Saturday, October 15, 2011

8 Foods that Fight Fat and Kelda’s Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka masala with rice
Food Diary (October 15, 2011)
Breakfast: Rolled oats with plums and flax seeds
Lunch: Pickled carrot and apple salad
Dinner: Chicken tikka masala with rice, muesli
Baking/sweets: Oatmeal cumin crackers

Recently I was sent a pack of Tikka Masala sauce from Kelda’s exotic sauces range to review. Kelda exotic sauce range also has Thai red curry and Thai green curry. The sauce pleasantly surprised me. Here’s my take on this sauce:

Taste: the taste is mild, not overly spicy. Personally I would prefer a spicier sauce but I suppose the level of spiciness is suited for the mass market. The sauce was quite aromatic also, the smell stayed in the house for quite some time.
Convenience: it is really convenient for sure. A meal can be ready within 10 minutes. All you need to do is to sauté the chicken (or other meat or vegetables), add sauce and warm for a few minutes. 
Price: a 400ml pack of sauce retails for 22-30 SEK (about US$3.30-4.50) and one pack serves four. The price is a little on the higher side but considering it is a convenience product, it is not so bad. 

This sauce exceeded my expectations. Surely chicken tikka masala would taste different if all the spices were freshly roasted and grounded but considering that this is a convenience product the outcome did not disappoint at all. 
  
Today's Favourite Photo
Source: Camemberu
German Pork Knuckle



Today’s Favourite Blog
Source: Care2
This is another one of those articles that has a list of food that do something special for you. This article has a list of 8 Foods that Fight Fat. I don’t know how effective these foods are at fighting fat. The selected foods increase the body’s fat-burning power by strengthen the liver so that it burns fat better. The liver is the body’s main fat-metabolizing organ. The 8 magic foods are:

Leafy Greens: Spinach, spring mix, mustard greens, and other dark leafy greens are good sources of fiber and powerhouses of nutrition. Research demonstrates that their high concentration of vitamins and antioxidants helps prevent hunger while protecting you from heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and memory loss.

Beans and Legumes: Legumes are the best source of fiber of any foods. They help to stabilize blood sugar while keeping you regular. They are also high in potassium, a critical mineral that reduces dehydration and the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

Garlic and Onions: These contain phytochemicals that break down fatty deposits in the body, while also breaking down cholesterol; killing viruses, bacteria, and fungi; and protecting against heart disease. With a little help from garlic and onions, you can burn fat while warding off illness.

Cayenne: This hot spice lessens the risk of excess insulin in the body by speeding metabolism and lowering blood glucose (sugar) levels, before the excess insulin can result in fat stores.

Turmeric: This spice has one of the highest known sources of beta carotene, the antioxidant that helps protect the liver from free radical damage. Turmeric also helps strengthen your liver while helping your body metabolize fats by decreasing the fat storage rate in liver cells.

Cinnamon: Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture showed that a quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon with food helps metabolize sugar up to twenty times better than food not eaten with cinnamon. Excess sugar in the blood can lead to fat storage.

Flax Seeds and Flax Seed Oil: These seeds and oil attract oil-soluble toxins that become lodged in the fatty tissues of the body. Once attracted, they help to escort fat-soluble toxins out. That spells fewer fat stores and a trimmer you.



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13 comments:

  1. Wow! Am I finally the first to comment on your post?
    When I went to London for the first time in my life (sadly, not a long time ago) chicken tikka masala was the only thing I tasted in an Indian restaurant. It was very good but definitely not hot (when I go to Indian restaurant I like in my city not only do I take the hot meal, but I ask the waiter to make chef cook it extra-hot so that I can cry, the word "cry" makes the waiters laugh, but it always works! and I do cry!)
    Anyway, tikka masala was good! I would just add a tablespoon of a very hot chili.
    I have already heard that chilli burns fat, but since in my case it increases appetite, I'm not sure if it's a good product to watch one's weight ;-)

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  2. I love chicken tikka masala curry. Might make some tonight. A favourite with everyone in the family.

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  3. ahhh what an interesting article about those 8 foods! good to know so i can be mindful of those when i eat hehehe.

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  4. oh my goodness, my chili recipe has the beans, garlic, onion, cayenne, and cinnamon! hahahaha i wonder if this will help with some metabolism this weekend!! we'll see!

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  5. That pork knuckle looks enormous! My friend's husband always orders it if he sees it on the menu. He just loves it and one time they ran out-poor guy was crushed!

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  6. Oooh, I want that pork knuckle! So much for losing fat ....
    I do agree with Sissi in that hot chillies increase the appetite. It makes everything so much more appetizing. It's quite addicting. My mum carries a little packet of bird's eye chillies in her handbag.

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  7. Sissi: yes, congratulations. Unfortunately I haven’t thought of a prize yet:) I am glad you had a good experience with chicken tikka masala. I have mixed experiences. The first time I tried it was in a very good London restaurant but I had too many beverages which affected memory but enhanced taste of everything. Then I very stupidly ordered the dish in a café in Stockholm – I would have been far happier if I was served boiled chicken and rice! Agree with chilli and appetite – my appetite increases also, esp for sweets!

    Hotly Spiced: I want to have some tonight again!

    Junia: you chili has most of the 8 foods! You may need to eat some sweets to balance the extra fat that will be metabolized!

    Lorraine: I need to try making this, always attracted me, never seen it in a restaurant here

    ping: the pork knuckle will replenish the extra fat metabolized by the other 8 foods – it will balance it. BTW ajvar contains some of the 8 foods – and knuckle and ajvar will go well. I will try and let you know:) Your mum carried chillies in her bag? Food in KL would already be well spiced, guess your mum loves very spicy foof

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  8. Oh, good!!! The cinnamon bread I made for Daring Bakers' is going to help burn fat ;) Interesting article.

    Enjoy your Sunday :)

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  9. Love the pork knuckle shot and also found the article on fat fighting foods interesting :-)

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  10. Lizzy: eating cinnamon bread burns fat - very wishful thinking, but there's some logic though:)

    Martyna: thank you

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  11. Your chicken tikka masala looks simply fabulous! I love that color of the sauce.

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  12. I need to take note of those fat fighting ingredients, it will be helpful after all of those pork belly intakes :)

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  13. I love your beautiful yellow color of chicken tikka masala~~!

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