Ceramides are fats or lipids that are found in skin cells. They make up 30% to 40% of your outer skin layer, or epidermis. Ceramides are important for retaining your skin's moisture and preventing the entry of germs into your body. Ceramides are also what causes weight gain and fatty deposits in your body! Like cholesterol, ceramides are sticky, greasy molecules that help maintain cell membranes and perform other critical life-sustaining tasks. In excessive amounts, both substances can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular system, promoting the accumulation of plaque in arterial walls. greens are the key to cleaning ceramides from the organs and arteries of your body. Consumption of fennel seeds may also help reduce fat storage by improving the nutrient-absorption in the body. This spice also has diuretic properties. Hence, consuming it in its liquid form (fennel tea) can help increase the flow of urine and remove toxins that cause weight gain from the body, resulting in effective weight loss.
HORTA RECIPE (BOILED GREEK WILD LEAFY GREENS)
in Beginner, Boiled, Cretan, Greek Salad recipes, Mainland Greece, Our hand picked recipes, Side dishes, Traditional Greek Feta Cheese Recipes, Traditional Greek Taverna Recipes, Vegetarian
Horta recipe (Greek Wild Greens)
Healthy and absolutely delicious Horta recipe (Boiled Greek Wild Leafy Greens) for the lovers of Greek cuisine! Horta is a very popular salad one can find almost everywhere in Greece. Wild fennel, called marathos in Greek, is the favorite spring herb on Ikaria. Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Known as marathon to many of the Greeks it is a key secret to losing belly fat!
The origins of “Horta”
Horta in Greek literally means “wild greens” and it has been a staple of the Greek Diet since the ancient times. There are even references to Horta in Pythagoras’s ancient scripts.
More recently, if you ever walked around the fields of any Greek village, you’d be hard pressed not to find a Greek grandmother holding her wicker basket and plucking these wild leafy greens (Horta) from the fields. That was especially the case in the middle of the 19th century, where Horta together with spanakorizo (spinach & rice), green beans (fasolakia giahni), okra stew, peas and potato stew, potatoes yiahni and of course the traditional Greek Salad were a very cheap and nutritious food for many Greeks facing economic hardship. You can cook them up in the cleanest, simplest, most “detoxing” way, by simply boiling them and dressing them with great Greek olive oil and either lemon juice or vinegar. A rule of thumb is that sweet greens such as chard and sweet dandelion take best to lemon, while bitter greens such as mustard greens go best with vinegar. Sprinkle with a little Greek sea salt
Where to find Horta (Greek Wild Leafy Greens)?
If you live in Greece, it is very simple to just buy a bunch of Horta from your local supermarket. However, it is not as straightforward when living abroad as they are not commonly exported as “Horta”. Instead you need to look for them by name, which are dandelion greens, amaranth greens, swiss chard, sorrel greens.
Ikarians still forage for wild foods, searching the hills, roadsides, and fields for the best of the season, including fiddlehead ferns, wild asparagus, nettles, fennel, wild dandelion, and other edible greens and herbs. Horta is the catch-all phrase used to signify all greens gathered in the mountains, fields, and gardens of Ikaria. They’re prepared simply and eaten daily; you can adapt this cooking method with your preferred greens. Some people use the ingredients to make a vegetable juice called Xorta!
Ikaria’s Longevity Wild Greens Recipe
INGREDIENTS
8 cups leafy greens, such as dandelion greens, Swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, kale, escaroles, beet greens, or turnip greens, roughly chopped (and stemmed, if applicable)
1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper ( fennel seeds optional)
DIRECTIONS
Rinse greens in running water.
Fill a clean sink or a very large bowl with cold water.
Submerge and agitate greens in bowl to remove any grit or sand.
Let float for 10 minutes, and then remove greens from bowl, leaving water and sediment behind.
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Add greens and blanch them for 1 minute.
They will become bright in color.
Drain greens in colander.
Transfer to a serving platter.
Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Which is better for weight loss fennel or cumin?
Fennel. The twin of cumin — fennel seeds also are packed with loads of benefits and makes an excellent spice for weight loss. Ikarians normally consume fennel seeds, popularly known as saunf, after meals to aid digestion. It is loaded with vitamins such as A, D and C and antioxidant properties. Moreover, fennel seeds are also responsible for increasing your metabolism. And you know that a healthy metabolism automatically leads to healthy weight loss. The antioxidant content in fennel seeds such as phosphorus, beta-carotene, zinc, zeaxanthin, manganese, choline, lutein and selenium are all popularly known for protecting your body against free radicals that cause oxidative stress.
This kind of stress could lead to conditions like obesity and diabetes. Additionally, oils such as estragole, fenchone and anethole present in fennel seeds contribute toward kick starting the process of digestion by promoting the production of gastric enzymes. And if you have a good and smooth digestive system, you can lose weight in a healthy manner.Fennel seeds can also be consumed in their liquid form - either as fennel tea or fennel water, both of which are extremely beneficial for weight loss and can easily be prepared at home. For preparing fennel water, all you need is one or two teaspoons of fennel seeds. Add them to a glass of water and leave them overnight. Consume this glass of water on an empty stomach the next morning for best results. If you follow this routine, you will soon witness weight loss.
Some people can have allergic skin reactions to fennel. People who are allergic to plants such as celery, carrot, and mugwort are more likely to also be allergic to fennel. Fennel can also make skin extra sensitive to sunlight and make it easier to get a sunburn.
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