Mama’s Home Remedies

Yesterday we had a big dinner in my house with different healthy and delicious meals. We invited several friends and our nephew, a Moscow musician. He comes every March to Florida as an artist of the Russian National Orchestra, a returning favorite and established Orchestra in Residence  with renowed Grammy Award winning conductor, Patrick Summers and Constantine Kitsopoulos, recognized as musical genius of opera and symphony conductor; the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, Grammy Award winning soprano Renee Fleming and virtuoso, master of piano Conrad Tao; the stars of the American Ballet Theatre and jazz extraordinaire Eldar Djangirov. From March 5th till March 13th) Floridians enjoy a week of celebration of music, literature, film, art and dance. Such an enlightening time of global culture!

Festival of the Arts presents 2010 line-up “From Russia With Love”-a tribute to Russian artistry in dance, music, literature and film. I’ll write more about this Festival of Arts in my Saturday post because as Charlie Siemon, Chair of Boca Festival of the Arts said, “We have endeavored to put together a program that is not only exceptional but has something special for everyone.”

Usually musicians have two rehearsals a day, then a concert in the evening. If they have a couple of hours, these guys walk about 15 miles to the beach to enjoy their free time on the ocean. They all are slender and don’t have any problems with weight.

(more…)

Fresh apples are important ingredients in many meals, including desserts.  The apples and apple juice you consume may have positive effects in one of the main places in the body– the colon. New research has demonstrated that components in apple pectin and apple juice enhance biological mechanisms that have anticarcinogenic effects in the colon.

Another research published in the April 2008 issue of Nutrition, noted, “apples are a major source of natural fiber and of low molecular weight plan polyphenols in the Western diet.” The Food Guide Pyramid recommends we should eat at least 5 servings of fresh produce each day –2 servings of fruit, like apples, and 3 servings of vegetables.

 What counts as a serving of apple?

• 1 whole medium apple
• 1 cup chopped fresh apples
• 1/2 cup applesauce (organic)
• 1/2 cup dried apples
• 6 ounces 100% organic apple juice or cider

A medium size apple contains:

• fat-free that helps reduce the risk of some types of cancer
• saturated fat–0%
• sodium–0%, may reduce the risk of high blood pressure
• natural sugars 25% called fructose
• only 80 calories that helps you maintain a healthy weight
• cholesterol–0%, helps your heart to stay healthy and may protect against cardiovascular disease
• artificial colors or flavors–%, helps you to keep your body free of chemicals
• dietary fiber–20%, helps to keep down cholesterol and high blood pressure, and aids digestion overall
• a natural and healthy snack you can carry everywhere and eat withour creating any mess

(more…)

 I write again about apples because these fresh organic fruits are really good for you! Apples can eaten fresh, canned, juiced or made into pectin, a beneficial dietary fiber.  Apple juice can be turned into non-alcoholic, sweet apple cider or vinegar through fermentation.

Apple wine and other alcoholic beverages can be produced from apples through the distillation process. This way Calvados, the famous French Apple Brandy, was created long ago in Normandy, and Applejack, a strong alcoholic beverage that originated from the French Apple Brandy, and was popular in the American colonial period.

The French Apple Brandy is an interesting blend of spirits of different ages blended with flowers, fruits and spices. Usually this beverage is long and at the same time light on the palate. It has a fresh aroma which comes from apples.

Want to make a Calvados cocktail and surprise yourself or your guests? Watch this video and see how Jill Santopietro, cook and recipe tester for the New York Times, makes this delicious drink in her tiny 11-square-foot kitchen.

Calvados is still very popular in European countries and can be served in any bar or restaurant there, but it is less in demand in the United States. I tried once this rich liquor, as French call it, at one of our student parties. I cannot say that I liked it, but it was cheap and obviously right for the students’ party budget. It tasted too strong to me. After that I have never tried again this beverage, but I built a very special relationship with it.
(more…)

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”–Anne Frank

Now watch the beauty of the Nature and relax. Today is still Sunday. Enjoy relaxation music by Nicholas Jeandot who pays his tribute to the earth.

Source: Ascension song comes from an album “Sacred Springs,” http://www.jeandot.com

 Ever counted how many fresh, organic apples do you eat in a week?  If you want to supply your body with great nutritional benefits, stay healthy and full of energy, eat one or two fresh apples every day. Several recent studies suggest again, apples may provide health benefits for a “whole body” and reduce the risk of some serious diseases. Do you know, there are more than 10,000 varieties of apples for you to choose? 

My favorite apples are organic green Granny Smith and juicy HoneyCrisp.  One of these apples and a glass of organic kefir makes my favorite  light, nutritious and delicious snack full with dietary fiber (more than most cereals), flavonoids, antioxidants, plenty of vitamins, and almost zero fat and cholesterol.

According to the USDA Nutrient database if you eat one apple a day (100g/3.5oz) it gives you so many nutritional benefits, such as

• Energy                                    218 kJ (52 kcal)
• Carbohydrates                       10.81 g
• Sugars                                        10.39 g
• Dietary fiber                            2.4 g
• Fat                                                0.17 g
• Protein                                       0.26 g
• Water                                          85.56 g
• Vitamin A equiv.                    3 ug (0%)
• Thiamine (Vit. B1)                0.017 mg (1%)
• Riboflavin (Vit. B2)              0.026 mg (2%)
• Niacin (Vit. B3)                      0.091 mg (1%)
• Vitamin B6                               0.041 mg (3%)
• Folate (Vit. B9)                           3 ig (1%)
• Calcium                                      6 mg (1%)
• Iron                                             0.12 mg (1%)
• Magnesium                                5 mg (1%)
• Phosphorus                              11 mg (2%)
• Potassium                                  107 mg (2%)
• Zink                                              0.04 mg (0%)

Over the last decade, scientists and doctors at Mayo Clinic, the Cornell University, and the National Cancer Institute and other universities tried to find a proof that apples can help reduce risk of cancer and other diseases. 

(more…)

A Pembrokeshire proverb which originated in 19th century Wales says, “An apple a day keeps doctor away.” It tells you right away that this amazing fruit definitely has many health benefits. If you’ll follow this statement and eat one, two, tree apples a day, you can keep your doctor away. Your doctor can really get worried. He can loose his patients to apples.

Apple has been a symbol of good health for thousands of years. Malus Domestica, apple, the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree belongs to the rose family Rosaceae. Apple is a champion in popularity. It is one of the most widely cultivated fruits in the world. Every spring when apple trees start their blossom, they bring a parade of freshness and romance to the earth, and dress it with gracious, snow-white flowers. Our planet looks like the most beautiful and happiest bride in the world.

Our ancestors planted certain flowers and trees for centuries to ward off inharmonious spirits that treatened the garden safety and tranquility with their intrusion. Apple, elder and almond trees served such purposes, while flowers such as St.John’s Wort, yarrow and angelica would protect against evil.

The apple tree is one of the most pleasant creations of Mother Nature. It is planted in any garden, commercial or near your house. If you have your own garden or visit any beautiful garden, you enjoy a serenity. It is hard to describe this impression, but you have a sense of joy and peace. You feel a release from the tensions of your working day, your everyday life problems, concerns and obligations.
(more…)

Germs, bacteria, viruses are everywhere around us. These tiny creatures find their cozy place in the air, on plants and flowers,  in airplanes and shopping malls, in our houses, on the carpets and cutting boards, on all kitchen surfaces and doornubs, in washers and dryers, and many other places. Most are harmless, but some can make you sick with colds and flu or provoke a life threatening infection, especially during cold winter months.  Maybe this truth sounds to you very boring, especially if you are working in fashion, finance or entertainment industry, but it’s better to prevent any problem than face it when it’s too late.

If you would like to know exactly where germs, bacteria and viruses find a place to exist comfortably while bringing us harm and diseases, and what you can do about it, go to http://www.ultrasound-technologist.org/the-25-surprisingly-germiest-places-you-encounter-everyday/  You’ll find there descriptive information about 25 Surprisingly Germiest Places You Encounter Every Day. Learn how to avoid them by using useful tips offered to you by Michelle Brown. She  just started her blog with the above mentioned article. She did a  good research on a topic, so give it a consideration.

Do you know that some foods are ‘illegal’ for health reasons? Other foods are intended to exist for the survival of certain species. There are products that raise a red flag against an animal cruelty, so many people will even not touch these kind of foods, no matter how tasteful and delicious they are.  

 It’s up to you to decide. Many cultures around the world have some exotic meals, like their established menus with gourmet and other delicious  foods. French, for example, will make an exotic meal with frog legs.  Japanese use to make dishes with anything still alive and squirming which sounds a ‘most disgusting.”

(more…)

by Svetlana Konnikova

We had thousands of books in our home library. Reading was one of my favorite pastimes, especially in winter. We didn’t spent too much time with computers and computers games, and speaking endless minutes on the mobile. We didn’t watch television broadcasts with boring, upsetting news and undelivered promices by politicians. It could never have substituted or competed anyway with the world od classic literature and music.

 I savored the time I had to read masterpieces of literature, created by talented people throughout the world through the centuries. I convinced myself that the books would put me in fascinating adventures and voyages, and would substitute successfully in the wintertime for all the fine, soft-petaled spring flowers; the bounty of sweet-smelling summer blossoms and herbs, their scents made stronger by the heat of the summer sun.

I imagined that the books I held in my hands were paper flowers, blooming with brilliant human thoughts, so I developed a “strange habit.” It amazes me now how dedicated I was to reading and how I read each book voraciously as if I were a starving peasant with an insatiable appetite, gobbling down each word if it were my last bit of bread, my last drop of honey. I read volume after volume of Jules Vern’s science fiction, Alexandre Dumas novels, and James Fennimore Cooper’s colorful adventures in the wild West.

I devoured the works of Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Honore de Balzak, Gustave Flaubert, Theodore Dreiser’s dramas, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare’s tragedies, and Walt Whitman’s poems. It was a feeding frenzy. I never stopped reading an author’s collection. I read volume after volume until I finished all of them. It was my passion. I read all of their works, including the epistle genre: the letters they wrote to loved ones, friends, and other writers. Do you think I changed a little bit? I continue to read great books with the same passion day by day, year by year.

Today I would like to share with you my thoughts about Alexandre Dumas, a superstar of 19th century French literature. He was one of my favorite writers in the middle school. Fascinating adventures of his heroes in masterpieces like The Three Musketters and The Count of Monte Cristo fired my imagination, and I dreamed of  far-away, mysterious places where three musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo have been living their  exciting life, their “joie de vivre.”

(more…)

by Svetlana Konnikova

Do you feel unhappy, depressed or fatigued? Make fresh pomegranate juice or buy a bottle of 100% natural Pom juice from California in Whole Foods. Add one teaspoon honey to eight ounces (one cup) and drink it. This is my Grandma’s recipe tested by many people including me, and it works. Try it, boost your energy, and treat your depression or fatigue naturally.

Pomegranate juice is high in three different types of polyphenols, a potent form of antioxidants. These three types–tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid can be found in many fruits, but pomegranate juice contains particularly high amounts of all three. As antioxidants, they are credited with helping in the prevention of cancer and heart disease.

Lately pomegranates are being recognized as a new, hot “super food.” No surprise! Pomegranates are not only delicious and beautiful gifts of Mother Nature, they are also the most nutritious fruits you can eat.  Researchers confirm that pomegranates are high in vitamin C and rich in minerals –calcium, potassium, iron, and phytonutrients–compounds helping the body protect itself against heart disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes and rheumatoid.

This nutrition-rich fruit contains powerful antioxidants helping you also to delay the aging process and neutralize almost twice as many free radicals as red wine and seven times as many as green tea. Some researchers also suggest that the crunchy  seeds of the pomegranate help to flush fats from the digestive tract.

(more…)

Media is always looking for sensation. About two years ago ‘Today’s Show’ introduced us to five superfoods and promised that these wonders will change our lives. I did not notice too many wonderful changes in our lives, but one included in the list, acai berry, certainly became super popular. You guess which one I mean? Acai berry, of course.

What was included in the List of Wonders? Crocodile meat, Acai berry, seaweed, yerba tea and a big, giant melon with a taste of cocoa… Now look at these products. What do you think, can you eat crocodile meat?

I am not sure about crocodile meat, but I love nutritional green seaweed and yerba tea. You can read about these two products in one of my next posts.

Source: www.youtube.com