Gindi Cafe

Archive for June, 2012

Carbohydrate Craze

Carbohydrates have been put into the spotlight ever since diets like the Atkin’s Diet and the South Beach Diet have recommended cutting carbohydrates out of your meals as much as possible. However, before you make an drastic decisions about what foods to include and not include, it is crucial to learn about carbohydrates and what they do for your body.

In short, carbohydrates can be good or bad for your body. It is necessary to eat enough good carbohydrates, because that is how our body has enough energy for low-intensity activities during the day. Carbohydrates are famously found in breads and grains, but actually they are also found in a number of other foods as well, such as fruits and vegetables. When keeping an eye on your intake of carbohydrates it is important to distinguish the good from the bad.

All carbohydrates are basically sugars. Complex carbohydrates are the good carbohydrates for your body. These strings of sugar are very difficult to break down and trap over nutrients like vitamins and minerals in the sugar strings. As they slowly break down, the other nutrients are also released into your body, and you can provide with fuel for a number of hours.

Bad carbohydrates, on the other hand, are simple sugars. Because their structure is not complex, it is easy to break down and holds little nutrients for your body other than the sugars from which it is made. Your body breaks down these carbohydrates rather quickly and what it cannot use is converted to fat and stored in the body. Staying away from simple carbohydrates is what most diets recommend, since they have little nutritional value when compared to complex carbohydrates.

More importantly than how carbohydrates work in the body and the difference between good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates is how you can actually eat these carbohydrates! First, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods include carbohydrates, but also a variety of other nutrients needed by your body. Another great tip is to cut the white bread and bread products out of your diet and replace then with whole wheat or 12-grain breads instead. Look at the packaging. Foods rich in fiber are probably a source of good carbohydrates.

Learning the difference between good and bad carbohydrates is very important if you wish to have a healthy diet. It is not good for your body to cut out carbohydrates completely—in fact, that is very difficult to do unless you only eat meat! Eating a healthy and balanced diet means including good carbohydrates into your meals.

Black tea has become a worldwide phenomenon. In cafes and coffeehouses, teahouses and trendy bistros, black tea has become a favorite beverage of tea drinkers around the globe. The uniqueness of black tea lies in the processing—a procedure that helps to give the beverage its magnificent flavor and consistency.

Black tea, like green tea and specialty white tea, is derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant. The primary difference between black tea and green tea lies in its fermentation. Through the fermentation procedure, tea leaves take on a red color, then turn black after they have been dried. In sharp contrast, green tea does not undergo fermentation, but instead is heat-treated, enabling it to maintain its distinctive green coloring.

At this point, it’s unclear why fermentation was begun. Perhaps it was created in order to preserve tea for substantial lengths of time. In any case, fermentation helps to give black tea its unique taste. Because of the variety of ways you can serve black tea, it is often highly favored over other forms of tea.

Black teas are generally classified according to their grading. For instance, Pekoe is a black tea that is derived from medium plucking of the second leaf of the tea bush. The term “Pekoe” comes from the Chinese word meaning “white hair.” The terminology refers to early pluckings, which evidence traces of white down. Meanwhile, Broken Orange Pekoe is a smaller leaf tea that has broken segments but a number of tips. In contrast, Broken Pekoe consists of broken portions of a coarse leaf sans tips.

Fannings consist of small grainy leaf particles which have been taken out of higher grade teas. In contrast, Flowery Orange Pekoe may consist of a whole leaf or broken leaf with a great deal of tip, causing it to have a particularly fine quality. Meanwhile, Flowery Pekoe is a black tea with a whole leaf that has been rolled lengthwise, while Orange Pekoe has a leaf ranging in size from eight to 15 millimeters with only a few tips.

The term “dust” refers to the smallest particle leaf size which is customarily utilized for tea bag teas. This is because they tend to reach full flavor and strength quite quickly. In order to be prepared for market, the graded tea leaf is placed into plywood chests which have been lined with aluminum paper.

Black tea may also be specially flavored or scented. These teas are often produced from standard-grade teas that have been accented with flowers, flavored oils, or flavored crystals. Interestingly enough, there can be incredible differences in teas according to the quality and the flavoring. Typically, teas that are derived from natural flavoring techniques create the most flavorful teas. some teas are so aromatic that they are reminiscent of perfume.

While the timing of pluckings can make a difference in terms of a tea’s consistency, it is the region in which it is harvested that often makes the biggest impact. For instance, Assam tea is grown in a region in northern India and is known for its full-bodied strength. Darjeeling, in northeast India, produces what’s often known as the champagne of teas. These teas are legendary for their scent and light flavoring.

Darjeeling tea can actually come in a variety of flavors, including flowery and nutty. Meanwhile, Keemum from China and Taiwan is frequently called the burgundy of teas, thanks to its sweet, rich, fruity flavor.

Lapsang Souchong, also from China and Taiwan, is known for its smokiness—a smokiness which comes from drying the tea leaves over a fire. It is often referred to as an evening tea because it tends to be low in caffeine. Meanwhile, Yunnan, derived from China’s Yunnan province, is full-bodied and slightly peppery in nature.

You may be curious about the differences between black tea and green tea. Both types of tea can have significant therapeutic benefits, but green tea is the older of the two and tends to have less caffeine. As a result, green tea might be considered generally more soothing than black tea, although there are varieties of black tea that are known for calming nerves.

Pluckings are only part of the story, when it comes to evaluating the merits of tea. However, early pluckings can be indicative of a superior variety. The more you drink black tea, the more you’ll come to appreciate its unique qualities. It is a beverage that can really grow on you and, with so many varieties to choose from, you may find that you’ll never get bored with it.

A growing body of research indicating its health benefits is also a key selling point. As a result, chances are good that black tea will continue to grow in popularity in the years ahead in localities around the globe.

For years we’ve touted the health benefits of food, especially fruits and vegetables. Chocolate? Well, not so straight forward. We all secretly loved it but couldn’t swear by it. Indeed people have been made to feel guilty trying to talk about chocolate. It has been seen as a form of self indulgence that people were expected to avoid. Recent findings about chocolate has however confirmed the chocoholics were right afterall. They had an instinctive understanding of body needs.

Discovered centuries ago by the Aztecs during the reign of Emperor Montezuma, cocoa beans were such valuable commodities they were said to have divine qualities, hence the botanic name – Theobroma cacao, food of the gods. They were said to provide great energy and a lot of sexual appeal. The many varied forms of chocolate as we have presently had it’s roots from Spain where they added hot water, sugar, vanilla.

Now after many years of denial, chocolate is set to become the food of choice for many health conscious people. Rich in flavanoids and antioxidants, chocolate provides great health benefits for the body, especially the heart. Can chocolate be classified as a super food? Only time will tell. High in energy and rich in carbohydrates, fats, and vegetable proteins, chocolate has large quantities of potassium and magnesium, some calcium and sodium, and vitamins A1, B1, B2, D, and E.

Obviously these benefits are best utilised the more unrefined chocolate is, hence a preference for dark chocolates. The quality of cocoa content is therefore to be taken into consideration when buying chocolate. Just go for proper chocolate and not the one that is dressed up with crusty toffees.

A DOUBLE SERVING OF FLAVANOIDS

Flavonoids are multi coloured plant pigments found in plants and are known to provide protection to our bodies from toxins which the body carries because of food processing. This helps the body’s cells to overcome damages caused by free radicals, which is a by product of bodily activities. Some foods rich in flavanoids are apples, red wine, tea, onions and cranberries. What happens when you add chocolate and wine? Watch this video to find out.