
8 oz.(1 cup) pasta 5

*A 3 ounce serving of beef (or chicken) is about the size of a deck of cards.

How much do we need?
Your protein needs are determined by your age, sex, weight and whether you are pregnant, lactating or in intense sports training. The accompanying chart indicates the recommended daily amounts for different types of people.

You may calculate the amount of protein you need daily by multiplying your weight in pounds by the number that corresponds to your situation, as shown here. This will give you the recommended grams of protein per pound of body weight per day that is appropriate for people of your sex, age and/or activity level.
Sedentary adult weight x 0.4 = number of grams of protein needed
Adult recreational exerciser weight x 0.5-0.75 = number of grams of protein needed
Adult competitive athlete weight x 0.6-0.9 = number of grams of protein needed
Adult who is building muscle mass weight x 0.7-0.9 = number of grams of protein needed
Dieting athlete weight x 0.7-1.0 = number of grams of protein needed
Growing teen-age athlete weight x 0.9-1.0 = number of grams of protein needed

Using this formula, you can calculate that a 140-pound sedentary female, for example, would need 56 grams of protein (140 x 0.4) per day. A 170-pound male would need 127.5 grams (170 x 0.5-0.75).

The amount of protein needed by athletes is the subject of active research. Currently, the American Dietetic Association recommends that athletes consume 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about twice the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA).

How to increase your protein intake
Here are five ways to increase protein in your diet if you need more than you are currently getting.

1. Increase your meat serving at lunch or dinner by just one ounce to add seven more grams to your daily protein intake.

2. Make a high-protein breakfast drink by blending a cup of yogurt or silken tofu, a cup of milk and your favorite fruit. Bananas and strawberries work well. You may want to add ice.

3. Add shredded cheese, cottage cheese or garbanzo beans to a tossed salad at dinner.

4. Add a little protein to your snacks. Put peanut butter on apples, drink milk with cookies, or use cheese cubes to make a kabob with grapes, pineapple and cherries.

5. Mix protein into foods. For example, you can make an eggnog of egg substitutes, milk and sweetener, stir nonfat dried powdered milk powder into hot cereal or mashed potatoes, or add powdered egg whites to applesauce.

There’s a lot of discussion these days about fit kids. People who care (parents, doctors, teachers, and others) want to know how to help kids be more fit.

Being fit is a way of saying a person eats well, gets a lot of physical activity (exercise), and has a healthy weight. If you’re fit, your body works well, feels good, and can do all the things you want to do, like run around with your friends.

Some steps only parents can take — such as serving healthy meals or deciding to take the family on a nature hike. But kids can take charge, too, when it comes to health.

Here are five rules to live by, if you’re a kid who wants to be fit. The trick is to follow these rules most of the time, knowing that some days (like your birthday) might call for cake and ice cream.

Eat a Variety of Foods, Especially Fruits and Vegetables

You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. If you eat different foods, you’re more likely to get the nutrients your body needs. Taste new foods and old ones you haven’t tried for a while. Some foods, such as green veggies, are more pleasing the older you get. Shoot for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day — two fruits and three vegetables.

Here’s one combination that might work for you:

• at breakfast: ½ cup (about 4 large) strawberries on your cereal
• with lunch: 6 baby carrots
• for a snack: an apple
• with dinner: ½ cup broccoli (about 2 big spears) and 1 cup of salad

Drink Water and Milk Most Often

When you’re really thirsty, cold water is the No. 1 thirst-quencher. And there’s a reason your school cafeteria offers cartons of milk. Kids need calcium to build strong bones, and milk is a great source of this mineral. How much do kids need? If you are younger than 9 years old, drink 2 cups of milk a day, or its equivalent. Aim for 3 cups of milk per day, or its equivalent. You can mix it up by having milk and some other calcium-rich dairy foods. Here’s one combination:

• 2 cups (about half a liter) of low-fat or nonfat milk
• 1 slice cheddar cheese
• ½ cup (small container) of yogurt

You probably will want something other than milk or water once in a while, so it’s OK to have 100% juice, too. But try to limit sugary drinks, like sodas, juice cocktails, and fruit punches. They contain a lot of added sugar. Sugar just adds calories, not important nutrients.

Listen to Your Body

What does it feel like to be full? When you’re eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don’t notice when they need to stop eating. Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and, over a period of time, can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

Limit Screen Time

What’s screen time? It’s the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing video games (console systems or handheld games), and using the computer. The more time you spend on these sitting-down activities, the less time available for active stuff, like basketball, bike riding, and swimming. Try to spend no more than 2 hours a day on screen time, not counting computer use related to school.

Be Active

One job you have as a kid — and it’s a fun one — is that you get to figure out which activities you like best. Not everyone loves baseball or soccer. Maybe your passion is karate, or kickball, or dancing. Ask your parents to help you do your favorite activities regularly. Find ways to be active every day. You might even write down a list of fun stuff to do, so you can refer to it when your mom or dad says it’s time to stop watching TV or playing computer games!

Speaking of parents, they can be a big help if you want to be a fit kid. For instance, they can stock the house with healthy foods and plan physical activities for the family. Tell your parents about these five steps you want to take and maybe you can teach them a thing or two. If you’re a fit kid, why shouldn’t you have a fit mom and a fit dad?