Knowledge of Super Foods: Bulgur

There is a group of foods that you will often meet to be called 'Super Foods'. These super foods are called like this because they have numerous healthy benefits for your body and are super healthy! These foods are often grains or some kinds of seeds and have been eaten by our predecessors many years ago when civilization had nothing to do with how we know it today, even in BC times. So from back then until today, the Super Foods have not changed. Today, I will introduce you to one of them...

Bulgur is an ancient grain coming from the Middle East and comes from durum wheat , which is high in protein and very low in gluten. The durum wheat been cooked and dried before it becomes bulgur.

Interesting Fact: Most of the pasta in Italy is made only from durum wheat.

Bulgur is similar to rice on the way it looks, only that it grains are a little smaller, more rounded and yellowish.

Note: Anyhow, just as the rice, it doubles in size when you cook it, so keep that in mind when you are cooking.

Can be found in biological stores or Turkish supermarkets close to you.

Benefits

Bulgur is very rich in fiber (4,5g per 100gr), which helps to lower the levels of the bad cholesterol so is a good way to balance your diet with it after "cheating" with fatty foods. Dietary fiber is also good for the digestive track and facilitates the digestive processes.

Bulgur is totally suitable for vegans, vegetarians an omnivores because it gives high-quality protein for a balanced diet.

Also, because of the high content of low fat protein and dietary fiber, it is often a great addition to a low-calorie diet to help weight loss. And it easily fills you up.

Bulgur is rich in potassium, magnesium, magnesium and Vitamin B6. 

Interesting Fact: One cup of bulgur contains less fat and less calories, and has more than twice the fiber of brown rice.

Nutrition facts

Bulgur (cooked) Nutrition Facts	Per 100gr
Calories	83
Total fat	0.2 g
Saturated fat	0 g
Polyunsaturated fat	0.1 g
Monounsaturated fat	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	5 mg
Potassium	68 mg
Total Carbohydrate	19 g
Dietary fiber	4.5 g
Sugar	0.1 g
Protein	3.1 g
Vitamin B-6	5%
Magnesium	8%
Iron	5%

Recipe

for 2 - 3 servings:
1 cup Bulgur
2 x tomatoes
2 x boiled eggs
2 x small spring onions
50gr white cheese
Some parsley to top up

Before you cook the bulgur, leave it in water for 20 mins and it will already starting growing in size. Leave out the water, and place it in a pan with water on the same level as the bulgur. Cook for 10 minutes. Get out the water left and mix with the rest of the ingredients.Season as you like. (The only salt we recommend is Himalayan!)

Sources:

http://growyourfamilystrong.com/superfoods/whole-grain-superfoods/bulgur/
https://www.liporidex.com/teamliporidex/entry/high-protein-superfood-bulgur-wheat-and-tasty-too
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/natural-foods/natural-weight-loss-food-bulgur-ga.htm

Recipe# Veal with steamed vegetables

In this article I’m going to show you a main meal perfect for lunch or dinner. I personally enjoy it very much.
So here are the ingedients
1. Veal
2. Steamed vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower & carrots
3. Salad of carrots and fennel

*The Veal: There are a few ways to cook beef\veal, I’m not the perfect cook so I recommend to search in google on how to prepare a lean veal.
You can check this recipe which I found very delicious:
How to cook boneless veal
*The Garnish: the vegetables, cauliflower, carrots and are put for a short in boiling salted water, and then drained and steamed with a little butter.
*The Salad consists of grated\shredded carrots and a little fennel on top.

Nutrition facts (per 100gr) of all the ingredients.
Veal: 170 Calories, 22gr Protein, 0gr carbs, 6g fat
Good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12

Broccoli: 35 Calories, 2gr Protein, 7gr Carbs, 0gr fat
low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and good source of Thiamin,  Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Cauliflower: 23 Calories, 2gr Protein, 4gr  Carbs, 0gr fat
again like broccoli low in fats and cholesterol . Good source of Thiamin,  Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and also of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Carrots: 35 Calories, 1gr Protein, 8gr Carbs, 0gr fat
Also are also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Manganese.

Ideas for Hydrating Summer Protein-full Meals

Since the summer has already begun with its full power this year, your organism starts to ask you to give it more hydration. Normally, at this time of the year, or at least at these temperatures, heavy meat, potato dishes are not on the top of your own menu list. So, here are some ideas for meals that are very hydrating and in the same time high in protein and filling to supplement your exercising efforts. 

Zucchini boats with (cottage) cheese (lunch idea)

1 Zucchini
2 Eggs
100 gr Cottage cheese
100 gr Greek yoghurt
Parsley and cheese to top up

Slice up the zucchini in two and boil it for 15 mins. When you take it out, remove the middle soft part to make space for the filling. Mix the eggs with the cottage cheese and yoghurt and fill in the zucchini boats. Spice up on your choice (Tip: Try not to use table salt ! ) and put in the oven. Bake until the filling starts turning yellow. Put a little bit of  (yellow) cheese on top and leave to bake for 5 - 10 more mins. Sprinkle parsley in top.

Nutrition facts

Zucchini contains a lot of water (95%!!) in it and it is very low in calories. So it will easily make you feel full with almost no fat. In general, zucchini is amazing to add to your diet so eat it more often! Egg, yoghurt and cheese will give you energy from good fats for the day as well as enough protein. Parsley is a great detoxifier and keeps your breath fresh.

Per 100 gr.
Zucchini:
16 calories, 10% protein, 87% carbs, and 3% fats
Cottage cheese:
98 calories, 73% protein, 15% carbs, and 12% fats
Greek yoghurt:
86.7 calories, 10% protein, 12% carbs, 54% fats

Hydrating Fruit salad (breakfast or dinner idea)

Grapes

Mango

150 gr Greek yoghurt

2 Walnuts 

Parsley

Basically, just pick up any two fruit that contain a lot of water: melon, watermelon, strawberries, etc. (Tip: Bananas are not favourites here). The energy here comes from the yoghurt and the walnuts.

Nutrition facts

Walnuts: Here is more nutrition info about the walnuts and another idea how to use them

Resources:
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/zucchini.html
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/enri/pubs/enri129.pdf
http://nutritiondata.self.com/
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-greek-yogurt.html#b
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_yogurt

Nutrition of the Day, Recipe # 4

Let me share a really healty and easy to make snack which you can consume no matter if you are trying to gain or lose weight.

The meal consist of:

Curd (Cottage cheese)
Walnuts
Honey

Yes, it's that simple.
Take 100-150gr Curd , about 30gr Walnuts and 2 tea spoons Honey.
Break the walnuts into small pieces, put them in a cup along with the curd and the honey and mix up everything.
Here you go! You are ready to eat!

Now let me tell you more about the Curd and the Walnuts.

The Curd (cottage cheese)
Is a concentrate of milk protein - casein, albumin and globulin, contains about 20 amino acids, most of which are essential.

Cottage cheese diet will help you avoid the unpleasant feeling of hunger and at the same to time lose weight.
It is perfect for breakfast, as you will be sated until lunch, and at the same time will  not leave a feeling of heaviness in your stomach.

Nutrition values per 100gr : 117 calories, 5 g fat, 14g protein and 4 g carbohydrate.

Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins (A, C, E, P and the group C), minerals (magnesium, iodine, copper, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, iron), high-quality protein with high content of amino acid tryptophan  and fiber.
Nutritional values ​​per 100 grams of walnuts: 654 calories, 65 g fat, 15 g protein and 14 g carbohydrate.

Moreover, the high content of omega-3 fatty acids makes walnuts indispensable in the fight against cardiovascular disease. You might have heard they are also called "brain food" again because of the omega-3 fatty acids and also because they stimulate brain activity and enegizes the body.
Walnuts also strenghten human bones.
However, if you are trying to lose weight you should know that this is high-calorie food and should not consume more than 30gr per day

The third ingredient - HONEY , I put honestly because I cannot eat curd straight. Many people including me just doesn't like the taste.
You can replace the honey and put a banana or\and some forest fruits.

Got hungry...
Stay strong!

How to Detoxify your body & Easy Smoothie Recipe #3

These are simple advices to get the toxins out of your body once in a while, and they will not interfere with the results from your workouts

Recently, I decided to cut down on some food because of two reasons: to keep myself slim while I still cannot actively workout because of the injury; and to detoxify my organism. I don’t know what is the real reason, but in the last couple of months pimples started appearing on my face and neck (I haven’t had those for ages!).  So, even if you are trying to eat quite healthy as I do, it is still a good idea to cleanse the inside of your body from time to time.

So, here’s my simple way of doing it. You can do it as many days as you want (but not less than 2!). I decided to go for a week myself.

First thing in the morning: A cup of warm water + honey + cinnamon + lemon

What does warm water do for you? Drinking a cup or two of warm water before you have eaten any meal in the morning is said to improve your metabolism for a great start off. Adding to it some organic honey makes it more tasty and gives you energy for the day. The lemon gives you an additional energy boost, it helps toxins get out of your body and protects you from getting a cold because of the Vitamin C. The cinnamon helps you stay slim! It regulates the blood sugar levels and has an anti-bacterial effect.

Before leaving to work: Yoghurt + a few drops of olive oil + parsley + lemon drops (possible black pepper, salt)

The yoghurt can be full since you eat it in the morning, so that it also gives you some energy for the day. The olive oil helps your stomach function perfectly. Moreover, it makes you fills just enough with less and good calories.

It is improtant that you also do not drink any coffee so these should give you some energy boost. However, you can always make yourself a fruit smoothie or a shake for during the day. Energy boosting fruit are the citrus fruit - grapefruit, orange, kiwi and lemon.

Later during the day: Fruit salad / Vegetable dish on the grill

The fruit should mainly be citrus or contain lots of water, such as strawberries, melon, , watermelon, etc.  You can always combine this with some yoghurt and honey. Fruit contain lots of antioxidants.

I made myself today vegetables on the grill and this was yammy: eggplant, a paprika, a tomato, mushrooms, garlic and onion.

For dinner: Watermelon / Tomatoes + basilicum + olive oil

Basically something light and filling, so the more water it has in it, the better.

Last tip: Drink a lot of Water and Green tea

Bonus: Easy Smoothie Recipe in 5 mins

Products for 1 liter:

• 5 big chunks Watermelon
• 8 strawberries Strawberries
• 1 Peach
• 200 gr Greek yoghurt
• 2 spoons coco milk

Add the fruit in small chunks in a blender

Add the yoghurt and coco milk and blend. It is ready for 30 secs

What do you do when you decide to detoxify your body?

Resources:

http://bembu.com/detox-foods

http://www.dnaindia.com/health/1631329/column-detox-your-body-in-just-5-days-with-citrus-fruits

http://www.naturalnews.com/034260_cinnamon_health_benefits.html

http://life.gaiam.com/article/10-ways-detoxify-your-body

http://www.wikihow.com/Cleanse-Your-Body-Naturally

http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/851787/foods-and-drinks-that-help-cleanse-the-body

Nutrition of the Day #2

Hi everybody,

I'm gonna show you a fast and really healthy meal which is ideal for small breakfast or between breakfast and lunch.

This small meal includes fruit salad and raw nuts, here it is...

Fruit salad. I put one apple, kiwi, orange and banana. Why I chose exactly these fruids ? Probably because they are easiest to find in the groceries store and because I love them. You can pick any fruit you like. It doesn't matter that much.
Here some nutrtion facts:

Kiwi is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K

Banana is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6

Orange is a good source of Calcium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

Apple  is a good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

All of them are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium

Small serving, about 50-70gr of raw nuts... yes RAW!
Today I took cashew, walnut, brasilian nut and almond.

All of them are rich in proteins, minerals like magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, calcium and some good fatty acids

Looks good:

The combination of fruits and nuts gives you pretty much everything you need from a small meal...vitamins, minerals and protein

Bon appetite!
Iavor