Let’s consider the energy-containing nutrients of carbohydrates, protein, and lipids. These contain energy because they are organic. Being an organic means they are composed of a structure that consists of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Living or once-living things, including plants and animals produce organic compounds. The carbon-containing structure identifies these nutrients as being organic. When these nutrients are oxidized (burned in the body), energy is released and available for use by the cells. Although vitamins are also organic, they do not provide energy for the human body. Only carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids are energy-yielding nutrients.

The energy released from food is measured in kilocalories (thousands of calories) or calories. Technically, a calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of a gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. When someone asks how much energy is in an 8-oz. glass of skim milk, the correct response is 90,000 calories or 90 kilocalories.

Energy-yielding nutrients provide different amounts of energy. Carbohydrates and protein each provides 4 kcalories per gram. Lipids contain more than twice as much energy and provide 9kcalories per gram.

Another energy-yielding substance is alcohol. Alcohol provides 7 kcalories per gram. Although alcohol provides energy, it is not considered a nutrient because the body does not need it. In fact, the body treats it as a toxin. The breaking down or metabolizing alcohol is not only stressful to the body but also uses essential nutrients that could be better used to nourish the body. Some studies suggest that moderate consumption of alcohol-containing beverages such as red wine may be protective of heart diseases. The beneficial components are most likely photochemical, non-nutritive plant substances found in the ingredients used to produce the alcoholic beverages.

Although protein, lipids and carbohydrates provide energy, they- along with the other three nutrient categories of vitamins, minerals and water- have other important functions. A brief introduction to each nutrient category follows.

Carbohydrates are major source of fuel. They consist of simple carbohydrates often called sugars, and complex carbohydrates that include starch and most fiber. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as white sugar, fruits and milk. Complex carbohydrates are found in cereals, grains, pastas, fruits and vegetables. All, except fiber, are broken down to units of glucose, which is one of the simple carbohydrates. Glucose provides the most efficient form of energy for the body, particularly for muscles and the brain.

Proteins, in addition providing energy, perform an extensive range of functions in the body. Some of these functions include roles in the structure of bones, muscles, enzymes, hormones, blood, the immune system, and cell membranes. The linking of amino acids in various combinations forms proteins. Twenty amino acids are required to create all the necessary proteins to maintain life.

Fats are the densest form of energy available in foods and as stored energy in our bodies. Fats, or lipids, serve other purposes, such as functioning as a component of all cell structures, having a role in the production of hormones, and providing padding to protect body organs. Essential fatty acids and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are found in food lipids. It is the fats in certain foods that make them taste so appealing.

Vitamins are compounds that indirectly assist other nutrients through the complete processes of digestion, absorption, metabolism, and excretion. Thirteen vitamins are needed by the body and each has a specific function. As noted earlier, vitamins provide no energy but instead assist in the release of energy from carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.

Minerals serve structural purposes in the body and are found in body fluids. Minerals in body fluids affect the nature of the fluids, which in turn influence muscle function and the central nervous system. Sixteen essential minerals are divided into two categories: major and trace minerals. Although this distinction is based on the quantity of minerals required by the body, each is equally important.

Water is a major part of every tissue in the body. We can live only a few days without water. Water functions as a fluid in which substances can be broken down and reformed for use by the body. As a constituent of blood, water also provides a means of transportation for nutrients to and from cells.

Now you know more about the food you eat. It may be such a simple thing to do, but it is made up of complex materials that help us survive up to this moment.

The common risk factors are already listed and everyone knows it. Poisonous atmosphere bombarded with carbon and chemical emissions, a stressful lifestyle and an unhealthy diet. This unhealthy diet includes eating food that if consumed too much becomes a liability and food that is loaded with chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides in the case of fruits and vegetables, as well as antibiotics and growth hormones in the case of animals.

This is perhaps the reason why more and more Americans prefer to eat “organic” food. All food is organic, but the real organic food, nutritionists believe are those grown without the aid of synthetic chemicals and grown in actual farms and not in industrial agriculture complexes. To support an educated consumer choice and a health America, the United States Department of Agriculture has come up with an “organic food list,” narrating food, food ingredients and food additives that are produced by farms the healthy and natural way.

The list is updated by every five years by the US Department of Agriculture and the agency has set up stringent requirements for farmers and producers to qualify for the list. And many farmers are spending, adjusting their methods and revising their products just to be included in the list and rightfully so. The organic food market in the United States has grown from $1 billion in 1990 to nearly $17 billion in 2006 according to a report by the Department of Agriculture.

This means more and more Americans are getting into the healthy diet and are conscious about the food they eat and where they come from.

The Department of Agriculture puts out seals on product packaging, telling consumers if the food passes the organic standards. For food ingredients, the government agency continually updates its list and is sent to food manufacturers so they will only buy certified organic ingredients to protect their organic certifications and customer base.

With the world not set to be cleaned with all the toxic gases and chemicals anytime near our lifetime, and work in fact getting more pressured every day, there is no stopping our bodies from to deteriorating, unless we stop it ourselves. A healthy lifestyle will require abstinence or at least moderate intake of alcohol, cigarette and preserved food. It also requires exercise and frequent breaks for the body to rejuvenate away from the smog urban centers and away from the blood-pressure inducing work load.

Most of all, choosing the right food is vital. As food fuels us in our daily activities, the right of food, from the right sources and produced the right way is the best. This will ensure that our body takes in the nutrition it adequately needs, allowing it to function properly and fully and for it to last healthily and longer.

When we say Mediterranean food, we can never take away the mouth-watering nutritious food originating from Greece, the Souvlaki. It is a Greek fast food consisting of small meat pieces grilled on a skewer. More often, vegetables are skewed also together with the meat pieces. Traditionally, pork from Greece or Cyprus is used in cooking Souvlaki but later decades tried to have chicken as well. Though, for other countries they use lambs, beefs and fishes in cooking Souvlaki.

Now, if it happens that you’ve got this great interest in knowing how to cook Souvlaki, this might be what you are looking for.

Ingredients for Souvlaki are as follows:

1.)    4 t lb Boned leg of whatever be the meat of your preference, 1 to ½ inch cubes

2.)    Oregano

3.)    1 Clove garlic, minced

4.)    ¼ Lemon Juice

5.)    ¼ t Pepper

6.)    4 t Salt

7.)    ¼ c Salad Oil

8.)    ¼ c Wine Vinegar

Let’s start cooking!

First, marinating scallops, shrimp and halibut is an ideal move. It adds more taste to the food. Primarily, this mix marinate is a great factor in making this food delectable.

Marinating the meat in the refrigerator for three to six hours is another step to follow. Marinating should be done through the combination of all ingredients wherein the meat is being turned repeatedly.

After marinating the scallops, shrimp, halibut and the mixing of them to all ingredients for the marinating of the meat, you should get a skewer in preparation of the cooking of the Souvlaki. Skew the meat and prepare it for grilling by putting charcoals on enough amounts of fire and heat. You should evenly wait for the meat to turn brown.

After the meat has turned evenly brown above the heating charcoals, rest the skewers in the oven on the rack of broiler pan and brown just about five to six inches below the heat.

Occasionally turn the meat over and under that you would be able to maintain its color and soak it with marinating sauce.

Surely, you would want the Souvlaki be brown and crispy. To achieve this, you need to be patient in broiling the meat for 40-50 minutes long depending much on the meat being broiled. Take notice also from time to time about the improvements of the cooked food.

See! You must have thought that because the food does not originate from your country, it would be not easy for you to cook one. Definitely, you have been proven wrong. Though it may take some time to cook some brown and crispy Souvlakis, it’s very worthwhile with your family, friends and the significant other to eat the food together and satisfy your desire of feeding a Mediterranean diet.