Spicing It Up With Turmeric

I first heard about turmeric on the Oprah show. When Dr. Oz introduced this spice to the audience, he focused on the following benefit: turmeric helps activate genes that keep our brains clear of waste.

In some cultures, turmeric is used to soothe burns, bruises, and skin conditions such as acne, diaper rash, and psoriasis. A paste made from powdered turmeric is applied directly to the skin, as often as needed.

Others use it as a dietary supplement to assist with pain and discomfort.

In her book, Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes, Bal Arneson claims that turmeric "fights free radicals, protects the liver against toxins, aids circulation, lowers cholesterol levels, improves blood vessel health, and has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties."

Turmeric (also known as E100, Wiki/turmeric) can be found in the following items: yellow cake mix, orange juice, Dijon mustard, biscuits, popcorn, cereal, sauces, curry, and yogurt. According to Dr. Oz, we need 17 mg of turmeric a day, about what's in a teaspoon of mustard.

Sharing Recipes--Sponge Cake

This is an old family favourite which is quick and easy to make. Add a scoop of ice cream (or frozen yogurt) and fresh strawberries on the side.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 cups Five Roses flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Procedure

• Position oven wires near the bottom of the oven.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a tube pan.
• Beat eggs.
• Add sugar and continue beating.
• Heat the milk and add to the mixture.
• Add flour, one cup at a time, and beat at high speed.
• Add baking powder and vanilla and continue beating.
• Pour mixture into the pan.
• In the oven, place a pot of water beside the pan. (For steam)
• Bake for 50 minutes.

Makes 15 servings

Reducing Our Carbon Footprints

Among the three environmental commandments--reduce, reuse, and recycle--reduce is by far the most important.

In their book, David Suzuki's Green Guide, David Suzuki and David Boyd present a number of creative ways to reduce consumption without making sacrifices.

• Share books, CDs, and magazine subscriptions.

• Instead of buying hedge clippers, chain saws or other power tools, consider sharing them with your neighbours.

• Rent or lease instead of buying. This applies to a wide variety of products from video games to appliances.

• Only buy products that you have time to enjoy. Instead of subscribing to a daily newspaper, buy a newspaper only when you are actually going to read it. Consider reading newspapers and magazines online or at the library.
  

• When choosing between similar products, select the one with the least amount of packaging.
  

• Take advantage of new technologies to reduce your footprint. You can download music (legally) from the Internet instead of purchasing CDs. You can send e-cards instead of paper cards.

A Bit of Humour

Andrew found himself in dire straits. His business had gone bust, and he was in serious financial trouble. He was so desperate that he decided to ask God for help. He began to pray:

"God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery."

Lotto night came and somebody else won. Again, Andrew prayed:

"God, please let me win the lottery. I've lost my business, my house, and I'm going to lose my car as well."

Lotto night came and he still had no luck. Once again, Andrew prayed:

"My God, why have you forsaken me? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask you for help, and I have always been a good servant to you. Please just let me win the lottery this one time so I can get my life back in order."

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light as the heavens opened, and Andrew was confronted by the voice of God.

"Hey, come on now, you are going to have to meet me halfway on this. Buy a ticket!"

Source: 1000 Ventures

Cut Clutter

Decluttering the car can be done in just the same way as any room in our homes. We need to be organized and set aside some time for the task.

Consider the following tips:

• Using a large garbage bag, remove all the newspapers, magazines, pop cans, parking tickets and receipts, chocolate bar wrappers and other trash.

• Get rid of anything that doesn't belong there. Return toys, books, and other items to their rightful place in the house.

• Be ruthless and reduce the number of CDs you carry with you down to a reasonable limit. Consider storing them in a small CD cases and get rid of their bulky, plastic cases.

• Keep one disposable cleaning cloth in the car. This will be useful for wiping steamed-up windows and clearing up small spills.
  

• Clear out the trunk. All you need to carry with you on a regular basis is an emergency kit and a spare tire. Everything else is excess baggage.

• If you eat in the car, you will find it useful to keep a supply of small bags.

• Cars get dusty--remember to vacuum the floor and seats and wipe the dashboard.
  

Dieting on a Budget

In a healthy diet, people usually want to limit or avoid the saturated fat. Saturated fat is known to raise blood cholesterol levels and is found in the following foods: fatty meats, poultry skin, coconut and palm oils, pastries, cookies, and high fat dairy products.

Unsaturated fats have been shown in recent studies to fight cardiovascular disease, improve skin appearance and help to lower cholesterol.

Consider the following low-cost tips to increase unsaturated fat in your diet:

• Have 1 or 2 tablespoons of salad dressing made with olive or canola oil and vinegar in salads each day.
  

• Add 1 teaspoon of margarine made with olive or canola oil to vegetables at dinner.
  

• Use olive or canola oil to saute vegetables and add to recipes.
  

• Have 30 grams of unsalted nuts or seeds as a snack or on cereals. That means any ONE of the following: 22 almonds, 28 peanuts, 20 pecans, 45 pistachios, 10 walnuts or 1/4 cup sunflower seeds.

Clean, Green, and Cheap

When we go into the kitchen to cook, very few of us are thinking about the possibility of food poisoning. This is especially important when we are preparing any chicken, fish, or meat dishes and salads.

Consider the following suggestions:

• The best way to get rid of germs on your hands is by using soap and hot water. But, if you have a weakened immune system or if there's some bug going around in your family, use an alcohol wash. It quickly kills bacteria and it's convenient. When buying an alcohol wash, make sure that "ethyl alcohol 62%" is one of the active ingredients listed on the label.

• Use clean cutting boards. Whether you choose wood or plastic boards, make sure that you run it through the dishwasher or use soap and hot water to clean and disinfect it properly. Some people keep one board exclusively for cutting meat, poultry, and fish and another board for chopping vegetables and other foods.
  

• Sponges are not the best choice to clean up kitchen counter tops. Dish cloths dry more quickly than sponges and there is less opportunity for bugs to grow in them.

• Store raw meat, chicken, or fish on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This prevents any leaking juices from dripping onto other foods.

• When cooking chicken or other meat, use a thermometer to ensure that the meat is properly cooked.