A Slice Of Summer In Winter

A Slice Of Summer In Winter
by NESHMIA
Super fruit melons come from the same gourd family as squash and cucumbers, but they are considered as fruit because of their sweetness. They are a quintessential taste of summer, but nowadays you can find cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon almost any time of year. Cool and crisp, juicy and light, they're packed with potassium and other nutrients. A quarter cup of a cantaloupe, for instance, gives you a full dose of vitamin A and almost 70 per cent of your daily vitamin C, with only 50 calories and no fat.


How To Buy
Melons should feel firm (a little "give" is fine) and heavy for their size, with no signs of mold or soft spots. Don't worry if one side is lighter than the other, that's just where it rested on the ground. Store whole melons at room temperature, but refrigerate them once fully ripe or cut. Once riped they can be kept in the fridge whole for 5 days. Once sliced, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Always wash the outside of your melon before slicing to keep from contaminating the flesh.


The Best Melons

Cantaloupe
Flavour: Rich, sweet, juicy and fragrant Top nutrients: High in vitamins A and C, and beta-carotene

How to pick a good one: Should be firm and stem-free, have a distinct melon scent, and be slightly soft to the touch at the blossom end


Honeydew
Flavour: Crisp flesh and bright flavour – like a slightly sweet cucumber

Top nutrients: Potassium and folate; has fewer nutrients than other melons

How to pick a good one: Should be firm and creamy-white on the outside; the greener the melon, the less ripe it is.


Watermelon
Flavour: Juicy and refreshing, less sweet than cantaloupe or honeydew

Top nutrients: Highest lycopene content of any fresh fruit or vegetable

How to pick good one: Should have a waxy sheen; the whitish area (if your melon has one) should be cream-coloured (If it's too green it was picked unripe).
Herbal Remedies
Poor Concentration
Stress, tiredness, nutritional deficiencies, digestive problems and food intolerances can all cause poor concentration. Optimize your diet – eat lots of the vitamins and minerals that aid brain function (particularly iron, zinc, B-vitamins, magnesium and essential fatty acids), and cut out the additives and stimulants (colourings, flavourings, caffeine and so on) that hinder it. Herbal treatments can reduce stress, promote concentration, and aid the absorption of essential nutrients into the body. Finally, try to live a balanced life: make time for relaxation as well as work.
Useful Herbs: Skullcap, Vervain, Wild oats, Licorice, Gotu cola, Rosemary,Lemon balm, Lavender, Basil, Coriander, Ashwagandha, Thyme, Ginseng, Ginger.


Treatments:
· To minimize stress, drink teas or standard-dose tinctures of adaptogen herbs, including ashwagandha, licorice, wild oats, ginseng, vervain and skullcap, three times a day.
· To improve alertness and concentration, and to enhance brain function, drink teas or tinctures of gotu cola and thyme, three times a day.
· Take teas of rosemary, lemon balm, lavender or basil to still an overactive mind.
· Aid the absorption of nutrients and increase mental alertness by using lots of coriander and ginger in your cooking.


Poor Memory
If our mind becomes overloaded, perhaps through stress or illness, or if we are lacking in certain nutrients or there is an imbalance in our hormones (such as during the menopause or as a result of low thyroid activity), our memory may start to malfunction. Many people associate forgetfulness with the ageing process. A decline in mental function during old age generally begins with short-term memory loss. Pack your diet full with B-vitamins, choline, lecithin, antioxidants (found in foods rich in vitamins C and E, including fruit, vegetable, nuts and seeds), and essential fatty acids, which are all vital for boosting your short-term memory. Supplements of coenzyme Q10, zinc and selenium will help, too.


Useful Herbs: Bilberry, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon balm, Gotu cola, Wild oats, Ashwagandha.


Treatments:
· Take gotu cola regularly as standard-dose tincture. This herb has an amazing ability to improve the flow of blood (and so the supply of oxygen) to the brain and in turn improve overall brain function, including short-term memory.
· Take regular teas or standard-dose tinctures of antioxidant-rich herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, ashwagandha and lemon balm, which help to protect the nervous system from damage by free radicals; and wild oats, which act as tonics to the nervous system.
Make 600 Calories Disappear
A must for any A.M. workout: Efficiency maximum calorie burning in the minimum amount of time. This 50-minute total-body outdoor routine twice (do the warm-up and cool down only once), and walk for 15 seconds between exercises.

* Warm-up (5 minutes): Walk or jog, then stretch.

* Mountain climbers (1 minute): Get down in a push-up position; bend right knee and place toes of right foot parallel to left knee. Quickly switch feet, jumping left foot forward, right foot back. Repeat.

* Run (4 minutes): Try a speed that has difficulty level of 8 on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest).

* Walking lunges (2 minutes): Standing with feet hip-width apart, arms out to side at shoulder height, step right foot forward and lunge (don't knee pass toes); rise and switch feet; repeat.

* Spring a hill (3 minutes): Emphasize speed going up, then slalom from side to side coming down (if you're on an empty path). No hill? Try stairs instead.

* Shuffle (3 minutes): Standing with arms out at shoulder height, bend knees and shuffle feet sideways to the right for 10 to 15 steps, then to the left.

* Triceps dips (1 minute): Standing with your back to bench or chair, grip the edge of the seat and extend legs in front of you, knees slightly bent. Bend elbows and lower butt toward floor, keeping back close to the bench; press back up; repeat.

* Stair run (3 minutes): Pump your arms as you go up; land on the balls of your feet on the way down.

* Reverse curls (2 minutes): Lie back, legs up, knees slightly bent; place hands behind head. Lift hips and shoulder blades off the ground; lower and repeat. (You may pause to rest every 20 seconds.)
* Repeat the whole routine listed above, except warm-up.

* Cooldown (5 minutes): Jog, then stretch.