Juicing Book

Are there any vegetables that you wouldn't recommend freezing?

Some purists will say you should never freeze vegetables and everythingshould be fresh. The reality is that it's just not possible andultimately, a lot of nutrients are preserved when freezing. But still others will say that there are other solutions other than freezing vegetables.

Some vegetables just don't need to be frozen. Mostly root crops suchas carrots, turnips, rutabagas, etc. It depends on their size and whether or not you have a proper storage area. If you store them in a wrong location, then they will begin to loose their freshness.

Of course, many people in the olden days would have cold storages orcellars built into the earth. This area wasn't frozen but it was cool,dark and part of the Earth. In traditional or classical Chinese culture,they also observe a similar thing. They noticed that a storeroom beneathor next to the kitchen was the ideal place for storing vegetables. Ofcourse, there was no heating back then and so then vegetable storagearea stayed cool. Additionally, the heat of the day and sun did notaffect the vegetables being stored.

Ultimately, the Chinese went on to realize that the vegetables stayedfresh longer if they remained in close contact to the earth from whichthey came. From this, a tradition was developed in China whereby thevegetables would be placed on the floors of the peasant's storehouses.

This has knowledge then became part of the Feng Shui approach toorganizing kitchens.

In the modern day world, the best place to store vegetables that don'tneed to be refrigerated would be in a separate and cool walk–in closet orstorage room that is away from direct sunlight and usually near thebasement so it closer to the earth. Also you want either no windows at all or very few. Additionally you want a location that is not damp. Ceramic flooring and walls is the best choice because it's made using Earth ingredients. The vegetables, in this sort of situation can then just be placed on the floor. Many people find this actually worksbetter than a refrigerator which is actually quite damp.

If you want to take this a little bit further, according to theteachings of Feng Shui, you should then store dry foods on the racks. Ofcourse, prevent direct sunlight if there are windows.

Clay, glass, porcelain and earthenware containers have an earthenergy. The best things to store in these sorts of containers are sugar,salt, pepper, pickles, dried noodles (pasta) and nuts. It is said thatsugar, salt and pepper should not be exposed to the light either and so they should be stored in opaque containers.

Wood containers, including bamboo containers, allow oxygen flow becausethey breathe. Tea, breads and cereals can be kept in wood container.Items that can go moldy often store better in wood containers. Obviously, wood containers have a wood energy.

Metal containers of any kind along with plastic containers should beavoided. According to Chinese Feng Shui, products like cheese along withother living products begin to sweat inside these sorts of containers because they essentially can't breathe.These sorts of containers are also not good because they absorb theodors of the foods stored within them. In Feng Shui, metal containers have metal energy while plastic containers have fire energy.

If you go back in time to Medievil Europe, items like eggs were simply stored in wood chips. It's amazing how we have come so far with technology yet the old wise ways provide so much for us to learn from.

Have you been wanting to do hatha yoga (stretching) but have found it either too difficult or you are not that flexible? If yes, and even if no, watch Jesse do some pure hatha yoga routines.

Unlike flow yoga, each pose in pure or traditional hatha yoga is held for a few minutes. While holding the pose, you focus the mind on the stretch. When you focus the mind, that's when you find silence.

Jesse is not flexible — never has been and probably never will be flexible like others. But it doesn't matter. In pure hatha yoga, how flexible you are makes no difference. It's all about loving the pose and focussing the mind on the stretch.

If you want to learn pure hatha yoga, now you can by following Jesse on a series of hatha yoga routines.

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