Vegetables: Is Cooking Them the Answer?

Vegetables. Now though there are exceptions it seems the older we get the more we want to eat them. So how do we prepare them? What is the best way to season them and cook them so we can enjoy them and still receive the benefits from them.
Let's pick a vegetable and we'll discuss a different way to prepare a delectable dish for it.
Asparagus is going to be the subject in this topic. It's delicious and can be eaten with almost any food in the world. Chicken, fish, rice, seafood, potatoes, etc. Anything. According to pkdiet.com answering the question, What are the nutritional benefits of asparagus? They wrote:
A 5.3 ounce serving (approximately 5 spears) has only 20 calories, 0 fat or cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 400 milligrams of potassium, 3 grams of fiber, 60% of the USRDA of folacin, and are excellent sources of thiamin and vitamin B6. Also, nutrition-and-you.com writes that its shoots are also good source of vitamin K. Adequate vitamin-K levels in the diet help limiting neuronal damage in the brain; thus, has established role in the treatment of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
So how do we cook it. Some people cook the mush out of it until it holds no density and with that thought here comes another one. How much nutritional value are we losing when we cook our vegetables or over cook them. Well, according to livestrong.com we lose minerals and vitamins when cooking our vegetables however we increase the antioxidants when steaming or boiling them. They also noted that if you boil your vegetables and want to maintain that mineral or vitamin value then you can save the water after boiling your vegetables and make a soup. The minerals and vitamins in your vegetables boil out into the water so be creative while staying healthy.

So below is a gourmet recipe to cook your asparagus. The referenced website is listed next to the ingredients you will need for the recipe. Please enjoy this recipe from

Manjula's Kitchen:
ifood.tv - Asparagus w/ Ginger

1 lb. Asparagus
2 tbsp. of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Cumin Seed
1 tbsp. of minced Ginger
2 teaspoon of Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 cup (4tbs) parmesan cheese

Instructions:

The first thing you are going to do is prepare the asparagus. Holding the stalk at both ends, bend the asparagus gently until the stalk break's on its own. When finished throw away the base of the broken stalks. Now take a knife and
slice the remaining asparagus spears diagonally into 2 inch pieces.

After you've cut the stalks, using a large frying pan bring your olive oil to medium heat.
Put the cumin seeds to the frying pan and wait till they crack; then add your sliced asparagus, ginger, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.

Now, stir-fry it for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the asparagus are tender but still crunchy. You don't want to over cook the asparagus. You want to make sure you keep it crisp.
When finished cooking:
Now you just sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on your dish, just prior to serving.

TIPS from Manjula's Kitchen:

Add 1 tablespoon sliced almonds halfway through cooking the asparagus. This will make a beautiful presentation and taste great.

I want to thank Manjula's Kitchen, ifood.tv, pkdiet.com and wikipedia for their help and if you are interested in more motivational ways to live a healthy lifestyle then keep glancing around the site there is tons of information that is fun to learn and great to enjoy!

SeeFood with Shrimp

How do you see your food? Do you see it as just something to eat, something to enjoy, savor and remember or do you see your food as something that will help you physically and mentally propel into the future. Why not see what you eat as all of the above.

Today we look at some great ideas to help us enjoy what we eat and hopefully think of new ways to improve it.

What kind of food do you like? What do you prefer to cook, eat and serve to your family?  I personally love everything about food. There are so many different kinds of ways to cook everything.  We have ethnic foods, local foods, home cooked meals, fast food, restaurant foods, etc. When we go shopping what do we think about?  Do we think about how to improve what we eat and the flavors that we choose? Most of us go shopping and just shop to eat and feed our families however if we look around at what is available to us we have a palette of potential.

Let's take a simple herb if you will, "Cilantro". Also known as "Chinese Parsley", "Dhania", "Coriander".  This well-known herb has so many possibilities for flavoring our foods however do we recognize this.  Cilantro is used all across the world. In small amounts it enhances whatever dish you might cook and in large amounts Cilantro creates a strong, pungent flavor.  In restaurants cilantro is well-known and is used quite often but how many people actually shop for Cilantro when they go to the store?

Now let's look at another ingredient that gets overlooked.  It adds flavor and taste to the most delicate foods and enhances the taste buds to just keep us eating. Coconut Water.

Coconut Water is high in potassium and contains a molecule in it that helps fight cancer.  It is called "Antioxidants".  Now getting back to the ingredient itself and potential it has to wake our food up and slow our day down, coconut water can smooth out a soup or add a tropical feel to a fish and rice dish.  How many times have you gone shopping though and have walked right by this sweet flavored ingredient? Have you ever even tried cooking with it before?  Why not?

Small things that we pass by everyday get overlooked because we are comfortable with just feeding ourselves and our families after a hard days work.  We are so busy trying to change our lives through work that when it's time to rest we consider rest at its most simplest forms. However if we were to make small changes in how we choose to see rest and relaxation we would consider what we eat more.  Our food is what enhances our feelings and our attitude.

Let's take on another thought before I go.  There are two foods that you can eat and enjoy with just about anything. They are both local and ethnic in understanding and in flavor.  I mentioned them previously already. "Fish & Rice".  These two basic yet extremely delicate foods can inspire your taste buds when prepared right and served with the right dishes.  Seasoned fish with the right yield and grain of rice served with greens sitting in a bed of seasoned clam sauce with shrimp.  Enjoy.

Now for a recipe that will curl your taste buds like sex curls your toes.  It's called Prat Prit King with Shrimps.  Yum!

Prat Prik King with Shrimp:

Ingredients:

7 oz. / Shrimp

1.5 oz. / Thai Red Curry Paste

2 oz. / Thai or Chinese Coconut Milk (optional for a richer flavor)

6 oz. / Green Beans or Chinese Long Beans (Break them to about 3 or 4 inches long)

2 oz. / Serrano Peppers

2-3 / Julian Kaffir Lime Leaves

1 oz. / Thai Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp. / Granulated Sugar or Palm Sugar

2 Tbsp. / Vegetable oil

Some research through Wikipedia and some from my family. Care to look at more changes you can make in your life then click on through some of the archives and leave me a message. I appreciate hearing what you think and your stories. Thanks.

Spice & Som Tum

Sawasdee Khrap! Hello, me again.
Today I want to introduce you to a different and delicious kind of salad. Talking about it at 3:06 in the morning is difficult because I just want to eat it right now. First put your hands together and bow your head. I told you it's 3 in the morning and I'm bowing my head to my computer right now for this dish. There's excitement all around when the thought of this salad arises. Trust me. The ladies dig it.

This is a Thai salad that is sweet, tangy and spicy all at the same time. It will invigorate your taste buds and set the room on fire. To prepare you will need a jug of water and paper towels to wipe your foreheads for each person sharing this dish.

Natty Netsuwan's Thai salad: (Love it!)

Ingredients:

(A dish for two)

5 Cherry Tomatoes, 2 chili peppers, 1 tablespoon dried shrimp, 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 clove garlic, 6 green beans, 2 cups shredded green papaya, 3/4 lime, 1 1/2 tablespoons Palm Sugar, 2 tablespoons toasted peanuts optional.

Materials Needed===============================================

1.) clay mortar
2.) wooden pestle
3.) spatula

Cooking Instructions=============================================

So let's begin. First you want to smash a clove of garlic and then add green beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Pound the mixture a few times just so to bruise the beans and get the juice out of the tomatoes. Then add in the chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the flavors of the spice. Depending on your taste buds and your preference of spice you can add in more or less of the chili peppers (This is where the jug of water comes into play later). Next you want to add in the green papaya, dried shrimp, toasted peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Use the pestle to push the mixture up in the mortar and the spatula to push it down so that the mixture is mixed well.

However, if you do not have a big enough mortar you can crush garlic, tomatoes, green beans. Set them aside in a large bowl. Add dried shrimp, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar to the bowl. Add green papaya and mix well.

Serve with sticky rice and a sliver of cabbage, green beans and Thai basil. The cabbage and the green beans along with the sticky rice work alongside the jug of water. All you need now is the right person to eat it with. Enjoy everyone and thank you Natty!

Here is a video from Rin Silpachai over at Rins Cook Book  Enjoy!

I'd like to give my thanks to Natty Netsuwan for her amazing Thai Salad (som tum) recipe as well as Rin Silpachai for her amazing video recipe. Thank you both!  If you enjoyed this post, enjoyed these recipes and are still interested in learning new and exciting ways to live life in the healthiest way possible then visit Natty at http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/green-papaya-salad and Rin over at http://rinscookbook.blogspot.com/ 

The Blender Diet (for gaining weight)

So what to do after you've stopped your routine and fell off from exercising.  You've lost weight and slimmed down and are wanting a change quick and quickly enough to carry your thoughts and motivation into a real physical and mental change.  Well, today we will discuss this.  I've found it easier to go light on the weights and go heavy on how you manage your intake and your output when you begin.  Later on during the next few weeks you start focusing more on weights and muscle building.  Now we want to focus on preparing your body.  Starting over is always difficult however it is possible to do it relatively with ease.

Food:  Blend everything!  These two words are formula that can build you up so quick you won't remember being slim and unmotivated.  I eat a regular breakfast.   Two eggs over easy with grilled tomatoes and onions (sometimes with Bacon or ham).  Big milk fan so I drink a glass or two almost every morning.  Toast with butter (1pc.)....I do not blend my breakfast unless it's cereal however I would my lunch and dinner unless it's a rice meal.  You can blend rice if you want I just enjoy eating rice whole.  Love the stuff.  

Here are some blending ideas for lunch and dinner.  I'm not going to list seasonings however I will hint towards dressings.  Salad dressings don't have to be for just salads.  They are also delicious to use on or with certain foods.  And since we're blending our food we might want that dressing as medium or a neutral flavor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blend This

1.)  Cereal & Milk      

 2.)  Mackerel, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable

        3.)  Egg (2)(Boiled), Pepperoni Stick, Vegetable of some kind (your choice)

      4.)  Pastas can and should be blended if you are on a "Blender Diet".  Also I use bleu cheese salad dressing to flavor it.  I blend the spaghetti with my choice of sauce and then after I add little bit of bleu cheese on top.  I'm a huge fan of spaghetti)

5.)  Fruit (all fruit can be blended)

6.)  Ice cream (blend with cashew nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raw egg [1], fruit or anything else you might want throw in there.)

Remember, the point of this diet since we're trying to gain weight is to blend these foods.  You chew less and the food is worth more because it breaks down in your system better.

7.)  Vegetables with shrimp (you can add butter or another dressing of your choice)

8.) Soups (all your soups can be blended)

9.)  Chicken & Beans (red or black)
Note:  You can even toss in a plantain or two.

10.)  Sandwiches (I love the way a Publix Ultimate Sub taste when it's blended up)

So as you can see the possibilities are delicious.  You can use these ideas or be creative and blend something that your stomach craves.  If you are someone who is distant about making this kind of change, not to worry.   You will eventually find a recipe to blend that will stick with you forever.  Also, right now we can't lose thought about what our goals are.  We are trying to gain weight as quickly as possible so in the beginning it might be tough but in the end the benefits are endless.  

-Managing Our Blending Diet With Our Training Schedule-

We know what we're eating on our "Blender Diet" so now let's talk about how to manage this diet into growth and muscle instead of it turning into fat.  The spectrum of this diet can go both ways.  It's an extreme platform.  By this I mean blending your foods can make you fat or extremely strong.  Now instead of me writing down every exercise I'm going to give you some ideas through some videos I've made.  There simple but they are effective.

You have to remember that since you are blending foods instead of eating them whole your body is breaking them down as you tell it to.  You do not want to be sitting around on this type of diet.  You will get fat.  So, Cardio (jogging, running, up-downs, swimming, etc.).  I suggest you jog every other day or every other two days to encourage these nutrients to absorb into the right places.  Weight lifting depends on how you feel in the beginning.  Try to fit some weight training in but don't push yourself too hard and remember to lift responsibly.

Push-ups:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/10/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-1_27.html

Crunches:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/11/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-3_1.html

Jump Rope:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/10/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-1-jump.html

Curls & Dips:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/11/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-3.html

Stairs:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/10/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-3.html

The Run:
http://myweave.blogspot.com/2013/10/muscle-structure-4-day-swell-day-1-run.html

The Blender Diet (for gaining weight)

Sport Workout: The Neck

Hello everybody!  Today I want to talk about the neck.  I've written exercises that help stretch and strengthen the neck however today I want to go into further detail about the structure itself and follow it up with an extreme exercise that will ultimately help build your neck.  However before we can build up a structure we should understand what that structure consists of.

The neck has 5 main muscles:

• Cervical
• Suprahyoid
• Infrahyoid  (Also known as the "Strap")
•  Vertebral  (Also known as the "Anterior")
• Lateral  (larapilo muscle)

Each of these 5 main muscles that make up the neck have their own counter-parts.

The Cervical can be broken down into two muscle parts.  The Platysma and the Sternocleidomastoid.

The Suprahyoid can be broken down into four muscle parts.  The Digastric, Stylohyoid, Mylohyoid, Genionhyoid.

The Infrahyoid (Also known as the "Strap" muscles) can be broken down into four muscle parts.  The Sternohyoid, Sternothyroid, Thyrohyoid, Omohyoid.

The Vertebral (Also known as the "Anterior") can be broken down into four muscle parts.  The Longus Colli, Longus Capitis, Rectus Capitis Anterior, Rectus Capitis Lateralis.

The Lateral  (Also known as the "Larapilo" muscle) can be broken down into four muscle parts.  The Scalene, Anterior, Medius, Posterior.

Everyone of these muscle structures can be strengthened to give us the figure we are looking for.  Now that we understand what muscles the neck structure consists of we can start to build these muscles safely.  Below I have detailed an exercise that is effective because it focuses not only on the muscles main parts but also on the muscles counter-parts.

Let's begin;

First thing you want to do is stand with your feet shoulder width apart with your hands on your hips like in figure A.

Next you want to tilt your head to the left, like in figure B.

Now Rotate your head forward and to the right like in figure C & D.

You should rotate your head in one movement.

Now with your head tilted to the right continue rotating tilting your head back and then to the left ending up back in starting position.  Figure A, B, C, D, E below.

Repeat this stretch 10 to 15 times in one direction and then switch and rotate 10 to 15 times in the other direction.  

The next exercises are focused on strengthening the neck.

 Sport Workout: The Neck

Muscle Structure: 4 Day Swell (Day 3) - Curls + Dips

Hello Everyone!

Day 3, Video 4... Enjoy!

Video 4 :: Curls + Dips

Hey you guys!  This video is to help with giving you some instruction with Curls and dips.  

Please Comment on these videos...They're for you.  I enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions plus there have been over 5000 visitors to my site already in fact just yesterday I had over 1100 visitors and that was in just one day.   So others will be reading your thoughts as well.  

Thanks again and I hope you really enjoy.

Addicting Games: Free Ones Available

Addicting Games: Look No More!

It's not hard to find addicting games online. As it turns out, if you do a little research you can find exactly what you are looking for. I started this game online about a week ago and I still can't get enough of it. There are actually a few of them out there. Of course I usually only play them when I'm at work or at home and when I'm on a desktop but still these are addicting games.

At the end of this article I will provide you with a link to a website that has a list of the top free addicting games online today. They have every genre of game possible. These games have great story lines, friendly graphics and easy keyboard control systems. Before finding this game website I found myself getting boggled up by all the other gaming websites. They either had really bad games and I mean at least there weren't any addicting games or their website was too difficult to enter, navigate and play.

I not only write articles but I also write a fitness & nutrition blog and it features sport exercises, nutritional tips, as well as games. And the list that I've compiled is what seems to be the best top online games that are free right now. There is everything from shooting games, fighting games, fishing, etc. And I mean these are really addicting games. Sure you can skip to the bottom of the article or click on the following link if you want and get over to my blog (My Weave) and start playing. The first page you'll be transferred to is the "Game Categories" page. After you've selected the category you're interested in you'll be sent the "Game Selections" page. From there you pick the game you want to play and click "Play Now". It's as easy as 1-2-3.

So What do I look for in addicting games?

Well...For really good addicting games I look for action, suspense (I like to be on the edge of my seat while I'm playing), a good story line, friendly graphics and an easy keyboard control system. These are all good ways to asses how a game really is and whether or not a game is for only a moment or if it will stand the test of time. Again the hardest thing about finding these addicting games is picking through all those other gaming websites out there that we are trying so hard to steer clear of.

Addicting Games Below

Hope you enjoyed this article and I hope you leave my some comments on the "Category Page" of my blog. I would love to hear your feed back of what you think so I can make it easier to help people. Just follow the link:http://myweave.blogspot.com