Cuban Cuisine - Essential Elements of Cuban Food

Cuban cuisine comes from a rich combination of native foods, Spanish and Moorish influences, and African contributions. All these influences have created a very distinctive flavor that enhances hearty, simple dishes. A typical Cuban meal would consist of Rice, beans, a main meat dish, root vegetables, and a salad. Deep frying is rarely done in Cuba. Most of the food is cooked in a quick saute or slow cooked over low heat.

Spices

The most commonly used spices in Cuban cuisine are garlic, cumin, bay leaf, and oregano. They also use a combination known as sofrito. This is made by sauteing onions, green peppers, garlic, black pepper, and oregano in olive oil until the flavors are blended. Sofrito is used as a base for Rice, stew, beans, and many other recipes.

Vegetables

Cuba uses lots of root vegetables like plantano, yuca, boniato, and malanga. Vegetables are often simmered together and served with a simple dressing of olive oil and chopped onion. Black beans are a large part of the daily meal. They are often served with Rice during the main meals of the day. Fruit is also a big part of the daily menu. Plums, pineapples, guavas and more are available to choose from.

Meats

Seafood, pork, and beef are often used in Cuban cuisine. Chickens also play an important role. Meats may be marinated and simmered slowly to make tender, mouthwatering dishes. Seafood is cooked simply, allowing the flavor of the fish to come through.

Baked Goods

Cuba's breads and pastries are well known. Turnovers filled with spicy meats or fruit and cream cheese are popular. Puff pastries with fillings are often eaten as finger foods. Custard desserts are often served. Sandwiches are very popular in Cuban cuisine. The popular "Cuban sandwich" found in Miami is made of ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and roast pork.

Recipe for Chicken in a Black Bean Sauce

This dish is a great way to give chicken a new taste. For even more flavor, marinate the chicken overnight in the sauce.

What You Need

4 chicken thighs
4 chicken legs
1 large can of black beans
1/2 cup of sofrito (saute bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, and onion together until translucent)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 Tablespoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
1/2 can of tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
How to Make It

Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Season the pieces with salt and pepper. Set the chicken aside.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet and saute the sofrito mixture. Add the oregano, cumin and tomato sauce, stirring well.

Add beans and broth, mixing well. Let the mixture cook for ten minutes. Add apple cider vinegar, stir, and let simmer another 3 or 4 minutes. Place chicken pieces in the pan, covering them completely with the sauce. Cook the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving over a bed of white rice.

Yeast Free Diet To Treat Candidiasis - The Essential Steps To Avoid Cravings and Nasty Side-Effects

A yeast free diet is one that contains little to no amount of yeast. This is the diet prescribed to treat candida overgrowth. The diet is typically followed over the course of six weeks until the symptoms of candidiasis subside.

Causes of Yeast Infections

There are a lot of species of yeast that thrive naturally in the body. Among them, Candida albicans is the most common, existing in the mouth, the digestive tract, the urinary tract, in the vagina and in the skin. Normally, fungal populations are kept in check but stress, the use of antibiotics and other medications cause an uncontrolled growth of the fungi that leads to the development of uncomfortable symptoms such as stomach discomfort and skin infections.

Food to Avoid

When on a yeast free diet it is important to avoid certain food items such as breads, rolls, cookies, pretzels, pastries and other kinds of food that contain yeast. You should also avoid vinegar and food that contain vinegar such as mayo, salad dressings, mustard, pickles and pickled food and barbeque sauce. Stay away from wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks such as cider.

It is also important to avoid moldy food. Avoid eating cheese, dried, smoked or pickled meats, cured bacon, mushrooms, peanuts and pistachios, soy sauce, miso and tempeh as well as malt. Avoid prepackaged herbs and teas as well as canned tomatoes.

Those following this kind of diet also need to note that sugary food items are off the list. They should avoid the consumption of processed sugar, naturally-sugary food and drinks like fruit juices and dried fruits, soft drinks, honey and maple syrup, corn syrup, chocolates, to name a few.

Limited Consumption

Starchy food like corn and potatoes should be eaten sparingly.

With all these restrictions most people are left wondering what food they are allowed to eat. There is no need to worry, however, since there are a lot of tasty food options to choose from even if one is following the yeast free diet.

Food items that you are allowed to eat include vegetables, especially dark, green and leafy veggies. Beans are a good source of protein. Meat, including beef, poultry and fish are allowed, as well as shellfish and uncured pork. Whole grains are allowed in the diet. These may include Rice, millet, barley, couscous and buckwheat. You can still enjoy pasta, unprocessed seeds and nuts as well as vegetable oils that are unrefined.

Following this kind of diet is hard. Aside from the diet there are natural ways that you can do to help speed up the treatment of fungal infections. Forget about using chemicals and other drugs. Natural herbs and supplements paired with this diet will help you see improvements in your condition in no time. Going to the root cause of the Candida infection is also equally important. For example, treating the illness that has resulted to the overgrowth of the fungi or lowering your levels of stress can effectively solve the problem.