Quinoa

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source, unusual among plant foods.^[13] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.

Microwave Instructions: we have tried this method and highly recommend it.
1 cup Quinoa,
2 cups water in a 2 quart microwave bowl.
Cook on high 100% for 5 minutes and 60% for 8 minutes.
Let stand for a few minutes and voila, perfect Quinoa.

For an energy saving method,
combine 1-cup water to each
½ cup of quinoa in a pan.
Bring to a full boil for 5 minutes,
and then set aside, covered for 15 minutes.

http://www.quinoa.net/181.html

MISC 'DR' INFOs-
Quinoa is a complete protein supplying all eight of the essential amino acids and is a good source of fiber, folate, magnesium, iron, phosphorous and many phytochemicals.

It has a mild, nutty flavor, a fluffy texture similar to couscous and it can be used in place of rice, pasta or other grains. Serve quinoa for breakfast in place of hot cereal, as a salad or a side dish. One cup provides five grams of fiber and contains over 200 calories.

A very good source of magnesium and manganese, quinoa contains thrice as much magnesium as calcium. It is also a very fine protein source and possesses healthy levels of vitamins B2, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. It is also a good source of the minerals iron, phosphorous, copper, and zinc.

Quinoa is a fantastic wheat- and gluten-free choice, probably the least allergenic of the grains. Like buckwheat, quinoa has an excellent amino acid profile, not only because of its absolute high protein content but also because it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is an excellent protein source for vegans.

Quinoa, like soy is a complete plant protein because it contains all 8 essential amino acids. It is a good source of magnesium, which plays a role in relaxing blood vessels. Potassium, a key mineral in heart health is also present in good quantities in Quinoa. It also contains fiber, which aids with digestion. Be sure to include this nutritional powerhouse in your diet whenever possible.

Vegetarians' Proteins

Protein sources for vegetarians is very difficult and requires planning. Consider things such as eggs, soybean, whole grains (such as quinoa), nuts and seeds (pumpkin, almond, etc), legumes (beans, peas and lentils) broccoli, kale, spinach, squash and pumpkin. Green plants are also a source of protein such as kale.

I thoroughly recommend this online food journal that has made tracking my eating habits a fun and easy project.
http://www.fitclick.com/calorie_counter?ip=1&dt=9/5/2011

Five Forbidden Foods

posted by Nancy Coulter-Parker

When it comes to your diet, nutritionists never say "never." "We don't talk anymore about foods that you can't eat," says Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., FitClick.com expert and a nutrition consultant to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics. "You have to learn how to include everything in your diet with balance and moderation." In other words, staying active and eating an otherwise healthy diet will allow you to enjoy the occasional Ho Ho without getting arrested by the food police. We asked nutrition experts to name the "consume with caution" foods and give tips on how to enjoy them responsibly. Search the list below to find out if your particular weakness comes with a restraining order.
1. Fried foods (french fries, chicken-fried steak, egg rolls)
They're superhigh in saturated fat, a first-class artery clogger. Frying also adds a ton of calories without adding any nutrients, says Kleiner. Rule to eat by: Try to limit your saturated fat intake to no more than 10 percent of your total calories.
2. "Fake" foods (anything with Olestra in it, loads of sugar in place of fat)
"If you live an active lifestyle and you are eating a balanced diet, then you can indulge in the real thing on occasion," says Kleiner. Also, keep in mind that nonfat or low-fat doesn't mean non-caloric, says Ellen Coleman, R.D., at the Sport Clinic in Riverside, California. "It's not a license to overeat." Rule to eat by: Instead of devouring the whole cake or entire bag of chips, eat one serving (a slice, 10 to 20 chips) and save the rest for later.
3. Artificially sweetened products (diet sodas, low-calorie yogurt)
"People think diet sodas are the be-all and end-all," says Keith Ayoob, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. It's okay to have them, says Ayoob, "but when you use them to replace other, more nutritional drinks, like milk, that's a concern." Rule to eat by: Again, if you're active, there's no need to avoid sugar, just eat it in moderation, adds Kleiner. Give yourself one sweet treat a day; ditto for artificially sweetened foods.
4. Palm and coconut oils, shortening
These oils are the worst kind of saturated fat and shortening is a trans fat, the bottom of the fat barrel. Rule to eat by: Again, they should make up no more than 10 percent of your daily fat intake. At the very least, replace them with heart-healthy olive or vegetable oils instead.5. 5.Gooey, sticky candy (think caramels, taffy)Anyone who's ever gotten his teeth stuck in one of these knows they're bad for your pearly whites. "People suffer from terrible dental problems as a result of sucking on these all day long," says Kleiner. Rule to eat by: Brush your teeth—and let your dental bill be your guide.

This is from www.atkins.com-I am not promoting Atkins, but it is a good explanation of how it all works! My high protein diet, based on weight loss surgery principles, follows the same theories.HOW AND WHY ATKINS WORKS:Atkins turns your body into a fat-burning machine. Metabolism is the process that converts food into either energy or your body’s building blocks. Eating the right foods can improve your body’s metabolism, particularly how it handles fat. When you eat fewer carb foods—relying mostly on vegetables rich in fiber—your body switches to burning fat (including your own body fat) instead of carbs as its primary fuel source.

Get an exit pass off the blood sugar roller coaster. When you digest carb foods, they convert to glucose (sugar), which your bloodstream transports throughout your body. A rise in blood glucose level triggers the release of the hormone insulin, which moderates your glucose level. So carb intake is largely responsible for blood sugar fluctuations. Food need not taste sweet—think mashed potatoes and white bread—to convert rapidly to glucose.

Because your body can store no more than half a day’s energy supply of glucose—unlike our ability to store almost limitless amounts of fat—it makes sense that we burn as much carbohydrate as we can as soon as it’s digested and absorbed. After each carb-heavy meal or snack, your body stops burning off fat as your insulin level escalates to deal with the rising tide of blood sugar. Fat calories are always pushed to the back of the line—where more than likely they’re stored. That’s why insulin is called the “fat hormone.” As long as you keep making glucose into fat, you’re doomed to being heavy.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why cutting your carb intake and eating mostly whole food carbohydrates is the core premise of the Atkins Diet.

By changing the balance of carbs, fats and protein in your diet, you boost your energy level and keep it on an even keel. When you eat foods composed primarily of protein, fat and fiber, your body produces far less insulin. And when the carbs you do eat are in the form of high-fiber whole foods, which convert to glucose relatively slowly, your blood sugar level holds steady, along with your energy level. You don’t crave a fast-fix energy booster in the form of sugary, starchy food. And you’re less hungry at meals.

This perfectly normal process of burning primarily fat for energy has a welcome side effect: weight loss. There’s nothing strange or risky about a primarily fat metabolism. In fact, fat is your body’s back-up energy source. The ability to carry a “fanny pack” of energy in the form of fat actually helped our distant ancestors survive in times of famine and when hunters returned home empty handed.

Just to be clear, eating fats doesn’t make you fat as long as you give your body permission to burn them. Place the blame where it belongs: overeating and overreacting to carbs. And herein lies the not-so-secret secret of the Atkins Diet and the key to weight loss—and later weight maintenance—without cravings or undue hunger.

Vegetarian Protein Primer
by Lesli Bonci
Vegetarianism is gaining in popularity among active individuals. By definition, a vegetarian does not regularly include meat, poultry, fish, or seafood in his or her diet. But the term is broken down further into three subcategories: Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-lacto vegetarian, and Vegan.

Lacto-vegetarian: A vegetarian who consumes dairy foods, soy, legumes (dried beans and peas), nuts/seeds, fruit, vegetables, and grains.

Ovo-lacto vegetarian: Same as above, plus eggs are added to the list of acceptable foods.

Vegan: A vegetarian who consumes no dairy but eats soy, legumes, nuts/seeds, fruit, vegetables, and grains.

With the exception of soy protein, most plant foods are incomplete protein foods—in other words, they do not contain all the essential amino acids. Not to worry. Since most of us eat a mix of foods at each meal, it is fairly easy to meet the protein requirements. A peanut butter sandwich is a complete protein, but if you just ate peanut butter off the spoon, or just bread as your only food sources for the day, the body would not get all the essential amino acids and would be unable to synthesize new proteins. The bottom line: Vary your diet, even if it's plant-based. Don't just eat all grains or all beans or just nuts and seeds, but include some of each throughout the day. Four tasty examples for how to get complete proteins in vegetarian form: hummus and pita bread; black bean burrito; peanut butter sandwich; red beans and rice.

Dairy foods are complete proteins, so you'll want to incorporate some yogurt, cheese, milk, cottage cheese, or an occasional egg to help meet your needs. If vegetable burgers are your chosen entree, choose the soy ones—they're higher in protein. Remember, vegetarianism can be a healthy lifestyle, as long as when you eliminate the food with a face from your plate, you find an alternative. A new bean, grain, or soy dish will not only keep you healthy; it will keep you happy, too.

8 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism
By Dietitian Juliette Kellow BSc RD
1. Get active - it's a sure-fire way to increase the amount of muscle you have, which in turn will speed up your metabolism. Do a mixture of aerobic and resistance training for best results. And don't forget to be more active in your daily life too.
2. Eat little and often - there's evidence that eating small, regular meals throughout the day, rather than one or two large meals, may help to keep your metabolism ticking over. Surprisingly, around 10 percent of the calories we use each day go on digesting and absorbing food - so the more times you eat, the greater this effect is likely to be.
3. Eat plenty of protein-rich foods - research shows that around 25 percent of calories in a protein-rich meal may be burnt off. But make sure you choose low-fat protein foods such as lean meat, skinless chicken and low-fat dairy products.
4. Spice up meals - it's not an old wives tale after all! Spices like chilli are thought to raise metabolism by up to 50 percent for up to three hours after eating, due to increasing your heart rate. But before putting the local Indian takeaway on speed dial, work out which curries have the lowest calorie and fat content.
5. Swap you daily cuppa for green tea - there's evidence that it contains antioxidants that speed up metabolism.
6. Try a CLA supplement - more extensive studies need to be carried out before any definite conclusions can be drawn, but research has shown that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) might increase muscle and therefore boost metabolism.
7. Chill out - research shows that being very cold can increase metabolism by up to 20 percent.
8. Have a sauna - being very hot is also thought to boost metabolism by about 20 percent (but check you don't have any underlying medical problems that mean you shouldn't go in saunas or steam rooms).

GINGER TEA

• Fresh ginger – 80 g
• Fresh cinnamon pieces- 20 g
• Water – 8 cups
• Optional (just before you serve the tea) – 4 to 5 pine nuts, 1 tsp of honey

Preparation

1. Clean the ginger well (peel the skin off as well). – I scrubbed it with rough cloth first then used a spoon to scrub off the skin
2. Rinse the cinnamon in cold water. (You don’t need to cut them into small pieces, mine was already in small pieces.)
3. Thin slice the ginger.

Cooking

1. Put the ginger, cinnamon, and water into a pot.
2. Boil it on medium (or low) heat for about 25-30 minutes.
3. Sieve the ginger and cinnamon. (Use a white straining cloth if you can, to catch the small dirt from the cinnamon)
4. Serve it in a tea cup. (You can also add some pine nuts and honey)

(thank you- borrowed from: http://mykoreankitchen.com/2006/11/30/ginger-tea-saenggang-cha-in-korean/ )

GINGER



Besides reducing inflammation, ginger has many other benefits. It helps relieve nausea, destroys a host of viruses, and in some laboratory studies has shown promise as an anticancer agent.
Preparation and Dosage
The part of ginger we use is not a root, as one might guess from the way it looks. It's actually the rhizome, or underground stem. The spicy, aromatic compounds in the rhizome that impart the medicinal activity to ginger are relatively susceptible to heat and oxygen, so tread gingerly when making medicine from this herb. To make a tea, cut a two-inch cube of rhizome into slices and simmer them in one cup of water on low heat for 10 minutes. Cover the pot while cooking to retain as many volatile constituents as possible. Remove the slices, and sip the remaining liquid before a meal. Eat the slices after drinking the tea. Drink three cups of tea per day, one before each meal.
Ginger capsules or powder are also widely available. Take at least 2,000 milligrams three times or more per day with or without food. Just be sure to use powder that has not been sitting around too long, as it can lose its potency.
People often make the mistake of taking too little ginger and thus don't gain the full benefits.
Storage
Store fresh ginger rhizomes in a cool, dark, dry place. Do not keep them in the refrigerator, even after cutting them, or they will shrivel up. Use within 2 to 3 weeks for optimal effects. Capsules or powder should be kept away from heat and light.

(from http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/herbal-remedies/medical-uses-for-ginger-ga.htm)