What's on your weekend menu?

How are you doing guys? It's Thursday and as you know tmr is Friday!!Awesome hahahahaha
In my case, I usually decide what I'm gonna cook over the weekend on Thursday(today). Weekends are my favorite time(there's no doubt), and food is very important part of spending time for me.
What's on your weekend menu? I'd like to try sushi rolls for this weekend! Wish me luck! :D

Lunch Box Special Recipe

- 4 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 10 min.Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped dates, optional
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
8 slices bread
- Directions
In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and orange juice until blended. Add the apples and dates or walnuts if desired. Spread on four slices of bread; top with remaining bread. Yield: 4 servings.
- Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 401 calories, 18 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 419 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 13 g protein.

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Healthy Eating Tips: Best Indian Meal Options

This week I’m addressing what the best options are when you are eating out at an Indian restaurant.
We did a bit of Indian on Saturday night and it was fantastic. If you’re ever near North Strathfield and want some good Indian check out Dawat.
So I’m going to give you a run through of what’s good to eat and not count as one of your cheat meals.
Indian is a pretty good dining out choice for the most part because a lot of the meals are already gluten free because they are just spices and meat or vego if you go that option.
Not much extra stuff is added.
So despite popular belief by all the garbage nutritionists out there I believe Indian is one of your smarter dining out options.
Entree
We had an onion type of dish that was coated in chick pea flour that was delicious. It’s not on their online menu so from that choice I’d go for the Chicken Tikka (Juicy boneless fillets of chicken marinated in spices & yoghurt, roasted in tandoori oven) – it can’t get much cleaner than that!
We also were served some papadums which are gluten free so are definitely not the worst thing you can eat at a restaurant. And it’s 10 times better than bread as a starter.
Main Meal
Plenty of options here as they base their meals on real spices and not rubbish stuff.
We went for the Chicken Korma (A lightly spiced chicken dish cooked in a rich sauce of cashew nuts & green cardamom) which was amazing. Nice taste.
We also got a Prawn Vindaloo (Prawns cooked in a vindaloo curry with a spiced-up flavour of tomato, ginger, cumin & peppercorn) – very hot but if you don’t mind it hot you’ll love it.
Now people are going to probably jump up and down and say any curry isn’t a good choice because it’s based around coconut milk and it’s fattening etc. etc.
Well, does a coconut come from a tree? Yes. Is it made with a hundred artificial flavours and numbers? No.
There’s your answer. Those numbers in your food are far worse than a bit of coconut milk.
We didn’t do dessert here but going by the menu if you wanted to stay pretty much clean I’d guess the Rice Pudding (Kheer -Rice pudding cooked in milk & flavoured with cardomoms, safron, pistachios & almonds).
Not the best thing on the menu but it’s probably a better bet than the ice cream.
I know that I’ll be back going for some Indian again. It was nice. Didn’t leave me feeling bloated like a meal with heaps of wheat does and it wasn’t expensive at all.
Stay tuned for another healthy eating tips choice next week to help with your weight loss success. And be sure to let me know in the comments section below if you want to see a cuisine featured!

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10 Things You May Not Know About Korean Food

Did you know that L.A.-style galbi is famous in South Korea? If the answer is no, then bone up (what better term) on this and other little known facts about Korean cuisine with a 10-point guide that will make you sound like an expert.


1. L.A.-style galbi (grilled, marinated beef short ribs): In Korea, chefs use a vertical cut of beef that they slice by hand to preserve the texture. Here, the meat is cut horizontally with a slicer, not a knife, and usually has two or three small bones in the center. Korean Americans have adopted the local, cheaper cut, although it produces less tender galbi. It has even made its way to Korea, where LA galbi is regarded as a cool western innovation.

2. Anju: Anju is the Korean word for bar food, and it's lighter and healthier than nachos, fries, onion rings and their ilk. Korean bar noshers eat such things as chicken skewers with veggies, fried mung bean pancakes, egg-battered zucchini or fish, pork wrapped in fresh leaves with kimchi and other small bites that offer more sustenance than grease.

3. Makgeolli (maguli): High-powered cocktails may be popular, but Korea's makgeolli is the safer way to go, because its alcohol content is below 7 per cent. Made from fermented steamed rice, barley or wheat, makgeolli is creamy, with a touch of sweetness. You can buy it in Korean markets here.

4. Banchan (panchan): If you judge a restaurant by the number of these side dishes it serves, you're right. The amount is a status symbol in Korean culture. A king would have been served at least 100. Dinner with the boss requires no less than five, and with future in-laws, seven or more. So turn up your nose at places that offer only a paltry two or three side dishes.

5. Bibimbap: What is the most popular Korean dish? Among westerners, barbecued meats. Among Koreans, the hot rice mixture called bibimbap. From humble origins as a catch-all for leftover vegetables, it has become a top dish in its own right.

6. Geotjeori kimchi: You think that kimchi is really complicated and has to ferment for months before it's ready to eat? Not so. Geotjeori kimchi takes only 10 minutes. It's a dressing composed of kimchi seasonings that you toss with salad greens. See the recipe, from Chef Kiyong Jang of Yongsusan in Koreatown.

7. Kimchi refrigerators: Traditionally, kimchi ferments in stone pots outdoors. This may be the old way, but modern Korean homes now have kimchi refrigerators, which keep the spicy pickle at the ideal, steady low temperature to encourage fermentation. It certainly beats trekking out in the snow to get some for dinner.

8. Soju: Soju may be the national drink of Korea, but it didn't originate there. This distilled beverage, made from fermented rice and/or other grains, originated in China and traveled through Mongolia to Korea, where it has been popular for centuries.

9. Balance: Throw away your prescriptions and eat Korean food. Well, not really, but traditional Korean food is designed to produce a healthy balance in the body. For example, pork is regarded as "cold" even though it may be hot when you eat it. One way to achieve balance is to add chives, which are "hot." And it's customary to eat the cold noodle dish naengmyeon in winter. Have a cold? Drink hot ginger tea to dose yourself with hot energy. Or cool the heat of a fever by eating a poached Korean pear.

10. Vegetarianism: Koreans eat lots of meat, true or false. The answer is, not always. After the death of a parent, they don't eat meat for a period of time. Today, vegetarianism is on the rise. And what is really popular is temple food, mildly seasoned dishes that are drawn from Buddhist tradition, sourced locally and eaten in season--just like we're trying to do here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19EkHqTQkZg&feature=player_embedded

Fast and Easy Meal IdeasGetting healthy meals on the table in a hurry takes less time than you might think. It's all about being prepared.

•Plan your meals and do your shopping ahead of time.

•Stock up on basics such as vegetables and fruit, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and brown rice, milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.
•Use frozen or canned products to help speed up preparation time. For example, canned or bottled tomato based pasta sauces, frozen or canned vegetables, frozen or canned fruit, bagged salad greens, canned tuna or salmon, canned beans or lentils.
•Prepare foods in advance. Cook double the rice and freeze leftovers for another meal. Cook twice the chicken or ground beef you need and keep extras to make chicken salad, enchiladas, chili or spaghetti sauce the next day.
•Cook up a big batch of soups, stews, casseroles, pasta dishes, cooked ground beef and pizza dough to keep in the freezer.

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Greeting December!

It is the first day of a new month, and the last month of 2010. Happy December! :)

살 '덜 찌는' 연말 건강 회식법

연말 회식의 시즌이다. 이런 연말 모임을 치르면서 많은 이들이 만성피로나 집중력 저하, 일명 '속병'과 같은 소화기 장애 등을 겪게 된다.

몸의 외형변화도 눈에 띄게 느낄 수 있다. 물론 한 두 번 회식으로 갑작스럽게 체중이 증가하거나 신체사이즈가 늘어나지는 않지만, 횟수가 많아지고 간격이 짧아지면 불과 12월 한 달 사이에도 3~4㎏ 이상은 쉽게 증가할 수 있다.
기왕 치러야 할 회식, 살 덜 찌고 건강하게 즐길 수 있는 방법에는 어떤 것들이 있을까?
▶무조건 참지 마라, 스트레스는 오히려 다이어트의 적
다이어트 중인 이들의 경우 연말 회식자리는 그야말로 스트레스의 연속이다. 음식섭취 자체를 참아야 하는 어려움도 있지만 회식에 제대로 동참하지 못해 생기는 조직 내 부조화 등의 우려도 만만치 않은 스트레스 요인이다. 전문가들은 회식에 너무 민감하게 반응해 스트레스를 받으면 오히려 정신건강을 해칠 뿐 아니라 체중관리에도 도움이 안 된다고 입을 모은다. 실제로 스트레스를 받으면 스트레스 호르몬의 일종인 코티솔이 과다 분비된다. 이 경우 지방의 생성과 축적량이 증가하는 결과를 초래할 수 있다.
▶안주, 꼭 챙겨먹어라
살이 찔 것을 염려해 회식 중 술만 마시는 경우도 있다. 음식 대신 술만 마신다는 이른바 '술다이어트'에 대한 내용도 인터넷에 떠돌고 있지만 위험천만한 행동이다.빈 속에 술을 마시면 평소보다 알코올이 빠르게 흡수돼 위와 간에 강한 자극을 준다. 회식자리에선 무조건 안주를 피하기 보다는 포만감이 들지 않을 정도로 안주를 섭취하는 게 건강을 위해 좋다.
▶개운한 해장의 유혹을 이겨라
흔히 과음한 다음날 얼큰한 해장국으로 해장을 하면서 땀을 빼면 술이 깬다고 느끼는 경우가 많다. 하지만 매운 짬뽕, 라면, 감자탕, 뼈해장국 등과 같은 해장음식의 경우 나트륨 함량도 높고 자극적이다. 숙취 해소는 커녕 오히려 위장장애나 체중증가의 원인이 될 수도 있다.
심리적인 해장 보다는 실질적으로 몸에 도움이 되는 콩나물국, 북어국 등과 같이 담백한 해장음식이 숙취해소와 다이어트에 도움이 된다. 또 우롱차나 녹차를 많이 마시는 것도 좋다. 우롱차나 녹차 모두 이뇨작용을 하기에 알코올 성분은 물론 노폐물도 배출시키고 신진대사를 좋게 해준다. 특히 구기자차는 콜레스테롤을 낮추고 간세포에 지방이 쌓이는 것을 억제한다.


기사 더보기~