Month: November 2016

New Ways to Cook Turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you are like millions of other Americans, you probably cook turkey in the traditional way – roasted in an oven. Are you tired of cooking your turkey the same way, year after year, and getting the same results, year after year? It’s time to try something new!

Roasting Turkey On a Charcoal Grill

With summer just beginning to fade from memory, chances are good that your outdoor grill is still easily accessible to cook Turkey.

This is a good thing, because preparing your bird on a grill – charcoal or propane – creates a juicy, delectable dish that’s sure to please.

For a charcoal grill, you simply cook turkey in a grill prepared with briquettes that have been heated until the flame dies down.

Place your seasoned turkey breast-up on a grill over the briquettes and cover with the grill lid. Throughout the cooking process, you’ll need to add a few charcoal briquettes every now and then.

Smoking Turkey On a Propane Grill

With this method you’ll need to prepare several smoke packets in advance. Smoke packets are wood chips that have been soaked overnight and wrapped in aluminum foil. Poke a few holes in the foil to allow the smoke to escape the packet.

You’ll cook turkey using indirect heat, which means you’ll need a propane grill large enough for the turkey to be on one side of the grill, leaving the other side open.

You will be using the burners on the open side. Bring the temperature of your grill to about 250 degrees and place one of the foil packets near one of the flames, but not in direct contact with it. Close your grill and wait.

When the smoke begins to billow, place your seasoned turkey breast-up on other side of the grill (the unlit side). Close the lid and keep an eye on the smoke.

If it begins to die down, toss in another prepared smoke packet. The results are an incredibly juicy, smoked turkey with beautiful pink turkey meat near the surface, caused by the penetration of the smoke.

Cook Turkey in a Crock-Pot

Another way of preparing a juicy, delicious turkey is in a large crock-pot. Suitable for smaller birds (10 pounds or less), place the seasoned turkey in the crock-pot with some butter and let it cook for about ten hours on low, or five hours on high. It’s fall-apart delicious!

Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey doesn’t have to be the same every year. Get creative and try new ways to cook turkey

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Meditation Techniques For A Happier Life

Post author By admin
Post date November 20, 2016
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Meditation refers to a state where your body and mind are consciously relaxed and focused. Practitioners of this art report increased awareness, focus, and concentration, as well as a more positive outlook in life.

Meditation is most commonly associated with monks, mystics and other spiritual disciplines. However, you don’t have to be a monk or mystic to enjoy its benefits. And you don’t even have to be in a special place to practice it, although a quiet place is best.

You can try it in your own living room, if the TV is switched off.

How To Begin a Meditation Practice

Although there are many different approaches to meditation, the fundamental principles remain the same.

The most important among these principles is that of removing obstructive, negative, and wandering thoughts and fantasies, and calming the mind with a deep sense of focus.

This clears the mind of junk and prepares it for a higher quality of activity.

The negative thoughts you have?

Thoughts about of noisy neighbors, bossy colleagues, that parking ticket you got, or unwanted spam, are said to contribute to the ‘polluting’ of the mind, and shutting them out is allows for the ‘cleansing’ of the mind so that it may focus on deeper, more meaningful thoughts and ideas.

Some practitioners even shut out all sensory input, no sights, no sounds, and nothing to touch and try to detach themselves from the commotion around them. You may now focus on a deep, profound thought if this is your goal.

It may seem scary at first, since we are all too accustomed to constantly hearing and seeing things, but as you continue this exercise you will find yourself becoming more aware of everything around you.

If you find the meditating positions you see on television threatening, you need not worry.

The principle here is to be in a comfortable position conducive to concentration. This may be while sitting cross-legged or on a chair, standing, lying down, and even walking.

If the position allows you to relax and focus, then that would be a good starting point. While sitting or standing, the back should be straight, but not tense or tight.

In other positions, the only no-no is slouching and falling asleep.

Loose, comfortable clothes help a lot in the process since tight fitting clothes have a tendency to choke you up and make you feel tense.

The place you perform meditation should have a soothing atmosphere. It may be in your living room, or bedroom, or any place that you feel comfortable in. You might want an exercise mat or cushion if you plan to sit cross-legged on the floor. You may want to have the place arranged so that it is soothing to your senses.

Silence helps most people relax and meditate, so you may want a quiet, isolated area far from the ringing of the phone or the humming of the washing machine. Pleasing scents also help in that regard, so stocking up on aromatic candles or incense isn’t such a bad idea either.

The monks you see on television making those monotonous sounds are actually performing their mantra. This, in simple terms, is a short creed, a simple sound which, for these practitioners, holds a mystic value.

You do not need to perform anything like that. Focusing on your breathing is enough.

I love Deepak Chopra and here is a video of him teaching meditation in just a few minutes

The principle here is focus. You do not have to try to control your breathing or anything else, just be aware of it. You could also try focusing on a certain object or thought, or even, while keeping your eyes open, focus on a single sight.

One simple routine would be to silently name every part of your body and focus your awareness on that part. While doing this you can be aware of any tension in that part of your body. Mentally visualize releasing this tension. It works wonders.

Studies have shown that meditation does bring about beneficial effects to the body. And there has been a growing consensus in the medical community to further study these effects.

In all, meditation is a relatively risk-free practice and its benefits are well worth the effort (or non-effort ? remember we’re relaxing!)

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Low Carb Vegetables And Why They Will Keep You Thin

Post author By admin
Post date November 20, 2016
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Many people are worried about a lot of fats in their diet and this is absolutely not the only thing to look at. Usually the motivator for this is not energy as it should be but instead a persitent worry that fats in your diet can make you fat. Instead maybe think about the way carbohydrates are stored or used instead

In fact your body will have trouble storing fats but instead will store sugars and other carbs.

So lets say the the real evil is carbs. But again that is not true either. Quite often people will eat some vegetables, or they will eat some fruit, or they will eat a chocolate for a snack. These foods all have carbs but lets see how they really compare.

Why Carbohydrates Really Matter

First Vegetables. Vegetables are high in water and are low in simple carbs and sugars and some tend to be starchy.

Next Fruits, Fruits are also high in water and also high in simple sugars

Finally, chocolate and candy. These are low in water, high in simple sugars

So if we look at how fast our body can burn carbs we would also see that sugars are hard to burn and will turn to fat. This is what makes chocolate bad, but also this makes fruit bad too. some nutritionists say that fruit is really a natural candy in disguise…and if you eat dried fruit… well that is even worse.

Our carbohydrate intake is also related to how fast they burn and when you see the example above of sugars and starches you can also look at building a fire.

If you use sugar it is like putting gas on a fire, it will burn hot an fast and be gone quick. Our body though can not burn things really fast. Sugar will spike our insulin level and we will get all hopped up on the sugar and then our body will store what it can not but and we will of course be storing that as fat.

Starches on the other hand are like the wood we put on a fire. It does not raise our insulin so much and it will allow our body to use it as fuel for a longer time and will not have a real reason to store it. That is why a starchier carbohydrate will make us feel full. Of course if you eat too many carbs over the day then you will just get bogged down and it will also turn to fat.

So if you are in fact looking for some way to eat carbs, get nutrients, and not get fat then vegetables seem to be your best choice. Finding low carb vegetables is fairly easy and there are an abundance to choose from even, or maybe I should say, especially if you are on some kind of a low carb diet

Some Ideas For Low Carb Vegetables

How you use this low carb vegetables list will depend on which of the many low carb diets you are following. If you just count carbs and aim to stay under a certain daily total, then you will need to weigh your foods to have an accurate count at first.

Cup measures are not so accurate for vegetables because it makes such a difference how you chop the food. You can get a lot more broccoli in a cup if you cut it up small!

However, if you prefer to use cup measures, you can do it accurately by weighing one cup of a food, cut in the way that you normally cut it, and making a note of the and carb count per cup. Then in future you will know how many carbs you have in one cup of the food the way that you prepare it.

If you are following a low carb diet of any kind, you have the list of low carb vegetables for induction. You can add other veggies after induction. The lists vary a little in the different editions of the books so we will not reproduce them here.

Just keep in mind that you should have a minimum of two cups of vegetables on induction and more later. Also, vegetables should account for more than half of your daily carb count. This means at least 11g net carbs from veggies if your daily carb level is 20g.

Low Carb Vegetables List

Low Carb Vegetables

Green vegetables are mostly low carb (under 5g net carbohydrate per 100g), with the exception of kale, peas and beans. There are also some non-green veggies that are low carb. Here are some examples. Carb count is net carbs (not including fiber) per 100g of raw item.

Under 2 grams: lettuce, spinach, bok choy (pak choi), asparagus, endive, watercress.

2 grams – 2.9 grams: arugula (rocket), zucchini (courgette), summer squash (marrow), green bell pepper, celery, radish, eggplant (aubergine), tomato, mushroom, cauliflower, kohlrabi.

3 grams – 3.9 grams: cucumber, green cabbage, white cabbage, red bell pepper, jicama, okra, parsley, string beans, green onion tops (spring onion tops).

4 grams – 4.9 grams: broccoli, turnip, yellow bell pepper, fennel, snow peas (mange-tout).

Medium And High Carb Vegetables List

So that there is no confusion, we are including here some of the vegetables that do not make it onto the low carb vegetables list. Some of the medium carb vegetables, such as onion, can be included in a low carb diet in small quantities.

Medium carb vegetables (between 5g and 12g net carb per 100g) include onion, leek, green peas, kale, red cabbage, pumpkin, carrot, rutabaga (swede), winter squashes, celeriac.

High carb vegetables (over 12g net carb per 100g) include potato, corn, beans, lentils, parsnip.

Avocados And Olives

Olives and avocados are technically fruits, not vegetables. However, unlike other fruits they are low carb foods and make great salad ingredients. We are including them here so that they are not forgotten.

California (hass) avocados have just 1.8g net carbohydrate per 100g. Florida (smooth skinned) avocados have 2.2g. So both types are low carb.

Olives have around 3g net carb per 100g. However, be careful to check packaging when buying olives to make sure that there are no added sugars. Olives in salt water or oil with no added ingredients can be added to salads along with low carb vegetables.

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