CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

Cooking time: 5 mins                Preparation time: 3 mins           Difficulty: Super easy

INGREDIENTS   

. 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa powder
. 5 tablespoons Milk (Full cream)
. 1/4 teaspoon Baking powder
. 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
. 4 tablespoons All-purpose Flour
. 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar

PREPARATION

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl or you can mix it straight into the mug you're using.

2. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir till you get an almost smooth and thick consistency. At this point you can add chocolate chips, nuts or whatever catches your fancy if you like. Just make sure it's something that goes well with Chocolate.

3. Pour the mixture into the mug or if you already mixed everything in the mug, just place the mug in your microwave oven. Set the temperature to high and timer to 5 minutes or you can set it to medium high and timer to 8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of your cake comes out clean.Serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!!

WEEK 7: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR- THE SOUR WINE

Hello clean fam. How y'all doing? I know I've been AWOL for some weeks but don't worry it's all for a good cause but for what it's worth I missed you all.
Thank God it's another Friday and I'm excited about this particular friday because I have a dinner to go to. I've spent all week indoors trying to make the world a better place but today I get to dress up, put on a pair of heels that might hurt a little but I don't mind because they're fabulous, let my hair down, and look fly as ever but before all that craziness begins I'm here to tell you about a little secret of mine called Apple Cider Vinegar or ACV as I like to call it. I don't tell a lot of people about ACV because I have this fear that if I do, I'll wake up one morning to find out that all the ACVs in the market are gone. It sounds silly I know but that's how I feel, ok?
How is this awesome liquid made you ask? I'll tell you. Vinegar generally, is one of nature's great gifts to mankind. Any alcoholic beverage whether it is made from apples, grapes, dates, rice or plain white sugar, once exposed to air, will turn naturally to vinegar. It is the ever present bacteria in the air that converts the alcohol in apple cider (derived from fermented apples), into acetic acid, which gives ACV and all other vinegars their characteristic sharp sour taste.
Now you know how it is prepared, let's move on to a brief history of ACV, shall we?

BRIEF HISTORY

Apple cider vinegar or ACV has being around for at least 10, 000 years. It was used to treat various ailments such as scurvy, stomach aches and so many other ailments. The Babylonians revered it for it's healing powers and not to be out done, the Egyptians who never fail to turn super foods into idols, stored it in urns and used it to send their dead into the afterlife probably so they'll have something to drink incase they get thirsty on their journey, #Justsaying.
ACV also reported to have been used as a healing elixir by my boo Hippocrates (father of modern medicine). You see Hippy and I go way back, he understood the value of eating healthy.
ACV doesn't necessarily smell great so you see why I got confused when I discovered that the Parisians during the middle ages used it as deodorant. How? Why? I mean these guys are known for their exquisite perfumes, they rule the world of perfumes, my favourite perfumes were created by french designers so how on earth did they imagine that ACV would smell great in their arm pits? Well, I leave that to your imagination. The Parisians also appreciated ACV as a healing tonic and as a preserver of youth, ohhhhhhhh now this has definitely got your attention. I know that getting old is a thing of pride especially if you have and still are achieving a lot but I also believe in ageing gracefully which for  me means being 70 and looking 35. Like my mum, she's in her 60s and she looks 45, people think I'm her younger sister and then they turn pale when I tell them I'm the last of 5 children. I've always envied her for that though but don't tell her I said so. When I discovered that ACV was used to preserve youth in ancient times, you can not imagine my joy, I've being drinking it by the gallon ever since. I mean wouldn't it be nice to look youthful and fresh without nipping and tucking or slicing off a chunk of your face so the rest can be stretched to elastic limit?
In addition to all of ACV's wonderful properties,  it was also used to disinfect wounds during the American civil war and heal wounds. All in all very useful.
So  let's get down to the health benefits of ACV.

HEALTH BENEFITS

- ACV as a Potent Antimicrobial
ACV has been used since time immemorial to help kill pathogens, including bacteria. I earlier mentioned that my boo Hippocrates a.k.a Hippy, used it  to treat infections. It has traditionally been used for cleaning and disinfecting, treating nail fungus, lice, warts and ear infections. ACV has been used as a food preservative,  and studies show that it inhibits bacteria ( like E.Coli) from growing in the food and spoiling it.

- ACV and Your Skin
ACV helps with acne. Simply dilute ACV in water and apply to the affected area. There have been no reports of ACV helping with acne but it only makes sense since acne is a bacteria infection and ACV is known for treating bacteria infections.

-ACV and Diabetes
ACV lowers blood sugar and this is by far the most successful application of vinegar to date especially in patients with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by elevated blood sugars, either because the patient's body resists insulin or the patient's body is unable to produce insulin. But don't get happy just yet because you haven't tested positive to diabetes. Elevated blood sugar can also be a problem in  people who don't have diabetes, it is believed to be a major cause of ageing and various chronic diseases, so if you want to look young, fresh and hot like I do * batting eyelids*, then watch your sugar intake and the most effective way to do that is to avoid refined carbs and sugar, but ACV may also have a powerful effect on blood sugar levels. ACV improves insulin sensitivity during a high-carb meal e.g fufu (pounded cassava), garri (cassava flakes), pounded yam, sweet potatoes,  I can keep going because a major percentage of our diet in Nigeria consist of high-carb meals, so ACV improves insulin sensitivity by 19-34% and significantly lowers blood glucose and insulin responses.
2 tablespoons of ACV  before bedtime can reduce fasting blood sugar by 4% . If you're currently taking blood sugar lowering medications, then check with your doctor before increasing your intake of ACV.

ACV and Weight loss
Several human studies suggest that ACV can increase satiety ( a feeling or condition of being full after eating), help you eat fewer calories and even lead to actual pounds lost on the scale. Vinegar along with high-carb meals can increase feelings of fullness and make people eat 200-275 fewer calories for the rest of the day. By reducing calorie intake, this should translate to reduced weight over time. This is not to say you should stop exercising or watching what you eat and how much  you eat, these activities contribute greatly to the general wellbeing of the human body.
A study in obese individuals showed that daily vinegar consumption led to reduced belly fat, waist circumference,  lower blood triglycerides and weight loss.

SIDE EFFECTS,  DOSAGE AND HOW TO USE IT

ACV doesn't seem to have any known side effects. So long as it is consumed normally. The best way to incorporate it into your diet is to use it  in your cooking for salad dressings, mayonnaise or drink it like I do. Now when I say drink it, I don't mean undiluted because remember it is sour, very sour, it might hurt  your throat if you drink it undiluted. Simply dilute 1-2 tablespoons of ACV in a tall glass of water, you could add a tablespoon of honey if you're not into sour tasting drinks, I usually add honey to mine but I can do without, either way I like it. I also make sure the water I'm using is cold, it makes it a lot more refreshing.
There are so many brands of ACV in the market today but it is recommended to use organic, unfiltered ACV with the "mother" . How can you tell if it is organic? I'll tell you. When you want to buy a bottle of ACV, make sure the liquid in the bottle is cloudy with web-like substance settled at the bottom of the bottle, that web-like substance is the "mother", that's the one to go for.

I can go on and on about ACV because it's simply amazing. I can tell you how it can be used to treat fungal infection in the nails, how it can be used as a hair conditioner, how it is a very effective cleaning agent in the home or how it can be used as a disinfectant in your bathing water and so much more but I have to move on to other things. I gotta start prepping for that dinner I told you about. So till next week, I remain your ever loving, healthy food blogger. Eat clean, stay healthy and blessed.

WEEK 6: LET'S GO NUTS FOR CASHEWS

Thank God it's Friday again. This is a continuation of our nut craze, I guess we should just make the month of November our 'go nuts for nuts' month. Last week I told you guys all about the amazing peanut which happens to be more of a legume than a nut and this week we're turning up with Cashew nuts, whoop! Whoop!! Most of the time we eat nuts as food snacks and sometimes chefs add it to food to enhance the texture, flavour or presentation of a dish, nuts are verstaile like that but whether it is eaten as a snack or used to enhance a dish, it is packed with nutrients. I especially like it in salads and desserts,  the crunch keeps the food interesting. As usual I'll begin with a little history lesson. So sit back and let me school you a little.

CASHEW NUT HISTORY 101

Cashew a.k.a Anacardium Occidentale (botanical name) but we'll just stick to the name cashew because these long names are just tiresome. It belongs to the family Anacadiacea which makes it a sibling to Poison Ivy, mango and pistachio (one of my favourite nuts). It was originally introduced into India by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Cashew originated in Brazil but India is currently the world's largest exporter and consumer of cashew nuts, followed by Nigeria, although in 2010 Nigeria ranked higher than India in consumption and exportation of these nuts.
Unlike most fruits where the seed is found inside the flesh, cashew seed hangs from the cashew apple (the juicy delicious, yellow or red fruit). The cashew apple is only available to those who grow the plant because it is much too perishable to bring to the market. Cashew apples begin to ferment as soon as they are picked and will barely last 24 hours. I'm sure if it had the shelf life of apples and other fruits it will be more commercially relevant than the  it's nut because I think cashew apple is one of the most delicious fruits in the world. I'll choose it over an apple or strawberry any day.
The kidney shaped cashew nut is encased in a hard shell with two layers. In between these layers is a black substance called cardol, which is extremely caustic and can cause blistering of the skin upon contact. This substance is removed during the shelling process and is used in the making of such products as varnish,  insecticides,  paint and even rocket lubricant. For this primary reason cashews are never sold in their shells. I love eating cashews but the black substance in the shells scares  the life out of me because my skin is very dear to me. In some rural areas in Nigeria, people use the black liquid substance or cardol to burn their names or their lover's names into their skin and when the burn heals it looks like a tatoo. Why on earth would I want my name tatooed on my body? Am I that self absorbed or am I planning to get hit in the head and forget my name? Having a lover's name tatooed on your body is just hilarious and to suffer such terrible burning pain from the cardol just to prove to someone how much I love them and that I'll never forget their name, makes it even more hilarious. A note saying I love you or flowers or dinner and a movie will do. Since it's the rural areas, cook a pot of soup with bush meat for the 'lover', that's expressive enough. The worse part is after the burn heals, tbe tatoo hardly looks like what it was intended to look like. Sometimes it looks like a bad bruise or a cockroach that is belly up and is wriggling it's legs trying to get  back on it's feet or a disturbed ant trail, it's just ugly. I wouldn't advice anybody to do it but if you say you must then all I can say is more grease to your elbow.
So far cashew has become one of the world's most popular nuts. Cashew nuts are very popular in south east Asia cuisine and Indian cuisine to thicken water-based soups and to form a base of sauces for curries or some sweets. It is also used in powdered form in the preparation of several indian desserts. Cashew nuts taste better when roasted, infact I think all nuts taste better when roasted. So that's it for a brief history of cashews and cashew nuts, now for an even more interesting aspect; the health benefits.

HEALTH BENEFITS

A serving of cashew nuts which is about quarter of a cup has about 221 calories and healthy calories for that matter.  Cashew nuts are rich in copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium and zinc.

- Heart Protective Monounsaturated Fats
Not only do cashew nuts have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 82% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 66% of this unsaturated fatty acid content is heart healthy monounsaturated fats. If I have to give an indepth explanation of why unsaturated fatty acids are good for you then we'll be talking a whole lot of biochemistry which I find interesting and you'll probably find boring. So all you need to know is unsaturated fatty acids or cholesterol are good for you and saturated fatty acids or cholesterol are bad for you. The monounsaturated fat in cashew nuts is similar to those found in olive oil. Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to low fat diet can help to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a form in which fats are carried in the blood and high triglyceride levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, so ensuring you have monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashew nuts is a good idea  especially for persons with diabetes.

- Copper, The Defense Metal
Copper is an essential component of  many enzymes. Copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes including iron utilization, eradication of free radicals, development of bones and connective tissue and the production of the skin and hair pigment called melanin. So for my dark skinned sisters who have refused to appreciate their beautiful ebony skin and have decided to use chemicals so they can be 'flourescent' in complexion, copper is one of the culprit behind your skin pigmentation but keep in mind that if you decide to deprive yourself of foods that contain copper then you also run  the risk of having free radicals on rampage in your body since copper acts as antioxidant defenses, in addition to energy loss because copper is an essential component of an enzyme which plays a big role in energy production.  You'll also suffer from stiff blood vessels, bones and joints since copper is necessary for the activity of an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints. Low dietry intake of copper also increase the risk for colon cancer. So do yourself a favour and stay black, you're beautiful just the way you are.

- Cashews and Your Bones
It is common knowledge that calcium is necessary for strong bones but so also is magnesium and cashew nuts happen to be rich in magnesium. More than  half of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. It helps give bones their physical structure. Magnesium also helps to balance calcium which helps to regulate nerve and muscle tone. In many nerve cells magnesium serves as nature's own calcium channel blocker  preventing calcium from rushing into nerve cells and activating the nerve. By blocking calcium's entry, magnesium keeps our nerves relaxed. If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, however, calcium can gain free entry, and the nerve cell can be overactivated. That can't be good. Insufficient magnesium can contribute to high blood pressure, muscle spasms, fatigue and migrain. Studies have shown that magnesium helps reduce the frequency of migrain attacks  lowers blood pressure, helps prevent heart attacks, promotes normal  sleep pattern in women suffering from menopausal sleep disturbances, and reduces the severity of asthma.

In conclusion, cashew nuts are simply the bomb. Staying healthy isn't so hard if we would just eat right. So let's keep eating clean, stay healthy and alive unless you're some sort of terrorist then we don't need you to be healthy or alive. Till next week, have a blessed weekend.

SORRY CLEAN FAM, NO POST THIS WEEK.

I apologise and promise that next week I'll have something new and interesting for you. Till then, have a blessed weekend.  Eat clean, stay healthy and alive.

WEEK 4: LET'S GO NUTS FOR PEANUTS

Hello clean fam. Hope you all had a lovely week. Thank God the weekend is here again. I love weekends except when I have a clients wedding, birthday or any event, then I know my weekend's gonna be crazy. I happen to be one of those chefs that has a hard time leaving a job for her workers, no matter how many they are or how competent they are, I just have to be in the center of it all and everything has to go my way. I know I sound like a control freak but that part of me is dominant only in the kitchen.
So today I'm going to tell you about my favourite nut in the world  the Peanut or groundnut, whatever name suits you. There's just something about peanuts that keeps me coming back for more. Some say it's the culprit behind the horrible acne experience they've suffered, others say it isn't. Well I think one man's food is another man's poison. I happen to belong to the first category of people that think it aggravates acne because whenever I eat peanuts,  I wake up with a greasy face but that hasn't stopped me from eating peanuts. If you're one of those who read the bible like me, there's a scripture in the book of Job where Job  said to God "though you slay me, still will I trust you", well that's kind of how I'll describe my relationship with peanuts, though it greases up my face, still will I eat it. Now I'll give you a brief history of peanuts and peanut butter.

BRIEF HISTORY

The peanut plant originated in South America,  probably Peru. There are no fossil records to prove this but people in South America made pottery in the shape of peanuts as far back as 3, 500 years ago. I guess archaeologists are too busy digging up dinosaur fossil and searching for king Solomon's mines, to even worry about peanut fossil. The Incans of Peru in Brazil used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life. Picture a mummy, still wrapped in grave cloth, sipping a beer and eating peanuts or doing it the way we do in Nigeria, soaking garri( cassava flakes) and  groundnut.
Peanuts were grown as far North as Mexico when the spanish began their exploration of the new world. The explorers took peanuts back to spain, and from there traders and explorers spread them to Asia and Africa. Africans were the first people to introduce peanuts to North America beginning in 1700s. No wonder they thought it was slave food, little did they know what they were missing out on and that in a few years down the line they will be one of the world's largest consumers of peanuts. Records show that it wasn't until the early 1800s that peanuts were grown as commercial crop in the United States.  So they missed out on 100 years of peanut delight, ignorance is such a terrible thing. They were first grown in Virginia and used mainly for oil, food and as a cocoa substitute.  At this time peanuts were regarded as a food for livestock and the poor and were considered difficult to grow and harvest. Peanuts remained unpopular in the U.S until someone by the name of PT Barnum travelled across the country, selling roasted peanut in a circus wagon. Soon other street vendors joined the trade. They sold roasted peanuts in carts and it also became popular at baseball games.
Like peanut by itself wasn't good enough, a Canadian by the name of Marcellus Gilmore Edson, in his God given wisdom decided to invent Peanut butter. God bless his soul and God bless the Maple leaf country. He first developed it as a delicious and nutritious staple for people who could hardly chew on solid food. Afetrwards other people got into the peanut butter making business.
Peanut has become such a big deal around the world especially in the U.S. For people who didn't think much of it in the first place the North Americans sure love it a great deal. There are six cities in the U.S named peanut, can you believe that? They have Peanut, California; lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; upper Peanut, Pennsylvania;  Peanut Pennsylvania; Peanut Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia. That's a lot of peanuts. They even have a whole month dedicated to peanuts, yeah! The month of March. I heard a funny but true story about a man named Tom Miller who pushed a peanut to the top of Pike's peak which happens to be 14, 100 feet high, using his nose. I admire his passion and dedication to peanuts but I think he needs a day job, preferably one that he'll have to work during the weekends too or else one day he'll push a grain of rice to the top of mount everest using his left eye lid. There's already enough craziness in the world.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Unlike other nuts, peanuts belong to the Legume family along with beans and peas  which makes it quite rich in protein and other wonderful nutrients. A serving of peanuts contain 207 calories and it ranks low on the glycemic index or GI (blood sugar level) which makes it super healthy unlike refined or processed foods which have high GI values, hence making them unhealthy. Peanuts are rich in biotin, copper, manganese, vitamin B3, molybdenum, folate, vitamin E ( my beauty vitamin), phosphorus, vitamin B1 and protein. Wow! No wonder the americans are nuts for peanuts.

-Peanuts make your heart go nuts
Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats. If you have being following my posts, you'll remember when I talked about HDL ( high density lipoproteins) and LDL (low density lipoproteins) and how HDL is a friend to your heart and LDL is the enemy that makes things go bump in the night. What does this have to do with monounsaturated fats? Well I'll tell you. Monounsaturated fats reduce LDL cholesterol,  while possibly increasing HDL cholesterol.  Studies of diets with special emphasis on peanuts have shown that this legume is a big ally for a healthy heart. In a study involving 22 subjects, a high monounsaturated diet that emphasised peanuts and peanut butter decreased cardiovascular disease risk by an estimated 21% compared to the average diet.

-Peanuts vs Fruits as a source of antioxidants
In my previous posts I explained what antioxidants are but for the benefit of new readers who skipped straight to this post, I'll give a brief explanation.  Antioxidants are chemicals(both naturally occuring and man made) that can prevent or slow cell damage caused by oxidation. Any substance that can counteract free radicals ( cancer causing monsters) is an antioxidant. Peanuts might not compete with fruits like pomegranate or cranberries when it comes to their antioxidant content but its antioxidant content is higher than that in apples, carrots, beets, strawberries and blackberries. The antioxidant content of peanuts increase when they are roasted. The antioxidant content of peanut was also discovered to be the reason behind its cardiovascular disease preventing property. In the Iowa Women's Health study in which risk of death from cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases showed strong and consistent reductions with increasing peanuts/ peanut butter consumption.  Total death rates decreased 11%  and 19%  for peanut butter intake once per week and 1-4 times per week,  respectively. So to lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of peanuts or other nuts, or a tablespoon of peanut butter, at least 4 times a week.

-Reduce risk of stroke
Stroke has become a leading cause of paralysis and death in some cases. It is a common but avoidable ailment. I call it 'avoidable' because our lifestyle and 'foodstyle' contribute a great deal to the wear and tear of our bodies. What causes stroke? Well I'll tell you. A stroke occurs when there is shortage of blood supply to the brain. The severity of the stroke depends on the severity of the blood flow shortage. A phytonutrient called Resveratrol was first studied in red grapes and red wine, but now also found to be present in peanuts. Studies done on animals showed that Resveratrol improved blood flow to the brain by as much as 30%, thus greatly reducing the risk of stroke. Although the resveratrol content in peanuts is far less than that in red wine, regular consumption of peanuts and peanut butter might turn out to be significant in terms of the resveratrol provided by this food.

-How pickled food increase risk of colon cancer and peanuts prevents it
Colorectal cancer or colon cancer is the second most fatal malignancy in developed countries and the third most frequent cancer world wide.  Taiwanese researchers examined peanuts' anti-colon cancer potential and the study carried out showed that the risk of colon cancer was greatly lessened in subjects who included peanuts in their daily diets and the risk increased in subjects who included pickled foods in their daily diet. It was also discovered that the risk of colon cancer was much higher in women who ate pickled foods than men. Eating peanuts just 2 or  more times each week was associated with 58% lower risk of colon cancer in women and a 27% lower risk in men.

-Help prevent Gallstones
Firstly, what are Gallstones? Gallstones are hard, pebble-like deposits that form inside the gall bladder. Gallstones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. These stones develop because cholesterol and pigments in bile sometimes form hard particles. They are usually yellow-green in colour, yuk!! All you need to keep gallstones at bay is to incoperat peanuts or peanut butter in your daily meal. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a fun way to get your daily peanut fix or you can take 2 tablespoons of peanut butter at least 3 times a week although doubt you'll be able to stop at 2 tablespoons after having the first taste.

-Protect against Alzheimer's and Age-related Cognitive Decline
Research published in the journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery amd Psychiatry indicates regular consumption of niacin-rich foods like peanuts provide protection against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. This reminds me of the tv series 'Grey's Anatomy'. If you're a tv series junky like me then you'll know what I'm talking about. So Meredith Grey's mother Ellis Grey was a brilliant surgeon who died a slow and painful death from Alzheimer's.  I'm guessing she didn't know much about peanuts or else she might have lived and made Meredith's life hell on earth. It's not enough to be a brilliant, you've got to eat right.

-Eating nuts lowers risk of weight gain
Contrary to belief that eating peanuts contribute to weight gain,  a study published in the Journal Obesity shows such  beliefs are groundless. People who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who almost never eat nuts. If you eat peanuts and you keep gaining weight, don't blame it on the peanuts.

FUN WAYS TO INCOPERATE PEANUTS/PEANUT BUTTER INTO YOUR DIET

1) We all know the legendary and delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich a.k.a PB &J.

2) In Nigeria we use peanuts or as we like to call it groundnut, in so many ways. My favourite is soaked garri (cassava flakes) and groundnut. Just saying it makes me crave it. On those hot afternoons when you get home and you're almost sun roasted, just mix garri, groundnut amd cold water, you can add sugar if you like. Oh heavens, you'll suddenly realise that life isn't so bad afterall. All your worries will slip away with the first spoon of garri and groundnut. We also eat groundnut with banana, garden eggs (not the same as egg plant), tapioca. We grind groundnut and mix it with ground corn, pepper and a little bit of sugar or so, I'm not quite sure about the last ingredient, then they are shaped into golf size balls and eaten as a snack. It's called 'Dankuwa' in northern Nigeria and in the south south region of Nigeria precisely Edo state where I come from, it is called 'Emumu'. In my tribe we also use groundnut to make a soup simply called groundnut soup and it is delish to say the least.

3) Another fun way to eat peanut butter is to add a tablespoon to your morning smoothie.

4) Enjoy a handful of hand roasted peanuts with a glass of tomato juice as an afternoon snack. I like to add peanuts to a glass of thick strawberry yoghurt so they just float around in the yoghurt and I eat it with a spoon, I just love it.

5) Combine peanut butter, coconut milk, and thai red or green curry paste for a quick, delicious sauce. Pour over healthy sautéed vegetables. This just gave me an idea for another recipe.

6) Toss cooked brown rice with sesame oil, chopped peanuts, scallions, sweet red pepper, parsley and currants.

When purchasing peanut butter be sure to read the label. Hydrogenated (trans-) fats and sugar are often added to peanut butter.  Buy organic and choose brands that contain peanuts and salt and nothing else.

Now for the downside;

SIDE EFFECTS OF EATING TOO MUCH PEANUTS

- Weight gain
I know I said earlier that peanuts do not contribute to weight gain but in life too much of everything is bad. Even though most of the fat in peanuts are healthy, cholesterol lowering unsaturated fats, over consumption that leads to extra weight may offset this benefit and contribute to heart disease. Moderation is key.

- Nutrient deficiency from unbalanced diet
When you get full from consuming large amounts of peanuts, you may eat smaller amounts of other healthy foods. A nutritionally unbalanced diet may result in you having a deficiency of nutrients, which can negatively affect your health.

- High blood pressure
As long as you buy unsalted nuts, you won't have to worry about their impact on your blood pressure because peanuts are naturally sodium free. Consuming too much sodium boosts your blood pressure,  which increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed reading the post and most importantly I hope you will join the Ravineux Eat Clean Stay Healthy Campaign. Your life and well being matters to me and to all of us at Ravineux Catering. Till next week, eat clean, stay healthy and stay out of the doctor's office. Have a great weekend!!

GINGER: THE AWESOME ROOT

BRIEF HISTORY

Ginger dates back over 5000 years. The Indians and ancient Chinese considered it a tonic root that could cure all ailments. It was used extensively by the romans but alamost disappeared from rome when the Roman empire fell. Hmmm! I'm surprised the Egyptians didn't try to worship this one.
The botanical name for ginger is Zingiber Officinale. You know how I always give cool names to the super foods, well I've tried to come up with one for ginger or zingiber officinale and I can't think of anything, so we'll just have to stick with plain ol' ginger. Like the onions and garlic, ginger also belongs to a family but not a family of stinkers like the garlic family but a family of sweet smelling spices. It belongs to the same family as cardamom and turmeric. We don't use cardamom and turmeric in a lot of Nigerian dishes but ginger is a local favourite. Turmeric has a beautiful rich yellow colour and cardamom has a nice aroma but we're not talking about these guys today. Today we're all about ginger.
Ginger is an ancient spice that is coveted for its uses both as a healing plant and as a spice in cooking. It is a beautiful plant that grows to about 4 feet in height and has clusters of flowers in pink and white. It is even used in landscaping in some tropical homes. However the root or rhizome, which is the light brown knobby part we all know, is the most commercially relevant part.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Ginger contains essential oils and as it ages, the amount of essential oils increases, so the intended use of the rhizome or ginger root is determined when it is harvested. If it is for use as fresh or preserved ginger, it might be harvested when it is about 5 months old. At this time the plants have not yet matured. The rhizomes are still tender and not quite as pungent. If the ginger is going to be dried, then  it calls for a more pungent aroma so those plants might be harvested at 8 to 9 months. Ginger, like fine wine, gets better with age. For dried ginger, the rhizomes are boiled or scraped and then dried. The dried ginger are pulverized into ground ginger and that's how we get the powdered ginger in our kitchens. Ginger oil can be extracted from either fresh or dried rhizomes and is usually extracted with a steam distillation process but I'm not going to get into that process because it's a lot of chemistry and frankly it might bore you into a deep sleep. Now let's get down to the meat of the matter.

- Cancer
Several studies have demonstrated  ginger's ability to defeat several types of cancer cells. Now if you've being following my weekly blogs, I'm sure you might have noticed a trend by now- these super foods kick cancers behind to the curb. Onions and garlic have cancer preventive properties but ginger plays by a whole different set of rules. Ginger don't take no prisoners, whoop! Whoop!!. Ginger defeats ( emphasis on 'defeats') several types of cancer cells, including some of the most aggresssive and difficult to treat: lung, ovarian, colon, breast, skin carcinoma, prostrate and pancreatic.

-Diabetes Prevention
Studies have shown that diabetes may both be prevented and treated, along with related abilities to lower blood sugar, cholosterol, and blood fats.

- Antibiotics
Here I was thinking garlic was the ultimate when it comes to bacteria destruction but research has proved me wrong. A study compared the effect of ginger extract in Staphylococcus Aureus and Staphylococcus Pyreus, both of which are mean bacterias of the same strain, and it was discovered that ginger was superior. So garlic is great but ginger is better. Ginger has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on respiratory and periodontal infection.

-Antifungal
Just saying the word 'fungi' gives me goose bumps. I loath fungal infections and I'm sure everyone shares this feeling. Fungal infections are among the most difficult to treat and to make it worse, drug resistant fungi have been developing. However, ginger is here to save the day because it has been found to have antifungal capability, including to drug resistant forms. Take that fungi!!

-Ulcers
Intestinal ulcers can be prevented with ginger. Contrary to what people believe about avoiding ginger if a person has ulcer because ginger is a warm spice and might have the same effect on ulcer patients as hot chilli pepper, the oppoosite is the case. At least one study has shown that a derivative of ginger has been shown to inhibit Helio pylori bacterium. I'm sure you remember mean helly from my post about onions, if you don't then I'll refresh your memory. Helio pylori bacterium a.k.a mean helly is an ulcer causing bacteria. One study has shown that ginger can inhibit existing ulcers too.

-Diabetes Complications
Complications of diabetes like increased protein level in the urine, water retension, nerve damage and increased blood fat levels, may be limited by ginger. It's been shown to increase aldose reductase inhibitors, which reduce damage done by diabetes.

-Inflammation
Inflammation is a serious problem with many chronic conditions, both in terms of causing them and causing pain and ginger can be highly effective in managing it. It's anti-inflammatory abilities may be helpful in arthritis, cancer prevention, prostrate disease, general inflammatory processes. In my last post about garlic, I told a brief story about how garlic helped my mum when she had issues with arthritis but I neglected to mention that ginger was also involved because the post was all about garlic and I didn't want ginger stealing its shine. So she used to add garlic and ginger to her tea or warm water and she saw great results in no time.

-Gastric Diseases
Ginger's ability to ease gastric distress is superior, and it does more than simply ease pain. In a study, ginger capsules were taken orally in people suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion) with slow emptying of the stomach's content. That can't be fun. Ginger stimulated the emptying of the stomach without any negative effects. Ginger has been found to be an antispasmodic (cramps or pains) agent, which helps explain some of its beneficial effects in the intestinal tract. It also protects gastic mucosa (the mucose membrane of the stomach). One of the most uncomfortable things in life is being unable to fart. Your tummy gets bloated, the pain is annoying and terribly uncomfortable and in some cases the gas simply refuses to come out the rear end. Well do not despair my good people, ginger helps get rid of gas, there'll be a little farting involved of course but that isn't so bad, it's just a natural phenomenon,  enjoy it.

-Toxicity
Ginger helps prevent the effect of a wide array of substances, like pesticides, insecticides,  monosodium glutamate (MSG) which happens to be a major ingredient in a lot of processed foods. I remember one time when my  mum declared war against MSG, it felt like the dark age had come upon our kitchen. My mum is a great cook and I'm not just saying that because everybody thinks their mum can cook, she's literally a great cook, I mean come on, she taught me most of what I know and I'm a chef and I rock the kitchen world. So my sweet mum got this conspiracy theory into her head that something or someone was trying to wipe us out using processed food, so she declared war on all stock cubes (maggi), spices and seasonings that come in a jar, sugar, she even banned all types of oil except olive oil, salt, she even placed a ban on palm oil and my nigerian people know how important palm oil is to our kitchen, I mean there's hardly any nigerian soup that is cooked without palm but that didn't shake mama one bit. Then she did the abominable, she used vegetable oil to cook egusi soup (also a nigerian delicacy), no maggi, very little salt infact almost nonexistent and she was so proud of herself.  I wept! I tried to explain to her that cooking a healthy meal doesn't mean the meal has to taste awful but she wouldn't heed my advice. So I decided to wait patiently, I knew she wouldn't be able to keep this war up for long because if there's one thing my mum loves more than eating clean, it's eating a delicious meal. Finally she surrendered and gradually eased back into her tasty food self, she still eats clean and her meals remain delicious.  It was a bloody war, I still have nightmares about it. So if you insist on eating processed food, do yourself a favour and include ginger in your diet but be warned, eating processed food is not eating clean and you know we're all about eating clean at Ravineux catering. The cancer drug doxorubicin damages kidneys, but ginger has been shown to help alleviate the harm. Brombozene is highly toxic, used in chemical reactions, and can rapidly damage the liver and nervous system. Ginger has been shown to alleviate its liver damage. Ginger extract has been shown to protect against MSG nerve damage.

-Non alcholic Fatty liver disease (fructose damage)
Non-alcholic fatty liver disease (NFLD) has a variety of causes but it's now on the increase because of  the prevalence of fructose sweetener. NFLD is known to be associated with dyslipedemia ( abnormal amount of cholesterol in the blood)  and excess fat in the liver. Ginger may help this condition although in the early stages, by lowering serum cholesterol.  Research showing this is very new, so it's hardly definitive.

-Heart Worms  in dogs
I love dogs. I had one for about 15 years and it died in 2008, it still makes me a little sad because it was like a member of the family. I'm sure I have some dog lovers  reading this post and we dog lovers always want our pets to stay healthy and strong. Dirofilia immitis are little monster worms also known as heart worms and are common canine infection. The standard medical treatment are risky, frequently causing neurological disorders amd circulatory collapse. It's therefore quite fortunate that ginger has been shown to be effective against heart worms. The treatment that's been tried is injection of the extract and it does take time. However, after 55 days, an average 83% reduction, up to a maximum of 98% was found. About half the dogs exhibited lethargy early in the treatment, but it's believed to be a result of their body's need to dispose of the worms as opposed to the adverse effect. There's a saying "whoever says diamonds are a girl's best friends, never had a dog". True, but I'd rather have a dog and the Hope diamond any day #JustSaying.

-Menstrual Pains
A study of young women suffering from mentrual pain compared with mefenamic acid,  ibuprofen,  ginger powder in capsules, and a placebo was performed. Ginger was found to be as effective as mefenamic acid and ibuprofen. Who needs pain killers when you've got ginger?!

-Nausea and Motion sickness
Morning sickness, nausea during pregnancy causes misery for a lot of women. Women suffering from morning sickness were given beverages with ginger during the first trimester of pregnancy and compared with women given a placebo. Ginger alleviated the nausea in a highly significant percentage of the women. A trial of taking ginger and protein after chemotherapy demonstrated that patients were able to lessen their intake of anti-emetic medications.

-Bacterial Diarrhoea
The primary cause of death in young children in developing countries is bacterial induced diarrhoea.  The bacteria don't cause it directly rather the toxins they release do. Zingerone, a compound found in ginger, binds the toxins so that it cannot interact with the gut, thus preventing diarrhoea and resultant death. Antibiotics and electrolyte replacement (oral rehydration therapy) are the 'go to' when treating diarrhoea but the long term effects of of antibiotics  are known to be disastrous and antibiotics are expensive. This makes ginger the safer, less expensive treatment for bacteria diarrhoea in children.

Ginger has shown so many health benefits that are too numerous to mention but to everything under the sun, there's an up side and there's a downs side. We've talked about  most of the up sides of ginger, now I'll tell you about the down sides, though not as many as the up sides but they are there and it is important you know them.

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF GINGER

Ginger is almost completely safe. It is possible, though extremely rare, to experience an allergic reaction associated with anaphylactic shock (a life threatening type of allergic reaction) but if that occurs, I think it would be wise to stay away from ginger. Ginger has the tendency to interact with many drugs but in most cases the effect is additive not contradictory. You will probably be adviced by your doctor not to take ginger with these drugs but if it were me, I'll ask the doctor why I can't start the treatment with ginger and then add the drugs if need be but that's just my opinion. Here are some drugs involved;
-Any heart medication
-Diabetes medication, including insulin
-Warfarin
-Aspirin or other NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), piroxicam (Feldene) and others.
-Blood thinners , usually used for deep vein thrombosis (often during surgeries), including ardeparin (Normiflo) and others.

Of course if you take other herbs with ginger, be sure to check if they're blood thinners e.g garlic. If so, you may need to stop either the ginger or the other herb.
In general, for personal use, there are two forms of ginger: extract and raw. Extracts may be purchaed of course but beware that there are two forms of extracts, water and alcohol based. With many herbs, water based extracts are fine. However, alcohol based ginger extract has proven to be superior over and over. Therefore if you're plannimg to use ginger extract medicinally,  you should take the alcohol based variety.
You can buy ginger teas in tea bags, but they're generally not as beneficial as making your own. It's not difficult.  Just peel about a cube inch of ginger. You may either slice or grate it. Boil it in about 1 and 1/2 cups of water for about 10 minutes.  If you wish, you could add a bit of lime or lemon juice. If you want it sweetened,  add some honey. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

So that concludes it for ginger today. Remember if you want clean and healthy food, Ravineux catering is your best bet. Till next week, eat clean, stay healthy, alive and happy. Have a lovely weekend.