I just discovered today that there is this fruit called Paw Paw or other’s call it poor man’s banana.  I then checked out wiki for their a full detail about this tree then i think it’s a new thing for me to learn today.   I learned that Pawpaw is another power fruit because it is double the amount of vitamin C, and is much higher in minerals. It is higher in protein, fiber, and carbohydrate. It has a much higher content of amino acids in a good balance. It has mainly unsaturated fatty acids, and is a good source of linoleic and linolenic acids. They are high in antioxidants.  I still haven’t seen nor heard paw paw trees in this area so i wish there is so that i can have a taste and take a photo of the fruit.  The way the fruit looks is like a cacao, one of our local fruits in this country.

Yes i had a full week-end.  Not just a week-end full of activities but also full tummy. lol!  Yesterday, i helped served our visitors so i had the chance to eat tons of fruits like durian, mango, marang, watermelon, oranges, pineapple,  and bananas.  I  just love fruits that i wish they are so affordable.

This evening, i was also full.  Though i was hungry at lunch because i there was no more time to eat – i went hungry all afternoon.  But this evening – i feasted on some beefstake, fish fillet, chop suey, buko salad, and a lil serving of spaghetti and also cake.

Burp…am really full now.

Hey cold time is here and there are some food that we can scarcely eat during the cold season but there are also foods that are of good supply.  Fit Sugar featured the 7 winter foods rich in antioxidants.  So Holidays does not only mean feasting on sumptious fatty foods, but you can also have a choice of healthy foods to kip you fit.

Artichokes Hearts - Artichokes are good for the liver.  They are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals.   Although they are great fresh, you can find canned artichoke hearts packed in water in any season. Add them to your homemade pizza to make it equal parts gourmet and healthy!

Beans – they are high in fiber and protein and also high in antioxidants.   Kidney and pinto beans are higher in antioxidant levels compared to blacks beans.  We cooked at home dried ones but during the winter if supply is low they are available canned but try to pick those are low in sodium.   I love chilli baked beans.

Cranberries - Cranberries are powerhouses of antioxidant.   They are in good supply this cold season so you can eat lots of them.  They can boost your immune system during the change of climate and weather.   These cranberries protect our heart from disease and can also prevent cancer.

Pecans – They are considered on par with antioxidant superstars cherries and cranberries.  They enchance your antioxidant intake along with other berries.  Naturally sweet, eating a moderate amount of nuts weekly lowers the risk of gaining weight.

Prunes – Being dried fruits, prunes are available all year long. They are high in oxidants that fights off fats and cholesterol.  I love prunes in bits with my oats and porridge.

Granny Smith Apples – I call them “green winter apples”  This type of apple is actually high in antioxidants and provides just slightly less than strawberries. Don’t peel off the skin.  Eat the skin!  Antioxidants give color to foods, and the color of the apple is in the skin. Plus, not every apple provides the same amount of antioxidants.

Cloves – Spices add flavor as well as antioxidants to many dishes and cloves are no exception. They are high in antioxidants and you can use them in most of your winter dishes and desserts.  They also have an anti-inflammatory effect and can help relieve dental pain.

source: www.fitsugar.com

I do want to lose my unwanted weight and this can just be shared i will really share it to everyone until what’s left is the ideal weight.  I have so many friends who are blessed with so much weight and i also have friends who are dying to gain even a wee bit of weigth.  In spite how much they ate, they are still that skinny.  Others love thier skinny body but others abhor so they want to do anything just go get that lil bit of flab.

Here are 5 “good gain” RULES by Cynthia Sass:

1.    Don’t let over 4 hours go by without eating. Your body needs a continuous supply of energy since it’s always on (your heart is always beating, blood is circulating, your bones and muscles are moving). When you skip meals, you deprive your body of the fuel it needs to keep going. The result? Your body dips into its piggy bank, which unfortunately includes muscle (if our bodies only relied on stored body fat as a back-up, losing weight would be incredibly easy — all you’d have to do is stop eating until you used up all your excess fat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way!). The best way to prevent your body from losing any important tissue is to consistently eat regular meals and if you’re trying to gain new muscle tissue, meal timing is especially critical. Sometimes the people who tell me they “eat like crazy” yet can’t gain weight actually forget to eat for 8+ hours on a pretty regular basis, or they eat one big meal a day and consider that “eating a lot.”  A steady stream of healthy meals is key.

2.    Eat several foods at once. For snacks, aim for at least three food groups like a whole grain, fruit and nut combo versus fruit alone. This provides your body with a broader spectrum of nutrients to work with throughout the day.

3.    Boost your calorie intake healthfully. The best way to rack up excess calories without a) having to eat huge quantities of food and b) having to eat junk food is to choose nutrient rich foods that pack a big calorie punch for a small amount. The best options are nuts, seeds, and natural nut butters, unsweetened dried fruit, whole grains and lean proteins. For example, a half cup of dried apricots have almost 200 calories compared to just 80 in a full cup of fresh, sliced apricots (note: this is no sugar added dried fruit, just the water removed). Two slices of dense whole grain bread spread with 2 Tbsp of natural almond butter and a handful of dried figs, dates or apricots can easily supply over 500 calories, along with dozens of key vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (and without the saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol or added sugar). Melted dark chocolate (which is high calorie but heart healthy) mixed with whole oats, chopped dried fruit and chopped nuts is another great snack option.

4.    Drink your calories. This is the exact opposite of what I tell most people but here’s why: liquid calories tend to not be filling, so when you’re trying to gain weight, they can add needed calories without making you feel stuffed or bloated. Good choices include 100% fruit juice, low fat milk or milk alternatives (like soy milk) and smoothies. Smoothies are great because you can bolster them with all kinds of goodies like wheat germ, flax oil, nut butter, and protein powder.

5.    Eat right before bed. Sleep time is when a lot of our healing, repair and regeneration work takes place. It’s like rush hour for building muscle and lean tissue, so eating a healthy snack right before bed ensures a fresh supply of nutrients available togo to work inside the body. Once again, it’s great timing.

So if you want to gain some pounds, try to follow these tips. ok?

source: yahoo health news

Got this from my email and it’s very interesting!  They are simple foods and may be available just around us.  If not all at least half of them is in your garden or at your farm or at the supermarket.   I haven’t done a counter research on each of these fruits and vegetables but yet i believe since these are all natural, all of them will do good for our body as a whole.

God is so great to left us clue on what foods help what part of our body!

A sliced carrot looks like the human eye.  The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.  Science now shows that carrots greatly enhanced blood flow to the functions of the eye.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red.  The heart has four chambers and is red.  All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in cluster that has the shape of the heart.  Each grape looks like a blood cell and research today shows grapes are also profound heart and vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds in the walnut are just like the neo-cortex.  We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones.  These foods specifically target bone strength.   Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium.  If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs.  Avocado has over 14,000 photolytic chemics constituents of nutrition in each of these foods but modern science named only about 141 of them.

Figs or Pomegranates are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperms as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes or camote (as known in the Philippines) look like pancreas and actually balances the glycemic index of diabetes.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body’s cells.  Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells.  They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.  A working companion, Garlic, also help eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

I grew up eating vegetables of all types and colors since i was a kid.  I think my mom did not have a hard time training us to eat those stuff as there were no distractions not to eat it.  Eating meat occassions are luxury as you don’t find meat dishes in our daily diet.

When i became a mom, i made mashed vegetables and vegetable water (water where hard vegetables is used to boil) was used when my kids started to eat solid foods at the young age of 5 months.  I did not have problems feeding them that.  There was even a time that i used malunggay water as the water for milk and also boiled monggo broth to be used as milk diluter.  My babies did love it.  But as these kids grew up especially in their toddler years where they are exposed to TV, their love for vegetables declined.  My daughter was picky on vegies when she became 4 years old until 8.  When she was 9 years old, we let her read books regarding the the health benefits of eating vegetables (green and all colors).  So now, she is back into eating any type of green veges.

Bland preparation of vegetable dishes can be turn off.  At my age, i have turn off moments too that i don’t feel like eating.  So we moms, or anyone preparing our meals should have the creativeness in preparing food so that it will look pleasing to the eyes of your famly especially the kids who still can’t read or really understand the good benefits of vegetables in our daily diet.

AMPALAYA SALAD

Ingredients:

1 pc fresh ampalay

2 pcs small red onions (thinly diced)

2 pcs red tomatoes (diced)

1 stalk spring onions (chopped)

1 inch finger sized ginger (thinly cubed)

2 pcs green lemon or (2 tbs vinegar)

salt to taste.

How to do:

1. Mixed all the ingredients except the spring onions.  Season with salt.

2. Transfer in a serving dish and topped with spring onion leaves.

2. Serve with newly cooked “hot” rice.

We often do this at home now.  We are trying to eat healthy.

I become a bit conscious of my weight today that’s why i browsed health mags on the net and I come across this article.  Although it’s been several months my mom kept telling me to lose weight, eat organic fruits and vegetables.  Now that her amapalaya has grown and it has served her at meals for several mealtimes now, It made me wonder about eating raw and checked the advantage and disadvantage of eating raw vegetables.

According to the article in Earth Talk that i’ve read earlier,  Proponents of raw foods, sometimes called “living foods,” believe that raw foods are much healthier for the body than cooked or processed foods. Followers of diets based wholly or largely on raw foods claim numerous health benefits, including increased energy levels, clearer skin, better digestion, weight loss and reduced risk of heart disease.   More of the article here.

Having read many health books (Health and Home) even the admonision of Ellen White,  I can agree wholly that eating raw can contribute to a healthy and longer life, I can agree that eating raw vegetables or fruits can contribute to a healthy and longer life.

Am inspired seeing mom eating her organic grown ampalay and she wants to share it with us — but i just can’t eat.  She said there’s no bitterness in it and I said, maybe that is not ampalaya.  She eats the ampalaya raw just like the rabbit eating a carrot.

I promise myself now, if given the time again and the finances, might try lacto-ovo vegetarianism.   Then maybe will try yoga, too.

I don’t mean to say that I don’t want to grow old.  I do want to but I wanna grow healthy.  At my age now, I think it is still not too late to change my lifestyle.

I hope to come across more articles about this.