Health and Wellbeing Info

benifits of goji berriesThe History of Chinese Cuisine

In China, food and its preparation has been developed so highly that it has reached the status of an art form. Rich and poor, the Chinese people consider that delicious and nutritious food is a basic necessity. There is an old Chinese saying �Food is the first necessity of the people�.

This art has been cultivated and refined over hundreds of years. Legend has it that the culture of Chinese cuisine originated in the 15th century BC during the Shang dynasty and was originally introduced by Yi Yin, it�s first Prime Minister.

The two dominant philosophies of Chinese culture both had extreme influences on the political and economic history of the country but it is less well known that they also influenced the development of the culinary arts.

Confucius emphasised the artistic and social aspects of cookery and eating. The Chinese don�t gather together without involving food - it is considered to be poor etiquette to invite friends to your home without providing appropriate food.

Confucius established standards of cooking and table etiquette, most of which remain to this day. The most obvious example of this is the cutting of bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables during the course of the food preparation in the kitchen, rather than using a knife at the table which is not considered to be good manners.

Confucius also encouraged the blending of ingredients and flavourings to become a cohesive dish, rather than tasting the individual components. Harmony was his priority. He believed and taught that without harmony of ingredients there could be no taste. He also emphasised the importance of presentation and the use of colour, texture and decoration of a dish. Most importantly, cooking became an art rather than a task to be endured and certainly he was instrumental in promulgating the philosophy of �live to eat� rather than �eat to live�.

On the other hand, Tao encouraged research into the nourishment aspects of food and cookery. Rather than concentrating on taste and appearance, Taoists were more interested in the life-giving properties of food.

Centuries on, the Chinese have discovered the health-giving properties of all sorts of roots, herbs, fungus and plants. They have taught the world that the nutritional value of vegetables is destroyed by over-cooking (particularly boiling) and in addition have found that things with a great flavour also have medicinal value.

Home cooked Chinese food is extremely healthy, even though much of it is fried. This is due to the use of polyunsaturated oils (used only once and discarded) and the exclusion of dairy products. In addition the inclusion of animal fat is minimal because portions of meat are small.

About the Author: Liz Canham

As well as a love of Asian cooking and travel as demonstrated in her Asian Food and Cookery http://www.lizebiz.com/asian-food and Travellers� Tales http://www.travellers-tales.lizebiz.com websites, Liz seeks to help newcomers to the world of internet marketing with tools, tips and training from her Liz-e-Biz.com website http://www.lizebiz.com

Fresh-Squeezed Cloud Juice - Rainfall Harvesting

Fresh-squeezed Cloud Juice - That is what the sign said at Tank Town, which is the only place in the country I know of that sells bottled rain water. This is a place to the west of Dripping Springs, TX that has metal roofs to collect rainfall and tanks to store it. I love it, but there is a lot more to the story than good bottled water.

The folks at Tank Town have a novelty, but the idea didn't come from the desire for a catchy slogan or better tasting water - those were just a couple of side benefits. Richard Heinichen got the idea of collecting rainfall to sell as bottled water while installing rainfall collection systems. As water becomes more scarce and in higher demand as rural areas grow, rainfall harvesting is one of the most practical ways to supply a home with water. Not only homes, but businesses too can benefit from rainfall harvesting.

According to Heinichen, you can capture about 550 gallons of water if one inch of rain falls on a 1000 square foot collection surface. Think a little more about this. How much surface area does the roof on a house have? How about a barn or a shed? What about a school or a Home Depot? If you're in Dripping Springs or many other parts of central Texas, you know that you will average somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 inches of rainfall each year. Several thousand feet of surface area can catch a lot of water. This water can be used for irrigation and for household use including drinking (with proper treatment).

As more homes are being built around Dripping Springs and in northern Hays and western Travis Counties, the demand for water has put a strain on the supply. The Edwards Aquifer is seeing higher and higher demand. The local lakes can only hold so much water. In the extended drought we're in, wells have been running dry in some areas. Many people buying real estate in northern Hays and western Travis Counties will not have water available to them from a local provider. A new well can easily cost $15,000. That money can go a long way with a rainfall harvesting system.

Say a school district is building a new high school. There will probably be fields for baseball, football, soccer and softball and all of them will need to be watered. Think about the surface area of the roof of a high school. The school must have at least the same amount (or more) roof area as a football field. A football field, including the end zones, has about 57,600 square feet of surface area. If a school has that much, just how much rain water could be collected in a year? Probably much more than could be stored. Could a high school rely on collected rainfall for all its needs? Doubtful, but it certainly would reduce the amount that would need to be purchased from a city or county.

Look at Home Depot or Lowe's. They are huge and they both have garden centers. Why pay for water that has chlorine and fluoride in it when they could use rain water in their garden centers? Another benefit is that the rainfall being harvested wouldn't make it onto the pavement, meaning it wouldn't run into the detention pond.

Growth in the Austin and Dripping Springs area is going to be huge over the next 10 years and beyond. Our local water resources will not be able to keep up with the growth. Conservation measures will have to go into effect for Lake Travis and the Edwards Aquifer. Anyone building a home or commercial property who has the room for the storage tanks should seriously consider harvesting rainfall.

Fresh-squeezed Cloud Juice is a registered trademark and is used with the permission of Tank Town.

Sam Chapman is a REALTOR� licensed in the state of Texas who has lived and worked in the Austin area for 20 years. Sam and his team can help with purchases of waterfront homes, downtown condos, land and homes in all parts of Austin. Visit Sam�s Austin and Dripping Springs real estate website.

How to Choose a Top Caterer

Salt Lake City, Utah is a happening place when it comes to weddings, prominent universities, and major corporations. C.R. England trucking company, the e-Bay headquarters, Franklin-Covey, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, are all home to Salt Lake City. So it comes as no surprise that the great S.L.C. has its fair share of lavish, grand affairs, planned and catered by the best consultants around. Whether you are planning your perfect wedding or a swanky corporate event, here are some quick tips to helping you choose the best caterer.

- Choose early to ensure availability; you may have to go through a number of interviews before you find a caterer you like.

- Your best recommendations will com from trusted friends and family. If you attended a splendid wedding or corporate affair you were impressed with, find out who provided the catering.

- Arrange to meet with prospective caterers face-to-face after initial phone interviews. This will enable you to get a feel for the caterer�s abilities, personality, and style.

- Attend the meetings prepared; have with you any pertinent information such as a guest count, date and approximate time, budget, and the event location, if applicable.

- Caterers will usually put together planned menus and proposals with cost estimates. Discuss any menu changes you want in order to meet your preferences and demands for the event.

- The proposal should include information regarding all services to be rendered, which may include food service, table settings, d�cor, entertainment, and any other extras. Clarify with the caterer exactly what is and is not included.

- Once you have made a decision, meet with the chosen Salt Lake caterer to nail down all the details and to sign a contract.

benifits of goji berriesAccess denied to the server.

IP address: 79.75.175.47

User agent: Mozilla/3.0 (compatible; Indy Library)

Contact us if you have any questions.


benefits of goji berry
goji berry tablets
himalayan goji berry
goji berries nutrition
goji berry uk
goji berries research | authentic goji berries | goji berry trees | tibet authentic goji berries