Ginger is Your Winter Survival Ingredient

Have you got a cold/ flu? Or have you got the symptoms? I'm just recovering from one. Not sure about you but I've never taken the flu jab because I don't like the idea of it and I try to avoid taking things that contains all sorts of chemical as much as possible. I prefer natural remedies and being a Chinese descent girl I am surrounded by herbal ingredients at home. 

Whenever I have a cold/flu, my cure is ginger tea. I swear by it! In a Chinese household you will definitely find ginger lying around in the kitchen. The Chinese use ginger in their cooking, sauces, drinks and to marinate food. 

This simple ginger tea recipe was introduced to me by my parents, it will help you beat the winter cold and reduce the suffering of a flu. It usually takes me about 2 weeks to get rid of a cold but taking this ginger tea daily has helped me get rid of the sniffles in a week. 

Ginger can also treat nausea and studies have found that it fight numerous diseases. Ginger contains vitamin B3, B6,C, E, folic acid, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, gingerol, phenols and volatile oil. Really this root is a superfood or super root. 

Lets get started....

You will need about 2 inches of ginger root.

Peel the skin and slice it

Put the slices of ginger into a pot of water. Bring the water to boil.

Once it starts boiling, simmer it for another 10 minutes over low heat with the lid on. It is essential to let it simmer for a little longer because this process brings out the flavour of the ginger, making the tea spicy. I love that kick it gives my throat, makes me feel that the ginger is dissolving the bacteria at the back of my throat. 

The tea is brown because I added muscovado sugar for a bit of sweetness. You can add manuka honey. Make sure it is not regular honey because manuka honey is the only type of honey that can resist high temperature. The minerals and nutrients in regular honey will be lost in high temperature. For an extra boost of vitamin C add a slice of lemon. 

This ginger tea is not only good for treating cold and flu but also good for warming up and an immune booster. For more ginger tea recipe have a look at  Aloha's Cranberry Ginger Tea. It's a good detox tea which is probably what everyone is looking for in January.  Aloha is a healthy lifestyle inspired company that offers many recipes that can really keep the winter blues away. They are loaded with superfoods and many natural ingredients that we need!. 

What are your cold and flu remedies? How do you have ginger and what do you use it for?

{Recipe} First Breakfast in 2015- Oatmeal Crepes

Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a good New Years Eve. Mine was boring because I wasn't feeling well and so went to bed after watching the fireworks on TV. Anyways this morning felt like making some of my healthy pancakes since I haven't made some in a while.

As I was getting all the ingredients ready I realised I didn't have any baking powder so I decided to make crepes instead. I opened the fridge and there was no milk!! Since I was in the mood of making pancake/crepes, there was no way I was going to scrap the idea. I wanted pancakes! So then I decided to try making crepes with water. In fact it turned out really well.


Ingredients (all measurements are an estimate):
- 1/2 cup of rolled out oats
- 300 ml of water
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp of cinnamon powder (optional)

Method:

Put all ingredients into a blender. I was worried the water will make the batter too runny so I added chia seeds to make the batter a bit thicker.

Heat a non-stick pan with a bit oil. Pour a bit of mixture into the pan. Cook each side for about 1 minute. Enjoy flipping the crepes!

This recipe makes about 8 crepes. The crepes are bit brown because I added cinnamon powder to the batter. I love cinnamon!

I felt like having chocolate spread with banana so I melted some dark chocolate on a double boiler.

Voila! Healthy oatmeal crepes was my first breakfast of 2015. What was your first breakfast?

{Guest Post} Women’s healthy lunch preparation

Modern day life has adopted many life style changes of which a good number is unhealthy. People are caught in a mad rush where they do not have time for preparing healthy food at home. Working parents resort to food from restaurants very often and their children naturally choose to eat easily available fast food. Junk food which is laced with synthetic colors and preservatives are high on calories. Such food only has adverse effects on human system and our health. Instead of grabbing the unhealthy food and spoiling our health we had better be cautious about the food we eat. There are other easy and healthy methods of preparing healthy food. Let us have a look at women’s healthy lunch preparation ideas.  

Dolmas wrap is a healthy Middle Eastern item for lunch which is full of dolmas and vegetables. It can be taken to work place if the components are packed separately. 

The ingredients required are;

•  ½ cup shredded romaine lettuce,
•  ¼ cup chopped cucumber, 
• ¼ cup chopped tomato, 
• ¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt, 
• a tablespoon crumbles of feta cheese, 
• 1/8 tea spoon garlic powder, 
• 1 whole-wheat lavash or whole wheat wrap 
• 3 prepared dolmas

Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, yogurt, cheese and garlic powder should be mixed in a bowl. The yogurt-lettuce mixture should be spread on the lavash, topped with dolmas and rolled. Lettuce- yogurt blend can be refrigerated up to one day.  

This Middle Eastern item contains 384 calories per serving. The calories are – 4 g fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 66g carbohydrates, 664 mg sodium, 15g protein, 9 g fiber and 360 mg potassium. It is also rich with vitamins A, C and calcium. We should have balanced food for maintaining our absolute physical health. The food we eat provides our body with essential nutrition: fluid, amino acids from protein, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and adequate calories. Leafy vegetables, pulses, fresh fruits, dry fruits, dairy products etc. must be included in our diet.  A healthy diet supports the energy needs of the body, helps in removing toxins from the body from time to time and safeguards our body metabolism. We should eat roughly the similar amount of calories that our body is using. Excessive calories harm the rhythm of the body and our health.  

Author Bio:   

I am freelance writer. My name is Thomas. I have liked to sacrifice my knowledge and my experience to entire younger’s. I wrote more articles and assignment for the developing the students careers. I have loved my profession. Recently I am working at the scholarship essay writing service. I have written the more scholarship essays also. I will publish the article topic is “Women’s healthy lunch preparation”. 

Aduna Moringa Launch

This post is well overdue. I was suppose to write this about 2 months ago. I have been super busy and just never got round to writing it.

About two months ago I was invited to Aduna's Moringa Launch party however I could not make it because of work. Fortunately, I still managed to get my hands on their new product, Moringa powder. They sent an information pack about Moringa and also a small tub of the super fruit powder.

I have been waiting for this product. I knew about this product when I went to their Make Baobab Famous photo shoot campaign back in May. The photoshoot was fun but rushed.

Before receiving the products I actually had already bought some Moringa seeds from Vauxhall market for £7.99. I went crazy when I saw them in the market. I bought them without a second thought. I took the seeds out of their outer shell and milled them into powder.

Moringa Seeds from Vauxhall market

When I opened Aduna's moringa powder, I realised that they are using moringa leaves and not seeds because the powder is green. This is before reading the front of the tub and information leaflet.

Aduna moringa leaf powder

What is Moringa and where is it from?
Moringa is a tree that is found in Africa and Asia. It is part of the plant family Moringaceae. Although it is native to Africa and Asia but it apparently it is widely used and grown in Jamaica too.  The seeds I bought were grown and imported from Jamaica. 

What are the benefits of Moringa?
Moringa is classified as a super food because it has a wide range of health benefits. It is high in protein and iron and has 13 essential vitamins and minerals. Aduna Moringa is high in antioxidants (it  apparently has six times more antioxidants than gojiberries meaning it is very good for skin's health, extremely anti-ageing and will boost nails and hair health.

The moringa seeds are rich in oleic acid. They have anti-bacterical and anti-fungal properties.

What does it taste like?

The moringa seeds and leaf differ in taste and I prefer the seeds. The seeds are extremely bitter but has a sweet aftertaste. The moringa leaves smells earthy and taste like pea protein. Does not have an appealing taste at all. Aduna describes the taste as "spinachy" taste. 

Those who know me, knows that I will still eat or drink if something is really good for my health even if it does not taste good.

How to use Moringa?

The Jamaicans ground the seeds into powder and add to water which apparently purifies it. They also just chew the seeds. But of course the powder can be used however you like. I added them to my porridge which was a bad idea as it made my porridge extremely bitter!

Aduna suggested sprinkling moringa leaf powder to salads, adding to soups or mixing into smoothies.

Although I've received the superleaf powder about three months ago, I still haven't added it to my smoothies and meals yet. I have too many superfood and superfruit powder in my kitchen haha. I will share my recipes when I do use it. Thank you Aduna!