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Brown Rice, Pasta and its Health Benefits!

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 | Permalink

riceBrown rice pasta is made from ground brown rice, instead of wheat. This makes the noodles gluten-free and perfectly suitable for you if you have celiac disease. Brown rice pasta is a nutritious alternative to regular white or wheat pasta. It fits in perfectly in your favourite pasta entree or pasta salad.

 

Calories and Carbs

Brown rice pasta provides about 200 calories per 2-ounce portion of dry pasta. In order to get the perfect 2-ounce serving, weigh your pasta before you cook it. If you're making brown rice spaghetti noodles, 2 ounces is about the size of a quarter when you stand the pasta noodles up on one end. About 85 percent of the calories in brown rice pasta come from carbohydrates. You need carbs in your diet to provide energy to all cells. Around 45 to 65 percent of your total calories should come from this macronutrient. Following a typical 2,000-calorie diet requires you to get 225 to 325 grams of carbs each day. A 2-ounce serving of brown rice pasta contains 40 grams of carbs, which have 4 calories per gram.

 

Protein and Fat

Just like carbohydrates, protein also provides 4 calories per gram. Protein builds muscle tissue, but it also helps repair other tissues and is a structural component of cell walls. Between 10 to 35 percent of your diet should come from protein. Eating around 2,000 calories per day requires 50 to 175 grams of protein. Brown rice pasta provides 4 grams of protein per 2-ounce portion. The final macronutrient you need in your diet is fat, which helps absorb several vitamins and regulates your core body temperature. Around 20 to 35 percent of your calories need to come from fat, explains the Mayo Clinic. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you need 44 to 78 grams of fat. Your 2-ounce serving of brown rice pasta offers nearly 3 grams.

 

Fiber

Brown rice pasta is high in fiber, particularly insoluble fiber. This type of fiber, which comes from grains, vegetables and brown rice, does not break down in your digestive tract. Insoluble fiber stays intact and pushes out waste. It is responsible for keeping you regular and makes your stools soft and easy to pass. Women need to get 22 to 28 grams of total fiber each day, but men need up to 28 to 34 grams. A 2-ounce portion of brown rice pasta offers about 4 grams of dietary fiber.

 

Celiac Disease

Having celiac disease does not require you to eliminate pasta from your diet. You can eat brown rice pasta, which is naturally free of a protein called gluten,according to the Tufts University reports. Wheat, barley and rye are all grains that contain gluten, and you have to eliminate these foods from your diet if you are gluten sensitive. Celiac disease is a condition in which your body is unable to break down gluten. If you have celiac and you consume foods containing gluten, you may have severe gastrointestinal upset. This can further damage the lining of your intestines. Over time, you might become severely malnourished, since your intestinal walls become unable to absorb nutrients. There is no treatment for celiac disease, so you have to follow a strict diet and eliminate gluten foods. Although brown rice pasta does not contain gluten, read the label to make sure it is gluten-free. Some manufacturing processes may cross-contaminate foods and leave a trace of gluten in a normally gluten-free food.

 

Health Benefits of Brown Rice

Brown rice has:

  • Twice the manganese and phosphorus as white.
  • 2 ½ times the iron.
  • 3 times vitamin B3.
  • 4 times the vitamin B1.
  • 10 times the vitamin B6.
  • It is a great source of manganese which is essential for energy production, antioxidant activity, and sex hormone production.
  • Brown rice has high fiber and selenium content which reduces colon cancer.
  • The fiber in brown rice reduces the time cancer-causing substances spend in the colon.  Selenium has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of colon cancer. White rice has very little fiber.
  • Brown rice assists weight loss and reduces metabolic problems.
  • Eating whole grains with lots of fiber, like brown rice, helps with maintaining optimal weight while refined grains have been linked to weight gain, type-two diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
  • It lowers cholesterol.
  • A study at Louisiana State University showed that rice bran and rice bran oil reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol.
  • Brown Rice is Gluten Free. As more and more people enjoy the benefits of gluten free, rice is an obvious healthy choice.
  • It balances your energy.
  • In macrobiotics, brown rice has been shown to have balanced energy in terms of yin and yang.

 

Unique Phytonutrients:

All whole grains have bound phytonutrients which are released by the action of intestinal bacteria.rice 2

These unique substances have the same health-promoting activity attributed to the free form phytonutrients found in vegetables and fruits. One example is a lignin called enterolactone thought to protect against breast cancer and heart disease.

 

Cautions:

The main reason brown rice is processed is to increase its storage time. The essential oils in brown rice go rancid after 6-8 months while white rice lasts up to 10 years.The protein in white rice is more available to the body. This is important in parts of the world where rice is the main source of calories, particularly since rice is not high in protein to begin with.  White rice is easier to digest because its lack of fiber. It may be superior for weak and convalescent persons  or someone with weak digestion

 

Brown Rice Vs. White Rice

Which is better, brown or white rice? Brown rice is the whole rice grain with just the first outer layer (husk or hull) removedrice 3 through milling. It retains its fiber and germ which contains vital nutrients.White rice is brown rice that has been milled to remove the bran and much of the germ, reducing fiber and nutrient content. The grain is further polished to take away the remaining layer of germ (called the aleurone layer) which contains essential oils. These oils are what oxidize and go rancid, so removing them makes white rice keep longer.

Sticky rice:  Short grain rice has a higher starch content which makes it sticker. Long grain is lighter and so is more separated.

 

Other Alternatives to brown rice are the following:

 

Parboiled Rice

In India, where millions depend on rice, the process of parboiling rice was discovered. Uncle Ben’s later copied this process and termed it “converted rice.” This process  involves steaming the rice before the final stages of processing. This drives some of the vitamins and minerals into the inner layers  before the outer layers are removed. The result is ‘white rice,’ but with more nutrients.

 

Sprouted or Germinated Brown Rice

Germinated brown rice is easier to digest and the sprouting process adds certain nutrients.Germinated brown rice has twice the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) of regular brown rice, and ten times the GABA of white rice.GABA promotes fat loss by stimulating the production of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH increases the sleep cycle, giving deeper rest, boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, inhibits development of cancer cells, and assists the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Moving To New York: Start Making A List

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 | Permalink

Moving to New York can seem like a difficult challenge. Actually, moving anywhere outside of your local residence can seem like a challenge that is difficult. Between packing boxes, making phone calls and ensuring that you have an employer move up, how do you handle all the moving documentation?

Moving From Out Of the Country?

If you are moving from, let’s say, Australia to New York, you need to take precautions to ensure that you are following all of the rules set in place by the government. Ensure that all moving documents are in order, and make copies of them in case something happens.

If you are moving with children under eighteen, make sure that anything extra that is needed for them is in place too.

Start Preparing Your Moving Boxes

Preparing your moving boxes can seem like a huge challenge and the last thing that you want to do if you are preparing so many things. However, when moving oversees, this should really be done first. Check all of your belongings and ensure that they are able to be transported to where you are going.

If you cannot take something with you, you have a few options. You can sell it, leave it with a friend or family member, or you could hire a removal company to move it for you. Do some research on what you will be allowed to take and will not be.

When moving oversees, the box moving can be difficult and very expensive. If something does not have to come on the trip, do not bring it.

Decide How to Move the Boxes

When journeying oversees it is important to make sure that the boxes are well taken care of. Check with different methods of transportation. Should you pay to have them mailed, or can you take them with you on your current method of transportation? This is essential.

Get Your Housing Settled

Make sure that you have your housing settled. If you are staying with friends and family, make sure that you have a back-up alternative in case something falls through.

Even if you have secured for and paid for housing, it may not be a bad idea to have something else in your back pocket, just in case. Hotels in New York can be very expensive. It may be wise to have a week-long, extended stay hotel that you can use to crash if something falls through.

Save Up Cash

If you have any time at all, start putting away income for when you move. Not only is moving expensive, there are often expenses that come up when someone is going to a new city. Getting a license, identification and other items are all expensive. Also, do not forget the last minute runs to the store, such as the "Oh, honey, just a minute, we forgot to pack the toilet paper."

Sell or Rent Your House

Decide which option is better for you. Should you sell your house, or rent it? Talk with an established real estate agent to determine what works best for you. If you have any items in it you do not need it may be wise to hire a removal company to remove them.

Make A Checklist

Now that you have accomplished all of the above, it is time to get ready for moving to New York, which is an adventure all of its own. Making a checklist of what is done and what is not will greatly reduce the headache, stress and tension of moving.

Conclusion

If you follow these tips, it will be easy to plan out your next moving adventure.

Distance Education Creating Options for Everyone

Thursday, April 12th, 2012 | Permalink

Years ago, if you wanted to get an education, you had to go to an academic campus. This was true whether you needed to finish high school, or gain a Masters Degree in Nursing. Today, the options are much wider. Distance education programs allow individuals to increase their career options without quitting their jobs.

Institutions offer distance education programs from secondary to post graduate levels. The selection of courses available is wide. For example, you could study nursing, education, literature, or business from home. This is just a sample of what is available. While certain courses involve an on-campus component due to the nature of the work (such as nursing), theoretical studies take place at home.

One reason why students like this option so much is that it allows them to fit studies around their existing roles. Someone who is working can keep her job for the time being while she prepares to push for promotion, or even to leave her current employer to find a more rewarding career. Full-time parents also find that online studies work for them because they can do course work whenever the kids are napping, playing quietly, or in bed.

There is no denying that school work takes time, especially if you want to succeed. It would be foolhardy to suggest that enrolling in a course online will not change your life at all. Still, when you learn from home, you can also choose the pace at which you learn. Take part-time classes rather than full-time ones. Or, if you want to speed things up, pack as many classes into a semester as you can, and simply forget about having any sleep for a while.

Another bonus is that, while on-campus courses restrict you to universities located where you live, distance education programs allow participants to enroll from anywhere. The worldwide web and email make it possible for you to select an institution based thousands of miles away. If you live in Hawaii but you want to take a course offered at an east coast U.S. college, you can do it. Without this advantage, you would either have to move, or just tailor your desires to match courses available near where you reside.

If you want to get started looking for an online institution, there are two ways to go about this. One is to simply browse colleges offering online studies and run through their list of curriculum choices. A more efficient way to do this would be to go to a website that narrows all of the information down for you. At a site like this, you read about why it could be worth your while to enroll in internet studies. This is also a search engine. Simply type in some requirements, such as what topics you are interested in, or the educational level you are seeking to achieve.

 

Even if you want to go to school because you have time on your hands, this is a fabulous way to take an interesting course without changing your whole life around.

Tips in Finding Exotic Jewelry Boxes

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 | Permalink

Exotic jewelry boxes are great gifts or as collection items. Many travelers choose jewelry boxes as gifts or as souvenirs for every place they have been to. Jewelry boxes are not only functional, they will also serve as great heirlooms you can pass on to your children. Every location has a treasure of unique and exotic boxes that differ in design, material and the art displayed on them. The most prized of these boxes depend on the authenticity of the design and the kind of exotic wood used to make the boxes. For example, exotic boxes made from the bobbing wood are what you would find in Africa. You can also find boxes that are not made of wood but rather of papier-mache, such as those created by Uzbek jewelry box makers. You can also find jewelry boxes made of metal such as bronze or copper.

 

 

An example of a culture that specializes on traditional handmade crafts such as boxes, chess pieces, and pencil cases is Uzbekistan. Unlike other places where the traditional arts has been diluted by Western influences, the craftsmen of Uzbekistan has managed to hold on to the traditional methods of creating art which results to one-of-a-kind creations that are a great hit with foreign visitors and lovers of exotic art.

Uzbek art which is placed on proud display on these boxes and chess pieces show the amazing attention to detail that craftsmen put on their work. Engraving is a major area in the art of Uzbekistan and this is seen in copper plates and wood. Painting on papier-mache and ceramics are also very much alive among Uzbek artists. Women are taught the finer skills of embroidery, where cotton and natural silk cloth are used to create traditional garb, carpets, and prayer mats.

 

Tips in Finding the Right Exotic Jewelry Box

 

Exotic boxes come in various sizes. An authentic exotic jewelry box is handmade, so that no two boxes are alike. Look for boxes made of indigenous materials such as wood, bamboo, or fibers that grow naturally in the area. For details such as adornments or engravings, designs that depict traditional art are ideal. If you cannot travel, international cultural conventions offer the best options for you to learn about the arts and crafts of other countries without having to leave your city. The International Festival for Arts, Heritage and Creativity in Muscat, for example, showcases 150 artisans representing 25 countries from all over the world and presents traditional creations, from carpets to embroidery to the making of wood and papier mache jewelry boxes. In North America, international conventions for culture and the arts in the States or in Canada offer a similar glimpse to the culture and art of other countries.

Exotic jewelry boxes are very functional yet they can also be used as decorative or collector's pieces. Traditional art and natural materials make these boxes very much different from the mass produced jewelry boxes you see in most department stores. They are also great gift options, especially if you are travelling and what something substantial and functional to give to friends for the holidays.

Russian cuisine:

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 | Permalink

Russia is by far the largest country in the world in terms of the area covered and it is also located to the north and is dominated by long cold winter season, where geological modelling software is used on a daily basis. Therefore, to survive the cold, you will need the Russian food to give you all the energy and warmth plus a lot more nutritional requirements. Essentially, the Russian cuisine provides more of carbohydrates and fat yet it has limited proteins. Since fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in the foods, the top five major food components in a Russian meal include potatoes, eggs, bread, meat and butter. Cabbage, soup cream, curds, lard, cucumber, apples, tomatoes, honey, sugar, salt and onions are equally popular in the Russian cuisine.

Russian dishes have a shocking caloric content and this is basically because the country is cold for long periods of the year and thereby does not support crop growth. Although history has shown that Russian diet was basically based on off grain wheat, oats and millet. Besides, the people used to rear cattle and hunting was part of their lives hence the source of many foul dishes. The people thereafter learned the benefits of preserving food that could help them survive the winter effectively and hence the origin of the rich Russian kit homes cuisine. It is from the need to preserve food that dishes such as “borsh” (heavy vegetable soup and pieces of meat) and “okroshka” (boiled eggs and cucumbers) came to be.

Alcohol is not left out on the list as it helps people keep worm during the winter and to compliment the alcohol, certain biting were preserved and later used as accompaniments. Therefore, a basic Russian meal will consist of three dishes starting with a meaty soup dish that has a lot of vegetables. The main meal is composed of fish or meat (beef) and is usually accompanied by carbs of your own choosing. Third and last is a heavy drink to finalize the Russian menu.

For a long time Russian, lunch and dinner time were fixed as well as the seating arrangement. Strict rules and taboos were also observed while dinning and one was not allowed to knock/scrape spoon on the dish, talking or loud laughing were equally forbidden. The head of the house had to sit at the head of the table. Although such kind of culture is still not in existence, it’s still prominent in certain parts of Russia along with Pilates North Sydney.

Russian meals are not spicy bust since Russia was at the center and a cross roads where the east and west could meet and cross paths while heading to Asia or Europe, spices become part of Russian food though not originally from Russia. Spices were brought along by European business men and since it was a crossroad, it is equally easy to understand why Russia has menu or meals that are similar to those on other parts of the world. Most if not all Russian foods are meant to provide high energy boost while providing constant warmness during winter season. The foods or meals in question include snacks and alcoholic drinks as well as juices.