Tag Archives: ginger

Sticky Red Wine Chicken and Veggies Stir Fry is Way Better than Carryout!

The conversation with my husband that I dread more than any other is, “what would you like to have for dinner this week?” And then he shrugs.

How can someone have so little opinion about what they eat? For an uber-picky eater like myself, I want absolute involvement.

red wine stir fry

So when, one day, he said, “Can you make this?” and shared a recipe for chicken and asparagus stir fry, he had my attention. I agreed to make it and put it on the weekly meal plan – I wanted to reward him, if you will, for being involved in the decision! But also, the simple ingredients showed promise of being a really easy dinner that tasted great.

Winner winner Asian-inspired chicken dinner… this has become a go-to staple in our house! (more…)

You’ll Fall in Love with This Harvest Chopped Salad with Orange Ginger Vinaigrette

Summer is over but my salad bowl is still full! I’m a big fan of the big a– salad trend. Just a plate piled high with greens, veggies, berries, nuts and frankly anything else you want – it’s an entree that never disappoints. I always finish feeling full, satisfied, and not weighed down.

With Autumn as my muse, and my refrigerator quickly filling with the early seasonal produce, I crafted an entirely new entree salad. And it’s gooooood.

beet quinoa salad

“How is this even real?” was our photographer’s reaction upon tasting hers. And then she proceeded to demolish the rest of the food props.

Our Harvest Chopped Salad is like a farmers market truck unloaded in your kitchen. And then it rained down this homemade vinaigrette and what bloomed was just the best darn thing you’ve eaten in a while!

fall salad ginger vinaigrette

With red beets, carrots, quinoa, and ginger, this salad is not only hearty and satiating, but it’s also a great way to get your food experimentation on. If it’s been a while since you’ve tried some of these ingredients, or presents the first time, get after it! All of the complementary flavors blend perfectly together and it’s so darn pretty you won’t have any choice but to want to eat it. (more…)

Irresistible 30-Minute Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Chef Suzanne Leher

Editor at The Cooking Channel and also a chef and writer, Suzanne Leher says it’s near impossible for her not to order chicken lettuce wraps if they’re anywhere on a menu. So what’s a chef to do with her favorite dish? Replicate it at home of course!

Plated Suz Lehrer

Suzanne created this recipe that she says just may convince you to throw out your takeout menus and hit the kitchen.

plated hoisin chicken lettuce wraps

Cool, crunchy Bibb lettuce serves as the perfect pairing for gingery-hot chicken sautéed with sweet and crunchy carrots. Rice noodles stir-fried with sesame oil and red bell peppers, then topped with chopped peanuts and scallions make the perfect side for filling but healthy dinner. (more…)

The Real Way to Cure a Hangover

The New Year’s celebration is one of the biggest in the world. For many, the revelry involves alcohol, and lots of it. But when a new day (and year) dawns, party goers often feel the aftereffects of their festivities in the form of a nasty hangover.

If this is your predicament, don’t reach for greasy foods, caffeine, or medications, which can worsen the effects of alcohol on your body. Use these natural remedies instead for a fast and healthy hangover recovery.

1. Water

One of the most tried-and-true, widely recognized remedies for too much alcohol is to drink lots of water. Many hangover remedies sound strange and follow bad logic, and will probably not do any good, but this simple tip makes sense. Water will dilute the alcohol in your body, minimize alcohol’s dehydrating effect on your body, and flush out toxins. Try to stay hydrated before, during, and after drinking and its negative effects will diminish considerably.

2. Fruit and fruit juice

Once you’re properly hydrated, start replenishing the vitamins you’ve lost and get your blood sugar back to normal with a tall glass of juice. Orange or tomato juice will replenish lost vitamins and contain natural sugars to help your body metabolize alcohol faster. Bananas are great for restoring depleted potassium levels associated with overindulging, and they have magnesium, beneficial for headaches. If you don’t have any fruit juice, down a Gatorade or other electrolyte-containing sports drink.

3. Ginger

Ginger has been used for centuries as an aid for motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting. Brew some ginger root tea for soothing relief, or pop open a ginger ale for a quick fix. (more…)

How to Cook with Ginger

Ginger is often used to add flavor to dishes, but it’s also relied on for medicinal purposes in various cultures. India, for example, introduced the Western world to ginger root when Europe was trading it heavily in Asia. In Eastern households, it’s common to use a lot of ginger in dishes to add plenty of flavor and spice. And in Western cultures, ginger is typically used to sweeten foods like ginger ale, gingerbread, and ginger cake. In addition to being incredibly versatile for cooking, ginger is also surprisingly nutritious touting a number of health benefits.

Health benefits: Ancient Chinese medicine men were the first to document the health benefits of ginger root. Several studies found that the roots can help pregnant women lessen symptoms of morning sickness.

Cancer treatment is another benefit of ginger. The University of Michigan conducted a study that linked ginger powder to the death of ovarian cancer cells. In addition to this study, the University of Minnesota found that ginger can slow the growth of colon cancer cells. Ginger root can also help reduce menstrual cramping, migraines, heartburn, and pain and inflammation.

Nutritional statistics: One quarter cup of raw ginger root has approximately 19 calories, 0 g of fat, 3 mg of sodium, 0 g of sugar, and 0 g of protein.  (more…)

Truvia Thai Blueberry Old-Fashioned Cocktail Recipe by Anthony Caporale

I wanted to create a no-added-sugar version of the classic Old Fashioned that would remain as true as possible to the spirit of the original while incorporating modern flavors and drink-making techniques.

My road map while developing this cocktail was to build upon the characteristic spice that rye whiskey brings to a cocktail, so I started with Tuthilltown Spirits™ particularly spicy Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey.

For a non-sugar sweetener, I chose Truvia® natural sweetener because it has a unique vanilla-citrus character that works well with whiskey, and it can easily be made into a flavored syrup to bring down Hudson’s higher alcohol content.

I wanted to keep the rye whiskey forward in the cocktail so I incorporated ginger into the syrup instead of adding it directly to the build, and also included lemon grass to bring out Truvia’s natural mellow citrus notes. (more…)

The Medicine Cabinet in Your Spice Rack

By Steven V. Joyal, MD, VP of Medical & Scientific Affairs at Life Extension.

Spices add delicious flavors and tantalizing aromas to food, but many people don’t realize that spices offer a variety of beneficial, potentially lifesaving, health benefits. Consider your spice rack as a kind of natural medicine cabinet, and unleash amazing health benefits while you spice up your life with the following five spices!

Cinnamon: Derived from the bark of the tree bearing the same name, cinnamon is high in antioxidant activity. Clinical studies show beneficial changes in blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes dosed with cinnamon spice from one to three grams daily. Experimental research suggests that cinnamon may reduce the likelihood that cells in the colon undergo cancerous changes. Essential oils of cinnamon have antimicrobial activity, too, and this helps provide a scientific basis for cinnamon’s traditional use as a natural treatment for diarrhea.

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How to Safely Start a Juice Cleanse At Home

There are a number of juice cleanses available that promise fast, foolproof results. From the Blueprint Cleanse, which promises no uncomfortable side effects to the Zen Cleanse which aims to flush toxins from your body.

With juice cleanses becoming more mainstream than ever, it’s important to do your homework and research what kind of cleanse is right for you before you begin. While some cleanses include whole foods and offer nutritional benefits, others suspect that cleanses and fasts are little more than diet hype.

“A juice cleanse is very safe and easy to do. One of the best ways to start gently detoxing the body is to add fresh vegetable juices to a good diet,” said Cherie Calbom, MS, author of The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet and Juicing for Life. “This will start the body on a gentle detox.  Then you can progress to a day or two of vegetable juice fasting where you give your digestive system a rest.  This helps your body rejuvenate and repair damaged areas.”

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Eat More Ginger to Reap Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Ginger is a calming spice that has long been touted not only for its ability to add a powerful punch of flavor to both sweet and savory recipes, but for its nutritional and anti-nausea properties. Now, doctors and experts are saying that it may be a powerful weapon to help combat certain types of inflammation that cause pain.

Because ginger contains dozens of phytonutrients called gingerols, it is a powerful agent to help fight inflammation, including the kind that causes arthritis pain. According to the Huffington Post, Japanese researchers recently reported in the Journal of Medicinal Food that red ginger is used in Indonesian traditional medicine as a painkiller for arthritis.

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Ginger Can Ease Your Post-Workout Pain

ginger rootTwo recent studies show that eating ginger after you work out can ease muscles soreness the following day. Ginger contains anti-inflammatory compounds and volatile oils called gingerols that have been shown to have analgesic and sedative effects in animals. Researchers have now examined the effects in humans.

One study gave examined participants who did exercises designed to cause muscle pain over 11 days. Some of the participants where given raw ginger supplements, some heat-treated ginger supplements, and some a placebo. Both groups taking the ginger supplements reported less muscle pain. They conclude, “This study demonstrates that daily consumption of raw and heat-treated ginger resulted in moderate-to-large reductions in muscle pain following exercise-induced muscle injury.”

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6 Healthiest Spices

Different types of spiceWestern medicine is starting to pay attention to traditional healing herbs. “We’re now starting to see a scientific basis for why people have been using spices medicinally for thousands of years,” says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center. Although it’s difficult to say that spices can cure disease, they can be beneficial when fighting a variety of health conditions, from Alzheimer’s disease and cancer to the common cold.

Here are six of the healthiest spices from around the world, gathered by Eating Well.

1. Sage
Try it in: Turkey Tomato Soup

Sage may help preserve memory, a fitting benefit for its name. Some research suggests that it can help regulate enzymes in the brain to prevent the deterioration of acetylcholine, improving symptoms that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Herbalists also recommend sipping on hot sage tea to sooth sore throats and upset stomachs.

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