I have tried various chocolate cake recipes, this recipe is a
keeper. I love the expression on peoples face when I tell them that is has
beetroot.
250g plain chocolate, broken up
3 large eggs
200g muscovado sugar
100ml sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powde50g ground almonds
250g raw beetroot
For Icing
150g plain chocolate
50g sour cream
Preheat oven to 180ºC/fan160ºC/gas 4. Grease a
22cm round, loose bottomed cake tin with a little butter and line the base with
baking paper.
Place the plain chocolate to melt in a bowl and
set over a pan of gently simmering water. Allow the chocolate to melt slowly
until smooth, then set aside to cool.
Place the eggs, sugar and sunflower oil in a
large mixing bowl and whisk together, using an electric hand whisk, for about 3
minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla extract, then
sift over self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and gently fold
in, together with the ground almonds.
Peel and grate the beetroot, fold the beetroot
into the mixture with the cooled chocolate, until thoroughly mixed.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50minutes to
1 hour.
For the icing melt the chocolate with the sour
cream over a pan of simmering water. Spread it over the top let it fall by the
sides of the cooled cake and serve.
Stand misfortune on its head.
Turn it into something good.
Don't let the disappointments get you
down. Let them get you going, even stronger than before.
After all, life is how you look at it. Look at it all as an opportunity
for grace and joy and fulfilment.
After all, life is how you look at it. Look at it all as an opportunity
for grace and joy and fulfilment.
Every single time you feel like complaining about how bad things are,
there's a much more powerful option. Visualize how truly good life can be and
then take a bold, enthusiastic step in that direction.
Every situation is a situation in which you can choose to prosper. Every
challenge helps to form the structure upon which you can build grand and
meaningful success.
When anything pushes against you, choose to let it push you up. Every occasion is your occasion to brightly shine. ~ Ralph Marston
WOMAN. . . . . . . . .
When God created woman he was working late on the
6th day.......
An angel came by and asked." Why spend so much
time on her?"
The lord answered. "Have you seen all the
specifications I have to meet to shape her?"
She must function on all kinds of situations,
She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time,
Have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart,
She must do all this with only two hands,"
She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day"
THE ANGEL was impressed" Just two hands.....impossible!
And this is the standard model?"
The Angel came closer and touched the woman"
"But you have made her so soft, Lord".
"She is soft", said the Lord,
"But I have made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and
overcome"
"Can she think?" The Angel asked...
The Lord answered. "Not only can she think, she can reason and
negotiate"
The Angel touched her cheeks....
"Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on
her"
"She is not leaking...it is a tear" The Lord corrected the Angel…
"What's it for?" Asked the Angel..... .
The Lord said. "Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her
love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride."...
This made a big impression on the Angel,
"Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything.
A woman is indeed marvelous"
Lord said. "Indeed she is.
She has strength that amazes a man.
She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens.
She holds happiness, love and opinions.
She smiles when she feels like screaming.
She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid.
She fights for what she believes in.
Her love is unconditional.
Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength
to get on with life"
The Angel asked: So she is a perfect
being?
The lord replied: No. She has just one drawback
"She often forgets what she is worth".
1. Avocados
Avocados are high in healthy,
fat-burning monounsaturated fat that helps reduce weight and increase optimal
health. Avocados contain a rare form of
sugar,(found primarily in avocados) called mannoheptulose. Mannoheptulose helps
to lower excess insulin levels that can prevent you from storing fat.
2. Wild Salmon
Salmon is a
treasure trove of weight loss goodies. It contains
healthy omega 3 fats that help to reduce and reverse the fat cell inflammation
result from weight gain. It is also high in protein. Protein is one key to
triggering specific hormones such as CCK to help you feel as if you have had
enough to eat. Protein also helps to synthesize muscle and muscle is
metabolically active – helping you to burn calories even at rest.
3. Raw nuts
Raw nuts Like nuts? You are in luck
if you want to lose weight. Eat any kind of nuts for fiber to ward off hunger
and to also get a good dose of protein and healthy fats to help you burn fat
faster. Raw nuts such as raw pistachios, brazil nuts or almonds help to
produce more testosterone naturally. Make sure you eat raw & organic nuts
instead of roasted & salted to get the full weight loss and nutrition
benefits.
4. Hot Peppers and Mustard
Hot Peppers and Mustard add where you can, Chili peppers, jalapeno
peppers, cayenne peppers or 1 tsp. hot mustard to increase your fat burning metabolism by 20-25%% for up to 3 hours after
eating. Hot peppers and mustards can help reduce your appetite by increasing
your body’s norepinephrine and epinephrine levels.
5. Green Tea
Green tea is more than just flavoured
hot water when it comes to weight loss. This special tea, research shows, is
loaded with potent antioxidants called catechins. The most
important of these is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), a substance that boosts
metabolism. To achieve weight loss benefits drink 2-3 cups a day. Also,
compounds in green tea increase levels of hormones that tell fat cells to break
down fat. This releases fat into the bloodstream and makes it available to
utilize as energy.
6. Olive Oil
Olive Oil there are a lot of
healthy reasons to add olive oil to your grocery list for optimal health, but
for weight loss, oleic acid in olive oil exerts a mighty
effect that takes place in the small intestine. The oleic acid is transformed
in the small intestine into a compound called OEA (oleoylethanolamide) that
stops hunger and suppresses appetite by sending signals to your brain telling
it you’re full.
7. Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas)
Garbanzo beans also known as chickpeas, these slimming
beans pack more than 2 grams of Resistant Starch per half-cup serving.
Resistant starch is just another type of dietary
fiber that very effectively makes you feel fuller longer. Garbanzo beans
are also a great source of fibre and protein.
8. Nutrients
Okay, not a food but studies show that those who are deficient in nutrients such as
vitamin C, vitamin E, Magnesium and Zinc, have a higher percentage of body fat
and belly fat and if that isn’t bad enough. These deficiencies can create
bodies that can stubbornly hold on to fat.
The above foods are not only remarkable in helping you to lose weight;
they are also an important part of creating optimal health. Go ahead and
add them to your shopping list so you have them on hand and watch them help
kick weight gain to the curb.
http://www.curejoy.com/
As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school,
she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her
students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was
impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little
boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not
play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he
constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.
It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking
his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big
"F" at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each
child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she
reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready
laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be
around.."
His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked
by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness
and life at home must be a struggle."
His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him.
He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home
life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show
much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps
in class."
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She
felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in
beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was
clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper That he got from a grocery bag Mrs.
Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the
children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the
stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she
stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was,
putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard
stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson,
today you smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children left, she
cried for at least an hour.
On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead,
she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.
As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged
him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of
the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all
the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling* her that
she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he
had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best
teacher he ever had in life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had
been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon
graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that
she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained
that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The
letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had.
But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F.
Stoddard, MD.
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring.
Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that
his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson
might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for
the mother of the groom.
Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one
with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the
perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas
together.
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear,
"Thank you Mrs. Thompson for* believing in me. Thank you so much for
making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy,
you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a
difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist Hospital
in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
Warm someone's heart today. . .I love this story so very
much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's
life today? tomorrow? Just "do it".
Random acts of kindness, I think they call it?
"Believe in Angels, then return the favor."
