What is a Rhizome, and why should I put it in my mouth?

A rhizome is the edible root of some plants. We are very familiar with one of them in the states - Ginger.  Another one that is good and easy to obtain is Turmeric.

In recent studies, more and more good things are being discovered about these roots. For instance, it's thought that turmeric can help prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's and certain kinds of cancer, such as prostate and melanoma. Ginger is very well known for helping with nausea and digestion, as well as other stomach problems.

The beauty of these spices are that they contain almost no nutritional value as a simple food, so there's not really a need to worry about using too much. Besides, you don't need that much to flavor your food anyway.  They add some interesting flavor to what you're eating, and they have those "mysterious" health benefits.

Recently, my favorite way to use turmeric is to saute ground chicken and onions, then add plenty of turmeric, a dash of salt (I use the low sodium salt) and some red pepper. Mix that all up, and then beat some eggs and toss that in there. If you want, you can even add your daily oat bran to the batch. Scramble that all up and enjoy. I like mine really hot, so I add a ton of chili powder to it.

Ginger is one of the key ingredients in some Indian curries. A great way to use it is to mince it with garlic (ginger garlic paste is used heavily in Indian cooking). Put a little oil in a pan and add the garlic ginger paste. Cook it for a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Garlic gets really bitter when it burns. Get some chicken (whatever kind you like) and fry it up with a small amount of oil. When it gets nicely sauteed, add a good helping of turmeric and mix everything up. It will seem a bit dry, probably. That's ok. Add whatever vegetables you like (eggplant is good, or broccoli. Anything, really). The moisture from the veggies will help create a kind of sauce. If there still isn't enough, add a tiny bit of water. Add other spices (coriander, star anise, etc) or just use store bought curry powder (just be careful it doesn't contain a lot of salt. Some curry powders are filled with it).  Let it cook in the sauce for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Like I said, recently I LOVE turmeric. So if anyone out there has other good recipes, I'd love to hear about them.

THIS... IS... SPARTACUS WORKOUT!

Today, I tried out a workout routine one of my coworkers has been going on and on about. It's called the

SPARTACUS WORKOUT 2.0!!!!

You have to use the exclamation points. It's a workout that was originally created to help the star of the TV show Spartacus get into shape. Then the magazine Men's Health revamped the workout last year. It's pretty simple to do, but it will kick your but the same way Leonides kicked that messenger down the hole.

Here's a link to the workout.
THE SPARTACUS 2.0 WORKOUT

All you need are some dumbbells. That's it. You go through ten different exercises, doing each for a minute at a time. It takes about 45 minutes in total, which is awesome when you consider you can do it while you watch one episode of the Walking Dead or Glee.

I used this online timer, since it automatically restarts when it reaches the end, so you can just keep going.

ONLINE TIMER

Also, since the Men's Health website has the workout demonstrated in a blog style format, I put it all into one JPG so you can just open it on the screen and see which one you need to do next.  Just download the image and save it to your desktop (or wherever you like).

Also, I found it easier to understand exactly what I was supposed to do after I watched the following video. This guy does a great job of showing the proper movement for each exercise.

I opened up the timer, the workout poster and a movie all at once, and just went. I was dead at the end, especially my legs. So if you haven't exercised for a while, I'd highly recommend maybe only doing half the amount of exercises at once, or split the top and bottom into two days for a while. Also, keep water handy and take sips between sets.

Good luck. Just remember that before you exercise you should eat a good breakfast, for tonight...WE DINE IN HELL!

...or at a nice restaurant.

Mustard - King of condiments!

According to Dr. Dukan, mustard is a condiment you can easily use. He warns that you have to be careful about using too much because of the salt content, but as a flavoring, it's at the top of the list.

As I've stated in a previous post, I think the average sodium intake for an adult is around 1500mg.  A teaspoon of mustard has around 50mg of sodium. Looking at how much salt reduction we practice on the Dukan Diet, it's an extremely small amount of sodium considering how much flavor it adds to food.

Also, since there is such a large variety of mustard, you can get different tastes. Let's take look at some of the types and how they can be used.

DIJON MUSTARD (120mg sodium) 
This mustard originated in the Dijon region of France (duh). So of course it contains wine.  As you can see above, Dijon probably has the highest  sodium content  out of the mustards.   It's rich and creamy with a slight bite, so you don't really need very much to flavor food. I really like this mustard, just because it makes everything taste so French.  A popular brand is Gray Poupon, or the slightly spicier (and in my opinion) more delicious Maille.

YELLOW MUSTARD (56mg sodium)
The all-American favorite. Yellow mustard gets its bright yellow color from turmeric (as far as I know anyway).  Look in almost any fridge in the States and you'll find a bottle of it. It's not as spicy as Dijon mustard, bit still has a good tanginess.  I just recently started using this. Since it's so yellow and popular on things like hot dogs and hamburgers, I had always assumed it was full of artificial things. On the contrary, it's simply another type of mustard. Give a try if you want a slightly milder flavor. French's is probably the most famous, as well as Plochman's in the little barrel shaped bottle.

BROWN MUSTARD (50mg sodium)
I grew up eating "Spicy Brown Mustard" on things like bratwurst hotdogs and cold cut sandwiches (part of the reason I bulked up so nicely). I haven't actually had it for quite some time, but I can remember it being spicy, almost like horseradish, which I never really went for so much. However, if you want a little punch, try it out. It's quite low on the sodium scale. Gulden's is probably the most famous of this batch.

ENGLISH MUSTARD (42mg sodium)
My only memory of English mustard is the ridiculous spiciness of it. My family only ever seemed to have the powdered version, which I would try to mix with mayonnaise or simply with vinegar. It was always way too hot for my taste. But then again, that was when I was young. It's the lowest of the straight mustards. Why not give it a try. Maybe you'll find a use for it that is amazing.

WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD (55mg sodium)
In doing research, all I could find about whole grain mustard is that it is basically the same as regular (prepared) smooth mustard, only that the seeds haven't been ground. Because the seeds aren't crushed, the flavor isn't as powerful. However, it has a really nice texture and taste. It's a little harder to spread on things like meat or vegetables, because it's clumpy little bunches of seeds, but it makes great sauce and marinades. Maille makes a nice whole grain mustard, but the king of all mustards for me is Pommery. It comes in a big clay jar and literally, I could eat spoonfuls on food, it's so good. Try it to treat yourself.