Nutrition Corner

From 'travelling through taste' to cognitive health: The 2024 trends predicted to shake-up food and beverage.

Cultural Fusion in Cuisine - Exploring Global Food Trends: Delve into how global cuisines are blending to create new and exciting dishes, highlighting the influence of different cultures.

Recipe for The Day

Cheesy Beef & Black Bean Skillet Casserole: Think of this creamy skillet casserole as a one-pan taco. The corn tortillas crisp up under the broiler, adding crunch to go with the creamy filling. If you enjoy a bit of spiciness, opt for hot salsa or chipotle salsa for some smoky undertones. Tomatillo salsa works well, too, adding tang and a fresh flavor to this easy skillet dinner.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

3 best kettlebell exercises for beginners to chisel full-body strength and muscle

• Kettlebell Slingshots: To do the move, pass the kettlebell around your body while exchanging from hand to hand at the front without swinging your hips or arching your back. Doing so will help you adjust to the weight distribution of the kettlebell and can be used as a strength exercise or as a warm-up before kettlebell training. It’ll also help you improve your grip transitioning as you shift the weight from hand to hand.

• Kettlebell Snatches: Start with the kettlebell on the floor between your feet, which should be roughly hip-width apart. Push your hips back and keep your back flat, then grip the kettlebell handle with the left hand. Swing the kettlebell behind you between your legs, and as you lift your hips, straighten the knees, shrug the left shoulder and swing the kettlebell upwards, driving your arm up overhead. Lock the left arm out before flipping the kettlebell back to the front and lowering the arm back down.

• Kettlebell Clean: Stand feet shoulder-width apart with one kettlebell between your feet, then grip the handle off-center using an overhand grip. Your back should be flat, your stomach braced, and your chest lifted. Swing the kettlebell back slightly and pull it upward close to your midline, then turn your arm under the bell to rest it in a racked position with your elbow close to your ribcage. Again, avoid hitting the kettlebell against your arm or wrist. Reverse the steps down and repeat on the other side.

3 Surprisingly Common Foods for a Healthy Heart

• Fruits and vegetables: Bananas and sweet potatoes deliver potassium, a key mineral for heart health. Cruciferous veggies may help to prevent clogged arteries. Leafy greens deliver fiber, which can help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

• Whole grains: Not all carbs are bad. Refined carbs like the ones in white bread fly through your body, usually doing you more harm than good. But complex carbohydrates, like the ones you'll find in whole grain products, deliver fiber, which we've already mentioned as a heart health booster.

• Lean and plant protein: While certain proteins -- like red and processed meat -- can be hard on your heart, others top the list of foods for heart health. The key here is to look for plant-based protein, lean animal proteins and fish. Experts recommend mixing up your protein sources.

3 easy steps to build an exercise habit

• 11 minutes of brisk walking makes a big difference: The biggest gains in exercise come when we just start moving a little. Walking for at least 11 minutes every day could lower your risk of premature death by almost 25%, according to a major study of 30 million people. Those 11 daily minutes of exercise also dropped people’s risks for heart disease by 17% and for cancer of any kind by 7%.

• Morning exercise may be better for burning fat: If you’d like to burn a little more fat with each workout and slowly lower your body’s fat stores, there may be advantages to exercising before noon. Research in mice showed that the animals who ran within a few hours of waking up burned more fat than mice who exercised later in their day. In morning mouse exercisers, their fat released substantially more fatty acids, the building blocks of fat, into the animals’ bloodstream, ready for use as muscle fuel.

• Get extra benefits with outdoor workouts: Moving your workout outside can be a simple way to magnify its benefits, not only for thinking but also for health, happiness, fitness and motivation. “Green exercise” – meaning physical activity done in nature – can improve working memory and concentration substantially more than completing the same brief walk inside.

Do these 4 simple yet effective calf exercises to tone your legs

• Standing calf raise: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest out, and shoulders rolled back. Put your hands on your hips and turn to face forward. Elevate your heels and keep your weight balanced on the balls of your feet. After maintaining this position for a little moment, drop your heels to the ground. To feel your calves burn and melt fat, swiftly repeat this. Perform 3 sets of 25 repetitions.

• Endurance running: Before you begin, warm up with some spot jogging, jumping jacks and stretching. Begin running on the treadmill or the road. Adjust the inclination to 3 degrees if you are jogging on a treadmill. To burn more fat in your calves as well as overall body fat, run slower and longer.

• Jumping squats: Maintain a straight posture, with your shoulders rolled back, chest out, and legs shoulder-width apart. Exert your posterior, bend your knees, and assume a squat or chair stance. Leap and swipe your hands above your head. Softly touch the ground.

• Calf stretch: Face a wall. Place your left foot behind the wall and your right foot forward close to it. Verify that the foot is pointing towards the wall. Keep your forearms and elbows shoulder-width apart on the wall. To feel a stretch in your left calf and hamstring, lower your glutes and core and press your forearm against the wall.

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