Laurie Robillard asked:


What Is Acai Berry?

Of 278 fruits, vegetables and nuts analyzed by the USDA, freeze-dried acai berry powder has the highest reported antioxidant capacity for any food, regardless of moisture content.

The certified organic freeze dried acai berry powder has an ORAC score of 1,027 per gram. What is ORAC? O stands for Oxygen. R stands for Radical. A stands for Absorption. C stands for Capabilities. Oxygen Radical Absorption Capabilities is a scientific method that measures how much a particular food inhibits the damage of free radicals. There are currently six classes of free radicals linked to chronic illness like heart disease and cancer.

The USDA recommends we consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units daily. In truth, 80% of the population is consuming less than 1,000 ORAC units a day. The USDA recommended “5-a-day” fruit and vegetables servings will give you an ORAC score of about 1,750 units.

The fruits and vegetables with the highest natural antioxidants power are often those with the deepest colour such as purple, blue, black. The wild blueberry and cranberry are the next best available fruit candidates on the ORAC chart. Green pepper, spinach, and broccoli are the next vegetable candidates on the ORAC chart. Confusing? This is the order from highest to lowest. Acai (freeze- dried) 1,026, wild blueberry 260, green pepper 160, spinach 150, broccoli 150, cranberry 125.

Botanists from several countries have documented the use of Acai as a food for more than two centuries with no significant adverse events associated with its consumption.

How Is The Acai Berry Beneficial for The Human Body?



The acai berry’s powerful combination of scores of phytochemicals in the skin (flavonoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins), protein, healthy fats, fiber, all of essential amino acids, all of essential vitamins, trace minerals promotes cardiovascular and digestive health. It also has a low glycemic index.



 



Healthy plant fats Phytosterols, Omega-6 (60% oleic) and Omega-9 (12% linolenic) have been shown to have (LDL) cholesterol-lowering properties in the human body.



 



Antioxidents can reduce oxidative stress due to naturally occurring processes such as oxygen metabolism and inflammation.



 



Phytochemicals has favorable responses to bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, allergens to name a few.



 

While there are many nutrients in the acai berry clearly the antioxidants is the major reason. Some companies sell acai blended with other fruits. This way you have variety, moderation, and balance all in a one health beneficial drink. Acai is not the miracle cure fruit that cures every known ailment. If you want to stay healthy and feel energetic and young the key is going to bed early, getting up early, a good diet supplemented with acai berry 19 fruit juice, and exercise.

The reason for a supplement is due to modern agriculture methods that deplete the soil and robs us of nutrients. The meat and milk from animals that are fed grain instead of grass are high in omega 6 and no omega 3. The meat and milk of pasture fed animals are high in Omega 3’s (EPA and DHA) but that isn’t what is sold in the grocery stores. Some medical research suggest that excesive levels of omega 6, relative to omega 3 may increase the ptobability of a number of diseases and depresision.  DHA is one type of Omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain development that is found in breastmilk. EPA is another type of Omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain function that is found in breastmilk, fatty fish and algae.

Ready to start eating acai berry? First you have to get the acai berry out of the Amazon rain forest.

Jim Allen asked:


A recently completed University of Florida study has added to the buzz surrounding the Brazilian acai berry which is sold in many health stores as an antioxidant supplement. The study is, hopefully, one of the first of many to research the many claims attributed to the acai fruit.

In it’s study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai berry pulp, and each extract was prepared in seven concentrations.

At least 4 of the extracts killed a great many cancer cells when applied for 24 hours or more. Anywhere from 35 percent to 86 percent of the cancer cells were destroyed, depending on the particular extract and concentration.

According to Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the study showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response (apoptosis) in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested

Talcott, however, cautioned against reading too much into the results, noting that the tests were run against cancer cell cultures and not on human test subjects.

Still, the results are exciting. In the last year, the Brazilian berry has really taken off in the United States. It has also caught the attention of many companies who are now creating products that include the acai berry.

Although, acai berries are thought to be one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants, other fruits that are rich in antioxidants such as mangoes, grapes, have been shown to kill cancer cells in similar studies.

Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage is theorized to be one of the main causes of cancer. A sufficient amount of antioxidants are thought by many to short-circuit this process by interacting with and stabilizing the free radicals and may stopping the damage that they do to healthy cells.

Experts are divided on just what effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because of the many other lifestyle factors that have to be factored into the equation. There is much evidence that antioxidants may slow or even prevent the development of cancer cells. On the other hand, many double blind studies have not been conclusive -with some seeming to indicate that antioxidants retard cancer cell growth and others indicating that it has no effect.

There have been many anecdotal claims made for the Amazon acai berry fruit. And traditionally Indians in the Brazilian rain forest have used it in ways as diverse as food, house thatching, drink, diarrhea, jaundice, fevers, and as treatment for many other health diseases.

The University of Florida study as well as others are a welcome step towards getting away from some of the claims of acai and subjecting it to controlled studies in the laboratory.

“A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven’t been tested scientifically,” Talcott said. “We are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects.”

Carole-Anne Stanway asked:


The apple was the first fruit mentioned in the bible, not always allowing the noble apple to prove the life enhancing powers it does possess. The pectin in the reddest apples has among the most antioxidants of any natural food. Science continues to show cases of high priced medications contain potent versions of what we are eating naturally all the while. A healthy recipe for healthy living does include the humble apple.

Apples come in a variety of excellent flavors, shapes, colors for us to choose from, in order to tantalize our taste buds, and encourages us to eat this great fruit right off the tree it was grown on.

Apples help our bodies fight cancer; studies have shown that there are several components in juicy fruit, such as apples, which help to prevent the growth of cancer cells. Healthy apples are most potent when the fruit is eaten whole, including the skin, and by choosing the darker apples, such as deep Red Delicious, Fuji, Jonathan, Rome Beauty and Red Spartan. Apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. Italian researchers found people who ate more than one apple a day lowered their risk for oral, esophageal, colon, breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers by 9 to 42%.

Apples benefit our health by helping to fight cholesterol. Two key components, the pectin in the reddest apples and poly-phenols, which have the most anti-oxidants of any natural food, can help to lower cholesterol, and prevent the oxidation of LDL, which is the bad cholesterol. Bad cholesterol results from the chemical process that fills the arteries with clogging plaque. Save the apple skin; it has two to six times the antioxidants that the actual flesh of the apple has, science shows, and most of us need all the help we can get when it comes to healthy eating.

Apples make us smarter. Apples boost the production of acetylcholine, which is a chemical that transmits messages between nerve cells. In a recent study from the University of Massachusetts, researchers suggest that apples may keep your brain ’smarter’ as you age and the components help boost our memory, potentially lessening the possibility of getting Alzheimer’s disease.

You know the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. It may well be true that it is time to rethink this, and start eating your apples as a receipe for healthy living.

Apples help us to breathe easier. United Kingdom researchers found that children of pregnant women who ate apples during pregnancy, were less likely to wheeze or develop asthma by the age of five. This healthy fruit may also protect the lungs of adults, help in the prevention of asthma, lung cancer and other diseases.

Many people have eaten apples all their lives but ppeled for them in order to not take in all the pesticides used in apple growing. Recently, many have changed their thinking and have taken to organic, whenever possible, or washing the regular treated apples thoroughly, in order to eat the healthy peel. Organic is wonderful, but not always available.

The next reason to eat healthy apples daily is, that apples are a difficult food to eat; they require chewing a great deal, as they are dense and firm. This healthy food is packed with fiber, approximately five grams per apple, and is low in calories, approximately 80 for a medium sized apple. Apples contain a natural sugar which enters the bloodstream slowly, keeping our insulin levels steady; a much better choice than a sugary snack, which will give us a fast high, then a low in our sugar levels, creating hunger faster, as well as giving us little nutritional value.

Apples are truly a beneficial choice for healthy living. It is highly recommended you keep eating apples, as they are one of nature’s perfect foods, and after eating these gems, you will feel full longer, keep your cholesterol lower, be smarter, breathe easier, help to boost your memory, and keep your insulin at a decent level. What more could we ask from one healthy food?

Laurie Robillard asked:


What Is Acai Berry?

Of 278 fruits, vegetables and nuts analyzed by the USDA, freeze-dried acai berry powder has the highest reported antioxidant capacity for any food, regardless of moisture content.

The certified organic freeze dried acai berry powder has an ORAC score of 1,027 per gram. What is ORAC? O stands for Oxygen. R stands for Radical. A stands for Absorption. C stands for Capabilities. Oxygen Radical Absorption Capabilities is a scientific method that measures how much a particular food inhibits the damage of free radicals. There are currently six classes of free radicals linked to chronic illness like heart disease and cancer.

The USDA recommends we consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units daily. In truth, 80% of the population is consuming less than 1,000 ORAC units a day. The USDA recommended “5-a-day” fruit and vegetables servings will give you an ORAC score of about 1,750 units.

The fruits and vegetables with the highest natural antioxidants power are often those with the deepest colour such as purple, blue, black. The wild blueberry and cranberry are the next best available fruit candidates on the ORAC chart. Green pepper, spinach, and broccoli are the next vegetable candidates on the ORAC chart. Confusing? This is the order from highest to lowest. Acai (freeze- dried) 1,026, wild blueberry 260, green pepper 160, spinach 150, broccoli 150, cranberry 125.

Botanists from several countries have documented the use of Acai as a food for more than two centuries with no significant adverse events associated with its consumption.

How Is The Acai Berry Beneficial for The Human Body?



The acai berry’s powerful combination of scores of phytochemicals in the skin (flavonoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins), protein, healthy fats, fiber, all of essential amino acids, all of essential vitamins, trace minerals promotes cardiovascular and digestive health. It also has a low glycemic index.



 



Healthy plant fats Phytosterols, Omega-6 (60% oleic) and Omega-9 (12% linolenic) have been shown to have (LDL) cholesterol-lowering properties in the human body.



 



Antioxidents can reduce oxidative stress due to naturally occurring processes such as oxygen metabolism and inflammation.



 



Phytochemicals has favorable responses to bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, allergens to name a few.



 

While there are many nutrients in the acai berry clearly the antioxidants is the major reason. Some companies sell acai blended with other fruits. This way you have variety, moderation, and balance all in a one health beneficial drink. Acai is not the miracle cure fruit that cures every known ailment. If you want to stay healthy and feel energetic and young the key is going to bed early, getting up early, a good diet supplemented with acai berry 19 fruit juice, and exercise.

The reason for a supplement is due to modern agriculture methods that deplete the soil and robs us of nutrients. The meat and milk from animals that are fed grain instead of grass are high in omega 6 and no omega 3. The meat and milk of pasture fed animals are high in Omega 3’s (EPA and DHA) but that isn’t what is sold in the grocery stores. Some medical research suggest that excesive levels of omega 6, relative to omega 3 may increase the ptobability of a number of diseases and depresision.  DHA is one type of Omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain development that is found in breastmilk. EPA is another type of Omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain function that is found in breastmilk, fatty fish and algae.

Ready to start eating acai berry? First you have to get the acai berry out of the Amazon rain forest.

Carole-Anne Stanway asked:


The apple was the first fruit mentioned in the bible, not always allowing the noble apple to prove the life enhancing powers it does possess. The pectin in the reddest apples has among the most antioxidants of any natural food. Science continues to show cases of high priced medications contain potent versions of what we are eating naturally all the while. A healthy recipe for healthy living does include the humble apple.

Apples come in a variety of excellent flavors, shapes, colors for us to choose from, in order to tantalize our taste buds, and encourages us to eat this great fruit right off the tree it was grown on.

Apples help our bodies fight cancer; studies have shown that there are several components in juicy fruit, such as apples, which help to prevent the growth of cancer cells. Healthy apples are most potent when the fruit is eaten whole, including the skin, and by choosing the darker apples, such as deep Red Delicious, Fuji, Jonathan, Rome Beauty and Red Spartan. Apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. Italian researchers found people who ate more than one apple a day lowered their risk for oral, esophageal, colon, breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers by 9 to 42%.

Apples benefit our health by helping to fight cholesterol. Two key components, the pectin in the reddest apples and poly-phenols, which have the most anti-oxidants of any natural food, can help to lower cholesterol, and prevent the oxidation of LDL, which is the bad cholesterol. Bad cholesterol results from the chemical process that fills the arteries with clogging plaque. Save the apple skin; it has two to six times the antioxidants that the actual flesh of the apple has, science shows, and most of us need all the help we can get when it comes to healthy eating.

Apples make us smarter. Apples boost the production of acetylcholine, which is a chemical that transmits messages between nerve cells. In a recent study from the University of Massachusetts, researchers suggest that apples may keep your brain ’smarter’ as you age and the components help boost our memory, potentially lessening the possibility of getting Alzheimer’s disease.

You know the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. It may well be true that it is time to rethink this, and start eating your apples as a receipe for healthy living.

Apples help us to breathe easier. United Kingdom researchers found that children of pregnant women who ate apples during pregnancy, were less likely to wheeze or develop asthma by the age of five. This healthy fruit may also protect the lungs of adults, help in the prevention of asthma, lung cancer and other diseases.

Many people have eaten apples all their lives but ppeled for them in order to not take in all the pesticides used in apple growing. Recently, many have changed their thinking and have taken to organic, whenever possible, or washing the regular treated apples thoroughly, in order to eat the healthy peel. Organic is wonderful, but not always available.

The next reason to eat healthy apples daily is, that apples are a difficult food to eat; they require chewing a great deal, as they are dense and firm. This healthy food is packed with fiber, approximately five grams per apple, and is low in calories, approximately 80 for a medium sized apple. Apples contain a natural sugar which enters the bloodstream slowly, keeping our insulin levels steady; a much better choice than a sugary snack, which will give us a fast high, then a low in our sugar levels, creating hunger faster, as well as giving us little nutritional value.

Apples are truly a beneficial choice for healthy living. It is highly recommended you keep eating apples, as they are one of nature’s perfect foods, and after eating these gems, you will feel full longer, keep your cholesterol lower, be smarter, breathe easier, help to boost your memory, and keep your insulin at a decent level. What more could we ask from one healthy food?

Tobius Whitman asked:


If you are a considering both your weight and nutritional health then the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book (s) can be a very valuable tool. Weight Watcher Complete Cook Books have had numerous version released over the years, with changes in recipes and the changes to match their Weight Watcher Diet Programs. This article will offer an objective review of the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Books, detailing its advantages and disadvantages and whether or not it will be useful to you.

As mentioned in the introduction there are several version of Weight Watcher Complete Cook Books available, some even date back far enough to be currently out of print. They generally come in the form of a significant number of recipes (500, give or take), which are often based in handy loose-leaf binder. The recipes you will find in the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book, no matter what version you are using, are extremely varied and cover a whole gamut of sauces, breads, soups, meats, chicken, fish, and vegetarian entrees, pasta, vegetable, grain, and potato side dishes, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, deserts. The meals and recipes in the book are based around healthy and nutritional principles, however they are not so different from many of the favourite foods you may already enjoy as part of your diet. The inclusion of familiar foods in the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book includes; Pizza, Oven “Fried” Chicken, Beef Stew, Tuna Noodle Casserole, Chocolate Cake and much more. There is also a great number of incredible International inspired recipes that have been adored by customers worldwide. Thus the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book’s certainly have quality and quantity in terms of recipes, however it is the nutritional focus that differentiates it from your everyday cookbook.

The best feature of the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book’s, and all Weight Watcher Cook Books, is the nutritional breakdown that is provided with each recipe. Used generally as the basis for the Weight Watcher Program (particularly the Weight Watcher Points Plan), the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book focuses on recipes that a tasty and nutritional by giving the dieter a review of the nutritional elements in each recipe (inc. the total Weight Watcher Point Value of the meal). The breakdown in the Weight Watchers Complete Cook Books includes details of the calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fibre, protein, and calcium, as well as the Weight Watcher Points. The Weight Watchers Cook Book’s are extremely balanced providing recipes for all types of dieters, whether you are a busy single professional who only has time for a quick after-work meal, or a house-wife (husband) who wants to prepare a nutritional dinner for the a family of four, this book has it all.

In addition to the bulk quality of the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book’s there are also several little features that are very beneficial:

- handy tips for use of leftovers

- the inside scoop on how Weight Watchers tamed calories and fat, while maintaining tasty meals

- helpful hints for getting meals on the table faster

- basics of related Weight Watcher Plans

Now some of the negatives for the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book. While the nutritional breakdown is extremely useful for dieters, the Weight Watcher Point Values will only be relevant if you have an understanding of the points, and generally if you are taking part of a Weight Watcher Point System plan. Furthermore many of the older versions of the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Books are now outdated due to changes that have occurred in the points system employed by Weight Watchers as the plans have changed. If you are planning on purchasing a Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book as a supplement to your Weight Watcher Plan it is recommended you ensure that it relates to the current plan you are on.

Therefore if you are after a Weight Watchers Complete Cook Book it is certainly a choice that will provide your cooking with a variety and taste equal of any cook book on the market, while also looking after your weight and health. However if you are using the Weight Watcher Complete Cook Book to supplement your Weight Watcher Plan then it is very important to ensure the version you purchase matches the plan you are currently under.

Mick Reade asked:


Every person likes their steak cooked a different way, so throughout this article I will make sure that I cover each possible different way so that you will always get the best result for yourself or whoever you cook for.

There are several different cuts of beef that will make a great steak, and there are also many grades of beef to consider, depending on what the cow was fed on the farm, so your first step is to choose which one you would prefer. The choices include rump, scotch fillet, porterhouse, eye fillet and T-bone as the main premium cuts generally eaten. The beef’s grading will come down largely to marbling and maturity of the meat. There is a debate as to which is better out of grain-fed and grass-fed cattle, and really the answer is grass-fed beef is healthier for you as it is the most natural form of the cattle, while grain-fed beef will have a lot more marbling and flavour, so I will leave that choice up to you which way you want to go. As for maturity, I recommend finding a butcher that will hang your meat for quite a long time in their meat locker before carving it, I have found that 27 days is ideal. This will help tenderize the meat by having it stretched out and relaxing the muscles, to give you the best possible final result.

The rump and porterhouse are firmer cuts, and the rump in particular can be a bit tougher and chewier than the rest, and you will find a strip of fat at the top of each of these steaks, which will help flavour and tenderize the steak during the cooking process. Both these cuts I would recommend eating rare to medium-rare (I will discuss steak doneness a little later).

Meanwhile the scotch fillet will come very nicely marbled with fat throughout, and can usually be distinguished by a C-shaped piece of fat close to one side. Due to the marbling it will be very tender and full of flavour (however if you’re on a diet it may be one to avoid for now), and I recommend eating it medium-rare to medium.

The eye fillet is the most tender cut of beef, and will normally be free of fat, although this also means you may need to do something extra to add some flavour to it, the most popular way being to wrap bacon around it during cooking, so the fatty flavours of the bacon are absorbed by the steak. This is my personal favourite steak, and is best eaten medium-rare to medium.

Lastly we come to the T-bone, which has both the eye fillet and porterhouse on either side of the bone, and will get its flavour from the strip of fat on the outside of the porterhouse. I recommend eating the T-bone rare to medium-rare, though it can be tricky to cook evenly due to the bone in the middle.

Once you’ve decided which cut of steak you will be eating, you need to work out how big a piece of meat you want. A normal-sized steak is generally around 300g for a good-sized meal, however it could range anywhere from 150g up to 1kg and even more! The size of your steak will become important later when you want to cook it to a particular doneness. For example, two different rump steaks could quite easily weigh the same amount, yet be completely different shapes, sometimes they can be wide and flat, and sometimes short and thick, depending on what part of the rump the steak was cut from. Choosing the size of your steak and the shape go hand-in-hand, it’s best to have a thicker steak for a rare or medium-rare steak, and when you want a medium-well or above thinner is better. This is so it doesn’t take a long time for you to cook, and you can still have a juicy steak without burning the outside.

Now let’s just get away from the steak for a minute and think about what you’re actually going to cook it on. Ideally you should have a chargrill, one that sits on an angle, and has enough space underneath the flame to have a tray that you can put a small piece of wood on. What I personally prefer is mesquite wood, which comes from the USA, and the best thing to do is to soak it in water for a couple of hours before cooking. This will help the wood give off its smoky flavour rather than just burn away, and it will also last longer, usually for at least a couple of hours.

I mentioned earlier that if possible your grill should be built on an angle, sloping up towards the back. As you know, heat rises, so naturally you should find the hottest part of your grill at the back, and get slightly cooler closer to the front. Most grills and hotplates in general will have certain “hotspots” that you will need to find for each one to work out the bests places to position your food when cooking. Once you’ve used a particular grill a couple of times you should find it quite easy to figure out your favourite spots to cook on. The combination of knowing where your “hotspots” are and using an angled grill will make it easier to find the best position to cook your steak. If you don’t have a chargrill to use and you have a flatgrill or a hotplate instead, I would recommend not cooking your steak entirely through on the hotplate, particularly for medium or above, seal it on both sides then place your steak on a tray and finish it off in an oven. Otherwise all you will do is burn the outside and lose all the moisture and juiciness from your meat.

The other element to consider is how you would like your steak cooked. In general, a well-done steak should be placed at the back, a medium steak in the middle of the grill, and a rare steak at the front. Obviously, this leaves medium-rare between the front and middle, and the medium-well between the middle and the back. In some situations you will need to adjust this slightly depending on the size and shape of your steak, a big, thick rump may need to be pushed a bit further up the grill to cook properly, while a thin and flat porterhouse might be best kept a little closer to the front to avoid overcooking. Your steak positioning will come down largely to personal preference and a bit of practice and experience with your grill.

Now that you should have worked out where on the grill you will place your steak, you’re almost ready to start cooking! What you need to consider now is how you will season your steak. You may not want any seasoning, that’s fine, go right ahead and start cooking. If you wish to use salt and pepper, I would suggest waiting until one side of your steak has been sealed before sprinkling any on, as salt has the tendency to leech out some of the moisture from your meat. My preferred method of seasoning is to get a really good steak seasoning spice and generously cover both sides before placing your steak on the grill. When you do place your steak on the grill, if you are going to have a rump or a porterhouse, make sure you place the strip of fat at the top, so as it cooks the fat will melt and drip through the steak, adding extra flavour to your meat.

The process of actually cooking your steak is quite simple, but there are a few key things you need to know to get the best result. Firstly, the advantage of using the chargrill means you can have nice cross-markings on your steak when it’s finished, which looks fantastic for presentation. To achieve this, your steak will need to be turned three times, the first time straight over itself, then on the second turn spin it around 90 degrees so the lines from the grill will cross over each other and make little brown squares all over the steak, and then the third and final turn will be straight over itself again. When you’re finished the steak should have cross-markings on both sides, and you can choose whichever side looks best to serve facing up.

What you should find if you have got the grill positioning right for your preferred doneness, 3-4 minutes in between each turn should have your steak turn out just the way you like it! (If you are cooking your steak bleu, you only need to cook it for 3 minutes on each side in total, just enough to seal each side basically).

This is just a guide to work by only, as each grill will produce slightly different results, but definitely the most important stage of cooking your steak is knowing when it is at the exact doneness you would like. This can sometimes be a little tricky, but there are a couple of methods for testing your steak without needing to cut into it. The best method to use when you’re just starting to learn would be what I call the “thumb test”. Hold your left hand out open and relaxed, and press the flesh of your left thumb with your right index finger. It should feel quite soft, and this is how a rare steak should feel when you press it with your finger.

Now lightly touch your left thumb to your left index finger, and press the flesh of your thumb with your right index finger. This is how a medium-rare steak should feel when it’s ready. Next, lightly touch your left thumb to your left middle finger, and pressing the flesh of your left thumb will feel like a medium steak when it’s ready. Touching your left thumb to your left ring finger will make the flesh of your left thumb feel like a medium-well steak, and touching the left thumb to your left little finger will make the flesh of your thumb feel like a well-done steak. Try this out as a guide to get you started, and as with all things, practice and experience will help you hone your ability and instincts to know just when your steak is cooked to perfection! And just as importantly, make sure you get feedback from every person that you cook a steak for, this will make your progress go much faster. As they say, “feedback is the breakfast of champions!”

Another method to use, which can be a little bit sneaky, is if you can see into the middle of the steak at the edges to see what colour the middle looks like. This works really well for a scotch fillet, as you can gently pull away part of the meat right where the C-shaped piece of fat is without damaging your steak, and see if the inside is red, pink or grey.

Now I will explain to you each doneness, so you can work out how you would like to cook it and so you know what to look for when it is finished.

I will start with bleu, which is basically just sealed, is still very red in the middle, quite mushy to the touch, and will feel a little cool inside, only slightly warmed.

Rare is red in the middle from edge to edge, a little mushy, and will just feel warm inside. Medium-rare is red in the middle and pink at the edges, and will feel warm inside. Medium is pink in the middle from edge to edge, feels tender to the touch, and will be warm to hot inside. Medium-well still has a quarter in the middle that is pink, and will be grey at the edges, feels quite firm and is hot inside. If you plan to cook your steak medium-well or above, I would suggest you could speed up the cooking time by using a steak weight to place on top of your steak. It should be shiny silver and kept clean, and what will happen is the heat coming up from the flames below will be reflected down on to the top of the steak so it cooks on both sides. Make sure if you use a steak weight that you only place it on your steak after sealing one side so there is no chance of cross-contamination. Well-done steaks are grey throughout, no pink at all, quite firm, although can still be juicy, and is very hot inside. Very well-done steaks are grey throughout with no pink at all, very firm, very hot, and no juices whatsoever. You can also get your steak cooked Pittsburgh, which basically means charring the outside so it is burnt while the inside doesn’t need to be completely cooked. For example, if you want to have your steak Pittsburgh-Rare, you could char the outside, and the inside would be red in the middle from edge to edge. To do this you will need some oil or butter, I personally use lemon butter just for the flavouring, and drizzle some over the steak until it drips onto the flames underneath. Your goal here is to build the flames up so they are licking at the steak and will cook the outside much faster than the inside.

CAUTION! Be very mindful of how much butter you use, make sure you have fire safety equipment, and if necessary that you have adult supervision. Do not do this if you do not feel comfortable working with large flames, it can be very dangerous if something nearby catches fire, so please be very careful if this is how you would like to have your steak cooked.

Everybody has different preferences when it comes to their beef, but I would urge you to try each different way so you can work out for yourself what’s best for you. Many people fear the sight of blood coming out of their steak, if you can work up the courage to try something new for yourself, who know, you might find you really like it! I personally eat my steaks medium-rare, and would like to take this opportunity to mention that once your steak starts getting to medium-well and above, you really lose a lot of the nutritional benefits of eating beef, so I would recommend not cooking your steak any more than medium, but obviously that is a choice that is entirely up to you.

Now all that’s left to do is to serve up your perfectly cooked steak, there are many choices of sides and sauces, far too many to list here. I always love it with a creamy mashed potato and seasonal steamed vegetables, and my favourite sauce is mushroom sauce. If you have the time the best sauce is made using beef bones, cooked off with a little tomato paste, then make a stock by boiling the bones in water with some celery, carrots, onion, leeks, bay leaves and peppercorns. Simmer it for a couple of hours until it reduces about three-quarters, and then remove the bones and vegetables. Add some red wine and port, and reduce it down to about half of where it is now, until it starts to thicken with a nice consistency. From here you can add some sliced mushrooms, or peppercorns if you prefer, and even add a little cream if you like as well. This is very time consuming to make the jus (rich beef gravy), but if you can do it you will find it well worthwhile. One other little tip I have for you is to brush a small amount of lemon butter over your steak before saucing it, this will keep your steak very juicy and tender.

I hope you enjoy cooking and eating many steaks in the future, and make sure you go out and impress your friends with your newfound cooking skills!

Helen Hecker asked:


If you’ve been hearing a lot about raw foods lately it’s because people are finally starting to pay attention to what they’re putting into their mouths and the effect it’s having on their bodies. It’s long been known that healthier diets are those that include a lot of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds and are often referred to as the raw food diet.

Raw food diets are not the kind of diet you go on to just lose weight although you’ll lose a lot of weight fast, but a lifetime approach to a better quality of life and superior health.

Raw foods are also called living foods, and are essentially foods that are alive. Cooked foods include all those foods that have been cooked, canned, processed, packaged or refined, etc., in other words, anything that is no longer alive.

Adding more living foods to your diet has many health benefits. People find they need less sleep, have much better mental clarity, can focus and concentrate on tasks, have lots of energy, lose weight, get sick less often or not at all, get rid of various ailments, have less aches and pains and more.

Raw foods retain the enzymes they need to digest it properly. If foods are not raw then the enzyme structure has been tampered with by heating and they can no longer do their natural job which is to digest the food they are a part of. This makes the body work harder and the raw food community experts believe it’s because the body has to tap emergency enzyme supplies in the pancreas to digest the cooked food. This makes one feel tired and less energetic after eating whereas if you eat living food you feel energized after eating.

Heating, (including pasteurization), also damages or nullifies many of the vitamins, minerals and beneficial phytonutrients.

It’s easy to start incorporating more fruits and veggies into your diet without it being a totally raw food diet. I believe we need a lot more fruits and veggies than is now promoted in the media.

For breakfast you can have two or three fruits along with whatever else you’re having except try to eliminate as much cooked, dead food, as you can. For lunch have fruits and veggies or a huge salad and eliminate any bad foods. Or have the huge salad for dinner along with some fruit and then have whatever you’d like for dinner. For snacks eat more fruit or nuts, for example.

You can easily learn to fix some of the simple raw food recipes that are found in raw food un-cookbooks. You can make things like candy, fudge, pie and cakes that are all healthy and include nothing cooked. Of course the best diet is one of all raw foods but if you’re unable to do that you’ll still greatly benefit from changing your diet to a more healthy way.

You can buy fruit at reasonable prices if you shop farms, farmer’s markets and watch sales in the whole foods stores etc. Or maybe grow some of it yourself if you can or join one of the community gardens! Besides you may be giving up some expensive healthy food in the process because your body won’t have room for it with all the fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds you’re eating!

I’m in excellent health after changing my diet to all raw foods in 1999, curing myself naturally of breast cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, acid reflux, sinus infections, digestive problems and many other ailments.

Try changing your diet to include more living or raw foods even if it’s slow-going and you’ll start to see some wonderful changes in your health. You don’t have to eat an all raw food diet to enjoy great health. Soon you may find that besides loving feeling great you really do enjoy raw foods.

Darren Craddock asked:


Acai fruit juice is a super food juice that comes from the rainforest. It is made from the acai berry and grows on an Amazon palm tree. While it has been used for many years by Brazilian people, it is slowly making its way around the world. There are several benefits to drinking this juice including its incredible taste and many health benefits.

Acai fruit juice is considered a super food because it contains everything you need naturally from the berry. It is packed with nutrients and can build up your immunity tremendously. Much like other fruits, you can and should include it in your daily diet.

To many people’s surprise, this fruit is extremely high in essential fatty acids. However, essential fatty acids are good for the body because they support the cardiovascular, reproductive, immune, and nervous system. By attaining the essential fatty acids they can repair the body at a cellular level. This helps enable the cells to obtain optimum nutrition and get eliminate waste products.

If cholesterol is a problem for your health, this super food juice is perfect for you. This juice has a class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. These flavonoids are phytochemicals, which are similar to those found in red wine. However, this purple juice contains 10 to 30 times more anthocyanins than what is found in red wine. Because of this, it is great for balancing cholesterol levels.

Acai fruit juice is also beneficial to help you get your daily vitamins. It is packed with a wide variety of vitamins that you typically would not receive with anything else. Some vitamins you will get include Vitamin B1, B2, B3, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Calcium. In addition, it is also rich in iron and fiber.

Some other benefits you will get from this super food juice are that it has 10 times the antioxidants of grapes and almost twice the amount of antioxidants as blueberries. In fact, it has one of the highest antioxidants of anything that is on the market. It has 33 times the antioxidant level as in red wine grapes. So it is a rich and fruitful drink you do not want to leave out of your diet.

So how does all of this benefit your daily life? Obviously it will build up your immune system and supply you with more than enough vitamins needed. But in addition, it will increase your stamina, give you better sleep, better digestion, and an improved mental focus. With these kinds of benefits, acai fruit juice is certainly not a juice you want to pass up.

Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson asked:


The following is an excerpt from the book Grill!

by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

Published by Good Books; May 2006;$15.95US; 1-56148-518-7

Copyright © 2006 Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

Caramelized lamb chops

Spectacular

Grilling meltingly tender, marinated lamb chops is one of life’s simple pleasures.

Serves 4

1 cup (20g) cilantro, roughly chopped

6 Tbsp brown sugar

4 Tbsp dark soy sauce

4 Tbsp mirin, Chinese rice wine or sherry

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

16 single-rib lamb chops

To serve:

Grilled potatoes, green salad or steamed green beans

Combine the cilantro, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin and garlic in a shallow baking dish. Add the chops, turning well to coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to very hot. Brush with oil. Grill the chops to taste (4-6 minutes on each side for medium) until the edges are browned and caramelized. Transfer the chops to a platter and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving with grilled potatoes and a green salad or steamed green beans.

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Blackened halibut

Crispy heat

A hot grill coupled with a crispy, “blackened” crust adds a fiery, Cajun touch to halibut. New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme is to thank for putting “blackening” on the culinary map.

Serves 4

For the rub:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp hot paprika

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp fennel seeds, toasted and roughly chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 halibut fillets, 7oz (200g) each

Olive oil, for brushing

1 lime, quartered

Combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. Place the halibut fillets in a shallow baking dish and brush with oil. Pat the rub all over the fish. Season with more salt and pepper. Cover and chill for up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to hot. Brush the grill bars well with oil. Grill the fillets for 2-2½ minutes on each side until charred and just cooked through. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime.

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Sirloin with chimichurri marinade

Pungent

Chimichurri is a fresh herb-and-vinegar mixture used in Argentinean cuisine both for basting grilled meats and as a condiment. It’s incredible with steak, as you will see!

Serves 2

1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp chopped thyme

2 Tbsp chopped oregano

2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 Tbsp chopped rosemary

1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, chopped

1 Tbsp sweet Spanish paprika

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

½ tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1lb 50z (600g) top sirloin steak about 1 in (2.5cm) thick

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan until hot. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the steak, stir, and leave at room temperature to cool and infuse for 1 hour.

Pour one quarter of this marinade into a dish and add the steak, turning several times to coat. Reserve the remaining marinade to serve with the cooked steak. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to very hot and cook the steak for 2 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer the steak to a chopping board and loosely cover with foil. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain.

Serve with the reserved marinade.

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Shrimp and chorizo skewers

Spanish

All the juices and oils from the chorizo ooze out while cooking, leaving the shrimp succulent and spicy.

Makes 12

12 large shrimp

1 Tbsp harissa paste (optional)

2 chorizo sausages, about 6oz (150g) each

12 fresh bay leaves

1 Tbsp olive oil

12 short skewers, soaked in wood or bamboo

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the small tail ends still attached. Rub over the harissa paste evenly and set aside. Slice the chorizo into ½-in (1½-cm) thick slices. Place 1 chorizo slice into the crook of each shrimp and thread onto a skewer. Add a bay leaf to each skewer and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-hot. Brush the skewers with a little olive oil and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning once, or until the shrimp are translucent and the chorizo cooked through. Serve immediately.

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Grilled sweet potato and mango salad

Pure

A sweet, succulent and refreshing salad.

Serves 4-6

1 sweet potato, peeled

1 large mango, skin removed

For the dressing:

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp grated lime rind

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

½ tsp extra-fine sugar

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1 head Bibb or Boston (round) lettuce

½ cup (10g) fresh mint

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium.

Chop both the sweet potato and mango flesh into long wedges, about ¾-in (2cm) wide, ½-in (1 cm) thick. Place in separate dishes.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour half over the mango and potato.

With tongs in hand, arrange sweet potato wedges directly over the grill and leave for 6-8 minutes, until grill marks appear and the bottom sides begin to soften. Turn and grill the other side for a further 6 minutes. While the other sides are cooking, arrange the mango wedges directly on the grill. Grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer all the wedges to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Place them in a bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.

Arrange lettuce leaves on salad plates. Scatter the sweet potato and mango over the lettuce and add a sprinkling of sea salt and finely sliced mint.

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Angel food cake with chocolate cream

Decadent

I’ll never forget the day I first tasted grilled angel food cake with a dollop of chocolate cream. Nothing has really been the same since. Of course you can make your own cake if you prefer, but store-bought is the simple and guaranteed-to-be fluffy option.

Serves 8

For the chocolate cream:

8 Tbsp confectioners sugar

4 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp milk

1 cup (250ml) heavy cream

1 pinch cream of tartar

8 fat slices store-bought angel food cake

1-2 Tbsp confectioners sugar, for dusting

To make the chocolate cream, whisk together the confectioners sugar, cocoa powder and milk in a small bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with the cream of tartar until soft. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to hot. Dust the angel food cake slices with confectioners sugar. Grill the slices for 1 minute on each side until golden and grill marks appear on the surface. Transfer

to serving plates and top with chocolate cream.

Reprinted from Grill!. Copyright by Good Books ( www.goodbks.com ). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pippa Cuthbert is a New Zealander living and working in London. Ever since childhood she has been passionate about food and cooking. After studying Nutrition and Food Science at Otago University in New Zealand and working in the test kitchen of Nestlé New Zealand, she decided to travel the world in search of new and exciting culinary adventures. Now based in London, Pippa works as a food writer and stylist on books and magazines, and is also involved in advertising and commercials.

Food and writing are Lindsay Cameron Wilson’s passions, so she blended the two at university where she studied History, Journalism, and the Culinary Arts. She has since worked in the test kitchens of Canadian Living Magazine in Toronto and Sunset Magazine in San Francisco. In 2001 she left her job as a food columnist in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and moved to London. That’s when she met Pippa, and the work for their first book, Juice! began. Fuelled by juice, the two moved on to Ice Cream!, Soup! and now Barbecue! Lindsay continues to work as a food journalist in Canada, where she now lives with her husband, James, and son, Luke.