Health Benefits Of Green Tea Including Weight Loss

Green tea has certainly gained it's popularity in recent years. Many people would like to try natural herbs to maintain their health level or even improve it. That's why many people have chosen to substitute a coffee for a cup of healthy green tea. Some people have realized that green tea is far more beneficial then a cup of coffee.

Green tea is derived from the same plant as black tea. They are just processed on two different ways. Green tea contains polyphenols, known as catechins, which are powerful antioxidants. As shown in recent studies they fight viruses, slow down aging, and free radicals that can damage human cells and cause cancer or any other diseases. Many people believe that if you increase the amount of antioxidants in your diet you may reduce your risk of different forms of cancer. I am also among those people.

Different brands of green tea do not contain the same levels of antioxidants. You can actually find a wide variation from one brand to another. Quality green tea can be purchased just about everywhere, including natural grocers and online. The exact levels of catechins may or may not be printed and the back of the packaging, so I suggest you to check that out before purchasing green tea. If you want to increase the benefits of green tea, then choose a brand with a higher content of these powerful antioxidants.

I believe that this is truly one of the benefits of green tea. Therefore it's absolutely worthwhile adding it to your lets say breakfast menu. But that's not all. Green tea also lowers blood sugar levels and cholesterol. It fights allergies, and improves the immune system. There are many healthy benefits you can gain from drinking just a cup or two of green tea per day. Caffeine is found in coffee and also in green tea. That's why it is a good idea to consume only the amount that you can handle. Like I sad, cup or two should be enough for one day. Too much of green tea can therefor also affect your sleep if you drinks too much. I suggest you keep your consumption of green tea limited to early in the day.

If you already are a tea drinker why don't you become a green tea drinker? Green tea comes in many different varieties. Honey and the peppermint green tea can be very refreshing. Drinking nice fresh cup of green tea is very much enjoyable and it will also improve your health as well. I think that drinking a cup of green tea is absolutely worth doing. When browsing online I found great Green Sampler. It is a wonderful introduction to the wide range of green teas, including: green pekoe - light daily brew from China hojicha - charcoal-roasted tea from Japan citron green - green tea with lemon & lime sencha - smooth everyday tea from Japan gunpowder - smoky tea from coastal China. Green Sampler is available at Adagio Teas.

Every day people try to loose a few pounds. Every single day we are being shot at with "effective" weight loss diets and products. One of the benefits of green tea is in fact weight loss. You can drink the green tea hot or cold. But some people also take it in the form of a pill. Just be careful. OD is not a thing you want to remember your green tea experience by. Knowing all the benefits of green tea it's easy to see why it should be replacing regular tea or that cup of coffee in the morning.

Many health conscience people look for natural alternatives to fight off illness, allergies and chronic diseases. One of the most popular natural food or drinks choices is green tea because of its known benefits. We have heard all kinds of doctors and experts telling us how to take better care of our health. There is a lot of confusing and conflicting information circling around about what is and isn't good for our health. But there is no confusion when it comes to green tea. Green tea is a beverage that will do you good. With known benefits of green tea you will live a long and happy life. :)

From Gourmet To Christmas Cookie Gift Baskets

There is no need for cookie gift baskets to include only and exclusively cookies. You can include brownies, bars and fudge for a nice selection of treats that will still count as cookie gift baskets. Cookie gift baskets can be nice surprise these days. In the celebration of this special time of year, you have got to allow for a few extra calories. If you'll gain some extra weight then will can take them off in the coming year! But In the meantime relax and enjoy.

Thousands and thousands of delicious cookie recipes are available on the Internet. Christmas is not far away now. You probably get a lot of advertising mail in your mailbox these days. Check that mail out. Maybe you will find useful Christmas recipe about chocolate chip cookies or cookie gift baskets. Also check out your local newspapers and/or magazines. If you love cookies, you probably have plenty cookie recipes at hand right now. You'll might want to include all kind of cookies in your cookie gift baskets. You can add sugar cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies or gingerbread for example. Some fudge will not kill you either. Cinnamon cookies also speak to the holiday season and chocolate chip cookies are my all time favoured. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves make a good cookie taste even better. These cookies are usually less caloric. Spices give the extra sweetness and tend to be bit more healthful.

If there is just a little bit of artist in you then you can make your own cookie gift baskets. Select an attractive basket and lining. add some stylish silver or gold paper and some colored cellophane to make a nice background. Add some ribbon or lace on the top of you cookie gift basket. If you like you can add the recipes that you followed when making these cookies. Just make sure you wright down all ingredients and procedure so that there won't be any disappointments and complaints later.

When planning your recipes for cookie gift baskets, consider the taste of a person you're baking this cookies for. If your neighbour is crazy for chocolate chip cookies, you might want to search out variations of this famous cookie. There are recipes that include nuts, peanuts, cinnamon and raisins and lots and lots more. Make an entire cookie gift basket based on chocolate chip cookies with different additions or flavours. Your friend may enjoy a selection of fruit based or filled cookies. Include your recipes for each selection, so that they can enjoy it all the way. If your recipient is open to all cookies, decadent and calorie-rich, accommodate them! Here's where fudge and butter-rich cookies come into their own.

If your are not much of a cook or you are to busy to make your own cookie gift baskets, don't worry. I found an easy way out. You will save a lot of time and hard work. Mrs. Beasley's Holiday Cookie Basket, 24 Cookies is what you are looking for. No doubt. At Mrs. Beasley's you can find everything from Mrs. Beasley's Baby Gifts to Mrs. Beasley's Cookie Baskets. The selection is unbelievable. Hundreds and hundreds of various product to choose from. All kinds of gifts, baskets, boxes and tines, snacks, cookies, brownies, candy, nuts, corporate gifts, wine and so on and so on...

As you can see you have two choices available. With just a little thought, you can make many different outstanding cookie gift baskets to suit even your demanding costumer. If your are making these cookie gift baskets for cookie lovers your assignment shouldn't be to hard. Just do your best and use some imagination and with just an little effort you should make wonderful cookie gift baskets. But if you are not good at baking cookies or making cookie gift baskets, or you are not much of a cook in general; don't hesitate and visit Mrs. Beasley's homepage and simply order a cookie gift baskets that you or your friends like most.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

There are tons of options when it comes to baking chocolate chip cookies and mixing ingredients up is a great way to make the same old chocolate chip cookie a little bit special. Many recipes can be found in various baking cook books and you can even consult a experienced cook for some fresh ideas as well. No matter which recipe you decide to choose you can be pretty sure that the chocolate chip cookies will disappear in no time. Chocolate chip cookies are perhaps one of the favorite treats that are loved by children and adults alike. Chocolate chip cookie is the most requested cookie in my family. As the holidays approach I often find people scrambling to find the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

The Internet is a center of information for a mass of topics, so you can start searching for new recipes for chocolate chip cookies to add them to your collection of recipes. One very positive thing about the Internet is that you can find information extremely quickly and you can print out the recipes as you search. You will have a bunch of different chocolate chip cookie recipes to try. That way I came up with a great idea and now you can try it too. You can create a special chocolate chip cookie gift basket that is filled with various chocolate chip cookies and every cookie is based on a different recipe. Make every arrangement a little bit different than other. Make sure that you include satisfying amount your favorite chocolate chip cookies. You can not go wrong if you use your secret recipe that has been used in your family for years. Or maybe you can make up your own recipe that will become famous in the years to come. Many people will swear that the best chocolate chip cookies are made right from this traditional recipes. So no matter how many different approaches you will try, always make sure that you have a few dozen traditional chocolate chip cookies in your chocolate chip cookie gift basket.

Of course you can bake many many different types of cookies but there is no cookie like chocolate chip cookie. No matter how many versions you will try you won't go wrong with this particular treat. Chocolate chip cookies can become your personal and favorite baking recipe. There comes time when baking just isn’t possible because of busy schedule. When that time comes you can order chocolate chip cookies online. In that case I have a perfect solution for you. That perfect solution is called Mrs. Beasley's Cookie Baskets. You should most definitely check that out. They have products in range from 30$ to 230$. In case you are wondering what kind of chocolate cookie is worth 230$, click on this picture and find out.

Don't think that these online cookies are not as good as yours. When it comes down to buying cookies, Mrs. Beasley's chocolate chip cookies are my first choice. They are worth every penny and maybe you will even get a little jealous when you'll try them. The only treat that tastes better than chocolate chip cookies are double chocolate chip cookies! :)

To find out more about Mrs. Beasley's CLICK HERE

African Food

Africa is a continent that impersonates regional diversity. It's also rather poor continent but it sure does have some common, staple food. African food is a mixture of original dishes and the imported food from colonizing countries and immigrants. In the West, we're most familiar with Northern African food, especially through Moroccan restaurants that are known world wide. African people (African Americans) also introduced many ways of cooking to the American South that are familiar today in grits, flat breads and fritters. This is all original African food that was just customized a bit by local population.

Africans like to eat game and fish and also a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. They use root vegetables such as cassava and yams in large quantities. African people use many different marinades and spices to give that little extra to the vegetables which are mostly steamed. Chicken or some other poultry is usually main ingredient in their stews. Melons and particular watermelons also take part in Authentic African Recipes. Groundnuts also find their place in African food. Every African region has it's own specific food and agriculture. Many African villages use a lot of curd, whey, cereals, yams and milk. The coastal regions tend to use a lot of fish. This is quite normal if you think about it. Everywhere in the world coastal regions are known of it's fish dishes. African people use chillies, cayenne pepper and ginger to spice up their food. Fish is marinated in this spicy mix and it's very popular. Africans didn't marinate their food, which was brought into Africa by French people. West African food is also known by their stews and soups. They add okra or black eyed peas into the soup. It is fantastic. Sometimes they mix fish and meat together when they are making a soup or a stew. Method of marinating wasn't the only thing the French brought into many African countries. They also brought many herbs and spices such as scallions, garlic and lime juice. Coconuts and bananas are indispensable and also very popular African food. Ethiopian dishes are also very known in the world. There are many Ethiopian restaurant in the US. Ethiopian food uses hot peppers, hard cooked eggs. bread and a lot of meat, some dishes contain even raw meat. It is not something we are used to eat.

Dutch and British settlers together with Bantu traditions had their influence of South African food. Many don't know that Africa also has vineyards. They were brought to Africa by French. I guess French had the biggest influence on Africa altogether. The British sent workers from India to work on the railway construction. After effect was that also Indian cuisine left it's influence on African food. There is not much meat involved in East African food. Cattle is used rather for trading and not for food. The only influence on East African food was left from Arab settlers who brought saffron, cloves and rice pilafs. African countries that were colonized by Portugal, tend to use a lot of citruses such as oranges, lemons and limes. Other fruits such as pineapples, bananas and coconuts are also used.

African food is very often combined with alcohol. Only Muslim countries in North Africa don't consume or use alcohol. South Africa is world famous for its first class red and white wines. This wines are legacy of the French who started vineyards in South Africa. Kenya has a local beer called Tusker which is also exported. Who would have thought that Kenya is a beer exporter. The Tusker goes particularly well with African food. There are many bee keepers in Ethiopia and they make a drink called Tej. This is a drink made from the honey which is similar in taste to mead. Ethiopian coffee is also well known in the West. If you decide to try it I recommend you to try whole bean coffee. Africa is very specific continent and so is African food. You can find many many different and very tasteful dishes. Influence of various colonizing European countries, such as France, Italy, Portugal, UK, Spain etc... gave African food an eccentric taste.

In Italian cooking article Jessica asked me if two cultural tastes can be successfully combined? My answer was and still is YES. Not only two cultural tastes can be combined. More tastes combined the better. Now this may not be always true but in most cases it is. We should open our selfs up to the world and experiment as much as we can. This is why I love to taste all kinds of different food and dishes. African food it self wouldn't be what it is today if there wouldn't any cultural combinations.

Chicken Dinner

A simple and delicious chicken dinner can make your day. Majority of people loves chicken with all the respect to vegetarians :) I honestly believe that I haven't met a person that didn't like chicken dinner or poultry for that matter. There is just one small problem. Making a chicken dinner takes time just as any other dinner. But with the right recipe you can not go wrong and your chicken dinner will taste absolutely fantastic. Even if you made chicken dinner only once you know that it takes time, patience and some cooking knowledge. I remember when my mom made chicken dinner we always ran to the dinner table screaming chicken, chicken, chicken... Many people like to order their chicken dinner online. Various take out restaurants provide this service. After being at work all day, you are probably not in a mood for all that cooking. If you don't have time you can just go and pay a few bucks and your chicken dinner will be brought right to your door. So ordering a take out chicken dinner makes a lot of sense if you really think about it.

If you ever find your self in a situation like that, fried chicken dinner can be a smooth and tasty solution to your problem. Fried chicken dinner is bad for your health but it sure does taste good. Every person should get a taste of a fried chicken dinner every now and then, regardless of health. Many restaurants deliver fried chicken dinners, so finding one in your area shouldn't be a hassle. If you wish for something more exotic and different I recommend chicken tikka. In case you are wondering what that is, it's a delicious Indian dish. This chicken is special because it is flavorful and tender and has this specific aroma that I absolutely adore. I bet you would like it too.

Chicken can be prepared in so many ways. We know all kinds of chicken dinners that you can order for delivery. We mentioned some of them above. Almost every country and cuisine has it's own special way of making chicken. You can make chicken dinner, or you can make chicken soup, or you can grill the chicken if you like, you can make your special chicken salad and so on and so on. Chicken dinner can be very healthy if prepared correctly. There are many healthy choices to chose from. Of course there is the classic chicken meal that almost all Americans love so much. Roasted chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, and some peas or carrots on the side. You can add a salad with this and some desert is always nice when you're done with the chicken.

I bet you probably all know how to roast a chicken. But here is a short recipe just in case. First you have to remove giblets if they haven't been removed. After that wash the chicken under cold water and dry it up with paper towel. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on your chicken. One or two tablespoons of salt and half table spoon of pepper should do it. You can melt some butter and add one table spoon of honey. Mix it up until it is nice and smooth. Take a cooking brush and put this dressing over a chicken. You chicken will be golded brown and it will have this beautiful crispy skin. Mashed potatoes are rather simple to make. Just peal and dice the potatoes and add some salt. Cook until they are tender so that you can split them easily with the fork or knife. Pour the water away, add some butter and sour cream or milk and make a mash. You can add a garlic if you like. Mashed potatoes are done. For a gravy you need a chicken soup base or broth. If you don't have any you can use water but it won't taste as good. Heat up some fat. Butter or olive oil, whatever you choose. You can add both if you like. Then add thinly sliced or minced onions. Stir occasionally. Then add flower if you want more thickness. If you want more thickness add more flower if not add some broth, water or chicken soup base. Add some salt, pepper and parsley. Cook for about 5 minutes and stir so it doesn't scorch. Cook some carrots or peas or both in salt water and add as a side dish to your chicken dinner. Of course you can cook any vegetables you like. Enjoy your home made chicken dinner.

Chicken dinner is nutritious, healthful, satisfying and simple. I am always saying that whenever possible you should make your own meals at home. Home made stuff is the best. But if you are under a pressure and have no time, restaurant take out is the way. Almost every restaurant makes a good chicken dinner. So why shouldn't we used this in our own advantage?

Fine Cooking Light Magazine

My mother is cooking amazing dishes and has been cooking amazing virtually all of her life. Much of this amazing cooking was passed down from her mother. Grandmothers are outstanding cooks. It's a cliche. I can still taste and smell all the delicious pies she used to make. That woman should get a job at some cooking magazine. I could never get enough of her dishes. No matter what she made, it was always cooked to perfection. My absolute favorite was banana pie. I love everything made with banana. On the second place came banana bread. She always made dishes with banana on special occasions. Just one more reason why I way looking forward to the holidays even more as usual.

Who prepares the food in your house? Regardless of who prepares everyday meals in your home, you probably want to eat healthy. You have to eat healthy even if you don't want to. It is not a big secret that we all want our meals to taste delicious and great, but we should try to make these meals as healthy as possible. This is the point where fine cooking magazine should take it's place. Fine cooking magazine is a source that offers a variety of wonderful cooking recipes and ideas to please basically any food consumer. Are you receiving fine cooking magazine yet?

If you are, are you purchasing your cooking magazine at your local grocery store? I am asking because this is the perfect place to buy cooking magazine. One thing I love about cooking magazines is all the superb recipes they have to offer. Even if you are not a professional cook, we these cooking magazines you can become a decent cook. It's not hard if the correct directions are given. It's not a rocket sync when all you have to do is read the recipes or the articles and just follow them. You are all set once you have all the ingredients. I recommend you to check around for seasonal fine cooking magazines. You can also find all kinds of fine cooking magazine on the Internet. I am sure you will be satisfied and your family will thank you later.

Cooking Light magazine is the largest food magazine with healthy recipes. The magazine was launched in 1987 completely by demand of public. People in America were becoming more and more aware of importance of healthy recipes and healthy food. People wanted a source for tasteful, accurate, realistic and healthy recipes. Cooking Light magazine started to providing that. Cooking Light Magazine features all recipes and meal combinations that use healthy ingredients and preparation methods instead of traditional recipes. You can check it out at Cooking Light anytime from the comfort of your home. Articles are written by nutritional experts in an easy to follow format. This is one of the main Cooking Light Magazine’s secrets for creating delicious, satisfying and healthy recipes. You will be able to find a guide for healthy lifestyle habits, low fat substitutions and how to get or stay fit in every issue. Some tips for your work out are also in there including new monthly routines.

Many online magazine vendors offer reduced subscriptions to all your favorites cooking magazines at significant savings. Visit any number of sites including Magazines, MySimon, Mags4Cheap or MagazinePlace for comparison. Find out what will suite you best. Cooking Light magazine offers periodical specials for new subscribers. If you become a new subscriber you might get a number of free issues. This is a good way to check out the magazine without having to pay for it. If you like the magazine you can continue with a paid subscription. Cooking Light Magazine is also entertaining magazine full of advices on how to live our lives healthy way. I like to read recipe make over, where they take a totally unhealthy recipe or a meal and transform it into healthy recipes. That way you will realize that you can enjoy chocolate cake or chocolate chip cookies with less or no guilt at all. You can eat all the things you want you just need to alter the recipe a bit to get rid of all those extra fat and other unhealthy ingredients. Cooking Light magazine is a fine cooking magazine and a good place to start if you are looking to lose weight or maintaining it. You can start your own recipe collection with low carbohydrate recipes for example. The most simple recipe of all is: use a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, poultry, and fish. And don't stuff your face. Eat many times a day and chew your food well. If you will follow this you can still have candy and also baked goods.

Use these fine cooking magazines. They will teach you how to enjoy cooking and how to cook lighter and healthier meals. Add some exercise plans to your healthy cooking and you entire body will thank you. Many people think that healthy cooking sucks but cooking magazines will prove that this is a myth. Healthy food can taste just as good if not even better than regular food. Try to follow only one recipe from cooking magazines and you will see that I am right about it. Cooking magazines are out there because of you so don't be afraid to use them.