Smokey Chicken Wings

Recipe

8 Chicken Wings

4 Cloves Garlic

1 tablespoon Dry Pepper( less quantity if you like mild hot)

1 handful Parsley ( about the size of 1/2 a computer mouse)

1 finger Fresh Ginger( size of your middle finger)

2 Seasoning Cubes

Salt to taste

1-2 cooking spoons Vegetable oil

Method

1, Rinse the chicken wings, sprinkle on about 1/2 teaspoon salt, and put in a strainer to drain out the water

2, Blend the garlic, ginger, pepper, parsley, oil seasoning into a smooth paste. You may wish to drop a little water to help grind the seasoning mix into a smooth paste.

3, Pour paste over chicken and rub in thoroughly and leave to marinade for about 1 hour.

4, Heat oven about 10 minutes before chicken is ready to go into oven

5, Place Chicken on oven racks and roast for about 40 – 45 minutes or until brown and cooked through.

Cooking Tips:

1, You may need  to sprinkle the rest of the seasoning mix left in the bowl on top of the chicken as it roasts.

2, Turn the chicken half way through roasting so it browns well on all sides

3, As this cooking is a smokey affair, keep doors from the kitchen to the rest of the house closed so the whole house is not smelling smokey

4,To prevent your hair taking up the smoke also, tie a scarf to cover your hair whilst checking the chicken in the oven.

 Source: 1Q's Food Platter

Coconut water boosts blood flow

Coconut water helps dilate blood vessels, improves blood flow and reduces plaque formation.

The most essential thing about coconut water, is its low carbohydrates and sugar contents  and 99 percents free from fat.  Apart from its being 99 per cent free from fat, it had been proven to be a universal natural donor as it contained a lot of vitamins and minerals that were necessary for healthy human nutrition.

As a natural isotonic drink, coconut water has the same level of the electrolyte balance as plasma of blood. Its composition is high in thiamine, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, vitamin B12, iron, vitamin B6, potassium, foliate, zinc, pantothenic acid, sodium, riboflavin, calcium and manganese.

The minerals, potassium and magnesium in the coconut water, help in reducing high blood pressure, adding that it was packed full with potassium more than banana.

Coconut water is a wonderful energy drink as it has less sugar and sodium content compared to most sports drinks. It is the best choice to rehydrate, replenish and boost the body’s energy levels after any strenuous activity or workout. Taking it on a regular basis could be quite effective at regulating blood pressure due to its high concentration of potassium. 

Coconut water is a natural electrolyte and isotonic beverage, which helps increase the body’s metabolism and as such could be of benefit to people struggling with weight.

Coconut water acts as a detoxifying agent and the strongest antidote against any form of poison in the body. It has a therapeutic effect on the urinary and reproductive systems; it is reported to clear up bladder infection, remove kidney stones and improve sexual vitality.

Coconut water is promoted as natural sports drink that could be consumed before, during or after a workout, to provide replenishment and re-hydration applicable for all levels of activity.

Coconut water contains lauric acid which our body converts into monolaurin.

Monolaurin has great antiviral and antibacterial activity that helped in fighting intestinal worms, parasites and other gastrointestinal tract infections in children and adults.

The water from coconut may not only act as an antibiotic but it can also re-hydrate the body. Therefore, a simple remedy for intestinal worms is to mix one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil into a cup of coconut water and drink it daily for at least three days. 

People should drink one cup of coconut water twice daily to address the problem of constipation, diarrhea and other common digestive ailments.

‘Beans consumption good for hypertension, diabetes’

Beans is an ideal meal for hypertensive patients because of its high potassium and low sodium content.

Beans is more nutritious than meat and just a substitute for it.

Beans acts as protection for the skin and mucus because it is a good source of two vitamins factors, niacin and pantothenic acid.

Beans is recommended in cases of eczema, itching skin, dry skin, and general dermatitis.

The fiber in beans lowers blood cholesterol level and also provide substantial amounts of insoluble fiber, which helps to attract water to stool and enhance transit time of waste through the colon. This may help to combat constipation, colon cancer, and other conditions that afflict the digestive tract.

Proteins are the most notable nutrient in beans. The protein percentage in beans, which varies according to the variety, is equal to or greater than animal-based foods.

Beans is low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger.

When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you get the added bonus of a decrease in saturated fat.

The properties of the carbohydrates found in beans, along with their fiber content, “make them ideal food for the management of abnormalities associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and hyper-lipidemia.”

Whole foods: the nutritional benefit of red bell pepper

Red bell peppers are a tasty vegetable can be enjoyed either cooked or raw. One red pepper contains more than 100% of your daily vitamin C needs. It contains significant amounts of dietary fiber and vitamin B6.  It is rich in carotenoids that can help prevent wrinkles and increase blood circulation to your skin, helping it look more youthful and are also great to fight acne due to their carotenoids.

Red pepper contains lycopene a potent antioxidant that protects against the cancerous degeneration of the cells.
 
A red bell pepper is a perfect, low calorie snack that contain few calories, it is well tolerated by diabetics and suitable for the diet of the obese. The fiber in red bell pepper will help you feel full longer, plus you will have a flawless skin!

Consumption Of Banana Maintains Normal Blood Pressure

Consumption of banana is ideal for the maintenance of normal blood pressure and heart function.

Bananas are the best source of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.

A medium sized banana provides 350g of potassium which helps the body to maintain normal fluid and electrolyte balances in the cells.

``Bananas help restore normal bowel activity, rich in non digestible fibers, help with constipation and diarrhea and normalize the colon's function to absorb large amounts of water for regular bowel movements.

``Bananas have long been recognized for their antacid effects that protect against stomach ulcers and ulcer damage. They help to neutralize acidity, a great way to get rid of heart burn.

``Bananas are a perfect baby food. They are the best solid food to introduce to infants. A mashed ripe banana is an extremely simple and healthy baby food’’

Bananas are easy to digest and rarely cause allergic reactions and could be recommended for children recovering from gastrointestinal problems particularly diarrhea.

The dietary fiber component in banana pulp has cholesterol-lowering effect and also promotes an overall improvement of the functional efficiency of kidneys.

``The benefits that the kidneys derive from bananas are due to the high potassium content present in it.

``A normal intake of potassium suppresses calcium excretion in the urine and minimizes the kidney stone.’’

Bananas are known to calm an upset stomach and help rehydrate the body.

Bananas contain 25 per cent of Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin B6 necessary for producing antibodies, red blood cells and aiding in the metabolism of fat.

The Vitamin B6 present in banana serves as an immunity booster.

Bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that converts into serotonin known to make one relax, improve one’s mood and generally make one feels happier.

Bananas could stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

``Bananas make you smarter and help with learning by making one more alert. Eat a banana before an exam to benefit from the high levels of potassium’’

Hydrate Your Skin From The Inside Out

 

Our skin may be the largest organ in our bodies, but it’s also the last place to receive nutrients. So, if your skin is supple, and looks all dewy and glowing, it generally means that your insides are in pretty good shape. However it is common for your skin to go through phases where it may not look as good, due to dietary changes, hormonal changes and even environmental changes.

One of the things we know for sure is that, what you put in your body matters, so does what you put on your body. Beauty products promising to rehydrate your skin are often laden with toxic ingredients that you probably can't even pronounce. So before you reach for the bottles off the shelf promising rehydration, give these 7 super hydrating goods a go!

Seven Super Skin Hydrating Foods

1. Cucumbers
Did you know that plain cucumber, eaten whole, makes for an awesome snack? Cucumber contains silica, an ingredient that boosts moisture and elasticity.

2. Celery
Another awesome addition to juices, celery is another hydrating food that contains skin-loving silica.

 3. Chia seeds
Chia seeds are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids limit water loss in skin cells.

 4. Aloe vera
Aloe vera is not only great when used topically, but it will also quench your skin’s thirst when used internally as well. Add a small amount of aloe vera to your smoothies. Too much and it will make them taste bitter.

 5. Water
This one’s kind of obvious, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a big, important mention. Up to 60% of the human body is made of water. For our body to function properly, we need to be sufficiently hydrated. It’s particularly important to have a big drink of purified water first thing in the morning to compensate for the overnight drought.

 6. Avocado
Another food that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, avo is a true beauty food.

 7. Watermelon
All fruits and veggies are great for you and your skin, but melons are particularly hydrating due to their super high water content.

Source: Food Matters

5 (More) Reasons to Quit Sugar

Here are just 5 simple reasons to help you rid yourself of the nasty refined sugar lurking in your life! 

1. Blood Sugar Regulation

Sugar consumption directly impacts the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels and can lead to insulin resistance, hypo-and hyperglycemia, pre-diabetes and diabetes. Uncontrolled blood sugar also can cause damage to blood vessels, impacting the health of the heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes.

2. Immune System Suppression

Sugar suppresses the immune system through decreasing activity in immune system cells that attack bacteria.

3. Mineral Balance

Sugar inhibits mineral absorption, depriving the body of key minerals necessary for health, and depletes the body of magnesium, which is required for proper functioning of every single cell in the human body and essential for calcium absorption and utilization.

4. Brain Health and Mood

If you’ve read David Perlmutter’s incisive critique of carbohydrates and sugar on brain health, “Grain Brain” you already know that sugar has powerful effects on mood and long-term brain health. Additionally, since B vitamins are required to metabolize sugar and carbohydrates, sugar consumption can lead to deficiencies in the mood-boosting B-complex vitamins.

5. Skin Health

Sugar binds to proteins and fats in the body during digestion to create “advanced glycosylation end products” or AGES, which are free radicals that reduce collagen and elastin in the skin, ultimately causing wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity.

Source:FoodMatters

Deep-Fried Foods May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk

When you go to a drive-through or eat out at a fast food joint, what do you get? The typical fried items on a fast food menu are fries, doughnuts, or chicken strips. Variations exist, but certainly the prevailing generalization is that these items are deep-fried.

It's not surprising that frequent consumption of deep-fried foods can seriously impact your weight in addition to having an undesirable effect on your cardiovascular health. A high-fat dietary pattern has also been linked to increased risk of several types of cancers.

Now researchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have also linked regular consumption of deep-fried foods to an increased risk of prostate cancer, specifically a more aggressive form of the cancer. They looked at men who ate deep-fried foods regularly. Specifically, the items were French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, doughnuts, and snack chips. Those who ate one or more servings of fries, fried chicken, or doughnuts per week had a 30% to 37% higher risk of prostate cancer than those who ate less than one serving per week.

This study examines the link between deep-fried foods and carcinogens. While the study did not specifically investigate why there is a link between deep-fried foods and increased prostate cancer risk, the researchers suggest one of the factors could be carcinogens in the oil or fat used for frying. When oil is heated to the high temperatures used in frying, some compounds that can be potential carcinogens are also formed. For example, acrylamides are formed when high-carbohydrate, low-protein foods are subjected to very high temperatures, as in the making of potato chips or French fries.

This gets worse when the oil is reheated, which is exactly what happens in a fast food or restaurant setting – the oil will be reused  for frying several batches before being replaced.
Fried Foods: The Obvious and Not So Obvious

Mention deep-fried foods and what comes to mind? The obvious ones are steaming hot and instantly grease up your fingers:

     - fries
    - chicken nuggets or chicken strips, or fried chicken (such as KFC)
    - fish 'n chips
    - hash browns or other kinds of potato patties
   - any dough that gets deep-fried: doughnuts, beignets, fritters, beavertails, churros

The following common snack foods are also deep-fried (even though they come out of a bag):

    - potato chips
    - nachos
    - tortilla chips
    - taco shells

Consider these other examples of convenience/frozen food items that are typically pre-fried and then reheated or cooked at home:

    - instant noodles
    - frozen fries (including those that require baking to serve)
    - frozen seasoned pre-cooked chicken wings, nuggets, or ribs
    other frozen appetizers like spring rolls and wontons

In addition, these popular ethnic restaurant items are commonly deep-fried:

    - At Chinese restaurants: Sweet-and-sour dishes, lemon chicken, sesame chicken
   -  At Japanese restaurants: Tempura dishes
   -  At Greek restaurants: Calamari
   -  At South Asian or Middle Eastern restaurants: Pakoras or samosas

The Bottom Line

We know on occasion people will eat fried foods. However, it may be worth taking a look at how you define "moderation" when it comes to deep-fried foods. One serving of any of the above food examples once a week is not a very high threshold.

With many deep-fried foods, you are also getting too much of the undesirable type of fat, refined carbohydrates, sodium, and other additives such as preservatives, flavoring, or coloring. While this study looked specifically at men who consume deep-fried foods, the rest of us would still benefit from cutting down on deep-fried foods.

Source: HealthCastle

Soda Accelerates Aging

The reasons to give up soda just keep mounting: cancer, cavities, and even water pollution. Now you can add accelerated cellular aging to that list, according to research published in the American Journal of Public Health.

How Soda Destroys Your Body

Looking at DNA samples of 5,309 participants, the researchers found that drinking soda was related to shorter telomere length in white blood cells. The researchers estimated that drinking 20 ounces of soda daily made you 4.6 years older.

"[Telomeres] are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes," says Lauren Kessler, author of Counterclockwise. "Just as plastic tips keep your shoelaces from unraveling, telomeres keep your DNA from beginning to fray during cell division." Previous research has shown that as telomeres get shorter (generally from age-related damage), your cells stop dividing. Cell division is what keeps us youthful and keeps our organs functioning properly.

Essentially, cellular aging due to telomere shortening is at the root of many health issues, such as inflammation, insulin resistance, and oxidative damage to tissue. The researchers point out that telomere length has even been connected to lifespan.

"Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence disease development, not only by straining the body's metabolic control of sugars, but also through accelerated cellular aging of tissues," says study author Elissa Epel, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco, in a press release.

Surprisingly, the connection between sugar and telomere length was independent of other sugar-related issues like obesity or diabetes. In fact, sugar issues and aging go hand-in-hand. "One of the most devastating of the so-called age-related changes, according to Tufts [researchers], is reduced blood-sugar tolerance, the body's ability to use glucose in the bloodstream," she says. "By age 70, they say, 20 percent of men and 30 percent of women have abnormal glucose-tolerance levels."

So how many people are shortening their lives by 4.6 years by downing a daily 20-ouncer?

Source: Rodale News

NB: 20 ounces is 2.5 cups.

Friday Inspiration: "The World Belongs To The Enthusiastic"

“Think excitement, talk excitement, act out excitement, and you are bound to become an excited person. Life will take a new zest, deeper interests and greater meaning. You can talk, and act yourself into dullness and into monotony or into unhappiness. By the same process you can build up inspiration, excitement and a surging depth of joy” (Norman Vincent Peale). You can succeed at almost anything for which you have limitless enthusiasm. Enthusiasm moves the world. 

A positive attitude always creates positive results. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Depression, gloom, pessimism, despair, discouragement and fear slay more human beings than all illnesses combined.

Whole foods: the nutritional benefit of papaya

Papaya is a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, also rich in many essential B-complex vitamins such as Folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish and play a vital role in metabolism.

They are also rich in potassium, and significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. The functions of the vitamins and minerals present in them include free radicals scavenging, immune booster, anti-inflammatory actions, maintenance of healthy mucus membranes and skin, healthy vision, help to control heart rate and blood pressure countering effects of sodium.

Papaya is very easy to digest and contributes to the digestion of other foods. Papaya is considered the perfect breakfast because of its digestibility and vitamin richness.

Vitamin C

This is a water soluble vitamin that is not stored in the body in large amounts in the body. Any extra amount is lost through the urine. You need to include vitamin C rich foods in your diet every day.

The role in the body includes:

• Prevention of cell damage and may reduce your risk for certain cancers and other chronic diseases

• It’s important for growth, repair of bones, teeth, skin and other tissue

• Protect you from infections by keeping your immune system healthy

• Increase your body’s absorption of iron from plant based food.

The best sources are fruits and vegetables, examples include red and yellow peppers, cabbage, green peppers, broccoli, peas, potatoes, sweet potato, tomato, papaya, kiwifruit, orange, strawberries, pineapple, avocado, sour sop, tangerine, and berries