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The craze of herbal tea can be seen a lot among world users because of health benefits. It is prepared from the dried flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots. A hot boiling water is poured on these plant parts and then let them steep for minutes, and then the tisane is strained and addition of sweetened is done if wished and later on served to guest and family members.

Nowadays, you must have come across herbal bags produced by all branded companies for such infusions. Three different types of herbal tea prepared from different processing methods from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis plant are black tea, green tea, and white tea. Manufacturers consider it as true one and known to contain caffeine. Flavored teas are also one type of this category prepared from by the addition of different plants or can say extract of actual teas such as black, green, yellow, white etc. The Earl Grey appears black in color and is prepared from bergamot whereas jasmine is referred as Chinese one which is prepared from jasmine flowers. Similarly, genmaicha is known to be Japanese green tea with the addition of toasted rice as well.

Further, blending of flavors of different herbs results into health related sensations which is really beneficial in many ways. This is the reason why experts feel great in experimenting with these varied herbs as falls them into world of exploration. You must have heard about the health benefits of these liquid forms and accordingly must have become eager to know their other major varieties whether you consume or not.

Other major varieties of herbal teas are Anise (prepared from seeds or leaves); Artichoke tea, Cannabis (used for preparing Bhang), Caraway (prepared from seeds), Catnip (used as relaxant, sedative), Chinese knot weed tea, and many more. It is harmless, and can be taken for boosting and refreshing your body energy level. These varieties are mainly dedicated for physical and medicinal effects to human consumption. They are greatly consumed for their three major properties such as stimulant, relaxant, and sedative. Herbalism sources like books, websites, and history records will convey the root cause of their great popularity all over the world. In Egypt, herbal tea ‘karkade’ is served during Ahwas, which is very popular, whereas in China, traditional Chinese medicine make utmost use of herbs used in the preparation of tea for addressing core health issues and energizing the health level.

Varieties of Chinese Noodles

The most famous way of making noodles in China is ‘la mian’ (or ‘chen mian). Noodles are made by simply stretching the dough with both hands. This type of noodle dishes are typical from Northwestern and central China. There is another famous way of making Chinese noodles, called ‘dao xiao mian’. In this case, the chef holds a well kneaded dough in one hand, and a knife in another. The desired shape of the noodles is achieved by ‘slicing’ the dough. There is a third variety of Chinese noodles, which is the one that I am going to discuss next in more detail. This third variety is called ‘shou gan mian’, which can be translated as hand-made noodles by using a rolling pin. The reader may have already guessed that ‘mian’ means ‘noodles’ in Chinese (it also means ‘flour’, depending on the context).

Typical Northeast Chinese noodles are really light, even if they are cooked with meat. They are very different from the ones that can be found in restaurants in Western Europe. The concrete recipe I will be describing in detail is called ‘da lu mian’. It is a very suitable dish for spring or summer, and very home-made, almost impossible to find in the restaurants in China.

Making the Noodles

Making good dough is the first step towards making good noodles. Firstly, the dough cannot be too soft, so one should be careful with the amount of water being used. To make the noodles more stretchable, it is a good idea to add salt and eggs to the flour when making the dough. The use of eggs, however, is not a must.

After making the dough, trying to roll it as thin as possible needs patience and determination. A useful device is the ‘pasta maker’ (in China it is obviously called ‘noodle maker’). The noodle maker is very helpful for cutting the noodles into even strips, as well as for saving a lot of energy. The disadvantage is that it is not easy to clean afterward. Here, I will describe how to make the noodles by hand.

To prepare the noodles by hand, follow the steps given next (the ingredients given are for three or four people).

• Mix three cups of plain flour with three quarters of a cup of water, one big egg and one table spoon of salt. Knead the dough well.
• Roll the dough into a thin sheet.
• Fold the dough sheet twice, make sure that you dust plenty of flour on the surface before folding.
• Chop the folded sheet into thin strips.
• Loosen the strips, dust more flour if needed.

Then, boil the prepared noodles in water (you can add salt to avoid the noodles getting stuck together). And, after removing the noodles from the sauce pan, rinse them well in cold water. The noodles are cold now and ready to be served.

The Sauce

Diet is very important to do if you have excessive weight. Many diet programs require you to manage food consumption and exercise. Between managing food consumption and exercise, many women consider managing food as the hardest part. Millions of women are restraining hunger while they are dieting. But in the end, these women are still unable to lower their weight, because they often eat large portion of food after their diet program ends. One of the ways to reduce hungry feeling but still reducing your weight is by eating snacks.

Many people think that eating snacks is one of the main causes of weight gain. This is not entirely true, because as long as you pick up the appropriate snack, it does not give you additional weight. Snacks can give you full feeling all day long. These are several tips on choosing healthy snacks.

1. Ask yourself whether you are actually hungry or just feeling other emotions. People often say that they are hungry but actually they are just bored and thirsty. To make sure, you can start by drinking a glass of water. If you lose your appetite, it means you do not have to eat anything.

2. Control yourself to only eat small portion of snacks. You may have snacks several times a day but in a small portion.

3. I am sure your diet program gives you explanation about types of foods that you can eat. Choose snacks that follow the explanations of your diet programs. Almost all diet programs recommend vegetables and fruits as snacks. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and do not contain fat at all.

4. You should reduce your habit of eating foods while you are driving or watching TV. Spend a little time to slowly eat your foods or snacks and enjoy it.

5. You should prioritize snacks that have high protein. Protein does not give additional weight but it builds and keeps healthy muscles and bones.

6. Peanut can be a good snack option. If you do not like ordinary peanut, you can substitute it with soy nut. Soy nuts are really crunchy and healthy.

7. Choose snacks that hive high fiber. High-fiber foods take longer to chew and digest, so you can feel full for longer time. Yoghurt, oatmeal, high-fiber cereal, smoothies and pasta are examples of high-fiber foods that you can consume.

8. You should drink enough portion of water to balance your snacks. Besides to help you stomach to digest foods, water is essential to reduce your weight.

9. Substitute your milk with skim milk or low-fat milk.