Spinach, strawberries, almonds and feta...

I visited my brother few weeks back for a completely carefree vacation in Washington state where organic baby spinach and strawberries were in season! I know these are not in season in Lebanon right now, but I find it hard not to share this recipe especially that it's super easy to make, it's absolutely refreshing and I've been meaning to try it ever since I saw a similar salad up on Foodess.

What you need to have:

For the salad

• 150 grams baby spinach, rinsed, dried and cut into bite-size pieces
• 150 grams strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 75 grams almonds - roasted, unsalted and chopped
• 100 grams feta cheese, crumbled or diced

Fro the dressing (all Jazmin's idea, and it fits the strawberry spinach blend perfectly!)

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp mustard, whole grain Dijon
• 1 lemon, juice with pulp
• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
• 1 small shallot, finely grated
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper

What you gotta do:

• Mix the spinach and the strawberries together. Set them aside while you prepare the dressing.
• Then whisk all the dressing's ingredients altogether. I actually shook them inside a tightly closed jar, so they turned out pretty creamy and well blended.
• Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad and mix.
  Make sure not to add the dressing, unless everyone is prepared to start eating as the white vinegar will wilt the spinach if left for a long time.
• Sprinkle the chopped roasted almonds and the crumbled feta on top of the salad, and please be generous. If you tend to be stingy, set aside 2 tiny bowls, one for feta and one for the almonds, just in case anyone wants to add some more.

And voila...

Pungent, tarty and refreshing for the taste buds!

Needless to say, the salad was a hit, the extra almonds and feta were much appreciated, summer was good and my trip was both relaxing and active at the same time. I took a photo of how my most relaxing day looked like at Lake Union's westernmost point in Freemont.

Statue of Peace Leader, Sri Chinmoy at Lake Union

Eating Healthy When You're On the Road

Whether you are on vacation or you are traveling for business, you know how hard it can be to eat well. One of the ways in which we take care of ourselves is to eat well, and though we think about staying safe and securing our belongings when we are on the road, we seldom think about what we are putting in our bodies. The food that you can get on the road is often full of fat, salt and sugar, leaving your body tired and weary and getting in the way of planned activities. Therefore, you need to be conscious in making right healthy decisions.

Be Wary of the Airports

Not only is airport food overpriced, but it is also terribly unhealthy for you. Airports rely

Pre-packed fast food at airports
Photo credit: Gabbyandlaird.com

on people being hungry, tired, in a rush and uninterested in worrying too much about the food choices in front of them. Most food choices are from fast food restaurants: packed, ready-to-eat, with large amounts of additives and preservatives. Make sure that you eat a healthy balanced meal before you head to the airport. Eat a full meal; just make sure that it is relatively light. A meal with a lot of vegetables and fruit will keep you in good shape while you are trying to make your flight! During connection flights, keep your intake of airport food moderate, ditch all greasy croissants, high cheese sandwiches, sugar-loaded coffees, creamy dips and deep-fried foods.

Choose Your Restaurant Carefully

When you are the road, make it a point to avoid places that serve a wide variety of fried food. Fried food is high in grease, and a single meal can run you up to a thousand calories if you are not careful. Look for menus that offer green salads/tossed greens with grilled white meats and meat alternatives. Fish restaurants, especially those offering steamed fish are a good choice. One strategy to use when you are looking at a menu is to look into appetizers, as they are portion controlled. Middle Eastern restaurants can be a good choice, especially if you are looking at hummus with pita and vegetables. In addition, sharing meals can be a good strategy to taste local cuisines while sparing the extra pounds. Try to have filling meals to decrease uncontrolled snacking during the day and when snacking, try new local fruits instead of high sugar/fat snacks.

A balanced meal: Hummus, pita and vegetables
Photo credit: Exclusivelyfood.com.au

Finding healthy hotels and restaurants can often be a difficult task, especially when you are in unfamiliar areas. I have found that reading reviews online from other experienced travelers is the best way to gain knowledge and find the right places for you. I most recently found a great site that listed reviews for Las Vegas hotels that not only had great reviews regarding the amenities and services offered, but also provided an abundance of reviews regarding the restaurants in the surrounding area. This made it so much easier to not only pick the right hotel for me, but to also plan out which restaurants that I could visit to eat both nutritiously and deliciously while in the buffet ridden Sin City.

Skip the Alcohol

When you are on vacation, it is easy to have a few extra drinks because you are having a great time. If you are on business, you may feel that you need to unwind at the end of a busy day. The problem is that alcohol, in cocktail or dry form, is full of empty calories and it adds up so quick! Alcohol also spares fat burning and leaves your body dehydrated, draining all your energy! Make sure that you refuse the key to the minibar in the room and that you skip the hotel bar. When you go out with people, stick with ginger ale or an intriguing exotic fresh fruit juice.

Cooking

If it is in your budget, think about choosing a hotel room that has a kitchen in it. If you are willing to cook while you are on the road, make sure that you take the time to shop at the supermarkets for healthy ingredients and snacks. Fruit, vegetables and low calorie snacks are best, such as cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, apples, bananas, soaked almonds or walnuts. Not only will this save you money, you will find that this can keep your calorie count low as you will feel full between meals. If you decide not to get a room with a kitchen, instead bring along a crock-pot or a toaster oven. This allows you to prepare hot food, which mitigates the need to go out and get restaurant food.

Take a moment to consider how you can stay healthy when you are traveling. It will sure pay off when you are full of energy during your trip and it only takes a little bit of consideration and conscious preparations.

This post is by the guest blogger, Cole Millen>> Blog: Colemill.blogspot.com

Cole Millen is an avid traveler and foodie who never forgets that life's best memories are made through real life apprehension of legitimate "experiences." Some people plan a trip to "get away," while others realize benefit of adding something greater to their current repertoire of knowledge, thought and emotion. Through his writings, Cole hopes to influence the earlier, and connect with the latter.

The 'Taste Lebanon' Project - Delicious Lebanon Revealed

First of May happens to be towards the very end of Mangroves-season, in which you can still harvest these tiny shrubs you see off the shores of Lebanon. We usually buy mangroves' pickled leaves, my dad seems to love them with everything and enjoy them with anything that includes lentils. So this year, I decided to go harvest those shrubs and pickle my own! We went off to the coastal shores of Amchit, North of Lebanon. Many seem to harvest the leaves as shrubs were harvested already, but we managed to find our own. There are different types of mangroves shrubs, we got lucky with some of the semi-immersed ones, those that tolerate salty tidal seawater twice per day.

Nevertheless, this post is not about my mangroves hunting, it's more about our after-harvesting part of the day. We passed by Furn El Sabaya in Amchit, which deserves its own post soon, and bumped into Bethany Kehdy with a small group of tourists. So you see this tiny post is about the amazing (and might I add fun) work Bethany is doing in giving an excellent image about the culinary & cultural life of Lebanon. I have followed Bethany on twitter, kept myself busy with her recipes on Dirty Kitchen Secrets and checked her updates on food blogging conferences, Food Blogger Connect, but the best part of it all is her Taste Lebanon project.

In case you're not familiar with what Taste Lebanon's aim is, this is it.

Bethany Kehdy cooking
Courtesy of MidEats

We were having some fatayer (Lebanese good spinach pies) when Bethany and 3 tourists came in. She introduced them to the place and ordered the place's specials. The group enthusiastically watched how food was prepared and took photos as Bethany explained the whole procedure, what ingredients went in, the way of cooking as well as the cultural background of the food, all in English.

>> That's what Bethany does in Taste Lebanon. She highlights the good, delicious side of Lebanon to tourists from all over the world. Bethany guides tourists on a 7-day culinary trip all over Lebanon. The tours are private, as you see the group we met were just 3. It's a combination of a fun, cultural and super delicious trip. 

Few of the places/food you'll get to experience touring Taste Lebanon [And I got these just by recapping FEW reviews on Taste Lebanon! You might wanna click on those links and check their latest youtube video for savory food!]

Pita bread making
By DKS

- Falafel making and tasting
- Touristic visits to Baalbeck ruins then heading back to mountain wineries
- Fish markets, seafood restaurants and of course, swimming!
- Beehives and honey making
- Saj bread preparation
- Lebanese sweets making (such as baklava, middle eastern pastries & mwaraqa)
- Wild-thyme farms (that I've never been to)
- Lunches with full Lebanese meze
- Authentic chicken and kebab lunches
- Breakfast options you can have in Lebanon >> labne, manakich, croissants, yum!
- Ice cream tasting
- Arak tasting
- Kaak making
- Maamoul making
- Pita bread making
- Orange flower water making
- Beef/lamb meat market / Sheep for dinner!
- Kibbe preparation (I'm sure by now you know you'll taste those too!)
- And the best of all, tours around old authentic Lebanese old souks and street markets!

If you love learning about and tasting good food, you will be drooling. I couldn't but link all those photos. You can check David Lebovitz posts on his latest tour with Bethany and many more here. I couldn't stop reading the tourists feedback about how easy it was to go around the whole country with Bethany while having all the amazing culinary experiences I haven't had in my own country, makes me want to re-organize my to-do list! Of course, there's a lot to do in such a short period of time so not all the culinary trips I mentioned can fit into one visit I guess. As Bethany explains, tours may differ from one time to another.
All I know is that if I were a tourist, I would want to have this delicious trip. So if you know similar (as cool & as delicious!!) trips around Europe or Asia, I beg thee to link me!

Traveling this Summer? Watch Out for the 'Economy Class Syndrome'

If you're traveling economy class this summer, you gotta know more about Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), also known as Economy Class Syndrome (ECS)! According to the WHO, 3 to 5 % of those who travel economy class for long hours increase their risk of developing DVT. 

So what is DVT? It's the formation of blood clots in the lower limbs - calves and thighs. DVT and clot formation risk are increased due to many factors such as genetics, advanced age, hormonal disturbances, obesity related factors, pregnancies and prolonged sitting such as bed rests. Clot formation may also increase during long flight hours -  it is largely affected by the fact that you're not moving as well as by airplanes' cabin pressure and oxygen state. The risk increases when you resume activity! The clot may break off, move through the circulation, reach the heart of lungs and obstruct their pathways, leading to death. This has actually happened back in 2000, when a passenger died due to DVT!

So to avoid leg, feet and thigh-swelling, bruising and numbness:

• Make sure you are wearing very comfortable and loose clothes and shoes. The point is that when you are sitting for a long time, the effect of gravity restricts blood from flowing back from the legs' veins to the heart. Therefore, blood circulation slows down to your lower body and excess blood may accumulate forming clots. So wear loose clothes to decrease any circulation restriction.
• It's OK [more like recommended] to take off your shoes during long hour flights, this will ensure normal blood flow into your lower limbs.
• Do circular moves with your feet and ankles and flex both feet and knees at least every 15 to 20 minutes. You can also slide your feet forward and backwards
• Don't just sit/sleep the whole flight, move around the plane at least every hour.
• Stretch your whole body whenever you get the chance and don't cross over your legs while sitting, it will only impeded circulation more.
• Hydrate yourself properly with water. People tend to forget to drink water during flights so have a small cup within reach at all times.
• Now even though alcohol might be complimentary on the airplane, keep in mind that alcohol is a diuretic so it draws water from your body so limit its intake.
• Caffeine is also considered a diuretic so limit large intake of any caffeinated beverages whether from coffee, energy drinks or soft drinks (like cokes).
• You can also consider wearing compressing stockings, to aid proper circulation.

The risk of dangerous clotting is, in fact, minimal but it increases by 18 % for each 2-hour increase in your flight duration! So drink more, move as much as possible, and now after you have a 'healthy' flight, make sure you're in excellent shape to enjoy your vacation by reading Nadine Issa's "5 ways to stay fit while on vacation" article to make the best out of fun!

References:

CNN Travel, Airhealth.org, Economy Class Syndrome.com

Photo:

Everymantri.com

Paris in 5 Days!

End of January, I finished my exams early and took a week off to go to Paris. Paris is beautiful. Paris is absolutely beautiful! Not only is it easy to move around, it has a seriously prestigious architecture, delicious gourmet and much more! So here are the top 8 things I loved about Paris.

1- Paris by bus and metro

Paris is very easy to move around, all you gotta do is get yourself this "Paris Metro Map". It is usually given for free at hotels; nevertheless, make sure to have one - it 'll make your life the easiest possible! Try to take metro numbers 2 and 6, they go above ground thus offering some spectacular scenes of the city such as the Eiffel Tour and La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre. Better yet, to enjoy the city more, take the bus everywhere. This might get you in some traffic, but if you're not in a hurry, you'll enjoy it so the bus map will come in handy as well! I must admit though that maybe, maybeee, the fact that we don't have such transportation made me love metros more than one would typically do.

2- Paris is a great walk

Walking around is easy, all streets are flat and you'll get to enjoy the view, smell freshly baked bread and walk in the misty rain. It wasn't heavily raining there, so walking around seemed best!

Paris has museums and churches every 5 walking-minutes, so it's a bit pointless to take metros or buses in the same region. Just get your map and circle all the things you want to see during that day. You will only find yourself walking from one spot to another, and you'll end up walking the whole day (so make sure to have very comfy walking shoes). For example, the church on the right directly faces le Pantheon, 5 minutes away from la Sorbonne, 10 minutes away from Musee de Cluny, 10 minutes away from Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, around 10 minutes away from les jardins de Luxembourg (in the opposite direction) which is 20 minutes away from Tour Montparnasse which is 5 minutes away from les cimetieres du Montparnasse! So you see, all in all, these should, and will, be covered by walking!

Read more, and you'll see why it's good to walk around.

3- Everyone enjoys a good read!

I couldn't but take photos of people
reading in the metro, so focused!
Beirut Street Photographers would've been proud.

Whether on the bus, on the street, in the rain or on the metro, most people are always reading books, magazines and newspapers! I loved that they're totally focused on their reading.

What I loved more is the book markets! All along the Seine river, where you can find the Louvres museum, Musee d'Orsay, les bateaux mouches, and the Tuileries Garden taking you all the way to L'Hôtel national des Invalides, you can find book markets on on this street. Some even have the oldest books I have seen, and they smelled beautiful!

4- The Architecture, ouf!

Le petit palais and l'arc de triomphe!
There's a lot to see in Paris, especially if you appreciate art and architecture!
This city has a beautiful history depicted in the tiniest details of its churches, monuments, temples, buildings and towers!

Taking les bateaux mouches in the Seine river
will let you see Paris by night! It was extremely cold (hats, scarves and gloves are a must in January), but it was definitely worth it.

5- Museums, museums, museums! 

When I was researching Paris before leaving, I thought, well how many museums could one city have! Yea well think again. To have a glimpse, check this whole list of museums.

Art museums interested me most... As well as the ChocoStory, the chocolate museum, but this one will have a post of its own!

Musee du Louvres and the Seine River

I adored how Renoir drew real people
displayed in le Musee d'Orsay.

But Claude Monet is by far, by faaar my favorite artist!
I adore this Water Lilies, I even got a mini painting of it to keep!

6- Operas!

If you go to Paris, make sure not to miss their opera houses! I found 2: Opera National de Paris and Opera Bastille, where we went to see la Dame de Pique and yay was it beautiful! With live orchestra playing Tchaikovsky! I even booked my tickets before I got my visa and yes, it is not to be missed!

7- Cafe Trottoires are everywhere!

With the temperature during the day being between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius in January,
finding coffee/tea shops and creperies everywhere makes life warmer and sweeter,
one sip and a bite at a time!

8- Eating there is a bliss, definitely not to miss!

Thank God I was walking all day, because I sure needed to burn all the deliciousness I was eating! In Paris, I lived meal by meal, waiting for what I will eat next was really intriguing. Those French really know their food. From the enormous variety in breakfasts, to gazillion types of cheeses, to seafood and desserts, I couldn't finish most of my meals! And it wasn't just because I was full, it was more of gluttony. Weirdly enough, I couldn't find obese people in this city, it must be because of all the walking because the food sure makes you eat more! 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
This is the 'only' reason why I made sure to have my Frenchy breakfast!

Heavenly Chocolate and Crepes!
I couldn't resist their chocolate - Even the smell of chocolate stores was delightful!

I had a thing for seafood there, weirdly not for cheese!
I had moules frites, saumon grillee and scallops casserole and all were worth it!

The trip was delightful, carefree, delicious, artistic, educative and beautiful to the eyes! What more can you wish for from on a holiday!

Avoiding Constipation this Christmas!

Christmas is almost here -12 days to go, yes I am 'countdown-ing'.

During the holidays, we are bombarded with deliciousness everywhere - I mean my mom and tetas make the most amazing food and resistance can get quite hard! Therefore, our dietary habits tend to change, often to the worse. We tend to ditch the water for alcohol and coffee as well as salads for more fat-drenching cuts and fries, ending our masterpiece with overdosing on that buche we’ve been putting our eyes on all night! Aaaand voila! Constipation.

So long story short, here’s how constipation can be avoided!

Don't neglect your fruits and veggies - The most common cause of constipation is a diet low in fibers! Fiber is necessary to help move food around your digestive tract and thus alleviates constipation. Therefore, whether you are preparing Christmas dinner this year or you are helping in devouring it, make sure to include vegetables in your main meal as well as fruits as dessert. And make sure to eat them as well.

Eat wisely - Mindful eating goes down to the ‘non-existing’ level when we are confronted with all these food options! I know how Christmas dinner looks like, I’ve seen ours. We have almost every type of food you can think of, making us want to have a bit (or a lot) of everything. So to avoid getting constipated all the way to New Year’s (and to watch your weight and health), choose the foods that you love the most and have them within reason. Listen to your body and eat when hungry, not to socialize. Instead of nibbling on roasted nuts, chocolate and alcohol, try to stick to lighter options like nibbling on green veggies, carrots, bell pepper, cauliflower or a bit of raw nuts. And if you are hosting this dinner, please have these crunchy munchies available for us, with mustard, lemon, vinegar, soy or low fat sour cream dip, please.

Stay Hydrated - Without enough water, your body extracts the needed liquid from your colon – leaving your stool dry and increasing your risk of constipation. During the festivities, we tend to prefer alcohol or coffee which intensifies the dehydration process since these 2 make you lose more water! Therefore, to combat these dehydrating effects, try to limit your coffee intake to 1 or 2 per day and if you decided to have some alcohol, try to either dilute it with water/ice or have 2 cups of water for every drink you have!

Squeeze in some exercise! Exercise is known to improve your bowel movements, but during the holidays, it seems like we take a holiday off of exercise as well! Steady exercise can regulate intestinal muscle contractions and reduce the time food stays in your digestive tract and thus can be a very efficient natural way to relieve constipation. So try to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise and if you are way over your head celebrating, try to split the 30 minutes into 2 15-minute workouts or dance your time away with family & friends!

Don’t ignore the urge to go – If you’re busy hosting dinner and family & friends are all around your place, you tend to ignore the fact that you really need to use the bathroom! Ignoring bowel signs can leave food longer time in your colon, resulting in more water absorption from the stools. So when you feel like going, just go!

If you're traveling for Christmas,
don't tell us!

And last but not least, if you are traveling for the holidays, I hate you. Nevertheless, traveling can disturb the microflora in your intestines, damaging beneficial bacteria. So watch your diet, avoid the booze on the plane, drink lots of water, have lots of fruits and vegetables and help yourself with some yogurt, it contains probiotics that  can stimulate the growth and activity of bacteria in your guts!

Why Wait for Sunday Gatherings - Souk El Tayeb, Authentic Lebanese Food in the Heart of Beirut!

A lot of us long for Sundays to have those authentic gatherings with our extended families, around a table rich in traditional Lebanese food, from tabboule, fattoush, hummus, home-made mana’ich, to kebbe, grilled meats and Lebanese sweets; especially with brilliant cooks like our moms and tetas!

Food is indeed a very important part of our daily lives, better yet; food constitutes a crucial part of our identity and heritage! So what about a place, cozy and authentic, that prepares your Sunday lunches every day?  This is what Tawlet is all about!

On Saturday 1^st of October, Cynthia from Strawberry Blu, my friend, dietitian, food scientist and amazing blogger decided to visit Tawlet, located in Mar Mechael street in Gemmayze, Lebanon! And what an amazingly delicious experience it was! We had lunch and a casual chit chat with Mr. Kamal Mouzawak, chef, writer and founder of Souk el Tayeb- Tawlet, and here’s how it went…

Tawlet Overview

Tawlet (Arabic for Table) is a farmer’s kitchen that simply revolves around “Shou tabkha el mama el yom?” (English “What’s mom cooking today?”). Each day, different food producers, cooks and also well known chefs come from all over the country to prepare traditional Lebanese home-made food from their own region or village.

 

The Menu

Visitors can serve themselves food buffet-style from a menu that varies daily, depending on the regional specialty for that specific day.

 

Tawlet's open buffet

You can definitely find foods that you are familiar with, but what is most exciting are those foods that are unique to every region of Lebanon! Such as Bemye bi debess el remmen (Okra with pomegranate molasses) from Jezzine, Koussa bel zet (Zucchini in oil) from Maaser El Chouf and Kebbe arnabiye (Kebbe with sesame paste and sour orange juice) from Kfaratra!

You can have some lemonade, jellab, arak or wine while the water is free to pour some from the traditional “bri2” (which is a rounded glass bottle with a tight neck and a nozzle from which you can pour water, mainly found at our granny’s!)

Tawlet uses preservative & chemical-free (products) produce in all the foods prepared! That’s why you don’t find any place for carbonated beverages, such as cokes and sodas, for they are not part of our cuisine, right? As for dessert, you can find the finest fruits, fruit salad, as well as Arabic sweets such as knefe, so we definitely had some! 

Delicious fruit, knefe, cakes and Lebanese sweets!

To wrap up, the menu is full of delicious authentic Lebanese dishes that you don’t get to have every day and which you can actually check weekly on facebook!

Tawlet's Environment

The place's interior is earthy, green and warm! The chairs and tables are wooden with plants and flowers all over the, might I add, smoking-free dining area. You can find meticulously arranged bri2 stand, a beautifully arranged Lebanese wine collection as well as a stand for various home-made Lebanese mouneh (pickled and preserved produce and pantry). Moreover, what I loved is that the kitchen is right there in front of your eyes! Whatever food is being prepared, heated or cooked is out there for all of the visitors to see!

Beautifully arranged wine collection

Warm, green and homey!

Maya Zankoul's illustrations
decorating one of Tawlet's walls

Tawlet under the Umbrella of Souk El Tayeb

Tawlet's kitchen actually falls under Souk El Tayeb (Tayeb meaning tastes good/delicious) that includes a farmer's market, wine tasting classes, cooking workshops, food feasts and school programs! Cynthia and I will make sure to visit this market very soon in Biel (which opens every Saturday in Biel from 9 am till 2 pm) to check their mouneh, pastries, sweets, dairy products, and their fresh, local and organic fruit and vegetables.


Kamal Mouzawak is doing his share of preserving our Lebanese culture and traditional cuisine by supporting local farmers, organic and fresh produce and by focusing on the importance of our Lebanese character and identity! So what are we doing to preserve our culture?

Tawlet Contact Details

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 1 pm - 4 pm

Cynthia (right) and I (left)
enjoying Tawlet's kitchen

At night, it is open for private dinners and exhibitions
Price range:

• "Producer's buffet" and "Saturday's Souk Brunch": 27 USD $
• "Plate du jour": 10 USD $

Phone number: 01-448 129

Address: Beirut, Sector 79 -  Naher Street #12 (Jisr el- hadeed), Ground floor facing Spoiler center, Beirut, Lebanon

Facebook page

Twitter page

Website link

*Photos courtesy of Paty M's Nutrition World and Strawberry Blu.
Strawberry Blu's similar post about Tawlet [here].

Your Nutrition Guide - Indian Style!

If you have noticed, we are all facing an ever ending flood of information about different dietary habits and guidelines from each end of the world! Different dietary systems seem to conflict entirely with each other.

I had the chance to visit the fascinating India this summer, in which I learned that, we are no where near the Indian cuisine and the community's dietary habits! Most Indians are vegetarians - No meat, fish, poultry, milk nor eggs!  Even non-vegetarians don't consume meats (beef, pork, lamb, mutton), rather, they have their proteins from legumes, fish and poultry. To top that, everything is super spicy, even if you ask for it to be spices-free, dream on! Herbs and spices are a major part of Indian dietary habits and cuisine - from cayenne to cinnamon, ginger, oregano, rosemary, chilli, cumin, cardamon and turmeric, the list is enormously long and extends to spices I have never heard of. Therefore, spices, herbs and their health benefits will have to be discussed in a separate article alright!

So long story short, according to Dr. Anjali Mukerjee, a nutritionist, medical doctor and alternative medicine specialist, she explains in her "Healing with Food" book how to energize your body Indian style! Some of the points that are helpful to both Indians and us are:

1. Drink enough amounts of water: Although many seem to forget the importance of this essential non-nutrient, drink at least 10 glasses of water daily in order to balance electrolytes, cleanse the kidneys and rehydrate your cells.

2. Have yourself some goodnight sleep: Dr. Mukerjee insists that there's no substitute for adequate sleep - no amount of healthy nutrients and no mutli-vitamins can rejuvenate your body like 7 hours of good sleep.

3. Avoid stimulants: such as alcohol, tobacco and caffeine which stimulate your body for a short period of time only to cause chronic fatigue if used for a long period of time! These stimulants promote dehydration and increase your blood pressure!

Breathe and relax

4. Relax and try to control your every day stress: In this section, i loved the statement: "Toxic emotions are worse than toxic food." Stress zaps all energy right our of our bodies! Work on controlling your stress, breathe, meditate and relax - don't just say life is too hectic to relax, find time.

5. Limit your sugar intake: Sugar may give you the instant energy but in the long run, sugar reduces the life span - that serious! Soft drinks, pastries, cakes, ice creams, dressings, low fat foods, etc. all contain added sugars that cause imbalances in our bodies, deteriorate our immune systems and increase our risk of gaining weight.

6. Avoid fried foods: that get digested slowly, prevent the digestion of other foods and lead to sluggishness, other than the very well known adverse effects of fries on weight, blood profiles and chronic diseases!

7. Limit your intake of red meats: like beef, lamb, pork and cold cuts which are loaded with saturated fats and which some (like processed meats, salami & packed meats) are hyped up with preservatives, additives and colorings. Red meats cause an increase in inflammatory agents, build up of uric acids, increase the risk of various types of noncommunicable diseases like hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cancers as well as mess up our blood profiles!

8. Limit milk and dairy products: that increase the formation of mucus, sinus problems, intensify acne problems and may trigger allergic reactions. Make sure to get your calcium from green leafy vegetables, broccoli, almonds and soybeans. Milk could be beneficial is small amounts, such that it aids in relaxation of muscles and sleeping well so limit your consumption (to 1-2 servings per day).

9. Multivitamins supplements: especially B vitamins decrease fatigue, help your body's metabolic reactions and convert your nutrient intake from food to energy! Have yourself some mutli-minerals and vitamins to complement your healthy diet, not to replace it.

10. Get movin': Have at least 40-50 minutes of exercise each day such as walking, swimming, jogging, etc. Increase your heart rate and sweat, but don't overdo it! Regular exercise creates balance between water & electrolytes in your body, aids in weight loss, helps your body to get rid of toxins and burn extra fat, promotes muscle mass and helps building calcium in your bones so you don't want to miss out on its benefits!

11. Eat food closest to its natural form: Eat whole foods - a point world-wide guidelines are now emphasizing on and a point in which we are so advantaged to have! Our Lebanese cuisine helps us in eating foods closest to their natural form from Mjaddara, Loubye, Fasolia stew, Koussa, Vine leaves, Tabboule, you name it! Eat foods with minimal processing such as whole grains, brown rice, brown bread, legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans), fresh fruit and veggies, raw nuts and seeds. These foods provide your body with complete forms of energy while refined foods provide you with non-essential nutrients and with only the partial energy your body needs.

This book "Healing with Food" is seriously helpful with more of lots of information and tips on how to prevent and treat diseases through food, each disease at a time! Its ways are unconventional and in some points, it opposes the Western school of nutrition! For those who are advocates of the Western school of nutrition, I'm all with you - they are scientific based but as you can see, most studies end with "more research is needed" so we can't totally shut off the possibility of new, unconventional information! This information may complement what we already know, so it's up to us to wait for conclusive results, be less biased, less influenced by food politics and wise enough to learn from different nutrition schools!

Barcelona is Del-iiii-cious!

Barcelona is an amazing historical city! It is pretty easy to move around it even if you haven't been there before thanks to their touristic buses! There's a lot to see here -from monuments, beaches, parks, ancient churches and all the beloved work of Antoni Gaudi, you cant' but fall in love with the city! 

Better yet, the food is not to be missed! Barcelona is famous for many: Tapas, Paella, Churros, Sangria, and the list goes on and on so I couldn't but have "me" some, right?

Tapas Tapas, yum yum!

Tapas are small snacks given when ordering a drink in a bar, in our case it was given with wine Sangria (as opposed to champagne Sangria). As you can see in the photo, any kind of food -seriously- can be served on a delicious baguette as a form of a snack or appetizer served either with or before your meal/drink! In some restaurants, they are offered for free (so we've heard) but in the resto we visited, we ordered them - you just can't visit Spain without having yourself some good Tapas! With any round of drinks, tapas are usually presented, even if it's just a small tapa. They can be served both hot or cold, depending on the type of food served on your tapa.

My 2 favorites were Tortilla de patatas (potato omellete) made from potatoes and eggs served on a white baguette with onions, spinach and cheese as well as the Gambas al ajillo (shrimps) served cold with some creamy garlic bed, yum!

Seafood paella, all the seafood you can have

Paella is another seriously good meal you have to taste when in Spain, after all it's the Spanish daily dish! There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella (paella Valenciana), seafood paella (paella de marisco) and mixed paella (paella mixta), along with other types of course.

Valencian paella consists of white rice, green veggies, meat (could be chicken, duck or rabbit) with snails and beans, while seafood paella has no veggies, beans, meats, snails, but instead some an exquisite bouquet of seafood! As for the paella mixta,it's actually free styler with a combination of meats, veggies, seafood and beans! 

What makes the rice yellowish is the addition of saffron to the dish.Some olive oil could go into this dish as well so yes, peeps, it is super delicious!

Churros with molten chocolate

Churros are the Spanish desserts, their version of doughnuts! These are delicious, although I would have to say: the fact that they are deep fried pastries = unhealthy refined sugars! You can even dip them in hot molten chocolate, like how I tasted mine! We bought ours while walking back from the annual Fiesta de Gracia, but they can also be dipped/eaten on the side with cafe latte! So when in Spain, have a taste of their famous Churros, but in moderation, of course!

Zesty Sangria with freshly cut fruit

Last but least, we had some Sangria!

Sangria is a wine punch served everywhere you go in Spain! There are many types of Sangria and lots of ingredients can go in this famous drink: white wine, ginger ale, 7 up, amaretto, etc. But it is usually made of:

• Red wine, although there are some Sangria's made from champagne - the wine version tastes much better!
• A small amount of brandy
• Chopped fruit, like oranges, lemons, apples, cherries, strawberries, grapes, pineapple or - the best part - whatever fresh fruit you feel like!
• With some orange juice or honey, sugar or syrup as a sweetener

Fruitful, colorful Mercat

Either way, when in Spain, have yourself some good time, the beach is amazing, the churches are majestic, the monuments are historical and Gaudi's work is not-to-be missed! Bicycle around the city, enjoy some seriously Del-iii-cious food and make sure to pass by the colorful public market in Barcelona: La Boqueria Mercat!