Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Foods High in Iron

Foods High In Iron - foodshighiniron.us

 

Live Fit with Foods High in Iron


It is all too common today to hear about people suffering from anemia, a situation brought about by the body’s inability to produce a sufficient amount of red blood cells. These cells, which contain hemoglobin, are vital in transporting oxygen to organs and tissue. The production of hemoglobin requires iron, so when there is a deficiency of iron, anemia can develop, causing extreme fatigue.
Along with fatigue, symptoms of anemia include shortness of breath, brittle nails, weakness, pale skin, irritability, cold hands and feet, and the chance of more infections.

Why Iron is Important


The flow of oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body is necessary to ensure a healthy life. When iron is ample, it is stored in muscles and used appropriately. In addition, iron is a part of enzymes that aid in functions like digesting foods.
All of this makes iron an essential mineral. An absence of iron can lead to severe organ failure. It can also delay normal infant motor function, affect the mental functions of teenagers, and increase the risk of premature births in pregnant women.

 

Preventing Iron Deficiency


The best way to prevent iron deficiency is to adhere to the daily recommended allowance. For female adults age 19 to 50, this is 18mg per day. After that, 8mg is advised. For male adults 19 and older, the recommendation is for 8mg per day. For infants, children, pregnant and lactating women as well as those in other age groups, see the chart provided on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website Here.
The way to get this much-needed iron is to regularly eat foods high in iron, thereby preventing the onset of anemia or helping to restore a person to health if they already suffer from the illness.
There are several iron rich foods to enjoy, including red meats, turkey or chicken giblets, and liver. In addition, other foods with iron are dark and leafy greens, artichokes, egg yolks, and dried fruits (prunes and raisins). Other good sources of iron are iron-enriched cereals and grains, mollusks, such as oysters, clams, scallops, beans, lentils, chick peas, and soybeans.

 

A Closer Look at Some Iron Rich Foods


  • Red meats like beef contain 2.1 to 3.1mg of iron per every 3 ounce serving. Just be careful of excess saturated fat by choosing top round or eye round options.
  • Organ meats like turkey or chicken giblets and liver can provide up to 9.9mg of iron. They also contain high amounts of Vitamins A and B12.
  • Dark, leafy greens such as spinach and collards are good, especially spinach that provides 3.2mg of iron with just a half cup serving.

Iron-enriched cereals and grains have an added benefit of also containing zinc, calcium, and magnesium. However, it is very important to read the nutritional labels to ensure a proper balance between iron and other unhealthy ingredients.
A can of drained clams offers 23.8mg of iron per 3 ounces, while cooked oysters provide 10.2mg. A plus about clams is that have less contaminants than most other seafood. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids, too. Oysters, meanwhile, are also high in protein while being low in fat.
Keeping these foods high in iron on the menu is a good way to keep the body functioning properly and preventing anemia and other maladies caused by iron deficiency.


More foods with iron:

Pleave visit http://www.foodshighiniron.us/ to read more about iron and why it is an important part of our diet!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Got Some Deals

Got some deals

I appreciate the guest post, Vito Rivers

I got some great directv
Danville
deals and my family and I have been watching TV nonstop. My kids
love old movies for some reason so we’ve been watching a lot of them at my
house. I want to be really accepting of their choices because since they’re
using their personality to pick TV shows and movies I don’t want them to get
discouraged, you know what I mean? I know that sounds silly but I just want them
to grow up to be confident, free spirited people and I feel like telling them
they watch dumb movies is just bound to bring them down at the end of the day,
you know? I love Cary Grant anyway so anytime they’re going to watch a movie I’m
more than excited about it. I love that we’ve got something in common and even
though my husband doesn’t understand and would rather be watching football he
usually gives in for the sake of family time. I’ve got a really good crew here
and I’m proud of the way we’ve raised them.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cuisinart Mini Food Processor

Cuisinart Mini Food Processor


The Mini Processor from Cuisinart is a fantastic addition to any kitchen (big or small). It comes with a reversible motor which means that you can chop and grind without having to change the blade. It’s small enough to fit in a drawer yet big enough to make smoothies, purées and more.
The mini processor uses a dual blade with a sharp, curved edge for chopping/mixing and a flat, blunt edge for grinding. The food processor has two control switches; ‘Chop’ and ‘grind’. The ‘chop’ funtion is suited for chopping, puréeing and mixing food, the ‘grind’ function is best used for grinding or chopping hard foods.
The box contains the Mini Processor complete with lid, work bowl, blade and main processor unit, a user manual and a plastic tool for extracting the contents from the work bowl.
Cuisinart:
For over 30 years Cuisinarrt’s aim has been to produce the very finest kitchen equipment so that cooks at home as well as professional chefs have the tools to express their creativity.
All Cuisinart products are engineers for excceptionally long life, and designed to be easy to use as well as to give excellent performance day after day. This is why they have come to be regarded as the defining machines in their field by chefs across the world
What ever you cook, cook it better with Cuisinart.
The Cuisinart Mini Processor comes with a 5 year parts and motor guarantee, testament that Cuisinart appliances really are engineered to last.
Main Points on the box:
  • Robust & Durable – Brushed stainless steel housing
  • Dual Functionality – Patented reversible motor
  • Chop & Purée function – Curved, sharp blade
  • Grind Function – Flat, blunt blade
  • Easy to store – Compact design
  • Easy to clean - Dishwasher safe removable parts
 
Read more about this mini food processor over at gadgets.ie

Friday, January 13, 2012

Reindeer Bun - Guest Post


Reindeer Bun - Asian Recipes
Additional Image

This cute little reindeer bun is bound to make your friends squeal. Perfect for a warm, cozy, Christmas party.

Ingredients

  • 150 gram Bread Flour
  • 10 gram Maple Sugar
  • 3 gram Salt
  • 30 gram Unsalted Butter
  • 10 gram Skim Milk
  • 3 gram Dry yeast
  • 10 gram Egg
  • 85 gram Water
  • 70 milligram Orange Juice
  • 20 gram Sugar (granulated)
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 5 gram Corn starch
  • 2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
  • 1 dash Cointreau (sweet liqueur with Orange flavor)
  • 7 piece Drained cherries
  • 14 piece Chocolate Chip

Preparation Method

Preparation Image
1. Use a bread machine for the primary fermentation of the dough. (Add water as required.)
Preparation Image
2. Making orange cream:
A)Heat orange juice, sugar, and butter in a saucepan to human body temperature.
B) Beat egg in a bowl, and mix well with cornstarch. Add into (a), and mix well.
C) Mix well over low to medium heat.
D)As mixture thickens, remove from heat. When it starts to cool, mix with heavy cream and Cointreau. Spoon into an icing bag and cool in the refrigerator.
Preparation Image
3. Split (1) the dough into 7 equal parts.
Preparation Image
4. Tear approximately 5g from every piece of (3) to make the reindeer’s antlers
Preparation Image
5. Tear (4) horn into 2, and roll into a ball. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Preparation Image
6. Flatten the larger dough the face of the reindeer into an oval using a rolling pin, and squeeze out 1/7 of the amount of orange cream.
Preparation Image
7. Lift both ends of dough, and bring it over the orange cream.
Preparation Image
8. Close the right and left sides of the dough over the orange cream to seal it. Shape it so it is a little long and thin to resemble the face of the reindeer.
Preparation Image
9. Shape the antlers until they are slightly long.
Preparation Image
10. Lay parchment paper onto your baking tray. Position the two antlers first and then place the face on the tray. Ensure the face overlaps the antlers slightly. Place in a warm place at 30-40 degrees until it expands to twice its original size. This will take approximately 35 minutes (secondary fermentation).
Preparation Image
11. When the second fermentation is complete, brush some beaten egg onto the dough where the eyes and nose will be positioned. Make holes for eyes using a tooth pick and place the chocolate chips into those holes. Push a drained cherry into the dough where the nose should be
Preparation Image
12. Brush two small dots of beaten eggs onto either side of the face to make the cheeks.
Preparation Image
13. Bake at 180 ? for approximately 10 minutes.

All this for not a whole lot of money!

Refrigerator

I like to have my refrigerator to be organized so I know what ingredient is where so I can access it quickly.  That allows me to spend less time searching for things and more time cooking.  My family sure appreciates it when I'm quicker!  Space management is really crucial when you don't really have a big space to work with.  Smaller refrigerator units are available so they don't really take up too much floor space, but still give you enough room to keep your foods cold.  This "21 inch" narrow refrigerator is a great example.  You can also have a large refrigerator for your dream kitchen!

While we're on the subject of dream kitchens...whenever I'm able to purchase my dream home, I will have a huuuuge refrigerator that is awesome!  I'd like one that is like the coolers you see in grocery stores and convience stores.  That way you can see what is in them and you don't even have to open the door and use more energy.  I've actually found where you can buy a true gdm-49rl refrigerator.  Now of course I'd need my own freezer unit as well.  But that's another story!  Back to dreaming and working on achieving my dreams...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Best Chicken and Dumplings

Tonight, I was in the grocery store picking up food to make another meal on my list of things to cook.  As I was picking up items from my list, my wife called me.  She has been sick for a few days.  She informed me that she wanted some chicken and dumplings.  Since this was on my list of things to cook, I decided to make what was requested of me.  I used some techniques that I've picked up over the last few months since starting this blog, to try to make a better flavor.  I made this in my dutch oven that my wonderful wife got me for my birthday.  This is what I created:

Chicken and Dumplings
1 large broiler-fryer chicken , cut up
2 celery ribs , sliced
4 carrots , peeled and sliced
1 medium onion , diced  
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
salt
pepper
garlic powder 
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
water
Dumplings
2/3 cup milk
2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix

  • Cut up the whole chicken.  Learn how here.  Pat chicken dry with paper towel.  Season pieces with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Brown chicken in batches.  Learn how here.  Remove all chicken pieces from dutch oven and set aside.  Deglaze the bottom with white wine and chicken broth.
  • Add chicken, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, chicken bouillon to dutch oven.  Add enough water until chicken is covered. 
  • Bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is done.
  • Remove the chicken from dutch oven.  Strain liquid into another large pan.  DO NOT DISCARD the vegetables that you strained.  Let stock cool in refrigerator until fat rises to the top.  Skim as much fat as you can and discard.  Remove chicken meat from bones and set aside.
  • After fat is skimmed, return stock to dutch oven and bring to a boil.
  • While stock is heating, mix the 2 cups Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk. 
  • Drop spoonfuls of dumpling mix into boiling stock and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Carefully add chicken and vegetables back to stock.
  • Lower heat, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Serve and enjoy!
I've never really been a big fan of Chicken and Dumplings.  Now I am.  My wife has declared this to be her favorite thing that I have cooked.  The smells that filled my apartment while this was cooking made our mouths water.  The flavors were incredible and well worth the time and effort put into this dish.
  

Monday, January 2, 2012

Curry Story - Guest Post

Curry Story - Guest Post


For about 5,000 years, turmeric has been an important part of Eastern cultural traditions, including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. Valued for its medicinal properties and warm, peppery flavor, this yellow-orange spice has more recently earned a name for itself in Western medicine too. Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, which is certainly native to Indonesia and southern India, and is widely used as an ingredient in curry dishes and yellow mustard. As research into this powerful spice has increased, it has emerged as one of nature’s strongest potential healers.

Some Southeast Asian cultures spice up their food for centuries with many different spices to give the courts the desired flavor. In India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia or Thailand, it is still often the case that recipes passed down from generation to generation, and the curry powder, so part of every curries themselves are mixed together.

Indian curries for example have over the centuries more or less the same - with the difference that the former Indian curry was cooked perhaps even much sharper and spicier, to avoid the taste of old and rotting meat. Because back then there was the luxury of not refrigerators, and it was thought to curries and curry sauce "around the meat" out.

And still a good curry consists mainly of the creamy and spicy curry sauce. Will be prepared in all countries mentioned virtually every curry powder ("Garam Masala") just before the actual cooking fresh by the individual ingredients of roasted, ground and mixed. In contrast, contain the finished curry powder, as it is now widely available, are usually a very high proportion of turmeric / turmeric and are adapted to local tastes.

To learn more about curry please visit Esha Curry!