20 Snacks To Kick-Start Energy

Snacks that balance the three main sources of energy help maintain an overall healthy and more energetic body.

Three main sources of energy in the human body are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Carbohydrates make up a little over half the energy source. They are in the form of starches and sugars. The brain needs carbohydrates for energy as it cannot use fat as a source of energy. The muscles use carbohydrates for their main fuel.
A wide variety in your diet can greatly affect your energy levels. Eating a balanced diet with a variety of different types of carbohydrates not only can help with weight regulation, it can boost your energy levels and help you maintain peak condition body health.

Here are twenty snack ideas that can boost your energy.
1.Fruits: Fruit has natural sugars that are a source of energy. It also adds fiber and a feeling of fullness so that you eat less in the long run. Apples, oranges and bananas are good examples.
2.Yogurt: Yogurt is highly nutritious and has good levels of protein and carbohydrates for energy. It also contains some bacteria that are good for intestinal health. There are plain types of yogurt as well as low fat and yogurt with fruit added.
3.Vegetables: Vegetables contain natural sugars that are a good source of energy. Energy efficiency is partially based on good cell conditions. The antioxidants in vegetables help maintain good cell conditions, as they help get rid of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that can damage cells. Carrots, celery and cucumbers are good examples.
4.Nuts: Nuts such as almonds, pistachios and cashews can give you a boost of energy. Nuts are high in all three forms (carbohydrate, protein and fat) of energy sources. They also have antibiotic properties that help the immune system.
5.Pumpkin Seeds: Seeds have antibiotic properties. Pumpkin seeds are no exception. Like nuts, they have high levels of carbohydrates, protein and fat.
6.Cereal: Cereal contains grains which in turn have high levels of carbohydrates including fiber good for intestinal health. Milkwith cereal adds additional benefits such as vitamins and nutrients. There are many different types of cereal and looking at the nutritional data on the box will help decide which will best work for you.
 7.Energy Bars: There are plenty of commercial energy bars on the market that help boost energy. These contain carbohydrates, fat and protein for energy. Choose your favorite flavor and type from the many that are available.

8.Crackers with peanut butter: Crackers spread with peanut butter are high in the sources of energy. Peanut butter comes from peanuts which in turn are legumes related to beans. Most of the energy in peanut butter comes from fats and proteins.
9.Bagel: Bagels, made from flour and yeast give you a boost of energy especially if a spread such as peanut butter or fruit topping is added. Since they contain flour, they are likely to contain high levels of carbohydrates.
10.Rice cakes: Rice cakes are made from a special mixture of rices and sometimes puffed wheat. The rice mixture would have high levels of carbohydrates and protein, making rice cakes a good choice of snack for an energy boost. There are many different varieties to choose.
11.Soup: There are many different types of soup including basic soups such as chicken noodle soups and vegetable soups. The amount of energy in soup varies as the ingredients vary but soups that have a good balance of meat (protein source) and vegetables (carbohydrates) are best for energy snacks.
12.Cheese: Most of the energy from cheese comes from fat and protein but these are needed for tissue repair. One slice of cheese is about one serving.
13.Trail mix: Trail mix is a mix of nuts and dried fruits. Dried fruits contain most of the benefits of fruit but it's portable so you can carry it around.
14.Orange juice: A glass of orange juice is much like eating an orange. Most orange juices have things added so they contain much more energy boosting ability.
15.Egg sandwich: Eggs have protein and the bread used have high levelss of carbohydrates.
16.Cottage cheese: The milk content of cottage cheese provides protein and added vitamins and minerals needed for health.
17.Oatmeal: Oatmeal comes from processing oats which are a grain. Grains have high levels of carbohydrates thus provide lots of energy.
18.Tomato sandwich: The tomato sandwich is an ideal energy boosting snack. A vegetable combined with bread is a good source of carbohydrates. Adding lettuce adds fiber and taste.
19.Tomato juice or other mixed tomato drink: Tomato juice, much like orange juice provides nutrients, minerals and other energy boosting ingredients. A mixed tomato drink, mixed with other vegetables and fruit that may include but not limited to carrots, pineapple and celery.
20.Salad: A salad has fiber (a carbohydrate used for intestinal health) and has a wide variety of tastes depending on what is added.

 http://www.essortment.com/20-snacks-kick-start-energy-63206.html

Veggie and fruits HUMORs

The fire was caused by lap top in the bed.

A well known family in Mequon  lost their 25 year old son (Arun Gopal Ratnam) in a fire at home  June 4th.
This is what happened.
He graduated with MBA  from University of Wisconsin-Madison
two weeks earlier and  came home.
Had a lunch with his dad at home and decided to  go back to clean up his room at school.
Father told him to  wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days.
He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come  home from work.
Neighbors called 911 when they saw black  smoke coming out of the house.
Their 25 year old son Arun  died
in the three year old house.
It took several days  of investigation
to find out the cause of the fire.
It  was determined that the fire was caused by lap top in the bed.  When the lap top is on the bed  cooling fan does not get air to cool the computer and that is  what caused the fire. Uneven surface of the bedsheets has blocked  the air intake vent below the CPU fan.
When the laptop is  placed on a flat surface i.e. on desk/table, there is a gap  between the desk surface and the base of the casing to allow air  to flow/suck in through the air intake vent by the CPU fan to  cool the CPU.

He did not even wake up to get  out of the bed he died of carbon monoxide (CO).
The reason  I'm writing this to all of you is that I have seen all of us  using our lap top in bed.
Let us all decide and make it a  practice not to do that.
Risk is real.

Let us make it a  rule not  to use lap top in bed or put computer on bed with blankets and  pillows around.

mung beans

These mung beans are still covered with their green skins. You can grow your own bean sprouts by soaking the mung beans in cold water. Keep the soaked beans in a cool place. The root will start to sprout within a couple of days.

Vietnamese rice paper rolls

Vietnamese rice paper rolls
Serves: 12 Time to make: 30 mins

Ingredients
2 x 100g packets vermicelli bean thread noodles

1 large (200g) red capsicum, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced 2

 medium (200g) carrots, peeled, coarsely grated

1 1/2 cups chopped snow pea sprouts

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 fresh long red chilli, finely chopped 4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely grated

 2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce

2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)

12 x 22cm round rice paper sheets sweet chilli sauce to serve, for dipping

Instructions

Instructions and steps:

Step 1 Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for 2 minutes or until softened.

Step 2 Drain noodles. Use kitchen scissors to cut into smaller lengths (this will make the noodle mixture easier to combine and divide among rice paper sheets).

Step 3 Add remaining ingredients (except rice paper sheets and chilli sauce). Toss to combine.

Step 4 Using one sheet of rice paper at a time, dip into a bowl of hot water and soak for 30 seconds or until pliable. Place on a clean chopping board or tea towel. Place some of the noodle mixture below the halfway mark of the round, leaving an edge, and fold in both sides. Securely fold the bottom edge over the filling to enclose, then carefully roll to the end. Repeat with remaining rice paper sheets and filling.

Step 5 Arrange on a large serving platter. Serve with sweet chilli sauce. Variations

•Wasabi chicken: Omit capsicum from recipe.
Place 250g skinless chicken breast fillet in a frying pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Poach, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Shred. Add to noodle mixture with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and 2 teaspoons wasabi paste.

 •Nori and teriyaki beef: Omit capsicum from recipe.
Place 200g sirloin steak in a glass dish. Pour over 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and add garlic and just 1 tablespoon salt-reduced soy sauce from ingredients list. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spray beef with cooking oil. Cook for 3 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Thinly slice and add to noodle mixture with 2 tablespoons quality whole-egg mayonnaise and 1 shredded dried seaweed (nori) sheet.

•Ginger and soy pork: Omit capsicum from recipe.

Place 200g pork fillet in a glass dish. Combine 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce and pour over pork, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat a chargrill over medium-high heat. Spray pork with cooking oil and grill, turning, for 8-10 minutes or until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes. Thinly slice across the grain. Add to noodle mixture.

•Basil and prawn: Omit coriander from recipe. Add 1/3 cup shredded basil leaves to noodle mixture. Shell and devein 18 medium cooked prawns. Cut in half horizontally. Place 3 halves on top of noodle mixture in Step 3. For great results:

•The secret of success is to be well organised. Start with a clean bench and have all the equipment out that you will need.

•Rice paper sheets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can purchase 16cm or 22cm round rice paper sheets as well as square rice paper sheets. They are available from the Asian grocery section of your supermarket or any Asian grocery store.

•Nuts such as finely chopped cashews and slivered almonds are great to add to filling ingredients. Other ingredients that can be used in rice paper roll fillings include avocado, bean sprouts, mint leaves, shredded cabbage and shredded lettuce.

 http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2008/january/vietnamese-rice-paper-rolls

Athletes need more protein

Athletes need more protein .

By Rose Carr,Sharon Natoli

There has been a lot of research done on the protein needs of athletes.

Some sportspeople have double the protein needs of less active people because of increased protein requirements for muscle building and a higher use of protein for energy. However, recommendations vary for different sports. For those doing strength training, like body-builders, it's been found that more protein is needed in the early stages of training, but the body adapts over time.

Once the athlete is well-trained, maintenance levels of protein are not that much more than for generally active people.

Guidelines for athletes: what you need
These are expressed in grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg per day):

•For strength training the recommendation is to consume around 1.6-1.7g/kg protein per day.

•Endurance athletes (eg marathon runners) need around 1.2-1.4g/kg protein per day.

•For adolescent athletes who are growing as well as training, the recommendation is 2g/kg protein per day. Compare this to the mean levels by different age groups in the National Nutrition Survey: for women the means ranged from 0.9 to 1.2g/kg per day; and for men the range was from 1.1 to 1.5g/kg per day.

For both men and women the highest levels were in the younger age groups and the lower levels in the older age groups, reflecting the lower amounts of energy consumed as we age. Athletes sometimes believe they need a lot more protein than they actually do, but eating a high-protein diet (more than 2g/kg per day) does not increase muscle mass or strength. F

or an 80kg athlete a maximum of 160g of protein per day is recommended (and generally less). This can easily be obtained from a daily intake of 3-4 serves of meat products, 3 serves of dairy, 6 serves of breads and cereals, 1 serve of legumes and 1 serve of nuts.

http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/articles/2006/october/athletes-need-more-protein

Leave the Poop-Scooping to the Pros

Leave the Poop-Scooping to the Pros The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deemed pet waste a “nonpoint source of pollution” in 1991, which put poop in the same category as oil and toxic chemicals! Far from Fertilizer Woof-woof waste does not a good fertilizer make. It is actually toxic to your lawn, causing burns and unsightly discoloring. Beyond your grass, it has been estimated that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans. EPA even estimates that two or three days’ worth of droppings from a population of about 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it, to swimming and shell fishing. Dog feces are one of the most common carriers of the following diseases: Heartworms Whipworms Hookworms Roundworms Tapeworms Parvo Corona Giardiasis Salmonellosis Cryptosporidiosis Campylobacteriosis For example, in the Four Mile Run watershed in Northern Virginia, a dog population of 11,400 is estimated to contribute about 5,000 pounds of solid waste every day and has been identified as a major contributor of bacteria to the stream. Nearly 500 fecal coliform samples have been taken from Four Mile Run and its tributaries since 1990, and about 50 percent of these samples have exceeded the Virginia State water quality standard for fecal coliform bacteria, according to EPA. Why all this fanfare for feces, you may ask? Well, EPA explains that the decay of your pet’s waste actually creates nutrients for weeds and algae that grow in the waterways. As these organisms thrive on your dog’s droppings, they overtake the water in a “Little Shop of Horrors-esque” manner, and limit the amount of light that can penetrate the water’s surface. As a result, oxygen levels in the water decrease, and the fish and seafood we eat can be asphyxiated, EPA says. A Toxic Cycle If you aren’t worried about the state of your local waterways, you may be a bit more concerned about the impact of dog waste a little closer to home. The thing about persistently disposing of stools improperly (or not at all) is that it kicks off a harmful cycle that can affect your whole family—including your pet. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pet droppings can contribute to diseases animals pass to humans, called zoonoses. When infected dog poop is deposited on your lawn, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can linger in your soil for years. Anyone who comes into contact with that soil—be it through gardening, playing sports, walking barefoot or any other means—runs the risk of coming into contact with those eggs; especially your dog. Some of the hard-to-pronounce parasites your lawn could harbor include Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Salmonella, as well as hookworms, ringworms and tapeworms. Infections from these bugs often cause fever, muscle aches, headache, vomiting, and diarrhea in humans. Children are most susceptible, since they often play in the dirt and put things in their mouths or eyes. What You Can Do If you are far too harried to keep vigilant watch over your dog’s leftovers, you may want to hire a pooper-scooper company to manage the dog waste. EPA discovered from a survey that 40 percent of the people who live in the area immediately surrounding the Chesapeake Bay—which experienced significant pollution throughout much of the 1990s—did not pick up after their dogs because it was “too much work.” Others neglected to do so because they assumed it eventually goes away, or because the dog deposited the feces in an area far from the water, such as in the owner’s yard or in the woods. For all of these reasons, EPA says, “The reluctance of many residents to handle dog waste is the biggest limitation to controlling pet waste.” So, in essence, the cycle begins and ends with you. In the instance of the Chesapeake Bay survey, 44 percent of dog walkers who did not pick up after their dogs indicated they would still refuse to pick up—even if confronted by complaints from neighbors, threatened with fines, or provided with more sanitary and convenient options for retrieving and disposing of dog waste. Perhaps if they knew there were services designed to put poop at their disposal, they would not let Rover’s relief become their neighbors’ nuisance. Sources Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Whole Earth magazine, Spring 1999 Excerpted from Let it Rot!: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting, Stu Campbell. Third edition, 1998. 153 PP. Storey Books. http://doodycalls.com/resources_toxic_dog_waste.asp