Spice up you life

By Carly Hoilman

              A few nights back my mom made pumpkin soup (one of my favorites). The only problem was that she never writes her recipes down, and she messed up the ratio of HABENERA PEPPER to soup. I took my first slurp and felt like my mouth had entered a state of emergency. The funny thing is that I kept eating it. Other than the spiciness, the soup was delicious and I never did mind a little heat (or a lot).

Later that night (about three hours after we’d had dinner), I felt my stomach burning. Was I already hungry again? After pondering this, I began to wonder if the burning hot soup had anything to do with my current appetence.  I thought of my dad, who puts hot sauce on everything and claims that it boosts his metabolism. I wanted to know if there was any truth behind this too-good-to-be-true theory; and if it is all true, then the world (or the five people that read this blog) deserves to know! Thus, my idea for this entry was conceived.

                During my quest for the truth, I discovered that spicy foods contain certain chemicals that can dramatically boost one’s metabolism. Some studies show that spicy foods such as chilies and other potent peppers can speed up your metabolic rate by up to fifty percent for up to three hours after you’ve consumed them.  Other studies claim that these effects only last up to a half hour after consuming spicy foods; I, of course, beg to differ.

                There are so many ways to “spice up your life”. Adding red pepper flakes to pasta, soups and stews, chili, pizza, or whatever else you can think of can be an easy ways to incorporate spices into your diet. Eating spicy dishes often can maximize calorie-burning potential. So, dear reader....

                I want to know what you think about this study! Try out a few of these recipes and don’t be shy to share your results. Questions, comments, and recipes are always welcome.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

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Ingredients

·         4 Tbsp unsalted butter

·         2 medium yellow onions, chopped

·         2 teaspoons minced garlic

·         1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

·         2 teaspoons curry powder

·         1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

·         Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

·         3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin*

·         5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)**

·         2 cups of milk

·         1/2 cup brown sugar

·         1/2 cup heavy cream

Fiery Angel Hair Pasta

• 1 pound angel hair pasta
• 1/2 cup Chili Oil, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• Coarse sea salt
• Dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel, optional
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the angel hair pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Stir the oil, parsley, lemon juice and lemon peel in a large serving bowl. Add the cooked pasta and toss with enough reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and red pepper flakes, to taste. Sprinkle grated lemon peel over pasta for extra flavor and texture. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Chinese Hot and Spicy Chicken

·         4 tablespoon Oil

·         1 Scallion

·         2 Hot peppers -- or more

·         1 tablespoon Shredded ginger

·         1 tablespoon Sherry

·         2 tablespoon Light soy sauce

·         2 pound Fryer

·         1/2 cup Chicken broth

·         1 tablespoon Light soy sauce

·         2 tablespoon Wine vinegar

·         1 tablespoon Sugar

·         1/2 teaspoon Salt

·         1 teaspoon Anise pepper -- or 2

·         1 tablespoon Cornstarch

Directions

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, marinate 15-20 minutes in ginger, sherry, soy sauce mixture. Cut scallion and hot peppers diagonally into 1-inch pieces. Grind anise pepper to powder. Mix chicken broth, soy sauce, wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Heat oil. Add scallion, and stir fry several times. Add ginger, sherry, soy mixture and chicken to scallions and hot pepper, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes more. Add chicken broth mixture, mix well. Cook over low heat until chicken pieces are tender. Add cornstarch to thicken. Serve.

(recipes courtesy of simplyrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, and simplyrecipes.com)

De-stress your diet

By Carly Hoilman

     If you’re like me, you crave sweet, salty, fatty foods when you’re stressed. When you get home from a stressful day at school, the quickest way to unwind is to settle down on the couch with a quick and easy, satisfying snack; but the satisfaction of greasy, high-calorie junk food will only last for so long, and the unhealthy weight gain promises to stick around. So how can we beat out these seemingly insatiable afternoon cravings (often caused by our high stress levels)? Here is a conglomeration of tips and recipes that will help you de-stress and feel great about yourself (as cheesy as that sounds)!

1.       Exercise. I know this is a textbook solution, but honestly, it works! When we have a laundry list of homework that we estimate will keep us up until 12am, exercise is the last thing on our minds. But exercise does more for your body than you may realize. It releases feel-good endorphins into the body and increases oxygen flow, which will help you think clearly. It also will help with tension headaches, a lovely accompaniment of stress. When you start you afternoon off clear-headed, you won’t be so easily swayed by those cookies sitting on the counter.

2.       Sleep. Sometimes a twenty-minute nap is all we need to feel refreshed and ready to begin the night’s workload. I need sleep, so an afternoon nap is a great option for me when I spend the previous night (and part of the morning) studying. Like exercise, sleep is an element that your body craves; it can’t be replaced with food or anything else. When we’re tired, we often look to food to wake us up and energize us, but before long we’ll go back to feeling tired. The only way to prevent this from happening is to rest. You might feel like there isn’t enough time in the day, but think of it this way: when you’re energized, you will increase your productivity.

3.       Hydrate. Dehydration is prevalent in both teens and adults who spend long days at work or in school.  As soon as you get home, one of the best ways to de-stress is to refresh. Staying hydrated will lower your chances of getting a headache or feeling hungry. If you’re snacking and not feeling satisfied, it may be because you’re dehydrated. Before you reach for a snack, have a glass of water. You will feel more full and won’t be as likely to binge.

     When you’ve done one or more of these things, the chances are you’ll still want your afternoon munchies, and that’s okay! We need to nourish our bodies; we just need to fill them up with the right things. Here is a list of my favorite snack foods that are both healthy and satiating:

v The Laughing Cow light spreadable cheese wedges with Pretzel Goldfish.

v One Granny Smith Apple (medium size) with two tablespoons of natural peanut butter (look for a peanut butter with essential fatty acids; the best kind is simply ground up peanuts, which can be found in most markets).

v Brothers all-natural Asian pear crisps (delicious and only 40 calories per pack!)

v Pop chips (these chips are popped, not fried, so they lack all those yucky hydrogenated oils without lacking in flavor)

v Chobani non-fat yogurt. This is delicious plain or as a dip for your favorite fruits!

The Truth About Soy

By Carly Hoilman

      One day during my freshman year of high school, my grandma, who was visiting my family at the time, commented on my obsession with soy. I hadn’t realized it until she pointed it out, but she was right. Soy burgers, soy bars, and soy milk were among the many soy byproducts that I was eating on a daily basis. I’ve always been a health nut, and I had only heard positive things about soy, so I was quick to replace a good portion of my diet with soy products. Little did I know that I was trading already healthy things in my diet for high-sodium, hormone-rich foods whose protein value hardly canceled out the toll they were taking on my health.  

     In the past few years, soy has gone from an obscure oddity to a nutritious necessity. Soy is glamorized as this healthy super-food that everybody should eat. Products such as Silk soymilk, Boca soy meat substitute, Morning Star Chik’n and soy burgers, Luna bars, and Soyjoy bars are advertised in health magazines and health food stores. But do people really know why or why not soy is good for them, or is this “soy craze” just another sneaky example of how propaganda works?

     Recent studies have shown soy to have many negative health effects, particularly on women. Soy partially consists of a group of compounds known as isoflavones. The isoflavone genistein can inhibit thyroid function and is especially bad for someone with a low thyroid function. Over time, high levels of isoflavones in the body can lead to an estrogenic and toxic effect. Phylates, a component of unfermented soy acts as an anti-nutrient, blocking the body’s absorption of minerals. It can also lead to deficiency of calcium and Vitamin D. Unfermented soy can also upset and even cease menstruation in women. Because estrogen is involved in the development hormone sensitive cancers such as breast cancer, it is important to keep the estrogen level as low as possible in the body. Unfermented soy increases estrogen, so it should be avoided by those who are at risk of, have symptoms of, or are in an estrogen dominance state.

     In contrast, fermented soy can have many health benefits. Fermented soy includes miso, tempeh, and natto do not have the negative properties of unfermented soy. Miso is used as a base for many Japanese soups. Natto, a bad smelling soy bean preparation also has a high concentration of vitamin K2, a critical nutrient for bone building. It also has the ability to dissolve blood clots and keep our blood vessels clear. So although soy is not this nutritious breakthrough, there are some healthy ways to enjoy it.

    After cutting out the soy in my diet and replacing it with healthy fats and proteins, I noticed a huge difference in my health. I gained healthy weight (I was underweight at the time) and muscle. As for my current soy standing, I still miss my yummy soy milk and low-cal protein bars, but I have learned to look more carefully at the foods I eat before things get out of hand.

    

Deliverance From Cellulite

By Carly Hoilman -


   Cellulite is a word that is becoming far too familiar, primarily for women and teenage girls. For those of you lucky enough not to know what cellulite is, it is what produces that unsightly “cottage cheese” appearance commonly seen around the thighs and buttocks areas. There are plenty of cellulite-reducing products out on the market such as body creams, work-out plans, guide books, and even medical procedures that promise to get rid of cellulite. Although these products might be helpful in reducing cellulite, none of them address the actual causes of cellulite. Knowing what cellulite is and why it is are the keys to eliminating cellulite for good.
    Before cellulite came into the picture, your skin had elasticity and smoothness. The outer layer of skin was supple because the fatty layer below the skin was strong and therefore smooth. The real problem arrived when the fat cell walls began to weaken, causing them to sag and form dimples below the skin’s surface. Enter cellulite.
    So now that we know what cellulite is, what can be done to stop it? Cellulite formation depends on the strength of the fat cells and the thickness of the fat layer below the skin. The first step to removing cellulite is to lose excess fat (this is where the work-out plans and diets would come in handy). The second step, which of course is strengthening the fat cells, is essential because no amount of exercise or weight loss can replace it. How can this be? The weakening of cell walls is a direct result of an EFA (essential fatty acid) deficiency.
    Essential fatty acids are the natural building blocks of fat cells. Perhaps the reason for cellulite becoming so prevalent in this day and age is the result of a wide variety of “non-fat” and “bad-fat” foods. Many of the foods we eat contain trans fat and saturated fat (“bad fats”), which turn into useless fat below the skin’s surface. These kinds of fat are not helpful in strengthening cells. On the other hand, non-fat foods are not the solution either, as they provide no source of nourishment to fat cells.
    The key to getting rid of cellulite is a diet rich in essential fatty acids, since our bodies cannot produce these nutrients by themselves. EFA’s can be found in foods such as: cold water fish (such as salmon), tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc.), avocados, olives and olive oil, flax seed and flax seed oil, and many green leafy vegetables. It is easy to work these delicious and nutritious foods into meals and it is crucial to keeping our skin (and fat cells) nourished and healthy.
    As our society becomes more hooked on hydrogenated oils (found in deep-fried foods) and processed foods, the widespread formation of cellulite is inevitable. But now that we are aware of the secret behind cellulite, there is hope that the cycle will be reversed and we can go back to looking and feeling great.

So there you have it, the truth behind cellulite! Comments and questions are welcomed.

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