Tag: <span>cooling food</span>

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A lot is being said lately about the benefits of cold-water therapy for fat loss, detox and recovery. “Cryotherapy,” or cold-water immersion, cold showers, cold gel packs and the cold water Detox Bath (based on Louis Kuhne’s friction sitz bath) are popular amongst athletes and health seekers, and can equally benefit practically everyone else.

A long list of benefits is attributed to regular cold-water exposure. They include:

• Reduces Inflammation

• Triggers detoxification

• Decreases excess white body fat

• Boosts immune system

• Enhances sleep quality

• Boosts sexual performance and improves fertility

• Increases pain tolerance threshold

• Enhances hormone production

• Reduces food cravings

• Decreases uric acid levels

• Increases glutathione, the body’s most powerful antioxidant. (Dr J Mercola)

Of course, these benefits vary from one person to the next. This method does NOT provide all the benefits above to everyone equally.

For the purposes of this article, let’s focus exclusively on the fat loss, detox and recovery benefits attributed to the regular application of cold temperatures to the body, in the form of cold showers, dipping in a cold pool after the sauna, practicing Louis Kuhne’s Detox Bath or using cold gel packs.

So, how does cold exposure contribute to fat loss, detox and recovery?

1- Brown fat activation: BAT or brown adipose tissue is brown fat that’s abundant in the body in childhood and decreases in adulthood. It is primarily found around the collarbone, neck, shoulders and upper back. A unique type of fat, it generates heat by burning the regular white fat that deposits in the stomach, hips, and butt and legs areas. Brown fat burns energy instead of storing it. Studies have proven that you can actually activate the brown fat -to burn the white fat- by cooling your body down.

2- Detoxification: Toxins are known to nestle in the dense white fat cells. When, through exposure to cold, you activate the brown fat, it dissolves the white fat and consequently detoxifies the body.

3- Enhancing the Immune System: Cold therapy enhances immunity by increasing the number of immune system cells that fight disease and infection. Due to its ability to stimulate norepinephrine release, cold exposure can induce an increase in natural killer cell count and activity, which can greatly improve the immune system function.

4- Hardening: The exposure to a natural stimulus, like cold, is called “hardening.” It is known to increase the body’s tolerance to stress and disease. “The underlying premise of cold water therapy is that briefly and somewhat regularly exposing the body to certain kinds of natural stresses can enhance health”. (Mark’s Daily Apple)

5- Drinking cold water speeds up the metabolic rate, because the body has to work to warm the water up. However, other types of cold or ice therapy, like cold gel packs applied to the groin area, can also help support your body’s fat-burning and detoxification ability.

6- Exercise and injury recovery By lowering the tissues’ temperature and constricting blood vessels in the targeted area, cold numbs it and prevents swelling. That’s why ice packs are often used after injury, to help minimise bruising and swelling from fluid build-up, and for pain relief.

Cold baths and cold gel packs have proven more effective than resting in the relief of the typical muscle soreness occurring after exercise.

What’s the Easiest Way to Cool the Body Down and Achieve the Benefits of Cold Exposure?

You can either take a cold shower or drink cold water, or even sit -immersed to the waist- in a tub of cold water for 10 minutes, 3 times a week. The water should be cold but not freezing.

However, the easiest, least invasive and most comfortable way to cool the body down and achieve the benefits listed above remains the regular use of cold gel packs, which are particularly effective when applied to the groin area.

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Source by Randa Khalil

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I remember when I was a girl scout. I wanted the Thin Mints more than any other cookie I was selling. My mom used to buy several boxes for us. Even as an adult, the Thin Mints are usually the first box I’ll buy. I actually love to freeze them, making them even harder and crispier. There have been years where I’ve had enough Thin Mint cookies that we’ve been able to enjoy them throughout the entire year. I’d like to share a recipe for cookies that taste similar to the girl scout Thin Mints.

2 2/3 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 package of Andes mint baking chips

I use a brand of vanilla that is quite strong, so usually only use one teaspoon of vanilla. I’ve also used both light and dark brown sugar on this recipe, both coming out great.

Mix together the butter and sugars. Add in the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Add in the flour and mix well. Gently stir in the mint baking chips. Cover and chill about one hour. It’s also OK to leave the dough overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove from the refrigerator and form a small ball. Then flatten the ball with the palms of your hands. Place on cookie sheet and repeat until your cooking sheet is full. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool just a minute before placing on cooling rack.

I can not always find the mint baking chips and so I also have a recipe using the Crème De Menthe wafers:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

20-25 Creme De Menthe wafers, cut in half

Mix together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and mix well. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix well. Add in the vanilla and mix again. Cut dough in half. Shape the dough so that you’ll be able to slice it the next day for baking. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Cut slices about 3/8 of an inch thick. Place slices on a cookie sheet. Place one piece of the candy on top of each slice. Now place another 3/8 inch slice on top of the candy. Seal as best you can. The cookies are now ready for baking. Bake about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

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Source by Audrey Okaneko

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To breed boas successfully you must be properly prepared.  In captivity snakes are generally prepared for breeding with a cooling period known as brumation. Similar to hibernation in mammals, brumation in reptiles is a period of dormancy during the colder winter months. Brumating snakes can eat during this period, but in general they won’t since the temperature is lower, they are less active (sometimes not moving for weeks or months) and digestion is difficult or impossible. Snakes will still drink during brumation so fresh water should always be provided. In captivity, a period of brumation is not essential to keep snakes healthy, but is required to induce breeding.

To prepare for this, feeding should be increased in the months leading up to brumation – typically August, September and October. This will ensure that your snakes are of a good weight for breeding, and is especially important for females. Your goal here is not to over feed, obesity is just as bad, if not worse, than being underweight. Rather, you wants your boas to be heavy and well rounded.

Feeding should then be stopped entirely in late October, or early November. A couple of weeks is needed to ensure that digestion is completed, and defecation has occurred. Any food remaining in the digestive system when the temperature is lowered can lead to illness and even death. If the snake does not defecate you can try to induce this by soaking it in luke warm water.

Once you are sure that the digestive tract is clear, and that your snakes are in prime health, you can reduce the temperatures for the brumation period.

What temperature for brumation?

The optimal brumation temperature and period differs from species to species. What works well for one species, could be severely damaging to boas from a different native climate.

Tropical boas, such as boa constrictors, usually do well with a night time temperature which slowly lowers to around 70 F, while keeping the daytime temperature around 85 – 90 F. With careful use of timers, a long, cool night can be controlled, while a short but still warm day helps to keep your boas healthy and maintain a resistance to parasites and disease.

For boas from temperate climates, such as the rosy boas, a cooler temperature in the high 50s F can be maintained throughout the brumation period of around 3 months. This temperature is then raised back up to normal husbandry temperatures in March.

Exactly how to control your temperatures will depend heavily on your climate, where your enclosures are kept, and how they are heated. A certain amount of trial and error may be necessary to ensure that temperatures are controlled properly, and a mixture of heat sources, timers, and possibly air conditioning may be required. Use of digital thermometers with a high/low memory feature will allow you to keep a close eye on your temperatures, and if at all possible you should set up brumation enclosures as a trial before introducing your boas.

Following these guidelines will give you a good chance of successfully breeding your boas. After a successful mating, the key to successfully raising the neonates is proper preparation. Ensure that you are well prepared for the care requirements, both of the gravid female, and the neonates after birth, and you’ll enjoy the wonder of breeding boas!

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Source by Billy Deakin

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Red is the color of passion and most of the things that you see associated with love are red. Red velvet cake recipe are truly famous when Valentine’s day approaches. Here is a simple moist red velvet cake recipe for you to try out this Valentine’s Day and enjoy the colors of love.

What you will need:

– All-purpose flour – 2 cups

– Baking soda – 1 teaspoon

– Baking powder – 1 teaspoon

– Salt – 1 teaspoon

– Cocoa powder – 2 packed tablespoons

– Sugar – 2 cups (tradition asks for brown sugar, but white sugar works well too)

– Vegetable oil – 1 1/2 cups

– Eggs – 2 (yolks and whites separated)

– Vanilla – 2 teaspoons

– Red food coloring – 15 ml

– White distilled vinegar – 1 teaspoon

– Plain hot coffee – 1/2 cup

Preparation:

– In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

– Preheat the oven to 325F.

– Blend oil and sugar together in a separate bowl until the sugar starts to dissolve. You can use an electric blender for this.

– Take the egg whites and beat them using an eggbeater until you get stiff standing peaks.

– Add the red food coloring to the egg whites and beat for about a minute more. Set it aside.

– In the oil and sugar mix, add the yolks of the eggs along with the vinegar and beat until the sugar dissolves.

– Add the hot coffee and mix well.

– Add the beaten egg whites to the mix and blend well.

– Add the flour mix to the wet mix using a spoon and mix well after each addition.

– Grease two 9-inch baking pans using a little butter and flour.

– Pour the batter in the baking pans equally. Smooth the tops.

– Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.

– You will know the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

– Remove and cool on a wire rack before decorating or cutting in slices to serve.

While the cake is cooling you can prepare the frosting to go with it. Here is a simple recipe for white frosting.

What you will need:

– Cream cheese – 28 grams

– Milk – 2 tablespoons

– Butter – 4 tablespoons (at room temperature)

– Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

– Powdered sugar – 2 cups

Preparation:

– In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, milk and butter.

– Once it is smooth, add the vanilla and powdered sugar, and blend well until you get a smooth thick frosting.

To assemble the cake:

– On a serving plate, place one cake and spread a thick layer of frosting over it.

– Place another cake on top of it and cover with frosting on all sides.

– Chill for a few minutes before serving.

– You can make as many layers of the cake as you want.

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Source by Anu Parsai

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We all love bananas right? They are a popular and highly nutritious fruit that can be found in pretty much every country around the world. They are the second most exported fruit across the globe after tomatoes, if you can really class them as a fruit in the conventional style. There are hardly any calories in a banana to worry about and they taste delicious, but eating them on their own all the time can get a little boring, even for the biggest banana fans out there.

With this in mind I thought that I would share a very quick and easy banana bread recipe that I picked up over the weekend when staying with some friends. Trust me you do not need to be a Gordan Ramsay in the kitchen to be able to make this, and I would like to make the point that if I can make it, then anyone can!

Ingredients for my very simple banana bread recipe

So first things first, I am going to list here the ingredients that you are going to need for this very simple banana bread recipe. These are all things that you will likely have in the kitchen, if not they are all easily located at any local store or supermarket.

* 4 bananas, the riper (or browner) the better

* 1/3 cup of butter

* 1 egg

* 1 teaspoon of vanilla

* 1/3 cup of raisins

* 1 teaspoon of baking soda

* Sprinkling of salt

* 3/4 cup of sugar

* 1 and a half cups of flour

Utensils needed

* Oven

* Wooden spoon

* Cup (to measure your ingredients)

* A teaspoon

* A large bowl

* Fork

* 4*8 deep loaf pan

* Cooling rack

You don’t have to include the raisins if you don’t like them or don’t have any in the kitchen, they are just an additional ingredient that I used to make my easy banana bread recipe that little bit more tasty.

How to make banana bread

So you have all of your ingredients in front of you, now it is time for a very brief explanation to highlight just how easy this banana bread recipe actually is. In fact it should not take you any more than five minutes to prepare the banana bread before popping it in the over for approximately one hour.

1. Before you get your hands on the ingredients, put the oven on at 175 decrees C, or 350 degrees F, this is to ensure that is has preheated by the time you pop your banana bread mix in it to cook.

2. Peel the bananas and put them in the bowl and proceed to mash them up with the fork.

3. Grab your wooden spoon and mix the butter into mashed up banana in the bowl.

4. Next add the egg and continue to mix, before then adding the raisins, sugar and vanilla, continuing to mix.

5. While you are still mixing add the salt and the baking soda.

6. Next add the flour and mix some more.

7. Butter the pan before pouring/scooping the mixture into it.

8.Place in the oven for an hour.

9. Remove from the oven and place on cooling rack

10. Enjoy!

As you can see this simple banana bread recipe can be achieved in 10 quick and easy steps, by anyone no matter what their level of expertise in the kitchen.

Calories in banana bread

If you are somebody who is watching their weight and counting the calories then the number of calories in banana bread may be of interest to you. It is difficult to put an exact number on each slice but I would say that there are approximately 220-240 calories in each slice of banana bread.

I can also add though that there are various nutritional benefits you can obtain from eating banana bread, with the exact nutrients that it contains listed below:

* Potassium

* Iron

* Calcium

* Sodium

* Vitamin A

* Vitamin C

* Protein

I hope that you have found my simple banana bread recipe useful and that you will be giving it a go at home yourself.

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Source by Steve D Wright

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There are times when simple is enough; in fact it is more than enough, it is perfect. This is a gluten-free chocolate cake for just those times; after a casual dinner with family or friends, on a rainy afternoon curled up with a good book and a cup of coffee or in the evening snuggling with a loved one watching a movie on the couch. I love this cake warm with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It is chocolaty, dense and not too sweet. Of course you can always glam it up if you feel so inclined. Glaze it with chocolate ganache, frost with your favorite icing or split into layers, spread with jam and dollop with lightly whipped cream. This cake is like a great pair of jeans; comfortable, reliable and easy to dress up or down. Take your ingredients out of the fridge and let come to room temperature about half an hour before starting the cake. You can substitute the flours and starches with your favorite all purpose gluten free flour blend if you like. If there is already xanthan gum in the blend, leave it out of the recipe.

Simply Good Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

½ cup superfine white rice flour

½ cup sweet sorghum flour

½ cup superfine sweet rice flour

½ cup tapioca starch

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional but intensifies the chocolate taste)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray an 8 inch cake pan with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray, cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan, place it in the pan and spray that lightly. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, espresso and cocoa powders. In a mixing bowl of an electric mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture, the sour cream and then the remaining flour mixture. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and mix until just blended. The batter will be thick. Using a spatula, give the batter a final mix by hand to make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Put the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

Serves 8. For a pastry quality all purpose gluten free flour blend go here. For more gluten free recipes go to my blog

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Source by Carol Kicinski

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A jerky gun is a great easy to use tool that simplifies creating beef jerky. Using one of these tools can save you time and hassle. They eliminate lot of clean up because when you’re done you just simply drop the gun in the water to soak. While beef jerky can be made by hand we want to show you why it will save time. I mean it’s simple enough to roll out your own meat dehydrate it on trays and serve right? This begs the question, do you need a beef jerky gun?

Most people are scared of using tools like this. However, keep in mind how simple using something like this really is. First, you mix up your meat mixture into a large bowl and add herbs, spices and anything else. Most jerky kits come with a ready to use mixture so it makes making the actual jerky much easier. Then you load the mixture into the jerky gun and then pull the trigger and it instantly pumps out the jerky into the desired strip length.

After you’ve made the jerky then you just put it into the food dehydrator to be dehydrated. After the jerky becomes tender and dehydrated you can then pull it from the dehydrator and lay it on a cooling tray, wax paper or baking sheet. Clean up the jerky gun and store away. Now you have fresh home made jerky that you can snack on. At this point you can add pepper or any other type of additional spice to it and go from there. The nice neat strips the jerky will come out in make it easy to serve to guests, family or friends.

In closing I don’t think a jerky gun is a priority but it can be a good addition to your kitchen. Since they are so easy to use my question for you is “why not own one?” You are not just limited to beef either you can make lamb, turkey, pork and any other type of jerky meat you can think of. So, this may be the one thing your kitchen has been missing.

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Source by Michael S. Brown

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This is a healthy recipe that you would want to try on a summer hot day. If you like, you could grill the chicken in advance to save it for the next day. Cut it into strips and refrigerate it for several days so you won’t bother cooking another one. It is okay to eat some meats sometimes, but not too often. You can’t entirely prohibit yourself from eating meat; just maintain a habit consuming it once or twice a month. Follow the instructions carefully and you can make yourself a wonderful dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

• 4 garlic cloves, minced and 2 whole garlic cloves

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery

• black pepper, to taste

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each 4 ounces

• 8 cups leaf lettuce, washed and dried

• 16 large ripe (black) olives

• 2 navel oranges, peeled and sliced

Cooking the Food:

1. Let us make the dressing first. Prepare a small bowl and mix vinegar, garlic, olive oil, onion, celery and pepper. When you are done mixing the dressing, put it in the refrigerator to cool. This will be used later. Let us now proceed to the next step.

2. Clean your grill, and prepare it for heating. You can use either the coal grill, electric grill or the gas grill. You can choose any grill you want. Once you are done heating the grill rack, take it away from the heat source and lightly coat it with cooking spray. Once you are done, put the grill rack from the heat source 4 to 6 inches away.

3. Prepare the chicken breasts, rub it with garlic. Once you are done with the rubbing, discard the garlic. Put the chicken on the grill and cook it until it turns brown and cooked enough; preferably 5 to 10 minutes on each side. When you are done, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it stay there for 5 minutes, cooling off so you won’t burn your hands before you slice it into strips.

4. In a bowl or plate, arrange the vegetables for the salad. Put the lettuce, olives and oranges. When done, top with the chicken strips and add with dressing.

You have cooked a wonderful dish that can help you on your diet and at the same time tastes good. You can serve this with nice cold water; you could even try serving this to your family members and let them enjoy its taste. It is good to eat proper foods every day.

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Source by Sherry Haynie

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Candy is prepared from sugar syrup. The syrup is heated for a long period so that it starts to solidify. Candies come in variety of textures, from soft and gummy to hard and brittle. The type produced depends on the temperatures and cooling period of syrup during its preparation.

The History

In Old days steam power was used in factories. Candy making and consumption increased during 19th century. In early days of its development preparation was done mostly by hand. It used to be prepared at home or in small, local shops. Increased machine involvement caused prices to come down and consumption increased.In the late 19th century early 20th century, candy was considered sweet and friendly, so preparing it at home, giving to friends and relatives was the trend. But over time its manufacturing developed in to a big industry. There had been a time when it even got the status of alternate meal. At that time there was very little awareness about nutrition. It was only in late 20th century that people were made aware, that these give empty calories and their popularity came down.

Safety

Making candy can be hazardous at times, due to the high temperature of sugar. The temperature often exceeds 150 degrees Celsius. Even small splashes can cause burns.

Types Of Candies

They are basically 2 types of candies. Hard Candy and Soft Candy.

1. Hard candy

Hard candy, is a candy prepared from syrups heated to a temperature of 160 °C. After heating the syrup to this temperature, it is poured in moulds and then cooled till room temperature we get hard candy. To add color, food grade color is used.

2. Soft candy

Soft candy is subdivided in to two categories:

a. Cotton candy

Cotton candy is made by spinning sugar. The Machines used to make cotton candy has a spinning head covering a small bowl. Granulated sugar is poured in the bowl while it spins. Heaters melt the sugar, and this melted sugar is squeezed out through tiny holes by centrifugal force, and the molten sugar solidifies in the form of strands, then a stick, cone, or hands are used to collect the strands.

b. Marshmallows

The use of marshmallow to make a sweet dates back to ancient Egypt. It is prepared using egg whites, corn syrup and sugar. Now a days, marshmallows are prepared by process of extrusion. Extrusion is the process in which we force semi solid paste of sugar through small orifice to give it cylindrical shape.

I have covered common varieties here but there are many more types of candies available in the market.

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Source by Mausam P

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In order to complete this job you will need the following tools:

Needle nose pliers

phillip screwdriver

1/4″ nut driver

Ohm meter (Voltage Meter)

The first thing that you will need to do is disconnect your refrigerator from the power source. The defrost timer can usually be found within the fresh food section of your refrigerator inside of the control panel. Although there are some models of refrigerators where the defrost timers can be found behind the kick plate in the front.The defrost timer is going to have four wires plugged into it. Make sure you remember the color of the wires, and also which terminal they are connected to. Once you have made a note of this, then remove the two wires that are connected to terminal one and terminal two. Before you can check the defrost timer, you will need to set the timer to the defrost cycle. If you are not sure how to do this, turn the dial on the front of the timer that has two prongs on it. Turn the dial clockwise slowly until you hear a loud click. Once you hear this click then it will be in the defrost cycle. While turning the defrost timer dial, notice the cooling cycle is longer then the defrost cycle.

Note: This test is to be performed while the defrost timer is set to the cooling cycle position. Make sure that you make a note of the color of the two wires connected to the number one and number four terminals, then you can remove these wires. If you are unsure of how to turn your refrigerator to the cooling cycle, all you need to do is turn the dial clockwise again until you hear another loud click. It is now set to the cooling cycle. Place one of the voltage meter leads onto the number one terminal and the other lead onto the number four terminal. If the control contacts are closed, there will be a zero reading on the digital Voltage meter. On a standard voltage meter, the needle will move to the right. If the control contacts are open while in the cooling cycle position, the defrost timer is bad and it will need to be replaced.

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Source by Nicholas Mark