Almond and Caramel Cookies

Cuisine: Arabic
Category: Dessert
Serves: 8 persons
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Cheap

Ingredients
1½ cups plain flour or 210 g, sifted
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2/3 cup butter or 130 g, softened
¼ cup brown sugar or 50 g
1 egg yolk

For the topping:
1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
¼ cup butter or 50 g
¼ cup brown sugar or 50 g
½ cup toasted almonds or 75 g, chopped

Preparation
Combine flour and cocoa powder in a bowl and rub in the butter with the fingers to breadcrumbs, add the sugar and the egg yolk and mix to form firm dough.

Press the dough into a greased 28cm x 23cm rectangular cake tin lined with a baking paper, and bake in 190ºC preheated oven for 15 minutes. Leave the dough to cool in the tin.

Place NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk , butter and brown sugar in a non-stick saucepan, cook and keep stirring over low heat for 5-6 minutes or until the caramel is pale golden and thick. Fold with the toasted almonds.

Pour and spread the caramel over the dough in the tin then leave to cool completely.

Timing Facts
Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Taajdaar e Haram (Naat)

Taajdaar e Haram, Ho Nigaah e Karam (Naat)

Glucosamine and Chondroitin

What are glucosamine and chondroitin?

Glucosamine and chondroitin are part of normal cartilage. Cartilage acts as a cushion between the bones in a joint.

Glucosamine, also called chitosamine, is a natural substance that is found in the covering of shellfish. It is available in different forms, including glucosamine hydrochloride, N-acetyl-glucosamine (NAG), and glucosamine sulfate, which is a combination of glucosamine and mineral salt. Glucosamine is also available in synthetic forms. The body absorbs glucosamine well.

Chondroitin can come from natural sources, such as shark or bovine cartilage, or it can be made in a lab. Chondroitin is also known as chondroitin sulfate, chondroitin sulfuric acid, and chonsurid. Chondroitin sulfate is a combination of chondroitin and mineral salt.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are available in tablet, capsule, powder, or liquid form and are often taken in combination with each other or in combination with other dietary supplements. Glucosamine may be taken separately as a dietary supplement for joints.

What are glucosamine and chondroitin used for?

Many people take glucosamine and chondroitin, alone or together, for osteoarthritis. Some people believe this helps. 

Are glucosamine and chondroitin safe?

It appears that glucosamine and chondroitin, alone or together, are safe and have few side effects. But they cost money and may not help you. Talk to your doctor if your are thinking about taking glucosamine and chondroitin.

If you are allergic to shellfish, do not take glucosamine unless you have discussed it with your doctor. Some glucosamine is made from shellfish covering.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate dietary supplements in the same way it regulates medicines. A dietary supplement can be sold with limited or no research on how well it works.

Always tell your doctor if you are using a dietary supplement or if you are thinking about combining a dietary supplement with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on a dietary supplement. This is especially important for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

When using dietary supplements, keep in mind the following:

Like conventional medicines, dietary supplements may cause side effects, trigger allergic reactions, or interact with prescription and nonprescription medicines or other supplements you might be taking. A side effect or interaction with another medicine or supplement may make other health conditions worse. 

The way dietary supplements are manufactured may not be standardized. Because of this, how well they work or any side effects they cause may differ among brands or even within different lots of the same brand. The form of supplement that you buy in health food or grocery stores may not be the same as the form used in research. 

Other than for vitamins and minerals, the long-term effects of most dietary supplements are not known.

Six Serious Medical Symptoms

1. Paralysis of the arms or legs, tingling, numbness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble finding words, or weakness, especially on one side of the face or body.
2. Chest pain or discomfort; pain in the arm, jaw, or neck; breaking out in a cold sweat; extreme weakness; nausea; vomiting; feeling faint; or being short of breath.
3. Tenderness and pain in the back of your lower leg, chest pain, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood.
4. Blood in the urine without accompanying pain.
5. Asthma symptoms that don't improve or get worse.
6. Depression and suicidal thoughts.

Champion, Muhammad Ali

Former boxing champion Muhammad Ali was the composer of numerous self-admiring verses ("Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"). He was once invited to lecture on poetry at Oxford University.

What's In Your Mascara

The inventor of mascara, Eugene Rimmel, continues to be immortalized for his 19th-century discovery. “Rimmel” is the word for mascara in many languages including Dutch, Persian, Portuguese, and Turkish. The man who popularized mascara, T. L. Williams, created his 1913 invention, a mixture of coal dust and Vaseline, for his sister Maybel. When the product became a hit, he named his company Maybelline to honor his two inspirations.

Mascara Ingredients

Mascara typically includes a carbon black or iron oxide pigment to darken lashes, a polymer to form a film that coats lashes, a preservative, and thickening waxes or oils like lanolin, mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, castor oil, carnauba wax, and candelilla wax.

There are two basic choices: Anhydrous formulas with no water, or emulsions of water and oil. Anhydrous options tend to be waterproof and less likely to smudge or flake, but can be difficult to remove. Emulsions are easier on lashes, but may flake or smudge.

Back in the 1930s, lash darkeners contained scary ingredients such as turpentine, lead-containing kohl, and aniline, a hair-dye ingredient, all of which left more than one woman blind. Now regulations strictly limit the ingredients to those that are safe to apply in the eye area, but you should still be on the lookout for thimerosal, a preservative that can cause conjunctivitis and eyelid dermatitis (a rash).

Waterproof Mascara

To find out if your tube will flake or run, check how much water it contains. The lower it is on the ingredients list, the less likely you'll get smeared. But experts suggest limiting your use of waterproof, smudgeproof formulas with little to no water. The extra effort to remove these products can damage lashes, causing them to break or fall out.

Maybelline's Great Lash

In 1971, Lilly Pulitzer, a then up-and-coming designer known for her vibrant fabrics, inspired Maybelline Great Lash's iconic pink and green tube -- perhaps the most recognizable mascara around the globe. One Great Lash tube is sold every 1.9 seconds in the United States -- and once every 1.1 seconds worldwide.

Happy

A happy person is HAPPY,not because everything is RIGHT in his life.
He is HAPPY because his attitude towards everything in his life is RIGHT.

Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

• Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD.
• Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
• Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
• No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
• Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings.
• Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
• Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ SA-2002 provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
• Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed.
• Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is obtainable by prescription only. However, don't be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
• Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
• Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. 
• Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
• Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
• Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
• Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
• Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
• Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
• Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
• Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep.
• Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
• Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
• Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
• Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
• Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
• Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress.
• If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
• Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
• Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
• Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.

• Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.

• Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.

• Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.

Alcohol

Heart Attack ABC's

How to Recognize a Heart Attack

 most people know that heart disease and heart attacks are the number one disease killer of both men and women, many don't know how to recognize the signs of a heart attack. Beyond that, many are unaware that the symptoms in a woman can be quite different from those in a man.

Tips for recognizing a heart attack.


CLASSIC SYMPTOMS - May appear in men and women
1. Squeezing chest pain or pressure
2. Shortness of breath
3. Sweating
4. Tightness in chest
5. Pain spreading to shoulders, neck or arm or jaw
6. Feeling of heartburn or indigestion with or without nausea and vomiting
7. Sudden dizziness or brief loss of consciousness


MORE LIKELY SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN
1. Indigestion or gas-like pain
2. Dizziness, nausea or vomiting
3. Unexplained weakness or fatigue
4. Discomfort or pain between the shoulder blades
5. Recurring chest discomfort
6. Sense of impending doom

If you are experiencing symptoms that could be signaling a heart attack or if you see someone else with these symptoms, call immediately for an ambulance. Do not attempt to drive yourself as only paramedics and trained fire department personnel have the necessary equipment to revive you if your heart has stopped beating. Give the patient one aspirin to chew, and if she or he is not breathing, start CPR. Above all, get to the hospital as quickly as possible because the longer a heart attack goes untreated, the more badly damaged your heart will be.