If you are buying fresh fish - whole or filleted:

1. Look for bright, clear eyes. If the eyes are dull, it may still be ok to eat but it will definitely be past its prime.
2. The skin should be shiny, metallic and clean. Don't waste your money if the skin is dull or has discoloured patches.
3. Smell it if you can. Fresh fish, whole or filleted, should have a clean sea breeze smell. If it doesn't smell nice don't buy it, cooking won't help.
4. The gills should be a rich red colour. If the colour of the gills has faded to that of old bricks, don't buy.
5. The flesh should be bright and uniform, never yellow around the edges. It should be firm to the touch.

The world of marinades and rubs can be pretty confusing to the novice cook. Some say that steak marinades are a must, while others recommend just salting your steak and tossing it on the grill. You'll hear that marinades tenderize meat and that they toughen it, that some are better than others, and that certain ingredients work magic on a cheap steak. Is there truth in any of it? Let's take a look at some of the basics behind marinating to help you find the best steak marinades for your situation.

First, just what is a marinade? In most cases, it's a flavorful liquid with a mildly to strongly acidic base that's used to get flavor into the meat. The liquid permeates your steak, infusing it with the taste of the marinade.

Pickles: A Healthy Snack with Snap
Pickles are a popular snack, side dish, and condiment. But did you know that pickles are also a healthy part of your diet? There are many different pickle recipes out there, but each version has its own healthy benefits depending on the ingredients that went into the pickle and the method used for pickling, whether fermented or packed with vinegar. Pickles are great for most diets because not only are they low in calories, and low in fat or fat-free, many versions are also low in sugar.

Pickles are also a healthy edition to your diet for other reasons. Pickles, being made from cucumbers or other vegetables, are high in fiber which is necessary for digestive health and fighting cancer. The cucumbers and other vegetables also contain antioxidants, which fight free-radicals, and depending on the veggie, can be a good source of calcium, magnesium, and iron.

Health Benefits of Wu Long Tea
Research studies on the health benefits of wu long tea (also referred to as oolong tea) reveal the brews potential to reverse signs of aging, facilitate weight loss, and promote overall wellness.While all teas possess similar properties including caffeine, catechin, polyphenals, and teaflavin tearubigin that provide benefits to the human body, the quantities and percentages differ depending on the extent of oxidation during production.

 

Therefore the health benefits of wu long tea, which is semi-fermented, vary from those offered by green tea with its limited processing and black tea with its extensive oxidation process.

Following are some research studies that point to the health benefits of wu long tea consumption.

Garlic Fights More Than Vampires
Closely related to onion, shallot, and leek, garlic has been known for more than 5,000 years for its special smell, taste and healing powers. Throughout all of recorded history, people have been using garlic for a variety of purposes; either culinary or medical. It come as a surprise to some, but apart from its legendary powers to "scare vampires away," garlic has been considered for centuries a natural health improver that originates from a simple perennial plant.

 

Animal muscle turns to meat after slaughtering. Meat is surrounded by a layer of connective tissues, consisting almost entirely protein collagen. Meat tissues are composed of three main factors, water, protein (connective tissue) and fat. Carbohydrate also appears in meat as it gives the browning effect of meat when cooked. Without this carbohydrate, the desirable flavor and appearance of browned meat would not be achieved.