Ramadan 2010 is just around the corner, its first day starting on 11 August until 9 September. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and marks the first revelation of the Quran, Islam’s holy scripture, to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

From the first light until sunset, we fast by abstaining from food, drink and intimate relations. We also try to avoid anger and verbal conflicts, negative thoughts and sinful actions. Ramadan is a month of worship full of prosperity, spirituality and forgiveness.

We are honoured to invite you all to discuss here all traditional delicacies that are usually prepared during the auspicious month of Ramadan at Iftar, often called “buka puasa”, which means “to open the fast”.

The principle of breaking fast is very advisable that we eat food that is easily digested, so it does not upset our stomach that has been resting for so long. High calorific value and fluid food will help recover our stamina and substitute for a lot of wasted fluid from our body during the day.

Eating dates (“kurma”) and drinking a sip of water can be the first two things we can do when breaking fast. Besides the health benefit, both are able to immediately recover the weak condition of our body. Another old-time favourite food and drink that we all love is braised banana with palm sugar and coconut gravy (“kolak pisang”)

”Kolak pisang” is a local dessert that we should all be familiar with throughout Indonesia’s vast archipelago. Some hotels, cafes and restaurants put this sweet dessert on their everyday menu list. To make it ourselves, it only requires a few easy and simple steps. Will this be one of your favourites during this Ramadan season? What is your favourite Ramadan 2010 food?

To save your gas bills by reducing the consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), we highly recommend the use of our innovative product called Cooking Mama Pot in cooking this recipe.

INGREDIENTS FOR CONTENTS:

• 250 grams mung beans / green beans, soaked in water for 2 hours
• 500 ml water
• 100 grams palm sugar
• 200 ml thick coconut milk
• White sugar
• 2 pandan leaves
• Kraft cheese, grated

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Pour water into Cooking Mama Pot – the Cooking Pot.
2. Add the mung beans.
3. Place Cooking Mama Pot – the Cooking Pot on the stove and cook over high heat for 10 minutes to boil. Add palm sugar, pandan and coconut milk. Stir evenly and add sugar if not sweet enough.
4. Turn off the stove and transfer Cooking Mama Pot – the Cooking Pot into Cooking Mama Pot – the Heating Pot, leave it lid-covered for 60 minutes.
5. Serve in bowls. Sprinkle some grated cheese at the top, ready for consumption.

Organic food has become a hot topic among all of us these days especially for us who lives in a developing country like Indonesia. We heard more and more people talking about eating organic food and the health benefits that we can get out of it. The food we consume everyday is important to our daily life and as we are getting older, our body needs the right kinds of food to ensure our well being are properly maintained physically and mentally.

Many people purchase organic food because they believe it has more benefits and is healthier than conventionally grown food. The advantages of organic food have been a hot topic for more than a decade now but it wasn’t until relatively recently that these benefits were supported by more than just hearsay.

Nutritional Benefits

According to research studies by scientists, it has been proven that organic foods, including fruit, vegetables and milk, may be more nutritious than non-organic produce. Organic foods have higher levels of many disease-fighting antioxidants and essential vitamins that are highly beneficial for our bodies, including Vitamin C. “On average, our research found higher vitamin C, higher mineral levels and higher phytonutrients – plant compounds which can be effective against cancer.”

Nicer & Better Taste

Yes, organic foods do taste better than conventionally produced foods. Many studies have found levels of specific vitamins, flavonoids or antioxidants in organic foods to be higher than the levels found in conventional foods. Many of the antioxidants are poly-phenols, flavonoids and other volatile compounds, which are responsible for a high proportion of the flavours in the foods we eat. The greater the amount of these protective compounds, the greater the flavours, hence tastier and more appetising.

Healthier Environment

Last but not least, organic food and farming reach far beyond our own health and well-being. Organic food is safer for our entire planet – our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and generation after generation, will be able to live longer in a much healthier environment. Scientific studies are beginning to show that that eating organic food results in lower levels of pervasive chemicals in humans, hence preserving humankind civilisation even longer.

With antioxidants that prevent heart disease, cancers, anti-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, should we start eating organic foods from now on?

We all love chocolate as much as kids do. Chocolate lovers will love this blog because the chart above depicts the fact that dark chocolate and cocoa contain more antioxidant capacity than any other fruits or nuts that we normally regard as healthy food, such as strawberries, apples, green tea and red wine. Antioxidants are natural compounds that scientists have discovered can protect your body, promote good health and alleviate signs of aging. Surprised that chocolate is good for health? Many people are. That’s because they forget that chocolate is actually a plant-based food.

What’s more good news is that research has found antioxidants like those found in dark chocolate and cocoa have also been linked to some of the hallmarks of good cardiovascular health such as enhanced blood flow, healthy cholesterol levels and, in some cases, reduced blood pressure. So what does this mean? This means not only eating chocolate makes us feel good, but it will also keep us healthy and reduce the risk of various diseases.

Let’s start eating dark chocolate for the sake of our health. For those who seldom eat chocolate, perhaps you should try from light to dark. Start with light milk chocolate (with the lowest percentage of cacao and usually less bitter), and end with the darkest one. This sets up your taste buds correctly to experience the more intense, more complex and more healthy chocolates. Happy chocolate-ing!