Sweet Potato Halwa...

I am here again with a sweet dish after a long break..

Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes (boiled, skinned and mashed) : 1 cup
Cardamom powder : 1 pinch
Sugar: 2 heaped tablespoons
Pure Ghee or butter: 2 tablespoons

Method: Wash and boiled the sweet potatoes. Skin and mash with your hand or potato smasher well to make a smooth paste. On a slow fire put 2 tablespoon ghee in a thick bottomed pan and when hot put the sweet potato mix in it. Stir constantly until the colour changes and the ghee starts to separate from the mixture. Now add sugar and mix well. Cook on a slow fire, stirring, till the sugar is mixed properly and ghee separating again. Remove from fire and add the cardamom powder. See my other dish with Sweet Potato.

Chocolate and Your Heart...

The latest news about chocolate is encouraging: an analysis of several studies involving data on more than 100,000 people suggested that those who reported eating chocolate regularly lowered their risk of heart disease by more than one-third. That may be cause for celebration among chocolaholics, but of course, there's a catch to it: the studies involved were all observational - that is, they all looked at chocolate consumption and health as reported by participants. The analysis didn't directly compare those who ate a set amount of chocolate per week with those who consumed a placebo (in this case, a chocolate look-alike and taste-alike), as would be required in a clinical trial to investigate chocolate's effects on the heart. What's more, the studies included reports of consuming chocolate in all its forms - dark, milk, in drinks, cookies and desserts. And it didn't specify how much chocolate study participants ate. Still, if the analysis has any merit, people who eat lots of chocolate regularly may find that they have healthier hearts than those who don't. The analysis, from England's University of Cambridge, was published August 29 in BMJ online.

My take? Chocolate is a source of polyphenols (the same type of antioxidants found in red wine). Stearic acid, the fat it contains, doesn't affect cholesterol levels, and studies have shown that flavonoids in dark chocolate help reduce the stickiness of platelets, cells that play an important role in blood clotting. As a result, blood takes longer to clot, reducing the danger of coronary artery blockages. Chocolate's polyphenols also appear to boost levels of HDL (the "good" cholesterol) and lower LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), at least in the lab. I recommend consuming good-quality dark chocolate that is at least 70 percent cocoa as a healthy snack, as long as you don't go overboard. An ounce or two a few times a week is good for you.

Source: http://www.drweil.com/

Paneer with Curd...

Dishes made of paneer or Cottage cheese are very popular vegetarian dishes in India. It can be cooked in many ways. The most popular version is with green peas, carrot, beans, cauliflower pieces, broccoli and other spices. This preparation is very delicious. Paneer can be eaten instead of fish or other protein rich food.

Here is a very easy version of paneer preparation.

Cut the paneer (take 500 gm of paneer) into very small pieces and fried a little in white oil. Mix it up with plain curd (take 750 gm of plain curd), add a little salt and sugar (as per your choice). Now take a thick bottomed pan, add one teaspoon oil and put it on the flame. After a while add a pinch of black mustard seed, 2-3 dried red chili, and 5-6 curry leaves. Now pour this oil with all those spices into that curd-paneer mixture. Let it cool and serve after keeping it 1-2 hour in refrigerator covered with a lid.

Lady's Finger - some unknown truths..

Lady's Finger is treated as a regular vegetable in mainly the eastern part of India and it is available only in summer. This deep green, very attractive looking vegetable is rich in various nutritional values such as it is very low in sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat, high in dietary fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Manganese, Protein, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Zinc and Copper.

Generally it is cooked with potato as a curry or cut into small pieces and fried in oil is also very delicious. I am giving here a very easy but lip-smacking recipe.

Cut it in small pieces (required quantity) and just boil it by adding a little water and a pinch of salt and remove it from heat before it is too soft. Add lemon juice and black pepper powder of your choice and eat hot. It's delicious!!

Prostate cancer in Men...

Prostate cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men, and an estimated 217,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2010. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases significantly after the age of 65.

Many cases of prostate cancer are discovered during routine blood work that reveals an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level - a possible indicator of prostate cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, contact your physician:

Frequent urges to urinate, especially at night
Difficulty starting urination or holding it back
Weak or interrupted urinary flow
Painful or burning urination
Erectile dysfunction
Painful ejaculation
Blood in urine or semen
Recurrent, persistent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs

Source: DrWeil.com

Broccoli - A complete vegetable

This vegetable - both as a raw and cooked - is tasty and can have many benefits if one can take it regularly.

1. It is a good source of vitamin B2 (riboflavin)which can help to maintain a healthy nervous system.
2. It is a good source of vitamin K and calcium which supports bone health.
3. As it is also a source of vitamin C, can improve energy level.

Different nutrients in broccoli may help to fight against cancer, heart disease, cataracts and birth defects, while promoting a strong immune system and supporting optimal gastrointestinal function.

Source: www.drwell.com

Don't eat it raw directly as it may cause different fungal or bacterial infection. Try it as lightly steamed as it retain all its nutritional components. Use this vegetable along with carrot, beans, corns and onions to prepare Chinese dishes, what we, the Indians, always prepare at home and what our children like to eat very much.

Many Scented Cleaning Products Contain Toxic Chemicals

"Even those products labeled "green" emit hazardous compounds not listed on the labels, report researchers from the University of Washington. They detected 133 chemicals in 25 popular products they analyzed, including laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, soaps, hand sanitizers, lotions, deodorants, shampoos and air fresheners. More than half the products studied were the top sellers in their categories. All the products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous, the investigators noted, and 11 of them emitted at least one chemical considered a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The study didn't examine the health consequences of the chemical emissions. However, two earlier studies published by the lead investigator found that 20 percent of the U.S. population reported adverse reactions from air fresheners and about 10 percent complained of negative effects from laundry products. Complaints were about twice as high among asthmatics. Under current law, manufacturers aren't required to disclose the ingredients in cleaning supplies, and the Food and Drug Administration doesn't require labels to list ingredients used in fragrances in personal care products. The study was published online on October 26 in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review.

My take? If you're chemically sensitive or have allergies or respiratory sensitivities, you may want to create and use natural cleaning products to avoid exposure with compounds that can trigger your symptoms. But even if you have no sensitivities that might be activated by conventional cleaning products, you might want to rethink your use of those that contain carcinogens or suspected carcinogens. The danger these chemicals pose depends on the extent of your exposure - how often you use the products and how long you're in contact with the fumes."

Source: http://www.drweil.com

Malpoa - A famous bengali sweetdish

In my childhood, I often found my mother was preparing this dish with all her attention as my father and the rest of us were very fond of this sweet. Now my mother is no more and I also not have that enthusiasm to make this dish so often. I am giving you the recipe so that you can try.

Ingredients: Milk 1/2 litre, sugar 3 cups, baking powder 1/2 tspspoon, Ghee or white oil 200 gms, Mace of Javatri 1/4 tspspoon, water 2 cups, flour 1 cup, Aniseeds/Saunf/Mouri 2 tablespoons.

Method: Boil the mild and slightly thicken it. Remove and keep it aside to cool. Then sieve the flour and baking powder together and mix it with the thickened milk. Add mace and aniseeds to the mixture. Now boil the sugar and water in a big pan and make a thick syrup. Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan and when it starts smoking, deep fry a dessertspoon of the mixture till golden brown. Remove it from the ghee and soak it in the hot sugar syrup. Fry the whole mixture a dessertspoon at a time. Then soak the fried Malpoas in sugar syrup for 2-3 hours till cool and soft. Serve them in a flat dish and decorate with rose petals, shredded almonds and raisins.

How to keep your smile fresh as ever..

If you are a cola, coffee, tea or red-wine drinker, you may experience discolored teeth. Actually, any food or drink capable of staining clothes or carpets - including fruit juices, blueberries, soy sauce and curry - can also stain teeth. While the best way to get rid of persistent stains is with professional teeth cleaning, you can help prevent stains - new or recurring - with the following:

1. Rinse your mouth with plain water after you drink or eat staining foods and beverages.
2. Brush your teeth twice a day with a whitening toothpaste;

3. Floss daily (stains around the edges of your teeth can occur when plaque accumulates at the gum line and absorbs color from food and drink).

4. Sip temperate fluids through a straw, which minimizes contact with teeth.

Be cautious about over the counter teeth whitening kits, and talk with your dentist about professional options. You should be aware that any method of tooth bleaching may, over time, break down the integrity of the teeth. That can leave them more susceptible to future stains. Tooth sensitivity is a common side effect of teeth whitening but usually decreases over time.

As a child, we used to polish our teeth with a mixture of little salt and mustard oil, especially after recovered from a flu. It naturally brings back the taste as well as the white color as salt is a natural scrubbing agent. So don't hesitate to follow this tip also.

STDs and its preventions...

STDs or Sexually Transmitted Disease should be checked and controlled only by timely determination of disease and counseling. Only choose a free STD testing clinic as the patients who are here are all suffering from different STDs the fear of rejection and judgement from others are least and so you can talk with them before testing.

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