Fruits Nutrition… an overview on minerals and vitamins

Apples: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Bananas: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin E.

Cantaloupe: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Grapefruit: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Grapes: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Honeydew Melon: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Kiwi Fruit: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin E.

Mango: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin E.

Oranges: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Peaches: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Pears: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Pineapple: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Manganese. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Strawberries: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

Watermelon: High in Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium. In terms of Vitamins, it is high in Vitamin C.

As we can see above, all the fruits listed are high in Vitamin C and the basic minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium seems to be common to all… Thus fruits intake is very essential for our daily lives.

For more details, please refer to this guide on when to take fruits.

Information provided above serves only as a guide only. For more information, please consult your local expert / nutritionist.

Korean flower arrangements… an indoor art

Korean flower arrangement is being revived as an indoor art, and most often uses simple Joseon dynasty whiteware to highlight various kinds of Korean flowers and tree branches in elegant but unforced natural arrangements. Im Wha-Kong of Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, who also produces her own ceramic wares, is the greatest living exponent of this art, and hosts quarterly displays of flower arrangements keeping this tradition alive. There are at least a dozen schools of traditional flower arrangements.

Introduction

Formal flower arrangements were closely allied to the development of the Korean tea ceremony, and suggestions have been made that these were often corner-of-the-room arrangements on small tables using a central vessel with most often a small branch and a small group of local flowers. Sprigs of pear blossoms were particularly well known, and during the winters ever-green sprigs that would have enhanced celadonware, or given a cool elegance to whiteware. Leaves, blossoms, ferns, and grasses were also used.

Arrangements were primarily done by women in tea-houses, and in the greater houses, Confucian male masters may have done this as well.

History

There is no exact date for the origination of this floral art, and it was not documented before the 14th century as a distinct art. Votive altar arrangements of flowers for Buddhist temples were and are always profuse, they were precursors. But it was under Confucian hands, in Joseon Yi dynasty times, that arrangements can be said definitely to have begun and were known, and included in numerous illustrations by artists of that time.

For more information, please refer to Wikipedia 

Copyright (c) 2007 Mike Cherng. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Flower arrangements…

Floristry, flower arranging, floral arrangement, floral design or floral arts is the art of creating flower arrangements in vases, bowls and baskets, or making bouquets and compositions from cut flowers, foliage, herbs, ornamental grasses and other botanical materials. Often the terms “floral design” and “floristry” are considered synonymous. Florists are people who work with flowers and plants, generally at the retail level. The term is not to be confused with floristics. Floristry is also not to be confused with horticulture.

Floristry is sometimes used as an umbrella term referring to the cultivation of flowers as well as their arrangement, rather than solely to the business of selling them. However, the floral industry is the basic drive behind floristry. Florist shops, along with online stores are the main flower-only outlets, but supermarkets, garden supply stores and many filling stations also sell flowers.

The Craft and Business

The craft of floristry involves various skills. These include selecting flowers that will look good together (based on principles of design or general instinct), knowing how to cut, treat, and arrange flowers and other stock plants so they will remain fresh as long as possible, and (as explained above) selling them, which involves knowledge of customer requirements and expectations. Knowing how to form wreaths, bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres/’buttonholes’, artificial arrangements and other more complicated arrangements is also important. Wreaths can be made out of many different types of flowers and plants, and often include ribbon and artificial product.

The flowers sold in florist shops typically represent the varieties abundantly available in the season but also include blossoms flown in from around the world. Basic varieties include roses, tulips, irises, orchids and lilies. Fashion sometimes plays a role in floristry; what is considered the flower that everyone needs to have today can change very quickly.

Some shops also stock Gift Baskets, fruit, and chocolates as well as flowers, where as some shops will purchase these things only when needed for an order. Floral business is seasonal and is heavily influenced by the following holidays and events: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Administrative Professionals’ Day, Mothers’ Day, All Souls Day, Advent, Easter, weddings and funerals.[1] These occasions make up the largest part of the business, with the sale of house plants and home decor being a smaller, but more constant, part. Flowers for personal enjoyment as well as those selected to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, thank-you’s and get well wishes are also a significant portion of a florist’s business.

The floral business has been impacted significantly by the corporate and social event world in as much as flowers play a large part in the decor of special events and meetings. Centerpieces, entryways, reception tables, bridal bouquets, wedding chuppahs and stage sets and only a few examples of how flowers are used in the business and social event arenas.

Styles of Flower Arrangements

Many nations have their own style of floral arranging.

Ikebana is a Japanese style of floral design / arrangement, noted for its simplicity and purity of lines and colors. Often Ikebana designs feature sticks and branches such as willow.

Korean flower arrangement is being revived as an indoor art, and most often uses simple Joseon dynasty whiteware to highlight various kinds of Korean flowers and tree branches in elegant but unforced natural arrangements. Im Wha-Kong of Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, who also produces her own ceramic wares, is the greatest living exponent of this art, and hosts quarterly displays of flower arrangements keeping this tradition alive. There are at least a dozen schools of traditional flower arrangements.

English Country Garden is traditionally an English form of designing, but also includes many popular European influences, such as France and Holland. These designs are often done as low mounds, or taller vase arrangements that are all-sided (360°). Many florists that follow this design style do not use Baby’s Breath, Carnations and Leatherleaf.

High Style is a form of design originating from the United States. These designs often include a ‘less is more’ motto. Flowers that are popular among High Style Florists include many tropical flowers such as Birds of Paradise and Anthuriums, and also more popular flowers such as Carnations.

The Flower Market/Auction. A basic requirement of florist shops is the purchasing of flowers to replenish their stock. The flower market, like other agriculture markets, is subject to many fluctuations due to natural factors, supply and demand, and fashion. Learning how to buy in such a way as to continue to make a profit is not a simple skill. In North America, the largest and most prominent[2] flower auction is the UFG (United Flower Growers), located in Burnaby, BC, Canada. There are many flower auctions and markets located in Holland, for example, VBA (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer).

Shop Layout. Generally, a florist’s shop will contain a large array of flowers, sometimes displayed on the street, or will have a large plate glass window to display the flowers. To keep them fresh, the flowers will be inside of a fridge and kept in water, generally in glass, plastic or metal vases, sleeves, or other containers. Most shops have a fridge near the front of the store with large glass doors so that customers can easily view the contents. Some shops also have another fridge out of the customers view where they keep extra stock, and arrangements for customers orders. Most stores will have a back section in which the designers can work on orders with more privacy.

Significance of Particular Flowers

Typically, a florist will organize flowers by season and holiday.

Flowers have various different meanings in different cultures. The holidays and events for which flowers are used vary. Poppies are used to remember fallen soldiers only in England and the Commonwealth countries. The cultural meaning of colors also strongly affects the choice and use of flowers. People often prefer flowers that are associated with their ethnic group or country, and various colors may have special meanings of luck or death or love or other basic human traits. A flower such as a red rose might to some mean love, but to others it might be considered indecent or simply puzzling. The vastly divergent views on the color white can lead to major flower issues. White is viewed as standing for death in many Asian cultures but is considered a symbol of purity and innocence in many European and American cultures. Such differences can lead to difficult issues when a bouquet of white lilies, for example, is delivered.

For more information on arrangements, please find out from Wikipedia

Copyright (c) 2007 Mike Cherng. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License”.

Japanese art of flower arrangements… Ikebana

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō.

In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangement in western countries, Japanese flower arrangement is based on the line of twigs and/or leaves, filled in with a small number of blooms. The container is also a key element of the composition. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man.

History

Ikebana began as a kind of ritual flower offering made in Buddhist temples in Japan during the sixth century. The first written account dates back to the tenth century in the Kokin Waka Shu, a poetry book:…” in a receptacle, place a flowering branch of plumtree…” In these arrangements, both the flowers and the branches were made to point toward heaven as an indication of faith. Tatebana ("vertical flower") in the Muromachi era (14-16th century) was regarded the first style that could be called Ikebana. It was arranged in a high narrow vase. A more sophisticated style of flower arrangement, called rikka (standing flowers), appeared in the fifteenth century. The rikka style reflects the magnificence of nature and its display. For example, pine branches symbolize rocks and stones, and white chrysanthemums symbolize a river or small stream. The rikka style became popular in the seventeenth century, used as a decorative technique for ceremonial and festive occasions, though today it is regarded as an antiquated form of flower arrangement and is rarely practiced.

The most significant changes in the history of Ikebana took place during the fifteenth century, when the Muromachi shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490) ruled Japan. The large buildings and small houses that Yoshimasa had built expressed his love for simplicity. These small houses contained tokonoma, where people could place objects of art and flower arrangements. It was during this period that the rules of Ikebana were simplified so that people of all classes could enjoy the art.

Another major development took place in the late sixteenth century. A more simple style of flower arrangement called nageire (meaning to throw in or fling in) appeared as part of the tea ceremony. According to this style, flowers are arranged in a vase as naturally as possible, no matter what materials are used. Because of its association with the tea ceremony, this style is also called cha bana

In the 1890s, shortly after the Meiji Restoration (a period of modernization and westernization in Japan), there developed a new style of Ikebana called moribana, or "piled-up flowers". This style appeared partly due to the introduction of western flowers and partly due to the westernization of Japanese living. The moribana style, which created a new freedom in flower arranging, is used for a landscape or a garden scene. It is a style that can be enjoyed wherever it is displayed and can be adapted to both formal and informal situations.

Modern Ikebana dates from 1930 and goes by the transliteration zen’ei ikebana or zen’eibana. This form of Ikebana is more expressive than the classic style. Along with tea ceremony and calligraphy, Ikebana was one of the arts in which women were traditionally schooled in preparation for marriage. Today, flower arrangement is venerated as one of the traditional arts in Japan. It is practiced on many occasions like ceremonies and parties, and modern people are still choosing to study the art.

For more information, please find out here

Copyright (c) 2007 Mike Cherng. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

On flower arrangements… and gift ideas…

Gift sending in this Web 2.0 era has taken a whole new meaning… A new startup by former Microsoft Designer Team members, Jenny Lam and a few others have created a whole new way to appreciate that someone in your heart.

Check out the site.

The flowers you see on the site are handcrafted which are very unique and beautiful. Just sent one to my wife the other day and she just loved it. 🙂

More and more gift ideas can come from everyone and it is sometimes, simply a matter of thinking outside the box, and enjoying the love of sharing unique gifts with others.

The world we live in needs more of love and expressing it regularly.

7Degree C is in the business of sharing love and expressing it through unique gifts… More flower arrangements coming your way in Nov 07

Can we live without fruits… the nutrition… the delicious sensation…

Fruits are such a delight to the senses, not just the taste but also the sight. Of all natural foods, that is, the foods we can eat in their natural state, fruit is the food we are most attracted to and that first entices our senses.

When we are hungry, fruit is often the most satisfying food we can eat. Is there anything better than to devour a delicious ripe mango on a hot tropical day? Or to bite into a delicious, fresh honeydew or rockmelon? Or to enjoy a sweet, juicy ripe orange? And not forgetting those fresh strawberries… Is there any man-made dish that can beat the perfection of a fully ripe cherry or seedless grape?

Fruit has always been recognised as one of the healthiest foods there is. In the minds of most people, fruit is seen as a healthy food we should eat more of due to its vitamin content. But even when realizing the exceptional nutritional qualities of fruit, very few people actually give it the place it deserves in the diet.

Fruit is still eaten as a “snack” or a “dessert,” especially in Asian country, but is rarely seen as a staple food. In my own family, fruits were taken after dinner or every meal rather than before it as I later came to know that it should be consumed that way. More on that later. Generally, in the mind of the masses, fruit is a “healthy snack” but not something that can really sustain a hard-working man or professionals, like meat or bread or rice. We don’t realize that fruit should be a staple in the diet, and has been for thousands upon thousands of years, long before bread and rice were cultivated, and long before cheese, sandwiches were invented and certainly before any processed food.

The Benefits of Eating Fruits.

• Fruit is filled with vitamins.
• Fruit is cholesterol free.
• Fruit is packed with anti-oxidants.
• Fruit is very easily digested by our human body. Because of the nature of fruits, our body hardly requires digestive enzymes to break it down and thus is less taxing to our body and in return, allows us to feel less ‘heavy’ or ‘tired’ after a fruity consumption.
• Fruit has plenty of water.
• Fruit generally are beautiful. Generally because fruit like Durian can be a little bit intimidating… And all our senses are stimulated before even giving it our first bite.
• There are studies that have indicated that people who eat lots of fruit tends to live longer. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (published in 2001 September).
• And fruit contains lots of fiber which is necessary for optimum digestion.
• Best of all, fruit is the a great source of natural sugar which is needed for energy.

Food / Fruits Combining Rules.

Natural Hygienists and Nutritionist have known for a long time that fruit doesn’t combine well with other foods. The reason is that fruit contains simple sugars that require no digestion. Thus, they will not stay for a long time in the stomach. Other foods, such as foods rich in fat, protein and starch, will stay in the stomach for a longer period of time because they require more digestion. Therefore if you eat fruit after a meal, the fruit sugar will stay for too long in the stomach and get fermented. This is why some people experience digestive trouble when eating fruit that way. They then blame that particular fruit for their trouble and claim that they are “allergic” to it.

Natural Hygienists and Nutritionist have been recommending for a long time that fruit be eaten alone with no other foods. They have also recommended eating melons alone and avoiding mixing acid fruits with sweet fruits such as bananas. These are great recommendations, but can be definitely be simplified.

Most people have a difficult time eating a meal of fruit alone. They’ll eat a meal of melon and not so long after they’ll be hungry again, for the simple and obvious reason that melons are not calorie dense. Eating a small cantaloupe (200 calories) is not going to sustain you for very long. But because they have read somewhere that mixing melons with other fruits is not allowed, they’ll try to wait until the next meal to eat something else and then will often in the meantime overeat on dried fruits and nuts to compensate.

The solution to this is very simple: since fruit digests so fast, it is possible to eat fruit before any other food. You can, when you are hungry, eat as much fruit as you care for. One type of fruit only would be ideal. Then wait a little bit, like 5-10 minutes, and have any other food you desire. This can be a salad, a little avocado with tomatoes, some nuts, or anything. It can be cooked food too. If you’ve been trying to follow food-combining rules without success, this new information could be very valuable to you.

The same goes with mixing other fruits together. You can eat all the melon you want, and then, if you are still hungry, eat another type of fruit to satisfy your appetite. It is not necessary to eat melons alone if they are eaten before another foods. You can even have melon and then have an avocado after. The only thing that is important to remember is to have the fruit first – not after, and ideally only have one variety at a time.

Again, the general rule for food consumption applies. Too much of everything is not very healthy.

Fruit & Physical Exercise.

Fruit is the ideal food for exercise. The best post workout snack or meal is not muffins, yogurt, or protein shakes, but fresh fruit. Runners and other athletes have long known that there is nothing better than high-water content, sweet fruit, such as oranges or melons, after a workout. They contain enough water to hydrate the body and their natural sugars are quickly utilized for energy production.

Regular physical activity improves insulin sensitivity, which is the effectiveness of insulin in transporting sugar to your cells. In other words, if you exercise, you’ll be able to utilize fruit sugar a lot better and will be less likely to experience ‘sugar swings’ and blood sugar fluctuations.