Read on to find out more:


 

1. Energy drinks

All those caffeinated, carbonated drinks labeled as so-called energy boosters or sports drinks are NOT healthy. And yes, it will definitely sabotage your diet BIG TIME. Why? These are called ENERGY booster for a reason: because it is full of sugar! Sugar is NOT good. We all know how bad sugar is. It causes diabetes, it makes you fat and it gives you cavities. Want a drink after your workout? Try good old fashioned plain water or if you must, make your own green tea.

2. Commercial smoothies

These babies may taste heavenly but let me tell you, it is so loaded with sugar, calories and whatnots, you probably have to workout like mad to burn it all off. And I am referring to those smoothies that was advertised as ‘low fat’, high in vitamins, etc. More often than not, the low fat part was replaced with tons and tons of sugar. Some smoothies were even made with ice cream so you can add in fat to the equation. Want a smoothie? Make your own healthy version at home using fresh fruits, low fat milk  and no sugar!

3. Breakfast cereals

Seriously. Some cereal brands, which I won’t mention here, had repeatedly advertised their so-called ‘Drop a pants size in 2 weeks’ challenge just by eating their cereal. Yeah, sure. If you read the fine print, the challenge was to eat a portion of the cereal with low fat milk once in the morning and again for dinner. On top of that, you must also follow that with exercise to lose weight. If you check the ingredients content, the cereal contains high amounts of sugar. I don’t have to tell you why sugar is bad, right?

4. Pasta salad

People often think anything with the word ‘salad’ must definitely be healthy. Wrong. If the salad contains high fat dressing, high sugars and high carbs (the pasta is definitely high carbs!) then you should steer far far away from it. Go for fresh green vegetable salad with a low fat dressing on the side instead.

5.English muffins or plain white bread

Plenty of bread brands (wow, that’s a tongue twister! Say bread brand five times really fast…) like to market their bread as healthy, wholesome, etc. But don’t forget, white bread is nothing but simple carbs. If you must have bread, please go for wholemeal bread, at least it contains fibre and has more complex carbs rather than simple carbs.You can also go for sprouted wholegrain English muffins instead of plain white muffins.

So, there, another five ‘healthy’ foods that are not at all healthy and should be avoided if you are cutting calories and watching your diet. Next, I will post up the foods that you should take for a healthier lifestyle. Till then, stay healthy!

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Of course, if you are a food blogger or food photographer and wants to be a guest contributor in my site, do feel free to drop me a line via the contact form. I do accept guest posts once in a while to give my blog some variety. And yes, you can absolutely include links back (maximum two links per post only please) to your sites. And yes, I only accept high quality posts accompanied by good pictures.

Okay, let’s get to the topic of this post.

Diet foods that make you FAT

Yep, it’s true. There are so-called ‘diet food’ out there that makes you pile on the pounds instead of losing it! Don’t believe me? Read on!

Granola Bars

These are often marketed as healthy, wholesome, what-not but STOP. Before you bite into one of these (either homemade or store-bought ones), have you considered what it will do to your body? If you are consuming store-bought ones, just check the labels! You will find that it is filled with high fructose corn syrup, glucose, sugar and barley malt. These are all carbohydrate ingredients that make you fat. I mean, it’s like downing several spoonfuls of sugar and washing it down with more sugary drink. You might as well be eating candy bars!

But not all health snack bars are bad. You need to learn to read the labels when buying snack bars. What you need to look out for are protein bars instead of granola snack bars. And do check the ingredients and make sure it is not full of fattening things like fructose, glucose and sugar or worse, trans fat.

As for homemade ones, you will need to be careful what you use for the ingredients. Reduce the sugar (or not at all), avoid using too much oil but if you must, do use monounsaturated oils like olive oil and use more natural ingredients like raw nuts, rolled oats and natural dried fruits and raisins.

Next…

Low Fat Fruit Yogurt

I know, I know, you’ve been fed all those advertisements about how healthy, how tasty, how good, how wholesome XX brand of low-fat fruit yogurt is but WAIT! Have you checked the label? Yes, it may be low-fat, even ZERO fat but it’s NOT SUGAR FREE. And in case you are wondering why this obsession with sugar, SUGAR IS FATTENING. Yep. If you load up on sugary stuffs, high fructose, high glucose foods, be sure that you will pack on the pounds faster than you can say high fructose corn syrup!

Instead of fruit yogurt, go for low fat, low sugar or better still, ZERO sugar plain yogurt and add your own fruits. This will be much healthier compared to any commercial fruit yogurt which is pack full of sugar & artificial flavors.

Low Fat Salad Dressing

Having fresh green salads is good. In fact, it’s best to eat as much salad as you can everyday. But if you add low fat salad dressing to it, you have probably spoilt something healthy and turned it unhealthy! Why? Simple, low fat salad dressing may be low fat but it is again, HIGH in SUGAR. Yep, they are replacing the fat with sugar. And you already know why we must avoid sugar-laden food!

The alternative to this is to go for no-sugar added dressings or the ones that contain monounsaturated oils like olive oil or canola oil. Again, read the label. Make sure it is trans fat free and sugar free! There are balsamic vinegar dressings that contains 0g fat and 0g carbs so it’s safe to eat with your salad! Otherwise, why not just make your own salsa sauce and use it as dressing?

Next…

Honey Dried Fruits

Dried fruits may be high in anti-oxidants but you may want to give those covered in sugar or so-called ‘honey’ a miss. So, avoid dried fruits if the label states that it’s covered in sugar. It just spoils the goodness of the fruits!

Alternatively, go for natural dried fruits that are free from sugar, preservatives and artificial flavorings. You can go for natural raisins or any natural dried fruit slices.

Finally…(there are more but this post is now way too long already…)

Canned Fruits

Seriously, if you like fruits do please do yourself a favor and go for FRESH fruits. Canned fruits are mostly soaked in SWEET syrup and you know what syrup is? Yes, it’s SUGAR.

Alternative, go for FRESH CUT FRUITS!

In conclusion, if you are on a weight loss quest and eating low-fat food, just remember to read the labels. Not ALL low-fat food is good for you. The best thing to do is to avoid processed foods and go for fresh, natural foods like fresh green vegetables, fresh fruits and as for items like dairy, remember to avoid those that contains too much sugar and added flavorings.

And so ends this post…sorry, it’s a bit bare of pictures…I don’t want to be posting pictures of this product or that product.

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Do I use it to bake regardless?

Nope. I am not keen on going for a three days two nights stay at a hospital.So, what do I do with it?

Well, do you know that flour is fun, messy, dry or sticky and fun?

Waitaminute, did I say FUN you asked. Yep! Flour CAN be fun! Let my son explain it here….

You only need to add in a pinch of salt and some water….

Then, you knead…

And add food colouring if you prefer…

And that’s it, you get your very own safe, nontoxic homemade play dough! I gave him some plastic utensils and he is outta my hair for at least an hour or two! This is also a great No TV activity. Best of all, I don’t have to worry about him spilling it everywhere and the baby picking it up to eat. After all, it is nontoxic so it is perfectly safe compared to the store bought play dough.

However be prepared for the mess! You will get flour everywhere but if it’s fun and safe and give me time to post this up and I am in a way not wasting the flour by throwing it away, I don’t mind cleaning up!

Oh yeah, there’s one side effect to this…

You can literally get green fingers from the food colouring! (I used green and red)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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You know, when a man reach middle age (or even earlier, depending on your health condition), one of the main health problems that could happen is the prostrate problem. It could lead to enlarged prostrate or worse, prostrate cancer. Then, there is also the more embarrassing problem which may end up with you searching for viagra online.

But, you can actually prevent this from happening. You only need to be more selective in your foods and choose foods for prostrate health. There are a lot of foods that are good for prostrate health (and sexual health too) that you can eat on a daily basis to prevent any future suffering of prostrate problems. Here are some of the foods:

Foods good for prostrate health

1. Soy and soy products like tofu

Research has shown that soy food products like soya milk and tofu (beancurd) is really good for prostrate health. Instead of drinking milk, why not substitute it with soy milk? It is healthier and better for your prostrate.

2. Fruits and Vegetables that contain Quercetin and lycopene

This would include vegetables like broccoli, kale and cabbage. Fruits that have this compounds are grapefruit, berries, melons and tomatoes. So, in short, do add more vegetables and fruits to your diet for the sake of your prostrate health. Even red wine is good as it is derived from grapes that has lycopene too, but it is better to eat the grapes than to go for the wine because alcohol is not good for prostrate health.

3. Water and clear vegetable broths

Yes, water is always good for health, especially so for prostrate health because it helps to flush out the toxins in your body and get things going as smoothly as possible. Clear vegetable broths are also good as it is full of nutrients from the vegetables and because it is liquid, it also helps to flush out your kidney and bladder to prevent any possible blockage.

Now, other than consuming the above mentioned foods more regularly, it is important that you try to limit some foods to prevent prostrate problems. Or if you already have a prostrate problem, these are the foods to limit or cut out of your diet completely:

1. Meat  – because this triples your risk of prostrate enlargement

2. Milk – because this doubles your risk (thus, it is better to drink soy milk as substitute which is good for prostrate health)

As with any advice for a healthier lifestyle, do try to cut down your caffeine and alcohol consumption. Instead, drink more herbal caffeine-free teas or water, eat more fruits and vegetables and add grains to your diet for a healthy body, healthy prostrate and no worries of any disappointment between the sheets and you won’t ever need to furtively search for viagra or cialis.

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Let’s first look at the nutrition value of coffee without looking into the various claims by various researchers and scientists.

Nutrition value of Coffee

If we talk about 2g of regular instant powdered coffee:

• it is low in calories, about 5 calories
• it is low in cholesterol
• it is low in fatty acids
• it has ZERO vitamins
• it contains potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and small amounts of calcium
• it contains 62.8mg of caffeine

Now, we come to the findings and research by various scientists and experts.

Pros and Cons of Drinking Coffee

According to WebMD, researches have found that drinking coffee could possibly help lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, colon cancer, cavities and treat headaches too.  However, the article also maintained that  if you consume more coffee than your body could handle, it could result in adverse effects such as nervousness, trembling hands and rapid heartbeat. Coffee, although low in cholesterol, was known to raise cholesterol levels in certain people and this could result in artery clogging which could lead to heart attacks.

Contrary to the WebMD article’s claims, a Harvard research showed that coffee consumption has not effect on cancer in any way at all. However, it concurs with the findings that drinking coffee has been beneficial in reducing the risks of Alzheimenr’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver and gout.

Coffee is also known to cause heartburn and other related illnesses and yes, it does contain anti-oxidants that could prevent cell damage but that is very minimal. In fact, research has shown that more than 1,000 chemicals are found in roasted coffee and many of these chemicals are rodent carcinogens.

Doctors have advised those with heart problems and pregnant mothers to limit the intake of coffee and for a good reason too. That’s because coffee contains caffeine and caffeine is found to cause an increase in the stiffening of arterial walls which is not good for people with heart problems.

Also,  drinking coffee can result in iron deficiency anemia in mothers and babies. It won’t even help if the mother consume supplemental iron because coffee would block the absorption of iron.

In conclusion, I think that all these contradictory researches only goes to show that coffee isn’t all that bad but it’s not all that good either. If you want anti-oxidants, fresh fruits and vegetables contain loads of anti-oxidants that is proven to boosts your immune system and also contains loads of vitamins and minerals.

You don’t need to fall for the ridiculous Nescafe ads on getting your anti-oxidants from coffee when you can get it from other natural sources that are healthier and better.

Also, if you enjoy a cuppa every once in a while, it’s not all bad. When it comes to our health and food, moderation is always the key. So, if you consume coffee in moderation it probably will not cause much bad side effects on you. Still, it all boils down to how your body takes it.

For example, my husband has a heart problem and he only needs to drink a cup of Nescafe before he suffers chest pains for the next few days. So, he has to cut out coffee entirely from his diet.  As for me, I don’t drink coffee either because after years of over-indulging in Nescafe and other coffee brands, my body finally puts a stop to it all. Now, a drink of really rich coffee (such as Nescafe, Expresso and brewed coffee) would give me heart palpitations, shortness of breath, trembling hands and nervousness.

So, whether you are a coffee addict or simply loves the taste of coffee, do remember that coffee is not all that good for you but it’s also not all bad. Enjoy the taste and the aroma by all means but do remember, moderation is the key.

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Anyway, last week, I did put up a post on the foods I ate in Bangkok but unfortunately, due to some virus in the server, it was ‘eaten alive’. So, ended up I will probably have to redo the post and put it up again soon.

I’ve been pretty busy and tired since I got back from Bangkok, that’s why this blog has been sorta neglected. I just did not have the energy after work every day or even during the weekends to put up posts in this blog. I just have this bone-tired fatigue that won’t go away. Hopefully, I will be able to get better and be energised to start blogging regularly in earnest again. Let’s just say I am taking sick leave from this blog for awhile until I am feeling better.

So, today, I came across a very touching video on world hunger and I felt the need to share it with everyone. I hope you watch this and think twice the next time you want to throw out your leftovers.

No diet is ever worth wasting food when there are so many starving people in this world.

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Today, I’m going to give the low-down on flax seeds and its health benefits. Why do we need this oily looking seeds and why is it so good for us? Well, read on to find out more.

Health Benefits of Flax Seed

These tiny golden seeds (or brown) do pack a lot of health benefits, much more than sesame seeds although they both look alike, in a way. Flax seeds are a bit bigger than sesame seeds and looks oilier. Well, no wonder, because flax seed is high fat. Before the alarm bells ring in your head due to the words ‘high fat’, let me explain further.

Flax seed is:

1. High in Omega-3 fatty acids – this means it is high in the good type of fatty acids that help to reduce heart disease, bad cholesterol and all that stuff. These are not exactly fattening fatty acids but good fatty acids your body need. Much like when you eat fish with high Omega-3 fatty acids, like cod fish.

2. High in lignans – this is another good thing that is good for the heart and also is an anti-cancer compound that have been known to help a bit when consumed by people with breast and prostrate cancers.

3. High in dietary fibre – when it comes to flax seed, eating too much can be quite bad because it can cause diarrhea due to its high fibre content. But if you need a laxative, nothing is more natural than flax seed. However, consuming small amounts will not produce much effect except that you will find it easier to..err…flush out your system the next day. This means it is extremely great for those with constipation problem.

4. High in Magnesium

5. High in Phosphorus

6. High in Iron

7. High in Calcium

8. High in Vitamin B

Due to its high concentration of minerals, overall, flax seed is indeed a great addition to your diet for general health well-being. So, how do you eat it?

Easy. Put it in a blender and grind it into a powder, like this:

Okay, so I didn’t really grind it into a powder but it is as grounded as I could possibly do it with my blender. It is good enough. All you need to do is to add a tablespoon to your daily breakfast drink, either it’s a glass of milk, a protein shake or a fruit shake. You can even sprinkle some on top of your cereal. It doesn’t have any weird taste or smell so you actually won’t notice it at all.

Remember these health benefits of flax seeds the next time you go shopping and get yourself a packet.

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I think I’ve not chewed on raw sugar cane for years already now. Even recently when we got a few stalks of sugar cane, I forgot all about keeping some to chew. Instead, we had taken it to a sugar cane stall and had the juice extracted.

Now, after reading up about it, I realised that sugar cane do have a few nutrients that I previously didn’t know about. Although it is where sugar came from and processed white sugar aren’t healthy at all, the fresh raw sugar cane is entirely another matter. I’d have to say that we humans intervened and made it unhealthy.

Here are the:

Health benefits of sugar cane

• fresh raw sugar cane has less calories than refined sugar or syrup
• it is pretty good for digestion and can also work as a mild laxative due to its high potassium content.
• It is also high in magnesium, calcium and riboflavin (Vitamin B2).
• Traditionally, drinking sugar cane juice is good to ‘cool’ down the body especially during hot, humid weather like what we have here.
• Best of all is that the fresh sugar cane juice is sweet to drink but it is not as bad / unhealthy as drinking syrup!

Ahh…drinking a glass of sugar cane juice sure do hit the spot every time, especially during extremely hot, airless, windless days.

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Anyway, there were only five people who commented (sigh, why so few people only want to join in the contest? Doesn’t anybody else want to Pay it forward in the blogosphere? ) so, I run the random number generator and came up with the winners:

1. Colin Boyd of Get The Big Picture

2. Cory of Zestycook.com

5. Gera of Sweetsfoods.com

So, congratulations to the three lucky Pay it Forward-ers. Now, all you need to do is to send your name and mailing address to penangviews AT gmail DOT com. Of course, you don’t have to give me your full name, just the name that will ensure the handmade gift land in your hands and not someone else’s.

Also, remember the rule of the Pay it Forward contest. You will need to do the same by paying it forward and sending three handmade gifts to three other bloggers.

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Now, on to more fat burning food:

Green Leafy Vegetables

Vegetables such as kale, spinach or any other dark green vegetables are packed full of vitamins, nutrients and best of all, fiber. We all know some of them are also great cancer-fighting foods so why not add these to your diets as much as possible? Why are they fat burning foods? Well, since it is pack full of fiber, if you start a meal by eating loads of this, you will fill up pretty easily and then you tend to eat less of other foods. Green leafy vegetables are very low in fat, so no worries of eating too much of it. It is one of the foods that you can never eat too much of!

Blueberries

I’ve mentioned these sweet berries before in my heart healthy food list and how they really pack a punch as these berries contain beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids), anthocyanin (a flavonoid), ellagic acid (a polyphenol), vitamin C, folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium and fibre. Yes, it is the fiber (about 3.6g of fiber per cup!) that makes it a fat burning food as it fills you up and at the same time prevent fat from being absorbed into your body since fiber is known to help your body rid of fat. The best part about these berries is that you can eat it as it is without any cooking or garnishing. Just wash and pop into your mouth. Easy.

Yogurt

Now I know a lot of dieters steer clear away from dairy products but I say that yogurt should not be one of those food to be avoided simply because it is full of protein,has good bacteria to help with better digestion and it is known to keep your sugar level steady, thus keeping your hunger level at bay. Besides, it is a really great breakfast food especially when teamed with fruits like raspberries and blueberries. Of course, you will need to stick to the low-fat natural sugar-free version which is not loaded with loads of sugar for the full benefits.

Quinoa

Despite its growing popularity, quinoa (pronounced as keenwah) is still not one of those normal foods we put on our tables. Gera of Sweets Foods did an interesting post on quinoa recently and it piqued my interest. So, I did some checking of my own and found that this grain is one of the super foods you simply must have in your diet. It has protein and fibre. Best of all, it is gluten-free! It is also quite versatile and can be served as an alternative to rice, can be cooked and served with fruits for breakfast and if you can get some quinoa flakes, you can even use it for gluten-free, protein rich baked food! The great thing about this grain is that it has a rich nutty flavour to it, thus it tastes pretty amazing and also fills you up pretty easily and really cuts down your hunger pangs.

Apples

Last but not least, the saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ really do carry some weight. Apples also contain fibre and vitamins. If you eat an apple before a meal, you will tend to eat less as the apple will have filled you up. So, instead of chowing down and keeping fruits as the dessert, why not do it the other way around? Have fruits like apples first and then only move on to the main meal. It will definitely cut down the amount of food you will eat.

And that concludes the third part of my food that helps you lose weight series. Do keep a lookout for my recipe for quinoa which is healthy, wholesome and really good too!

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