An Amazing Healing Food; Garlic!

We all talk about benefits of garlic most of the time..An amazing vegetable (it grows as a vegetable and  I think it is classed as a vegetable like an onion) used widely as a flavoring in cooking,

It has also been used as a medicine throughout ancient and modern history to prevent and treat a wide range of conditions and diseases like treat hypertension,bronchitis, liver disorders, tuberculosis,  dysentery, flatulence, colic, rheumatism, intestinal worms,, diabetes, and fevers.

I use garlic a lot for cooking..also since I have high blood pressure, I swallow sometimes a clove..Searching never ends and I love discovering new things and replacing to old knowledge by new knowledge especially for cooking to get more benefits of food God gives us.

Cooking with benefitful garlic;

-Many of garlic's health benefits (including its anti-cancer properties) are preserved if the whole cloves are crushed and allowed to sit for 10 minutes prior to cooking.

-Use garlic raw chopped or pressed in your dishes to take advantage of the benefits.
In the absence of chopping or crushing, research has shown that just 60 seconds of immediate microwaving will cause garlic to lose some of its cancer-protective properties.

What if you cannot tolerate raw garlic?? You can add chopped garlic to foods while they are cooking and the best to add it towards the end of the cooking process for the maximum amount of flavor and nutrition.

Another one;
Microwaving or boiling garlic in uncrushed, whole clove form will deactivate its enzymes, research has shown.

To freeze peeled garlic; It reduces its flavor profile and changes its texture.

Not to do;
If you would like to combine garlic with oil, just avoid high-temperature heating of this oil-garlic mixture.

And garlic!! Against Stress and toxins for a Better Mood!!
It also protects your heart and liver from the damaging effects of alcohol.

An easy way to get benefits of garlic;

Medeterranean Dressing

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

sea salt

 pepper to taste

Don't worry, be healthy!

Is raw really always better???

I love searching and learning more about healthy eating/cooking tips.
We know that a fruit and vegetables diet is a key to good health but depending how you're preparing them. You may not be getting the most out of them.
Take tomatoes for example;
I can eat them raw or cooked. But I didn't know that cooking tomatoes in fats, makes them more effective.
They can dissolve in fats like olive oil that body absorbs more antioxidants. Slightly cooking veggies is not destroying vitamins and minerals. Actually making them more available and making nutrition easier for body to take in.

Another example; Garlic!
I use it for every dinner. Helps lower blood pressure and full of antioxidants. But also slicing/mincing it actually maximizes the effect.

Keys to healthy leaving are in our hands. Why shouldn't we use them to open a door to healthier life?

Remember my Roasted Tomatoes Recipe? If you missed it or just started to read my site you can read it here.

I'm loving this heart-shaped fruit ;)

I got a lot of strawberries this week. My strawberries usually doesn't last long enough to do anything:) Hubby and I top them with whipped cream and eat them. Or I make strawberry sauce. Aria is not a big fan of strawberries.
I placed a single layer of strawberries in a container lined with a paper towel and sealed with the lid to keep them one week fresh. Lol, this week, I had more strawberries than we could eat.
Today I froze some of them. I didn't use any sugar or syrup. I washed, hulled and drained the strawberries. Then placed them on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
Once frozen I put them into freezer bags.




And I used the rest of it to make this fresh strawberry sauce. I also make this simple sauce with frozen strawberries. I like to keep this sauce on hand so makes great topping on ice cream, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, desserts without sugar!



Clean strawberries and remove stems and cores. Put in a blender. Add vanilla and Splenda to desired sweetness and blend all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. You are done! Yummy!

When I was preparing strawberries Aria kept telling me about one of his favorite cartoon shows on TV. Adventure Time with Finn&Jake. Finn is a silly kid who wants to be a hero one day! Jake is his dog and his best friend. My son never misses an episode of their adventures and can't even wait to watch this cartoon every Monday!

Lol, the sauce was ready but Aria was still talking about last episode of this cartoon!!!