Food | Yoga in a Hurry

Archive for the 'Food' Category

Indian Vegetarian Cooking

Monday, October 26th, 2009

When I started my blog my intention was to post some interesting vegetarian recipes on a regular basis. This didn’t quite work out…but I discovered this amazing source of Indian vegetarian recipes. The site is called: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Manjula is a great cook and great teacher and shows us how to cook simple, tasty and very authentic Indian vegetarian and vegan dishes. Her blog is a source of great information and she has every recipe in video format so you can see exactly what you need to do and underneath you will find the recipe with all the ingredients and the quantities required. 

I love the way Manjula teaches. Every recipe I tried so far has turned out really well and I am going to cook more as soon as I can.

Go and visit Manjula’s kitchen I think you will really enjoy it http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Happiness through Food?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Do you like chilies? Hot food? Did you have a hard day and feel exhausted?

Certain foods may help to lift your spirits. Scientists have come up with the term “Pepper High Effect”. The chemical substance capsaicin which is contained in chili stimulates the pain receptors on our tongue. The body reacts and pours out endorphins.

Endorphins reduce pain and lift our spirits – we can even become slightly euphoric. “Endorphin” literally translated means the “morphine within”. The so called “runners high” is also caused by endorphins. Any type of prolonged exercise releases endorphins.

Coming to back to food: the “Pepper High Effect” can be triggered by chili sauce, fresh chili, chili powder, ginger, mustard, wasabi and horseradish.

Next time you are in a bad mood or stressed out, visit a Thai restaurant, this might just be the answer.

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Everybody Should Know This…..

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Today I was sent some information that I think everybody should have. Whether you use it or not, is up to you and may also depend where you live. With all the newest food scandals and scares it is vital that we know where our food comes from so we can make an informed choice what we are going to eat.

This is where the barcodes on the packets will help a great deal. Nothing is perfect and there is a loophole in the system when the packaging says: “products from various countries” and then it goes on to say: “packed in Australia”. I assume that the barcode will indicate “Australia” as the country of origin in that case. When I go shopping next I will check it out.

Now – how to read these barcodes. Go to this page, it will explain it in great detail, better than I can:

http://www.morethanyouthink.com/shopping/countrycodes.html

So you can determine where the product actually came from and if you want to avoid products from certain countries you just need take a close look at the first three digits of the barcode.

I hope you find this useful

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Christmas Cupcakes

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Carol, a friend of mine, is making the most amazing cup cakes. One of her specialties is making vegan cupcakes. Vegan means no animal products whatsoever – no butter, no eggs, no milk. How do they taste you might ask? Surprisingly they still taste very yummy and customer often don’t believe that they are vegan cupcakes.

Tempted? You can order from Caroline but only if you live in the northwestern Sydney area. Contact Carol at designmycupcake(at)gmail.com

Otherwise, just enjoy looking at these beautiful works of art!

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

Tropical Fruits – amazing health benefits

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Last week I was travelling in Queensland. This state in Australia has a subtropical climate and an amazing variety of tropical fruits are grown here.

I attended a talk and fruit tasting session and learnt a few new things which I would love to share with you.

Paw Paw (or papaya) contains an enzyme that digests protein. It is great for people with poor digestion. As with all good things, don’t eat too much in one sitting. One thing that really amazed me was that you can eat the seeds as well, they taste peppery. They sold a dressing made out of oil, sugar, vinegar, garlic, salt, mustard and crushed up papaya seeds – it is yummy.

Pineapple also contains a digestive enzyme. It also contains anti-inflammatory enzymes. They are growing varieties where you can eat the core.

Starfruit aids high blood pressure and is the ultimate stress management fruit.

Dragon fruit aids memory – but you need to eat it long term, it won’t work overnight. In the talk it was also stated that eating too much of it may bring back unwanted and long forgotten memories. I am not sure how true that is.

Some people consider dragon fruit to be very bland, but it is one of my favourite fruits. The ones I ate in Asia were always white on the inside but the variety they grow here is dark red. Dragon fruits get their name from a “scaly” look. The plant is part of the cactus family.

Custard apple tastes great (like a blend of apple and custard) and has lot of round, smooth seeds. These seeds are toxic and cannot be eaten. For the fruit to taste really nice it has to be soft and ripe. It is a messy fruit to eat.

Avocado is classed as a fruit. It contains lots of omega 9 fats (like olive oil). The oil is directly underneath its skin. Squeezing an unripe avocado really hard will release the oil. We saw a demonstration of that during the talk.  Avocado is great for skin, makes it smooth and supple but firms at the same time. We all should eat 2 avocados a day!! Guess what I have been doing the for last week!

Bananas are an all time favourite and I picked up a little brochure that claims they are suitable for everybody, virtually from the “cradle to the grave”. They have a reasonable amount of magnesium and deliver a quick boost of energy. My opinion is that they should be consumed in moderation.

Staying on the topic of tropical fruits: I visited a market and found “Rainbow Fruit Flats”. They look and taste delicious.  I had the chance to meet Stephen who had the idea and who grows most of the fruit they are made out of. Stephen gets a real buzz out of seeing children eat his “rainbows” and enjoying them.

Have a look at http://www.rainbowfruitflats.com.au to see what I am talking about.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com