4 Amazing Brunch Ideas and What to Know About Them

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brunch

Brunch seems like such a fancy name. Whenever I hear someone say, “I had brunch at…”, I always picture a colorful and nutritious meal. Brunch, is a combination of breakfast and lunch, and regularly has some form of alcoholic drink (most usually champagne or a cocktail) served with it.

It is usually served anytime before 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch. Brunch originated in England in the late 19th century and became popular in the United States in the 1930s.

Basically, brunch is a meal eaten later in the day than breakfast and earlier than lunch, replacing both meals, and often consisting of some foods that would normally be eaten at breakfast and some foods that would normally be eaten at lunch.

 

Beans and Plantain

GHANAIAN BEANS AND PLANTAIN

A very great brunch idea, it will keep you feeling filled for long. You could either fry your plantain and have it with your beans porridge. Or you could make a combo of both. Beans and plantain porridge, a meal made up of ripe plantains and beans is a very popular meal in the African society.

When made with fresh ingredients including fish, tomatoes, shrimps and onions among other ingredients, the meal is a balanced diet and a very good source of nutrition. Apart from those who may be allergic to some of the ingredients used in preparing the meal, cooking beans together with ripe plantain is very healthy and absolutely safe.

 

Fried Potato chips and eggs – a super quick and easy brunch

fried potato chips and egg
image source: cookpad

Easy to make and very delish! Could easily be your go-to brunch meal idea. Peel and cut the potatoes, wash the potatoes, add salt, pour oil in a frying pan and deep fry till golden.

In a bowl whisk eggs add a pinch of salt, onion, and pepper and whisk, put oil in a clean pan, turn the cooker to a low heat, pour the eggs mixture and fry, turn over and fry the other side. Once well fried, turn off the cooker. Your delicious looking meal is ready to be served.

 

Sandwich and banana smoothie -Whoo,Serve me that brunch!

sandwich and banana smoothie
image source: collegian

I bet you can agree with me that this will be super filling. It will make up for missing breakfast and keep you filled long after lunch time. There are a lot of banana smoothie recipes you can find on the internet. Check them out. Also, your sandwich doesn’t have to be boring, make it your own!

 

Boiled plantain and sauce is an awesome brunch idea

boiled plantain and sauce
image source: onobello

It could be vegetable sauce, filled with lots of greens and spice. It could be egg sauce that studied abroad. It could be tomato and pepper sauce. The big idea is that it would go smoothly with boiled plantain. I personally, would love the boiled plantain with vegetable sauce, I love the sense of healthy eating it gives me.

 

In summary, brunch should be delicious and filling. When you’re thinking of a brunch idea, don’t box yourself in.

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3 Great Cassava Uses and Benefits

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cassava

Cassava is a root vegetable. It is the underground part of the cassava shrub, which has the Latin name Manihot esculenta. Like potatoes and yams, it is a tuber crop. Cassava roots have a similar shape to sweet potatoes. The leaves of the  plant are edible as well. It has its origins from the South Americans. People prepare and eat it in various ways in different parts of the world, with baking and boiling being the most common methods. In some places, people ferment cassava before using it. You can use https://escorteurogirls.com/girls/tbilisi directory to find a call girl or a call boy at your location.

It is essential to peel cassava and never eat it raw. It contains dangerous levels of cyanide unless a person cooks it thoroughly before eating it.

 

Uses of Cassava

Cassava can be used to make a number of things; from dishes to making medications, fabrics, paper, and building materials, such as plywood, some people use cassava to feed their animals.

Cassava Starch- Production Process

Cassava Starch
image source: steambrooks
  • Peel and wash freshly harvested roots.
  • Grate or grind smoothly.
  • Mix with a lot of clean water (about ten times the weight of the roots).
  • Filter through a fine mesh sieve or a muslin cloth.
  • Allow the filtrate to settle. Decant the supernatant within a day.
  • Wash off the starch residue several times with water to get white, odorless, and tasteless starch.
  • Put in a clean bag and press to dewater.
  • Break cake, spread thinly on a tray, and sun dry.
  • Finely mill the dried starch granules and sift if necessary.
  • Package in airtight containers.

 

Tapioca -Production Process

tapioca
image source: mednewstoday
  • Remove fresh starch cake from the sedimentation container.
  • Spread thinly over a clean surface, use fingers to break up the cake into granules.
  • Put the semi-dried starch granules into an earthenware pot or a heavy griddle pan and roast over a slow fire stirring constantly to avoid uneven cooking or burning.
  • Stir until tapioca is dry (grains sh I do increase in size during this process, with some popping sound).
  • Remove tapioca from the pot and spread out to cool.
  • Sift to sort the granules by size.

 

High Quality Cassava Flour -Production Process

Cassava flour
image source: cookist
  • Peel and wash freshly harvested roots.
  • Grate the roots into a mash.
  • Dewater the mash by pressing in a clean bag.
  • Break the presses mad (cake) into fine granules; manually or mechanically.
  • Spread thinly on clean trays or black polyethylene sheets on a raised platform (to prevent contamination) and allow to sun-dry. In large scale processing, dryers like cabinet, rotary or flash dryer may be used.
  • Finely milk the dried granules, sift if necessary.
  • Package in polyethylene bags or any other airtight containers.

 

Note: in high quality cassava flour making, there should not be fermentation. The processing should be completed within 24 hours in order to obtain high quality, unfermented flour, suitable for baking. Also, its flour should pass through a fine mesh to meet the Nigerian industrial standard for edible cassava flour.

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8 Essential Cellular Components of Fruits and Vegetables

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cellular components of fruits and vegetables
Image from Unsplash

The cells of fruits and vegetables are typical of plant cells with principal components as cell wall, chloroplast, Golgi complexes, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.

 

Chemical Composition Of Fruits and Vegetables

cellular components of fruits and vegetables

  • Water: most fruits and vegetables contain more than 80% water with some tissues such as lettuce, melons, cucumbers containing about 95% water. There is fluctuation in water content during the day as the temperature changes so it is better to harvest when the maximum amount of water content is possible. Time of harvest is important in leafy vegetables because of the rapid loss of water content.
  • Carbohydrates: are the next most abundant group, they can be available as low molecular weight sugars or high molecular weight polymers. They account for 2-40% of tissue. In fruits, carbohydrates exist as sugars but you would find starch in vegetables and unripe fruits.
  • Protein: fresh fruits and vegetables are not important sources of protein to the human diet. It provides about 1-2%.
  • Lipids: comprises less than 1% of most fruits and vegetables and they are associated with the protective cuticle layers of the produce. An exception to this would be avocado which has 20% lipids and olives which have 15% lipids.

 

  • Organic Acids: most fruits and vegetables obtain organic acids at levels in excess of what is needed for metabolic pathways. The excess organic acid is generally stored in the vacuoles. Besides their bio-chemical importance, organic acids contribute greatly to the taste of fruits e.g, citric acid in oranges and lemons, magic acids in apples, tartaric acid in grapes. These acids provide tartness and slow down bacteria spoilage. With respect to bacteria spoilage, the most important contribution of organic acids is in lowering, reducing the food pH under anaerobic conditions and slightly above pH of over 4.6.
  • Nitrogen: nitrogen-containing substances; these substances are found in plants as different combinations. Proteins, amino acids, amides, nitrates, etc. Vegetables contain between 1.0-5.5% while fruits contain less than 1%.
  • Vitamins: are defined as organic materials which must be supplied to the human body in small amounts apart from the essential amino or fatty acids. Vitamins function as enzyme systems that facilitate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats but there is growing evidence that their roles in maintaining health may extend further. Vitamin A or retinol is required to maintain the structure of the eye. Vitamin C, in fruits and vegetables, is of major importance in human nutrition for the prevention of the disease Virtually all human dietary Vit C is obtained from fruits and vegetables. The daily requirement of Vit C is about 500mg. Lack of vitamin C causes a fragile capillary wall, easy bleeding of the gum, loosening of the teeth, and bone joint diseases.
  • Enzymes: are biological catalysts that promote most of the biochemical reactions which occur in vegetable cells. Enzymes have an optimal temperature around 50 degrees Celsius where their activity is at maximum, heating beyond this optimal temperature deactivates the enzyme. E.g, lipases and peroxidases.

 

 

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Cooking 101 – 9 Certified Cooking Methods

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cooking 101

Cooking is an art. It is the technology, science and craft of preparing food for consumption. Cooking techniques, methods, and ingredients vary widely across the world reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions and trends.

Types of cooking also depend on the skill levels and training of cooks. At its most basic, cooking means applying heat to food. Whether the food is baked, fried, sautéed, boiled, or grilled, it’s all cooking.

In scientific terms, cooking is transferring energy from a heat source to the food. It is as much about the way ​heat changes the food as it is about the heat itself. Here’s a list of common cooking methods and their descriptions:

 

Boiling Is A Method Of Cooking

boiling
image source: wired

Boiling is basically the cooking of food by immersion in water that has been heated to near its boiling point. It involves boiling food water or other water-based liquids such as stock or milk. In some cases, the water boils the food till it is tender as in the case of beans, while in some other cases, the water boils the food till it becomes hard as in the case of eggs.

 

Simmering As A Method Of Cooking

simmering
image source: spruceeats

Simmering is a food preparation technique by which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water and above poaching temperature. To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, then its heat source is reduced to a lower, constant temperature.

It is gentler than boiling to prevent food from toughening and/or breaking up. Simmering is usually a rapid and efficient method. Food that has simmered in milk or cream instead of water is sometimes referred to as creamed.

 

Sautéing As A Method Of Cooking

sauteing
image source: weightandwellness

This term is gotten from the French,  sauté [sote], meaning ‘jumped, bounced’ in reference to tossing while cooking is a method that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat.

In a asauté, all the ingredients are heated at once, and cooked quickly. To facilitate this, the ingredients are rapidly moved around in the pan, either by the use of a utensil, or by repeatedly jerking the pan itself. A sauté pan must be large enough to hold all of the food in one layer, so steam can escape, which keeps the ingredients from stewing

 

Grilling

grilling
image source: seriouseats

Grilling  involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat, fish and vegetables quickly.

Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill (an open wire grid such as a gridiron with a heat source above or below), using a cast iron/frying pan, or a grill pan (similar to a frying pan, but with raised ridges to mimic the wires of an open grill).

Heat transfer to the food when using a grill is primarily through thermal radiation. Heat transfer when using a grill pan or griddle is by direct conduction. Grilling is often presented as a healthy alternative to cooking with oils, although the fat and juices lost by grilling can contribute to drier food.

 

 

Roasting as a Method of Cooking

roasting
image source: pediaa

Roasting is a method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C from an open flame, oven, or other heat source.

Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat (as in an oven), and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece.

Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Meats and fish prepared in this way are described as “roasted”, e.g., roasted chicken or roast fish.

 

Baking

Baking
image source: britannica

Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, normally in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods are baked. Heat is gradually transferred “from the surface of cakes, cookies, and breads to their center. As heat travels through, it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods and more with a firm dry crust and a softer centre”.

 

How Often Do You Steam While Cooking?

Steaming
image source: jessicagavin

Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a pot. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique that can be used for many kinds of food.

Steaming works by boiling water continuously, causing it to vaporize into steam; the steam then carries heat to the nearby food, thus cooking the food. The food is kept separate from the boiling water but has direct contact with the steam, resulting in a moist texture to the food.

 

 

Did you know Poaching is also a Method of Cooking?

poaching
image source: jessicagavin

Poaching is a echnique that involves cooking by submerging food in a liquid, such as water, milk, stock or wine. Poaching is differentiated from the other “moist heat” cooking methods, such as simmering and boiling, in that it uses a relatively low temperature.

 

The temperature makes it particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out using other cooking methods. Poaching is verybvery healthy because it does not use fat to cook or flavor the food.

 

Frying – One of the Most Common Methods of Cooking

frying
image source: britannica

Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat. Similar to sautéing, pan-fried foods are generally turned over once or twice during cooking, using tongs or a spatula, while sautéed foods are cooked by “tossing in the pan”.A large variety of foods may be fried. There are about three different methods of frying.

 

Deep frying: Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cookingpp method in which food is submerged in hot fat, most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normally, a deep fryer or chip pan is used for this; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used. Deep frying may also be performed using oil that is heated in a pot.

  • Shallow frying: Shallow frying is an oil-based cooking technique. It is typically used to prepare portion-sized cuts of meat and fish, and patties such as fritters. Shallow frying can also be used to cook vegetables. Shallow-fried foods are often battered. It is a high-heat process that promoted browning.
  • Stir frying: This method originated from the Chinese. Stir-frying is a fast and fresh way to cook. Simply toss and turn bite-sized pieces of food in a little hot oil in a wok over high heat, and in five minutes or less, the work is done. Vegetables emerge crisp and bright. Meats are flavorful, tender, and well seared.
  • Pan frying: Pan frying or pan-frying is a form of frying food characterized by the use of minimal cooking oil or fat (compared to shallow frying or deep frying), typically using just enough to lubricate the pan. In the case of a greasy food such as bacon, no oil or fats may need to be added. As a form of frying, the technique relies on oil or fat as the heat transfer medium, and on correct temperature and time to not overcook or burn the food. Pan frying can serve to retain the moisture in foods such as meat and seafood. The food is typically flipped at least once to ensure that both sides are cooked properly.

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Counting Carbohydrates – 3 Fundamental Things About Carbohydrates You Need to Know

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carbohydrates
image source: planetmuscle

Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. They are called carbohydrates because, at the chemical level, they contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

They are normally broken down into five major classes:

  • Monosaccharides.
  • Disaccharides.
  • Oligosaccharides.
  • Polysaccharides.
  • Nucleotides.

Though often maligned in trendy diets, carbohydrates — one of the basic food groups — are important to a healthy diet.

Carbohydrates usually provide about half of your body’s energy needs when you’re resting or performing a low-level activity. About half the energy you burned last night while sleeping came from carbohydrates sources. And probably fifty percent of the energy you’re using right now, reading these words, comes from carbs.

They are considered the energy nutrient, because your body can break them down and use them very quickly.

How Much Carbs Do You Need Daily?

It’s possible you haven’t asked yourself this question. If you have or haven’t, here’s an answer for you.

For the average person, carb needs can be about sixty to three hundred and sixty grams per day (60g – 360g). That’s roughly the equivalent of two to thirteen ounces of pure carbohydrates.

You’ve probably heard of runners or triathletes who do “carb-loading” before a big race; that’s because they’re going to be tapping a huge amount of that particular energy reservoir when they excess hard. The requirements are a lot less, of course, if you hardly exercise.

 

Sources Of Carbohydrates

Rice - sources of carbohydrates
Image from Unsplash

Sources of carbohydrates are all over the place. See that sugar bowl? Carbohydrates. Rice has carbs. Apples, spaghetti, popcorn, potatoes, and cookies. And in baked products labeled “fat-free,” most of the fat content has been replaced with carbs.

 

Types of Carbohydrates

carbohydrates
Image from Unsplash

All carbs are not created equal. There are two basic types.

  • Simple type
  • Complex type

The so-called simple types are the sugars. Table sugar, any syrup, honey, and the sugar in fruits are all simple carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates are probably alled starches. The complex types include vegetables such as potatoes and corn and grain products such as bread, pasta, and cereals.

Among the complex types, there’s a further distinction. Refined grain products such as white rice and white breads tend to suffer from processing. While these foods are being spruced up for delivery to our plates, they lose a lot of their hearty nutrients.

Often, the packager takes steps to remedy that by enriching the food with iron and some B vitamins that are lost in processing.

Whole grain products—also complex carbs— retain more of another Nature’s supply of nutrients. Whole wheat bread and brown rice, for instance, have more protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals than their refined cousins.

They also contain a whole category of beneficial nutrients that are often in short supply— the phytonutrients. These are health- promoting substances found in plants (aside form vitamins, minerals, and fiber).

 

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7 health benefits of Cucuwater (Cucumber water)

 

7 Health Benefits of Cucuwater (Cucumber Water)

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cucumber water

In this article, we’ll be talking about the health benefits of cucumber water.

These days, everyone should be looking for healthier options when it comes to diet. Gone are those days, days we only get these ‘luxuries’ at spas or highbrow restaurants when we can make them at home!

One simple yet effective thing to add to your diet is the simple yet amazing and refreshing Cucumber Water, or CucuWater as I like to call it. Why? It is easy to make and has numerous health benefits.

 Health Benefits of Cucumber Water

Health benefits of cucumber water
Image from Unsplash

Express Hydration with Cucumber Water

According to physicians, we should look to drinking about seven to eight glasses of water on an average daily. This can easily get boring. Adding cucumber to your water gives it flavor and hence encourages us to drink more, this in turn keeps us super hydrated.

Weight Loss with Cucumber Water

More often than not, we confuse thirst with hunger. It’s easy to think about food first once we get that ‘pang’ but sometimes all our body needs at that point is water. Replacing sodas with CucuWater helps us cut down on harmful sugars which can cause unnecessary weight gain.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants can reverse or stop conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart diseases to mention a few. Cucumbers are rich in antioxidants like Beta Carotene, VitC and manganese.

Get Healthy Skin with Cucumer Water

Cucumbers are rich in VitC and VitB-5. VitC promotes healthy glowing skin naturally. VitB-5 has proven effective in the treating of acne. Staying hydrated with CucuWater helps flush out toxins and provides the body with vitamins that eventually enhances our complexion.

Cucumber Water is Believed to Prevent Cancer

Compounds like cucurbitacins and a group of nutrients called lignans are present in Cucumbers. Research has shown that these may play a role in protecting us from cancer. Dietary flavonoids found in cucumber might help to slow the progression of prostrate cancer.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Potassium helps to regulate the amount of sodium retained by the kidneys that come from eating too much salt. Cucumbers are a good source of potassium, hence regular intake of CucuWater lowers blood pressure.

Treats Bad Breath

You know that smell in your mouth after a long day? Yes? CucuWater can actively expel bad breath! The photochemical in cucumber kills the bacteria that cause bad breath. CucuWater can keep your breath fresh all day.

If you’re looking to shed some weight, reduce blood sugars, enhance your complexion and just generally be in good health, then the CucuWater is one you should always have with you. You can cut your cucumbers and allow them to sit in water overnight, or just put in your water bottle on-the-go.

 

Cucumber Water Preparation

Cucumber water
Image from unsplash

Ingredients

  • 8 cups water
  • 2 cucumbers, sliced thin
  • ½ tsp sea salt

Directions

  • add the sliced cucumbers and the salt to a large pitcher or jar
  • pour in the water and stir well
  • cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight
  • keep the water refrigerated
  • serve it with or without ice
  • drink it within 3 days

Try adding any of the following ingredients to cucumber water to make it even more flavorful while keeping the same benefits:

  • lemons
  • limes
  • oranges
  • sprigs of mint
  • basil leaves
  • melon
  • a stalk of lemongrass
  • ginger
  • fresh raspberries or other berries
  • pineapple

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The Crucial Difference Between ‘Enriched’ and ‘Fortified’

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Difference Between Enriched and Fortified
image source: heathline

You have seen many food products with ‘fortified’ or ‘enriched’ with vitamins and minerals written on them. In this article, we’re focusing on the difference between enriched and fortified vitamins.

If a food label says “enriched”, it means some nutrients lost during the packaging or refining process have been replaced. In the process of refining flour for baking bread, for instance, some nutrients are removed. A number of these nutrients are later replaced to create “enriched” bread.

A “fortified” food, on the other hand, has its existing nutrient content topped off with additional dietary muscle. Vitamins, minerals, even fatty acids may be added to foods that never contained such nutrients. One common example is calcium-fortified orange juice.

A variety of food products are fortified or enriched with vitamins and minerals. Historically, food fortification, such as iodized salt or vitamin D-fortified milk, served as a public health measure to address population-wide nutrient deficiencies. Today, there are also calcium and vitamin D fortified juices, breads fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, and vegetable oil spreads with plant sterols.

 

Difference Between Enriched and Fortified

Both terms mean that nutrients have been added to make the food more nutritious. Enriched means nutrients that were lost during food processing have been added back. An example is adding back certain vitamins lost in processing wheat to make white flour. Fortified means vitamins or minerals have been added to a food that weren’t originally in the food. An example is adding vitamin D to milk.

Foods, mainly enriched grains, breakfast cereals, milk and juice, can play an important role in ensuring that children get adequate amounts of many nutrients. Adults’ diets are even supplemented through their daily eats. Do make sure to read labels for ingredients, and look at nutrition labels for sugar content. Don’t be fooled by health claims and fortification messages; always read labels to make sure you know what you are buying.

If you are trying to improve your diet, evaluating the number of enriched foods you consume is a good place to start. Enriched foods can be part of a healthy eating plan, but they can also be more heavily processed and (sometimes) less nutritious than whole, less processed foods. For example, an enriched loaf of bread may be less nutritious than a loaf made from scratch at your local bakery with whole grains and fresh ingredients.

 

In summary, enriched food is a product to which nutrients have been added. Typically, the added nutrients were present in the food in its original form but were removed at some point during processing. White bread is an example of an enriched food because certain vitamins are added after the bleaching process depletes them.

Enriched foods sound healthy. The word “enriched” makes it seem like something special has been added to the food to make it better. That definition of enriched foods isn’t wrong. But it’s not completely accurate, either.

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3 Dangers Of Emotional Eating

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Emotional eating
image source: helpguide

Emotional eating is the “propensity to eat in response to pleasant and negative emotions” is defined as emotional eating (also known as stress eating). While the phrase frequently refers to eating to cope with negative emotions, it also include eating to express happy feelings, such as eating meals to commemorate an occasion or eating to improve an existing great mood. In these situations, emotions are still driving the eating but not in a negative way.

Emotional eating usually occurs when a person is attempting to satisfy his or her hedonic drive, or the desire to eat palatable food to obtain pleasure in the absence of an energy deficit, but it can also occur when a person is looking for food as a reward, eating for social reasons (such as at a party), or eating to conform (which involves eating because friends or family wants the individual to).

When someone is emotionally eating, they are more likely to seek out pleasant meals (such as sweets) than food in general. In certain cases, emotional eating can lead to “mindless eating,” which occurs when a person eats without being aware of what or how much they are eating; this can happen in both happy and negative situations.

Physical Hunger VS Emotional Hunger

  • Physical Hunger develops slowly over time, whereas in emotional hunger, It occurs unexpectedly or abruptly.
  • You have no bad sentiments about eating while you’re physically hungry. When you have emotional hunger, on the other hand, you feel guilty or ashamed about eating.
  • While physically hungry, you desire a variety of food group. But with emotional hunger, you crave only certain foods.
  • In a normal condition, you are aware of your fullness and use it as a signal to cease eating. However, you may gorge on food and not feel satisfied during emotional eating.

 

Positive Emotions in Emotional Eating

Dangers of emotional eating
Image from blackdoctor.org

Negative emotional eating is a topic that many of us are familiar with. You split up and get the ice cream out. You can’t find work, so you go out and have some tasty fried chicken. Food can be extremely soothing, and it’s not uncommon to resort to it when you’re feeling bad. But what about when you’re in a good mood?

Emotional eaters are often presumed to eat in response to negative emotions, while positive emotions have been largely neglected.

Watching a movie that make you happy triggers emotional hunger, happiness can be just as much of a trigger for addiction as things that are unpleasant. You might not even realize there’s a problem when it comes to food, which is connected with celebration. It’s something we’re encouraged to do. When you’re depressed, however, you’re more aware of the fact that you’re eating again.

When we’re happy, we want to keep it that way. We can’t retain that feeling of bliss on a neurochemical level. You can be in a good mood one minute and then be cranky two hours later. When you reach a high degree of happiness, you may feel compelled, even unconsciously, to attempt to maintain it. You eat something, feel a little better, and continue on your way.

 

Negative Emotional Eating

 

  • Truth is everyone eats for emotional reasons some of the time. You have an argument with your partner, and you storm into the kitchen to fix something to eat. Your boss reams you out for something, and you take yourself to a lavish lunch, thinking you deserve it after all. You’re waiting for your habitually late friend to join you for dinner at a restaurant, and the minutes drag by like hours, and by the time he arrives, you’ve eaten and even downed two beers.

Anger, humiliation, boredom —at the time, each seemed like a good reason for eating, as if food could fix the feeling. For some of us however, the psychology factor influences the totality of our relationships with food and the entire pattern or habit of our eating. That’s why, psychology often plays an important role in the weight loss program.

Patients at a weight loss program are called intakes by health professionals. The primary intake is medical, looking at the problem of overweight as a total health issue. The second intake is by a staff nutritionist, who analyzes the patient’s eating habits and relationship with food. The third intake is offered by a psychotherapist who can help a patient identify the psychological factors that may have contributed to the weight problem, understand the influences on the person’s eating decisions, and manage the responsibility for making better decisions in the future.

No book can do that for you. A single chapter can’t even identify, much less diagnose, the particular issues that are the psychological factors in your eating habits. But what is certain for everybody is that psychology is a factor. Knowing how it might be influencing your eating choices is an important component. To make mindful choices about food, it helps to look not just outward at the food options you have, but also inward at the influences that may be impelling you toward one option or another.

It is extremely helpful to be aware of the psychological factors that may be influencing your eating habits. Once you’re able to examine and identify the possible root causes for eating or overeating and deal with them, it will result in having control over emotional eating. Food will only fix and ease hunger pangs while giving your body nutrients. It does nothing significant for your mood.

 

 

Side Effects of Emotional Eating

Three major side effects usually accompany emotional eating.

 

Guilt

The emotional overeater is frequently plagued with shame and guilt for what they’ve done once the emotional “threat” has gone and they’ve eaten.

Studies have shown that people with emotional eating disorder feel guilty not only about their eating habits, but also many other parts of their self. The more they criticize themselves,  the more severe their emotional eating disorder becomes.

Nausea

Because the sensation of food in the stomach serves as a diversion from the feelings they’re trying to avoid, emotional eaters sometimes overeat or eat quickly, resulting in stomach pain or nausea. This can linger for a day or two after the meal has been had.

 

Increase in Body Weight

How many calories you ingest vs how many you burn determines your daily calorie balance.

A calorie surplus occurs when you consume more calories than you expend. These extra calories may be stored as fat in your body.

Overeating can contribute to the development of excess body fat or obesity since you may be eating far more calories than you require

Furthermore, you could develop weight-related health prolems with overeating that accompanies emotional eating. Diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, and high cholesterol are all health problems that can result from repetitive emotional eating outbursts.

 

How To Tackle Emotional Eating

Find other ways to deal with stress

The first step toward overcoming emotional eating is frequently to find a new strategy to deal with negative feelings. This might be as simple as writing in a notebook, reading a book, or simply taking a few minutes to rest and unwind after a long day.

It takes time to alter your attitude from reaching for food to seeking other sources of stress release, so try out a few different hobbies to see what works best for you.

 

Refrain from grabbing a large volume of food 

Refrain from grabbing an entire bag of chips or other snack items. To aid with portion control, measuring quantities and using small plates are two mindful eating habits to concentrate on.

Allow yourself some time after you’ve completed one helping before returning for a second. In the meanwhile, you might want to try another stress-relieving approach, such as deep breathing.

Fight temptation by distracting yourself

Distract yourself from snacking when you’re not hungry and replace it with a better habit. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, or phone a friend.

Remove the source of temptation. Keep comfort foods that are difficult to resist out of your house. Also, if you’re furious or depressed, postpone your food shopping excursion until you’ve calmed down.

 

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5 Health Benefits of Fiber Foods

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Fiber Foods
image source: almanac

Fiber foods are very important. They keep you full, improve your health, and aid weight loss. However, eating foods high in dietary fiber can do so much more than keep you regular. It can lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, improve the health of your skin, and help you lose weight. It may even help prevent colon cancer.

Fiber, also known as roughage, is the part of plant-based foods (grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans) that the body can’t break down. It passes through the body undigested, keeping your digestive system clean and healthy, easing bowel movements, and flushing cholesterol and harmful carcinogens out of the body. Basically, it leaves your stomach undigested and ends up in your colon, where it feeds friendly gut bacteria, leading to various health benefits.

A lot of us don’t get enough fiber foods infused in our diet, it is mostly overlooked. But actually, infusing foods high in fiber into our daily diet is simpler than we think.

 

Health Benefits of fiber foods

  • Fiber foods boosts digestive health: Since they normalize bowel movements, they can help prevent and relieve constipation and diarrhea, also provide some relief for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Some studies have also indicated that a high-fiber diet may help to lower gastric acid and reduce your risk for gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) and ulcers.

 

  • Help With Diabetes: A diet high in fiber—particularly insoluble fiber from cereals—can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes. If you already have diabetes, eating soluble fiber can slow the absorption of sugar and improve your blood sugar levels.

 

  • Lower Risk Of Cancer: There is some research that suggests eating a high-fiber diet can help prevent colorectal cancer, although the evidence is not yet conclusive. Diets rich in high-fiber foods are also linked to a lower risk for other common digestive system cancers, including stomach, mouth, and pharynx.

 

  • Boosts Skin health: When yeast and fungus are excreted through the skin, they can trigger outbreaks or acne. Eating fiber, can flush toxins out of your body, improving the health and appearance of your skin.

 

  • Heart health: Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, is an important element of any heart-healthy diet. Eating a diet high in fiber can improve cholesterol levels by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol. A high fiber intake can also reduce your risk for metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors linked to coronary heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Fiber can also help to lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, improve levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, and shed excess weight around the abdomen.

 

Incorporate these fiber foods into your daily meals:

Nutritionists recommend that you consume at least 21 to 38 grams of fiber each day, depending on your age and gender. According to research, most of us aren’t eating half as much as we should be.

While meeting your daily fiber need may seem daunting at first, you may start reaping the health advantages by eating whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.

Try adding some of the foods from the below list to your diet to easily increase your fiber intake.

  • Pears
  • Strawberries
  • Avocado
  • Apples
  • Carrots
  • Beetroot
  • Kidney Beans
  • Oats
  • Popcorn
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Whole-wheat pasta
  • Bananas
  • Oranges
  • Whole-grain breads
  • Nuts

 

Tips for taking more fiber foods:

  • Start your day with fiber.
  • Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole grain products.
  • Add fruit to your breakfast.
  • Keep fruit and vegetables at your fingertips.
  • Replace dessert with fruit.
  • Replace fruit juices with fruits.
  • Incorporate veggies into your cooking.

 

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6 Foods You Should Avoid During Pregnancy

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Foods to avoid during pregnancy

What you eat during pregnancy will impact your health as well as your baby’s health. If you follow a healthy diet, you will have a healthy pregnancy, and your baby will develop properly. In order to meet your nutritional requirements, you can eat healthy foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains. But you can’t just eat any fruit or veggies – there are certain fruits and veggies that are not safe for consumption during pregnancy. Pregnancy is one of the most vital and sensitive periods in a woman’s life. Therefore, it’s very important for pregnant women to eat a healthy diet. Expecting mothers have to pay close attention to what they eat and make sure to avoid harmful foods and beverages.

In this article, we will tell you about some foods/fruits that you should avoid eating during pregnancy.

 

Limit Intake of Caffeine During Pregnancy

Foods to avoid during pregnancy
Image from Shutterstock

 

Pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to 200 mg per day, which is about 2–3 cups of coffee. High caffeine intake during pregnancy can limit fetal growth and cause low birth weight. Caffeine is absorbed very quickly and passes easily into the placenta and fetus. Because unborn babies and their placentas don’t have the main enzyme needed to metabolize caffeine, high levels can build up.

 

Undercooked or Raw Fish During Pregnancy 

Foods to avoid when pregnant
Image from PaleoHacks

Raw fish and shellfish can be contaminated with bacteria and parasites. Some of these can cause adverse health effects and harm both the mother and unborn baby. Pregnant women are therefore advised to avoid raw fish and shellfish. This includes many sushi dishes.

 

Avoid Raw Eggs During Pregnancy

Foods to avoid during pregnancy
Image from Healthline

Raw eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella, which can lead to sickness and an increased risk of premature birth or stillbirth. Pasteurized eggs can be used instead. Most commercial products that contain raw eggs are made with pasteurized eggs and are safe to consume. However, you should always read the label to make sure. Pregnant women should always cook eggs thoroughly or use pasteurized eggs. Foods that commonly contain raw eggs include:

  • Lightly scrambled eggs
  • Poached eggs
  • Hollandaise sauce
  • Homemade mayonnaise
  • Salad dressings
  • Homemade ice cream
  • Cake icings

 

Avoid Undercooked, Raw and Processed Meat During Pregnancy

Foods to avoid during pregnancy

Raw or undercooked meat may contain harmful bacteria. As a general rule, meat should be cooked all the way through. Bacteria may threaten the health of your unborn baby, possibly leading to stillbirth or severe neurological illnesses, including intellectual disability, blindness and epilepsy. While most bacteria are found on the surface of whole pieces of meat, other bacteria may linger inside the muscle fibers.

 

During pregnancy, avoid unpasteurized milk, cheese, and fruit juice

Foods to avoid during pregnancy
Image from Chriskresser

 

Raw milk, unpasteurized cheese, and soft-ripened cheesesTrusted Source can contain an array of harmful bacteria, including Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.

The same goes for unpasteurized juice, which is also prone to bacterial contamination. These infections can all have life-threatening consequencesTrusted Source for an unborn baby.

Bacteria can arise spontaneously or as a result of contamination during the collection or storage process. Pasteurization is the most efficient approach to destroy hazardous germs while maintaining the nutritional content of the items.

Eat only pasteurized milk, cheese, and fruit juice to reduce the chance of illness.

 

During Pregnancy, Avoid Unwashed, Packed Salad

Foods to avoid during pregnancy
Image from Natasha’s Kitchen

Salads that have been pre-prepared and washed are acceptable.

If you store it in the fridge and eat it before the expiration date, you’ll be ok. Make sure any packaged salads you buy don’t contain any other items you should avoid.

It is recommended not to eat salad that has been left out at room temperature for an extended period of time since bacteria can quickly proliferate.

 

 

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