Learn the Various Uses of Olive Oil

Olive oil happens to be a significant ingredient in the Mediterranean diet as it is rich in antioxidants. The chief fat that it comprises happens to be monounsaturated fatty acids or MUFAs ad it is considered a healthful fat. People prefer olive oil because of its antioxidants that help in protecting the body from cellular damage which can result in many diseases and health conditions. Among many kinds of olive oil, extra virgin olive oil possesses a bitter flavor though it comprises more antioxidants compared to other types. This happens as it undergoes only some processing.

Olive oil is used in preparing cosmetics, soaps, and medicine, and people hugely use it for their cooking purposes. Again, it is used in the form of fuel too for lighting traditional lamps. Commonly, olive oil originated from the Mediterranean through today, it has become highly popular throughout the world. When people diet, they preserve olives in salted water or olive oil and they eat them chopped or as a whole. Again, olives are also included in pizzas as well as various other dishes.

Besides, people prefer to use oil olive in the form of a dip for drizzling on pasta, a dip for bread, salad dressing, or in cooking. A few people consume it for their medicinal purposes too.
Benefits of Olive Oil
Olive oil is filled with hydrating squalene and anti-aging antioxidants and olive hair oil are pretty popular with people. Again, people also use olive oil for face, nails, and skin. Similar to coconut oil, olive oil happens to be vital in just any do-it-yourself kit of beauty mavens.

• Pre-shampoo Hair Treatment – Since Egyptian times, olive oil is used in the form of hair treatment. People apply this oil before shampooing it out.
• Lip Scrub – You can mix coarse sugar with olive oil for fixing your chapped lips. Again, if you wish, you can add some lemon juice too which will act as an added flavor. However, you can eat this scrub too!
• Eye Make-up Remover – Olive oil turns into a superb pre-cleansing step for removing stubborn make-up of your eyes and you can follow it with a pH-balanced face wash and warm water.
• Ear-wax Remedy – When you have got ear-wax buildup, then you can use olive oil for flushing out the clogs. When you put some drops in your ears before you retire to bed, then it will help in loosening excess wax.
• Eczema Remedy – The most widespread and best use of olive oil is in the form of an intense moisturizer. It works best for treating extra-dry skin. As it happens to be natural, people choose it for eczema.
• Treatment for Diaper-rash – Only some products turn out to be safe for adults as well as babies and one among them is olive oil. This oil can be used in the form of a moisturizing remedy for your baby.

Olive oil skin care is gaining more and more popularity with passing time and so, people have been shifting their attention to natural products that do not result in negative side effects.

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Low-Calorie Olive Oil Recipes for the Workaholics

We are all guilty of resorting to unhealthy food choices due to the work pressure and stressful hours at the office. However, continuous indulgence in such food options can bring about a lot of health disorders with time. Therefore, it is high time that we understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and start adopting one in our daily life.

Healthy choices need not always be tasteless and difficult ones. Just change your cooking oil to olive oil and see the changes yourself. Cooking oil happens to be one of the main ingredients of your staple food. We might not consume it directly with every dish, but it is the one which is mainly used in the preparation of the dish.

In case you struggle with finding time for preparing your food, here are a few healthy recipes for your reference:

• Omelette - Eggs are the rich sources of protein and are quite easy to prepare, even in your tight schedule. Be it a breakfast choice or a lunch; omelettes are easy to make the mouth-watering recipe. To make it healthier, replace the oil for frying the omelette with olive oil. Chop some veggies like tomato, onions, capsicum, etc. along with the minced chicken to stuff a nice filling in the omelette. Not only would it provide you with essential nutrients, but it would also be a fulfilling snack for your breakfast.
• Chilla - One of the most popular low calorie recipes is the chilla, which is low in calorie content and a rich source of protein. Make a thick batter combining split yellow gram flour along with ginger, garlic, asafoetida, water, salt, and sugar. Along with this batter, add in a little olive oil to maintain the consistency of the batter. You can also use the olive oil to fry the pancakes and top it with toppings of your choice. Serve it with pudina chatni or low-fat curd. 
• Pasta - This reference is for those who thought that pasta could not make to the list of healthy food choices. The ingredients are the ones that make a dish healthy or unhealthy for us. Hence, if you prepare your pasta with olive oil along with healthy vegetables and chicken, then it no longer remains an unhealthy option for you.
• Kebabs - No need to buy unhealthy kebabs from outside food joints anymore as you can make it easily at home. Choose olive oil as the best oil for cooking and prepare the juicy healthy kebabs for dinner today. Prepare the kebab filling with chickpeas, cloves, pepper, black lentil, cinnamon, sugar, salt, ginger, garlic, refined flour, and olive oil. Coat them in the previously prepared batter and deep fry them in the olive oil. Your healthy and tasty kebabs are ready for your dinner.
• Chocolate Cake - Baking is no longer a difficult task as you can now bake your favourite chocolate cake within two minutes. Mix in all the necessary ingredients and replace the butter with olive oil to make it a little healthy for yourself. Give it a thorough mix and microwave it for two minutes. Carefully remove it and enjoy your ready-to-go chocolate cake without wasting any extra time.

If this blog has forced you to get a new bottle of olive oil for your kitchen, then get the finest quality olive oil from Leonardo Olive Oil. It is a reputed company that sells the best olive oil and other variants within a reasonable price range in the market. Pay a visit to their website to know more about their products along with some lip-smacking olive oil recipes.

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How Using Olive Oil in Cooking helps avoiding Health Problems

Choosing a cholesterol free oil for cooking is one of the many advices that come to a person facing health problems related to over-weight and heart. Olive oil fits the bill for such people in variety of ways. It is considered one of the healthiest mediums for cooking food because it makes the diet packed with anti-oxidants good for fighting all sorts of infections. It is quite non-sticky when heated properly and thus, is considered a good choice for cooking foods for the heart patients.

Some of the most notable olive oil benefits are:
High Oxidative Stability and Smoke Point: One of the most unnoticed cause of cancer is the oil that is heated in kitchen. The oils with low smoke point develop carcinogenic substances when they are heated too much. Its fumes can be harmful to lungs. Olive oil has high smoke point, and thus, it stays stable at high temperatures. Also, the olive oil does not react to the oxygen easily. Thus, it does not convert into harmful peroxides when used for cooking.

Rich in Monounsaturated Fatty Acids: Olive oil is found to have about 73% monounsaturated fatty acids in their chemical make-up. These are the beneficial fatty acids which are good for heart. These help fight the agents in the body responsible for causing infections too. Since the oil is not very sticky in nature, it controls the cholesterol build-up too, which is responsible for the clogged arteries. Thus, olive oil brings lot of health through the food that one eats on a regular basis.

Rich in Vitamins and Minerals: Olive oil should preferably be used in moderately heated form. The moderate heating does not interfere with the vitamin and minerals content of the oil. Use of olive oil as salad dressings, or as a mixing medium for spices before baking this can provide more benefits. The oil retains its anti-oxidative properties and strengthens the body against all types of health issues. The people using olive oil for cooking, in addition to other good habits like exercising regularly or sleeping well, do not fall prey to the heart diseases till very late in life.

Anti-inflammatory Properties: Inflammation is one of the prime signs that any infected body shows. Instead of relying heavily on the anti-inflammatory medicines, it is better to make changes in the food we eat. Olive oil is found to be rich in anti-inflammatory ingredients. The anti-inflammatory capabilities of olive oil make it a good medium for cooking in order to gain more protection against infectious diseases.

Helps Lose Weight: Being over-weight is one of the prime reasons that cause various other diseases of heart and nervous system. Lot of gain in weight is attributed to the use of fatty foods. The olive oil not so rich in bad fatty acids offer good cooking medium for the people prone to weight gain. Since it does not get deposited like polysaturated fats, the oil helps in preparing low fat diet for the people trying to lose weight.

So, switch to Leonardo olive oil, if you want to look your best and feel healthier and stronger. It can certainly help in improving the health overall.

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Pomace Oil is One of the most Popular Grades of Olive Oil

The use of olive oil is not just restricted in the Mediterranean regions, Europe, or America. Its use could also be found in India too. It is now a proven fact that olive oil is the healthiest cooking oil that not only makes your plates delicious but also takes care of your heart and health. There some exclusive ingredients including Vitamins E and K, minerals, and good cholesterol that make this oil the "king" of all cooking oils. Olive oil is available in different grades in the market and pomace oil is one such version.

Different grades of Olive Oil
Olive oil is available in several grades. Depending on the processing of olive fruits these different grades are created:

• Extra virgin – These are considered the best grade of olive oil available across the globe. In extracting and marketing extra virgin, producers use minimum possible chemicals or in certain cases no chemicals except some permitted preservatives.
• Virgin – This is a close variation of extra virgin quality but very popular grade of olive oil in India. Its processing is almost same as extra virgin but not as pure as that grade of olive oil.
• General quality olive oil – Some olive oils are produced right after the first pressing of fruits. Different permitted chemicals are used at the time of processing.
• Pomace olive oil – This grade of olive oil is obtained from the last few pressing of the fruits when the fruits turned to pulp. The process is called solvent extraction that removes last drops of oil that still remains present in the pulp. Olive pomace oil is also quite popular in India.

Pomace Oil is One of the Popular Versions of Olive Oil
In general olive oil is a bit expensive in comparison to traditional cooking oils used in India like mustard oil or sunflower oil. Pomace oil is the cheapest grade of olive oil. So, people who cannot afford rather an expensive virgin or extra virgin olive oil can opt for pomace oil that gives them the taste and flavour of olive oil.

Some Advantages of Pomace Oil are as Follows:

• Though not developed from the first few presses, it is still another version of olive oil and extracted directly from the olive tree fruits.
• Users get many benefits of olive that they get in an extra virgin or virgin. In fact, the bad cholesterol level in pomace is as low as any other grade of olive oils.
• This is the refined version of olive oil which means no bad effects of any chemicals could be traced in this oil. As such, many hotels and restaurants are now using this oil replacing soybean oil for giving more taste to food items.
• It is a non-GMO and gluten-free food article that means there is no genetically modified ingredient and gluten in this oil. So, people who want non-GMO and gluten-free food articles can use this cooking oil.

Olive oil is fast replacing conventional cooking oils that Indians are using for so many years. It is the olive pomace oil that giving millions of Indians the taste and goodness of olive without going for other expensive grades.

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Few Healthy Olive Oil Recipes For The Beginners

Stress and work pressure every day leaves our body deprived of rest and proper nutrition. As a result, we develop several kinds of diseases over the period. A small change in our eating habits can do wonders for our bodies. Hence, a healthy lifestyle is very important to keep our body fit and fine.
But, healthy recipes aren’t always boring and unpalatable. You can make your version of tasty and delicious healthy foods using olive oils with the correct recipes. Just changing your regular cooking oil to a low-cholesterol one can bring about many constructive changes in your health. Cooking oils like olive oils can be a positive addition to your kitchen for a healthy life ahead.

Olive oil is the best oil for cooking as it helps to decrease several health disorders in the body. It is also beneficial in maintaining a healthy body weight if taken regularly. There are many easy food recipes where you can use olive oil to make them fit. 

Few such low-calorie recipes are:

Salads
You can make a healthy chicken or a vegetarian salad with olive oil. As olive oil does not have any flavour of its own, hence it only increases the nutritional value of the dish. You can sauté the vegetables in olive oil and mix them according to your preferences. If you want to get some raw vegetables, then drizzle some olive oil and give it a thorough mix. This way, you can have a tasty salad devoid of any calorific oil.

Focaccia Bread
Focaccia bread is a popular Italian food item. Although it is very popular among people, yet many health-conscious people stop consuming bread due to the fat content. However, you can make your own healthy version of this bread by using olive oil and beneficial herbs. Mix the flour dough with a small amount of olive oil, yeast, salt, and sugar. Allow it to bake and season it with some fresh herbs and onions. Your perfect healthy focaccia bread is ready!

Rolls with Roasted Vegetables
Many people love having rolls because of its tangy taste and flavours. However, since the rolls are cooked in oils, hence the fitness freaks often limit themselves from having them. But not anymore as now you can have tasty and healthy rolls made with olive oils. Roast the vegetables in a small amount of olive oil in a pan. Mix them well with the spices and keep aside. You can also fry the roti in a little amount of olive oil and fill up with the vegetables. Your healthy roll with sautéed vegetables is ready!

Cake Recipes
Whenever we hear about cakes, we only think about calories. But you can also make healthy and easy cakes with olive oils. Just replace the butter or your regular oil with olive oil in your baking recipe. You can follow the normal recipe along with this substitution. The cake doesn’t lose its fluffiness due to the use of olive oil in the recipe. Rather the cakes are much softer and healthier than the usual cakes made with butter.

You can also make your olive oil recipes according to your preferences. You do not need to follow any particular way to make these food items. Instead, you can browse through different healthy recipes of reliable company websites like Leonardo Olive Oil. This is a renowned company that sells exquisite varieties of olive oil and also provides ample information on healthy food recipes.

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Olive Oil is a Panacea to lot many Pains

If you are searching for certain products that can be used in multiple ways, olive oil products meet the criteria most perfectly. Olive oil sees the best use in our lives right from the early age when the mothers apply it on their babies as massage oil. Other olive oil uses that help in making life easier are:

1. As cooking oil: Olive oil is a healthy ingredient. It is best used as cooking base for preparing dishes. People suffering from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, blood sugar, and weight issues are advised to change the cooking oil to this oil. Thus, this oil is proving to be a storehouse of health in kitchen because of its anti-oxidant rich composition.
2. Baby massage oil: Baby care products’ list is incomplete without the inclusion of olive oil products in India. The oil is said to be of hot nature and is an ideal substitute for mustard oil which many people are usually allergic to. The olive oil offers multiple benefits to babies like strong joints and supple skin. This oil is ideal massage base for winters and smells good too. Several health issues like congested chest in babies or stomach ache can be relieved by massaging babies with olive oil before putting them to sleep.
3. An amazing beauty care product: A beauty care regime of those people who have almost nil time for self-care can depend upon olive oil. This oil is used in a variety of ways to help women take care of their skin and hair. Some of the uses of olive oil for maintaining beauty are:
   
   • An olive oil face pack: you can make a face pack comprising of left over avocados crushed coarsely and mixed with olive oil. Leaving this pack on skin for about 15 minutes give rejuvenated glow.
   • A solution for chapped lips: Combine olive oil with lemon juice about 1 tsp and 1 tsp sugar and apply it on lips. This solution works great for soothing the lips.
   • As an instant moisturizer and dead nail cuticle remover: You can apply olive oil on nail beds while cooking with it. Its resting on the bed for sometime softens the cuticles which become easier to remove. When you have just taken a shower or waxed the limbs, or face, you can massage the face slowly with olive oil. This softens the skin instantly.

As an after shave lotion substitute: Olive oil is useful for men too. If their supply of after shave lotion is running out, they can switch to olive oil as a substitute. Chances are quite brighter of their sticking to this alternative thenceforth.
A reliable hair care product: Olive oil offers reliable product for hair care. You can use this oil while massaging the hair or preparing a hair mask. It helps in detangling the hair and also keeps the mane soft, strong and problem-free.

So, these are some of the amazing uses of the best olive oil in India that you must know about. Once you use it for the purposes mentioned above, the results will make you go for it again, for sure!

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Olive Oil Benefits For Hair, Skin and Face

Olive oil has been used as a beauty ailment since time immemorial though it is in the past decade or so that the beauty and health benefits of olive oil have become popular again. Packed even in its raw form with anti-oxidants and other anti-ageing factors along with the hydrating squalene, it makes for a wonderful ingredient in most beauty packs made for the skin, hair and nails.

Olive Oil Benefits to the Skin The benefits of olive oil as they are applied individually in packs or otherwise to the skin are:

• It helps to moisturise the skin, especially during the dry months of winter. In fact this oil is so light that most people who swear by it typically apply it all through the year. This makes their skin feel and look soft and supple.

• With an abundance of Vitamin E present in it, olive oil for face has important benefits in improving the health of the skin like: Treatment of inflammation, Alleviating the problem of acne, Forming a protection against serious diseases like skin cancer and psoriasis etc.

• Olive oil can also be used as a make-up remover especially by people who have skin which is sensitive and erupts into rashes or blisters on application of non-organic beauty products.

• The anti-ageing properties of olive oil have been known to women since the time of Cleopatra. These beneficial properties not only prevent the skin from sagging and developing wrinkles, but also help tighten the skin and give it a youthful glow. In fact extra virgin olive oil, though costly, is the best olive oil for skin and also needs to be used in very minute quantities.

• When used in a pack as a lip scrub, it imparts a rosy glow to the lips and also makes them feel very soft and moist.

• Cracked heels are a consistent problem especially in the dry winter months. Olive oil with its abundant Vitamin E makes for an excellent exfoliating agent thereby ridding the feet of unwanted and dead cells. It is also an excellent moisturising agent which helps smoothen the skin in the feet.

Olive Oil Hair Benefits
Having thick long hair no longer remains a dream with the regular application of olive oil on the hair. Again the vitamin E present in olive hair oil, when combined with other natural ingredients like coconut oil, honey, etc., help keep the hair healthy by:

• Preventing loss of hair and
• Keeping it moisturised.

The presence of certain micro-nutrients like Zinc, Magnesium, Calcium, Sulphur etc., also help to aid the process of hair re-growth.

Olive Oil for Nails
Nails are the first things that most people notice and hence they need to be kept healthy and looking shiny and strong. Not taking care of the nails can result in their becoming brittle, thereby breaking off very fast, dull and lifeless. Regular olive oil use especially by dabbing onto the nails, letting it stay for some time and then washing off, can make quite a difference in its appearance.

Beauty needs to be nurtured so that it keeps making one look and feel beautiful. Olive oil with its numerous benefits is the one-stop solution for almost all superficial problems associated with nails, hair and skin.

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