Health for life

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5 Ways to Get Your Parents Or Anyone Really to Try New Foods

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Weve all been there with our parents – the same ol restaurant, with the same ol menu– because theyre reluctant to try something new, strange, or simply unappealing. And theres nothing intrinsically wrong with that, per se. People like what they like, and odds are, your parents eating habits have been pretty set for decades.

But wouldnt it be nice to try something else for a change?

Convincing your folks to move on to new cuisines and cultures can be a wonderful experience for all involved, and not just because kimchee is awesome. "Ethnic" foods, or foods found outside your traditional cuisine, are frequently:

Less expensive: When HOTUS and I order Chinese takeout, we can turn $15 into dinner that night and lunch for the office the next day. While not as cheap as home cooking, its darn comparable.
Healthier: Okay, so the ghee (clarified butter) in Chicken Korma wont put it on the happy side of the Eat This, Not That list, but non-traditional dishes can often pack in vegetables, lean cuts of meat, and healthy oils. Compared especially to most American-style restaurant meals, ethnic food is frequently a lighter choice.
Educational: By eating foods outside of your customary cultural cuisine, youre exposing yourself to a new world of ingredients, flavor combinations, and styles of preparation, which you can then implement at home.
Delicious: Mmm. Take two bites of baba ghanoush and call me in the morning.

But then again, were not talking about you here, are we? Were talking about your parents – wonderful people, to be sure, but not necessarily the most daring of eaters. So, how can you get your beloved Ma and Pa to dig into falafel, injera bread, and even sushi (or "bait," as a certain family member calls it)? Try five these strategies:

1) Pay for it. Sometimes, older folks (actually, any folks) simply dont want to blow money on something theyre not sure theyll like. So, pick an inexpensive restaurant and treat em. Think of it as an adventure you dont need hiking boots for.

2) Start at home. Prepping a meal for mom? Throw in a teriyaki side dish or a plate of pierogies. By surrounding a new food with ones she likes, it may seem more approachable.

3) Order a gateway food. Introducing your parents to a mild dish – one with a less-assertive flavor, similar to a recipe they might already love. Pad Thai is way Americanized, but its an effective tool for getting reluctant eaters into more daring Thai Food. For me, lassis and samosas were the gateway dishes to a lot of delicious Indian cuisine.

SPECIAL NOTE: This can be a way effective strategy for people with an aversion to spice, which was probably the most-cited fear in yesterdays Ask the Internet comments. Feeding your parents a super-mild quesadilla proves to them that all Mexican food isnt a five-alarm chili, which could encourage them to attempt other dishes.

4) Embrace media. This might sound lame (I hope not), but for many folks, seeing a dish in a magazine, on a TV show, or at the movies – when its been styled and served in the best possible light by super-attractive people – can make it seem tremendously appealing. I wonder how many parents wanted an Italian meal after watching Julia Roberts slurp spaghetti in Eat Pray Love? Or how many folks decided Indian food could be super-awesome after 30 minutes of Aartis Party? Or how many moms and dads tried matzoh ball soup for the first time after seeing a glossy photo in Saveur? Probably a lot.

5) Know when to accept defeat. My dad will never, ever, ever develop a love of curry, no matter how many "mmm … slurp … ahhh" sounds I make while eating a big ol bowl of it. And that is totally, 100% fine. Not everyone has similar tastes, and pushing a loved one too hard can (seriously) get pretty annoying. Food should be a joy, not a struggle. Move on.

Opening parents - and anyone, really - up to new cuisines, and as a result, new cultures, is something from which we can all benefit. Happy eating.

Readers? Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Fire away.

~~~

If you enjoyed this read, you might also dig:

Healthy Takeout on a Budget
Learning to Love Foods You Hate: A How-To Guide for Frugal Eaters
Serving Sizes and Portion Control: A Primer

Want to Improve Memory Try This Trick

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Want to Improve Memory? Try This Trick

For those students who are preparing for exams , or employees who prepared for the presentation , the following trick may help you to remember your lesson or presentation materials :

When reading the material you want to remember them , make a fist with your right palm . When you want to remember what you ve memorized , make a fist with your left palm .

A new study led by Ruth Propper from Montclair State University shows that it is indeed proven tricks to help your memory . The study, partially funded by the U.S. Army published its results in the journal PLoS ONE .

" Our findings show that some simple body movements can improve memory , " said Propper . " Future research will examine whether a fist can also enhance other forms of cognition , such as speech or spatial . "

Propper and her colleagues recruited 50 non - right-handed people to study them . Most of them are women . They were given a list of 36 words to memorize and then asked to recall as many words as they could .

All 50 subjects were divided into five groups : one group is holding a rubber ball in their right hand for about 45 seconds when reading a list of words as much as possible before writing the words that they remember , the other groups do the same thing with the left hand . Another group holding a rubber ball in right palm while reading , then on the left palm while you write down as many words that they remember , the other group did the opposite . The control group did not clench their hands at all .

When Propper and his team conducted the assessment, they found that the group with the best score on a memory test that is their right as memorizing clenched palm and left palm while remembering the words . The group was given an average of ten words , than those in the other groups were given an average of only six words .

brain activation

How the brain affects the palms clenching ? Clenched palms known to influence emotional state . Previous research has also shown that the clenched left hand or right increases brain activity in the opposite hemisphere . Propper and her colleagues suspect that the left and right hemispheres of each play an important role in memorizing and remembering . When you clench your right hand , you turn on the left side of the brain that helps keep the memory and then when you clench the palm of the left , you turn on the right side of the brain to recall information .

For the left-handed

The current study does not offer a memory trick for left-handed people , the famous brain is more difficult to know how it works . If you are left-handed , which might otherwise prevail .

Try Cinnamon

Friday, March 7, 2014

Its the time of year when cinnamon starts appearing in warmed apple ciders, teas, and baked goods. Thats good news for people trying to control their blood sugar.

A study that appeared in the December 2003 issue of Diabetes Care found that cinnamon could:

Lower blood glucose by 18 to 29%
Lower triglycerides by 23 to 30%
Lower total cholesterol by 13 to 26%

The study participants received either 1, 3, or 6 grams/day of ground cinnamon (thats about 3/4 tsp, 2 tsp, or 3-3/4 tsp respectively). Benefits in blood glucose were similar regardless of the amount taken. The cinnamon was consumed for 40 days, with the best results seen at the end of that time.

More research needs to be done before a recommendation can be made. But its worth adding 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon to your diet, once or twice a day, and testing your blood glucose to see if it works for you.

________
For the study (no registration required):
Cinnamon Improves Glucose and Lipids of People With Type 2 Diabetes