Eating gluten free (GF) doesn’t need to be overwhelming!

Are you always missing an ingredient for your next gluten free meal or you don’t know what to make? If I could teach you to keep these items in stock you can create many tasty gluten free meals. You can create breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks with the list below. Some imagination and creation can be helpful if you normally were to grab and make meals with food that comes out of a box or using directly from a can.

The list of 11 gluten free foods that I list are what I consider to be a gluten free staple. Meaning that these are or can be part of the main gluten free meal. So with the 11 gluten free foods listed and a few things that you may have in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer you can create many great gluten free meals for the whole family.

So lets take a look at the 11 gluten free foods.

1. Gluten free pasta is great to keep on hand because pasta can be made into many different dishes. Gluten free pasta comes in many shapes and in different grains such as brown rice, white rice, corn and tapioca to name a few. Gluten free pasta can become as simple as spaghetti, cold pasta salads, a casserole, homemade soups and many more dishes.

2. Rice is a very versatile grain and found around the world. Most often you will see white rice, brown rice, long grain rice and wild rice. Due to nutritional value I would suggest brown rice over white rice.

Rice can make many different dishes from Mexican to Chinese and everything in between. For an evening feeling like Chinese you can use fresh vegetables and saute to your liking and pair it up with your brown rice. Have you ever craved Mexican food? Well simple to create a Mexican rice dish and serve it with corn shelled tacos. Rice can also be made into sweet dishes and or used in soup.

3. Quinoa is a great source of protein that is actually comes from the nut family. Quinoa can be found in regular or in flakes. Quinoa can be made like a hot breakfast cereal, into a main meal, or done in a cold or warm salad. This very versatile gluten free food can become a part of your meal in just minutes.

Quinoa flakes can be uses in place of part of a gluten free flour. Experiment with the quinoa flakes in your muffins, waffles and cakes. Quinoa does have a slightly “nutty” flavor so use a portion of the quinoa flake to the gluten free flour.

4. Gluten free flours are needed for making breakfast items, coatings on meat, thickener in sauces, and of course our baked items. Getting a flour blend can be done by you purchasing 3-4 gluten free flours and creating your blend or if your not much of a baker it might be easier to purchase a gluten free flour blend as you wouldn’t use it up as fast. It may also depend on the space you have to store the flour too. To have the gluten free flour blend ready at all times makes it a lot easier when you come home and your in a hurry, this way it will be ready for you.

5. Fresh fruit and veggies are naturally gluten free! I find that you can add to many main meal dishes with many veggies if you have them on hand and fresh has more nutrients. So don’t put so much stress on yourself keep them on hand for that meat, potatoes and veggie meal or a simple stir fry with some brown rice, big salad of greens with many other vegetable and fruits on top is excellent also. Fruits can be made into a smoothie, added to waffles or pancakes or added to cereal for a great breakfast. Fruits make a great breakfast, snack, desert and add in to many dishes so having those on hand fills lots of spots in the GF meal area. Fruits and vegetables also have lots of fiber. Fiber is great for the colon and also make you feel full.

6. Nuts make a great snack and is also great to add great crunch to a lettuce salad or cold pasta salad. Favorites are almonds, walnuts and pecans but there are many more to pick from than the 3 listed. Nuts are most nutritious is eaten in the raw form and free of salt. Nuts can be made into a great trail mix to have when you are busy or ready to add to salad.

7. Bread is often missed by those that need to go gluten free for health reasons. The GF bread has come along way in the last few years and can be pretty tasty. Gluten free bread freezes well for those that don’t eat much bread may find it goes bad faster so by freezing the bread it will save you some money because you wont be throwing it out after it has sat on your counter for just a few days.

Gluten free bread is needed for not only a sandwich. How about french toast or toast in the morning with fruit or eggs, with any meal, bread crumbs are also needed for some dishes or coatings on meats.

8. Cereal that is GF can be very expensive but has also come along way in just a couple of years. If you go to the natural section of the grocery store or a specialty store you will pay good money for a smaller box of gluten free cereal. Now the cereals in the regular isle of the store also has some gluten free cereal choices such as Chex, Rice Crispies, and Pebbles. Also don’t forget about the hot cereals that are gluten free such as Cream of Rice, Cream of Buckwheat, Certified Oatmeal, Quinoa make great hot cereal too.

Cereal is also great to have on hand for coating meat, used in bars, added to trail mix, or just to eat as cereal.

9. Eggs are naturally GF and are necessary for many dishes so keep them in stock in your house. Eggs are used in muffins and cakes but you also need them for many main dish meals. So main dish in the morning could of course be eggs, meat and gluten free toast. Also could be and omelet, egg bake dish, Quiche and then in our baked goods.

10. Beans or legumes are a great source of fiber. Beans are often found in Mexican dishes but there are many other ways to use beans. Think of adding beans to a potatoes dish, green salad, casserole, Chili and soups.

11. Oils that are great to saute and cook in are extra virgin olive oil and Grapeseed oil. They are a healthy choice and taste great with veggies in a salad or sauté.

So you may be wondering why I don’t have meat or dairy on the list. Well for all the foods listed above you can make great meals out of them with or without meat and dairy. I encourage you to get creative if you have not tried some of the things listed as they can be made into some great tasting dishes and usually in a few minutes if you have them stored and ready to go.

About Nancy Olson

Nancy Olson is married and lives in Minnesota with her husband on a small farm.

Nancy has a passion to share what she has experienced or learned through her 17 years of illness prior to her diagnosis of Celiac disease in 2005. Since the diagnosis of Celiac disease she has learn a lot about a gluten free diet and Celiac disease. Nancy got very passionate about Celiac disease due to all the symptoms she was going through for those 17 years. Nancy will never be able to have children of her own due to female complication and misdiagnosis of Celiac disease, she believes it would have been different if caught earlier. Nancy got so malnourished that she often time need wheelchair or many break just to do grocery shopping due to losing most of the feeling in her extremities. Daily things were a challenge for Nancy as she kept looking for the answer and it seemed nobody had the answer but Nancy’s health kept failing more as time passed. Now Nancy loves to share here passion to help others

Nancy spreads awareness about Celiac disease when ever she can by being involved with Celiac organizations, fundraisers and community activities. Nancy leads two Celiac/Gluten Free support groups in central Minnesota.

Ok let’s get down to the nitty gritties of weight loss. Let’s start the very beginning, the very best place to start!: as Julie Andrews would sing.

Did you know that obesity is THE greatest public health problem of the 21st century. The GREATEST! It causes any number of long term medical conditions, an inability to work so therefore increasing poverty and increases the burden on taxpayers to pay for those who are unable to pay for themselves. It also reduces the length of one’s life by an average amount of nine years. Nine years! That is a whole lot of time that could be spent enjoying life with family, friends, seeing the world etc. For parents particularly, this is also affecting our children. Surely we need to take control of this aspect of our lives.

Now I recognize that some of you readers have a Body Mass Index of 19.5 – 24.5kg/m2 and so you may look on with self-righteous pity at the rest of us poor folk that struggle with our weight. I suppose you have a right to that (not that I have to like you for it), unless you are one of those that can eat whatever you like and not see any change in your weight, If you are – beware! It may yet catch up with you.

How common is it?

An organisation called Worldwatch did some research recently and found that more than 1.9 billion people worldwide were overweight. They also figured out that about 75% of all adults in rich countries (like ours!) were overweight or obese. I have to repeat that for emphasis – SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT! 3 out of every 4 people! That is astounding really. We defeat other epidemics like smallpox and then gain new ones, it would seem.

In the UK, the percentage of women who are obese has more than doubled in the time from 1980 – 1997. In 2009, almost a quarter of all adults in the UK were obese and a third of all women were overweight. 44% of men were overweight as well so they seem to even be worse off than we women are. I mean, being male is considered a risk factor in some diseases such as heart disease without adding an excess of fat into the mix.

What of our children? 30% of children aged between two and fifteen are overweight. 10% of those in reception year were obese! That is terrible! What chance do these littles have if they are already OBESE! Gosh we parents really need to pay a lot more attention to what we are exposing our little ones too. I definitely need this reminder so I KNOW I am far from perfect.

In the US, 33.8% of adults were obese in 2008 while a whopping 68% fell within the overweight and obese category! It is shocking really. The better off a nation is, the worse their eating habits tend to be.

Just to finish off on a positive note, this does not have to carry on, we are all masters of our ship and we can take the weight management steps required to change the path of humanity. Remember, every little helps!

So what is causing this epidemic of fat? How can we defeat it? Is it really as simple as ‘eat less, do more’? What do you all think?

Coumarin is a hydroxycinnamic acid and phytonutrient that has divided opinions in the health and fitness world. Some people believe it has great potential when it comes to human health whilst other people view it as a very dangerous substance. In this article I will be looking at coumarin in detail and examining the associated risks and health benefits.

1) DISCOVERY:

A.Vogel was the first person to isolate coumarin in 1820. In 1868 it was synthesised by William Henry Perkin.

2) HEALTH BENEFITS:

The health benefits of coumarin have yet to be fully confirmed but the early evidence is very promising. Coumarin may act as an analgesic (a substance that relieves pain), anticoagulant (a substance that stops the blood from clotting), anti-inflammatory (a substance that minimises unnecessary inflammation) and antiseptic (a substance that inhibits the growth of disease causing microorganisms).

It may also protect your body by preventing arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats), cancer (a health disorder where your cells grow in a rapid, out of control way), osteoporosis (reduced bone mineral density), the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), high blood pressure and asthma (a respiratory disorder which causes breathing difficulties). However, further studies are needed before these provisional health benefits can be confirmed.

3) RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE (RDA):

Coumarin is not classed as an essential nutrient so no official RDA has been established. However, due to the potential dangers associated with ingesting high levels of this nutrient, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.1 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of bodyweight.

4) FOOD SOURCES:

Coumarin can be sourced from a range of plant based foods but the exact amounts they contain are not known. Some of the best food sources of this hydroxycinnamic acid are apricots, cherries, cinnamon, strawberries and tonka beans.

5) OVERDOSE SYMPTOMS:

Natural coumarin sourced from plant based foods is believed to be safe. However, artificially adding this phytonutrient to other foods or products can be very harmful to your health and lead to bruising, excessive bleeding, kidney damage, liver damage and even lung cancer. It can also reduce the effectiveness of other blood thinning medications. To avoid these nasty effects make sure you avoid artificial coumarin, stick to natural food sources and limit your intake to the TDI of 0.1mg per kg of bodyweight.

6) SUMMARY:

There is still a lot to learn about the health benefits and health risks of coumarin. However, the studies that have been performed indicate that natural plant based sources of this phytonutrient are safe. So make sure you eat lots of fruits and vegetables to giver your body a healthy supply of this hydroxycinnamic acid.

Everyone knows that vitamins are the important nutrients to be included in our daily diet. Vitamins are effective and great sources for maintaining good skin health. Vitamins are the most effective and the best solution for aging. Several clinical studies have proved that vitamin B, C, D, E and K improve the overall health of skin and defy aging. Let us see the beneficial aspects of using vitamins to fight against aging signs.

Vitamin C – Vitamin C treats the flaws and blemishes of the skin caused due to sun exposure. Sun burns, wrinkles, crow feet, etc are caused due to excessive sun exposure. Free radical is a harmful substance in sun rays and pollutants which damages the skin. Free radicals clog the pores, gobble the collagen, and skin fiber facilitating even texture, which cause wrinkles and age spots. Vitamin C fixes the free radicals and associated skin damages. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits and tomatoes. It deeply penetrates the skin and treats the wrinkles, sun burns and also prevents from sun rays.

Vitamin E – Vitamin E is a rich source of anti-oxidants and it brings miraculous skin health. It is helpful in rejuvenating the skin and brings a natural, enduring glow to the skin. Vitamin E also help in replenishing the skin and makes it firmer, softer and silky. Further, it also keeps the skin hydrated. It is a known fact that moistened skin delays aging. Vitamin E is also good in healing the cuts and wounds on skin.

Vitamin D - Vitamin D is a natural source obtained from sun light exposure. It is the major element that determines the skin pigmentation. However, both over sun exposure and lack of sun exposure are harmful to health. Over exposure attracts toxins and results skin damages, whereas, lack of sun exposure results vitamin D deficiency, which is a major cause for developing several skin problems. Lack of sun exposure for a few days might result dark pigmented and dry skin with uneven skin texture. Sufficient amount of vitamin D can be obtained everyday by taking sun bath at least for 5 minutes daily.

Vitamin B – Vitamin B contains great properties that keep the skin hydrated. It brings the natural glow to the skin. Whole grain cereals, milk products, eggs, green vegetables are great sources of vitamin B.

Vitamin K – Vitamin K treats the dark circles under eye and gives an even, finer and smoother texture to the skin. It is found in leafy vegetables and meat.

Talk to your doctor about cholesterol and they will soon inform you that you must keep your cholesterol levels within the normal range. The reason, quite simply, is that a high cholesterol is an indication that you are at risk of heart disease.

Cholesterol is a wax-like substance present inside our body which helps in protecting our nerves, producing various hormones, and building cell tissues. The liver automatically produces the cholesterol that our body requires. Besides this, we also receive cholesterol from the food that we consume on a daily basis. Consumption of too much cholesterol exerts a negative impact on our overall health, and lead to heart diseases, such as stroke and heart attack. Thus, there is a constant need to lower cholesterol level in our body.

When a person has excessive cholesterol, it gets stored in the arteries, which carry blood to the different parts of the body from the heart. This buildup, known as plaque, accumulates over time and restricts the blood flow in the arteries. Sometimes, the deposit increases to such a high level that it completely blocks the artery. If any artery in the body gets blocked, it can lead to heart attack. Similarly, blockage of artery supplying blood to the brain can result in stroke.

How Often Should I Get My Cholesterol Checked?

There is no way to find out if you have high level of cholesterol in your body without getting it checked. A simple blood test called lipid panel is used for checking the cholesterol level.

All adults over the age of 20 years should get their cholesterol levels checked after a gap of 5 years. In case you found the level to be high or you have any risk factors that can cause heart diseases, you should get it checked more often.

The normal cholesterol level for an average person is below 200. If it lies between 200 and 239, it is considered to be borderline high, whereas over 240 means that you are at the risk of heart problems.

What Should I Do to Lower My Cholesterol?

If you suffer from the problem of high cholesterol, it is extremely important for you to make certain lifestyle changes immediately to lower cholesterol. For instance, if you are a smoker, give up smoking completely. Make sure to do some exercises regularly.

Work on changing your diet: if you are overweight, losing five or ten pounds will help you bring down your cholesterol levels considerably. Eat the right kind of diet and include lots of vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains as they are good for our heart health. Avoid consumption of trans-fats and saturated fats that contribute greatly to increase our cholesterol level. Make sure that your overall intake of cholesterol is below 300 milligrams in a day and less than 200 milligrams if you already suffer from any kind of heart ailment.

So, if you want to stay away from heart diseases, make sure that you lower cholesterol level in your body to below 200, and follow the right diet to maintain this level.

Talk to any reformed addict and they will tell you that beating a substance abuse addiction is the toughest thing they will ever undergo. That almost everything they cared about was destroyed throughout the journey, and the major challenge they faced was having to truly acknowledge the harm they were doing to themselves and others around them. While this is a major battle, it is one worth beating.

No addiction starts overnight, and when making a decision to stop, a person will need all the help and support they can get. Many fail to successfully stop their destructive habits that they have been bound to for years because they are unable to overcome the feeling that they need to numb oneself (which is the common underlying reason someone abuses drugs and alcohol).

This is the major downfall of traditional rehab programs – they do not extend the properly level of treatment needed to break the person’s self-destructive cycle. Group therapy rarely is ever enough to help a person with long-term sobriety. Because of this, many who have failed past attempts to heal are now turning to other forms of treatments, including alternative rehab solutions. When investigating the possibilities it is easy to see that there are a lot of different types of solutions available; much more than the average person might think. Quality help is not hard to find and is really up to serious a person is to change and their level of dedication.

Like anything in life, smart choices from the beginning often determine the difference between failure and success. Unfortunately, the latter is not found in typical 12 step programs for the masses. While variations of 12 step treatment are the most popular in today’s culture, it has some of the lowest success rates for long-term sobriety. Because of this, people are starting to take notice of other excellent options that have worked well for others; hoping for similar results.

For the ones who have found success the type of changes are nothing short of amazing. It takes an untold level of dedication to stick with a non 12 step program. Reason being is that they are not quick in and out 28 day treatment. Months are devoted to helping the addict with detox and life improvement programs applied; and when fully completed the result shows all the effort was worth it.

The best efforts always pay off if you use a smart strategy. No addiction is easy to face down and it is understandable why so many fail. However it is important to know that with the right resources on your side it is possible to successfully get one’s life back on track. When an attempt fails, whatever you do don’t give up. Keep the goal in the forefront of your mind and keep trying different solutions until you arrive.

Erectile dysfunction is quite a common sexual problem among men. Read further to learn more about Viagra, the first prescription medication for impotence by Pfizer.

Men around the world have problems in their sex life, which usually arise as a result of sexual problems that they are facing. All men, at least once in their lifetime, are known to suffer from some or the other sexual problem. Some of these sexual problems that are commonly known to affect men include erectile dysfunction or impotence, premature ejaculation or rapid ejaculation, lack of sexual desire and problems related to orgasm. Erectile dysfunction or impotence, as it is commonly known as, is one of the most common sexual problems experienced by men. It is a condition, in which a man has problems achieving or maintaining erections long enough for a satisfactory sexual intercourse. Men suffering from such sexual problems are often embarrassed by their condition and suffer in their relationships as well.

What is Viagra?

Men, in earlier times struggled to deal with this sexual problem, but now plenty of treatment options are available for treating impotence. Viagra is one of these treatment options, which was the first drug to be introduced as an impotence treatment. It is manufactured by Pfizer, and was initially to be used as a treatment for men suffering from blood pressure problems. But during the clinical trials, it was observed that the active ingredient of Viagra, sildenafil citrate, helped men with erectile problems. It was then that the pill was introduced as the first impotence treatment. Viagra has since then helped millions of men in treating their erectile problems. Many men are known to use this pill for increasing their sexual desire or libido, which is not correct.

You should avoid using this pill if you are not suffering from erectile dysfunction for a prolonged period of time. This pill should only be used when you are sexually stimulated, as otherwise it will not be that effective. This pill is available in the dosage strengths of 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg, which can be prescribed to you based on the severity of the condition. This pill, with the help of its active ingredient, works by relaxing the corpora cavernosa muscles and increasing the blood flow in your penis. When the blood flow in your penis increases, it allows you to achieve better and longer erections than before.

How to take Viagra? What are the side effects of Viagra?

You are supposed to take one Viagra sildenafil pill along with a glass of water, before or after meal, at least 30 to 60 minutes before you engage in sexual activity. The pill is effective for four hours after you take the pill, but you need to be careful not to take more than one pill within a span of 24 hours. This pill can be taken by men who are 18 years of age or above, but should be avoided by men who are suffering from certain health conditions such as severe heart disorders or failure, recent heart attack or stroke, low blood pressure, severe liver dysfunction, severe kidney dysfunction, hereditary of the back of the eyeball, rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance. Some of the side effects that you can experience while using this pill include headache, facial flushing, upset stomach, nasal congestion, dizziness and bladder pain.

source Forget erectile problems with Viagra

Anyone who has man boobs knows how depressing it can be because it can lead to a lack of confidence and a heightened sense of awareness about your appearance. It is said to be caused by too much estrogen in the body and lower testosterone levels, so losing weight may not necessarily help you lose your man boobs, but it is still trying to lose weight to see if this does help.

There are lots of exercises you can do to try and lose weight and get rid of your man boobs. For a start you should try and do lots of cardio work. In other words physical exercise that will make you out of breath.

The more strenuous the exercise, the more fat you will burn. So you want to be doing exercises such as running and cycling. Swimming is also another great way to lose weight, but if you are really self-conscious about your man boobs, I appreciate that this may not necessarily appeal to you. If these activities all sound a little boring, then you could consider taking part in physical sports such as tennis and football, which will also help you burn fat.

Once you start losing weight and hopefully reducing the size of your man boobs, you can then start thinking about shaping your chest and making it appear more muscular. Two great exercises for this are press ups and bench presses.

Press ups are a simple exercise to perform and you can do them anywhere, so there are no excuses. You should start off slowly, doing say two lots of ten press ups, and increasing the number every day, or preferably every other day (to allow your muscles to recover).

Bench presses are usually performed in the gym as their require a barbell and weights, but you can of course buy this equipment yourself and do them from them. This exercise, where you lie on your back and push the barbell upwards until your arms are extended is another great chest exercise that will give you increased definition.

However I want to emphasise that no specific exercise is going to help you lose your man boobs. You really do need to try and lose weight doing lots of cardio work so that you are no longer overweight. Then you can start working on your chest muscles to give them definition.

If this doesn’t work then you should try talking to your doctor because they may be able to help you with some kind of hormone treatment. Otherwise there are supplements you can try, and as a last resort you can always elect to have surgery to have the excess fat removed. However for a lot of people simply losing weight by doing lots of exercise will be enough to get rid of man boobs, or at least make them less noticeable.