Spanish Food - The Perfect Paella

By Linda Plummer

Looking for a traditional Spanish recipe? Without doubt, the best-known is going to be the prodigious paella ... that tasty, adaptable, gregarious dish famed throughout Spain and the World.

And, what an impressive choice of recipes exist for a pleasurable paella: seafood, chicken, rabbit ... or a mixture of all three! Perhaps you are non-meat eating ... well, just opt for one of the several vegetarian paella recipes. Bit of a health fanatic? Then substitute white rice for whole-grain rice or wild rice.

Got a large family and not much money to feed them on? Use plenty of rice and imagination along with a tasty stock, plus whatever you can find in the cupboard! I have certainly enjoyed many paellas where there have been more bones/shells than meat/seafood! And, very tasty they have been too, the richness of the company more than compensating for any paucity in the ingredients.
So ... how do you go about making the perfect paella? First of all, you need to choose your rice. The short-grained rice from Valencia - where most Spanish rice originates - is fine for making paellas. However, the "bomba" rice grown in the neighboring region of Murcia, is the "king" of paella rice: again, short-grained, it has the ability to absorb the stock whilst remaining firm.
Another "must" is to use saffron ("azafrán") to create the gentle, yellow color for which this delectable dish is renowned. Yes, it is possible to buy cheaper, artificial colorings but ... go for the traditional - it will bestow a wonderful aroma and unique flavor.

Many Spaniards swear a perfect paella can only be achieved when using a tasty, home-made stock. Whatever you decide, allow at least double the amount of liquid to rice. If, during cooking, the dish becomes a little dry, just add a dash more water or stock.

Another tip I have been told, on more than one occasion, is to gently fry the rice for a few minutes before adding the stock, ensuring that it is well-coated in oil. I think all Spaniards would agree that, once cooked, it is best to leave your paella to stand for a good five minutes before serving.
Perhaps the most important ingredient for making that perfect paella, is to use lashings and lashings of love whilst preparing it - for surely, that is something we can all afford - and to enjoy to the full the marvellous company of those who will share it with you.

I shall now have to choose a paella recipe to offer you as an example! I think I will opt for a seafood paella, typical of the region of Valencia, where I live. The ingredients are for a hearty four servings. If you are not a hefty eater, or on a diet, then reduce the amount of rice/stock slightly.

Paella Valenciana - Paella From Valencia

Ingrediants:

- 4 cups rice. - 8 cups fish stock. - 8 king-sized prawns/langoustines. - 8 mussels. - 200 gr shrimps. - 200 gr peas (fresh or frozen). - 2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped. - 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced. - 3 strands saffron, crumbled. - Olive oil for frying.

Method:

1. Sauté garlic in a paella-type pan.
2. Add tomatoes, peas, shrimps and saffron.
3. Cook for a few minutes.
4. Add rice and stock.
5. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Decorate with prawns and mussels.
7. Cover paella with a lid.
8. Poach the seafood for a few minutes.
9. Decorate paella with lemon quarters.
10. Enjoy!

Linda Plummer is English, and has lived on the Costa Blanca in Spain for 20 years. She is webmistress of the information- rich site: http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com/ with its FREE monthly newsletter, "The Magic of Spain".
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Dr Oz's Juice Diet For Weight Loss - Dr Oz Advises Natural Juice & Green Drink to Lose Weight

By Jenny Myers

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the known heart surgeon recently featured in the Best Life Series with Oprah Winfrey. This show is focused on health and weight loss diets. Besides several other tips, Dr. Oz stresses on certain factors that would help you lose weight:
1. Stop taking caffeine in all forms - may it be smoking, tea or coffee.

2. Replace your tea & coffee with green tea.

3. Take lots of natural juices.

4. Add fiber content to your diet.

5. Take a lot of raw foods in the diet.

6. Take your meals on time.

7. Avoid sugar & fried stuff.

8. Make sure to take 2 fruits daily.

9. Drink lots of water. 10. Exercise regularly.

In order to help you follow these tips, the expert has also given a few recipes of some interesting juices. One of those is given below:

Green Drink
Ingredients:
• Cored apples - 2 • Spinach - 2 big handfuls • Chopped parsley - 1/2 cup • Celery stick (chopped) - 1 • Ginger root (peeled) - 1 thumbnail length • Lemon (juice) - 1 • Cucumber - 1

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients in the blender.

2. Now add 4 oz. of spring water. Or you may also all a handful of the ice cubes. 3. Make a puree out of it in say one minute.

4. This would make around 2 glasses of the green drink.

Some suggestions:
1. It tastes quite strong. So some people might choose to add a little sweetener to the drink.

2. Always use fresh greens & vegetables.

3. The beginners may also like to add apples to the drink. This works like a healthy sweetener.

4. The optional ingredients you might choose to add are:

i. One more cucumber ii. Raw carrot iii. Unsweetened fruit juice iv. Banana
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Low Carb Recipes - Tastiest Low Carb Recipes

By Jenny Banks

A low carbohydrate diet means taking fewer carbohydrates. In such a diet, the intake of proteins and certain fats is increased and foods that have high content of carbohydrates are excluded. Foods such as Pasta, Noodles, Rice, and Desserts are high in carbs. In the 1990s Dr. Atkins started the high-protein and low-carb diet.

Some recommended low-carb recipes are as follows:

Spinach with spices :

Ingredients:
• 2 pounds Spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cloves
• Half tablespoon white butter
• A few fenugreek seeds
• One stick cinnamon
• Few seeds of crushed black pepper
• Salt to taste

Method:
Wash and finely chop spinach leaves. Add butter into a pan. Add fenugreek seeds, cloves, garlic, cinnamon, crushed pepper and stir for 2 minutes. Then add spinach and salt and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Baked Fish:

Ingredients:
• One pound fillet of fish
• Salt to taste
• Black Pepper
• One teaspoon Olive Oil
• One tablespoon lemon juice

Method:
Marinate fish in olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and black pepper. Take a baking dish and bake fish for 6 minutes.

Lemon Chicken:
Ingredients:
• 2 breasts of chicken
• 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
• One teaspoon Tomato puree
• One teaspoon lemon juice
• One tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
Marinate chicken breasts in all the above ingredients. Take a baking dish and bake chicken for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

The above recipes have low caloric value and are high in proteins. These can be accompanied with multi-grain or wheat bread and can be included as the main course of a meal. Caution should be taken not to be on extended duration of low-carb -diet as carbohydrates give energy. If people are in jobs that require high physical activity it is essential to have carbohydrates included in their meals. People with low physical activity can be on extended duration of low-carb diets

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Delicious Ways to Cut Calories

By Monica Resinger

I recently joined Weight Watchers and their plan has made me see where I was going wrong in my diet. Each day I learn new ways of cooking and eating that trim calories from the foods that I eat so that they will fit into the plan. I'm one who loves all the fattening foods and a lot of the non-fat things don't work for me... like non-fat sour cream, non-fat cheese, non-fat mayonnaise or non-fat salad dressing... yuck! I have found a lot of things that work though, so there's hope! Here's some tips I've learned along the way:

1. Trim some calories from fried chicken by taking the skin off first. Yes, it's still fried chicken, but at least you've taken off some calories. Also be sure to drain the chicken well on a paper towel when finished frying; this will also help with the calories. Lastly, eat just one piece. Portion control can be a powerful way to control how much you eat, resulting in calorie reduction. If you eat it slowly and savor it, it will be a much more satisfying and enjoyable experience than gulping down multiple pieces. This applies to any food.

2. If you're an ice cream junky like me, you can still have it! Just buy ice cream bars instead of ice cream that you can dish up yourself. This way you limit how much you have. For me, it's impossible to dish up only a little ice cream, but an ice cream bar treat is great and I know it's only 1 serving. A word of warning: be sure to look at the calories of the bars before buying... some premium bars have more calories than your big dish of ice cream.

3. Another tip for ice cream junkies is to switch to popsicles, juice bars, sherbet or Italian ice. These all have a lot less calories than ice cream but are delicious alternatives.

4. One last tip for ice cream junkies. A delicious treat that is very similar to an ice cream sandwich, but has VERY LITTLE calories: Take 2 chocolate graham crackers and sandwich 2-3 Tbsp. fat-free whipped topping between them... these are so good, you won't believe there's hardly any calories! By the way, I mentioned earlier that a lof of the fat-free stuff I don't like... well, fat-free whipped topping is one that I do like.
Can you tell my biggest downfall was ice cream?

5. Here's a recipe for a delicious salad dressing that's almost fat-free:

Chinese Salad Dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice, canned or bottled 2 Tbsp soy sauce 4 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp table salt 1 tsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 1/2 tsp black pepper
Mix all ingredients together unitl sugar dissolves. Delicious!

6. Think of all the healthy things you like and play up on them. For me, I love Sushi, Shrimp, Stir-Fries, Salsas, Fruit, Soups, Roasted Vegetables, Salads and Smoothies. You can also get your family members' opinions on the healthy foods they like so there's more options. I made a list of these items to keep my memory fresh, and when I make meals, I try to focus on these types of meals.

7. If you like French Fries, I have found a delicious alternative! Simply slice potatoes, put them on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, spray the potatoes with the spray, season and cook at 400F for 40-60 minutes, until lightly browned & crisp. These are better than the ones drenched in oil... honestly! I tried this same method with sweet potatoes and they are even better, in my opinion; my family prefers the regular potatoes.

8. If you like chips, switch to pretzels. To me, pretzels are just okay, but when I dip them in mustard or salsa, they are much better!

9. Of course there are times when we want to splurge and have an indulgent meal or treat. A great way to do this is to cut back, exercise and eat well for a week or so, then have your indulgence, but still try not to go way overboard. Eat slowly and savor it, this way you will know when you are satisfied, rather than eating through it.

A huge factor in eating well and losing weight is planning, regardless of what plan you are on. If you take time each day to plan out a strategy to keep your eating within limits and create more activity in your life, you will be much more successful than if you don't take time to think about it. If you don't plan, it is too easy to fall into the 'I'll-Start-Tommorrow' trap and eat too much.

Monica is the founder Homemaker's Journal E-publications, the growing home of many fun and informative home and garden e-books, tip sheets, articles and more! http://homemakersjournal.com/

Get a FREE Slowcooker Recipe E-book when you subscribe to Monica's FREE e-zine for homemakers! To subscribe and receive instructions for picking up your FREE e-book, just send a blank e-mail to: HomemakersJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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Cooking For Diabetics

By Jenny R Smith


If you or your family member has been diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to cook healthy meals that may help the person stay fit. As breakfast is considered as the first and most important meal of the day, you should pay it special attention.
However, it remains a challenge to cook for people suffering with diabetes. Many studies done in this field indicate that people with diabetes should start their day with certain grains for breakfast as this will help them maintain their blood sugar levels for the entire day. These grains include whole-grain barley, whole grain rye, and other whole grains such as oats. Today, you will learn how to cook a mouth-watering dish - American chili for diabetics. The best thing about this dish is that you can also store it for future use.
Here are the ingredients:
• Hamburger- 2 lbs. • Tomato juice- 1 quart • Onions- 2 • Green peppers- 2-3 nos. • 1 pound of dried kidney beans • Chili powder- 2 tablespoons • Cumin (optional)- 1 tablespoon • Black pepper- 2 teaspoons • Papirika -1 tablespoon • Salt- 2 teaspoons • Chopped tomatoes- 1 small can
Recipe
• First, soak kidney beans overnight. • Cook for around 1 hour until they are tender • Brown the hamburgers • Next, add green pepper and chopped onion • Cook for 10- 15 minutes • Convert the dish to a large pot and add hamburger, onions, and peppers • Now, add drained beans and tomato juice as well as chopped tomatoes • Add paperika, salt , black pepper, and cumin (optional) • Add vegetables for a great taste • Cook for 30 minutes.
Watch this space for more recipes for healthy recipes.
Jenny R Smith is a famous health and nutrition expert. She owns a blog on fruits and their benefits.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenny_R_Smith