Power of Herbs

According to Charlemagne, an herb is the friend of the physicians and the praise of cooks. History records show that herbs are used mainly for treatment. But with creativity of the masters, herbs became the praise in cooking.

Today there has been a great surge of renewed awareness in herbs. A revival of the culinary arts and various ethnic cuisine has prompted new interest. Health conscious cooks have found that herbs contain no calories or fat - a fact of great importance to those on weight loss diets. Doctors even recommend the use of herbs and spices in salt-restricted diets to enhance flavor without adding sodium content. Adventurous cooks have found that raising their own herbs can be quite fulfilling as a hobby with the end results in cooking as just an added bonus.

-http://culinaryherbguide.com/usingherbsincooking.htm

Besides helping flavor foods when cutting back on salt, fat and sugar, herbs may offer additional benefits of their own. Researchers are finding many culinary herbs (both fresh and dried) have antioxidants that may help protect against such diseases as cancer and heart disease.

-http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftapr03.htm

Here are some ideas to help you start combining fresh herbs with your foods. 

BASIL - a natural snipped in with tomatoes; terrific in fresh pesto; other possibilities include pasta sauce, peas, zucchini

CHIVES - dips, potatoes, tomatoes

CILANTRO - Mexican, Asian and Caribbean cooking; salsas, tomatoes

DILL - carrots, cottage cheese, fish, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes

MINT - carrots, fruit salads, parsley, peas, tabouli, tea

OREGANO - peppers, tomatoes

PARSLEY - The curly leaf is the most common, but the flat-leaf or Italian parsley is more strongly flavored and often preferred for cooking. Naturals for parsley include potato salad, tabouli

ROSEMARY - chicken, fish, lamb, pork, roasted potatoes, soups, stews, tomatoes

SAGE - poultry seasoning, stuffings

TARRAGON - chicken, eggs, fish

THYME - eggs, lima beans, potatoes, poultry, summer squash, tomatoes

WINTER SAVORY - dried bean dishes, stews

Adobong Liempo sa Patis

Adobong Liempo sa Patis
(the Junatic way of cooking)

Ingredients:

500 grams liempo cut into 2 inches lenghtwise
250 grams potato
patis
vinegar
dahon ng laurel
salt and pepper
sugar
3 cups of water
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
starch


How to cook:

1. Boil liempo until tender.
2. Season with salt and pepper, and onion and garlic.
3. When the water is almost half, add some patis and vinegar.
4. When the water is almost quarter, add bay leaf and ample amount of sugar.
5. Add the potato cut into circles.
6. When the potato is cook, add 1/4 cut of water with starch.

Makes 6-7 servings.
Cost P140.00

Chicken with Kalabasa

Chicken with Kalabasa
(the Junatic way of cooking)

Ingredients:

500 grams chicken breast
250 grams kalabasa
5 gloves of minced garlic
1 medium minced onion
1 medium chopped ginger
1 stalk of celery
fish sauce (patis)
tanglad
oil
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of tarragon leaves
2 cups of water

How to cook:

1. Boil chicken in water for 15 minutes.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add tanglad leaves.
4. Set aside and cut into cubes.
5. Saute garlic, onion and ginger.
6. Add chicken and mixed until golden brown.
7. Add kalabasa cut into strips.
8. Add tarragon and celery cut into strips.
9. Season with patis and pepper.
10. Add the remaining chicken broth.
11. Put some starch on the chicken broth before adding (optional).
12. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Makes 5-7 servings.
Total cost: P100.00

Healthy Fruit Shakes

During summer season, fruit shake is one of the best refreshments aside from halo-halo, ice cream, etc. It is refreshing, delicious and nutritious but cheap and easy to do.

Fruit Shake is made from crushed ice, mixed fruits, syrup and milk (optional). You only need a blender to mix all the ingredients. Fruit shake could be single flavor or mixtures of fruits which is gaining popularity depending on your preference. Some shakes has cookies, cheese, gulaman, nuts, chocolate chips, and herbs to spice up and adds thrill. You don't want just to brain freeze your head, but you also want to chew a bit.

You just don't want your shake to be delicious and just nutritious, you want it also to be healthy. Right?

Here are some tips I have on my mind to make your shake healthy:

1. If you want to make your body beefy and stocky, if you are a gym addict and following a high-protein diet, you could add some heap of tbsp of protein powder to your fruit shake. Research has shown that ingesting protein powder every day can boost immune system health, facilitate the healing of wounds after surgery or injury, and promote healthy skin — in addition to fostering muscle strength and development. A human body needs protein daily because that is what muscles and tissues are built from, and there is no place where the body can store extra protein. The need for adequate protein in the human body is second only to the need for water. - www.wisegeek.com
2. If you want to protect yourself from cancer, you could add 2 tbsp of olive oil to your shake. The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid. Studies have shown that people who consumed 25 milliliters (mL) - about 2 tablespoons - of virgin olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the blood. - www. healingdaily.com
3. If you are tea fanatic, tea leaves or tea concentrates or extracts could be added as well to your shake. Aside from the added flavor and aroma, it is also beneficial to your health as well depending on your tea preference. Numerous studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer properties of antioxidant polyphenols. Some studies have suggested that tea's polyphenols may reduce the risk of gastric, esophageal and skin cancers, if one consumes 4 to 6 cups daily. Another study showed that just 2 cups of tea may lower the risk of ovarian cancer by 46 percent in women. Other studies have found that polyphenols help prevent blood clotting and lower cholesterol levels. One Japanese study found that green tea lowers death rates from heart disease. -www.healthcastle.com
4. If you love your country and coconut fanatic, why not add some coconut oil to your shake. The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc. -www.organicfacts.net
5. I am Ilocano and I am a fan of ginger. Guess what, I've tried the ginger-apple shake already and it tastes good. We believe that ginger could soothe our sore throat but not only that. One of ginger's most touted health benefits is its ameliorating effects on digestive ailments. It can help digest fatty foods and break down proteins. It is excellent for reducing gas. Many people report that it will also relieve nausea, and can be effective in treating morning sickness as well as motion sickness. Ginger can also help reduce inflammation. So it can be used to treat any disease that is caused by inflammations such as arthritis or ulcerative colitis. Some studies show that it can even help inhibit the replication of the herpes simplex virus. Recent studies show that ginger might also have a role in lowering LDL cholesterol because the spice can help reduce the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed. It has also been shown in animal trials to help slow or even prevent cancerous tumor growth. -www.indepthinfo.com