Recipe - Coconut Barley Pilaf With Corn, Chicken and Cashews

Water! Water! Water!

Weigh yourself, divide your weight in half then divide 8 into that
number. That is how many 8 ounce cups of water your individual body
requires on a daily basis. Example: If one weighs 120 lbs. - 120
divided in half = 60. 8 divided into 60= 7-8, so one who weighs
120lbs. requires between 7 and 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water daily, or
about (4) 16 oz. bottles. Spread your water consumption out through
the day, drinking it slowly and steadily. Drinking too much water in
too short of time too quickly can actually be proven deadly. Your
consumption and elimination of water should stay pretty even in terms
of rate and amount. Flooding your system can cause shock to your cells
and as a result your insides can drown. Remember, the key to health is
balance. It is important to drink the amount of water your body needs
daily so as to keep your system nourished and clean. Also water helps
to flush out fluid and fat.

 Next to oxygen, water is the second most important consumption vital
to living entities and one of the prime elements responsible for life
on earth. Water makes up over 2/3rds of the planet and your body
consists of approximately 70% water. It circulates through the land
just as it does through the human body, transporting, dissolving, and
replenishing nutrients and organic matter, while carrying away waste
material. Water is the primary ingredient in all bodily fluids,
including your blood supply, lymph, saliva, glandular secretions, and
cerebrospinal fluid. It constitutes 92% of your blood, 92% of your
cerebrospinal fluid, and nearly 98% of your intestinal, gastric,
saliva, and pancreatic juices. The average 150 lb. person contains
about 5 quarts of blood in comparison to containing around 80 quarts
of water. Just to give you a small sampling of the diverse functions
of this precious element: it helps with digestion of food, helps to
maintain proper body temperature, gives lungs moisture to breathe,
helps prevent pain in your body, helps keep blood pressure normal,
helps lower cholesterol, and helps with depression, loss of libido,
and chronic fatigue.

 Your body loses about 2-3 liters of water a day via elimination,
urination, perspiration, and respiration and this amount may increase
during illness, high performance, exercise, pregnancy, and nursing. It
can't be stressed enough how essential this liquid of life is to your
well-being and how crucial it is that you replace the water you lose
on a daily basis to maintain your health. Water provides for the form
of your 100 trillion cells and is involved in all bodily and cellular
functions; therefore, it is of utmost importance to keep your body
hydrated by sufficient daily water replacement in order for it to
function efficiently. Dehydration results in deficient cell activity,
which leads to illness and disease. Just because a beverage is liquid,
does not mean that it is hydrating. Coffee, tea, alcohol, soft, and
sugary drinks are not only diuretics, but they also draw water from
the body's reserves, which classifies them as dehydrators. Every 6
ozs, of these type beverages that you consume, requires you to drink
an additional 10-12 ozs. (double the amount) of water to make up for
the loss they induce. Signs of dehydration include constipation,
headaches, indigestion, weight gain, fluid retention, and colored and
pungent urine. Illnesses associated with dehydration include colitis,
kidney stones, bladder and urinary tract infections, just to name a
few.

 Do not wait until your mouth is dry or you are thirsty to drink water.
You need to acquire the habit of drinking it even when you don't feel
like it and eventually your body will become accustomed to drinking it
on a daily, regular basis. Since water is the second most essential
element for life to exist on this earth and it is critical for the
structure and function of your body inside and out, it is imperative
to make sure the water you drink is pure, distilled, or treated with
reversed osmosis. Water constitutes, regulates, flows through,
cleanses, and helps nourish and heal every single part of your body,
but drinking water that contains poisons, toxins, chemicals, inorganic
minerals, and other contaminants can pollute, clog up and turn to
stone in every part of your body; therefore, by consuming the wrong
types of water you could end up doing more harm than good to your
system, in the long run. Stone can clog and block arteries just like
fat; hence, drinking water with inorganic minerals that your body
cannot utilize, can cause heart disease. A way to test your water is
to pour it into a pan and either let it sit in the sun and evaporate
or boil it until it evaporates. After all the water vanishes, if there
is a film, residue, or deposits left in the pan, your water is not
pure. If there are no changes to the pan, after the water vanishes,
then your water is fine.

Quinoa Salad With Lime Ginger Dressing and Shrimp

This salad, with its gingery lime dressing, scallions, cilantro and a little bit of heat, has Asian overtones. Serve it as a side dish or a light lunch or supper. Vegetarians will enjoy this without the shrimp, which garnish the top of the salad.

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (more to taste)

1 small garlic clove, minced

Salt to taste

Pinch of cayenne

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil or walnut oil

1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons buttermilk

For the salad:

3 cups cooked quinoa (3/4 cup uncooked)

4 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced thin

1 small cucumber, halved, seeded and thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

12 to 16 cooked medium shrimp, peeled

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the lime juice, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne, sesame oil, canola oil, and buttermilk.

2. In a salad bowl, combine the quinoa, scallions, cucumber, and cilantro. Toss with the dressing and divide among salad plates. Top each portion with 3 or 4 shrimp, and serve.

Quinoa...Super Food

Quinoa (pronounced keh-NO-ah or, sometimes, KEEN-wah) is a relative newcomer to the American pantry. The tiny, ancient Peruvian seed, which has a mild, nutty flavor, is related to leafy green vegetables and is often used like a grain. Quinoa is as versatile as rice but it has a protein content that is superior to that of most grains, because it contains all the essential amino acids. In particular, quinoa is high in lysine, an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair. It’s also a good source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and it has a high iron content.

Quinoa is very easy to cook. It’s important to rinse the seeds well, because they are naturally coated with a bitter substance that protects them against birds and other predators. Most packaged quinoa has already been cleaned, but it doesn’t hurt to soak and rinse it just in case. Quinoa cooks in 15 minutes, and it’s easy to tell when it’s done because the seeds display a little white thread that curls around them.

Tofu, a clean, low cal, low fat protein

Many people think that tofu is something strange and a bit gross but in actuality Tofu has many health benefits. Tofu itself is a low fat and a low calorie food.

It has vegetable protein, calcium and unsaturated fat making it very good for you nutritionally. But there are many health benefits that come from Tofu.

* Tofu can lower the risk of heart diseases by lowering the level of bad cholesterol
* Tofu can lower the risk of osteoporosis
* Can lower the risks of prostare cancer and breast cancer
* Decreased menopausal symptoms which include mood swings and hot flashes 

It is said that Tofu can prevent chronic disease such as cancers, heart diseases and is able to prevent diabetes. You can add Tofu to salad; there are Tofu burgers, hot dogs and Yuba. There are different types of Tofu, you can grill it, fry it, bake it and toss it into salad.

Tofu is very healthy, there are no downsides from eating it, it can lower cholesterol and it is great for the body. You will feel great if you can incorporate Tofu into your daily diet. But Tofu is an acquired taste and not everyone is going to like it. Try it see if it is something that can work for you.

Barley...A Fantastic Low-GI, Healthy Grain...Try It!!!

The Importance of Whey Protein

You need protein in order to build muscle. There are many different forms and types of proteins. I have only recently considered using whey protein as a significant portion of my daily protein source.

Like most things, there are many different opinions as to when and what type of whey protein to consume. Knowing what you are using whey protein source for is another important factor.

I have scoured the internet and come to the conclusion that I do not yet have any conclusions regarding what is the "best" product out there. Like all things, I guess, there is no "best".

Over the course of the next few postings, I will be writing about m findings and ultimately which products I decide to test/use. In the meantime, please read the article below. It's a good general introduction to whey protein and its importance to your general fitness and health.

Protein is consider the building blocks of the body cell, they help with many functions in the body, but they are mostly know is for there work in the muscle cells.

There are many types of protein available for you. They can be found in milk, eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, turkey, fish, red meats, etc.. You also have a variety of protein supplements such as milk protein, egg protein, soy protein and vegetable protein. Out of all of these protein supplements, whey protein has the highest biological value (you get more usable gram of amino acids).

For all athletes protein is a key factor in building muscle and burning fat. Athletes require more protein than the average person, because of the need to rebuild muscle fiber after strenuous muscle use. Without the use of protein, you can't build muscle.

It is recommended to consume between 1 and 1.5 grams of quality protein per pound of body weight each day. For example if you total intake of protein a day equals to 180 grams you will want to divide that between 5 meals or more, so around 35 grams per meal. By having a consistent intake of protein every 3 to 4 hours you create an anabolic effect (which meals build muscle, burn fat). You can get the protein from eating chicken, turkey, fish, red meat, etc... but it becomes expensive and takes longer to digest. That's were whey protein comes in. Whey protein is easier to digest, easier to prepare (just mix with milk or water) and cheaper cost per gram.

Whey protein offers many benefits not just building muscle and burning fat. It provides an extra boost to the immune system by raising glutathione levels and helps control blood glucose levels.

There a different types of whey proteins. Whey protein Concentrate contains around 70 - 80% protein, the rest is lactose, fat, and undenatured proteins. Whey Isolate contains around 90 - 96% protein, this process has more of the lactose and fat removed, so you get a higher quality protein. There are products that contain a blend of both the concentrate & isolate, this is done to bring down the price since whey isolate is more expensive. Then you have products that contain a blend of caesine protein and whey protein, this creates a time release effect. Whey gets absorb faster then caesine protein. This combination is beneficial for night time use since you are usually inactive for 8 hours and your body is repairing itself.

Even though athletes need more protein than the average person, the use of whey protein is for everyone. If you are not that active you just need to consume less or you could replace other sources for the whey protein.

Article written by: Yannis Lopez