Cinnamon

Ceylon cinnamon

The Hebrew Bible makes specific mention of cinnamon spice many times: first when Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon and cassia in the holy anointing oil. In Proverbs it is mentioned that the lover's bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon; and in Song of Solomon, a song describing the beauty of his beloved, cinnamon scents her garments like "the smell of Lebanon."

Cinnamon was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god. Cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Malabar Coast of India, and Burma.

Cinnamon is a condiment used extensively in Asian, Middle Eastern and North African cuisine.  Cinnamon is a popular flavoring in numerous alcoholic beverages.

There are two main types of cinnamon:

Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is often considered to be "true cinnamon". Ceylon cinnamon is the trading name of the product in the commodities market. Ceylon cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka, India, the Caribbean and Brazil.

Cassia cinnamon or Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum), originates from southern China, Indonesia, Burma and Vietnam. It is less expensive than Ceylon cinnamon.

Ceylon Cinnamon is particularly popular because it has low levels of Coumarin compared to Cassia Cinnamon. Coumarin in high concentrations is known to cause liver and kidney damage. A study found Cassia Cinnamon was more effective than Ceylon Cinnamon at controlling blood sugar. An easy solution is to therefore double the dosage of Ceylon Cinnamon, since even doubling the dosage will not come close to the high Coumarin levels found in Cassia Cinnamon. Cinnamon also thins the blood.

Ceylon cinnamon has a soft, thin, smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown colour and highly aromatic fragrance. Cassia cinnamon has a hard bark compared to the Sri Lankan variety. Most commercially prepared foods in the USA and Western Europe, including sticky buns, breads and other products use the cheaper Cassia cinnamon. Cinnamon is regarded as the second most popular spice, next to black pepper, in the United States and Europe.

The bark of the plant is used as spice. Cinnamon oil is produced from the bark and leaves of the plant. Cinnamon oil and cinnamon leaf oil are extracted using steam distillation.

Cinnamon can be used to help treat muscle spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, the common cold, loss of appetite, and erectile dysfunction, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Cinnamon is also used in the treatment of fungal infections, Alzheimer's disease, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, and chronic wounds. It is also said to lower the negative effects of high fat meals. Cinnamon has powerful antioxidants, such as polyphenols. It reduces levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while HDL cholesterol remains stable.

Ceylon cinnamon

Cinnamon also lowers the blood sugar level in type 2 diabetic patients. Most type 2 diabetic patients use balsam pear (bitter gourd) as a home remedy. But it has been found that consuming balsam pear for long time can weaken the knees and cause knee pain. Therefore it is safer to use cinnamon than balsam pear.

Nutrition information on cinnamon is in the USDA database here.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a plant in the ginger family. The dried root of turmeric is ground into powder, which is commercially available in most places. It is one of the important ingredients in the curry.

It is a very powerful antioxidant. It has antiseptic, antibacterial and ant-fungal properties. It has been used in Chinese and Indian medicines for thousands of years. Turmeric helps in diabetes and heart ailments. It is also used for arthritis, heartburn and to reduce cancer risks.

Curcumin is the major component of turmeric which fights cancer and has ant-inflammatory properties. Curcumin is available in tablet form. However, one should not self medicate with Curcumin. A doctor should prescribe it.

Turmeric has a slightly bitter taste and a bright orange color. I like its color. When you add turmeric to white food ingredients such as shredded coconut, cabbage and rice they take a lovely golden hue.

I normally wash all the vegetables with salt water or immerse then for 10 minutes in salt water. I wash the sea food and meat products with a little salt and turmeric powder. This helps prevent their spoilage even if the cooking process is prolonged, because of their ant-oxidant and ant-bacterial properties. Whenever I buy fresh seafood or meat I marinate them with salt and turmeric before storing them in the freezer.

Turmeric enhances the flavor of many ingredients and also helps in the absorption of nutrition in those ingredients. Turmeric lowers cholesterol and improved liver function.

Because it a very powerful ingredient, we should limit the quantity we use. Otherwise, we may end up with unwanted side effects. Normally I use only a quarter to half a teaspoon of it. sometimes a pinch would do. Only I add half teaspoon when I want to color rice or cabbage.

Raw and fresh turmeric is also available in the markets. You will need to use a bigger quantity of raw turmeric to replace a small quantity of dried powder. Usually fresh turmeric is ground into paste along with other ingredients for use in curries.

It is very difficult to grind dry turmeric. Therefore it is better to by turmeric in powder form, which more readily available.

Nutritional information is given here in the USDA database.

Amino Acids

Eggs

Milk

Chicken

Amino acids are organic compounds that make up proteins. Twenty percent of our body is made up of protein. Our cells, muscles and tissues are made up of amino acids.
Amino acids carry out many bodily functions such as transport and storage of nutrients. They assist in the healing of bones muscles, hair and skin.
Amino acids are important for children for their growth.

Amino acids cannot be stored in the body for future use. Therefore it is essential for us to consume amino acids every day.

Ten of the 20 amino acids are produced (synthesised) by our body.
Amino acids can be grouped into 3 categories - essential, non-essential and conditional.
Essential amino acids are called so because they cannot be produced by the body. Therefore they must come from the food that we consume. The 9 essential amino acids are - histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Those that can be produced by the body are called non-essential amino acids. They include: alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid.

Conditional amino acids are non-essential and are required only in times of illness and stress. The conditional amino acids include: arginine, cysteine, glutamine, tyrosine, glycine, ornithine, proline, and serine.

Plants have all the enzymes required for the production of all the amino acids they require. Humans do not have all the enzymes. Therefore the essential amino acids we require should come from the food we consume.

On an average the daily intake of protein is 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per day. It is not necessary to consume protein with every meal. For example, if your body weight is 50kg then you will need 50 grams of protein over the period of 24 hours.

Most of amino acids required by our body is found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy. Amino acids are also available in supplement form.  Like any other health product, you should do a thorough research on the product or seek medical advice before buying it. Amino acids are better absorbed in empty stomach. Vitamin B6 and C are also essential for the proper absorption amino acids.
Typically vegans get about 10-12% of calories come from protein whereas non-vegetarians get about 14-18% of calories from their protein intake. Obviously vegans consume less protein than non-vegetarians. We need only about 10% of our calorie intake from protein. It is easy for vegans to get their daily protein requirement.

Many non-vegetarian food and soy have complete protein.

Most of the vegetarian food does not have complete protein. So vegans should different types of food that contains protein in order to meet the complete protein requirement. Almost all the grains and vegetables have some amount of amino acids. Lentils and nuts have more amino acids.

Bragg's liquid aminos are commercially available everywhere. Mostly they are used as salad dressing or to substitute soy sauce. They are gluten free.

Most non-vegetarians consume more than their daily requirement of protein. Excessive consumption of protein may lead to osteoporosis and kidney disease.

Related article: Proteins

Fruit Salad with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and coconut milk

Fruit salad is the easiest dessert that you can prepare when you are in a hurry or when you have an unexpected visitor suddenly. It is delightful in taste and nourishing too.

Fruit salad

 Recipe summary

                                             For
  Fruit Salad with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and coconut milk

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 0
Serves: 4

1. Put the cut fruit slices  of 1 Granny apple, 1 Kiwi fruit
1 mango fruit into a medium sized bowl.

Fruit Salad with 
Gula Melaka (palm sugar)
 and coconut milk

 2. Add 20 grams of palm sugar grated palm sugar 3 table spoon of coconut milk and
A few drops of vanilla essence and mix well.


 3.  Keep in refrigerator. Serve chilled.

                                     Fruit  salad is ready.
                                  

              Recipe follows in detail with pictures .
.
Preparation time:  15 minutes
Cooking time: 0
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Ingredients for Fruit Salad with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and coconut milk

1 Granny Smith apple
1 Kiwi fruit
1 mango fruit
3 table spoon of coconut milk
20 grams of palm sugar
 A few drops of vanilla essence

Preparation

Peel the kiwi and mango fruits. Slice the fruits into ½ inch slices. Core the apple and slice into the same size.
Soak in salted water for 5 minutes. Grate or slice out 20 grams of palm sugar. You can heat the grated palm sugar with two table spoon water and pour over the salad.
Method

Put the fruit slices into a medium sized bowl. Add grated palm sugar coconut milk and vanilla essence and mix well. Keep in refrigerator. Serve chilled.

If you do not have palm sugar use regular sugar. Palm sugar has a lower glycemic index and lower fructose content.

Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Ambarella pickle

                                                                    

This recipe was originally published under 'Ambarella Curry'. This post contained 3 recipes. Now I am adding nutrition data to all my recipes in this blog. It became messy to have three nutrition table in one post. So, I am posting this as a separate recipe.

  

Recipe summary

For

Ambarella pickle

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 0

Serves: 4

1. Peel the ambarella fruits. Cut the fruit into small pieces leaving out the seed.

2.Mix 1 tsp red chili powder,  1 tbsp coriander powder  ¼ tsp   turmeric powder and  ¼ tsp fenugreek seed powder  in 3 tbsp sesame oil and make a paste.

Ambarella pickle

3.Coat the Ambarella pieces with the oil spice mix.

4. Store in a jar and refrigerate.

 You can start using after 4 days. This will keep up to a month in the refrigerator.

                                                                        
Ambarella pickle is ready.          

        Recipe follows in detail with pictures.    
      

Ambarella pickle

                                                                                                   

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 0

Serves: 4

Ingredients
Main

3 ambarella fruits
Others

1 teaspoon red chili powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seed powder

3 tablespoon sesame oil

Ambarella pickle

Method

Peel the ambarella fruits. Cut the fruit into small pieces leaving out the seed.

Slicing ambarella fruit

Mix all the spices in the oil. Coat the Ambarella pieces with the oil spice mix. Store in a jar and refrigerate. You can start using after 4 days. This will keep up to a month in the refrigerator.


Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Ambarella drink

Ambarella drink

This recipe was originally published under 'Ambarella Curry'. This post contained 3 recipes. Now I am adding nutrition data to all my recipes in this blog. It became messy to have three nutrition table in one post. So, I am posting this as a separate recipe.

This is a very refreshing drink, particularly of you are physically tired. It has a mildly sour and sweet taste. 

Normally the ambarella fruit will be slightly sour. But the batch I bought was sweet but not sour. So I added a teaspoon of lime juice to get the light sour taste. I also added 2 teaspoon of sugar to enhance the flavour. You can add or leave out the lime juice  according to your taste and also depending on whether the fruit is sweet or sour. You can take this drink if you are taking hot and spicy food. This drink will sooth the heat from the chili in your mouth and throat.

                                   Recipe summary
                                              For
                                 Ambarella drink

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1                                   

1.Peel the ambarella fruits and cut into small pieces leaving out the seeds. 

Ambarella drink

2. Blend ambarella fruit, 1 tsp lime juice, ¼ tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, 1 glass  of water in a blender.

 3. Strain, Chill and serve.

Use lime juice, salt and sugar according to your taste. If the ambarella fruit is very sour omit the lime juice.

                            Ambarella drink is ready.

                              

                 Recipe follows in detail with pictures.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients
Main

1 ambarella fruit
Others

1 teaspoon lime juice

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon sugar

1 glass water

Method

Peel the ambarella fruits and cut into small pieces leaving out the seeds.

Slicing ambarella fruit

 Use lime juice, salt and sugar according to your taste. If the ambarella fruit is very sour omit the lime juice.

Ambarella slices and lemon slice

Blend all the ingredients in a blender, strain, chill and serve.

This is a very refreshing drink on a hot day or if you are physically tired.

Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Sweet potato and carrot clear soup

Sweet potato and carrot soup

This recipe was originally published under 'Sweet potato'. This post contained 3 recipes. Now I am adding nutrition data to all my recipes in this blog. It became messy to have three nutrition table in one post. So, I am publishing this as a separate recipe.

Recipe summary

                                                For
                             Sweet potato and carrot soup

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients

1. In a large stockpot or a pan add 500 ml vegetable stock add 100 gram carrot peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick and bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Tie 2 pandan leaves into a knot and add to the stockpot.

Sweet potato and carrot
 clear soup in a cup

2. Add 200 gram sweet potatoes sliced ¼ inch thick sweet potato slices and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. 




3.Add 4 tablespoon evaporated milk, unsweetened, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder,1/8 teaspoon pepper powder and ½ teaspoon salt and simmer for another 2 minutes.    
          
             
  

 Sweet potato and carrot clear soup is ready.                                                 

                     Recipe follows in detail with pictures.


Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves : 4

I have combined potato with carrot because both these vegetables have similar taste and texture.Both are also slightly sweet. I used Japanese sweet potato in this recipe because it is white in colour distinct from orange colour of the carrot. If I used the orange variety it would look almost like carrot. The white sweet potato contrasts with carrot and give a pleasing appearance.

Ingredients for Sweet potato and carrot clear soup

Ingredients

Main

200 gram sweet potatoes sliced ¼ inch thick
500 ml vegetable stock
100 gram carrot peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
Others
2 pandan leaves
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper powder.
4 tablespoon evaporated milk, unsweetened
½ teaspoon salt

Sweet potato and carrot clear soup

Cooking method:

1. In a large stockpot or a pan add the stock add carrot and bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Tie the pandan leaves into a knot and add to the stockpot. Add the sweet potato slices and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. 
Add evaporated milk, cinnamon powder pepper powder and salt and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Sweet potato and carrot clear soup in a cup

2. Take off the heat and serve hot.


Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.” 
 
Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.
Sweet potato and carrot clear soup

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

                            Cream of sweet potato soup

This recipe was originally published under 'Sweet potato'. This post contained 3 recipes. Now I am adding nutrition data to all my recipes in this blog. It became messy to have three nutrition table in  one post. So, I am publishing this as a separate recipe.

 Recipe summary

For

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Preparation time:15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves :4

1. Add 500 ml vegetable stock in a pan .  Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to medium

2. Add 100 gram carrot peeled and sliced and cook for 5 minutes. 

3. Tie 2 pandan leaves into a knot and add to the stockpot. 

Cream of sweet potato soup

4. Add the remaining ingredients; 200 gram sweet potatoes peeled and roughly chopped, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour,1 tablespoon butter, 50 gram ginger chopped, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper powder except the milk and cook for about 
15 minutes. Switch off the heat.

Ingredients

5. Let it cool for 10 minutes and puree the soup in a food processor or blender.




6. Heat the soup again and add milk. 

        



Cream of Sweet Potato Soup is ready.

                                  

                                            

Recipe follows in detail with pictures.

Preparation time:15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves :4

Ingredients

Main
200 gram sweet potatoes peeled and roughly chopped
100 gram carrot peeled and sliced
Others
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
500 ml vegetable stock
50 gram ginger chopped
2 pandan leaves
4 tablespoon evaporated milk, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon salt
Spices

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper powder

Ingredients for Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Cooking method:

1. In a large stockpot or a pan heat the butter and add the all-purpose flour and stir constantly until the flour very light brown colour. This will take about 3 minutes. 

Add the stock stir to dissolve any lumps. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to medium and add carrot and cook for 5 minutes. 

Tie the pandan leaves into a knot and add to the stockpot. 

Add the remaining ingredients except the milk and cook for about 15 minutes. Switch off the heat.

Cream of sweet potato soup boiling

2. Let it cool for 10 minutes and puree the soup in a food processor or blender. Heat the soup again and add milk. 

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.” 

Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Sweet potato dessert

Sweet potato dessert

This recipe was originally published under 'Sweet potato'. This post contained 3 recipes. Now I am adding nutrition data to all my recipes in this blog. It became messy to have three nutrition table in  one post. So, I am publishing this as a separate recipe.

                                Recipe summary
                                          For
                              Sweet potato dessert

Preparation time:  15 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves: 4

1. In a large saucepan or stockpot bring 1 litre of  water to the boil.

2. Add 1 Japanese sweet potato peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces, 1  Orange sweet potato peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes  and 1 potato slices and 2 pandan leaves knot and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Sweet potato dessert

3. Remove and discard the pandan leaves and add 1 tablespoon grated natural raw brown sugar (This can be from palm or sugar cane). This will add some colour to the dessert; otherwise it will look watery. This is optional as the sweetness from the potato alone is sufficient.sugar. 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon powder and 2 dates
(optional) and continue simmering for another five more minutes.

4. Take off the heat and serve hot or let it cool and refrigerate and serve chilled. 

                         

                        Sweet potato dessert is ready.

                      Recipe follows in detail with pictures.

Preparation time:  15 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves: 4

This is a very light and healthy dessert. If you are diabetic or you don’t like too sweet a dessert you can leave out the brown sugar and dates. The natural sweetness in the sweet potato is enough to give the sweetness required. The cinnamon powder will add a wonderful aroma to the dessert.I used minimum ingredients to keep it simple and easy to prepare. 
I made this desert with two varieties of sweet potatoes - the Japanese white variety and orange variety. It does not matter which you use. It will taste the same. 

Japanese sweet potato

orange sweet potato

Ingredients:

1 Japanese sweet potato peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces

Japanese sweet potato sliced

1 Orange sweet potato peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

orange sweet potato cubed

1 potato cut into pieces.
2 pandan leaves made into a knot

1 tablespoon grated natural raw brown sugar (This can be from palm or sugar cane). This will add some colour to the dessert; otherwise it will look watery. This is optional as the sweetness from the potato alone is sufficient.

Raw natural palm sugar

1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
2 dates

1 litre of water

Sweet potato boiling in a pan

Method:

1. In a large saucepan or stockpot bring the water to the boil.

2. Add sweet potato and potato slices and pandan leaves and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

3. Remove and discard the pandan leaves and add sugar, cinnamon powder and dates and continue simmering for another five more minutes.

4. Take off the heat and serve hot or let it cool and refrigerate and serve chilled.

Serves: 4

  Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.