Cooking World

Theoretically, the person should eat just as much as required to him. Thus in a real life the size of our helpings often depends on external circumstances, social and cultural norms. Dieticians from Harvard University advise to divide food into portions, being guided by nutritional value, instead of the size.

It is connected to that, that in a shop or restaurant we are frequently offered too big portions. In result, we often eat two - three times more, than we need. According to researches, the average person could satisfied with smaller amount of meal, if he was not surrounded with too big portions. It is proved, the more meal before the person, the more he or she eats.

Here are some more recommendations:
- Learn to have a good eye for needed personally for you portions of habitual food.
- Get rid of the big plates and bowls. Use small bowls for dry breakfasts and small plates for a dinner.
- Keep up with portions when eat at home. To avoid temptation to put second helping, do not put a saucepan or a frying pan with meal on a lunch table.
- Eat regularly. If you wait, when you get hungry, overeating is almost inevitable.
- Try to not use “smorgasbord”. Instead of a dinner, order at a restaurant low-fat snack and salad with sauce.

Everybody knows that some products have salutary influence upon our organism. And one of them should be used in small amounts, and others on the contrary, in small dozes do not have any influence. One should be taken in the winter, and others - in the summer.

And the first product, which is strongly recommend to be added into a daily diet, is ginger.

For many people ginger is something exotic and unusual because it originates from Southeast Asia and Western India. By the way, India gives 100 thousand tons (half of world production).

Into the market ginger comes as pieces of rhizomes, ground, candied, covered with chocolate and as an extract for ginger beer. It is well combined with other spices and is a part of “curry”. Ginger is added in light premium beer.

Ginger is vitamin-rich C, В1, В2 and A, salts of magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium and zinc. Its spicy and tart aroma is caused by volatile oils contained in it (1,2-3 %). Besides, ginger contains all irreplaceable amino acids, including tryptophan, threonine, methionine, valine, etc.

All these chemical elements contained in ginger, improve digestion, stimulate secretion of digestive juices.

On its therapeutic action ginger is sudorific, soothing, expectoration and antiemetic agent. It feeds all tissues. The newest researches specify extremely favorable ginger’s influence on a stomach, digestive and respiratory systems. Ginger makes food light and digestible and gives it slightly spicy taste. It is used for elimination of harmful action of animal poisons.

All these miracle ginger’s properties are caused by a plenty of the biological “fire” managing metabolism. Regular eating of ginger in small amounts increases internal heat, wakening appetite and stimulating digestion, warming a stomach and blood. It is especially useful in cold weather and in a cold climate.

Ginger is used as an extract, broth, a powder (250-500 mg) in the medical purposes. It is recommended at cold, flu, indigestion, vomiting, eructation, abdominal pains. It lowers level of cholesterol in blood. In east medicine it is considered, that ginger strengthens memory, opens obstruction in a liver, softens an organism, removes dense and crude matters from brain and larynx. In India ginger tea with a lemon is the most popular winter drink.
By the way, I would recommend you to try too to boil ginger slices: 10-20 g for a cup. Add there a little mint, balm or other herbs, some lemon to taste and you will receive a nice drink, which tones up and refreshes in the morning much better, than coffee.

Well, we shall continue to view ginger properties. Ginger is the best remedy for toxins. You can learn, whether there is a surplus of harmful substances in your organism by the following signs:

Weight in a stomach and flabbiness;
Quick weariness and feeling of irritation;
Absence of shine in eyes, and the skin has faded color;
Unpleasant smell from a mouth;
Absence of appetite.

If you feel something from the listed signs, it is possible, that one of the reasons of the given state of health is surplus of toxins or undigested products which poison all your organism and lead to various illnesses.

Ginger tea, which is useful to everybody, will help you to return appetite, good mood, fresh complexion and clearness of eyes. It strengthens digestion, neutralizes toxins in a stomach and helps to digest. It should be sipped slowly in breaks between food intakes.

Among other things, ginger tea is a nice natural remedy for cold. It treats for scratchy throat, cough, cold, lung congestion and bronchial obstruction. If your throat is sensitive to irritation, ginger is used together with honey and almond oil.

The traditional French diet differs by its simplicity, in has not that refinement, propagandized by French restaurants.

The Frenchmen, as well as other nations, are inclined to fat, but it happens because they refuse the traditional meal to please dynamic rhythm of a life, advertising, etc. So, what distinguishes the traditional French feed system?

1. Freshness. Diet includes many fresh products, many fresh high-quality vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices which make dishes tasty, not adding superfluous calories.

2. Equilibration. It is possible to tell, that each food intake includes products of all food groups (fruits-vegetables, bread, fish-meat, oils, etc.). The French diet is rich with useful fats. It has a lot of olive oil and butter. The Frenchmen are not tormented by a question of fats in their diet of, they also do not abuse bad fats: margarine and hydrogenated fat.

3. Moderation. Perhaps, this is the most important, that we can borrow. It is achieved due to small portions. The Frenchmen eat everything: and even desserts are not forbidden.

4. Pleasure from meal. The Frenchmen are able to take pleasure in process of eating. They chew thoroughly and do not hasten. The Frenchmen never eat in front of the TV. During the meal they are concentrated only on meal.

5. Eating at home. The Frenchmen prefer to eat at home, thus, it is easier to control quality of products and food. Americans, preferring to eat out of door, suffer then from surplus fat in dishes and huge helpings.

6. An active way of life. The Frenchmen live fast, like to walk much. They are frequently forced to do it for the reason that in the old city centers it is difficult to find a parking slot. But there are advantages to health and a figure.

In general, that we should borrow from the French diet is a skill to take pleasure in meal, small portions, a fruits-vegetable variety, and also an active way of life and positive approach to life.

The longest apple diet is meant for a week. Here is kept the principle of three-day diet - the source of protein is obligatory. It can be again meat, fish or white-egg. Only in this case their portions are increase twice equally. You should eat about 200 g of meat a day, fish - up to 300 g. An adequate replacement of it will be two egg whites. They should be eaten in two takings: it’d be better, if they are eaten during a lunch and afternoon snack.

Crude vegetables are also added into a diet. Each day you should eat two carrots, with which may be replaced with a glass of carrots juice, and one tomato.

As to the apples, their amount is unlimited. The only remark: it is more useful to eat sweet or sweet-sour varieties. Just sour apples do not do for long-term diets.

Three fasting days is a longer variant of a diet. In this case proteins are needed: fish, meat or white-egg. Every day you should choose something one, it is not recommended to mix these products.

If the question is about meat, you are allowed to eat about 100 g a day. The best choice is a boiled “lean” beef. Chicken will also be well. They contains almost the same quantity of fat.
If to speak about fish, it is better to choose sea fish. The helping should not exceed 150 g.

If you choose white-egg, you can eat only one white-egg. The best time for albuminous food is during the lunch. Two hours prior to sleep you can drink a glass of kefir or curdled milk. All the rest time you should eat apples, which amount is not limited.

As to water intake schedule, it is strict enough. You are allowed to drink only usual mineral water - 2-2,5 liters a day.

The simplest variant of an apple diet is fasting days. They may be 1-2 times a week. For a day it is allowed to eat about one and a half kg of apples. You may drink not aerated mineral water and not strong tea - black or green. You should drink not less than two liters of liquid a day.

For many people this diet is too severe. The point is that apples stimulate appetite. Therefore more often they are combined with some other product.

Kefir is nice choice. You can drink up to a liter a day. The most important thing is that the interval between the kefir and apples can not be less than an hour.

The second product, which is well combined with apples, is honey. You may eat about three teaspoons - in the morning, in the afternoon and about 6 one o’clock in the evening. Thus the water schedule remains the same - not less than two liters a day.

Apple - the most widespread and accessible fruit. At the height of an apple season, you may take advantage of some variants of apple-based diets. Choose to the taste.

Apples are an ideal basis for a diet. They contain vitamins, microelements and digestion improving matters. However, apple diets are useful not for everyone.

First of all, restrictions concern those who have problems with a stomach and bowels. For example, women, suffering from stomach ulcer, gastritis with acidity biliary dyskinesia, are not to it sour varieties of apples. But they can afford sweet or baked apples. People with insufficient gastric juice secretion, on the contrary, should eat more sour apples.

Highly allergic people should be very cautious, and it is unimportant, how exactly declare itself an illness - by skin reactions or an asthma. In any case these people should give preference to green apples - orange fruits can cause an aggravation.

Eating an apple 15 minutes before dinner, the person consumes less calories, than without an apple, has shown new research of the American scientists.

Experts from University of Pennsylvania (USA) have conducted a research how apples consumption influences assimilation of calories.

Participants who have eaten just an apple, consumed 187 calories less, than those who has eaten other apple products, such as apple sauce, juice or nothing at all.

“These facts indicate that consumption of fruit before meal can be an excellent way out for lowering of assimilation of calories”, - said the research assistant from University of Pennsylvania Julia Flud.

Professor of dietology from University of Pennsylvania Barbara Rolls says that these openings confirm, that such low-calorie dishes as soup, salad or fruits eaten in the beginning of meal, lead to that you eat less.