How to Lose Weight Fast and Healthily the Natural Way

Want to shape up for the upcoming Chinese New Year or just slim down to fit into that perfect dress of yours?

To lose weight, we need to understand how our body’s energy needs for weight loss to happen.

Our body uses food for energy and stores any excess energy as fat. This means that if we overeat and lead a serenity lifestyle, we'll gain weight. To lose weight, we need to get our body to use up these stores of fat. The most effective way to do this is to:

• reduce the amount of calories we eat
• increase our levels of activity.

Well, here are some tips that you can follow to achieve that desired figure ;)

1. Tweak your lifestyle

Eat more healthily and change up the type of food you consume. Switch to eating more vegetables and fruits rather than meat and fats.

2. Eat more home cooked food

As we all know, food cooked outside tend to contain lots more oil, MSG, addictives and sugars; so why not reduce the amount of these unbeneficial components in our body by cooking our own food. Preparing our own meal allows us to know exactly what type of ingredients are being added in.

3. Reduce salt intake

Salt causes water retention which would cause bloating. Reduce salt intake be eating less of a bag of chips or a candy bar.

4. Have a 300-calorie breakfast

Do not skip breakfast! Always eat about 300 calories of a healthy mix of protein and whole grains. This keeps hunger pangs down so snacking would be reduced  throughout the day.

5. Get fit in five

Try to fit in small bouts of exercise whenever possible, like doing jumping jacks or crunches during television commercials or dancing while washing dishes. This burns extra calories, keeps our minds occupied so that we will not  mindlessly munching snacks in front of the TV.

6. Quit Smoking

Smoking is bad for health and could interfere in your lossing weight process so stop smoking!

7. Do a purge

Cleaned out your pantry by replacing sugary, unhealthy food like ice cream and chips with lower-calorie snacks like roasted sunflower seeds or healthy bars.

8. Get fired up

Loaded up your iPod or phone with songs that makes you look forward to going to the gym. Choose songs that energize you, allowing you to pick up speed.

9. Pile on the veggies

Vegetables allow you to be full more quickly so that there would no longer be room for snacks or super-rich desserts.

10. Run

Doing Cardio exercises allow you to lose the fat and lean down

11. Yoga

Yoga stimulates the vital force of the liver which allows our body to cleanse and detox our body. Any yoga position also requires you to be active which will help with weight loss. This is because muscles are active tissue that consume fat as fuel. If you build strong muscles they will be eating your fat stores even when you are resting. That is why strength work is very good for weight loss.

12. Save room for your dessert

Eating healthy snacks like carrots and hummus, allows to enjoy a piece of chocolate and glass of wine each night. These small motivators should encourage you to eat more cleanly.

13. Eliminate Sugars and Starches

The most important part is to remove sugars and starches (carbohydrates) from your diet. These are the foods that stimulate secretion of insulin the most which is the main fat storage hormone in the body.

When insulin goes down, fat has an easier time getting out of the fat stores and the body starts burning fats instead of carbs. Another benefit of lowering insulin is that your kidneys shed excess sodium and water out of your body, which reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight. Cut the carbs, lower your insulin and you will start to eat less calories automatically and without hunger

Below are ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alter your diet significantly.

• Replace fizzy drinks and fruit cordials with water.
• Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.
• Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
• Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.
• Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.
• Avoid having a second helping at dinner.
• Cut out unhealthy treats – such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.
• Cut down on alcohol intake.

14. Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables.

Protein Sources:

• Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
• Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
• Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs are best.

Protein is the macronutrient that contributes most to fullness and eating adequate protein can raise your metabolism.

Low-Carb Vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Kale
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Cellery
• Carrots
• Pumpkin
• Tomatoes
• Turnip
• Eggplant
• Radish
• Bamboo Shoot

Don’t be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20-50 net carbs per day. The vegetables and the meat also contain  fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. There is no physiological need for grains in the diet.

Fat Sources:

• Coconut Oil
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Lard
• Tallow

Eat 2-3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.

The best cooking fat to use is coconut oil. It is rich in fats called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These fats are more fulfilling than others and can boost metabolism slightly.

There is no reason to fear these natural fats, new studies show that saturated fat doesn’t raise your heart disease risk at all.

15. Exercise 3-4 Times Per Week

You don’t need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended. The best option is to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Do a warm up, lift weights, then stretch.

By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight. Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat.

Cardio workouts like running, jogging, swimming or walking will also suffice if doing weights is not an option.

Optional – Do a “Carb Re-feed” Once Per Week

You can take ONE day “off” per week where you eat more carbs. If you start doing it more often than once per week then you’re not going to see much success on this plan.

It is important to try to stick to healthier carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc. If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day. Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can up-regulate some fat burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones.

You will gain some weight during your re-feed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1-2 days.

16. Drink Water, Coffee or Tea

Satisfy your thirst with water. If you’re a coffee or a tea drinker, then by all means drink as much as you want as both can raise your metabolism slightly.

17. Use Smaller Plates

Studies show that people automatically eat less when they use smaller plates.

18. Sleep Like a Baby

Poor sleep is associated with weight gain and obesity, taking care of your sleep is important.

19. Reduce Stress

Being stressed can elevate the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause fat accumulation in the belly

20. Introduce changes gradually

Small changes can make a big difference. You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits. While weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks, the end game is to sustain these lifestyle change for life.

This new year, make it a habit to eat more healthily and cleanly :) Get your friends and family to join you on this fun and interesting journey towards better health!

Recipe on How to Make Soft, Fluffy and Tender Dinner Rolls

Having a dinner party or simply just craving for some good, deliciously homely bread? This is a dinner roll recipe  that you can trust. They are soft and tender, but won't break apart under the butter knife. They are mildly sweet that goes really well with anything, be it sweet or savory sauces or jams.

You can make these rolls from start to finish in the span of a few hours, and they are excellent fresh from the oven. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast

1/2 cup (4 oz) warm water

1/2 cup (4 oz) milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

Steps

1. Combine the ingredients for the dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl, if mixing by hand), stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Add all the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy dough.

2. Knead the dough: Knead at low speed, or by hand against the counter, for 8-10 minutes, until smooth but slightly tacky. It should spring back when poked.

3. Let the dough rise: Cover the mixing bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

4. Shape the rolls: Dust your work surface with a little flour and turn the risen dough out on top. Divide the dough into 12 pieces with a bench scraper. To shape into rolls, tuck the edges underneath to form a plump little package, then roll the dough against the counter or between your palms until round.

5. Heat the oven and let the rolls rise: Line a 9x13 pan with parchment and spray with nonstick coating. Arrange the rolls inside the pan spaced a little apart. Let the rolls rise until they look pillowy and fill the pan roughly 30-40 minutes.

While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

6. Brush the rolls with butter. Melt the butter and brush it over the risen dinner rolls. This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft.

7. Bake the rolls: Bake the rolls until golden, 15-18 minutes.

Lift the rolls from the pan using the parchment and let the rolls cool on a wire rack until cool enough to handle. They are best if eaten within a day or two, but will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. Rolls can also be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated in a warm oven

For Whole Wheat Rolls: Substitute 1/2-1 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and prepare the recipe as usual. The texture of the rolls will be a bit more dense, but still very delicious.

These rolls are good on its own or can be eaten with other dishes. Go make some today to taste the goodness for yourself ;)

10 Tips on How to Make the Perfect Cookies

Cookies may seem easy to make but in actual fact, they may not be as easy as it looks. However, there are a few tips and tricks you can master to bake really GOOD and delicious cookies :) Let's get on with these fabulous tips!

1. Measure Flour Accurately

This is the most important tip for any baker. Adding too much flour will make your baked goods tough and dry. And be sure to not overwork the dough; mix just until the flour disappears.

2. Reduce Flour by 3 Tablespoons to 1/4 Cup

Reduce the flour amount in most cookie recipes by a few tablespoons or up to 1/4 cup to make the cookies tender and to prevent them from drying out even after several days. When measuring out flour, use a scale if the recipe offers a weight equivalent. Otherwise, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and sweep a spatula across the top to level it off. Don't use the measuring cup as a scoop or it'll pack the flour and you'll end up with more flour in the cup than intended.

3. Chill the Dough Before Baking

Chilling the dough helps softer doughs keep their shape and makes the dough easier to work with. Chilling the dough also improves the flavor and allows the dough to relax a bit.

4. Use a Silicone Rolling Pin

With this new rolling pin, you won't have to use as much flour when rolling out doughs and your cookies will be more tender. Using a combination of powdered sugar and flour to dust the work surface will also help keep the cookies more tender. Also think about purchasing Rolling Pin Rings that you wrap around the pin so your dough is an even thickness and all the cookies bake at the same time.

5. Use an Oven Thermometer

Be sure that your oven is accurate with a thermometer, then bake cookies at a slightly lower temp. This small reduction in temperature ensures the cookies won't overbake and overbrown, especially on the bottom. With each batch of cookies, the baking time will be reduced because of the increased humidity in the oven from the cookies.

6. Soften Butter Properly

It's difficult to soften butter properly in a microwave oven; too often part of the butter melts, which will change the structure of the cookies. Butter and sugar form the basic structure of the cookies; the sugar cuts small air pockets into the butter, which are stabilized by the flour and filled with carbon dioxide from the baking powder. Soften butter by letting it stand at room temperature for a couple of hours. You can also grate the butter into a bowl, then it will soften in a few minutes.

7. Freeze Dough

Making and freezing doughs ahead of time not only is a great time saver, but it improves the texture of the cookies. Icebox cookies are shaped into a log, wrapped, and chilled or frozen until it's time to bake. You can form drop cookie dough into balls and freeze; bake from the frozen state, adding a few minutes to the baking time.

8. Use Fresh Ingredients

Make sure that all of your ingredients are fresh. Buy new baking powder and baking soda, vanilla and spices, flour and sugar. Most of us don't bake often during the year, and it's a good bet that your ingredients are more than a year old. You're putting a lot of effort into making these cookies so start with the best ingredients!

Eggs: Check your expiry date on your egg carton. Eggs should be at room temperature as the emulsion can be ruined if eggs or other liquids are too cold or too hot when they are added.

Flour: Don't substitute flour types. If your recipe calls for all-purpose flour, that's what you need to use. Cake flour and bread flour will not behave the same.

Nuts: Smell and taste nuts before using. Oils in nuts can turn rancid quickly. Store any leftover nuts in the freezer for longest shelf life.

Butter: Make sure your butter is at room temperature, otherwise it won't cream properly with the sugar. The terms room temperature, softened, and soft mean different things. The temperature of the butter can and will make a difference in the recipe. Most cookie dough recipes depend on the emulsion that occurs when you cream butter and sugar together. This emulsion will not happen if the butter is too hot or too cold.

Room Temperature Butter: It should be pliable enough that your finger can leave a mark in it, without being soft and greasy. Set the butter out at least one (1) hour in advance

Softened Butter: Will feel a little warmer to the touch, and it will be much easier to leave a deep indentation, but it should still be firm enough to pick up without falling apart.

Soft Butter: Will be too soft to pick up.

TIP: Do not try to microwave your butter as it will just end up too soft. If you don't have an hour's lead time, increase the surface area by cutting the butter into small pieces; It will then come up to temperature in approximately 10 minutes.

Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter is generally recommended because some salted butters have more sodium than others. If you use salted butter, only use 1/2 the amount of salt called for in the recipe. Don't skip the salt, as salt brings out flavors and balances the sweetness in a recipe.

Shortening: Check vegetable shortening before using. Shortening can go bad, introducing off-flavors to your cookies that you worked hard making. It is best to store opened shortening in the refrigerator.

Sugar: The type of sugar used in your cookies can promote spread in baked cookies.Sugar is a tenderizer which interferes with the formation structure. Sugars with a finger granulation promote more spread . Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar), when it contains cornstarch, prevents spread in cookies despite it finer grind.

9. Baking Time

Set the timer for 2-3 minutes less than the cooking time called for in the recipe and take the cookies out of the oven just as they're beginning to look done because the residual heat from the cookie sheet will continue to bake the cookies. Also, slightly underbaked cookies are more tender and moist.

10. Insulated Cookie Sheets and Cookie Scoops

One of the biggest problems with delicate doughs is they can get too brown on the bottom. Insulated sheets prevent that so your cookies turn out perfectly every time. And using cookie scoops means your cookies will all be exactly the same size.

Get your oven working and bake up a batch of delicious, yummy cookies:)

Easy Steps on Making Tang Yuan/Glutinous Rice Ball

Tang Yuan is made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water. Tangyuan can be either small or large, and filled or unfilled and is usually eaten during the Chinese festival YuanXiao (Lantern Festival). If you are thinking of preparing your own tang yuan this season, here is a simple recipe for you!

(For about 30 tang yuan)

Ingredients For Sesame Fillings 

1 cup Black sesame

2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Peanuts or walnuts or mix of both

2 stick Unsalted butter (or lard), melted

2 Oz Sweetened Winter Melon, minced (optional)

Ingredients For Tang Yuan

3 cup Glutinous rice flour

1 1/2  cup water

Steps For the Fillings

1. Roast the peanuts and coarsely grind them in a food processor.

2. Add the sesame and sugar to the food processor and grind everything into powder.

3. In a non-stick container mix the sesame mixture with sweetened winter melon.

4. Gradually add butter to pan and stir to mix. It should form something like thick paste. Carefully flatten the 

surface.

5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch grids and refrigerate until solidified.

6. When making the tang yuan, cut each grid into 1/2 inch cubes and shape into balls.  You can store the fillings in a freezer for up to one month.

Steps for the Tang Yuan

1. Mix the glutinous rice flour and water to make the dough. Roll it by hands until the dough becomes sticky like play dough. Divide the dough into 1.5 inch balls and keep them covered with a damped towel as they dry up very quickly.

2. Take a piece of dough and carefully shape it into a bowl.

3. Place a piece of sesame fillings in the middle of the dough.

4. Seal the opening carefully. Make sure the dough is not penetrated anywhere.

5. Gently shape the balls as round as possible by rolling around with both hands.

6. In a pot of boiling water cook the tang yuan until they float on the surface for at least 1 minute. It will take approximately 6 minutes to cook.

Roll the cooked tang yuan in crushed peanuts or cook up a sweet soup and eat the tang yuan with it. Enjoy ;)