A Healthy Breakfast: Not An Impossible Mission

 

A Healthy Breakfast: Not An Impossible Mission

Word Count:
541

Summary:
It's a trite but true refrain that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For most of us, it's been about 12 hours since our last meal and our bodies need a good refueling. Yet, statistics show that as many at 50% of us don't eat breakfast.

We're too busy. We don't like breakfast foods. We're not hungry. We're trying to lose weight.

Sad to say, none of those reasons are valid. There are many healthy breakfasts that can either be bought or made that are fast an...

Keywords:
breakfast,nutrition,healthy eating,health,healthy cooking

Article Body:
It's a trite but true refrain that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For most of us, it's been about 12 hours since our last meal and our bodies need a good refueling. Yet, statistics show that as many at 50% of us don't eat breakfast.

We're too busy. We don't like breakfast foods. We're not hungry. We're trying to lose weight.

Sad to say, none of those reasons are valid. There are many healthy breakfasts that can either be bought or made that are fast and even portable. There's no law that says you have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast. You legitimately might not feel hungry in the morning, particularly if you aren't accustomed to eating breakfast. But you should eat something, even if you make a fairly light choice, like fruit and yogurt. Trying to lose weight is the worst excuse of all. Study after study shows that people who skip breakfast end up eating more the rest of the day than people who eat a solid breakfast every morning.

So how do you get the magical mix of the right nutrients that will give you energy and send you healthfully into your day?

It's not that hard, really. Spend a little bit of time thinking about what you like and then plan some healthy breakfasts. Here are some ideas to get you started:

* If you need something portable, the ever-popular smoothie is a good choice. Be careful when you purchase a smoothie at a shop, however, as some can have as many as 600 calories. You can purchase a good blender or smoothie maker to have at home and whip up your own smoothie in less time than it takes to stop at a smoothie store, and you'll know exactly what's in it.

* For an even faster breakfast, try making some breakfast burritos and keeping them in the freezer. You can use regular or whole-wheat tortillas, scrambled eggs (either whole, all whites, a mix, or an egg product), some veggies like peppers and onions, and soy sausage. These freeze beautifully. Pull one out, and while you're pouring your coffee, it can be heating in the microwave. Add a banana or apple for on-the-go dining.

* Cereal is a fine breakfast, as long as it's not the only thing you eat. Consider adding some banana or blueberries on top, or fixing it with soy milk for a healthy dairy addition. Otherwise, stick to skim milk.

* If you don't like breakfast, consider making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread. Grab a banana on the way out the door. Have some leftover vegetarian pizza from dinner? That's a fine breakfast, though you will want to add a glass of milk or some fruit to round it out.

* Trying to lose weight? Breakfast might be the easiest meal to fill up without using a lot of calories or fat. Have oatmeal with soy milk, or a high-fiber cold cereal. Consider a homemade version of a fast-food sandwich. You can fry up an egg, add a slice of Canadian bacon and put the two into a toasted English muffin for a 200-calorie, filling breakfast.

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A Hymn to Baked Potatoes

 

A Hymn to Baked Potatoes

Word Count:
396

Summary:
What better on a cold winter's night, than to come home to a supper of crisp-skinned baked potato, piping hot, a knob of butter soaking into the fluffy centre. Perfect for days when you get home in good time but have a million things to do and cooking supper is last on the list.

Keywords:
baked potatoes, jacket potatoes, winter meals, nutritious meals, supper

Article Body:
What better on a cold winter's night, than to come home to a supper of crisp-skinned baked potato, piping hot, a knob of butter soaking into the fluffy centre. Perfect for days when you get home in good time but have a million things to do and cooking supper is last on the list. All you have to do is get the oven hot (200C), fling them in, (with a cross scored on the top, so they don't burst and coat your oven with an irremovable patina of flaked potato) and leave them there for at least an hour, better an hour and a half. You can get on with everything else, secure in the knowledge that supper is cooking without you and then put together a few fillings at the last minute.

One of  my favourite toppings is tuna. Just open the tin, drain, season with salt and pepper and some lemon juice (feel free to add mayonnaise if you like it but we don't). Other hassle-free accompaniments are baked beans, grated cheese, left-over juices from last night's stew. Any of these makes a tasty, nutritious meal with no fuss and best of all, one that most kids will eat...an enormous plus point for mothers everywhere.

A microwave hastens the process but leaves you with thin skinned potatoes that might do as an accompaniment to something else but lose the crisp appeal of the true oven baked article. If you are in a hurry, cook pasta instead and save your jacket or baked potatoes for a day when you remember to switch the oven on in time.

A variation to try with smaller potatoes: after washing, drying and scoring the potatoes, rub the skins with a little butter, then season with salt and pepper before baking to give you extra crispy, tasty skins that everyone will eat.

Another thing to try if you want to get fancy: once the potatoes are cooked, halve them, scoop out the insides, mix with a beaten egg, grated cheese, salt and pepper, heap the mixture back into the skins and return to the oven for another 15 minutes until the tops are golden brown. A meal in itself!

Cheap, filling, nutritious with the right toppings and needing the minimum investment of labour, the baked potato is every busy mother's ideal supper!

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Brazilian Cuisine

 

Brazilian Cuisine

Word Count:
509

Summary:
It began as most 'ethnic food movements' do – with small restaurants in the neighborhoods where immigrants settled, diners and lunchrooms and tea rooms opened by those who wanted to offer a taste of home to their fellow émigrés. Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai – from family run bistros, the cuisine spread as those outside the cultures of the 'neighborhood' learned of the good food and the word spread. The latest 'new cuisine' that is spreading like wildfire is Brazilia...

Keywords:
brazilian cuisine

Article Body:
It began as most 'ethnic food movements' do – with small restaurants in the neighborhoods where immigrants settled, diners and lunchrooms and tea rooms opened by those who wanted to offer a taste of home to their fellow émigrés. Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai – from family run bistros, the cuisine spread as those outside the cultures of the 'neighborhood' learned of the good food and the word spread. The latest 'new cuisine' that is spreading like wildfire is Brazilian – a delicious blending of three separate cultures that comes together in dishes and delicacies that aren't found anywhere else in the world.

To understand the cuisine of Brazil, one must understand a little of its history. The base of Brazilian cuisine is in its native roots – the foods that sustained the native Brazilians – cassava, yams, fish and meat – but it bears the stamp of two other peoples as well: the Portuguese who came to conquer and stayed, and the African slaves that they brought with them to work the sugar plantations. Brazilian cuisine today is a seamless amalgam of the three influences that interweave in a unique and totally Brazilian style.

The staples of the Brazilian diet are root vegetables, seafood and meat. Manioc, derived from cassava root, is the 'flour' of the region, and is eaten in one form or another at nearly every meal. The bitter cassava root is poisonous in its raw state, but when prepared properly, the cassava root yields farinha and tapioca, bases for many dishes of the region. The Portuguese influence shows in the rich, sweet egg breads that are served at nearly every meal, and in the seafood dishes that blend 'fruits de mer' with coconut and other native fruits and vegetables. The national dish, bobo de camarao is one of these, a delicious mingling of fresh shrimp in a puree of dried shrimp, manioc (cassava) meal, coconut milk and nuts, flavored with a palm oil called dende.

It is the African influence that is most felt, though – as is to be expected of the people who worked in the kitchens. Pineapple and coconut milk, shredded coconut and palm hearts worked their way into everyday dishes, flavoring meat, shrimp, fish, vegetables and bread. Brazilian food, unlike the cuisines of many of the surrounding countries, favors the sweet rather than the hot, and more than any other South American cuisine, it carries the savor of tropical island breezes rather than the hot wind of the desert.

The most common ingredients in Brazilian cuisine are cassava, coconut, dende, black beans and rice. Bacalao – salt cod – features in many dishes derived from the Portuguese, but flavored with typical Brazilian insouciance with coconut cream and pistachio nuts it becomes an entirely different food. It is typical of the Brazilian attitude toward food – an expression of a warm and open people to whom feeding and sharing food is the basis of hospitality. Brazilian cuisine is like its people – all are welcome, all are welcomed and all make their mark – without ever overwhelming the contributions of the other.

 

Bread made easy

 

Bread made easy

Word Count:
307

Summary:
Breadmakers are rather strange things

Keywords:
bread,dough,breadmaker

Article Body:
Breadmakers are rather strange things. They're surprisingly big kitchen appliances with only one use: they bake bread. Now, baking bread isn't really that hard, but breadmakers claim to make it so super-easy that you can eat freshly-baked bread every day for the rest of your life. Much like those machines that make you orange juice every day from fresh oranges, however, the necessity of this is debatable.

To use a breadmaker, all you need to do is add the ingredients of bread (flour, milk, yeast and so on) and turn it on – you can even get special 'bread mix' to use if fresh ingredients are too much trouble for you. The machine will make dough from your ingredients and then bake it into a loaf of bread. The bread typically tastes quite good, but won't last very long because of the lack of preservatives.

Where breadmakers really get interesting is not when they are making normal, store-style bread, but when you decide to get creative with them. Because they make bread so quickly, they make it much more convenient to experiment with strange ingredients that might just turn out great. You can make bread with your favourite cheese in it, for example, or chocolate, or some kind of herbs and spices that you like. There are many websites on the Internet devoted entirely to sharing interesting breadmaker recipes, and many new kinds of bread have been discovered through this experimentation that would never have been found otherwise.

Basically, if you just want bread, you're probably better off buying it from a shop. If you want unusual, customised experiments in bread, however, then breadmakers aren't very expensive, and getting one could be a good choice for you. The only thing to worry about, really, is where on earth to put the bulky things.

 

Decorating Xmas Trees With Cookies and Candy

 

Decorating Xmas Trees With Cookies and Candy

Word Count:
981

Summary:
Decorating xmas trees with cookies and candy is a great way to give your tree that personal touch. It is creative and the results can be astounding in terms of their creative impact.  Decorating an artificial tree with baked goods is one way to make it look more homey and real. A slim christmas tree really looks great with decorations made out of slim wrapped candies.

Keywords:
decorating xmas trees, slim christmas tree

Article Body:
Decorating xmas trees with cookies and candy is a great way to give your tree that personal touch. It is creative and the results can be astounding in terms of their creative impact.  Decorating an artificial tree with baked goods is one way to make it look more homey and real. A slim christmas tree really looks great with decorations made out of slim wrapped candies. The snowy color of shortbread confections also plays off nicely against any color of tree including the artificial white christmas tree. 

Decorating xmas trees with food goes back to the times before Christ was born. Offerings of food were often placed along sills and windows to feed the good spirits and protect from the evil ones.  The first christmas trees were in fact imitations of the pyramid shape of real conifers.  The custom of placing pickles and other foods on the steps of cedar pyramids of wood that were hand constructed was very common in Germany before the 16th century. It wasn't until Martin Luther came along and presented the upright tree that was brought indoors and lit with candles that we became familiar with the Christmas tree that we know today.

Using food as adornments on evergreen boughs is a time-honored tradition. Perhaps the strangest one is the German custom of hanging pickles on the tree. Today you can buy German ornaments made of glass that feature pickle cartoon characters wearing tiny Santa hats.  Decorating xmas trees with shortbread and ginger bread men is also a tradition that came out of Germanic and Slavic cultures. Of course today you can buy all kinds of different cookie cutters that certainly pique one's creativity when it comes to making edible xmas decorations. Popular cookie cutter shapes are Christmas stockings, Santa, reindeer, presents and stars. However you could also decorate your tree with shortbread or gingerbread cut into any shape you like.

There are some really interesting novelty cookie cutters on the market including ones shaped like nativity scenes. One nice idea might be to decorate your tree with heart shaped cookies. You could also make one very large angel, decorate it with edible gold and glitter and use it as a tree topper.

Decorating xmas trees with candies can be even more fun. You can hang single candies from a tree - such as lollipops and foil wrapped chocolates. Toffees wrapped in foil look especially nice on a tall slim christmas tree.  Candies can also be glued together in sunburst shapes to make interesting decorations or even strung together to make a long, shiny and delicious garland.

It is also very easy to make xmas tree decorations using pins and Styrofoam balls or backing. Simply spray the Styrofoam balls with green gold or silver and pin the candies so that they cover the surface of the ball.  A similar idea comes from Martha Stewart who does the same with gumdrops and miniature marshmallows.  You could also use candied fruit. In fact one age old xmas decoration is the oranges that is stuck with cloves and hung from the tree. In theory you could also use oranges as the base for any type of home made
candy ornament.

One idea is to create a tree topper for your xmas tree using peppermint candy canes. This involves gluing them onto a round Styrofoam ball so that they radiate from the center in the circle. The same thing can be done with gumdrops on toothpicks and lollipops.

By the way, the candy cane is one of the most potent of Christmas symbols and it is actually a symbol of Jesus. A candy maker invented them in Indiana in the late 1800's. He came up with the idea of bending a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. The three small stripes to symbolize the pain Christ on the cross. The reason there are three is because they represent the Holy Trinity. The one bold stripe represents the blood of Jesus. Right side up it looks like a
shepherd's staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. Upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name. 

So candy canes are more than just pretty confections. They have quite a serious meaning.  When it comes to decorating xmas trees, one cannot say enough about popcorn. Popcorn is one of the most versatile of xmas tree decorations. Most traditional is the xmas tree garland that is strung with the popped kernels.  Popcorn balls that are dyed with food coloring also make very attractive christmas tree decorations. Left white, however, these popcorn balls look like snowballs hanging on your tree.

Christmas tree garlands can also be made out of any kind of berries.  Cranberries and holly berries (not edible!) make especially nice garlands because of their festive red color.

Some years, cereal companies also put out cereal in Christmas colors such as red and green. These types of cereals can also be made into shapes using a Rice Krispy Square recipe and hung by a thread.

Another unique idea is to decorate your christmas tree with homemade candy apples. These bright glossy red treats look absolutely fantastic, especially on a white or green tree. A nice compliment to the color of the candy apples would be gold chocolate coins or foil covered chocolates in the shape of Santa also strung on the tree.  A starburst of candy apples would make a stunning tree topper for a slim christmas tree.

When decorating xmas trees with candy and baked goods remember that our success is only as limited as your imagination. If you are stuck for ideas, Martha Stewart's cookbooks are an excellent source of inspiration. You can also get great ideas on the Internet and by searching traditional xmas tree sites to get ideas about how these decorations are supposed to look.

Add Tropical Flavor To Sunday Brunch

 

Add Tropical Flavor To Sunday Brunch

Word Count:
287

Summary:
There are some mornings when savoring the warm gooey goodness of a sticky bun provides an escape from routine. What better way to give this American classic fresh new flavors than adding the tropical tones of mangos and macadamia nuts.

Keywords:
Add Tropical Flavor To Sunday Brunch

Article Body:
There are some mornings when savoring the warm gooey goodness of a sticky bun provides an escape from routine. What better way to give this American classic fresh new flavors than adding the tropical tones of mangos and macadamia nuts.

The world's most popular fruit, mangos' naturally sweet and lively flavors make them incredibly versatile and complement everything from breakfast to lunch. Because of their year-round availability, mangos are perfect for any occasion.

Looking for an easy yet irresistible treat for your next brunch? Try these mouth watering Mango Macadamia Caramel Rolls.

Mango Macadamia

Caramel Rolls

11/4 cups brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup softened butter, divided

1 large, ripe mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed

Stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice in a small bowl. Place 1 cup mixture in a medium saucepan with 6 tablespoons butter. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in mango and cook for a few minutes more until brown sugar is dissolved. Spread in the bottom of a 13 X 9-inch baking pan and sprinkle with nuts; set aside. Roll thawed dough into a 12 X 12-inch square on a lightly floured board and spread with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Spread remaining brown sugar mixture over butter and press into dough. Roll up tightly and pinch seams to seal. Cut dough into 1-inch slices. Place in prepared baking dish; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Makes 12 rolls.

Make ahead tip: Cover uncooked rolls and place in the refrigerator overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

 

Almond, Almonds Everywhere

 

Almond, Almonds Everywhere

Word Count:
332

Summary:
More people are calling almonds their favorite nut--and they are putting their almonds where their mouths are.

Keywords:
Almond, Almonds Everywhere

Article Body:
More people are calling almonds their favorite nut-and they are putting their almonds where their mouths are. Over the past six years, American almond consumption has increased by 11 percent per year.

From roasted and seasoned almonds in creative, portable packaging to almond granola bars, energy bars and breakfast bars to entrees and vegetable dishes, almonds are found in a variety of new food products.

One reason for their popularity may be their health benefits. Studies have shown that almonds as part of a balanced eating plan can lower LDL, or "bad," cholesterol and can help promote a healthy weight. In addition, almonds are packed with the antioxidant vitamin E, magnesium, protein and fiber. They also contain calcium. So, it's no coincidence almonds have become a favorite ingredient and the healthy snack of choice.

Quinoa Salad with Almonds, Feta and Summer Vegetables

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

3 ounces cubed feta cheese

1/2 cup sliced almonds, roasted*

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced

2 scallions, diced

Basil-Chive Vinaigrette

(recipe below)

Instructions:

Place quinoa in a medium pot and rinse with water. Strain out water; add broth and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool and toss gently with feta, almonds, vegetables and vinaigrette. Serve.

Basil-Chive Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Combine vinegar and lime juice in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil until mixture is smooth and uniform. Stir in chives and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*To roast sliced almonds, spread in an ungreased baking pan. Place in a 350ºF oven and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant; stir once or twice to ensure even browning. Note that almonds will continue to roast slightly after removing from oven.