Archive for December, 2015

How does apple keep the doctor away?

December 10th, 2015

We all have heard this phrase since childhood – an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But have you ever wondered how a mere piece of fruit can prevent you from visiting the doctor? What is so great about this fruit? If you still don’t know about it, we are here to give you the top benefits of eating apples! Read on.

Say hi to apple and bye to Alzheimer’s – Several studies have been performed on mice to give a scientific backup to this. If you drink apple juice every day, you can keep Alzheimer’s far away. It helps fight the results of ageing, which impact the brain. Mice were fed an apple each and they showed high levels of acetylcholine. The mice also fetched better results in the maze tests.

Smile wider with whiter teeth – Sure the fruit does not act like your toothbrush. However, when you chew and bite it, it stimulates production of the saliva in mouth which reduces tooth decay through decreasing the bacteria levels in the teeth.

Keep Parkinson’s far away – According to various studies, those who intake fruits and high-fibre goods have a great amount of safety from Parkinson’s, which is a deadly disease in which the brain’s nerve cells breakdown.

Never fear cancer – The researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research say that the intake of apples, which are rich in flavonol help prevent the danger of developing cancer to a large extent. Further, the scientists at the Cornell University said that apple peel has triterpenoids which again is excellent for the prevention of cancer in breast, colon and liver.

Say “never” to diabetes – People, who consume at least an apple each a day, are much less likely to be diagnosed with diabetes. Apples are very rich in soluble fibre which is the main to maintain your blood sugar levels.

Help yourself with cholesterol – Apples are rich in soluble fibre which in the intestine blends with fats and thus reduces your cholesterol levels.

Take pride in your healthy heart – Another compound found in the skin of apples, phenolic prevents cholesterol which penetrates into the system by solidifying the body’s artery walls.

Do not fear gallstones – Too much cholesterol in the bile causes gallstone, which can be prevented with a diet, which is high in fibre. Fibre controls weight and eventually the cholesterol level.

Stay free of constipation and diarrhoea – Fibre is very helpful in both cases. Fibre both extracts water from the colon as well as absorbs water from the stool to help you in both conditions.

Let not haemorrhoid come your way – When the vein in the canal of the anal gets swollen, the condition is called haemorrhoids. This is very painful but can be prevented by fibre.

Apart from these amazing health benefits, this tasty fruit also control ones weight, detoxify the liver, prevent eye cataracts and boost the overall immunity. Now you know why almost no fruit baskets are ever devoid of apples! Because, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Why do we cut cake on birthdays?

December 9th, 2015

What is the first thing that comes to one’s mind when we mention about cakes? Of course, it is birthday. This is the word that has been related to cakes and is going hand in hand for a long, long time. We cannot actually imagine birthday occasions without a cake. Isn’t it? It feels incomplete when you do not cut a cake on your birthday. So, we cannot ignore cakes on this particular occasion. In fact, one cannot deny the extreme happiness they get by cutting a birthday cake on their special day. They cannot ignore the fact that cutting a cake along with friends and family makes them feel special. It makes you feel that though you grow old, you grow to the good.

Birthday cakes have come a long way…

Yes, it really has come a long way. One can even trace the presence of birthday cakes in ancient Greece and Rome. At that time, celebrating a birthday was not a day to day usual event. People at that time used to celebrate an emperor’s birthday or a temple’s birthday. It was used to be a grand event only. At that time, birthday cakes were prepared with honey, grated cheese, flour and olive oil. Some people have a different story to tell though. They believe that in Germany only Jesus birthday was celebrated by making sweet dough, which was shaped like a baby Jesus in shabby clothes. From this concept, birthday cakes took birth. Later, people started to celebrate the birth of every child on earth by cutting a cake on their special day.

Myth goes on…

There are some typical yet amazing stories that revolve around birthday cakes. In 19th century England, funny things were put into the cake dough like coins and thimbles. After the cake cutting ceremony, when the pieces were distributed, it was seen who got the coin and who got the thimble. The one who the coin would become rich and the other who received a thimble would never marry. Now, these facts are fun which people love to believe when they are having a blast together. Nothing much truth lies into it.

Birthday Flames

When you cut a cake on your birthday, you never forget to blow the candle first and make a wish. Do you? Well, this also has a story within. In ancient times, people used to pray on flames in an open fire. They believed that the smoke carried their wishes up to the God. Now people say that if one can blow all the candles together in one breath, then all their wishes will come true.

Whether you are going to bake a birthday cake or opt for cake delivery, the choices that lie before you are innumerable. The flavours that are available are plenty. One can add more decorations with whipped creams, fruits and other chocolate toys to their birthday cakes to make it look more special. Birthdays are special and so are the birthday cakes.

Chocolate – The universal gift!

December 8th, 2015

Chocolate is probably the best thing that was ever invented! This also happens to be one of the most universal and easy gift items. Whether someone eats chocolates or not, they will be happy to get this gift! There are different varieties of chocolates you can give someone like dark chocolates, semi-sweet ones, milk chocolates and chocolates with fruits. The best thing about chocolates is that you can easily send chocolates by post. If you are out of ideas then here are some chocolate gift hamper ideas for different occasions…

1. Christmas – Since Christmas is around the corner, it is time to spread some love and joy. If you want to surprise a family member or friend, then you can put some cute packaged chocolates in stockings. Other than this, you can make a bundle of chocolates and pack it with Christmas decors on the basket. It is very simple to work with chocolates when you are making a hamper. You get tons of different sizes of packets, boxes, etc. in the market.

2. Homemade delights – If you are an amazing cook, then utilise the talent to create fancy chocolates for your loved ones. You can make this your special Christmas hamper or birthday hamper. All you need is all the ingredients to make the chocolates and cute boxes. Don’t forget a note inside each box!

3. The official gift – In case you have to give secret Santa gifts at work, then a box of chocolates does the job. You can either just give a box or buy different chocolates and put it in a fancy packet. When it comes to giving gifts at work, you don’t have to add too much decoration. Put in efforts when it comes to the closest loved ones. They truly deserve it!

4. The love hamper – If you are giving a bundle of chocolates to your better half then try something unique. Add flowers, a cute soft toy and tons of their favourite chocolates in the hamper basket. You can also try making a scrap book in which every page has a small chocolate bar stuck to it. Other than this, you can also make a bouquet out of chocolates. You can find such innovative gifts over the internet else at a high end gift shop. It is not difficult to try making something innovative at home, but if you are running out of time or haven’t picked up anything till the last minute then buy a big box of the chocolates they love with flowers.

5. Other hamper ideas – You can either focus on making a hamper completely about chocolates else you can add little things with a big box of chocolates to make it grander and fuller! You don’t want the hamper basket to look empty and incomplete. If this is the case then simply add tons of chocolate bars and you are done.

Chocolates are the easiest gifts to work with. You can gift it to a 10 year old, 35 year old or even a 60 year old!

Cake baking errors which will put all your efforts in drain

December 7th, 2015

If you thought that you can just Google the recipe of a cake, bring the ingredients and bake it perfectly at one go; you are mistaken. Baking is an art, which only a selected people have been able to master. You can bake a simply round cake but for an extraordinary one, you need to be an expert. However, whether you are an amateur baker or an experienced one, to err is human and almost everyone makes certain mistakes which baking a cake. To know what they are, read on.

When you don’t meticulously follow every single step – Sometimes we tend to skip a few steps thinking they are obvious and thus add our own. If you are an amateur, following every instruction is very important.

When your kitchen doesn’t have adequate measuring tools – Some of us simply assume the quantity of ingredients, which is one of the biggest mistakes you can make while baking a cake. But what you assume and what is actually required in the cake is never the same no matter how accurate you are. It is always safe to use proper measure ingredients to not make any mistakes when it comes to the amount of the ingredient.

Being an alien to the operations of your oven – Not all kitchens have the same type of oven and the ones they show on cookery shows are almost always different from the one you have in your kitchen. And some of us are not even aware of what our entire oven can do for us. Before you bake, make sure you are well versed with your oven.

You do not sieve flour – Always sieve flour using only dry ingredients like baking powder. Baking powder gives the flour much air and airy flour is best for baking cake.

Overbeating the mixture is a big no – This is one of the main reasons why cakes get spoilt. Always mix with light hand. Overbeating can ruin your mixture and in turn the texture of the cake.

Settling the main ingredients at the bottom – When you settle ingredients such as chocolate or fruits or dry fruits below, always coat them with flour otherwise they will sink.

Even up the cake – Before you put the cake in the oven, see that it is levelled properly so that after it is baked the cake looks tidy.

Again and again opening oven door – It is understandable and also justified that you are too eager to see the how your cake is turning out. But this is another reason you are spoiling the cake. Do not open the door since the temperature will drop and the entire texture will get spoilt.

When you use the wrong substitutes – If the ingredient is sugar powder, just sugar powder and not sugar crystals. There is a big difference between the two. If they say cream, use cream and not milkmaid. If you do not have the ingredient, it is better to go and get it rather than using an improper substitute.

But anyway, most people do not want to take the effort of baking at home and prefer the easy way of cake delivery instead.

Women and chocolates – a love affair

December 5th, 2015

Both the genders enjoy eating chocolates, but let us accept it; women are absolutely crazy about chocolates. The moment you ask them what gift they want, their prompt answer is chocolates. But have you ever wondered why women are so crazy about chocolates? The craving for chocolate is directly linked to stress, low blood sugar, or change of hormones before the menstrual cycle.

The association with blood sugar level – Caffeine and sugar in chocolate together raise the blood sugar level. Also, dark chocolate has very less index level, and thus it is good in stabilizing the blood sugar levels. Primary reason why most woman and also at times men crave for chocolate is due to their fallen blood sugar levels, which can be balanced by sugar which is given by chocolates. If ever you feel irritated, moody or fatigued, specifically in between meals, the craving for chocolates is then a consequence of a low level of blood sugar.

Association with serotonin levels – Consuming chocolates makes one feel good since it increases the serotonin level in the brain. It is a neurotransmitter, which is responsible for giving way to feelings of happiness. Most woman go through low levels of serotonin around a week before their menstruation, and this is one reason why women having a crazy craving for chocolates. Also, high level of stress makes men and women crave for chocolate due to the increased serotonin level, which leads to lowering ones anxiety. If you need some comfort, you can rely on chocolates. If you are emotionally unwell, consume chocolates since they raise the levels of serotonin and thus help you forget about your problems at least for a short period of time.

Association with the menstrual cycle – Along with fat, sugar and caffeine, chocolate also has trace minerals such as magnesium that is usually deficient in women during menstruation. The change of the hormonal levels before and during those seven days gives both to different food cravings, one of which is chocolate. They say that some women want nothing else but chocolates. As per few scientists, the craving for chocolates among menstruating women is a cultural phenomenon. According to studies, American women crave for chocolates more than ladies from other counties, mostly since they are always concerned sugar levels in chocolates and hence take them as an indulgence. It is also believed by some experts that the craving might also be psychological because PMS gives women a justified reason to enjoy chocolates.

Chocolate is quite addictive – Research has also proved that chocolate has alkaloid compounds, which also make alcohol an addiction. Hence, experts say there is basis to look at chocolates as being addictive. Chocolates also contain anandamine, which is a compound scientist say stimulates the brain just the way marijuana does. However, these claims are still quite debatable among doctors.

And, of course, we all love chocolate for its extraordinary taste. There is no sweet sweeter than chocolates. This Christmas if you are planning to send some parcel of love to your loved ones, send them chocolates by post.