You Only Need One New Year Resolution. Practice.

You only need one New Year Resolution. Practice.

A celebrate Chinese New Year we thought we should try our hand at a fabulous Chinese style melt in your mouth pork belly with Ceylon Cinnamon, Star Anise, brown sugar and a few simple ingredients. It’s easy to make too. The infusion of Ceylon Cinnamon powder and Star Anise gives this recipe the top note and that intoxicating aroma which is amplified with brown sugar, soy sauce and some sweet cooking rice wine. The aroma is incredible, the taste is rich and decadent and it looks fabulous.

https://www.cinnamonvogue.com/chinese_style_cinnamon_pork_belly.html

#porkbelly #recipe #chinesefood #chinese #cinnamon #ceyloncinnamon #cinnamonpowder #staranise #brownsugar #ginger #soysauce

Wishing everyone good health in 2021.

My cousin got the most adorable puppy you can imagine. I have never felt such soft hair on a puppy. But she is teething and chewing on everything. Slippers, shoes, people’s hands, legs, furniture, sofa edges. Not to worry. Give the dog a bone and spray diluted Cinnamon Oil anything they might chew on. My cousin was not convinced. Sure enough the dog licked the slippers despite the Cinnamon. But only for a few seconds. Then she left the scene.  You see dogs do not like the aroma and taste of Cinnamon. For humans it’s great. But dogs can lick Cinnamon without it being toxic. Of course, you have to dilute. 12 drops to 2 ounces of water in a spray mister bottle. Shake well and spray. You can use the Ceylon Cinnamon Leaf Oil or the Bark Oil. The Bark Oil is more expensive but smells nicer. Both have powerful anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It’s actually great for shoes and slippers. Reduce the risk of a toenail fungus to boot. The leaf Oil is particularly good for treating a toenail fungus as it will dry out your nails and attack any fungus.  And you will have the best smelling shoes and slippers. But when diluted you can spray anything you don’t want the dog the touch.  Safe on furniture, furniture legs, magazines, you name it. They will avoid it. Remember. Dilute. A tiny amount goes a long way.

#dogs #teething #chewing #dog training #cinnamon #cinnamonoil #ceyloncinnamonleafoil #ceyloncinnamonbarkoil #cinnamonbarkoil #essentialoils #repellent #slippers #shoes #anti-fungal #toenailfungus 

Had a little discussion with my cousin about cooking vegetables the other day. Many cultures seem to overcook their vegetables while the Chinese seem to be masters of steaming and stir frying their vegetables perfectly, retaining their nutrition. It took me years to steam broccoli just perfectly, retaining that color and firmness. My trick is to steam it covered for exactly 10 minutes starting with cold water although the Chinese blanche it in hot water for just a minute or so for stir fries. How do you make your vegetables? Boiling, roasting, cooking or steaming? The consensus seems to be steaming is better for the most part or at least not overcooking it.

#vegetables #cooking #boiling #roasting #steaming #cooktime #broccoli # bok choy #cabbage #kale #spinach #silverbeet # broccoli #beans #brusselssprouts #cauliflower #leeks #peas #sweetcorn #carrots #parsnips #pumpkin #turnips #yams

I got my first Covid-19 vaccination (Pfizer) two weeks ago and going for the second shot soon. As a consummate hypochondriac who has never had a flu shot or taken any medication for 11 years now, I don’t leave anything to chance. First, I exercised to get my body in supreme form but stopped a few days before the vaccine. This ensured the body was calm and not distracted rebuilding muscle tissue when the vaccine entered the body.  Alcohol and OTC pain medication dulls the immune response system. This can result in antibodies that are not as strong.  My fasting diet was halted and replaced with three full meals days prior to the vaccine including a nice breakfast a few hours before the vaccine. While fasting is good, when we begin to fast, the body initially breaks down a number of immune fighting white blood cells. I was building reserve fuel so my body had all the resources to build the best possible antibodies as soon the vaccine entered by body. The vaccine process was pretty simple. I was out of there in all of ten minutes. Wow. Did I tell you I hate needles? Of course, I took the opportunity to do some binge eating. I got myself a nice steak, a generous helping of vegetables, fries and bread. Got a large chocolate cake too. Yes, sugar is the fastest energy source. Admittedly it is a dirty fuel but, in this case, it gets the job done. It was only for a few days.  I really was tempted to pour myself a nice brandy to get the arm pain to go away. It would have gone down well with the steak. The next day the arm pain was a little worse. More irritating than painful. Again, I resisted the temptation to take some Ibuprofen or Advil. You see pain killers tell the body it’s not that serious. The higher the pain the better your body is triggered to mount a robust immune response and build antibodies that can machine gun any Covid-19 vermin that come its way in the wild. Get plenty of sleep. I took the opportunity to binge watch some movies and eat like a pig. It was rather fun. Anyway, that is the story of a hypochondriac getting a vaccine. But I am looking forward to another round of binge eating for the second shot. Apparently, you get the chills for 24 hours so the thermal blanket is ready. Besides I have my Cinnamon ginger tea which we know warms the body. So, all set.

#Covid-19 #vaccine #antibodies #protocols #preparation #alcohol #medication #otcmedication #sleep #sugar #fasting #dieting #immunity #antigens #immunity #virus #coronavirus #exercise #chills #armpain #advil #ibuprofen #chills #fever