And another breakfast, and another picture of what I had with the left-over Tofu. Tofu on crackers ( Britannia Cream Crackers, by the way – if you haven’t tried them, do) with tomatoes, cucumbers, salt and pepper and topped with black Kalamata olives and a tiny dollop of Weikfield’s Sweet Chilli Sauce.
While I was confirming online the paneer vs tofu fat content I came across this site. I’m going to take Yasmeen’s info as correct because I couldn’t really find any other clear comparisons, and it’s shocking to me. She calls herself a ‘health nut’, but really, looking at these figures, even though I agree Tofu’s lower on the protein and calcium, you don’t need to be a health nut to make a better choice. At least that what it looks like to me ! Wheeeew! I feel half a kilo lighter already.

Actually there’s still a lot of Tofu left, you’re going to be hearing more.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. – Adelle Davis

While so many studies into nutrition seem to contradict each other – this is one issue that seems certain. Breakfast is good!
Breakfast is a meal that sets you up for the day. It replenishes your body’s energy supply after the nights fast and provides the energy required to stay physically and mentally alert. Without breakfast, your body is basically running on empty. It is a critical meal for adults and children alike.
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Children who eat breakfast perform better on standardized achievement tests and have fewer behavior problems in school.
A Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital study of children in Philadelphia and Baltimore schools discovered that students who usually ate school breakfast had improved math grades, reduced hyperactivity, decreased absence and tardy rates, and improved psycho-social behaviors compared with children who rarely ate school breakfast. (Pediatrics, January 1998; Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, February, 1998)
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Now when did I last have breakfast? ! Eating breakfast can do wonders for your memory loss. A study done by the University of Toronto on healthy men and women in the age group 60 to 79 showed that taking in calories from either protein, carbohydrates or fat boosted their performance in memory tests. While it appears that any breakfast is better than no breakfast at all, researchers have found that carbohydrates generally fuel the best long-term benefits to memory, probably due to the rise in blood sugar that they cause. Rise in blood sugar then causes an increase in the supply of glucose to the brain. (more…)

If Lent means going vegetarian, why not go back to basics and try an old favorite. This one is SINFUL, but then there’s sin and there’s sin, right?
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MACARONI & CHEESE Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
2 lbs/1 kg dry macaroni noodles
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter
6 large eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil the macaroni to al dente with a teaspoon of salt. Drain under cold water and set aside.

Beat the eggs with the milk and set aside.

Return the noodles to a large pot over low heat and stir in the butter.

Stirring continuously, add in cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper and milk and eggs mixture.

Once the cream cheese has melted, add the shredded cheese and stir until the cheese is combined throughout.

Spread the macaroni mix into a baking dish.

Top with bread crumbs and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

Enjoy!!!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A lot of sites have been invited to “turn pink”. I’d like to support but can’t figure the coding, so consider me pink for a month, hmm?

The connection between diet and breast cancer is not as clear as some of the connections between diet and other cancers. No kind of food control, or changes are going to control, fight or protect against cancer. But while the jury is still out on how to change that for sure, there are some things that have been shown to have a direct relationship with adding the chips in your favour.

A majority of the studies in this area show a relationship between a high fat diet, high caloric intake and the increased risk for developing breast cancer. If you are overweight, you can seek to lose excess pounds, which may reduce your risk of breast cancer.

It is generally a good idea to eat a plant-based diet high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals to help decrease the risk for developing all cancers. Eating these foods which are naturally low in fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. Constipation should also be alleviated.

Include foods rich in Vitamins A & C but don’t get caught up by supplements which claim to prevent cancer, such as vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene. Don’t fall into this trap! Scientists believe it is the interaction of nutrients along with many substances in food (not in pills) that are the protective factors against cancer. (more…)

Most of our lives are so rushed. Not that anyone needs reminding, but I started thinking about it a lot suddenly because I read this article about how research has shown that those who commute long distances to work by pubic transport, – the train, a bus etc, and probably stress about time they’re wasting, are actually calmer and more destressed because whether they appreciate it or not, their minds and bodies have time to switch off from work and move gradually into family mode, or vise-versa. Interesting, I thought, and not hard to understand, for someone who doesn’t much care for driving, and sometimes reaches work wondering how, and where the journey in between went!

It’s more or less the same with food. So often we miss meals, or eat while working, or rush through them without even noticing what we’re eating. This is even a reason cited by the French and Italians for why they’re so much slimmer and leaner than Americans, though their intake of creamy sauces, pastry, croissants and cheese and butter is certainly not small. They always spend at least a liesurely hour if not more over a (compartively) small meal. Giving their stomachs time to send messages about being full and all that stuff I guess. Eating on the run is total blasphemy to them.

The article below makes for interesting reading…

Roundtable: The French Paradox
The French diet is back in the news—how do French women manage to enjoy chocolate, wine, cheese and bread without gaining weight? Food writer Josh Friedland enlists several top French food bloggers for a rollicking conversation on the phenomenon. Read more

The”French” diet
Anecdotal evidence is piling up from travelers returning from extended stays in both France and Italy, and undoubtedly other places connected to the Mediterranean, that one can eat like the locals, get no exercise, and return to these United States thinner. Following our 6 plus week trip all over France, eating full fat everything, eating daily bread, and drinking wine, aperitifs, and digetifs, we approached the weigh-in back at the gym with trepidation. And yet, fellow bloggers, one of us lost 2 lbs, the other maintained a level achieved earlier through a modified low carb diet and gym workouts… Read more

Many University students lead fast-paced lives, but there are numerous ways to take it easy and relax once in a while
A major part of slow food is not only eating correctly but eating with others and savoring the exquisite, fresh taste. Food is a huge part of our culture, and yet, we often devote such little time to it by getting to-go boxes or cramming a meal in between classes. Everything from soup to yogurt has been conformed to an on-the-go lifestyle. Odahowski suggested that having a conversation over lunch or sitting and sipping a cup of coffee with friends are actions that seem so simple but will slow down our lives and make them more enjoyable… Read more