Posts Tagged ‘Kitchen Wisdom’

Shopping List of Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

(Reprinted from www.life123.com, without compensation, on the basis of Essential Nutritional Information under the

He Needs Some GINGER, and WATER!!

U.S. Copyright Laws)

***********

By: Laura Evans

Anti-inflammatory foods may help you reduce inflammation. The symptoms of inflammation include swelling, redness and pain.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on foods that help your body create the right kind of prostaglandins, or hormones that help the body regulate inflammation. In part, you want to eat foods that have the right types of fat so that your body will make anti-inflammatory prostaglandins and avoid the foods that have fat that leads to the production of inflammatory prostaglandins.

Good Anti-Inflammatory Foods
You will want to eat foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, an acid that is important to your health that your body is incapable of manufacturing. Not only can foods that have omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, these foods may help reduce the risks of developing heart disease, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids include:

  • Salmon
  • Trout
  • Albacore tuna
  • Walnuts
  • Brazil nuts
  • Almonds

Wild fish tends to have more omega-3 fatty acids than do farm raised fish.

In addition, look for foods that have high levels of vitamins A, C and E. There are many foods that are good sources of these vitamins, including:

  • Garbanzo beans
  • Brown rice
  • Lentils
  • Broccoli
  • Cantaloupe
  • Tomatoes
  • Spinach
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Carrots
  • Peaches
  • Strawberries

Where would foods be without spices? Anti-inflammatory spices can add “zing” to your meals. Experiment with spices including:

  • Cinnamon
  • Rosemary
  • Mint
  • Basil
  • Cloves
  • Ginger
  • Turmeric
  • Parsley
  • Oregano

If you use oils, focus on extra virgin olive oil.

Try to avoid eating processed foods as much as possible as processed foods contain polyunsaturated and partly hydrogenated fats, a big no-no as far as inflammation and your health overall.

An anti-inflammatory diet is basically a healthy, low fat diet. Not only might you feel fewer aches and pains if you include more of these foods in your meals, you may also lose weight

Butter 101: The difference between salted vs. unsalted

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Chatelaine

By Kristen Eppich | Chatelaine – Tue, 22 Nov, 2011

Butter 101: The difference between salted vs. unsalted

 

Have you ever wondered why so many baking recipes call for unsalted butter? From a test kitchen perspective, it’s simple.

Unsalted butter is primarily used in baking where you don’t have the luxury of tasting your food as you go. It’s not easy to determine if you have the right amount of salt in a raw cake batter. Therefore, practice makes perfect, and a calculated amount of salt is defined.

In cooking, commonly the smallest amount of salt is used for seasoning – therefore salted butter is called for. It has a slightly longer shelf life than unsalted butter and is more typically found in the average household fridge. In recipes, it often serves double duty as a fat and a seasoning. (more…)

Cruciferous veggies: Nature’s healthy miracles (With RECIPES!)

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Rush Hour tips Newsletter

Tuesday, September 20th

Cruciferous veggies: Nature’s healthy miracles

Did your summer include a few extra glasses of wine, stops at the chip truck, cottage munchies, camping hot dogs, picnic cookies, garden party sangrias, barbecue cheeseburgers and pool party ice creams?

Mine sure did, and I loved every second of it.

Thankfully, Mother Nature unfolds her greatest dietary gift in autumn: cruciferous vegetables. (more…)

What’s Fresh: The best winter fruit for your buck

Monday, March 21st, 2011

By Hilary Meyer

EatingWell – Wed, 9 Mar, 2011

It’s slim pickings in the fresh fruit aisle at this time of year. It appears to be well stocked—you can find berries and melons just like you did in the summer. But now that it’s winter, I find summer-season fruits to be a sad and lifeless representation of what they were during the warmer months. Even if I have a hankering for my warm-weather favorites, I’d rather spend my money on fruit that actually tastes good now.

Below are my 5 favorite winter fruits, which are all good on their own as snacks and are delightful in desserts and savory recipes too. Here’s how to choose the best fruit, why it’s good for you and how to save money buying it at the grocery store. (more…)