Happy New Year To All !!!

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Traditional Pakistani Food

Health and Happiness to all my Readers!

Today I have for you something different, something like a culinary treat. Being an American with Asian roots, I have had exposure to a wide variety of foods from the simplest to the most exotic, from the totally bland to the fiery hot fiesta food that can light up every cell in your body!


I love food and I must confess that I love authentic Pakistani food. This blog is about healthy food and authentic Asian food which is just as healthy. So I am going to try my best to create a blissful and tasty mixture of foods from both the east and the west.

When one thinks of Pakistani food it would be a crime not to mention the traditional Lahori food. Lahore is in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and is a very busy metropolitan city. The splendor of Lahore is mostly accredited to the historical Mogul architecture in various parts of the city and of course, the traditional authentic Pakistani Food. Many people even call Lahore the CULINARY CAPITAL of Pakistan.

Now if you want to make sure you are able to try all the best and most popular traditional foods then be sure to head straight for the Gawalmandi FOOD STREET. It is THE PLACE for people who want to TASTE Lahore!



If you are a food lover this place is not to be missed!!

A very popular and heavy brunch that is a specialty in Lahore is HALWA-POORI. It is also famous in western parts of India especially East Punjab. Halwa -poori has developed into a traditional breakfast consisting three main components which are:

1. The Poori : A flat bread made of white flour which is deep fried for 2-3 seconds till it blows up into a ball. It is very soft and crispy



2. The Halwa : A sweetmeat made with semolina and loaded with sliced almonds and pistachios.



3. The Curry: It is called Aloo choolay, which means potato and chickpea curry. It is very spicy and very tasty.



4. Condiments: Traditional mango pickle and onion pickle are also served along with fresh yogurt.

This dish is a flavorful combination of sweet and spicy and is sooooo good! You have to try it to believe it..or take my word for it !
Happy Eating!

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Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas!!!

First of all I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!

Actually this is the time of year when loved ones come together, share love, give presents and most important of all EAT!

Food served at this time of the year is festive and tasty . Fruit Cake is one of the Christmas Time favorites and I want to share a recipe that has a slight twist to this classical favorite .It is actually the recipe of the famous Celebrity Chef Nigella Lawson. Her recipes are always packed with flavor and are a treat to make. So do try it…I assure you…this is a keeper!!

CHOCOLATE FRUIT CAKE

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Healthy Juice Recipes

We all know that a regular intake of fresh fruits and vegetables boost our health and immune system. The problem is that many people are unable to meet their recommended daily intake. Now pressing out a fresh colorful glass of juice is a fast and easy way to do so. By juice I don’t mean the sugary, additive loaded boxed or canned juices. We should squeeze the fresh fruits and vegetables in such a way that we get the pulp too and this enriches it manifold. Now what does this all mean? It means that you will have a glass full of nutrients, soluble fiber and a bigger bang for your buck!

For getting the most out of your fruits and vegetables, follow these handy tips:
1.Always use organic produce
2.Always wash and scrub the produce prior to extracting the juice
3.Always make seasonal juices. This means use the ingredients that are found fresh at that time of the year
4.You don’t need any special kitchen gadgets for making juice. A simple blender will do.
5.It’s better to cut the larger chunks into smaller ones. Best is a one inch chunk.
6.Drink the juice as soon as it is extracted, as it loses nutrients and spoils easily.
Just remember …a fresh glass of juice is the best snack one can have when you’re on the run!!

Here are some of my favorites:
1. Ten Exotic and Healthy Juice Recipes
2. Seasonal Juice Recipes
3. Pink Perfection Juice
4. Peach of Mind

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Hot & Healthy Drinks for Winter :

Hot & Healthy Drinks for Winter:

Whether your goal is to chill out, warm up or improve your health, here are a few drinks to enjoy during the cold winter evenings.
1. Green Tea

2. Hot Cocoa

3. Spicy Cardamom Drink
To prepare this drink, put about 12 whole crushed pods into 6 cups boiling water. Add a strip of orange peel and brew for about 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp black tea leaves, leave for 5 minutes more, and strain. Serve immediately with hot milk and honey.

4. Hot Milk with Figs and Turmeric:
A healthy preparation which will help build resistance in your body and keep you far from cold, cough and throat problems.Take 2 Dry figs & 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder. Add a glass of milk and boil it for 1o minutes. Drink it hot twice a day.If you don’t fancy figs, you can also have this without it.

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Ten Foods for Long Life

Who doesn't want a happy healthy life? Well here are a few foods that can help you live better...if not longer!!

1. Tomatoes. A major source of the antioxidant lycopene that reduces the risk of cancer by 40% -- notably prostate, lung and stomach cancers -- and increases cancer survival. Tomato eaters function better mentally in old age and suffer half as much heart disease. Concentrated tomato sauces have 5 times more lycopene than fresh tomatoes, and canned tomatoes have three times more than fresh.

2. Olive Oil. Shown to help reduce death from heart disease and cancer. Recent research shows that heart-attack survivors on a Mediterranean diet had half the death rates of those on an ordinary low-fat diet. Olive oil is also high in antioxidant activity.

3. Red Grapes, including red grape juice and red wine. Red grapes have moderate antioxidant power, while purple grape juice has four times more antioxidant activity than orange or tomato juice. Red wine (not white) has about the same antioxidant capacity as purple grape juice or tea. French research show that drinking red wine in moderation increases longevity, but excessive drinking has the opposite effect, so limit to two glasses per day. Drink grape juice.

4. Garlic. German researchers have found that garlic is packed with antioxidants know to help fend off cancer, heart disease and all-over aging, and prolong cancer survival time. Let crushed garlic "rest" about 10 minutes before cooking to preserve disease-fighting agents.

5. Spinach. Second among vegetables only to garlic in antioxidant capacity and is also rich in folic acid, which helps fight cancer, heart disease and mental disorders. New University of Kentucky research shows folic acid may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Eat both raw and steamed for best benefit.

6. Whole grains. A University of Minnesota study suggests the more whole grains you eat, the lower your odds of death by 15%. Whole grains contain anticancer agents and help stabilize blood sugar and insulin, which may promote longevity. Whole-grain "dark" breads, cereals such as All Bran, and "old fashioned" oatmeal are an excellent source.

7. Salmon, and other fatty fish. Contains high amounts of omega-3 fat that performs miracles throughout the body, fighting virtually every chronic disease known. Without it, your brain can't think, your heart can't beat, your arteries clog, and joints become inflamed. You need one ounce a day, or two servings of salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring or tuna per week.

8. Nuts. Eating more than 5 ounces a week can cut heart-attack deaths in women by 40% and help prevent deadly irregular heart beats in men a Harvard University study found. Almonds and walnuts lower blood cholesterol. Most of the fat in nuts is the good-type monounsaturated and/or omega-3. Unsalted nuts are best.

9. Blueberries. High in antioxidants, Tufts University researchers say a half-cup of blueberries a day can retard aging and can block brain changes leading to decline and even reverse failing memory.

10. Tea. Green or black tea has equal antioxidant benefit. One cup a day can cut heart disease risk in half Harvard researchers found. Make from loose tea or tea bags, instant and bottled tea has little effect Tufts University shows.

YUM!!!!!!!

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10 Health Benefits of Apples

We're told that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what exactly are the health benefits of apples? Here are ten reasons to heed the advice of that old proverb.

Bone Protection
French researchers found that a flavanoid called phloridzin that is found only in apples may protect post-menopausal women from osteoporosis and may also increase bone density. Boron, another ingredient in apples, also strengthens bones.

Asthma Help
One recent study shows that children with asthma who drank apple juice on a daily basis suffered from less wheezing than children who drank apple juice only once per month. Another study showed that children born to women who eat a lot of apples during pregnancy have lower rates of asthma than children whose mothers ate few apples.

Alzheimer's Prevention
A study on mice at Cornell University found that the quercetin in apples may protect brain cells from the kind of free radical damage that may lead to Alzheimer's disease.

Lower Cholesterol
The pectin in apples lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol. People who eat two apples per day may lower their cholesterol by as much as 16 percent.

Lung Cancer Prevention
According to a study of 10,000 people, those who ate the most apples had a 50 percent lower risk of developing lung cancer. Researchers believe this is due to the high levels of the flavonoids quercetin and naringin in apples.

Breast Cancer Prevention
A Cornell University study found that rats who ate one apple per day reduced their risk of breast cancer by 17 percent. Rats fed three apples per day reduced their risk by 39 percent and those fed six apples per day reduced their risk by 44 percent.

Colon Cancer Prevention
One study found that rats fed an extract from apple skins had a 43 percent lower risk of colon cancer. Other research shows that the pectin in apples reduces the risk of colon cancer and helps maintain a healthy digestive tract.

Liver Cancer Prevention
Research found that rats fed an extract from apple skins had a 57 percent lower risk of liver cancer.

Diabetes Management
The pectin in apples supplies galacturonic acid to the body which lowers the body's need for insulin and may help in the management of diabetes.

Weight Loss
A Brazilian study found that women who ate three apples or pears per day lost more weight while dieting than women who did not eat fruit while dieting.

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Fat Burning Foods

There are many fat burning foods and one of the most popular are apples. Apples contain a chemical call pectin. This chemical is found in most berries, and fresh fruit. The pectin is in the cell walls of most fruits, especially apples.

Pectin limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb. This will put a natural limitation on the amount of fat your cells can absorb. Pectin, once in your system, has a water binding property, it absorbs watery substances, and these watery substances in turn bombards the cells and makes it release fat deposits.

Add applesauce (it's loaded with pectin), apples, fresh fruit and berries, to your diet and let the power of pectin pulverize the fat that accumulates on your cells. An apple a day can help keep the fat away.

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Benefits Of Honey & Cinnamon

This blog is dedicated to exploring foods that taste very good and are also healthy and beneficial. So chances are you’ll see me featuring healthy recipes, food information, commentary, news, and everything else about food in relation to health and well-being. So let's start off with honey and cinnamon.

It is found that mixture of Honey and Cinnamon cures most of the diseases.Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries.Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients also.

A famous magazine named weekly World News published in Canada dated 17 January, 95 has given a list of diseases that can be cured by Honey and Cinnamon as researched by western scientists.

Arthritis
Take one part honey to two parts of luke warm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder, make a paste and massage it on the itching part of the body slowly.It is noticed that the pain recedes within a minute or two. Or arthritis patients may daily; morning and night take one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If drunk regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.

In a recent research done at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast,
they found that within a week out of the 200 people so treated practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

Hair Loss
Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair.
It was found very effective if kept for 5 mins also.

Bladder Infections
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of Luke warm water and drink it. It destroys the germs of the bladder.

Toothache
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be done 3 times a day daily till such time that the tooth has stopped aching.

Cholesterol
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, if given to a cholesterol patient; it reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10% within 2 hours.
As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken 3 times a day any chronic cholesterol is cured. As per the information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complains of cholesterol.

Colds
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon luke warm honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses.

Infertility
Yunani and Ayurvedic have been using honey for years in medicine to strengthen the semen of men.
If impotent men regularly take two tablespoon of honey before sleeping, their problem will be solved.
In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women who do not conceive and to strengthen the uterus have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries. Women who cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body.

A couple in Maryland, America had no children for 14 years and had left hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process husband and wife started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above, the wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.

Upset Stomach
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS
According to the studies done in India & Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

Heart Diseases
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread or chapatti instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack.
Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat.
In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that due to the increasing age the arteries and veins, which lose their flexibility and get clogged, are revitalized.

Immune System
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

Indigestion
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food, relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

Influenza
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient, which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

Longevity
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly arrests the ravages of old age.Take 4 spoons of honey, 1spoon of cinnamon powder and 3 cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, 3 to 4 times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life span also increases and even if a person is 100 years old, starts performing the chores of a 20 year old.

Pimples
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

Skin Infections
Eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections are cured by applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts.

Weight Loss
Daily in the morning, 1/2 hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

Cancer
Recent research in Japan and Australia has reveled that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one
tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month 3 times a day.

Fatigue
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful than detrimental to the body strength. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon power in equal parts are more alert and flexible.
Dr. Milton who has done research says that half tablespoon honey taken in one glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3.00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts decreasing, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

Bad Breath
People of South America, first thing in the morning gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water. So their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

Hearing Loss
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder taken in equal parts restores hearing.

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The Best Blog on Healthy Food

Food Gala is a blog about natural healthy foods, organic produce and the finest ingredients.It is a primary source of information and inspiration that focuses specifically on food that's packed with nutrition and health boosters and at the same time is still very appealing and palette pleasing.

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