Health discussion
Delicious and satisfying tapas to make are simply chunks of bread with marinated olives. This is an authentic Spanish small plate. Here's what you'll need:
Bread
The best bread to use for bread and olive tapas, in my humble opinion, is any fresh baguette - easily found at your local supermarket or favorite specialty bread store.
My favorite bread comes from Le Boulanger, here in the USA. They make wonderful fresh breads that come in lots of great flavors.
If you want to get fancy and have the time, read this delicious recipe for a wonderful olive bread that you can make yourself with a bread-making machine. Bread is a staple of many tapas recipes. Making bread for tapas can be done well in advance and will taste great when you serve it with the olive marinade in these bread and olive tapas - yummy!
Olives
A couple of facts about olives. They come in all shapes and sizes (kinda like my friends and me!) and the color is determined by the ripeness rather than the type (they turn black as they ripen).
Spain is the world's largest producer of olives and tends to export them in brine, which does little for the taste unless you are in love with salt. The best way to handle that is to soak the olives to get rid of the brine, and then keep them in an olive oil marinade (see the recipe for Marinated Olives below). They'll keep for up to 6 months in your refrigerator.
Another solution, particularly if you are short for time, is to go to your favorite deli that does marinated olives and pick up a jar or two. Having said that, it's hard to beat making your own marinade.
Marinated Olives
Soak the olives in water for about a half hour to get rid of the brine. Dry them on paper towels. The amount of marinade you make up depends on the quantity of olives. Here's a guide to help you figure that out.
What you'll need:
- 12 oz olives
- Zest of a lemon
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves crushed garlic- Black pepper
- Olive oil
Mix up the above ingredients with a couple of spoonfuls of virgin olive oil, then add the olives and coat them. Next, leave them for an hour or two before transferring to a sterilized storage jar. Then top the olives with your favorite olive oil to cover all of them. Pop them in the refrigerator for at least a week, and serve at room temperature. This is one of those recipes you can definitely make ahead to serve at any time.
Some tips for the marinade:
- Use as much or as little garlic as you like.
- Use whatever herbs you want
- Add honey or orange juice for variation
- Add 4 fl oz Vermouth to make something a bit different
- Don't add salt - the residue of the brine adds enough saltiness
Serve your torn chunks of baquette or other bread on a pretty plate along with your marinated olives. Too delicious for words!
Enjoy!
Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipes where you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and appetizer soups.
Can Your Cholesterol Get Too "Low"
In the blitzkrieg on fat by the media, cholesterol has been held hostage and charged with clogging human circulatory system, restricting blood flow to vital organs, and causing heart and brain problems. But with the war crime tribunals' verdict on the obesity war, the cholesterol stands vindicated and its rightful place in the dietary kingdom restored.
All along, we are being told ---fat is the root of all evil. Lower your fat, lower your cholesterol. But how low can cholesterol get? Can it get "too low"?
In general, you want more of high density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good cholesterol", and less of low density lipoprotein (LDL), "the bad cholesterol". Your total cholesterol level should not be not less than 160 - 180 mg/dL and your HDL cholesterol level should be not below 100 mg/dL. A low total cholesterol reading is not necessarily good, because it can hide a low level of HDL. Similarly, having a high total cholesterol reading may not be bad; in fact it may be good if it's the HDL component that is high. The LDL sticks to artery walls and builds up the plaque, but HDL removes excess cholesterol from the plaques, slows their growth and protects us from heart attack. Similarly, a low HDL cholesterol level too may raise stroke risk, whereas a high HDL level acts as a protective shield.
Trust our body to know what is good for it. Ever wondered why the body itself produces most of the required cholesterol? Cholesterol is essential to the body. Breast milk has high levels of cholesterol and the breast-fed babies learn to metabolize cholesterol better, with the result their blood cholesterol levels and the risk of coronary diseases as adults are lower than the formula-fed babies.
Cholesterol plays an important role in cell membrane structure. About 10 to 20% of the brain is composed of cholesterol. Essential substances like the sex hormones and vitamin D are also made of cholesterol. Cholesterol is the precursor to bile acids, which are needed to digest and absorb long-chain fatty acids. Hence low cholesterol is bad for the liver.
A growing body of evidence indicates that very low cholesterol can be dangerous, just as high cholesterol is hazardous to health. Low cholesterol levels can cause depression, anxiety, violent behavior or suicide, because of the reduced levels of serotonin in the brain. Researchers suggest, though not very conclusively, that very low cholesterol levels may be associated with an increased risk of cancer. Atromid-S, the first drug approved for the lowering of cholesterol,was withdrawn from the market in 2000 as it was found to increase the incidence of gallstones, cancer, liver disease, and pancreatitis.
Like everything else in life, moderation is the operating keyword. No extremes, please!
Uma Shankari is a Bangalore-based freelance journalist. She is passionate about writing. She writes regularly on development issues, health and fitness, yoga/meditation, life and relationships. Read some of her articles on Here
Why Do I Have Sugar Cravings?
Consuming sugar temporarily elevates the levels of certain neurotransmitters in our bodies. Do you know what neurotransmitters are? They are �feel-good� chemicals. Two of the major �feel-good� chemicals released by eating sugar are:
1. Dopamine, which releases chemicals including endorphins that give us a feeling of pleasure
2. Serotonin, which produces a feeling of well being.
We also tend to eat sugary treats for a quick rush of energy to get us through the day. Of course we also enjoy the sweet taste of sugar. Eating sweet treats like a candy bar or a cookie unconsciously brings back simpler more enjoyable days of our childhood.
Grabbing a sugary treat is a common stress response for many adults. It�s a behavior we have been practicing since we were children. When we had a rough day at school, mom would fix it with a plate of homemade cookies and a glass of milk. Now when we are stressed, we run to the vending machine or grab a cheesecake on the way home.
Is Sugar Really Dangerous Or Addictive?
Yes and No. Our body needs limited amounts of sugar as a quick source of energy, but not in the amounts our society as a whole has been consuming sugar. It is also a good idea to stay away from white table sugar as much as possible. This refined sugar has almost no nutritional value other than the �empty� calories it provides. Some people refer to white sugar as �white death�.
Eating fresh fruits is a much better way to give in to our sweet tooth, get the sugars our bodies need while also absorbing an array of other nutrients, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.
The high consumption of sugar in the western world is leading to an increase in health conditions from diabetes to obesity.
Is sugar addictive? Yes � not only do we get addicted to the neurotransmitters that are released by the consumption of sugar, which is a reaction very similar to the �high� of a drug addict, consuming sugar also causes our blood sugar levels to rise quickly and then plummet back down just as fast, resulting in a craving for more sugar. This is a desperate (and futile) attempt of our body to keep the blood sugar in balance.
What Can I Do To Curb My Sugar Cravings?
The best way to curb sugar cravings is to aim for a stable blood sugar. You can do this by avoiding sugary treats and drinks like candy, soda and even fruit drinks. Instead try sweetening your foods and drinks with stevia. Please avoid any artificial sweeteners.
Craving sweets is also often an indication of a lack of certain nutrients such as chromium, carbon, phosphorus, sulphur and tryptophan. Let�s take a look at what foods you should be eating to make sure you get enough of these nutrients.
Chromium � eat broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans and chicken
Carbon � eat fresh fruit
Phosphorus � eat chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes and grains
Sulphur � eat cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale and cabbage
Tryptophan � eat cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato and spinach.
If you find yourself drawn to sweets as a response to stress, your first step of action should be to try to eliminate the stress. If you have an argument with your spouse, talk things out. If you are stressed in your job, schedule a meeting with your boss to see if you can get more time, more resources or an assistant.
Sometimes eliminating the cause of stress isn�t an option. In that case, try to exercise. Go for a brisk walk, join your local gym or work out with your favorite exercise video at home. Not only will the exercise help you blow off some stream, it also releases some of the same neurotransmitters that the consumption of sugar does � without the empty calories.
Are cravings running your life? Diana Walker provides natural solutions to cravings, mood swings, and PMS. Immediately receive Diana�s free Cravings Coach TIPS at http://www.thecravingscoach.com
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posted by Joel @ 4:30 PM
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