Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Fresh Fruit Muesli Breakfast/ Mic Dejun cu Fructe Proaspete si Cereale

Serves 2
Ingredients
8 oz fresh fruit (honey dew and apple)
2 Tbsp oatmeal flakes, presoaked
2 Tbsp water
raisins
Preparation
Wash the fresh fruit and chop or slice. Mix the oatmeal flakes with water for 1 minute, then add over the fruits as well as the raisins.

Detox Essentials Tips
Daily
*Drink a glass of hot water with squeezed lemon juice, in the morning before eating.
*Eat dried fruits as snacks
*Eat a clove of garlic in your food
*Eat minimum 3 meals a day
*Drink a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of honey

Very important don't skip breakfast!!! If you miss it you might feel tired and you cannot concentrate. Breakfast starts your metabolism working, so feed it with a combinations of antioxidant vitamins, and protein.

Potatoes with Onions/ Cartofi Rantaliti

Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes
1 medium onion
2 Tbls oil
1 Tbls paprika
salt for taste
parsley optional
Preparation
Boil the potatoes, peel and grind big. Saute the onion in oil, when its all clear add paprika , the potatoes and salt for taste. Are great to be served with pickles next to steak or pork dish.

Strawberry Honey Salad / Salata de Capsuni

Ingredients
Salad
1/2 Head of lettuce
1/2 cucumber
1/4 cup green onions
1/3 cup strawberries
Dressing
- 2 Tbls liquid honey
- 1 Tbls vegetable oil
- 1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
Preparation
Cut the lettuce, slice thin the cucumber, onion and strawberries. Mix well the honey with vegetables oil and balsamic vinegar. Add dressing over salad only when its served.

Crepes / Clatite

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 Tbls sugar
1 cup milk
vanilla extract
orange pill skin
oil
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, orange pill. Gradually add in the flour and milk stirring to combine. Heat the pan, add 1 teaspoon oil at every second crepes, use a spatula to turn the crepes on the other side. Serve hot fill with fruit jam, especial apricot or peach.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce / Spaghete cu Sos de Rosii

Ingredients
pasta - spaghetti
2 pounds meat (all sorts of left over meats: sausages, salami, chicken breast)
1 white onion
1 green pepper
5 shiitake mushroom
2 garlic cloves minced
6 tomatoes
chicken broth
1 tsp Tabasco hot sauce
oil, salt, pepper, oregano
Preparation
Saute the onion in oil, add green pepper, mushrooms, garlic when cooked add the meat cut in cubes leave to cook for 3 minutes then add the tomatoes, oregano, Tabasco sauce. Let it cooked until the tomatoes get smoother then add the broth , salt pepper and let cook for 15 minutes.
Serve over boiled pasta.

Cantaloupe Smoothie

Makes 1 cup of low fat vitamin-rich drink
Ingredients
½ cantaloupe
1 banana
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
¼ plain nonfat yogurt
1 Tbl oatmeal flakes
Preparation
Peel and cut into chunks the cantaloupe and banana.
In a blender, combine the cantaloupe, banana, orange juice, yogurt and the presoaked oatmeal flakes. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Fish Steamed in Soy Sauce/ Peste Innabusit cu Sos de Soia

Ingredients
4-6 Tilapia fillets
1 tsp chopped ginger root
shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp chili pepper
1 Tbls chopped green onion
1 tsp garlic
vegetable oil
soy sauce
broth
Preparation
Chop the mushrooms into thin slices. Finely chop the ginger, slice the green onion garlic and chili pepper.
Sprinkle chopped ginger and mushroom on fish and cook in steamer for 20 minutes.
After its been cooked top the fish with the steamed chopped mushroom, chili pepper, green onion and garlic.
Bring to a boil vegetable oil, soy sauce, and broth. Pour onto fish and serve with rice.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Detox your body

A few things to choose from that will help detoxify:
Breakfast
* One boiled or poached egg with one slice of whole-wheat bread
*Homemade muesli with live yogurt or apple juice
*Live yogurt sprinkle with ground seeds, and fruits as berries, apple, pear, papaya or pineapple
Snacks
*Fresh fruit
*Half an avocado
*Rice with banana
Lunch
*Oily fish with green salad
*Organic poultry with green salad
*Grains with stir-fried vegetables as tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots.
Dinner
*Baked potato - no more then 3 times a week
*Grains with steamed vegetables which are all rich in antioxidants and plant nutrients (tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers)
Dessert
*Berries with live yogurt
*Papaya or pineapple with yogurt
*Baked apple or pear
Things to do
Cut down on caffeine, alcohol, carbohydrates.
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Drink more water.
Start exercising.
Keep a food diary.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Cabbage à la Cluj/ Varza à la Cluj

Varza à la Cluj is a Transylvania style cabbage dish, almost as popular as stuffed cabbage, similar in taste but faster to be cooked.
Ingredients
1 sauerkraut or fresh cabbage
1 onion
2 pounds minced pork meat
4 Tbs grease or oil
1 cup sour cream
½ cup rice
salt
black pepper
dill
Preparation
Saute the onion in the grease, add the meat, salt, black pepper, from time to time add a spoon of water, this it will smother it down. Separately saute the chopped cabbage, add some salt and black pepper. Boil the rice in salty water. Coat the pot walls with grease (or oil), then create layers of cabbage, rice, meat and sour cream. Repeat this until all the ingredients are over and make sure you put a last layer of sour cream and dill on top of everything. Bake in oven 350 F for 35 minutes.

Balance your blood sugars and release energy

A great breakfast that balance your blood sugars and gives you energy.
Ingredients
1 lowfat yogurt
1 tsp honey
1 banana
1 tsp sunflower seeds
1 Tbs muesli
Preparation
Slices the banana and mix together all the ingredients, the banana will maintain fluid levels and correct balance of acid to alkaline.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

The watermelon rind is not a waste, make pickles from it very easy recipes not more then 15 minutes in preparation. Ingredients
4 quarts prepared watermelon rind
2 Tbs salt

4 cups white vinegar

8 cups sugar

3 cinnamon sticks, broken

1 Tbs whole cloves

Preparation

Cut rind into 2 inch pieces, trim green skin and pink flesh from rind, after all that done place the rind in a large pot, add the salt and enough water to cover. Simmer until its tender then drain and chill rind overnight in refrigerator.
Boil for 5 minutes the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon and cloves, then add the drain rind to the syrup just made. Simmer for 10 minutes, and remove the spices. Will be easy if you use a cheesecloth, but you and discard the spices with a spoon also. Have ready some hot sterilized quart jars, in what you pack the rind with the syrup, leave some space, close the lids then put the jar in boiling water bath for about 20 minutes.If you want stronger flavor you can add 1-inch piece ginger root to the spices and process in same way. I like to decorate the jar with some of the spices that were used. Excellent served with a pork dish, tuna or grilled salmon.

Fried Chicken Gizzards

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs chicken gizzards
1/3 cup butter
salt and fresh pepper - to taste
Preparation
Place gizzards in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat,cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. When cooked add the gizzards in a pan where you melted the butter, and fry for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Great served with polenta, or rice.
Makes an easy and fast dish.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Watermelon Party Basket


Watermelon basket for an elegant but easy edible party decoration or centerpiece. It can be used to serve fresh fruits or vegetables salads.

Its very easy and fast to create: just select a watermelon with a flattish bottom so it will not easily roll, a big sharp knife to cut the watermelon and a small one to design the models. Cut the watermelon in half, scoop out the red part, you can use the ice cream scoop, to give nice round shapes, use the small sharp knife to design the edges. Mix the round watermelon balls with different other fruits and fill it with your favorite fruit salad recipe.

If you have more time, you can use your imagination to create a watermelon basket with handle in different shapes. Use any watermelon, red, yellow, green, the more color full the nicer it will look.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Carrots Vichy

2 Servings
Ingredients
½ pound carrots
2 cups soda water
1 ½ tbsp butter
¾ tsp sugar
2 tsp fresh parsley
Preparation
Peel and slice the carrots.
Chop the parsley.
Place the carrots and soda water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the carrots are just beginning to soften (5 minutes). Drain. Melt the butter in a skillet over med-high heat. If you consider the carrots are not sweet enough add the sugar over the carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are soft. Garnish with the parsley.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Vegetable Mixed

Ingredients
150 gr potatoes
150 gr cabbage
150 gr bread
150 gr cauliflower
50 gr spinach
1/2 carrot
3 eggs
150 gr cheese
1 onion
fresh chopped parsley
pepper
salt
oil
white flour
bread crumbs
Preparation
Boil all vegetables and drain well. Saute the onion and drain as well. Soak and squeeze the bread in a bit of milk. Mince all of the above and mix well. Add scraped cheese, pepper, eggs, and parsley. Make balls, flatten them and roll them through flour and bread crumbs. Fry in a bit of oil. Serve as appetizer, are delicious served with sour-cream on top and garnish with parsley.

Poached Eggs

Ingredients
1 liter water
50 ml vinegar

1 tsp salt

6 eggs

Preparation

Boil the water with the vinegar and salt. Break the eggs direct in the boiling water, but do not mixed the eggs. After 3 minutes take out the eggs. Serve on toast bread and maybe bacon. Very easy simple eggs for a nice breakfast, and much healthier for you, then frying the eggs in oil.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Natural Ways to Take Care of Your Skin

Sunblock
One of the easiest ways to stay fair is to use sunblock on a daily basis. Find a moisturizer that includes an SPF of 20 or higher and use it every morning after washing your face. Sunblock not only prevents your skin from getting darker, but also blocks harmful UV rays that can cause cancer and premature aging. Remember your hands when applying sunblock, as they are a prime area for age spots.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating once a week will remove dead skin cells to lighten and brighten your skin. You can create a home made exfoliating paste, you do not need to buy the expensive ones to get the best results. Mix two tablespoons oatmeal and two tablespoons brown sugar with a quarter cup of milk, and stir until a paste forms. Gently scrub your face, rinse, and moisturize.

Mask

To have a great skin is not enough just to use make up removers every evening and use moisturize, you need to feed your skin, once a week you should use a mask depending on your skin type. If you don't have any mask from the store, just open your fridge. You will be surprise how many ingredients you have in your home that are ready to be used as masks to feed your skin.
Before applying the mask:
-put your hair back
-clean your face very well with make up remover
-put the mask over your faces be careful around the eyes, and lips, you don't want to use the mask to close to the eyes or over the lips.
-try to not move your face while you have the mask on, try to just relax, no talking after you remove the mask try to not use any make up removers or any lotion on our face, for a few hours. The mask should be used once a week or at least once a month, depends on your skin needs.
A homemade mask is a great way to
lighten your skin and a good excuse to kick back on the couch. Try using one once a week. Use one tablespoon of each of the following: sandalwood paste, lemon juice, tomato juice, and cucumber juice. Mix them all together to form a paste. Spread the mixture on your face and wait until it dries. Rinse and moisturize for a natural glow.
To reduce pores squeeze the juice from and half apple, 1 teaspoon honey, mixed together and apply over your face for 20 minutes, this will reduce the appearance of big pores, make sure you rinse with plenty of cold water. Hydrate your faces with different masks.
Orange mask
2 teaspoon lemon fresh squeeze juice
1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon powder milk vitamin E liquid. Mixed everything and apply gently over the face. You will get the benefits of vitamins and make your skin look thinner.
Honey and Milk Mask

Mixed 2 spoons honey with 2 spoons milk, put the mixed over the face and neck, leave it on 10 minutes then rinse with warm water.

Banana Mask
¼ banana 1 egg (egg yolk for dry skin, egg white for fat skin) 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon yogurt This mask reinvigorate the skin, and its best using it during the winter when the skin is affected by the cold winds.
Carrot Mask

Everybody knows that carrot is rich in vitamin A, which helps to rejuvenate the skin. This mask with help the skin damage, works as a tonic will make the skin soft and young. Squeeze the juice from one carrot threw a clean muslin cloth, and wipe your face with that. This mask is used for tired skin, who need a refresh.
You can also mixed the carrot after it was squeeze the juice mixed with milk, sour cream or fresh yeast.
Anti wrinkle mask for all skin type

Wash a few lettuce leaves and pat dry with a towel, add the leaves in hot boiling olive oil, then apply the leaves warm on your face for 15 minutes, rinse the face with warm water and pat dry with a clean towel.

Tonic mask for all skin type

Mixed 1 teaspoon honey with 1 egg white, 1 teaspoon glycerin and 1 cup white flour until you obtain a paste. Apply on your face and neck leave for 10 minutes then rinse with warm water.
Tonic mask for regular skin
Chop finely a cucumber and mixed with half of plain glass yogurt. Apply over face and leave 5-10 minutes then rinse with plenty of water.

Lose weight - Cabbage Soup/Slabeste - Supa de varza

Easy way to lose weight with Cabbage Soup. Are different diets and to get the maximum out of them is to follow the diet right. The Cabbage Soup diet includes a variety of low-calorie vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and tomatoes, flavored with bouillon, onion soup mix, and tomato juice.

The Cabbage Soup have plenty of benefits to be included in any meal, even when not on diet:

  • weight loss

  • younger skin

  • better digestion

  • better vitamin intake

Here is a seven day program of losing weight with Cabbage Soup, you have to eat all you can cabbage soup and then each day different foods, its easy to follow and you don't get bored you can eat vegetables, fruits, beef. Some people say that they lost up to 10 pounds in only 7 days.
Easy, fast to cook in any kitchen, delicious and does wonders with your body.
Everyday eat soup as much as you want, even when you eat some other things you have to make sure you will eat the soup at least once a day. Avoid baked potato, no bread, no alcohol, no sodas

Day 1: All the fruits you want, but no bananas in this day. Drink water, unsweetened tea, black coffee and one glass cranberry juice.

Day 2: All vegetables fresh, raw, or canned vegetables. Green leafy are recommended and avoid dry beans and peas.

Day 3: Eat as much fruit, and vegetables.

Day 4: Bananas and skimmed milk. Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much skimmed milk as you can today. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the milk.

Day 5: Have unlimited cabbage soup plus six tomatoes and also 20 oz of beens. Drink at least 6 glasses of water today.

Day 6: Eat 2 - 3 beef steaks with vegetables or salad.

Day 7: Eat all you want of brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, vegetables.

Here are just a few samples of how you can prepare the very healthy cabbage soup, I have found these recipes on the internet, you can use your imagination and make different cabbage soups during your week of diet, or maybe just for a regular meal. On diet when you are looking for a cabbage soup recipe make sure you use only the ingredients that are aloud on the diet, otherwise you can find plenty of very tasteful cabbage soup recipes but very fatty, the ones made with sour cream, heavy cream, lot of meat.

So you can use ideas from the following recipes:

  1. Original Cabbage Soup
    - 1 head cabbage
    - 6 medium onions
    - 6 green onions
    - 6 carrots
    - 2 bell peppers
    - 3 large tomatoes
    - 5 stalks celery
    - 4 oz uncooked brown rice
    - Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

    Slice the vegetables in small pieces. Put in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Let the mix simmer uncovered for around 10 minutes. Cover and adjust the heat to low. Let the soup simmer until the vegetables are soft enough. You can add the rice while the soup is simmering. Add salt and pepper to taste.

    2. Refreshing Cabbage Soup
    - 3 cups of chicken or beef broth
    - 1 1/2 cups of green cabbage, finely shredded
    - 1 tbsp of prepared mustard
    - 1 tsp of sugar
    - 2 cups of buttermilk
    - 1 cucumber, finely diced
    - 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
    - 2 tbsp fresh parsley

    In a medium saucepan, heat the broth and add the cabbage. Let this simmer for around 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and mix in the mustard, dill, and sugar. Stir in the buttermilk and add the cucumber. Chill the soup for about 2.5 hours or depending on your refrigerator. Put some parsley to garnish the soup and enjoy the soup ice cold. A yummy soup on a hot summer day!

    3.The Military Diet Cabbage Soup
    - 1 large head of cabbage
    - 1 large bunch of celery
    - 2 bunches of green onion
    - 1 large can of whole tomato
    - 2 cans of chicken broth
    - 3 large bell peppers
    - Salt and pepper to taste

    Military way is short and simple. Chop all the vegetables and add to a large pot of chicken broth. Add the whole tomatoes and cook with low fire for 15 minutes. Serve. Woohah!

    4. Zucchini Cabbage Soup Recipe
    - ½ medium head of cabbage, diced
    - 3 small zucchini, diced
    - 1 large clove of garlic, crushed and minced
    - ¼ tsp dried basil
    - ½ tsp black pepper
    - Salt to taste
    - 12 ounces of V-8 vegetable juice
    - 2 tbsp tomato paste
    - 1 can French Onion Soup
    - 1-2 cups chopped spinach
    - ½ cup sliced carrots
    - Dash of Worcestershire sauce

    Mix all ingredients and cook with low heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

    5. Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup
    - 1 large dark green cabbage
    - 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow pepper
    - 1 head of celery
    - 2 carrots
    - 2 lbs of mushroom
    - 3 big leeks
    - Small bag spinach
    - Big bag water cress
    - Big bag rocket leaves
    - 3 onions
    - 1 can Weight Watchers chicken soup

    Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Upon boiling, decrease heat and let the soup cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Watermelon Granita

Serves 6
Ingredients
4 pounds seedless watermelon cubes
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp grenadine or pomegranate juice
6 thin watermelon wedges for garnish
Preparation
Make a simple syrup by heating sugar and water over high heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Let cool.
Place watermelon and the lime juice in a blender and process until smooth, then add the syrup and grenadine juice.Press puree through a coarse strainer, pushing through the solids. Pour into a glass baking dish, freeze, stirring and scraping with a fork every 30 minutes, until all of the liquid has frozen. It should take about 3 hours until its freeze, you can keep it in freezer up to 2-3 days.

Refreshing and delicious!Serve watermelon granita in margarita glasses and garnish with the watermelon wedges.

Parmesan Dressing

Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise (you find the home made mayonnaise under the Romanian home cooking)
2 anchovy fillets
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard (I like to use Dijon mustard)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Preparation
Combine cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and 1 garlic clove in blender; puree until smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Easy to make, this dressing add a great Parmesan taste to your salad.

Iceberg Lettuce Salad

Ingredients
iceberg lettuce
carrots
red cabbage
garlic croutons
Parmesan dressing

Preparation


Garlic Croutons

4 thick slices white bread

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 unsalted garlic powder

Heat oven to 400°F. Trim the crusts off bread and generously butter the bread on both sides. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Cut into 1/2" cubes and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes until golden brown.
Dressing

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise (you find the home made mayonnaise under the Romanian home cooking)

2 anchovy fillets

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard (I like to use Dijon mustard)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and 1 garlic clove in blender; puree until smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.


Chop all vegetables, add the garlic croutons and Parmesan dressing. Easy made, refreshing and tasty. These vegetables are a very good source of antioxidants and vitamin A.

Home Made Garlic Croutons

Ingredients
4 thick slices white bread

2 Tbsp butter
1/4 unsalted garlic powder
Preparation
Heat oven to 400°F. Trim the crusts off bread and generously butter the bread on both sides. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Cut into 1/2" cubes and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Garlic croutons add a nice flavor and texture to salads and soups.

Bacon Cheese Chicken

Serves 6
Ingredients
6 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preparation
Cook bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Crumble bacon and set aside. Pour bacon grease out of skillet, but don't wash or wipe it. Add butter and olive oil to skillet. Saute chicken breasts in this mixture over medium heat, turning once, until chicken. Place chicken in ungreased baking dish. Cook onion and garlic in drippings remaining in skillet. Cook until onion is softened, then stir in salt, pepper, and cooked bacon. Spoon over chicken breasts and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
Makes a perfect dish served with mashed potatoes.

Cottage Cheese Dessert

Ingredients
500 g flour

25 g fresh yeast (1 cub)

4 eggs

120 ml milk

100 g sugar
vanilla extract
70 g butter
2 tablespoon oil
cottage cheese
lemon zest
raisins (optional)

Preparation
Melt the yeast in warm milk add 1 teaspoon sugar, then pour over the flour, leave it there for 10 minutes. Separately bit the eggs with sugar, vanilla extract and butter. Add the eggs mixed to the first bowl and mixed with your hands until you get a solid dough, after that add the 2 tablespoon of oil, cover the dough with a towel and leaven for 1 hour. Mixed the cottage cheese with two egg yolk, 2 table sugar, lemon zest and a few raisins. Make the dough a thin 5 mm layer, cover with 2 teaspoon melt butter, cut in pieces of 6 cm add the cottage cheese mixed in each, then from corners try to cover the cheese. After all finished brush over egg white and bake at 350F.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Cheesy Oven Fried Chicken

Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
4 leg quarters
¼ cup milk
2 cups crushed cheddar flavored crackers
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon pepper
Preparation
Crush the crackers, add basil and pepper. Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towel. Brush chicken with milk. Coat chicken with the cracker mixture then place it with skin side up in an ungreased baking pan.
Baked at 375 F oven for 60 minutes.