HEALTH BENEFITS OF CABBAGE

 Health Benefits of Turnips

 

 Autumn Super Food Beetroot

Autumn Super Food Pumpkin

 

 

                                        Lemon

 

Wellbeing Welfare of Watermelon  

Strengthen your immune system

To keep your immune system strong especially during this pandemic is vital. Now the lockdown is over so you are free to go to the fresh air doing exercises; walking, jogging, cycling.  Being outside the sunshine increases your vitamin D level, which is important.  

Fruits and vegetables provide the daily vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential carbohydrates and fibres for your healthy diet. Eating seasonal field grown local products is sustainable, environment friendly, supports the local economy without any transport and with less carbon footprint.

The colourful fruits and vegetables contain essential phytonutrients, compounds may help prevent diseases and keep your body working properly.

They have beneficial effects working with other essential nutrients to promote good health.

•       Stop viruses adhering to cells walls.

•       Antioxidant

•       Stimulate or suppress enzymes

•       Stops abnormal DNA replication

Yellow vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and pumpkins all contain the phytochemical; beta carotene. Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant that reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease. In addition, it helps maintain good eyesight and helps your body fight colds and flu by enhancing your immune system.

White vegetables from the onion family, which include garlic, leeks, and any variety of onions, share a group of phytochemicals that are very important to good health. The most common member of this phytochemical group is allicin, with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, which may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and increase the body's ability to fight infections. 

Deep red or bright pink fruits and vegetables should be eaten every day. They contain phytochemicals, such as lycopene and anthocyanins. Phytochemicals, substances found only in plants, help your body fight disease and promote good health. Lycopene helps reduce the risk of several types of cancer, defends against heart disease and urinary track infection. Anthocyanins reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and improve the memory.

Green vegetables cabbage, savoy cabbage and Brussels sprouts contain phytochemicals, which provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Broccoli also contains antioxidants. Researchers identified 45 different flavonoids in kale. Green leafy vegetables lower the risk of cancer and increase the strength of bones and teeth.

Serve tasty dishes using these beautiful and healthy goods. Do not forget 75% of your healthy diet should be raw; prepare salad or smoothie.

Green bean casserole

It is a gluten-free vegetarian dish. Preparation with cooking takes 40-45 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 persons

Green bean cut around 1 cm length	500g
Chopped onion	1 medium
Crashed garlic	2 cloves
Green pepper cut	1 medium size
Red pepper powder	1 tsp
Coconut oil	1 tbsp
Tomato pure	2 tbsp
Coconut milk	4 tbsp
Salt	1 tsp
Pepper	1 tsp

Method:

·      Heat the oil

·      Stir the onion and garlic in and cook it for a minute

·      Stir the pepper in

·      Add the green beans, red pepper, salt, black pepper and tomato pure

·      Cook it for 20 minutes and add water if it is necessary and stir it regularly

·      Add the coconut milk and heat it for another minute.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie

This pie is easy to make, the preparation does not require special skills.

 Ingredients for 6 persons

Cooked polenta	1 cup
Baked and mashed pumpkin	3 big slices
Sugar	4 tbsp
Eggs	4 medium size
Butter (soft)	50 g

·      Cook the polenta in 250 ml of water

·      Roast and purée the pumpkin

·      Preheat the oven at 180⁰C

·      Mix the eggs and the sugar

·      Add the remaining ingredients and mix them well together

·      Transfer the mixture into a buttered baking tin

·      Bake it for 40 minutes 

Stay at Home!

It will make your days easier at home if you stick to a daily routine. Wake up at the same time.  Start the day with light exercises. Make your daily food plan with your personal kcal/ day requirement. This will help your to avoid comfort eating, increasing your calorie intake. Here is an example with 2030kcal. During the day you can do more exercises.

Food plan

Breakfast	680 Kcal
coffee (no sugar) 2.5 g of 85% dark chocolate gluten free oat porridge with apple and nuts and low fat milk		The breakfast should be different every day. High in fibre and carbohydrates Very low in fat It has good nutrition value and provides energy for the morning. The dark chocolate gives comfort in the morning.
Lunch	700 Kcal
Chick peas casserole with home made tuna, potato and carrot cake water		The meal consists of good nutrients, the ratio between fat protein and carbohydrates roughly perfect: It is an excellent low calorie lunch.
Snack 80g grapes	50 Kcal	10g carbohydrates (glucose and fructose) 0.4g protein
Dinner	600Kcal
Olives, tomato and cucumber salad with quark, gluten free scones with nettle tea		Simple low fat dinner Nettle is a valuable herb, which stimulates the lymphatic system

Feast on Ash Wednesday

It is a colourful, gluten-free and vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

Roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips, red pepper

Steamed broccoli

Fried onion and mushrooms using coconut oil

Boiled eggs

Raw cut avocado

Small cup of cooked millet

Mixed them in a big pot and sprinkle fresh lemon juice on them.

About cow’s milk

Milk is an emulsion where liquid butterfat globules are dispersed within water solution.

Composition of cow milk provides the correct rate of growth and development for baby calf therefor the human milk is tuned to meet the nutritional requirements of human baby, which is obviously more suitable for human baby than cow’s milk. So this should not be given to a child under the age of one due to their differences in composition. They contain similar % of water. The relative amounts of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals vary extensively.

The protein content in 100g of whole cow’s milk 3.3g is more than double that of human milk 1.3g. The human infants on the other hand need less protein and more fat as their energies are expended primarily in the development of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.  Leucine is a unique amino acid in that it stimulates muscle protein synthesis, Cow’s milk contains 3.3 grams/ litre and the human milk contains 0.9 grams/ litre so the human infant is the mammal with the slowest growth rate. The proteins in milk can be divided into two categories: caseins and whey proteins. Human milk contains these in a ratio of 40:60 respectively; while in cow’s milk the ratio of casein to whey proteins is 80:20. The cow’s milk and human milk contain similar amounts of fat.  While these values are close, the types of fat vary. The cow’s milk contains more saturated fat while human milk contains more unsaturated fat. The human milk contains 1.8g saturated fat, 1.6g monounsaturated fat and 0.5g polyunsaturated fat. The higher level of unsaturated fatty acids in human milk reflects the important role of these fats in brain development.

A cup of milk contains around 30% of the daily requirement of calcium for adults. Milk also contains potassium and magnesium. These minerals are important for healthy bones and teeth. Milk may help improve weight and bone density in children.

Drinking milk hasn’t been linked to weight gain or obesity, and it may help curb appetite. It could prevent diabetes.

Milk fat may help raise levels of HDL cholesterol so it may prevent heart disease and stroke.

Cow’s milk has a higher amount of lactose, so it can be linked to lactose intolerance.

Gluten-Free Spinach Flatbread

The preparation does not require special skills and takes around 30-35 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

Spinach	150g
Gluten-free porridge oat	90g
Eggs large	3
Garlic	1 clove
Salt	½ tsp
Pepper	pinch

Method

·      Preheat the oven at 180⁰C

·      Grease a 20cm circular tin

·      Place the ingredients into a food processor or smoothie maker and homogenise the mixture

·      Transfer it into the baking tin

·      Bake it a round 25- 30 minutes