Olive oil, your health, your kitchen

October 25, 2011

The main reason olive oil is healthy is because it is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. About 75% of that monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, which is very stable even at high temperatures. Moreover, our body processes oleic acid easier than other fatty acids.

Secondly, organic extra virgin olive oil also contains high levels of antioxidants like phenols, and vitamins E and A, which fight free radicals and thus prevent premature aging. Those antioxidants help neutralize the oxidation process, which is common to alls fats, and preserve the properties of olive oil too.

So, the fact that olive oil is capable of resisting oxidation at higher temperatures much better than seed oils makes it the safest vegetable oil for frying.

Many in the non-Mediterranean industrialized countries feel uneasy when a Mediterranean recipe calls for frying in olive oil. Frying is an old cooking technique that is very popular in the Mediterranean cuisines. It is as much an integral part of the healthy traditional Mediterranean diet as consuming raw olive oil with bread and salads.

Some olive oil tips for the kitchen

When heated up, olive oil expands in volume and food absorbs it less than other cooking oils. Therefore, you need a smaller quantity of olive oil.

If it didn’t burn in your frying pan, you can reuse olive oil up to three times. Some say even five times, but I personally never use it more than twice.

Olive oil transmits flavors between foods, so never fry meat in olive oil you used to fry fish and vice versa. My grandmother always kept a jar for fish and one for meat next to the olive oil bottle. It is the best way not to get flavors mixed up.

Finally, olive oil looks thicker than other vegetable oils, but this is only appearance as, contrary to popular belief, it has no more calories than sunflower oil, for instance.

Olive oil for your health

In the 13th century Arnau de Vilanova, doctor of the Catalan royal family, already realized that a moderate intake of olive oil enhanced the vital functions of the body. In the 20th century, the late American doctor, Ancel Keys MD, documented that the olive oil based Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

We see that contemporary research has confirmed what the Mediterranean peoples knew and practiced intuitively all along.

Heart disease is the Achilles’ heel of modern societies living at a frantic pace. Since Dr. Keys and his followers realized that we in the Mediterranean have a better cardiovascular health, the first medical studies on olive oil focused mainly on that area.

They proved that olive oil balances the cholesterol levels, can reduce the risk of a heart attack, can play a role in the prevention of arteriosclerosis, and fights high blood pressure.

Later, research was extended to other areas like digestion, cancer, and diabetes. The results have been very positive and olive oil usually comes through with flying colors.

One particular study concluded that with only two tablespoons of virgin olive oil every day you can begin to experience the health benefits that the Mediterranean peoples have enjoyed for so long. Incorporating it naturally into your eating practices is simple.

How to integrate olive oil in your eating practices

The easiest way is to get into the habit of drizzling olive oil over slices of bread or toasts, consuming it as a dressing for sandwiches instead of butter, and adding it to salads with some salt.

Wherever you go in the Mediterranean, Morocco, Provence, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Catalonia, Andalusia, or Majorca, you’ll find people eating their own combination of bread and raw olive oil.

As a Catalan I eat pa amb tomaquet, literally bread with tomato, almost every day: as part of my breakfast, as a snack, or, I admit, when I am too lazy to cook dinner. It is the Catalan bruschetta, so to say, and you can prepare it in no time with slices of bread or toasts, both are fine.

Here is the most basic recipe for pa amb tomaquet. Cut a very ripe tomato crosswise, rub the bread with one half on both sides, drizzle olive oil liberally over the bread and sprinkle some salt.

You can eat it plain or add any topping and accompaniment you like: prosciutto-style orcooked ham, cheese, tuna fish, an omelet, anchovies, figs, olives. Even with a chocolate bar at tea or coffee time, it may sound weird, but it is delicious.

Other recipes with raw olive oil are authentic allioli, salads with olive oil dressing, cold sauces like romesco, and sopa de farigola or thyme soup. As the Catalan saying goes:Sopa sense oli no val un dimoni, literally, Soup without oil isn’t worth a devil, meaning that a soup with no oil is junk.

Here is the recipe. In a soup pot, bring 2-quart (2 l) water to a boil together with 2 peeled garlic cloves and 2 sprigs thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes and drain. Place 1 or 2 slices of country-style bread on the bottom of each soup bowl, drizzle them liberally with extra virgin olive oil and ladle the soup over it. In the spring and summer this soup is also great with mint instead of thyme.

Recent studies have shown that the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are not derived from olive oil alone, but from the Mediterranean diet as a whole. So, eat well and enjoy!

At http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com N�ria Roig helps you explore delicious Mediterranean diet recipes, and undiscovered Catalan cuisine from the inside. Visithttp://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/mediterranean-diet.html to keep up to date on the healthy Mediterranean diet.

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Body Cleansing Detox At Home: Olive Oil Diet

October 17, 2011

Did you know why 3 day detox is becoming more and more popular nowadays? It is because within three days, you can accomplish the same body cleansing detox as what you can do with advanced detoxifying programs ever created on the planet. And for sure, experiencing this can be all done at home!

Among the detox diet recipes I’ve shared in this blog, here’s another all-time favorite which targets on a healthy ingredient known as the Olive Oil. Olive Oil body detox recipe has natural lubricating properties which makes it useful in detoxification. It lubricates the digestive tract while at the same time making it easy to flush away toxins through the excretion stages. There are many varieties behind this but there’s one easy and quick way to be able to achieve the best olive oil detox experience which you can learn here. Here’s the process of doing it:

* Trying this would restrict you to not eat after four o’clock in the afternoon following the day when you want to start your own detox diet. Then at late night, mix ¾ cup of grapefruit juice and a cup of olive oil and drink it 30 minutes later.

* Morning after that, the best thing to do next is the sea-salt water flush which is done by simply heating one quarter of water and adding in 2 spoonfuls of sea salt. Pour in this mixture into a glass to drink. Afterwards, you’ll feel your stomach rumbling making you release stools.

* After drinking the sea-salt mixture, you should now have a fiber-rich drink to replenish the body.

As you can see in the process, the body cleansing detox agent is the olive oil followed by the sea-salt recipe to increase the colon activity. While the olive oil has already lubricated your digestive environment, it would make it too easy for you to pass out all the unnecessary buildups making you feel more comfortable and cleansed.

Find out more easy methods to do 3 day detox at home less the side effects by visiting this 3 Day Detox Headquarters site at www.3daydetoxhq.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Irene_Krey

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Top Reasons to Love Olive Oil

September 17, 2011

Some of us have never been introduced to the culinary life Mediterranean style. It’s never too late, however, for that discovery. The benefits are many. We can consider at least four reasons why olive oil belongs in your life.

Olive Oil Everywhere

When in Italy you probably will not be served butter with that beautiful bread. Typically butter has other purposes. In a restaurant – excuse me: ristorante – or even a café – chances are if you must have something to go with that bread, it will be olive oil. Many have distinct flavors, created by infusing herbs and different kinds of fruit or spices with the olives.

Extra Virgin, Virgin and just Olive Oil – what does it all mean?

In the first place this oil is a natural product. There is a process for releasing and capturing the oil that has been almost the same for thousands of years, using just about the same techniques. You can feel the excitement in understanding the presence of the fragrant and tasty oil from olives in human society since ancient times.

The differences between Extra Virgin and Virgin involve acidity. Basically there is a standard, a grading process for the olives. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – nicknamed by some as EVOO – means pressed with no heat, no chemical usage, no treatments. That’s why it is known as cold pressed! – and has a lower percentage of acidity.

Lifestyle and Health Benefits

In simple language, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is known to play a part in:

* Lowering bad cholesterol

* Acting as a powerful anti-oxidant

* Reducing the risk of certain cancers.

Studies continue to show you can be healthier incorporating this magical oil into your life, gaining a lifestyle that has all these advantages. And it tastes good too, mixing it in with many kinds of foods both cooked and uncooked.

Cooking with Olive Oil

Go ahead and cook with it. Eggs, too? But of course. Butter is not mandatory. So sizzle up your French toast, oil your pan for an omelette and add a dollop to rice while it’s steaming. Using it to prepare meat, seafood, vegetables and fish will result in food that is healthy and delicious.

You Didn’t Expect This One

In the kitchen, while you are in the heat of your bubbling pots, take advantage of any drips from the olive oil bottle by wiping them up with your hands; it’s a treat to your skin. There you have another great benefit: a spa treatment while cooking!

Olive Oil is marvelous for hair and skin and is used in natural remedies. When you shop for it, take the time to read the labels carefully. Some bottles labeled as Virgin are often blended with canola and other oils. That’s okay sometimes, but reach for the real thing! Get ready for the good life – you’ll see.

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Anti-Aging Effects of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

July 27, 2011

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Olive Oil In Diet Better Than Whole Grain Bread

July 17, 2011

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