Guides to few common herbs and spices help you to create flavorful meals without added salt

Basil - Bright, pungent flavor. Use in pesto, sauces, salads, meats, fish and soups.
Bay leaves - often used dried for most flavor. Use in sauces, soups or pickling solutions.
Thyme - A minty, tea-like flavor. Used to create bouquet garni with parsley and bay.

Cardamom - Tastes like ginger with a hint of pine. Used highly in curry powder, but also enhances the flavors of squash, pumpkin, potatoes and pastries.

Cayenne - Hot, peppery flavor. Used frequently in Creole, Cajun, Spanish, Mexican, Szechuan, Thai and East Indian recipes.

Cinnamon - Sweet and aromatic. Versatile spice complements a large variety of foods and other spices.

Coriander leaf or seed - Fresh coriander leaves, also known as cilantro, bear a powerful resemblance to Italian flat-leaf parsley, but with a stronger, distinct scent.

Cumin - Powerful peppery flavoring with small citrus overtones. Essential spice in the cuisines of Mexico, India and the Middle East.

Dill - Leaves have a soft, sweet taste. Both the leaves and the seeds are used to make flavor food.

Fennel - Mild licorice flavor. Use in soups, salads, fish and vegetable dishes.
Ginger - Fragrant, pungent and hot. Can be used fresh, dried or in powder form.

Marjoram - Member of the mint family. Similar to oregano but fewer pungent. Use in salads, fish, meat, vegetable, poultry and egg dishes.

Mint - with more than 25 varieties, flavors range from cool to sweet or somewhat menthol.

Nutmeg - Seed of an apricot-like fruit resident to Indonesia, with a cinnamon-like and peppery taste.

Oregano - Also from the mint family, related to marjoram but stronger with an earthy, aromatic flavor.

Parsley — most general types are curly or Italian flat leaf. Mildly fresh aromatic flavor.

Cooking with flowers for better health

Flowers please our eye and our sense of smell, their oils are used in aromatherapy and many flowers themselves have medical benefits as dietary therapy.

Chinese were cooking with flowers thousands of years ago and flowers, such as the special Chinese rose, are main ingredients in the cuisine.

"Drink the dew of magnolia in the morning, and eat the falling petals of chrysanthemum at night," wrote Qu Yuan in his well-known poem "Li Sao" ("The Lament") about a nobleman's life in the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Magnolia and chrysanthemum symbolize nobility and integrity.

However, flower cuisine didn't become famous until the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It first became popular among the nobility, particularly women who used flowers to improve their complexion.

Various flower cuisines were invented, including cakes, soups and dishes. Apart from adding scent and flavor, some flowers are rich in nutrition, including minerals, vitamins and micronutrients. Some people believe that eating beautiful flower helps to make them beautiful.

Practical foods to eat for good health

1. Blueberries : Why you should eat more: Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, which help protect the body from disease; they are high in potassium, fiber and vitamin C, all for about 80 calories a cup.

2. Quinoa : What it is: It looks and cooks like a grain, but it's actually the seed from a leafy plant closely related to spinach. Why you should eat more: Quinoa is a good source of complete protein than the foods it can stand in for, like rice.

3. Seaweed : What it is: More seaweed eaten in this country is nori, best known as those dried, dark-green sheets used in sushi rolls.

4. Walnuts : Why you should eat more: Unlike other nuts, walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, the kind related with fish like salmon and sardines.

5. Kefir : What it is: A fermented dairy product drink, it is a kind of cross between buttermilk and yogurt. Once available only in health-food stores, it's in many mainstream grocers, often near the soy milk.

6. Apples : Why you should eat more: They're not flashy, but the often-overlooked apple is high in fiber (4-5 grams per apple) and lower in sugar content on the glycemic index than fruits such as grapes or bananas, so they'll hang around in your stomach a while longer, making you think full longer.

7. Chiles : Why you should eat more: The capsaicin in chiles, which makes them hot, also is believed to have a thermogenic effect - some studies have suggested eating them can raise your metabolism rate and help burn calories. A bonus: Chiles adds a ton of flavor for little caloric cost.
8. Lentils : Why you should eat more: A good, low-cost source of protein popular in world cuisines, particularly Middle Eastern and Indian, lentils also provide high levels of folic acid.

9. Eggs : Why you should eat more: Eggs have had a firm time shaking that bad reputation they got in the ‘80s, when cholesterol was a buzzkill. Eggs are also considered an anti-inflammatory food, meaning they can assist reduce bodily inflammation thought to lead to chronic disease including stroke, heart disease and diabetes.

10. Romaine lettuce : Why you should eat more: All greens are good for you, and the darker the better. They are natural antioxidants and provide a plethora of minerals and vitamins, especially vitamins A, K, C and foliate.

Arabica coffee disease on the rise

COFFEE berry disease and leaf rust which often affect Arabica coffee, are on the raise, the National Crops Resources Research Institute has said.

Speaking to journalists recently, the head of the Coffee Research Centre at Kituza in Mukono, Dr. Africano Kangire, disclosed that the diseases are affecting yields and require agent attention.

In Uganda, Arabica coffee crop constitutes 20% and Robusta 80% Arabica is grown in highland areas including Nebbi, Kasese, Mt Rwenzori and Elgon, while Robusta grows better in low areas.

“The coffee industry is faced with challenges including global warming that has resulted into drought in a few areas. If global temperatures raise, Uganda would lose up to 80% of Robusta coffee,” Kangire said.

Diabetic’s diet for all

On a diabetic diet, it is main important to eat three meals per day in order to keep your blood sugar on a more even keel. Have you ever notice that you are hungrier by mid-morning or lunch after you have eaten breakfast? That's because your metabolism revs up by eating breakfast and you are burning more calories just by eating. Breakfast can be as easy as an 8-ounce glass of 1-percent or nonfat milk. Don't be afraid to eat a small mid-morning snacks if you are hungry; this will keep you from being very hungry by lunchtime and help you to choose a healthier lunch. For your "9-inch" dinner plate, try filling half with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter with carbohydrates and a quarter with lean protein (and no cheating by using a huge plate). If after eating dinner you find you are still ravenous, have another serving of lean protein or vegetables.

Starchy vegetables (which count as carbohydrates) include peas, corn, beans and potatoes. There are many non-starchy vegetables to choose from, onions, and mushrooms, tomatoes, including spinach, carrots, broccoli, red/green/yellow/orange bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, green beans, asparagus, lettuce, eggplant and squash.

Carbohydrates (carbs) are contained in many foods and drinks, but the good kinds to eat contain nutrients in addition to carbs. The best carbs to choose include beans, fresh or unsweetened frozen fruit, skim or 1-percent milk, plain oatmeal or cream of wheat, plain or light yogurt, pasta, rice, barley, quinoa, bread, bran cereals, soy crisps, 94-percent fat-free popcorn, pita bread and small tortillas. The main thing to keep in mind is that eating the "good" foods listed above leaves small room left for the "bad" ones.