Archive for community
2012/05/27 at 00:09 · Filed under cooking, food, movie
a friend once told me that eating is a chore but it can be a source of much enjoyment as shown in the two movies i saw in the last week. Love’s Kitchen is about a chef who lost his gift when his wife passed away. new adventure and inspiration revive his ability to cook with love. The Ramen Girl is about a girl who becomes an apprentice to a reluctant noodle shop chef. after weeks of cleaning duties, she finally learns the steps but her broth is bland until the chef’s mother advises her to cook with her heart and feelings, not her head.
from the mixture of the right ingredients, the passion of the creation and the consumption with heightened senses, enjoying food is a developed art. a child may not appreciate food when force-fed needed nutrients – nor – a pregnant woman enjoy food when she can’t keep food down or has to eat every few hours. when one has the ability to appreciate the flavors, food is magic.
while neither movie is a must-see, the joy of cooking and eating is apparent in both. it is fun to remind ourselves of this joy every now and then. afterwards, get inspired to cook and eat a great meal!
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watch Love’s Kitchen (2011) and The Ramen Girl (2008)
images from wikipedia.org
read review of The Ramen Girl: Broth in translation – The Japan Times Online (Jan 23, 2009)
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2012/05/24 at 00:00 · Filed under education, food, health, tv/web
the recommended daily intake of calcium per day is 1200mg for healthy bones. to make sure one can reach that goal, calcium supplements help when one doesn’t have enough with food. but a new study links calcium supplements with greater danger of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular issues. the study did not show that calcium supplements were the actual causes of the issues but that those who took it were in the group who has more heart attacks.
the result? having too much or too little calcium is not good. consuming ~820mg calcium in one’s diet daily, helps lower the risk of heart attacks and is crucial for bone health. best sources of calcium in one’s diet includes dairy products, canned fish with edible bones (sardines, salmon), green vegetables (broccoli, kale, bok choy), nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts) and fruits (oranges, apricots, dried figs).
other ways to protect bone and heart health:
- Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke
- Be sure to get enough vitamin D (800 to 1,000 iu)
- Exercise (regular weight-bearing exercise, including walking, jogging, dancing, and skipping). Older women who sit 9 or more hours a day have a 50 percent higher risk for hip fracture than those who sit fewer than six hours a day.
- Limit TV time: people who devoted four or more hours a daily to screen-based leisure time entertainment had double the risk of a major cardiac event resulting in hospitalization, death or both, compared to people who spent less than 2 hours glued to the tube.
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read article on Yahoo! Health by Lisa Collier Cool for Healthline: Calcium Supplement Linked to Higher Heart Attack Risk
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2012/05/14 at 00:00 · Filed under bean/soy/tofu, beverage, caffeine, cooking, education, food, fruit/vegetable-sweet, grains/oats/wheats, health, nuts, seafood-fish, spices/herbs, tv/web, vegetable/fruit-savory, yogurt
instead of taking medication, changing one’s diet can help fight pain.
- Anti-inflammatory herbs and spices:
turmeric, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, tart cherry, curry rosemary
- Non-animal sources of protein:
fish (canned salmon, black cod, tuna, sardines, halibut, mackerel, herring, anchovies), legumes, dried beans (lentils, soybeans, black beans), grains (quinoa, millet, spelt), and plant (pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaxseed)
- Healthy fats:
coconut oil, olive oil, grape-seed oil, avocado, ground flax, nu butters, omega-3 fortified eggs
- Wide variety of plants:
kale, whole grains, beans, lentils; whole rainbow: dark green, red, orange, yellow, blue and purple fruits and vegetables; whites (cauliflower, garlic, onion); blacks (black beans)
- Probiotics:
any yogurt containing live cultures (check for Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. bifidus) and any fermented food (kimchee, sauerkraut, kefir
- Water and other anti-inflammatory beverages:
water, green tea, black tea, coffee
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read article on Yahoo! Health by Paula Spencer Scott for Caring.com: 6 Foods That Fight Pain
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2012/05/10 at 00:00 · Filed under education, health, tv/web
Trauma, grief, financial troubles, and unemployment are a few well-known triggers for depression but there are some other lesser know reasons:
- Poor sleep habits
- Smoking
- Thyroid disease
- Facebook overload (unrealistic view of the world)
- End of a project or show (something important comes to an end)
- Where you live (living in urban settings have 39% higher risk of mood disorder)
- Too many choices (sheer number of options can be overwhelming)
- Lack of fish in the diet (low intake of omega-3 fatty acids)
- Poor sibling relationships
- Birth control pills (side effects)
- Rx medications (side effects)
- Summer weather (body experiences delay in adjusting to new season)
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read article on Yahoo! Health by Caroline Murray for Health.com: 12 Surprising Causes of Depression
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2012/05/09 at 00:00 · Filed under corn, education, environmental, food, health, organic/sustainable, retail, tv/web
as more studies are done on genetically modified foods, more health risks are learned. a natural insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), used to genetically modify corn produces a protein that when absorbed by humans results in detectable levels of toxins are found in the blood of pregnant and non-pregnant women. lab research shows that this toxin has toxic effects on human kidney cells.
it doesn’t seem like this issue has been raised to an alarming level yet as it is very hard to find organic corn. but there are a few places, i.e trader joe’s frozen section has organic corn kernels. i hope the FDA will speed up restrictions on using this and other insecticides that can cause harm to our health.
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read article on Digital Journal by E. Hector Corsi for Health: Evidence of GMO toxin absorption and toxicity
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2012/05/04 at 00:00 · Filed under education, exercise, health, tv/web
i’ve never been a “runner” – i don’t care about speed or have the ambition to go faster than anyone. i like go about my own speed and push myself to get in 45 minutes to 1 hour each time. with a little more work, i can reap the rewards of the this: according to a Danish study, jogging can add about 6 years to your life!
in a study of non-joggers and joggers, researchers found that male joggers can extend their life by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years from jogging at a slow pace 1 to 2-1/2 hours weekly. benefits of jogging include improvements in:
- Oxygen uptake
- Insulin sensitivity
- Lipid profiles (raising “good” HDL cholesterol and lowering triglycerides)
- Heart function
- Bone density
- Immune function
- Psychological function
in addition, jogging helps lower blood pressure, reduce platelet aggregation and prevent obesity.
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read article on Yahoo! Health from HealthDay: Joggers Live Longer, Study Says
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2012/03/29 at 01:00 · Filed under education, food, health, tv/web
here are some healing ingredients to ease minor ailments
- Honey
for minor cuts and burns, cough or sore throat
Apply warm honey to a minor cut or mild burn, then put a gauze bandage on top; change the dressing daily. However, if you have a burn or wound accompanied by swelling, fever, or pain, check with a doctor instead; it may require oral antibiotics
- Salt
for sinus congestion, sore throat
- For a sore throat, dissolve half a teaspoon of non-iodized salt in an 8-ounce glass of water, and simply gargle the water.
- To flush out your sinuses, fill a clean squeeze bottle or neti pot with the solution, lean over a sink, and squeeze or pour it into your nostril. Use only sterile bottled or tap water that has been boiled and then cooled, in your nose.
- Peppermint Tea
for: indigestion, stomachache
Brew a cup of peppermint-leaf tea and drink up.
- Meat Tenderizer (unseasoned)
for: bee stings, nonpoisonous spider bites
Mix a small amount of meat tenderizer with water to make a paste and apply to the bite. Leave on for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
- Oatmeal
for eczema, sunburn, hives
Put a cup of oats through a food processor until they dissolve easily into a glass of water. Pour the solution into a bathtub full of warm water and soak for 15 minutes.
- if you’re using regular oatmeal, grind it into fine powder
- if you’re using colloidal oats, just sprinkle them into the tub
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read article on Yahoo! Health by Marisa Cohen for Health.com: Home Remedies Doctors Swear By
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2012/03/29 at 00:00 · Filed under education, food, health, retail
we know some foods are healthy but there are others that are just as healthy. if you like …
- Broccoli, try: Bok choy
- Apple, try: Persimmon
- Steak, try: Goat
- Oatmeal, try: Buckwheat
- Muenster cheese, try: Edam cheese
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read article on Yahoo! Health from The Editors of Men’s Health: 5 Healthy Foods You Aren’t Eating
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2012/03/25 at 00:00 · Filed under cooking, education, environmental, food, fruit/vegetable-sweet, healthy, organic/sustainable, retail, tv/web, vegetable/fruit-savory, vegetarian
eating fruits and vegetables by choosing freshest seasonal foods will keep things inexpensive and eco-friendly. here are 14 of spring’s seasonal freshest:
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Tangerines
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Lettuces
- Peas
- Swiss Chard
- Raspberries
- Fava Beans
- Radishes
- Artichokes
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read article by Emily Dom for Fitness Magazine: Healthy Recipes for Spring’s Freshest Ingredients
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2012/03/24 at 00:00 · Filed under education, environmental, food, health, organic/sustainable, spices/herbs, tv/web
instead of medicine, here are 9 foods that can provide some relief:
- Aloe Vera
Grow it: Plant in pots placed in full sunshine. Water well.
Use it: Break open the thick leaves and apply the gel that seeps out to your skin to soothe sunburn.
- Basil
Grow it: This sweet, fragrant annual is ideal for growing in pots. Pull off the white flowers as soon as they appear to keep it from going to seed and your herbs from tasting bitter.
Use it: Rub crushed leaves on your temples to relieve headaches. Pour boiling water over basil leaves for a pain-relieving footbath.
- Lavender
Grow it: This sun-loving plant needs good drainage. Use a small pot filled with gravel and a light soil.
Use it: It has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Crush a handful of the heads and add to a bowl of boiling water to use as a steam bath for your face. You can also dab the oil from the flowers on blemishes.
- Lemon Balm
Grow it: Pot it, or it will colonize your garden.
Use it: Use for healing and preventing cold sores. Also, rub leaves directly onto skin as a natural insect repellent or to soothe bites.
- Mint
Grow it: Use a sunken pot, because it grows vigorously.
Use it: Ideal for treating the collywobbles, which you might know as butterflies in the stomach. Sip tea made with fresh peppermint leaves to soothe stomach cramps, nausea, and flatulence. For a natural decongestant, place a fistful of mint leaves in a shallow bowl and cover with boiling water. Lean over it, drape a towel over your head, and breathe the steam.
- Parsely
Grow it: Thrives in a pot in the sun as long as the soil is kept moist. Feed with organic fertilizer.
Use it: Immune-system booster. Eat one tablespoon of chopped flatleaf or curly parsley daily. Chewing parsley neutralizes mouth odors.
- Rosemary
Grow it: This hardy perennial loves basking in sunshine.
Use it: Tea made from a thumb-sized piece has been known to lift spirits in people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and hangovers. Infuse warm red wine with rosemary, cinnamon, and cloves to soothe winter colds.
- Sage
Grow it: Needs full sun and a dry sandy soil. Sage means “to be in good health.”
Use it: Gargle with a broth made from a quarter-cup of leaves (and cooled) to relieve sore throat.
- Thyme
Grow it: Plant in dry, light soil. Needs sun.
Use it: A powerful antioxidant as well as an antiseptic. Drink a tea made from lemon thyme to treat colds before bed. Warning: don’t use thyme when pregnant.
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read article by Jeff Csatari & Nikki Werner for Organic Gardening: 9 Food Cures You Can Grow at Home
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