Archive for April, 2008

Not deep fried potatoes, not potatoes smothered in butter, margarine, or sour cream.

Low fat yogurt can be used as a topping, plain or with herbs and spices.

But try potatoes that are baked, boiled, fried on a non-stick surface with a minimum of oil or non-stick spray, chopped into soups and stews, and on, and on.

It is extremely unfortunate that deep fried and salted potatoes (“french-fries” or pomme de terre frit” or “pomme frit”, and potato chips) are so tasty, and are now the most popular of all fast foods. But severely restrict your intake if you don’t want heart disease, stroke, and other
illnesses.

Potatoes are such a complete food that some societies in South America (Andes of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where potatoes were first cultivated) eat little else.

1. Eat often, but eat less. Your body should not need to wait hours before its next meal. You need to provide it with the fuel it needs consistently. Eat a meal every few hours that is much smaller.

2. Snacks are the ideal meal between big meals. But, do not go for empty calories or poor nutrition. Great choices for snacks are vegetables, fruits, salads, and nuts. These provide high levels of minerals and vitamins your body is craving.

3. Get your energy from all the food groups. Carbohydrates are ideal for times when you are pushing yourself hard. They are perfect for a workout. But, you do not want to cover them with bad stuff either. Go without the butter and without the dressing.

4. Breakfast is essential. Your body needs a kick start in the morning to get the metabolism moving. It also gets your body working the right way from the start.

5. Skip late night meals. They will not provide you with anything necessary for your health. You need to provide your body with nutrients so that it can do things. Food is fuel, not needed for sleeping!

Take a raw carrot, and hold it to a bare flame. Nothing much happens except some charring and bad smell.

Place some liquid fat (oils) in a shallow dish prepared with a wick. Touch a match to the saturated wick, and observe the heat and light that results. This is one of the oldest kinds of light source known to humankind.

Take some solid fat, meat trimmings or tallow, or left over fat globules from meat dishes. A match might be sufficient to start a flame, or a bit more heat could be needed.

Take some sugar and treat as the solid fat. Preheating might be needed, or start with chemical igniter or acid, but you can end up with a bad smelling carbon sponge.

Mix sugar with potassium nitrate (“saltpeter”, a source of oxygen) and sulfur in the right proportions and you can make a weak form of gun powder.

Place some alcohol of at least 50 percent concentration (also called “100 proof”) in a shallow disk, with or without a wick. A match is enough to start a bright flame.

All these examples, except the carrot, are high energy foods. Consume more than you need and your body weight will increase. Restrict them and you have a chance of losing weight.

Very interesting tips for getting the whole grain foods in your body without spending alot of time.

One of the most frequently cited concerns by family members and friends of vegetarians and vegans is how they will get the protein they need from a diet devoid of animal flesh. However, getting sufficient protein is usually not a concern for vegetarians, since most American diets tend to contain more protein than they need.

Vegetarians who eat dairy products can get all the protein they need from dairy products, from soy based products and from beans, nuts, lentils and seeds. There are many non animal sources of protein, so most vegetarians should not have a problem getting sufficient protein.

Even vegans, who eschew all animal based products, even milk and dairy products, typically do not have a problem with protein deficiency. That is because nuts, seeds, lentils, pinto beans, split peas, soybeans, garbanzo beans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, navy beans and many more all have lots of protein.

Vegan meals are often rich in tofu and other soy based products, and these products contain sufficient protein to meet the needs of most vegans. In addition, the many bean based vegan recipes are excellent sources of protein. For instance, a cup of cooked beans contains the same amount of protein as a two ounce serving of meat.

As with protein, nutritional deficiencies are generally of no more concern to vegetarians than they are to the general population. Vegetarians who follow a balanced, nutritious diet should have no problem meeting their daily nutritional needs.