Q: What is azodicarbonamide?
It is a chemical whose primary use is “in the production of foamed plastics.” In the United States it is also used as a food additive and flour bleaching agent.
Q: Why is it in my bread?
According to Mark Rubi, the former baker and owner of The Lick Skillet Bakery in Boulder, Colorado, the answer is “I don’t know.” He says, “The necessary ingredients in bread are pretty basic. You need flour, water, yeast, and salt for sure. And then maybe add a little olive oil for dough consistency and a little sugar to get the yeast going. Anything else you add should just be for flavoring.” He goes on to add, “It’s strange, I look at the commercial breads available these days and the ingredient lists are scary. Take fast food, for example, the typical bun at a fast food burger chain has 20 or more chemicals in addition to the main ingredients! Is this really something I want to be eating?”
Read more here: http://www.examiner.com/article/azodicarbonamide-another-reason-to-avoid-most-bread
Healthy Recipe! - Yam Potato Chips
Right now I’m making yam potato chips. I saw a recipe online for sweet potato potato chips. Sweet Potatoes are just a bit too sweet for me so I’m doing it with Yams. Here’s what you need:
2 Yams (or Sweet Potatoes if your prefer)
1 T Vinegar
Salt to taste
I have this slicer that slices vegetables really paper thin. So I used that but a simple knife will do of course. you can also use the side of a grater. It’s up to you. However, if they are paper thin, you need to preheat your oven to only 300 F. If you use a knife and they are thicker, preheat your oven to 425 F. In a ziploc bag, put in your vinegar and then add your yams or sweet potatoes and shake well. Then lay them out on a greased cookie sheet in one layer. It will take more than one load to fry all of your chips. If your slices are thin leave them in for about 5-7 minutes and then flip them over and then leave them in until them are crisp. If your slices are thicker, leave them in for about 10 minutes and then flip them over and leave them in until they are crisp. Once they are done sprinkle on some salt to taste. A much healthier alternative to potato chips from the store!!! Plus it’s so quick and easy!!!
Fitness! - Morning Workout Routine
So I know I haven’t been on here a really long time. I have been so busy with school and work and just got a new puppy too!!! Anyway here is a great workout routine for your mornings!!!
Beauty Tip Alert! - Hair Mask
My hair is absolutely dry and gross and I am getting split ends. I suppose some of it is obviously from bleaching my hair to the new ombre style. So I found a recipe for a hair mask so that my hair gets its nutrients it needs. This recipe will also help your hair shine and grow faster and longer too!!!
Here’s what you need:
2 egg yolks
2T of Olive Oil
1 cup of water
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and put on your DRY hair. Cover your hair with a shower cap. I don’t own shower caps and I prefer that this mask doesn’t get everywhere, so I go the cheap way and use a plastic bag from all of my grocery shopping. I make sure that all the extra bag is tucked underneath and that the handles are tied tightly in the front so that the mask doesn’t leak everywhere. Give the mask 15-20 minutes to soak into your hair AND your scalp and then rinse it off with shampoo and conditioner. If you want to style it normally go ahead, but if you want your hair to remain healthy, let your hair air dry and don’t use any curling irons or straightening irons or any other hair irons until your next shower. To make sure that you have really healthy hair you should always let your hair air dry and never use hair irons. But girls are girls and i use them almost all the time. O well what can you do?
Enjoy :)
Ever wondered what else lemons are good for besides making lemonade?
Fitness! - “Before Your Shower” Routine
Here’s a quick and easy routine for you to do every time before you take a shower:
50 jumping jacks
5 pushups
20 crunches
20 mountain climbers
30 sec. plank
7 burpees
When you feel these moves becoming easier for you, up the numbers!!! I would say every week at least up the numbers! You should up them to this:
60 jumping jacks
7 pushups
25 crunches
25 mountain climbers
45 sec. plank
8 burpees
If you want to up the numbers more each week, do it!
Enjoy!!! :)
Healthy Recipe! - Detox Water
This water is awesome!!! Here’s where I found it:
http://www.sitnoseckano.com/sassy-water/
It’s in a different language, but the recipe was written in English on Pinterest. Here’s the recipe:
2L of water
1 medium cucumber
1 lemon
10-12 mint leaves
Slice up your cucumber and lemon and put all of your ingredients together in the water and leave in your refrigerator overnight.
This water is super tastey and really good for you. As for me, the cucumbers are too much for me and I left them out. The lemon water with mint is still a great detox drink and does the same thing.
This detox drink will obviously clean out your system and hydrate you. One thing that I did not expect when I drank this water was that it completely cleared my acne!!! I don’t have much acne at all, it is mostly stress pimples. I get stressed out so much from school so that is how I get them and this drink completely cleared them out and made my skin healthy. This detox drink does wonders so definitely try it.
Just another tip: When you leave in the lemon for a long time, the pulp will start to break apart and it gets everywhere so once you are done steeping your water overnight, I suggest taking out the lemons, cucumbers, and mint leaves so that it doesn’t disturb the water too much.
Enjoy! :)
*1/15/13
The recipe on the site listed above is in both another language and in english. However, it is a different recipe than the one listed here and on pinterest.
Healthy Recipe! - Beans and Rice
Yeah, I know. Boring beans and rice. But trust me, this recipe is GOOD! My brother made it up. He loves cooking. He also owns Oogave, an organic soda that uses agave nectar instead of sweeteners and sugars. Try it out ;)
Anyway on to the recipe! Here’s what you’ll need:
1 16 oz can of low sodium black beans with NO LARD
1 Organic Green Pepper
1 or 2 Organic Tomato(es) off the Vine
1 Organic Red Onion
1T of Vegetable Oil OR 1T of Coconut Oil
2 Cups of Rice
1 package of Ground Turkey Sausage (optional)
1 dried red pepper (hot)
First, you will need to cut your green pepper, tomato(es), and onion. You will want to cut the pepper and tomato into chunks, about 1 in. cubes. And then you’ll want to dice your onion. Heat up a big pot on medium heat and put in your vegetable oil or coconut oil in the pot. Throw in your vegetables and fry them up until they are a little brown. If you want, you can also throw in something that will make your dish on the spicy side like dried peppers to grill them at the same time (at the end of this post I will tell you how to dry your own peppers).
After your veggies are grilled up set your pot onto low heat. Open your can of black beans and drain them and throw them into your pot to heat.
Then in a separate skillet, you’ll want to cook your turkey sausage on a medium heat. Once your turkey sausage is completely cooked, drain the grease and put it in your bean mixture. I personally do not use turkey sausage when I fix this meal because I don’t think it goes too well with the taste of the rest of the dish. So I leave it out.
As for your rice, I use Calrose Rice. You’ll want to use some form of white rice unless you like a different type of rice to go with your beans. Make sure you start this first if it takes more than 5 mintues to cook (Yes my boyfriend uses 5 minute rice). Prepare the rice according to the instructions on your package.
So if you want to put a red pepper in your beans and want to dry them on your own, here’s how you do it. You’ll need to do this a couple hours in advanced of preparing your dish. Set your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Grab a cookie sheet and lay out 1 sheet and 1 sheet only of parchment paper. Now, make sure you wear a plastic bag or gloves on your hands so the pepper juice doesn’t burn your hands!!!!!!!!! You can cut your pepper into two slices long ways or 4 slices long ways. Of course the more slices you cut, the less time it will take to dry your peppers. Lay them out on your parchment paper and put them in the oven checking every half hour. This can take between 1-3 hours to dry them so plan accordingly. If them are already browned when you dry them in the oven, then add the peppers in when you add the black beans but if you want them to brown or brown more, add them in when you grill the rest of your veggies!
Bon Appetit!!!
Beauty Tip Alert! - Softest Legs EVER!!!
Ok. So I know this isn’t exactly a health tip, but this tip is awesome and one of my favorites.
I found this on Pinterest and at first was like there’s no way this works but I tried it anyway. Um it works. Amazingly.
Here’s the link to the website:
http://glutenfreenavywife.blogspot.com/2012/01/softest-silkiest-legs.html
This is what you need:
1 Hot bath
Razor
Shaving cream (or soap)
Body scrub
First, you will need to either get a body scrub or make it at home. On the site above, you can find the recipe for a body scrub. However, I make mine a little different.
Body Scrub Recipe:
half sugar
half olive oil
a couple squeezes of honey
Mix the sugar and olive oil together, in equal parts. Usually people use 1/2 cup of sugar and 1.2 cup of olive oil. Then squeeze in some honey. After you do this you may need to mix in some extra olive oil. When you’re ready to use this scrub you will probably have to mix it up again. But don’t worry, it’s just because the olive oil separates easily. Nothing is wrong with it. I like to mix up my own body scrub because my legs are super dry and olive oil and honey moisturizes skin (and hair too).
Next draw up a warm bath for yourself. Soak your legs in it for about 5 minutes. Wash your legs off so that all that dirt and sweat so it doesn’t get into your pores and create razor burns. After you’re done, shave those legs and then wash them off with soap again so the shaving cream doesn’t get into your pores. You’ll want to shave your legs so that all of the hair is off of your legs so you can get all of that dead skin off.
Once all of that hair is off, scrub one leg with the body scrub. This will loosen up the dead skin, but it won’t take it off. once you’ve but on the body scrub wash it off with just water and then start shaving your legs again. Don’t use shaving cream or soap or anything, just your razor. I suggest shaving your legs underwater so your legs don’t become dry while you’re getting the dead skin off. once you’re done with one leg, wash it off with soap and then do the same thing to the other leg.
By the time you’re done with one leg, you’ll start to notice gross stuff floating around in your tub. That’s your dead skin. Yup pretty gross I know, but at least you know it’s working. You’ll probably want to drain your tub afterwards and then shower off. After, instead of cleaning your tub, you’ll want to put lotion on your legs so they don’t start to dry off because now there is nothing between your “good” skin and the air. After that, then you can clean out your tub. Trust me, your legs will not thank you if you don’t put lotion on RIGHT AWAY.
So since you’ve taken off all of your dead skin with this, I wouldn’t do this more than once every two weeks. If you do, you could be drying out your skin instead of helping and you’ll be doing more bad than good. So just use this sparingly!!!
Hope you enjoy :)
