Japan goes bananas

Call it a banana boom. The Morning Banana Diet is the new diet craze that's been brewing up a storm in Japan. Driven by the Internet, TV show hype, countless positive testimonials, and affirmation from famous Japanese celebrities, the popularity of the Morning Banana Diet has truly reached epic proportions. It has even caused weekly banana sales to jump 80% and has prompted ceaseless banana shortages nationwide. And why not? With a simple, stress-free and healthy regimen, it's easy to see why this diet has become such a massive hit among the health-conscious crowd.

Introduced by Japanese pharmacist named Sumiko Watanabe on "mixi", a popular social networking site in Japan, the Morning Banana Diet became an overnight success and effortlessly earned a massive mainstream following. When a TV show featured well-loved opera singer Kumiko Mori who shed off 15 pounds through the Morning Banana Diet, it was evident that the health-giving fruit was about the diet were in demand with close to a million copies sold. Today, its popularity has started transcend geography, reaching other countries including the UK.

Combining affordability and simplicity, the Morning Banana Diet consists of an easy-to-follow regimen that makes it painless to lose unwanted pounds. To boot, you only need to take two pieces of bananas with room temperature water for breakfast. You may eat anything you wish for lunch and dinner provided you do not overeat. Make sure to dine before 8 p.m. and have adequate sleep. Another great thing about the diet is that you get to exercise only if you want to.

And now, you can be part of Japan's amazing healthy trend and start losing weight the easy and healthy way. Bananas offer health-giving goodness that can boost fat burning by 30% and burn an extra 200 to 300 calories a day when taken for breakfast. Its high fiber content helps in carrying away fat during digestion, and lets you feel full longer so you won't look for food more often. And as potassium-rich source, bananas help preserve muscle mass as you shed those pounds.

Kani wasabi salad

This was delish! At first, I dreaded the thought of having to squeeze out the cucumber liquid. But, it was actually not hard to do and not time consuming at all. My friends that ate it, loved it and took some home with them.

Ingredients:

1/2 iceberg lettuce

4 sticks kani (boiled crab meat)

wakame (softened seaweed)

1 small carrots (julienned)

1 medium cucumber (julienned)

tuna flakes

ebiko (shrimp roe)

sesame seeds

Dressing:

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp wasabi (Japanese horseradish) paste

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation:

Mix soy sauce and vinegar in a bowl. Add sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sesame oil and wasabi paste and wisk well. Cool the dressing in the fridge until ready to serve. Adjust the amount of wasabi and sugar, depending on your preference.
This recipe's amount seasons four small salads. Enjoy!

Headache triggers

It is common knowledge that headaches are mostly caused by stress, anxiety, glare, and noise. Less common triggers include sleep patterns, medications, hormones, and emotions. But did you know that diet is a factor, too? Many of the things we eat and drink are headache stimulants and we don’t even know it.

Coffee is known to alleviate headaches. But a recent study reported that people with excessive coffee consumption (or more than four cups a day) experienced non-migraine headaches 18-percent more times than those who consumed less.

Other caffeinated beverages like tea, hot chocolate, and carbonated drinks are headache triggers, too.

Alcoholic drinks contain tyramine and phenylethylamine, ingredients that prompt migraine attacks, especially in those who are prone to it. Alcohol is also associated with cluster headaches and that very familiar hangover, usually accompanied by a headache as well.

Cheese is a common headache culprit because of its tyramine content, a naturally-occurring compound in plants and animals. It is one of the most widely-recognized causes of headaches, known as “cheese syndrome” because this compound is found, in extremely high levels, in cheeses (particularly blue cheese, brie, cheddar, stilton, feta, gorgonzola, mozzarella, Muenster, parmesan, and Swiss).

Other foods with high tyramine levels can cause headaches, too. These include some kinds of beans (garbanzos, Lima, pinto), onions, olives, pickles, avocado, raisins, canned soups, and nuts.

Processed meats like hotdogs, hams, sausages, bacon, luncheon meats, pepperoni, and other meats that underwent curing contain tyramine, too. That and their sodium nitrite content make for a lethal chemical combination that triggers headaches and migraines.

It’s easy to deduce, then, that eating pizza with all those processed meats, cheeses, onions, and olives can give you a painfully mean throbbing in your head.

Foods high in monosodium glutamate are suggested to cause headaches. MSG is an additive and flavor enhancer most commonly found in Oriental dishes and seasonings (soy sauce) and many other packaged foods.

Citrus is a surprising headache trigger. Actually, it only is for people with enzyme deficiency. Fruits like oranges and lemons have amines that need to be neutralized and enzymes are required in doing so. People who lack them may experience headaches or migraines when consuming large amounts of citrus.

Cold foods, like ice cream, can also stimulate headaches among people who are overheated, due to exercise or warm weather. This is a simple brain freeze for some that can last for less than two minutes. But in others, it can be a full-blown headache, especially among those with migraine.

by Ed Biado

Manila Standard Today

Sweet, nutty green soybean

Many people are familiar with the soybean, but few have experienced the sweet, nutty taste of the “green soybean” known as edamame. This tasty bean is growing in popularity as a healthy and nutritious snack, particularly among the college crowd – and for good reason. When compared to other snacks, edamame leads the pack in terms of nutritional value. What are the health benefits of edamame?

Edamame refers to soybeans that are harvested and collected when the plant is still young and green. To prepare this tasty vegetable, they’re usually boiled in salt water while still in the pods and served as a snack or side dish. They can also be removed from the pods and added to soups and salads. When eaten as a snack, the pods are usually placed in the mouth and the beans gently squeezed onto the tongue. The pod is then discarded. You can find them served in some vegetarian restaurants on college campuses and in some Japanese restaurants. Unlike mature soybeans that are firm, these young, green soybeans are soft in texture and have more pleasing taste.

Edamame is an excellent source of low-calorie protein which makes it a popular snack among vegetarian athletes. A half-cup of these young beans has eleven grams of protein and is one of the few vegetarian protein sources that have all nine of the essential amino acids the body can’t make. The fat in edamame is the heart-healthy kind, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that help to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Plus, they’re a caloric bargain at only125 calories.

Each half-cup of edamame has four grams of heart-healthy fiber to help lower cholesterol levels and keep you satiated so you won’t reach for a candy bar later on. If you’re like most Americans, you can use the additional fiber boost.

The isoflavones found in edamame and other soy products can help to lower the risk of heart disease according to some studies and may also lower blood cholesterol levels. When edamame is used as a protein source in place of meat, the cardiovascular benefits are further enhanced. The issue of whether isoflavones lower the risk of breast cancer is still under debate, so soy products should be eaten in limited quantity in anyone with a history of breast cancer. Edamame is also a good source of folate and vitamin K which are important for heart health.

The isoflavones in edamame help to maintain bone density by exerting estrogen-like effects on bone tissue. It’s also a good source of calcium which is important for strong teeth and bones.

Edamame used to be sold almost exclusively through natural food markets and Oriental grocery stores, but can now be found in the frozen section of many mainstream grocery stores. Why not give them a try?

Delicious, easy pork roast that everyone raves about

1 kg. pork

1 cup soy sauce

1 head garlic, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup of calamansi juice or lemon juice

1/2 cup of 7up, sprite or beer (optional)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons of brown or white sugar

1/2 cup of banana or tomato catsup

In a mixing bowl, marinate the cut pork with the soy sauce, minced garlic, chopped onions, calamansi juice, ground pepper, sugar, banana catsup and the soda or beer (this tenderizes and adds flavour to the pork)

Mix well and keep in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (turning occasionally).

Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 2-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160-170 degrees. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Refrigerate or freeze remaining pork (may be frozen for up to 3 months).

Sweet and sour salmon and red snapper, never taste like this before

It's a rainy morning and getting up out of bed is hard, you know the kind that it's lazy to get up in times like this. Still, I tried to get up and my wife gave me a hot coffee to wake my senses up. Good thing she really knows my kind of blend. We also had a nice talk and coming up to cooking this recipe of hers today. You might want to try this too.

All you need is:

500 g fleshy salmon and red snapper fillet

salt and pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 c oil for deep frying

for the sweet and sour sauce:

1/2 c rice vinegar

dark brown sugar

dash of salt

1/2 tbsp fine strips of ginger

for the garnish:

1 onion, finely sliced (or 12 stalks of onion leaves, cut into 2-inch lengths)

1 small carrot, julienned

a thumb-sized piece of ginger, julienned

1 tbsp. of sesame seed oil

Make the sweet and sour sauce. Place the vinegar and sugar in a small pan and set over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar dissolves. Swirl the pan and boil over medium heat for 15 to 25 minutes or until syrupy. Add the salt and ginger during the last five minutes of cooking.

While the sauce cooks, prepare the fish. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Season the fish with salt and pepper, rubbing on both sides. Dust with cornstarch.

When the oil is hot enough (it should start to emit some smoke), deep fry the fish over high heat until golden and a light crust forms on the outside. Flip the fish when the underside is done and fry the other side for even cooking and texture. Scoop out the fish and drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter and scatter the prepared garnishes on top. Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the fish and vegetables.

Heat the sesame seed oil in a small pan until smoking. Pour over the fish and vegetables. Serve at once.

Vegetarian broccoli salad

A follow-up recipe for my post last September 3 to add a healthy menu on everyone's diet. I found this recipe at Recipezaar.com and also tried it, it's perfectly good! Thanks to Mommy chef 27.

Here are the ingredients:
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or vegan mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar (use less if you prefer less sweet taste)
4 cups broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup craisins

Directions
1Combine miracle whip, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl.
2Mix broccoli, walnuts, and craisins.
3Pour dressing over broccoli mixture, mix to combine.
4Chill one hour or overnight.

From Mommy chef 27 @recipezaar.com