Spicy HsinChu rice noodles with dumplings | 健康版辣椒新竹米粉

Hsinchu rice noodles are thin, long thread-like noodles, made from Taiwan ground rice. It is similar to Thai noodles but slightly smooth and chewy texture. For this rice noodles recipe, I used the simplest of ingredients – rice noodles, tomato, potato and veggie dumplings. See details at below:

新竹米粉夠細膩，采用台湾纯米制作而成。新竹米粉跟泰国的米粉的煮法一樣 ，不过新竹米粉的口感比较Q和细滑。只需简单的食材就可以烹饪出美味的新竹米粉!

Ingredients　材料:

(Serve 2 as main Entree 供两人分)

  200 g (1/2 pack) Hsinchu rice noodles 半包新竹米粉

1 tomato （chopped） 番茄（切小块）

8 Veggie dumplings 八粒素水饺

3 gloves garlic (chopped) 三瓣蒜头（切碎）

1 onion (chopped) 一粒洋葱（切碎）

1 potatoes (chopped) 一粒马铃薯（切小块）
Handful of fresh parsley 一把香菜
2 Tbsp.  cooking oil 两汤匙食油

Seasoning 调味:

2 Tbsp. miso paste 两汤匙味增

2 Tbsp. chilli source with garlic and ginger 两汤匙蒜蓉姜辣椒酱
1 cup water 一杯水

Method: 

1. Soak the dried rice noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.

2. Heat up the oil in pot and add the garlic and onion. Stir-fry the garlic until aromatic before adding the tomato and potato.

3. Add the water, miso paste and garlic chilli sauce and bring to boil.

4. Add the rice noodle into the pot; stir to combine well with the ingredients in the pot.

5. Add the veggie dumplings. Cover the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes or until the rice noodles and dumplings are cooked through.

6. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot. 

做法:

1. 米粉提前浸泡温水20分钟，然后把水倒掉，米粉待用。

2. 起油鍋，下蒜头和葱头爆香，再下番茄和马铃薯。

3. 然後倒入適量蒜蓉姜辣椒酱、味增和水，慢火煮滚。

4. 接著把米粉放入鍋裡，充份與醬汁拌炒。

5. 然後把水饺丟入鍋內，并盖上锅盖，慢火煮5分钟或直到米粉和饺子都煮熟。

6. 最后再把香菜拌進去，一盤美味的新竹辣椒米粉就完成啦！

spinach smoothie

Persimmon fruit smoothie | 柿子水果沙冰

Five Benefits of Persimmon:

1. Persimmon is low in calories and high in dietary fibers. 

2.  Persimmon contains catechins and gallocatechins compounds which are known to have anti-inflammatory effect and prevents bleeding from small blood vessels.

3.  Fresh persimmon is rich in anti-oxidant compounds such as beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamin-A, lutein, zea-xanthin and cryptoxanthin.

4.  The fruit is a good source of vitamin B complex like folic acid (B9), thiamin (B1), pyridoxine (B6) and more. These vitamins are important building blocks of the body.

5.  Persimmon also contains potassium, manganese, copper and phosphorus. Manganese and copper are both co-factor for enzymes, which play important roles in food absorption, hormone regulation and biochemical metabolism.   

Ingredients:

2 Persimmon

1 Cold apple

1 Cold dragon fruit

1 Frozen banana

6 Almonds

1 teaspoons granular lecithin

splash of water

Evaluation:
1. Flavour: Sweet and nutty flavour.
2. Texture : Thick and creamy.
3. Nutrition Value: Low Calories,  High dietary fibers, rich in anti-oxidant compounds, vitamin B complex, and minerals. 
4. Average Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆




吃柿子的五大好处：

1. 柿子含有高纤维和低卡路里,促进消化和有助于治便秘功能。

2. 柿子含有儿茶素（catechins），具有抗炎作用及防止小血管出血。

3.新鲜的柿子含有丰富的抗氧化物质，如β-胡萝卜素，番茄红素，维生素A 和 叶黄素等等。抗氧化物质帮助精神代谢，减轻衰老和增强体抗力。

4.新鲜的柿子也包含了多种维生素B群。如叶酸 (B9) ，硫胺素 (B1)，吡哆醇 (B6)，等等。

5.除此之外，柿子含有钾，锰，铜，磷等多种矿物质。当中的锰 和 铜是属于酵素的辅助因子，帮助消化功能和帮助精神代谢。

柿子水果冰沙材料：

柿子。。。。。。。2粒
冷的苹果。。。。。。。1粒
冷的龙珠果。。。。。。1粒
冷冻香蕉。。。。。。1粒
杏仁。。。。。。。。。6粒
颗粒卵磷脂/大豆卵磷脂。。。。。1茶匙 (Granular Lechitin)
水。。。。。。。。。。少许 （帮助搅碎Blending)

把以上的材料放入混合器 (Blender) 搅碎后就可以喝了！



References: 
1. Wikipedia: Persimmon
2. Livestrong.com: Persimmon nutrition information

Aloe Vera Honey Lemon | 芦荟柠檬蜜糖

Here are the 4 Benefits of eating Aloe Vera: 

1. Phytochemical
Aloe vera contains many type of phytochemicals, such as aloin, glucommannans, salicylic acid, emodin, lectins and etc. Phytochemicals are important in preventing cancer, hearth disease, high blood pressure and other diseases. 


 2. Diabetes
 Aloe vera is useful is useful in the treatment of Diabetes and increase blood lipids in human (Lipids is important to heal wounds).  Aloe vera helps maintain a healthy blood sugar level.


3. Multivitamins
Aloe vera is a good source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, Folic Acid and Niacin which are important nutrients in boosting body's defense.


4. Minerals 
Aloe vera contains copper, zinc, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, chromium, magnesium, manganese. We can have a daily dose of minerals just by drinking aloe vera juice.



Side Effect: 
Accroding to WebMD.com, taking large amount of aloe vera can cause some side effect such as stomach pain and cramps. Long-term use of large amounts of aloe latex might cause diarrhea, kidney problems, blood in the urine, low potassium, muscle weakness, weight loss, and heart disturbances.

Aloe Vera Honey Lemon

Ingredients:

1 Aloe vera leaf (~25cm)

1/2 Lemon

2 teaspoons of Manuka Honey

Warm water

Procedure: 
1. Remove the green aloe vera skin and cut the pulp into pieces of a few cm long and soak them in water for few minutes.
2. Pour warm water into a glass. Stir in Manuka honey and fresh lemon juice, mixing until honey is dissolved.
3. Then add few tablespoon of aloe vera pulps into the honey lemon drink. Serve chilled!

常吃芦荟的四大好处：

1. 新鲜的芦荟含有丰富的植物化学成分，可以帮助预防癌症，高血压和心血管疾病。

2.芦荟可以帮助治疗糖尿病患，控制血糖和增加血小板数量。（血小板有助于伤口伤口复原）

3.芦荟含有维生素A，B1，B2，B6，B12，C，E，叶酸 (folic acid) 和 烟酸 (niacin) 有助于提升免疫力。

4.芦荟还含有多种矿物质，比如铜，锌，铁，钙，钠，钾，铬，镁，锰，等等。每天吃一小片芦荟可以补充人体一天所需的矿物质。   


切记：根据医药网站(WebMD.com) 过量饮食芦荟会导致肚子痛，肠胃不舒服及其他副作用。胃肠敏感的人最好免吃。


芦荟柠檬蜜糖

材料：

芦荟一大片（~ 25cm），半个柠檬，Manuka 蜜糖两茶匙，和温水。

做法：

1. 把芦荟皮切除，里面的肉切成小片然后泡水几分钟。

2. 准备温水，加入蜜糖和柠檬汁，搅拌均匀。

3. 再加入芦荟肉，冷藏后享用 




References:
1. Aloe Vera- Wikipedia
2. Aloe Vera- Phytochemical
3. Aloe: Uses, Side effects, interaction and warning- WebMD