Category: Food and Drink

The Trick To Losing Weight And Keeping It Off Without Even Trying

Many people want to lose weight. It might be for health reasons, or just to look better. Sadly, almost everyone fails on a diet. You lose weight only to gain it all back, and maybe even weigh more that when you started.

We are going to reveal a secret trick to losing weight and keeping it off for good. Even better, you will be able to eat all your favorite foods whenever you want. Sound too good to be true? There is one catch. You must not eating during certain times of the day and week. This diet works because you can always look forward to a great meal each day. You won’t feel deprived or the need to “cheat” with this program. It truthfully will not even feel like a diet.

Before we go into the details of the diet, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning this or any other weight loss program.

In a nutshell, you only lose weight if you consume less calories than you burn. Some people think they can just do some jogging to lose weight. However, while exercise is important for good health, the average person will only burn about 300 calories after a half hour of jogging, which might cover the calories of a single bagel. Exercise alone is not the solution.

You need to have a plan were you stay under a set amount of calories per day. However, you can save your calories and combine them into one very satisfying meal. It is best to not even snack during the day, since one thing can lead to another and before you know it you are over your calorie limit to lose weight and might even gain weight. There are many online calorie calculators that can tell you the specific amount you need to eat to reach your weight goal. For most people, it will be difficult to do if you spread the meals out, so focus on one good meal per day. The best part is that you can eat anything you want as long as the calories are under your target.

In some cases, even one big meal can put you over your calorie limit. For that situation, you need to eat extra light the day before you plan on eating a high calorie meal, or eat very light the next day. You can also just look at calories you need for the entire week. For example, if you want to weight 165 pounds and don’t exercise much, you can eat around 1900 calories per day just to maintain a weight of 165 pounds. If you need to lose weight, the amount should be under 1400, or even less for faster weight loss. 1400 calories per day is tough (under 500 calories per meal). The key is to make it one good meal and count calories. If you plan on eating a big meal that is perhaps 2,000 calories, cut back the next day to make up for the extra calories.

Be sure to drink lots of water, since skipping meals means you won’t be getting as much fluid from food. About 1/2 ounce of water per pound is suggested. As an example, if you weight 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces of water per day, which is around 12 cups. Most people don’t get enough water. This causes them to have low energy, so they eat more food (and gain weight) when in reality they just needed more water. If you feel hungry, drink water first to make sure it is not thirst.

In addition to helping you lose weight, there is a lot scientific evidence that fasting between meals can even make you live longer and boost your immune system. Studies with lab animals, like mice, when given a calorie restricted diet, showed they lived 50% longer. We don’t know if it applies to humans, but the data suggests it might.

Finally, you need to eat healthy. However, it is fine to include some of your favorite desserts and snacks in moderation as long as you stay under your target daily calories. Healthy foods like fruits and veggies are naturally low in calorie, so you can consume more of them to help you feel more satisfied. For example, if you just ate donuts, you might hit your calorie target after only 3-4 of them for the entire day. If you really want a donut, you should have one, but just one. “One and done” should be your weight loss motto when it comes to snacks. After the first few bites of anything, you brain no longer really craves it as much. When you do eat something you really enjoy, be sure to do it mindfully. Savor each bite and eat slowly. For example, you might have a big cup of coffee with a half donut and focus on drinking coffee too. Make each meal special. This will make a smaller amount of a dessert feel just as good as eating a big amount.

Lots of whole grains and beans are good for fiber and to keep you regular. Yogurt is great for calcium and tastes awesome. Nuts are healthy, but watch the calories. Butter is okay in moderation. We also suggest eating a diet that does not include too much red meat and to focus more on healthy fish. These foods when prepared well taste delicious, so you will want to eat more of them. As with everything, be sure to track calories to keep your target. Even healthy foods can make you overweight if you eat too much.

You must weigh yourself often. Don’t go more than 3 days without checking your weight. If you are losing weight it will feel great. If you put on some weight, you will catch it early and can make modifications, such as cutting back on higher calories snacks. Don’t wait until you are many pounds heavier to make corrections, since it can become much harder to get back on track.

The Trick To Making Perfect Microwave Popcorn

We all love popcorn. It tastes great and is healthy too, as long as you don’t use too much oil and butter. A serving of popcorn has about 4 grams of fiber and is only 30 calories per cup. We are going to tell you how to make the best microwave popcorn.

Don’t use store bought microwave popcorn packages. You can make it better yourself and it will be a lot healthier and cheaper too. They tend to over salt the store brands and add all sorts of nasty artificial flavors you don’t want in your body. All you need is a microwave-safe glass bowl, a plate, salt, and some oil. However, there is a trick to making it taste amazing.

You first need to make popcorn salt. Put a few tablespoons of salt in a spice grinder. You can also use a blade coffee grinder. Keep grinding until the salt becomes powdery. You can store it in a small glass jar with a lid on it. Throw in a few popcorn kernels so you can shake up the jar in case the salt is clumping together. The powdered salt sticks much better to the popcorn and is important.

Next, get a large glass bowl. It should be big enough to hold your popcorn after it is popped. A 2 to 4 quart bowl should be good enough, but use a larger one if you make more popcorn.

Measure out some popcorn kernels (about 2 ounces, or 56 grams is good for 1-2 people). Any brand is fine, but you may find you like certain ones better. The popcorn can’t be too old or the kernels won’t pop well and you will be left with a lot of “old maids”. If you have any extra dry-pack silica gel desiccants (the ones that say “don’t eat”), throw it in your popcorn jar to keep the kernels from getting too much moisture. You can buy them, but many products have them, so just save them for later.

Next, add some oil to your popcorn. A teaspoon is good, but if you want lower calorie popcorn, you can use less. We like canola oil, but any type of oil is good. However, don’t use olive oil, since it can burn at a low temperature. You now want to add some of the powdered popcorn salt you made. 1/4 teaspoon per serving is good, but adjust it to your preference. You can always add more salt later. Use a spoon and mix well.

Cover the bowl with a large piece of saran wrap and secure it to the sides of the bowl. Next, use a sharp knife and gently put 8 holes in the saran wrap around the bowl. This will keep the popcorn from popping out and also let out excess steam.

Set your microwave to high power. Set the timer to about 8 minutes. If you are making more popcorn it might take more time. Longer is better, since you will be manually stopping the microwave when it is ready. After a few minutes the popcorn will start popping. Keep your eyes and ears open. Let it continue to run until the popping slows down to about 1 pop ever 2-3 seconds. Once that happens you are ready to remove the popcorn.

IMPORTANT: The popcorn will be very hot. You must use oven mittens or a big thick kitchen towel when removing it. Put the popcorn down on a table. DO NOT REMOVE THE SARAN WRAP WITHOUT PROTECTION. The steam is hot enough to cause serious skin burns.

You can now eat the popcorn right out of the bowl which keeps it warm for a long time. Add more popcorn salt if needed. If you want to indulge a bit, you can also add a little melted salted butter, but this popcorn tastes so good you might not even need it. If you want to control calories, but still want butter flavor, try melting some in a small cup and dip your kernels in it before eating. Having your butter on the side is a great way to cut extra calories while enjoying buttered popcorn. You can also use commercial butter spray, but we like real butter the best.

You now know the secret to making amazing tasting popcorn at home that is inexpensive and healthy.

The Trick To Making A Perfect Korean Dalgona Iced Coffee

The internet is buzzing about a new Korean iced coffee drink call Dalgona. You may have seen videos showing people making it. However, they often leave out crucial steps to make it properly. Unless you do things right, you might just end up with sweet coffee milk instead of that fluffy ice texture that made it so popular.

The first thing you need to know is that this recipe won’t work with regular ground coffee. Even if you use fine ground espresso beans, it won’t whip up much. You must use instant coffee. We suggest using instant espresso powder for the right flavor. You can find it online and at most stores.

Get a small cup. We like using a glass measuring cup (one cup size is good). Put in 4 teaspoons of your powdered instant coffee into the cup. Next, add the same amount of sugar (4 teaspoons). You can whip it up, but we find chilling it in the freezer for about 20 minutes gives a better thicker cream.

Take it out of the freezer. Use an electric hand mixer, like the kind you would use to mix cake batter. However, you only need one of the beaters inserted. Place the beater into the cup and start whipping at high speed. Keep going until your mixture becomes thick, like the consistency of frozen yogurt. It should only take about a minute or so. Make sure to use a really high speed. Things can splatter, so doing this in your kitchen sink or other protected area is a good idea.

The final step uses about a cup of very cold milk. Pour it into a small bowl or cup. Add some ice cubes to the milk. Finally, spoon in your whipped coffee mixture. Use a small spoon and enjoy. If you want to make more, just add more coffee, always keeping the same amount of sugar.

The Trick To Making A Perfect Cup Of Coffee

Coffee. Just thinking about it can make you happy. However, a bad cup of this liquid gold can make you sour. Luckily, making a great cup of coffee, one that has the perfect balance of coffee flavor without being too bitter or sour, is easy once you know the trick to it.

A basic coffee maker is all you need for that perfect cup. The key is to use fresh whole beans. Check the expiration date to make sure they are still fresh. Store them in a dark container in a cool area, but never in the refrigerator or freezer, since it can add moisture. You want them dry. Keeping them in the original coffee bag is a good idea.

The coffee brand is up to you. In general, we have yet to find good coffee that was also cheap. We like Starbucks brand. Breakfast Blend and Sumatra are our favorites. While more pricey, it is cheap compared to buying coffee at a coffee shop. Did you know that there are only two main types of coffee beans – Arabica coffee and Robusta. All the other hundreds of varieties come from how they roast them. Stay away from Robusta and stick with Arabica. Most of the super cheap brands are Robusta.

Next comes the grind. You should invest in a good burr grinder. However, an inexpensive blade grinder works for most people. We suggest using a medium grind, but on the course side to keep things from getting too bitter. Grind things finer for a stronger brew. Add your water to the coffee maker. You really should use filtered water from either a bottle or a water filtering system. Without good water you will never have good coffee. We suggest following the instructions on your coffee maker for the amount of water. They usually have lines that tell you how much to add for a given amount of cups.

After good filtered water, the next most important item is determining how much coffee to add. Most people use way too much. Even places like Starbucks make it too bitter and sour. We suggest using 1 coffee scoop per cup of water. If you don’t have a coffee scoop, you can use 2 tablespoons per cup which is the same thing. The scoops should be level, but you can make them more rounded if you want a strong brew.

Make your coffee in the coffee machine. All of them are about the same, but we like the “Mr. Coffee” brand. They are cheap and make a great cup of coffee. At this point you should also boil a lot of hot water in a tea kettle.

Get your mugs out. When the water boils, pour it in your cups. In order to have a hot cup of coffee you must warm the cups before adding coffee. When the coffee in the coffee maker is ready, you dump out the hot water. Make sure you have extra hot water for this next important step.

Here is the trick in our opinion that will make your coffee taste smoother and give you a lot more control over the flavor. Fill your warm cups with coffee, but only about half full. Try your coffee. If the strength is good for you, you can continue to fill your cup. However, if it is too strong, which is often the case, just add hot water to the cup until it tastes the way you want. If it gets too weak, add more coffee. You in a sense will be “cooking” your coffee in the mug to make it personalized to your tastes. Each time you make coffee the strength and flavor will vary based on the bean type, grind, amount of time they have been opened, water temperature, and many other factors. Adding hot water is how you can adjust for these things and make that perfect cup.

If you want a fancy drink, like a Cappuccino, you can add milk foam to your coffee. One trick to make it fast and easy is to pour milk (we like whole milk) into a cup and microwave it until the temperate is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. You need to invest in a thermometer since the foam won’t happen unless you are at this critical temperature. All that is left to do is use a small whisk to get your glorious foam. Whisk longer and faster for more foam. Pour the foam on top of your coffee. You can even make some fancy designs by using a coffee stirrer and drawing different lines in the foam. There are lots of online tutorials and videos on making coffee art.

Sit back and enjoy your delicious cup of coffee. Don’t keep leftovers too long, since your coffee will go sour after about 30-45 minutes of sitting in a coffee pot. Just make smaller amounts more often to avoid wasting coffee. This is a big advantage to making coffee at home. Most restaurants keep coffee sitting in a pot way too long, resulting in bad tasting sour coffee when they serve it.

The Trick To Knowing How Many Calories To Eat

Most people would say that to lose weight you have to eat less food. That is not correct. Actually, you have to eat less calories because when you take in more calories than you need the body stores them as fat. And when you eat less calories than you need, the body breaks down existing fat to get energy to function, causing a weight loss.

Based on this concept it would be a good idea when you are dieting to eat a lot of low calorie food such as greens and grains so you do not feel hungry and leave the high calorie foods such as cake and ice cream alone because they are usually found in such small portions they do not do very much to appease your hunger. If you eat large enough quantities of them to control hunger you will be taking in vast amounts of calories, which will probably get stored as fat.

Now let’s find out how many calories you need to stay exactly as you are and how many calories a day you should eat to lose weight.

Here is the formula the Doctors tell us to use. Take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 10. That is the number of calories the average man needs to eat each day to maintain his same body weight.

example: Man weighs 190 lbs. X 10 = 1900 calories per day

If this 190 lb. wants to go on a diet to lose weight here is how things will work. First he would learn that to lose just one pound it is necessary to be minus 3500 calories. So if he ate 1400 calories a day he would be minus 500 calories each day.  1900 (the amount he needs based on weight) 1900 – 1400 = 500. In seven days or one week he would lose 1 lb. (7 X 500= 3500 or 1 lb.)