How To Braise Vegetables

How To Sweat Vegetables

If you were to go to culinary school you would learn how to  “sweat” vegetables. Basically, it is the same as braising.

Braising vegetables is a healthy way to cook because it is low calorie with only a very tiny bit of a good-for-you oil and the cooking process retains nutrients.

Braising or sweating a vegetable is cooking it in its own juices or in only a tiny bit of water. It is simple. Just follow this step-by-step recipe for braised red cabbage. You can use any vegetable you want.

Braised – Sweat Red Cabbage Recipe

Decide what veggies you want to braise or sweat, then get them all “processed” or cut up into the appropriate size.

In this case take a head of red cabbage and cut it in half. Then cut it into thin slices.

Do the same thing for one onion.

Braised Cabbage

Now comes the braising part.

Remember that you are not limited to braised cabbage… use ANY vegetable you want!

Put a tiny bit of grape seed or olive oil (or not) into a skillet and heat over medium heat.

Add the onion then:

• put the lid on the pan
• reduce the heat to very low
• sweat until the onion is just starting to color

Add The Cabbage & Braise

Add the cabbage, any spices you want (I used bay leaf, caraway seeds, salt and pepper) and a couple of tablespoons of water to start the braising process.

• cover
• be sure you are using very low heat
• toss or stir occasionally

Cabbage = Cruciferous Vegetable

Now just steep your veggies until the desired tenderness is reached.

I love doing cabbage this way as it is a nutrient powerhouse, low calorie feast and a great accompaniment with any dish.

Another combination that I often use is green cabbage, carrots and onion. It is a good habit to eat one cruciferous vegetable a day. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable.

Foods To Lower Your Cholesterol

Best Food To Lower Cholesterol

The best foods to lower your cholesterol are high fiber foods!

The 6 Weeks To The New You weight loss program is all about high fiber foods!

Soluble fiber has been shown to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your bloodstream.

All NON-starchy fruits and vegetables are high in fiber and relatively low in calories and sugars.

Other Foods Known To Reduce Cholesterol

Other foods that are known to reduce cholesterol include oats or oatmeal and oat bran. Oats have been shown in clinical tests to reduce your low-density lipoprotein.

Avocados have also shown a reduction in cholesterol levels during clinical tests in a very short time period.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Cholesterol

Fish and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to be heart healthy and reduce cholesterol levels.  Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids in addition to fish include flax, flax oil, grape seed oil, olive oil and avocados.

Nuts Good For Cholesterol

Nuts are good for your cholesterol too. They are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. They also help to keep your blood vessels clean. Nuts are high in calories so remember that a small handful is plenty!

Foods To Avoid

The foods to avoid when your doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol include:

• animal fats
• margarine
• hydrogenated fats
• mixes
• white grains

The 6 Weeks To The New You is really 6 weeks to a new way of eating that includes a diet high in cholesterol lowering foods.

Exercises To Get More Out Of A Walk

A hundred years ago no one went to the gym because everyone got all their exercise as they went about their daily activities.

Today we should make the most out of every activity we do. I call this ‘do anywhere exercises.’

Build Muscle When Walking

One of the few things we actually do for ourselves any more is walk. You can make walking an exercise in itself.

• Squeeze your butt cheeks while you walk and firm up some flab. It is amazing how tiring this can be. You literally flex your whole body when you just flex your butt cheeks.
• Do the muscle man pose while you walk. Flexing your entire upper body while walking and crunch down to work the abs in.
• Put the two together and make walking a real workout!

It is amazing that if you actually do this while walking into the office or the mall everyday you can firm up muscles and even get sore muscles if you overdo it.

Get More Exercise Without Going To The Gym

Yup, we should all go to the gym and we all have busy lives. Why not exercise everywhere you go and make the most of every activity? Try it!

If you do it often enough you will be able to isolate muscle groups and really maximize the efforts! It is fun when coupled with some positive thoughts/affirmations.