Real Vegetarian Thai

Asian people have long known that living off the land and eating a vegetarian diet is a real and plausible way to live a healthy lifestyle. No one knows this better than the Thai people. However, they do still like to use a lot of meat in their recipes which makes it difficult to find real Thai meals that are truly vegetarian.

There is a woman who has spent a lot of time in Thailand – three years to be exact – as a Peace Corps volunteer. Her name is Nancie McDermott, and she is well known as a food writer and cooking teacher who specializes in Thai cuisine. As a vegetarian herself, she spent a lot of her time in Thailand trying to come up with ways to make the food she was eating everyday meatless and conducive to her vegetarian lifestyle. What she came up with ended up in a great cookbook called "Real Vegetarian Thai" and has become a best seller all over the world.

So many people love Thai food, but it's not easy to find truly meatless dishes. Thai cooking expert Nancie McDermott has developed inventive variations on traditional recipes, providing health-conscious cooks with a repertoire of meatless dishes that captures the vibrant spirit of Thailand.

A helpful glossary introduces readers to the seemingly mysterious yet widely available ingredients and equipment used in Thai cooking and offers tips for finding or substituting them. With an emphasis on the classic techniques, ingredients, and flavors of Thai cuisine, this groundbreaking cookbook provides one hundred delicious recipes for everyday meals and special occasions.

"Real Vegetarian Thai" has become one of the prominent cookbooks on the market when it comes to Asian cuisine and it is used by some of America's top chefs as the definitive guidebook toward producing great Thai food that will keep with the vegetarian lifestyle. Ms. McDermott has published a gem of a book that makes people realize that they can enjoy all types of ethnic foods without giving up on their choice of eating style – especially the vegetarian diet.

This book has so many great recipes for just about any palate. Sometimes the recipes can look a little daunting and complicated, but it assumes you're using all fresh ingredients, which you don't always have to. Basically, once you take the time to create a few of the "staple" ingredients in this book (red and green curry paste are essential), you can make just about anything in here quickly and cheaply. And it's GOOD!

Check out "Real Vegetarian Thai" and be well on your way to cooking some amazing Thai food within minutes – and all meatless to boot! What could be better?


 

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5 Ways to Detox Your Body

Do you feel tired, sluggish, or just plain unhealthy? If so, the answer to your problems may lay in a body detox, also commonly known as a body cleanse. With a cleanse, you allow your body to expel the potentially harmful toxins it has accumulated throughout the years. The end result should be an improvement in your health and overall wellbeing.

So, how can you cleanse or detoxify your body? The good new is your options, as you have many. Just five of the many ways that you can detoxify your body are outlined below.

1 – Eat Organic Foods

Toxins accumulate in our bodies for various reasons, but one main reason is all the unnatural foods we ingest. Many of today's popular products, including foods, snacks, and drinks, are ridden with unnatural chemicals. Even with a healthy digestive system, not all of these toxins can be eliminated. That is why a cleanse is recommended on occasion.

Since the main cause of toxin buildup in our bodies is the unnatural foods we consume, the easiest way to detoxify your body is to make the switch to organic foods. With all natural ingredients, you are taking a break from the chemical and additive ridden foods currently on the market today.

When eating organic foods, it is best if you make the full-time switch to all-natural foods, but even just a few weeks or months of consuming organic only foods can help to improve your health.

2 – Water Fasting

Water fasting is a relatively quick way to detox your body, but it is an approach that many people find difficult. This is due to the elimination of solid foods. On average, a fast can last three to five days. Any longer should be under the guide of a trained medical professional, as you may put your health at risk.

A water fast is popular due to your ability to lose weight. If you do not eat solid foods, calories are not an issue. This will automatically result in weight loss. With that said, know that your weight loss will likely just be temporary. When you resume eating, you will start to gain weight. To maintain a healthy weight, stick with healthy foods.

3 – Juice Fasting

Juice fasting is similar to water fasting; only juice is consumed. On the market, you will find a number of all-natural juices. These juices are made without sugar and other unnatural additives. You can also make your own juices at home with a juicer. This approach is nice, as it allows you to experiment and find the best tasting juices.

Juice fasting has the same dangers as water fasting, as you are not consuming solid foods. That is why extended juice fasts are advised against. It is, however, the perfect alternative for those who fear that the tastelessness of water can ruin their fast.

4 – Increase Fiber Intake

Fiber is important to a healthy digestive system. Since many studies have shown that most do not consume the recommended daily dose of fiber, it is no surprise that many experience a buildup of toxins in their bodies. That is why foods that are high in fiber are recommended. It is best to get your fiber through foods, such as raspberries, as opposed to fiber supplements.

By increasing your fiber intake, you should notice an improvement in your digestive system and regularity. This may be enough to please you. If you truly want to cleanse your body, it is best to combine fiber with healthy or all-natural, organic foods.

5 – Exercise

Unfortunately, when many individuals think of expelling toxins from the body, the bathroom automatically comes to mind. Yes, this is the most common way to detox the body, but the human body also does so through sweating. For that reason, exercise can help you detox your body.

As with increasing your fiber intake, exercise is recommended with healthy eating. On the other hand, exercising and water or juice fasting does not go hand-in-hand. When on a fast, you will notice a temporary decrease in energy, due in part to the elimination of solid foods. You need to conserve your energy; therefore, strenuous exercise is not recommended while on a juice or water fast.


 

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A Good Raw Diet for Your Health

These days, we're seeing more and more instances of a variety of autoimmune disorders. Diseases like MS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and a host of others seem to be on the rise. Some say that it's merely due to better diagnostic tools; and others say that it's environmental factors: pollution and the foods we eat that are leading to more people being hit by these maladies. In response to this, many people feel that a raw diet, one that shuns the processed foods, the refined sugars, the high fructose corn syrup, and other additives is the key to good health.

Now, an important point to remember here is that the diet is not necessarily made up solely of raw foods. The goal of the diet is for you to eat the foods in as close to their whole state as possible. That means either eating them as they are, or using boiling or steaming to prepare them. In every instance, you want to avoid foods that are highly processed. So, if you want to eat rice, as an example, go with brown rice as opposed to white rice.

In terms of what food you'll want to eat, here's just a partial list of foods that are okay to eat on this diet: whole grain cereals, legumes, fermented soy products, fruits, vegetables, sea vegetables – like seaweed, brown rice, soba noodles, all types of beans, and tofu. You may have noticed a lack of meats listed; this is deliberate. By and large, a raw diet does not include meats; only fish and other seafood are allowed.

This diet believes in the concept of properly combining your foods. The belief is that this ensures that your food digests properly. The phrase often used is calling it the: yin and yang of the digestive process. So, a key aspect of this diet is that you do not eat too many yin foods. This means not overloading your meals with too much of the following: peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, beets, avocadoes, and eggplant.

Here again, you can see the heavy vegetarian aspects of this diet. In addition, you need to not partake of beverages that have stimulants like caffeine. So, don't drink a lot of soda or coffee. Instead, certain teas and lots of water are the best drinks.

Another to remember about this diet is how you eat each meal. Keep your portions small, and you must chew your food well; this is most helpful in aiding your digestion. Not only does it break the food up into small manageable amounts for your stomach and intestines to handle, but it thoroughly drenches the food in saliva, the first step in digestion.

So, when looking to determine what sort of portions you want for your meal, here's a rough outline: first, make about half your meal of whole grains, and that includes brown rice. This is especially important if you have an allergy to gluten, as rice doesn't have that. Next, you'll want about a third of the meal to be vegetables. Beyond that, some beans and legumes can be about ten percent, and then five percent for some kind of soup. To round things out, toss in some nuts, fish, juices and seasoning as you see fit. You really want to avoid red meat as much as possible. If you really like meat, and want some, at least aim to buy local, and thus avoid those with chemicals. In fact, when it comes to all of your foods, try to get only local produce.

Follow these guidelines, and you'll see a real improvement in the state of your overall health.


 

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Top Tips for Vegan Cooking

In the beginning, you might discover that Vegan cooking is more of a pain and hassle than it is a benefit. If you discover yourself in this position, you are not alone. However, there is help available for you. Taking some time to really look over all of your options is best to ensure that you are able to get the biggest benefit possible from the healthier lifestyle. Vegan cooking is something that will typically require you to think carefully as well as plan ahead, in this spirit it is extremely important to be sure that you are getting everything planned out ahead of time to ensure you have what you need.

One of the biggest suggestions to get the biggest benefit is to look into cooking with the fruits and vegetables that you like the most. If you have a serious objection to eating okra for example you should never dash out and look for a stack of okra recipes. Instead, you need to focus on the recipes that involve ingredients that you like. Of course, a bit of trying new foods is always good, but building a base of foods that you like is a great starting point.

To ensure that your new Vegan diet is as affordable as possible you need to look for fruits and vegetables that are in season to cook. If you are constantly having to purchase expensive fruits and vegetables for your meals you will quickly discover that your budget is blown far before it is time to even work on the next months budget. Spreading your money around as much as possible will demand that you buy only foods that are in season as much as possible.

If you are truly interested in living the ultimate Vegan lifestyle, it is time to start investing in a garden for your house. You do not need to dedicate acres of space to the garden, but a small area to raise at least the basic vegetables would be considered essential. If you can spare some additional space to add some more vegetables then go right ahead, however never feel as if a garden is wasted if you only have a few feet. To start with you need to look towards tomatoes and even peppers. These are both extremely easy to grow, take very little space and can save a bundle of money. Having your own fresh vegetables to eat is a huge perk.

Look for ways to save as much money as possible. If you are going to embrace a Vegan lifestyle, you should reap all of the benefits. This means looking for some pick your own farms, which will allow you to pick your own produce at a significant savings. If you are only buying small batches of produce you will discover that it can quickly turn expensive. Purchasing larger supplies can provide you ample stock to enjoy fresh foods as well as allow you to can or freeze additional supplies to have for the off-season months.

A final suggestion to follow as you are getting started with Vegan cooking is to look for some great cooking classes designed to start teaching from the very basics. This will allow you to learn numerous ways to cook without the problem of your meals tasting plain and boring. If you are truly interested in exploring a delicious Vegan lifestyle then the cooking classes are something that you will have to venture into. An alternative to the classes would be to stop by a friend's house and get some cooking tips from them, this however is only effective if your friend is also a Vegan and can teach you some of the best tips and tricks for retaining flavor and producing delicious meals. Working to live a healthy lifestyle does not involve boring meals that you suffer through; rather with some practice you can create truly remarkable dishes.


 

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Indian Vegetarian Cooking

Indian food is a great choice when cooking vegetarian. Indians use a lot of vegetables, rice, and grains in their dishes which make them amazingly delicious as well as friendly for the vegetarian. The best thing about Indian vegetarian cooking is that it is so savory when it is done because of the spices that they use. You will find that the dishes smell great while they are cooking and taste great when you are eating.

Indian vegetarian cooking is actually quite easy, but it does take a lot of different spices that you may not have just sitting around your house. Coriander and curry is essential to Indian cooking, so you will want to find these two spices especially to add to your Indian vegetarian dishes. You will also need to have on hand some brown rice as well as some couscous since these are the main grains that are used in Indian recipes.

Here is one vegetarian Indian recipe that this writer found especially tasty and easy to make:

Creamy Spinach Soup (Palak Soup)

4 cups spinach leaves
2 cups water
1 onion chopped
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon fresh cream
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to season and taste

Wash the spinach leaves and discard the thick stems. Boil along with the water for 8 minutes or till the spinach is well cooked. Cool and puree in a blender. Keep aside.
Heat the butter in a pan. Add the chopped onions and saut on medium heat for 3 minutes or till the onions are transparent. Now, add the plain flour and fry briefly on low heat. Add the spinach puree, milk, salt and pepper. Simmer on low heat for 3 minutes. Add the fresh cream just before serving.

Try this vegetarian Indian recipe for a spicy alternative:

Pepper Mushroom Fry (Khumb Kali Mirch)
4  tablespoons oil
6  green chilies slit
1  tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2  medium onions chopped finely
1 pound button mushrooms quartered and blanched in hot salted water
1  teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/2  teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2  teaspoon red chili powder
1  teaspoon dry mint powder
1  teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) powdered
1  tablespoon cream
2  teaspoons lime juice
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the green chilies and ginger-garlic paste briefly. Add the chopped onions and fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes or till the onions are pink.

Add the mushrooms, crushed black pepper and the rest of the ingredients except for the cream, lime juice and salt. Stir-fry on high heat till it is well coated with the oil and looks glossy. Mix in the salt, cover and cook on medium / low heat for about 8 minutes or till the mushroom is cooked but not soggy.

Reduce the heat to low. Mix in the cream and lime juice. Remove from heat and keep covered for 2 minutes.

You will find that cooking great vegetarian Indian meals is not only fun, but it is delicious as well!


 

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