Monday, December 12, 2011

Diabetes Prevention: Listen to your Doctor

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Sure, we don't want to get sick and need a doctor. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't see your doctor regularly. Along with that apple, you should be including routine physical examinations as a part of your overall health care. Doctors are not the enemy. They are often your first defense against diseases and conditions like diabetes Type 2.

Doctors do not always forecast doom and gloom. When you develop a good relationship with a doctor you trust, that doctor will be your confidant and will guide you through prevention, not just treatment of illnesses.

Running to a doctor only when something goes wrong is not good health care. Your doctor wants to get to know you and your lifestyle. He or she wants to help you maintain your good health, not fix you up after the fact. Diabetes is one of those illnesses that may be prevented, and, when caught early, can be treated and managed.
Many of the signs and symptoms of diabetes go unheeded because we don’t get regular physicals. When a physical exam is performed once a year, your doctor can monitor changes in your body that need to be addressed. Many problems can be caught in the early stages if you have yearly physical exams.

A physical exam usually entails:
Assessing height and weight to determine BMI (body mass index)
Assessing blood pressure
Asking about physical discomforts
Blood work for cholesterol, vitamin D, diabetes, liver functioning (LFTs), and thyroid
Urinalysis
Breast exam and pap smear (women)
Prostate exam (men)

When the blood work comes back from the lab, your doctor may ask you to come back in to review the results. The blood work will show your cholesterol numbers. One of the risk factors for diabetes Type 2 is high cholesterol. The doctor will discuss your numbers and if necessary suggest options for reducing your bad cholesterol which will include diet, exercise, and possibly medication.

Weight is another issue which affects your risk for diabetes. None of us want to hear that we are overweight, but your doctor is doing you a favor by putting your weight into proper prospective for you. Whereas your best friend or the current fashion magazines may tell you that losing weight will make you look good, your doctor will tell you the hard truth - “your extra weight is endangering your life.”

Other medical professionals you should involve in your overall health care include:
Dentist: Unhealthy gums have been linked to health problems in the body. Gum disease can affect blood sugar. If you are diabetic, gum disease can increase complications of diabetes.

Nutritionist: If you want to eat better but don’t know where to begin, a nutritionist can help. Some insurance plans allow for visits to these professionals. Gain the knowledge you need to improve your health.

Have you been to the doctor lately? If not, this is your wake up call. Don’t sit and worry about diabetes; get proactive by getting a physical exam. Decide today to protect your life and change your lifestyle – with your doctor's help.

Here is some helpful info on career motivation

Cornfield Mazes: A Maize Colored Maze of Maize

Wow! Maize is corn. Maize is yellow. One gets lost in a maze. Now, combine the three meanings of this homophone. Lost in a maize colored maze of maize? Surely this would not be for a claustrophobic or the directionally challenged such as myself.

First started in Philadelphia in 1993, the maze has become a popular and financially sound (hopefully, if marketed well enough) investment for the farmer. If you haven’t visited a maze yet, I hope this article encourages you to seek one out this Halloween season.

Each year around this time, the teens and young people at our church begin to talk about going to the maze. Because it has become so popular our church has now extended its yearly outing to anyone in the church that is accompanied by a parent. No one, but me, wants to miss the maze outing. I’ve never thought this was at all interesting. Why would someone want to go out into the cornfields and trample around? Having a need to be prepared and not wanting to be outdone, I began to research this new thing; the maze.

The Philadelphia maze started as a fundraiser for the victims of the flooding in that area. The maze was awarded the “World’s Largest Maze” in the Guinness Book of Records. Mazes are open from September through the Halloween season and the admitting cost is between 5 to 7 dollars per person.

Some farmers make their own maze, but the one our church group attended was professionally done by a maze designer and his trusty GPS. The design was from the Wizard of Oz and was about one acre in length. A farmers cost can be upwards from 5K depending on how big you want your maze to be.

Before we went into the maze we were given a neat picture of it taken from the sky, directions out of the maze, a flag in case you get lost in the maze and instructions to follow while in the maze (do not trample the stalks down, etc.).

Once inside the maze, you are surrounded by yellow stalks. High yellow stalks. The really neat picture in my mind became, well, a maze. Go figure. I could hear kids laughing and running and guessing which way to go. About two and a half hours later, victory sounds resounded as some people had successfully made their way out of the way. Directions - Not! It had gotten dark and no one could read their directions.

I could hear some who had conquered the maze go back in for seconds. I myself was struggling. My partner and I were lost. I’ll never know who it was I suppose, but someone decided it would be cool to grab an ankle through the corn. My ankle! Yikes! Now, it’s a haunted maze. I defied the one direction that I was given. I carefully went towards the sound of vehicles on the road. Straight! I was getting out of there. And I did.

It sounds horrifying, but really, it was like visiting a haunted house. Would I go back again? Absolutely! It was a great experience. There was a couple just entering the maze as we were leaving. It was dark and they, like us, had no flashlights. After they had just gotten a little way into the maze, I gave a blood curdling witch’s howl. I could hear them giggling with feelings I had experienced myself about the time I realized that I was in too deep to go back.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Down Home Jambalaya

Southern Jambalaya Recipe

Ingredients:
12 oz . raw bacon, sliced into little pieces
1 lb smoked fully grilled sausage, sliced lengthwise, after which cut crosswise into 1/2" wide semi-circles
1 lb andouille sausages, cut into 4 pieces lengthwise, after which chopped crosswise into 1/2" cubes
1/2 pound tasso or smoked ham (for instance Black Forest), that has been cut into 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 pounds white or yellow onions, cut (should be about 4 cups)
2 large stalks of celery, sliced into little pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into little pieces
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into little pieces
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsps . of paprika
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp . of chili powder
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
3 10 oz . cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles (try to find no salt or reduced salt cans)
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3 cups of regular white rice
6 green onions (scallions), sliced (should be about 2 cups)
1 tbs sliced fresh Italian parsley

Preparation The Jambalaya:
Preheat the oven to 350° Farenheit. Fry the bacon in a very large heavy pot on top of medium-high heat until the bacon is brown but not yet crispy, flipping side-to-side regularly, eight to ten min's. Incorporate the smoked sausage, andouille, and smoked ham. Saute till the meats begin to brown, around 10 minutes.

Stir in the onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook until such time as the veggies begin to soften, stirring from time to time, about 12 minutes. Incorporate the chicken and saute until the chicken turns white, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in paprika, thyme, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Saute for 1 minute.

Add the diced tomatoes with chiles and beef broth and stir to blend well. Put in more cayenne, if you want it spicier. Mix in the rice.

Bring the jambalaya to a boil over high heat. And then, lower the heat to med-low and cover the pot. Place in your oven and bake till the rice is cooked and juices are absorbed, 45 min. Remove the lid. Mix in chopped green onions and sprinkle jambalaya with cut parsley and serve hot.


soul food recipes

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Super Lemony Lemon Pie

Southeastern Lemon chess pie is definitely an original Southern region delicacy and might be encountered in lots of soul food cooking. This tends to be light as well as scrumptious. As soon as lemons come in season, their particular fresh aroma gives distinctive depth for this treat. My grandma swears that, when she had been a young child, the BRBaton Rouge Country Club prepared “the very best ever” lemon chess pie. Garnish with true, homemade whipped cream, classic vanilla soft ice cream, rasberries and also blueberries if preferable.

Lemon FIlling Ingredients:
one unbaked 9” pie crust (recipe ingredients down below)
three eggs
three tbsps . of melted butter that's cooled down
three tbsps . of milk (either whole or low-fat are going to do)
¼ cup along with one tbsp of fresh lemon juice (pure is the most suitable)
one tbsp of grated lemon rind
one tbsp flour
one tbsp finely ground cornmeal
one ¾ cups white granulated sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Inside a low to medium size bowl, gently whisk the eggs. Put in the flour, cornmeal and also sugar and mix. Afterward, add the butter and incorporate. Lastly, add the milk, fresh lemon juice and lemon rind and blend together. Pour the mix in the unbaked pie shell and bake approximately 40-45 minutes, or up to the point an injected fork slides out with no pie on it clean.

Allow the pie cool entirely and offer at room temperature. Or, when the pie has cooled off you could chill it within the refrigerator in advance of offering it.

Pie Crust
The pie crust would make enough for 2 pies, however I really opt for plenty of crust and hence I take advantage of the whole recipe for just one pie Within my friends and family, I've become renowned for this unique pie crust that is flaky as well as buttery.

Materials:
two cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
two sticks of cool unsalted butter or ½ lb . (if salted is just what you have got readily available, then limit the salt earlier mentioned to ½ tsp)
¼ cup extremely icy cold water (I prefer to stash the measuring cup of water inside the fridge freezer or include a piece of ice to the measuring cup of water while I combine up the several other list of ingredients)


Inside a big bowl, blend the flour and also salt with each other until finally properly blended. Place bowl inside the refrigerator as you prep the butter.

Chop the ice cold butter into pieces to the dimensions of a pea. Operate speedily to make certain the butter continues to be firm and also chilled. Combine the butter with the flour mix.

Making use of a pastry cutter or a couple forks, incorporate the flour and butter in unison until finally the combination has a resemblance to rough meal. Perform swiftly and attempt to complete in just 3-4 minutes.

Add in the cold water slowly and gradually making use of the pastry cutter or forks to mix. Put in water so that the dough pretty much slightly sticks together when squeezed. Never add such an abundance of water that your particular dough will get overworked and sticky.

Cover the dough in plastic wrap and give time to relax inside the family fridge for an hour or even in the fridge freezer for Thirty minutes. Once it's refrigerated, roll it in a level, round circle that could be good sized enough to put in a 8” - 9” pie pan.

Grease the pie pan lightly with butter then add the pie crust, forming it to the pan. Once again, don't overwork it or otherwise the crust may not become light and flaky. Lightly brush the crust with an egg white to help keep it from becoming soggy from the lemon filling. Return the crust to the refrigerator right up until the filling is going to be added in.

Salivating for more soul food recipes then click here.

My Family's Collard Greens Recipe

The following collard greens recipe totally highlights how much you can do with collard greens and how they may be dished up coupled with so many things including ham, chicken, bacon, pork chops, and in many cases just some other vegetables. I enjoy collard greens with fresh home-grown tomatoes or chow chow (a green relish). You are going to notice that collard greens have leaves slightly thicker than lettuce meaning they can be great for steaming and serving hot.

Traditionally, collard greens tend to be eaten on New Year’s Day, along with black-eyed peas and cornbread. This traditional meal is said to guarantee prosperity in the coming yr, since some people believe that collard leaves resemble rolled up money. Cornbread is great to use to absorb the tasty broth made by this collard greens course. The broth used to be referred to as "pot liquor."

Collard Greens Ingredients:


1 pound collard greens, washed, lightly dried in towels after which chopped to the size of your preference. I love to leave my collard leaves in huge pieces given that the leaves will wilt anyway once cooked. However, others, like my brother, like their leaves chopped up the same as lettuce leaves.

A single 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil or Canola oil (avoid the use of peanut oil, due to its particularly strong taste)

A single tablespoon butter 1/2 of a large white-colored or yellow onion finely cut

A single teaspoon of red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp of hot sauce like Tabasco

two cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

Several cups of vegetable (vegetarian) or chicken base

a pair of ripe tomatoes, sliced

Salt/pepper to preference


Directions for making collard greens:

Warm up the oil and the butter inside a big pan on top of medium-high heat so that the two are melted together, swirl the skillet now and again to ensure that the butter doesn't burn. Saute the the peeled and diced onions then pour in the red pepper flakes and then the garlic. If you are using hot sauce instead of pepper flakes, do not add the Tobasco sauce in the skillet at this step. Rather, wait until the stock is poured in to the fry pan and then it is advisable to add the hot Tobasco sauce.

Stir the yellow and white onions and garlic frequently and keep a close eye on them as they saute so as to ensure that the diced garlic will not burn and also to make sure that the cooking oil doesn't get too hot and start to smoke. Ideally, the diced garlic should begin to turn golden brown after only a few minutes of cooking as well as the onions will become clear. Mix in the collard greens and saute for one more minute. Put in the vegetable stock and Tobasco sauce (discretionary), cover and simmer. Cook till the collard greens are soft and wilted, about 40 minutes. Lastly, add the tomatoes and then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Serve warm.

red beans and rice would be a great compliment to the collard greens.

Crayfish (Crawfish) Bisque

Crayfish Bisque Ingredients

24 crayfish

a single quart tap water

a pair of white onions
a pair of whole, peeled carrots

a pair of stalks celery

four twigs of fresh parsley
four tsp thyme
six tbsps . of cracker crumbs
1 cup milk

three tbsps . butter
two tbsps . all-purpose flour

pepper and saltsalt/pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten

Instructions:
Prepare the crayfish for the bisque by placing the crayfish in cold
water for half-hour. Rinse carefully; utilize a
brush to eliminate the dirt.

As soon as cleaned,
put the crayfish in a stock pot together with the water, 1 onion, the
carrots, the celery, 1/2 the parsley and all of
the thyme.

Let to reach a boil and con-
tinue to boil for twenty-five minutes. Strain the
water from the pot and put the crayfish in a collander.
Remove the meat in the heads and
bodies in the crayfish; reserve the heads which
have to be stuffed. Dampen cracker crumbs with
milk. Dice crayfish meat and add in into the
dampened crumbs.

Dice the remainder of the onion;
melt the butter, and then incorporate the onion and 1 tablespoon
of flour. Add 1 tablespoon of the crayfish broth and
the rest of the parsley. Season with salt
and pepper to personal taste. Gently boil slowly for 5-8
min's; add the crayfish and bread crumb
blend and cook two-three minutes longer. Remove
from the stove and let cool a little bit. Stir in the
lightly beaten egg. Pack the crayfish heads with the
concoction. Cover the crayfish heads in flour and
fry in butter until lightly browned. Cool
on brown paper bags and then keep them warm when making
the stock. Melt the rest of the butter.
add remaining flour and blend
until smooth. Strain reserved stock so as to remove celery and carrots. Pour the broth to
the butter and flour. Cook on the stove top for 10-12
minutes on low heat; season with even more salt and pepper if
desired. Ahead of serving, top with the stuffed crayfish heads.

Make up this corn fritter recipe to dip in the bisque.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Perfect Appetizer: Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs certainly are a special occasion rich indulgence for me and here are a couple of my most liked deviled egg recipes:

Herbed Stuffed Deviled Eggs (serves 4-8)
4
A couple of tablespoons mayo (I use low-fatlow fat Hellman's mayo and it also tastes fantastic in this recipe)
2 teaspoons spicy Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of fresh new flat leaf parsley, trimmed
1 tbsp fresh chives chopped
1 green onion (scallion) sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
In a medium pot, bring water into a boil and also add the eggs. Hard boil your eggs after which remove them with a slotted desert spoon and let cool. Once cooled, remove the shells and cut every egg in two lengthwise. With a smaller spoon, very carefully remove the yellow-colored yolk. Put the yolks in a small bowl in addition to add the remaining ingredients. Stir until properly combined and the mixture is actually smooth and also creamy.
Thoroughly spoon the mix back into the hollowed out centers within the egg whites along with chill right up until ready to serve. These can keep for two days and nights refrigerated; it is important to gently push plastic wrap onto the covers of the filling to keep the filling from getting drying out.


Home made Deviled Eggs

“No Frills” Deviled Eggs Recipe (Makes 4-8)
4 eggs
2 tbsps . mayonnaise (low-fat mayo in the event you prefer)
A single tablespoon salted butter, dissolved and cooled off
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
In a medium pot, bring water into a boil as well as add the actual eggs. Hard boil this eggs and remove them using a slotted table spoon and let cool. Once cooled, eliminate the shells in addition to cut each and every egg by 50 % lengthwise. With a tiny spoon, cautiously remove the yellow yolk. Put the yolks in a bowl in addition to add the remainder ingredients. Stir until very well combined and also the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Thoroughly spoon the mixture back into the empty centers on the egg whites in addition to chill till ready to serve. These can keep for two nights refrigerated; it is important to gently push plastic wrap onto the covers of the egg stuffing to keep the fresh filling from becoming drying out.

These two deviled eggs recipes are certain to be a positive hit at your up coming backyard bar-b-cue or perhaps potluck.

Fry up this hush puppies recipe to serve as a second appetizer