Natural Foods, Spices that fights cancer

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Cancer fighting foods, cancer prevention, Health Tips, spices

Research shows that a large percentage of cancer-related deaths, may be even the majority are directly linked to lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, a lack of exercise, and an unhealthy diet. The food you eat has a powerful effect on your health, including your risk of cancer. You may land up eating many foods that fuels cancer, while neglecting the powerful foods and nutrients that can protect you. If you change your diet and behavior, you can minimize your risk of disease and possibly even stop cancer in its tracks.

Some of them are given below
Turmeric/Curcumin: This is the king of spices. This retards the growth of cancer cells causing prostrate cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, brain tumour, pancreatic cancer and leukemia among a host of others.

Fennel Seeds: Its a great antioxidant which fights the cancer cells.A tomato-fennel soup with garlic or fresh salads with fennel bulbs make for an ideal entree prior to an elaborate course meal.

Cumin : It aids digestion. In India, after a heavy lunch people chew a bit of these cumin seeds, so the digestion is eased. This antioxidant helps reduce the prostrate cancer.

Cinnamon: It takes not more than a half teaspoon of cinnamon powder every day to keep cancer risk away. A natural food preservative, cinnamon is a source of iron and calcium. Useful in reducing tumour growth, it blocks the formation of new vessels in the human body. There are many ways where we can include cinnamon in our daily food 🙂

Ginger: This humble spice boasts of medicinal qualities that help lowering cholesterol, boost metabolism and kill cancer cells. Easily added to vegetable dishes, fish preparations and salads, ginger enhances the flavour in cooking. Chew on fresh parsley if the odour bothers you

Oregano : This not only aids digestion also fights cancers cell for prostrate cancer.

Others: Cloves, anise, basil, garlic, caraway, fenugreek, mustard, mint leaves, rosemary, Limonin (fresh lemon), virgin olive, vinegar and avocado are other cancer-fighting diet components.

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Black Pepper/Peppercorns

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Benefits of pepper, Black Pepper, Health Tips, Indian spices, Peppercorns

Black Pepper/Peppercorns.

Black Pepper /Peppercorns are one of the widely used Indian spices, this has great health benefits.

It helps/aids in digestion – When you eat Black Pepper, your taste buds gets stimulated. They send signals to your stomach to increase its production of hydrochloric acid. This acid helps your body digest food so you don’t suffer from indigestion.

Cold/Congestion – the best medicine for cold/sore throat/congestion is black pepper. In India we prepare rasam with pepper when we get cold. We can powder the black pepper, add little honey and have the paste every morning. If we have it in a small amount also helps reducing cold. When I get severe cold, I would take 4 to 5 peppercorns and chew it. Though very spicy, its a great relief.

Weight loss — Yes, black pepper is one which increases urination and sweating. This extracts the unwanted toxins in the body and aids weight loss.

Prevents Cancer — Black Peppers helps preventing cancer. The piperine content of black pepper plays a key role in preventing cancers. It further stated that when combined with turmeric its anticancer properties are heightened. Apart from the piperine, black pepper also contains Vitamin C, Vitamin A, flavonoids, carotenes and other anti-oxidants that help remove harmful free radicals and protect the body from cancers and diseases

Instead of using Red/green chilies, we can substitute with Black peppers.

Spinach Rice

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Basmathi rice varieties, Healthy Spinach, Indian rice variety, Spinach Rice, variety rice

I was getting bored with the usual way of preparing spinach with dal. Recently met my aunt , she had prepared this spinach rice. It tasted different and nice, So now its my version of spinach rice given below. Its quite simple, fast and easy to prepare,as well healthy 🙂

Ingredients

Spinach : generous bunch(finely chopped)

uncooked Basmathi rice: 2 cups

pepper : 2 table spoons

cumin seeds : 1 table spoon

onion: 1/4 of the large one chopped

peanuts: handful

ginger : small piece

garlic : 2 pods sliced( not chopped)

oil : 2 table spoons

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and cook the basmathi rice with 1:2 of rice and water ration respectively. Once cooked, use fork and separate the rice. Do not mash.

Heat oil in a bigger pan.  Add cumin seeds, let it splutter. Now add onion, let it heat to become transparent. add the peanuts, garlic, ginger, pepper. Let it get heated for 2 mins, now add the chopped spinach. I used baby spinach. Let the spinach cook for 5 to 6 mins, it leaves out water, go on cooking. Add little bit of salt now and let the spinach get cooked well. Now add the rice and mix well. stir well and let the rice cook for few mins with the spinach, add a pinch of salt, as the rice should absorb some salt. Mix well.

Now our spinach rice is ready to be served 🙂

Indian style Egg curry

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Egg curry, Indian style egg curry, south Indian Egg curry, spicy egg curry

This is an Indian style egg curry, which i tried today and it came out very well. Its goes well with rice, chappathi, idli ,dosa. this serves for 2 people. Though a little lengthy process, taste is awesome 🙂

Ingredients:

Eggs : 2

onion : half cup finely sliced

oil : 3 table spoons

cumin seeds: 1/2 table spoon

fennel seeds: 1/2 table spoon

water : 1 cup( you can adjust according to your need)

Bay leaves – few

curry leaves – small bunch

tamarind – 1/4 gooseberry size (make juice out of it)

coriander leave – 1 small bunch

turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon.

red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon

salt as required

To grind:

Ginger : small piece

Garlic : 4 pods

Tomato: 1 large

green chilies – 2

Masala Items:

Black pepper : 2 table spoons

coriander seeds : 2 table spoons

Fennel seeds :1 table spoon

Cumin seeds : 1 table spoon

Red Chilies : 4

Cinnamon stick – 1 small

cloves : 5 pieces

cashew – 2(optional)

Grated coconut : 3 table spoons

Method:

Hard boil the egg for 10 mins, and keep aside.

Mean time, in the pan heat 1 tables spoon oil, put all the items in the Masala items mentioned above except grated coconut. let them splutter, , now switch of the stove, after that add the grated coconut and mix it with pan’s heat. This is to avoid the coconut getting burnt. Now let it cool, once it has cool, put these items in a mixer and grind it. Make it in to a fine paste.

Now separately grind the items in to grind, keep it aside.

In the pan add 1 table spoon oil, once it is hot, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, let it splutter. Add bay leaves and curry leaves now. Add the onions and saute till its transparent. After this add the ginger , garlic , green chili, tomato paste and let it boil for few mins. After which add the ground masala. Now add one cup of water with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and salt. In few minutes, add the tamarind juice and let it boil.

Mean time remove the shell of the eggs. Now in another pan add 1 table spoon oil, put the eggs in the oil, add 1/2 table spoon red chili powder and little bit salt and saute for 2 mins. remove the pan, should not overcook.

Add this egg in the other pan where our curry is getting prepared. Let it boil for 7 to 8 mins. The gravy would become thicker. Now add the coriander leaves and immediately stop the stove. Now its ready to be served 🙂

Note: You can vary the red chili powder amount for the egg according to your taste.

If you want the egg to get more tastier, slit in between to half length , so that the gravy gets in. You can see it in the picture 🙂

Tomato Rice

Tags

Indian rice variety, South Indian rice, Tomato Rice, tomato rice with coconut milk, variety rice

This is one of my favorites, so thought of sharing this as my first post….. This is one of the simplest rice variety. Easy to pack for lunch in busy schedules. Ingredients:

Basmati Rice : 2 cups

Tomato : 2 big chopped finely

Onion : 1/2 of a large

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chili Powder : 1/2 teaspoon ( Replace with 3 green chili instead)

Coconut Milk : 2 cups(optional, replace by 2 cups of water)

Water : 2 cups

Salt : as needed

Cumin seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Fennel Seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Cinnamon Stick : a small one

Cloves : 2

Oil : 1 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

• Finely chop onion and tomato.
• Wash basmati rice and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. When hot add cinnamon sticks, cloves, cumin seeds, fennel seeds.
• When it crackles, add onion and saute for 2 mins.
• Let the onion turn translucent, now add chopped tomato.
• Saute till it smashes completely.
• Now add red chili powder, salt and mix.
• After a minute, add the washed and cleaned rice. Saute it for 2 mins.
• You can either cook in pan, pressure cooker or rice cooker. I have used rice cooker.
• Now transfer the contents to rice cooker, add water and coconut milk, mix.
• Once it is cooked, add some cilantro leaves and garnish.
• In case of pressure cooker cook for 3 whistles.
• In case of pan, cook till rice is soft and fluffy.

Serve with raita or plain yogurt. You can use more oil in case you feel oil is less.