Healthy spices

Experimenting with spices and herbs in the preparation of food is a tasteful hobby, allthough sometimes the tastes are not always exactly what you expected.

I love the old arabic spices (especias Morunos) I learned to cook with in the south of Spain: cinnamon, cloves, all kinds of peper, cummin and coriander, curcumin and ginger and  

Ras el Hanout

Some of them are really good for you, I guess that is why they are being promoted so much. 

Just a couple of them in the text below:

5 Spices That Boost Your Metabolism!

1. Cinnamon

Not only can cinnamon temporarily raise your metabolism but it also has an impact on insulin sensitivity. This can improve the way your body uses glucose and can make fat cells more responsive which helps stabilize blood sugar.

Eat Groovy: 5 Things You Probably Didn't Know AboutCinnamon

2. Cayenne Pepper

Spicy peppers, such as cayenne pepper, increase metabolism by causing body temperature to rise. This burns calories as the body cools your temperature back down. As an added bonus, the same substance that gives cayenne pepper its heat, capsaicin, may also aid in digestion and help to ease pain.

3. Ginger

Along with boosting metabolism, ginger is also thought to help enhance satiety and reduce hunger. This makes it an ideal spice for those trying to lose weight! Ginger is also known for its ability to help ease an upset stomach.

Eat Groovy: Why is Ginger so Good For You?

4. Mustard

Like hot peppers, mustard increases your metabolism by raising your body temperature. Spicy or hot mustard will be more effect than regular yellow mustard. Add some to your next sandwich to give it a tasty kick and burn more calories at the same time!

5. Tumeric

Tumeric increases metabolism and also aids in digestion. A substance in tumeric called curcumin is thought to help break down fats in the body and help prevent weight gain.

Just so you know...... stay happy, stay healthy and sing or dance!  
Tweeted suggestion: Cinnamon Girl;-) 

©Gavi Mensch 
Maastricht, 19-10-2013 

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Sometimes

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Every now and then you come to a point that there doesn’t even appear to be one single road to wherever. Occasionally you lose hope and the sun doesn't even get up. Then you might think all is lost. Not true!
My camellia was pregnant for 9 months and just gave birth to her first flowers.

Patience is a must!


I embrace the idea that there might be two roads, one going and one coming back. And between those two roads one may follow paths that cross the roads and lead to different views.

Sometimes what you hear is not true. People may speak with different tongues; it depends on their state of mind and also on your own perception. From time to time people speak a different language, one you must be able to translate. Sometimes you hear what you whish to hear.
And occasionally you run into people that have been using the same roads but not the same paths in between. But it doesn't seem to matter, the destiny is the same.
The roads back and forth are paved with all sorts of intentions; one must be able to zigzag to avoid obstacles

Sometimes you learn you can twist en make braids and the result is a little confusing at first.
After a short while it forces you to listen in a different way and the elegant fusion of cultures and musical creativity illuminates the road.

The melancholic though cherished sad memories are mixed with hope for survival and spontaneous happiness.

Just listen and enjoy:



 
©Gavi Mensch
Maastricht, 11-2-2011
 
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Back Door Man by Sarah MacLachlan. It touches me.

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This beautiful song, de sound of the voice of Sarah MacLachlan, the poem.....it  fits me like a glove.
I wonder if she sings it to me, but then, that's what happens with songs and feelings, they're just  there, right time, right place. I want to share it with you because I know many of you feel the same. You may cry, get angry or sad. And when you've finnished listening, you may put your daily smile back on.  You can tell me life is as wonderful as it should be, but we will both know: Smetimes it just isn't!



You open your eyes, look around

You feel the earth it wanders -
Out, from under your feet - the ground
Is not firm but soft and weak - like skin
Under the touch, cannot stop to falter
Now, the damage is done the certainties gone
The spirits altered

And now the angry morning
Gives the early signs of warning
You must face alone the plans you make
Decisions they will try to break

Our hands are tied on the table
Maybe you can try at the back door man
While the helpless line up on the doorsteps
'Cause it's all they can do to try to get through
All of your life you've lived in a world as pure
As Eden's sixth day - now all you've been allowed
Is taken away - they will not let you be so proud

And you have felt the fear growing inside
Protest follows far and wide - they'll see how long
It will take 'till you fall - from so much denied
Your soul - it aches relentless from the fear
That they will never guess - so unfair that

They can make you feel so small
And the fear you know is real



 
song and lyrics by Sarah MacLachlan 1991
 
©Gavi Mensch
Mother Earth
25-1-2011
 
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