Easy and Healthy Chickpea Puree

Chickpea is an Asiatic legume that derives its queer name from a phonetic adaptation of the original Latin Cicer and the French pois chiche. It does not have anything to do with young chickens at all! Chickpeas grow one or two to the pod and make a valuable source of calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, phosphorous, and protein. In dry form, chickpeas must be soaked in water overnight and then simmered for 3 hours, or until tender, before serving.

Image by djpresc16 from Pixabay 

Many dishes call for these cheap and nutritious legume, but the most popular of them all is probably the hummus or the chickpea puree. Here is a simple recipe for a version of the Middle Eastern hummus which you can use as zestful dip for bread or crackers (though you may end up eating it by the spoonful):

EASY CHICKPEA PUREE (HUMMUS)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpeas, soaked and cooked
• 1/2 cup pure olive oil or sesame seed oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup roasted sesame tahini

Preparation:  Into a blender, put all ingredients except the chickpeas. Blend well. Slowly add the cooked chickpeas and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. If too thick, add a little water. If you have no blender, mash the chickpeas thoroughly and mix in the other ingredients until they arrive at a pasty consistency. Garnish with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. Serve cold with flatbread or crackers.

More recipes from The Tahini Table: Go Beyond Hummus with 100 Recipes for Every Meal and in Between

Keep Your Lungs Healthy with Beta Carotene Boost

Beta carotene is one of many brightly colored compounds called carotenoids that make foods yellow and orange in color. Eating foods rich in beta carotene can help prevent oxidative damage that contributes to lung problems like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.  Research studies conclude that people with the most beta carotene in their blood preserved more of their lung function over eight years. What’s more awesome, these people do not have to worry about immediate lung decline.

Image by RitaE from Pixabay 

To boost your beta carotene intake, consider adding these foods into your diet: spinach, kale, collards, pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato, apricot, mango, orange, carrot, tomato, cantaloupe, red pepper, papaya, watermelon.

To easily incorporate these super sources of beta carotene into your meals, try adding them into your favorite dishes. Grating raw carrots, for example, helps release beta carotene for easier absorption. You can prep the healthiest salad piled high with carrots, leafy greens, and other high-carotenoid foods. Use canola oil, balsamic vinegar, or olive oil to add fat to your beta carotene boosting meals.

Get more super salad recipes HERE.

Boosting your beta carotene isn’t as hard as you think. You won’t even have to bother eating foods you dislike as many of your favorites are already packed with it.

© Connie Luayon

10 Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea have been present since the ancient times. According to studies, compared to any other drink, green tea gives several benefits to health. The Chinese have the knowledge on how medicinal green tea can be of good use. It can be the answer to almost every ailment – from physical to mental or emotional problems. This has been the secret ingredient for a longer life passed down by the Chinese. Green tea has been helping numerous ailing people for almost 4,000 years now.

Drinking green tea is a traditional treatment. But even so, it’s paving its way into helping out a lot of people regarding their weight, diet and health. There are a lot of studies that show how green tea has inhibited or reduced the growing risk of cancer.

China’s health history was pretty much a breakthrough because of green tea.  It is considered as a very important historical plant that can from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis and is produced through special processing.

Good to try: Organic Japanese Sencha Green Tea | Numi Organic Jasmine Green Tea | Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder

What so special about green tea? The secret lies in catechin polyphenols which contains a very powerful antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCE). This specialized antioxidant not only inhibits cells causing cancer but also kills them in the process without even harming adjacent healthy tissues. It has also been proven that green tea can be very effective in decreasing cholesterol levels and inhibiting  the abnormal accumulation of blood clots.

Aside from those mentioned above, here are some of the numerous benefits derived from green tea.

1. Researchers have claimed that green tea can be the reason for cancer prevention and even the treatment of disease.

2. Can be able to treat cardiovascular diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.

3. Reduces the risk of the effects of esophageal cancer.

4. Used traditionally to treat multiple sclerosis.

5. Treat immune function that is impaired.

6. Used to prevent having Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

7. It is claimed through intensive research that daily consumption of green tea can prevent tooth decay. It is found out that green tea can fight and kill bacteria that are one of the leading causes of plaque.

8. It can result to decreased risk of heart attacks and heart diseases by reducing thrombosis formation.

9. Improves the ratio of good cholesterol against bad cholesterol.

10. Lastly, it is said to increase fat oxidation and metabolism inside the body. That is why it is used by many who wanted to lose weight without even compromising the health.

The difference of green tea apart from other Camellia Sinensis plant extracts is the way it is processed. Leaves of green tea are steamed or brewed that gives more reason for EGCG not to be oxidized. Black tea, on the other hand, is made through fermentation. The process of fermenting the leaves of black tea can covert EGCG into compounds that aren’t even close to the effectiveness of the original compounds found in green tea in terms of fighting and preventing numerous diseases.

What about caffeine in green tea?

Aside from its many advantages, green tea can have one slight so-called "disadvantage" and that is its caffeine content. Caffeine can cause a sleeping disorder that makes a person experience difficulty in sleeping which is also known as insomnia.

However, compared to coffee, green tea has less caffeine. With proper consumption, people can decrease the undesired caffeine content in their green tea.