Lobster Ravioli Recipe

Lobster is a wonderful seafood and although still quite pricey, has become more readily available in recent years. Although you can buy them ready cooked, it is best to get a live lobster and cook it yourself. If you are at all worried about killing a live lobster, the best way is to put it into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours or so. This will make the lobster unconscious and you can then put it straight into boiling water to cook. It will know nothing! For many recipes, such as a lobster ravioli recipe, you will be starting off with a lobster which has been blanched in boiling water for a minute and then had the meat removed.

If you are looking for a lobster ravioli recipe, you will probably find that you are spoilt for choice. Although the basic lobster and ravioli ingredients will remain constant, everything else will probably vary. This is due to the fact that it is not a definitive traditional recipe and each chef has come up with his own version. The sauce that is served will range from a crabmeat sauce to a vanilla butter sauce, depending on whose recipe book you are looking at.

Often a lobster ravioli recipe will include some other main ingredient in the mix. These could include minced mushrooms, ricotta cheese or perhaps another seafood such as crabmeat, langoustine or shrimps. There really does seem to be an endless list of varieties. As lobster is a fairly expensive meat, it is a good idea to use another ingredient alongside it to fill it out. This is not to say that the other ingredient will not add to the flavour and you should chose something that will work well with the lobster and compliment the flavour rather than something bland just to make the fish go further.

Another variable in the dish will be the sauce. A traditional ravioli will probably be served with a tomato based sauce and in the some cases this has been adopted in the lobster ravioli recipe. Other recipes, however, are more exotic and they may use a crabmeat sauce. This is good if you are using crab as the extra ingredient in your parcels. One recipe uses a shellfish bisque as a sauce. Making a bisque is quite a complex process and requires quite a lot of time and attention but the finished result is a lovely sauce for ravioli and not at all like the thick tomato sauce that we are used to with the better known dish.

Any lobster ravioli recipe is going to be quite tricky and time consuming. You will have to blanche the lobster and make the pasta. Then prepare the filling. Make the parcels and cook them at the same time as making the sauce. All in all there are quite a lot of steps to reach the end result. However, some things are worth both waiting for and working to achieve... lobster ravioli is just one of those things.

Winter Festivals In Japan: Things To Do When The Snow Piles Up

When you think of snowy winter festivals, Japan probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. You probably imagine Scandinavia or Canada. But, if you're interested in snow and ice sculptures, you probably know that Japan boasts some of the world's most interesting and unique winter festivals. In the winter in Japan, up in the snowy north, there are winter festivals every year that draw great crowds and offer lots of attractions for everybody.

The big one is the Sapporo Snow Festival, also called "Yuki Matsuri." It is held every year in February on Japan's snow covered northern island, Hokkaido. The Sapporo Snow Festival was the first of its kind held in Japan, and it is still the biggest.

Every year, 2 million snow lovers flock to Sapporo, the biggest city in Hokkaido, to enjoy the Snow Festival in the first 2 weeks of February. At the Festival, there are hundreds of snow sculptures made by artists from all over the world. Some are a couple of building stories high and weigh tons. There are ice sculptures too, and ice bars where you can go inside and have a frosty beer.

The Sapporo Snow Festival was starting in the 1950's by a group of high school kids. Bored and shut-in by the harsh winter, they began to have competetion making snow sculptures. Every year, more kids joined in, and now the festival draws snow artists from 15 different countries.

There are also musical performances, light shows, snow slides and massive snowball fights.

The second biggest city in Hokkaido, Asahikawa, has its own Asahikawa Winter Festival in early February. It's not as big as the Sapporo Snow Festival, but it's good for snow lovers who want a quieter and less crowded winter festival. They have huge ice sculptures and night time illumination. At the Asahikawa Snow Festival, restaurants serve Asahikawa ramen, a type of ramen that is famous all over Japan. The noodles and warm soup are a special winter treat, and visitors from all over Japan go there to taste it.

The northern part of Japan's main island, Honshu, gets dumped on in the winter too. Every major area has its own snow festival. One of the most popular is the Iwate Snow Festival. It's held in the small town of Shizukuishi in early or mid-February. Iwate Snow Festival has giant snow statues, restaurants and bars in igloos, snow slides, and a giant snow maze that's slightly different every year. Iwate is also famous for its yearly fireworks displays, where festival-goers can watch the colors reflect off the snow.

Iwate is a great winter festival for those who want to see a more traditional celebration. The modern snow festival is mixed with traditional yearly festivals that are hundreds of years old. In Iwate, you can see traditional Japanese musicians and dancers perform on floats.

There are snow festivals held all over northern Japan. Even in the smallest villages in Hokkaido, residents have some kind of celebration when the snow piles up. Northern Honshu also has snow festivals in all the major cities. The northern prefectures, like Aomori, are good places to go if you don't want to leave the main island.

If you want a truly unique winter festival experience, northern Japan is a great place to go. Just make sure you're bundled up!

Saffron, Dear Saffron

Dormivit in sacco croci (He has slept in a bed of saffron) is a Latin expression meaning, "He has a very light heart", a reference to the enlivening effect of this most precious of spices. One early writer even warned against ingesting too much saffron lest one should "die of excessive joy!"

Saffron is expensive because it requires up to 400,000 of the orange-red stigmas of the Crocus sativus to make a mere one-kilogram of the spice. Each flower has only three stigmas, which must be handpicked at dawn during a brief two-week blossoming period in late October.

The saffron crocus grows from five to nine inches tall, with long thin leaves and lilac colored flowers. It is a perennial in zones 6-10 and today is cultivated commercially on a large scale only in India and in seven of Spain's 52 provinces. If wintered indoors in a cool place the saffron crocus is easy to grow, even in Canada. It takes about six plants to generate enough stigmas for one recipe. Harvest them early in the morning and dry by simply placing the stigmas on paper towels and storing them in a warm, dry place for a few days until they are brittle. They will keep in a small, sealed glass jar for up to five years.

The flowers of the saffron crocus do not close at night and the stigmas protrude beyond the petals. These features distinguish it from the highly poisonous Colchicum autumnale or Autumn Crocus.

The word saffron is from the Arabic, assfar or zafaran, meaning yellow. The botanical name, sativus, is Latin for cultivated.

Drinking saffron tea will allegedly induce clairvoyance. Also in the magical realm saffron is supposed to be lust provoking and was often added to love sachets. The Roman aristocracy perfumed their homes and baths with it. In Greek myth, the gods wore robes dyed with the spice. The red pigment of the stigmas supposedly developed when Hermes, the messenger god of ancient Greece, felt remorseful after accidentally killing his friend, Crocus. As his blood spilled on to the ground, Hermes turned the drops into the saffron crocus.

Medicinally, saffron has fallen out of favor as cheaper and more effective herbs have become available. During the Middle Ages however, saffron was popular as a treatment for period pain and uterine bleeding and to bring on menstruation. Pregnant women should be wary of ingesting saffron beyond small culinary amounts as in large doses the spice may induce abortion. Saffron has been used to treat indigestion and is still used in Chinese herbal medicine to relieve abdominal pain. Some herbalists do recommend saffron to treat high blood pressure as it contains a blood pressure-lowering agent called crocetin. There is a statistical low incidence of heart disease in Spain, which some people attribute to the nation's high consumption of the spice.

Saffron is used in Arabic, Indian and especially in Mediterranean cuisine. It particularly complements fish and seafood and is an essential ingredient in French bouillabaisse and Spanish paella. It also goes well with mild cheeses, eggs, rice and other meat dishes. Powdered saffron is considerably stronger than saffron threads, but the powdered variety is frequently adulterated, so purists stick to the threads. Whether using the threads or the powder, avoid using too much of the spice as this will result in a medicinal taste. Steep the spice in a little hot water before adding to the food, and then add both the saffron and the water.

To accompany Indian food, try the following Saffron Rice:

· 1 cup Basmati rice

· 2 cups of water

· 1 Tbsp. butter

· ¼ tsp. saffron threads (or one eighth tsp. of powdered saffron)

· 3 inches of broken cinnamon sticks (pieces should be large enough to facilitate easy removal prior to serving)

· 3 whole cloves

· ½ an onion, chopped

· 4 whole cardamom seeds

· ½ tsp. salt (or more to taste)

Pour about 2 Tbsp. of boiling water on the saffron and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a pan and add the cinnamon, cloves and onions. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the rice, water, cardamom, salt, saffron and its water. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for about 25 minutes - about 45 minutes if you use long grain brown rice.

In France, rabbit is often cooked with mustard. Following is a variation of a traditional French rabbit recipe using saffron as the spice with a resultant agreeable color and flavour.

Rabbit with Sherry, Cream & Saffron

· 1 rabbit, cut into six or eight pieces

· ¾ cup of heavy cream

· ¼ cup medium dry sherry

· 1-2 cloves of garlic

· 4 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

· 1 tsp. salt (or more to taste)

· Pinch of cayenne

· ¼ tsp. saffron threads (or 1/8 tsp. saffron powder).

Pour about 2 Tbsp. of boiling water over the saffron in a small dish and allow this to infuse for 10 minutes. Place the rabbit in a reasonably tight fitting, ovenproof, lidded casserole. Place all the other ingredients into a blender - including the saffron and water after infusion - and blend well. Pour over rabbit. Cook in preheated oven at 350F for about 60 minutes until well done. Check for doneness before serving. Rabbit can take a deceivingly long time to cook. Overcooked rabbit done in a sauce is perfectly acceptable. Undercooked rabbit is not. Serve with rice.

Gourmet Food Gift Baskets From the Wine Country of the California Central Coast - Santa Maria Valley

In the Central Coast region of California, gourmet foods and world-class wines abound. You will find a tremendous variety of uniquely delicious foods that are ideal for gift baskets. Anyone who enjoys wine would be delighted to receive one of the many exceptional wines from this area.

On the northern end of Santa Barbara County are the Santa Maria Valley and the city of Santa Maria. This valley has a long history of ranching and agriculture, a part of the economy that now flourishes alongside the burgeoning wine industry. With the ranchers came the Santa Maria Style Barbeque that has become a regional culinary tradition. All along the central coast there is a lively entrepreneurial spirit that has led to the creation of many small artisanal food companies and boutique wineries. The foods are wonderfully varied, and there are many exceptional wines now being produced.

In early California cattle ranching days, America's first cowboys, the colorful vaqueros, held large beef barbecues following every cattle roundup. This was the beginning of the barbequing tradition in the Santa Maria Valley, and it has continued to the present day.

The Hitching Post Restaurant has been a local favorite for many years. It is known for its California-style barbequing, as well as their superior Pinot Noir Wines. Since the movie 'Sideways' their notoriety has expanded worldwide. Many of their foods are available for purchase including their tasty Hitching Post BBQ sauce and their own Hitching Post Pinot Noir wines.

Another outstanding sauce is the Buckshot BBQ Sauce from Cowboy Flavors. They began as a catering business out of Los Alamos, a small town down the road from Santa Maria, and now have their own TV series! They also sell among other items, the excellent Cowboy Flavors all-purpose BBQ seasoning.

Susan Righetti, whose parents own the renowned Far Western Tavern restaurant in nearby Guadalupe, started a Santa Maria company called Susie Q's Brand. Celebrating their family recipes and Santa Maria style BBQ, they offer recipes, sauces, salsa, the delicious local pinquito beans, and their signature Susie Q's Brand seasoning.

Any of these items could be combined to make a terrific gift basket for the BBQ cook in the family. Add a superior bottle of Pinot Noir wine, to make it a perfect gift from the Santa Maria Valley on the California Central Coast.

Step by Step to Dating Asian Girls

Got the yellow fever brother? Can't get enough of petite Asian girls? Well buddy, you are not the only one. Don't deny your attraction to Asian women, go for it, you won't regret it! I've dated Asian women almost exclusively for the last 5 years and it's been the best time of my life. I thought I would share a step by step guide to dating Asian girls, read on! Here's my three step guide to find, meet and date.

Step 1. Meet Asian Girls

Ok, so if you want to date Asian girls then you need to meet them. That's a no-brainer. Now, if you live in California that isn't going to be a problem. Just head up around UCLA or Cornell campus and do your thing. But what if you don't live those places? What you got to do is find out where Asians go. Any decent size city should have an Asian area or Chinatown. Always worth going for some Ramen noodles you now. Or you could check out international student organizations if you are in that age range +- a few years. Lot's of Asian women go to the US to study every year and would love to make some local friends.

Step 2. Attracting Asian Girls

Here's where many guys mess up. Asian women are not the exotic, delicate lotus flower some of you nerds may think they are. They are girls like any other girls. Which also means that she is not likely to impressed by your two word Chinese vocabulary, particularly not if she is Japanese. Just do your thing. If you don't know what 'your thing' is then I suggest you get a good pick-up book from some PUA guru like David D, Johnny Wolf or Mystery. They're all good.

Step 3. Dating Asian Girls

Dating an Asian woman is different than dating a white/black/Hispanic girl. Asian women are for the most part raised quite conservatively with traditional gender roles. That means, she expects you as the man to take some responsibility. That, 'what do you think, honey?' isn't going to fly here. Not that you should be a sexist asshole, but none of that metro, soft man stuff.

Disposable Plates

Plates are those dish items that we use when serving food. They are concave and flat and they are made from solid materials like plastic, glass, paper and ceramics like porcelain, bone china and stoneware. They are classified according to the food items that are served on them. Soup bowls, cereal bowls, bread dishes, dessert bowls, salad, cake, platters and saucers are for their own specified uses.

Sometimes we find that we are called upon to host large number of guests. The idea of lining up the sink with dirty utensils that will require washing after the party does not go down well with many people. Many companies, having known this, have come up with disposable plates which save you the agony of dish washing. They are common with the takeaway fast food joints that wrap food for their customer who wish to take it away.

These items make catering services more convenient and they ensure that proper food standards are maintained. It goes beyond the food quality to issues of environment. They are made from easily recyclable materials and they come together with plastic knives, forks and spoons. This is an economical way of saving on the extra cost of acquiring these items.

Since most disposable plates are made of paper, they are usually waxed or covered in a waterproof material that prevents leaking. You therefore need not worry that your dish item will come out in pieces due to the sogginess of the food. You can order them on or offline, but if you need the best quality, buy them in person.

Tips to Buying Food Online

Did you know that you could buy food online? I was amazed when I discovered this fact. There are hundreds of different food websites on the internet, all of which offer great deals and promotions. So no matter what you are in the mood for, you can find it online. You can choose from steaks, lobsters, fruit, wine, chocolates, cakes, coffee, and much more.

What is available? You may be surprised to find out that almost any item that you desire can be purchased online. Many sites offer discount grocery deliveries, as well as gourmet treats. If you want a cheap elegant dinner date, try ordering two live Maine lobsters! They will be shipped to your doorstep within 24 hours, complete with cooking instructions. You can make it surf and turf by adding some Omaha steaks to the menu. Top it off with a bottle of wine and imported chocolates. All purchased online, for less than you would think! The trick to buying food online is to look for the best deals and promotions.

A good food delivery site will have many important features. First you want to find someone that has been around for a while. I like the selection available at couponchief.com. They only work with the best sites, and you can be sure that you are getting a good deal. Second look at their prices and selection. Most sites will offer various promotions and coupons for repeat customers. So if you get hooked on that fancy chocolate, it may be cheaper the next batch that you order. You can also find coupon codes that may give you free shipping or 15% off the next purchase. Last, make sure to factor in the shipping costs. Good sites offers free shipping anywhere in the country. Most perishable items will need to be specially packed and rush delivered.

Buying food online is a great way to get a good discount. Websites have lower overhead and are able to give you the same product your local grocery store can, at a fraction of the retail price. What a great deal! And with the wide assortment and free shipping, you can't pass up buying food online. Consider sending a shipment of wine or steaks for cheap, easy gift giving. Most people love food gifts, so you can't go wrong.

Cucumelon Sticks

Cucumelon Sticks?

I came across a story the other day about how a woman in Australia accidentally cross-pollinated her crenshaw melons and cucumbers and ended up with an odd, tasty cucumber-shaped yellowish fruit. I even saw a picture of her eating one of her prizes, rind and all, and could tell from her expression that she had stumbled upon a real treat.

I had always thought such a cross was possible, and now have the evidence. Since it's too late in 2010 for me to try it, look for 2011 to be the year of the introduction of Baxter's famous watermelon cukes. For the first year, I hope for several qualities in these hybrids. First, I'd like the watermelon cuke to be of reasonable size (in other words small enough to eat without the need for cutting). I'd also like the meat to be red or at least pink, and though I don't imagine they'll be as sweet as I'd like the first year, I do hope they're pleasant in that regard and crunchy as well. I hope for an edible rind and soft cucumber like seeds that go down the gullet barely noticed. The obvious strategy will be to pollinate from the melon flowers to the cucumber plants and hope for the best in terms of miniaturization, though I do plan on trying it the other way around as well to see what happens..

If I can achieve that much during the first year, I'd be delighted. I also will be working with other melons and cucumbers to see what delicious freaks of nature we cam contrive. But mostly someday I want to prefect Baxter's watermelon cuke: a cucumber sized juicy, sweet watermelon with soft seeds that you can eat out of hand, rind and all. Just imagine the hit they'll make at picnics, barbeques, and gala affairs like the Fourth of July. Kids will love them, and I know you will too!

Savoring Turkish Cuisine

This article will serve as a guide to finding exciting and flavorful meals yet low in cost, while you're on your vacation in Turkey. When you go and visit Turkey, eat as the Turks eat and have a culinary experience like no other. Doing so will probably save you travel money, but what's more interesting is the fact that it will increase your understanding of the country because the Turkish cuisine is actually a major part of the culture.

When you are in Turkey for a vacation, make it a point to allow your exploration of Turkish foods be an adventure. If you are eating out, don't stick to the typical foods that you already have consumed so instead of a having a hamburger, go and try out the Turkish version of fast food: the kebab. Aside from the well-liked kebab you can also try other fast foods like the peynirli tost (cheese toast), kasarli pide (Turkish cheese pizza), lamacun (thin meat pizza), simit (hard bagel with sesame seeds), acma (soft bagel) and ayran (a yogurt drink that is salty which is a 'meal-on-a-run').

The hotel where you will be staying may provide you with a typical Turkish breakfast but if not well, I tell you it is very easy to throw a healthy breakfast yourself. All you have to do is make a plate of fresh bread, put in some sliced cheese and tomato slices, plus olives, cucumbers, then honey and you will be beginning a new day just like a real Turk. The best thing is that all of these ingredients are always available at the local store at a corner, so it will be a walk in the clouds.

When you want to have a sit-down dinner, you can find a restaurant that serves Turkish entrées or mezes. Turks enjoy lengthy meals when dining out and may order many mezes, and you may do so, too. Typical Turkish dishes include pilaf (rice and bulgur), manti (meat ravioli), gozleme (crepes with various fillings), borek (thin pastries wrapped around cheese, minced meat, spinach or potatoes) and kofte (balls of minced meat, served with various ingredients or a sauce). Deserts usually include baklava, kadayif, helva, and dondurma (Turkish ice cream).

Most visitors to Turkey will spend their meal times at Western food chains which is what they have at home. However, it defeats the purpose of travelling as such places rob the visitors of a genuine Turkish experience and it also robs them of their travel money due to the high prices at those fast foods. For example, if you are in need of a caffeine fix, instead of running to Starbucks, try heading to a local teahouse and experience authentic Turkey.

Catering Services in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach is home to many fabulous features and attractions and attracts a massive amount of tourists every year. Many people will come here to get married just because of the sheer natural beauty that lies within this Florida city. Regardless of whether you are having a wedding, throwing a party, or hosting some sort of similar function, you are going to need food and beverages to supply at these parties. This is where a catering service comes in. The question that comes up now is, "Where can I find a catering company?"

That answer to that question is really quite simple; West Palm Beach is a thriving city that is home to a number of parties, functions and wedding every day, so there is naturally going to be an abundant amount of catering companies. To find all the different catering companies, you will have to break out the research skills and search for them. In the meantime, here are a few of the different catering services currently present in West Palm Beach, Florida:

A Alexander Event is another catering company that serves the West Palm Beach Area but is based in Delray, Florida. With over 25 years of experience in the catering business, A Alexander Event offers exceptional food that will please the likes of any function, whether it is a major office gathering or a smaller social event. You can contact A Alexander Event by calling (561) 243-2539.

Ultimate Cuisine: is a wonderful catering service that serves West Palm Beach, but is based in Oakland Park, Florida. Ultimate Cuisine has over 20 years of quality, exceptional catering service. They can cater to just about any function or event, from elegant weddings to corporate and social functions,.

Aaron's Catering of The Palm Beaches: is based in Wellington, This is a full service catering company that provides awesome service for just about any event, function or gathering; big or small.

Those are four wonderful, full service catering options to suit just about any type of function. Those are not your only options, there are plenty of other catering companies available for catering in the West Palm Beach area. To find other companies, you can consult the yellow pages of the local phone book or do a search on the Internet for catering companies. Regardless of what catering company you go with, make sure that the company is reputable and will provide everything needed to supply excellent food and beverages at your gathering.

The Delicious Penne

There are simple noodles in life, and then there is Penne. This pasta noodle is a noodle that was designed for the association of pasta and sauce, it is a marriage that have gone on for centuries and it will continue as long as there is a desire for this wonderful noodle. The Penne noodle is very simple in shape and use, the noodle is actually grooved to accept sauce and keep it attached to the noodle. This make s this type of pasta the ideal noodle for fine dining, as it allows the chef to actually showcase their sauce without worry of it separating from the pasta.

In Many Dishes

You can actually find the Penne pasta noodle within many Italian dishes, most of which will be associated with a red sauce versus a white creamy sauce. One of the most popular dishes that contains Penne pasta noodles, is baked Ziti. This dish is an absolute delight, and is considered one of the finest Italian pasta dishes available today. You will find this dish in just about every Italian restaurant worldwide, and this is for good reason. This dish is simply delightful, and it will fill you up and make you warm for the rest of the day. There are several forms of pasta noodle, yet few can be as versatile as the Penne noodle that graces so many fine baked pasta recipes today.

Difficult Die, Simple Noodle

When the Penne pasta noodle was thought out, Italian pasta making die makers, actually had a difficult time creating the die for the pasta maker that will forge the Penne noodles. The shape is nothing that they were familiar with, and the tube like shape was actually very fragile. To keep the noodle from collapsing on it, the pasta makers had to ensure that they kept the length of the noodle rather short opposed to some of the other noodles that you can find today. This noodle was actually used most often within the capital city of Rome, and it was used with a white sauce and usually was coupled with shrimp or scampi. Both of these variations became quite popular in Rome, and managed to make their way out of the confines of Rome's walls. Today, this noodle has its share of followers with not only white sauces but also great red tomato sauces dressing it and setting it for dining.

Various Sized Noodles

While Penne is actually a standard size, you can find its distant cousins within various sizes that allow for many recipe changes. This means that the introduction of meats and or whole tomato pieces can actually find a place on the plate with noodles that are not exactly Penne, but they definitely share their shape and structure. This makes this type of noodle extremely versatile, and you can use this pasta noodle for so many recipes it will make your head spin. This noodle is also great when used within a soup or stew as well, as this noodle is simple to get a hold of with a spoon.

The Queen of Feasts - The Picnic

Picnics are a British institution; all you need is a basket full of scoff, a stiff upper lip, horizontal driving rain, and teeth-gritting determination that the weather/wasps/curious herd of cows will not spoil the bliss of eating food out of doors. The picnic is the most versatile of feasts, yet needing only two ingredients: some outside space, and something to eat. Picnics can be taken at any time of the year; cake and a flask of hot tea on a cold winter walk, or a cool box stuffed with (sand) sandwiches for a day on the beach. The outside bit means that you can choose from infinite locations: a shady part of your garden, the local park, a mountain top, a cricket match, or a green and lazy riverbank. The food bit could be a six course meal (don't forget your butler to carry the hamper) or cucumber sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil. You can have a picnic breakfast, brunch, luncheon or evening meal; make the most of the beautiful mornings, and long evenings to eat outside.

I am passionate about picnics, and have a massive selection of wicker baskets, cool boxes, ice packs, plates, glasses, and blankets. I love preparing a perfect picnic with pretty plates and a blanket, a selection of salads, cheeses, olives, home made bread, chilled cider, a flask of coffee to go with cake, all packed neatly and snugly into a basket, and ready to be enjoyed in a perfect setting. Equally I love to throw kids and dog into the car, chuck some hard-boiled eggs, a French stick, a lump of cheese and an onion into a bag with a knife wrapped in a tea towel; the perfect no-fuss picnic.

Often we will forage for something to add to the picnic, sorrel, wild garlic, whortle berries, blackberries or cob nuts, and on one unforgettable picnic on a windswept Cornish beach we dined on apples from a pip-grown tree from someone else's picnic many years before. Even the most ordinary of foods takes on another layer of taste and interest when it is enjoyed on a grassy bank overlooking a pretty view. The picnic is the perfect cheap day out with kids, if there is nothing much to do, mine will always ask for a picnic, they will cram themselves full of salad and fruit (which they might spurn for an ordinary lunch at home), and burn off huge amounts of energy running everywhere, paddling in streams and climbing trees.

Even picky grown-ups, who are inclined to dismiss vegetables and salads as rabbit food, may feel more inclined to tuck into a roughly sliced beef tomato and a handful of salad leaves at a picnic. You can turn a picnic into the perfect healthy outing; stop off at the farmers market for fresh ingredients, invite friends and family, take a long walk to the picnic spot, play rounders or organise rolly polly competitions when you get there, and pack bubbles for children to chase. Sit back over a long relaxed lunch and admire your surroundings, or chill out while the kids run round and enjoy the fresh air and space. There are plenty of urban and rural locations which will make a perfect summer picnic, so get out there and enjoy!

Until next time ,
get nibbling outside,
Vikki

Enhance Your Health and Beauty With Goji Berry

Practically everyone is getting more conscious about one's health these days. Most would also like to preserve their youthful looking appearance. If you want to enhance both your health and beauty, then you would benefit the most from Goji Berry.

Goji Berries are a variant of the berry family that grows in the Himalayas, Tibet, and China. It's a wrinkled and usually dried-up red berry that resembles the red raisin in appearance. Traditional Chinese use the fruit for medicinal purposes as the fruit is found to be an effective treatment for several ailments.

But the fruit is not only known to help improve and maintain one's good health condition. It also stimulates the production of the youth hormones in the body. When you consume the fruit, it enables you to delay your aging process.

Gojes come is different forms, the most popular of which is the Goji Berry Juice. Many people who want to enjoy the benefits of good health and youthful appearance usually prefer to take the fruit in its juiced form as the Goji Berry Juice is more convenient and delicious.

Health Benefits

Among the health benefits of the Juice are the following:

· It helps you lose your unwanted body fat;

· The juice helps speed up your healing from health ailments and diseases;

· Drinking the juice stimulates and improve your memory;

· It is an effective treatment for insomnia as the juice helps induce sleep;

· It helps in the treatment of arthritis and body pains;

· It is found to be effective as part of diabetes management with no adverse effects.

These benefits are possible because the Goji Berries contain phytochemicals high in anti-oxidants that fight free radicals and eliminate toxins in the body. It also contains bioflavonoids essential to enable the body to easily absorb its needed nutrients especially Vitamin C.

Beauty Benefits

The benefits of the Goji Berry Juice extend to improving your appearance. As you grow older, the production of the growth hormones in your body, specifically the youth hormone, slows down. What the beverage does is it encourages your body to produce more of the youth hormone and delays your aging process. You enjoy your youthful looks longer. The beverage also helps eliminate signs of aging such as accumulating unwanted body fats easily as well as the feeling of lethargy among others.

There are just so many benefits you can get from either the fruit or Goji Berry Juice. In whatever form you decide to take the fruit, you are doing your body a favor by ensuring its good health condition as well as maintaining its youthful appearance. For enhanced health and beauty, start benefitting from the Goji Berries right at this very moment.

The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Dessert

What is the best thing to have after a gluten free dinner? What about a gluten free chocolate dessert? What is the best gluten free chocolate dessert you can offer after the greatest gluten free dinner? Gluten free cookies!

Gluten free cookies are the best gluten free chocolate dessert because they are something everyone is familiar with and something you can smell from the kitchen baking as you finish up the last course. Why not treat your guests or loved ones to gluten free cookies that will satisfy their stomachs and noses at the same time? It is a great food to have at any event or dinner party as well, people who eat wheat products won't even know the difference-assuming you pick the right recipe or mix!

Gluten free chocolate desserts can range in varieties but many of them are too sugary or full of preservatives. If you pick a great gluten free chocolate chip cookie mix to make you can have the whole house full of great aromas and fragrances that will have everyone flocking to the kitchen to see what is being baked.

Gluten free cookies make for the perfect treat, snack or dessert for your family and loved ones. They also make an excellent gift to a gluten free friend or relative. A great idea is to use a gluten free chocolate chip cookie mix and to bake it at home, arrange a decorative cookie tray and deliver it during the winter-they will love you forever!

Gluten free cookies are a long time favorite of mine simply because of the great recipes I am familiar with. There are a lot of people out there trying to master the gluten free cookie recipe but they just aren't seeing success yet.

Shop Online For Popcorn

Shopping online for popcorn is fun and there is a wide and varied selection. Whether you want to buy microwave popcorn or gourmet popcorn, shopping online affords you the best selection in price and product. In fact, you can combine charitable donations with your love of popcorn by supporting scout troops as well as by donating popcorn to the military. It is also an easy way to shop for gourmet gifts for loved ones or for coworkers.

Whether you want to buy a gourmet gift basket that combines popcorn with chocolate and nuts or if you want to get a great tin of premium popcorn for a party, shopping from home couldn't be easier. There are plenty of websites that sell popcorn gifts as well popcorn for the home and you can get as creative as you desire.

Be sure and browse the web for online reviews before you settle on which vendor to buy from. You want to ensure that your treat arrives fresh and tasty and there is no better assurance than listening to those who have already purchased the same thing you are considering. While your taste in flavors may be different, you want to shop from a site that offers a quality product as well as excellent customer service.

Shipping is another important consideration when shopping online. Many sites offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount. With some sites, the shipping is so outrageous that it costs as much as the product you are purchasing. Look carefully at shipping rates and figure this in to your decision when shopping for popcorn online.

How to Properly Cultivate Potatoes

The main reason why seed potatoes are a very popular choice compared with store bought spuds because they are develop at a high altitude which minimizes the chance of diseases because there are less pests at high places. It is okay to utilize store bought potatoes for your first foray in potato gardening but there is a big chance that it will develop some disease if you keep it or a long time.

CHITTING

One of way of growing this crop is by using a planting technique called chitting. It means growing green stalks from your potatoes which you can then plant on your plot.

PLANTING POTATOES

Potatoes can be cultivated on a newly cleaned grassland or leaf canopy. They should not be really grown in a land where you previously planed to crop for a number of years. They can also grow in most types of soils. They should be placed in the land when you are sure that the probability of frost will not happen or during summer.

Dig up ten-12.5 centimeters holes for the spuds. Make sure that the crops have thirty to thirty-seven centimeters spaces between with sixty to seventy centimeters spaces between the rows of the crops. You can also fill the holes with compost before placing in the plants to ensure the quality of the soil.

POTATO CULTIVATION PROCESS

Potatoes are good crops to cultivate since they are not very fragile compared with other crops. But they still need some protection especially during cold weather. You can draw the soil around it for additional protection or use some straw to keep it warm. Do not forget to remove it later to make sure that they will not rot or grow any mold.
Water the crops during summer especially when they are just beginning to grow. You can place soil around the base of tubers to strengthen them especially when they are about twenty-two centimeters tall. It is called "earthing". Use a fork to bring up the soil around the plant fifteen centimeters up.

POTATO HARVESTING PROCESS

You have to wait until the flowers of the crops have wilted off before harvesting them. You can check by digging up carefully the soil with a hand fork. Once you have determined that the crop is ready, dig your fork in the soil and completely lift up the spuds. Make sure that you get the whole crop out to avoid leaving any infections in the soil.

The next batches that you will dig up are called 2nd "earlies" and until the leaves of the crop dried up, the spuds will still be developing. To harvest crops for cultivation next year, you have to wait until the tubers ceased growing.

Carefully slice the upper portion of the plants and wait for an additional two weeks. Carefully remove the roots of the plant and let it dry for quite some time. Keep the plant in a wooden box to ensure that they will be well protected until you can plant them.

Pomegranate Health

Lately, you might have noticed the arrival of a new fruit and juice in your local supermarket. It is one that has been touted as the "new super food" packed with antioxidants, and loaded with other health benefits. With a strong bitter to sour taste, the pure juice is a bit hard to swallow at first, but after a while, becomes more tolerable if not preferable. The fruit itself is reddish and packed with hundred of tiny seeds that are a great sources of dietary fiber and antioxidants, provided you know how to get them out of the thick red skin that ensconces them.

This fruit is the pomegranate and despite the rumors that it was made in a laboratory by some mad fruit scientists, it has actually been cultivated and eaten by people for thousands of years. The pomegranate tree is native to ancient Persia and parts of the Himalayas, and was first cultivated in the Middle East in countries such as Iran, Armenia, and Georgia. Ancient Pomegranate groves have been discovered outside the walls of Bronze Age cities, and thanks to The Silk Road and the Moorish Empire, its cultivation and use has become widespread over the Mediterranean and Asia. It even made it to the New World, Spanish missionaries introducing it to California in the early 18th Century.

Yet, despite the Pom's early popularity, it never really made it as a modern mainstream grocery store staple until it was rediscovered by the western world due the many health benefits that are attributed to it. Not only is the fruit a good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B5, it is also packed with beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants that help our bodies fight off cancer and disease caused by fungal, viral and bacterial agents.

Here are some things that modern research indicates that the pomegranate does for us:

It fights breast, lung and prostate cancer
Eases arthritis
Helps prevent plaque buildup in the arteries
Helps lower our bad (LDL) cholesterol while raising our good (HDL) cholesterol
Helps keep dental plaque from forming

While most of the research on pomegranate (and phytochemicals in general) is still new, I can attest that drinking a bit of pomegranate juice everyday does make you feel and move better. While pomegranate juice and juice blends are available in your grocery store, trying fresh pomegranate juice is definitely worth the time and effort is takes to make it. Living on the west coast, fresh Pomegranates always seem to be available at my local farmers market, but they are also beginning to show up at local grocery stores near you. To make some fresh juice, simply cut the fruit in half and use a citrus juicer to extract the juice. Hand juicing is the best way, since the outer skin is tough and the seed will get all over the place if you try to use an electric juicer.

Is Meat Healthy for You?

The easy and plain answer towards the issue 'is beef excellent for you' is 'yes'. Let us come across out why is various meats excellent for you personally.

Various meats is packed with proteins, vitamins and minerals. We all know that protein is needed for efficient metabolism and excellent functioning of all organs and so we can not underestimate the value of white meat as a source of protein. Scarcity of protein can badly affect your vital organs, like heart and liver. Beef consists of nearly all amino acids.

Various meats is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12, which enhance the functioning with the nervous process and liver. These vitamins are helpful for nutritious eyes, skin and hair. Anemia, memory loss and weaker immune method may be experienced if there's scarcity of B vitamins. Various meats and some dairy items are considered as the key source of vitamin B12. Vitamin A and D are also present in beef. Vitamin A is essential for great vision. It also supports bone and teeth development and provides you healthful skin. Vitamin D promotes calcium and phosphorus absorption, which in important to maintain wholesome bones and teeth.

Minerals including iron, zinc, potassium and selenium are present in beef. Iron strengthens your immune system, although zinc controls the procedure of regeneration and maintains the optimal balance in organism. Selenium is needed for simple breakdown of excess fat as well as other chemicals inside the body.

Animal products consists of fats named linoleic acid and palmiotelic acid which play an essential role in preventing your body from cancer and dangerous viruses. Excellent body fat can provide you far more energy and can aid enhance your body's resistance to surrounding environment and unfavorable conditions. Excellent extra fat enhances the development of brain. So animal products is necessary to have intelligent brains as properly. These were the major advantages of consuming animal products.

Consuming Meat: Negative Outcomes on Well being

Therefore the answer towards the dilemma 'is various meats excellent for your health' is 'yes', but you will find also great evidences which suggest that consuming as well very much in the wrong varieties of animal products is usually problematic for some. For example, more than 100 epidemiological studies have proved that there's a relationship between cancer and meats.

The query 'is animal products fine or poor for you' can not be answered in one word. It needs explanation. Yes, white meat is very good for you personally but it really is very good whenever you 'cook it suitable and cut the fat'. Doctors say that red beef must be eaten occasionally and it would be much better should you do not consume red various meats at all. According towards American Dietetic Association, lean beef is as very good as skinless chicken when it comes to lowering cholesterol. But according to study reports, as well quite a few antibiotics, hormones along with other drugs are given to animals raised in mass factory farms and they're fed an unhealthy mix of pesticide-laden grains. Consuming various meats of animals raised on corporate factory farms is so unhealthy for human beings. Animals need to be raised in humane and natural (raised on pastures or grass fed) conditions. Studies have shown that grass fed beef consists of less body fat and a lot more omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) along with other beneficial nutrients compared to grain-fed beef. Frying, searing, grilling, broiling or cooking red various meats at substantial temperatures triggers the production of heterocyclic amines, chemicals that may perhaps result in cancer.

You'll find numerous kinds of white meat and consuming as well a great deal with the wrong sorts of various meats can boost the disease threat for most persons. Various meats eaters ought to not stay clear of other balanced foods mentioned inside the food guide. It's feasible that most beef eater's diet plan tends to be higher in calories, large in saturated fat, and low in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, etc. White meat eaters really should consist of both beef and substantial fiber foods, fruits, and veggies in their diet plan. A balanced diet plan is usually a key to balanced life.

Processed meats and blackened or charred heavily grilled meats are the most problematic meats. Diarrhea following consuming red animal products might be simply prevented. Red beef really should be cooked properly sufficient so as to destroy the dangerous results of E.coli bacteria. The minimum temperature to cook red white meat is 160°F. Remember, you ought to not put the cooked various meats inside same container where the uncooked white meat was kept. Prevent consuming any white meat that has been kept in refrigerator inside the raw state for far more than two days.

Similarly, including lean cuts of beef is crucial to steer clear of unwanted extra fat that increases the threat of obesity and also the consequent well being hazards. You must read far more on results of as well significantly protein and suggested protein intake which will assist you know in detail, how very much animal products really should be included in your eating habits.

Raw animal products diet program is occasionally suggested since over-cooking destroys some required enzymes and proteins. But consuming raw white meat can lead to food poisoning and might boost the possibility of salmonella infection, resulting in a severe stomach upset, diarrhea and nausea. Tapeworm infection, abdominal pain can also be experienced following consuming raw white meat.

'Is consuming beef fine for you' ought to no a lot more be a confusing issue. You may perhaps consume the correct kind of beef inside the appropriate amounts and so white meat can surely fit in to an overall balanced eating plan. Besides health, various meats is often a solid part of a muscle-building or muscle-preserving diet program. The large protein, B-vitamin, iron and zinc content is surely crucial. I hope the article has answered the issue 'is beef fine for you' and you'll follow the above instructions religiously.

New Dining Options in Orlando

Orlando is a vacation paradise because it combines great attractions, multiple accommodations possibilities and wonderful dining options. On top of all this, each year something new is added. In the field of dining, there are a lot of new restaurants and new sections in the well established eateries. Below is a brief guide to some of the latest culinary developments awaiting this year's visitors to Orlando, Florida.

Bar Louie Tavern & Grill is now open on Sand Lake's "restaurant row." The bar specializes in oversized sandwiches and specially prepared cocktails. In addition it also features a wide selection of appetizers, pastas, entrees as well as a large assortment of beers and wines. This is an award winning restaurant with a warm décor decorated with photography, paneled walls and plasma televisions.

Belly Busters is a brand new comedy club and restaurant located in Winter Park. Comedy shows take place from Thursday to Sunday and the restaurant offers an affordable menu featuring meatloaf, chicken parmiagiana and baked Ziti. The restaurant is open dally from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The Black Olive is a new restaurant in downtown Orlando (located in the Plaza building). It features a Mediterranean-inspired Italian cuisine. The dishes are simple but elegant and offer the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oils and locally- grown herbs. Cantina Laredo is another new addition to Sand Lake Road's "restaurant road." The gourmet restaurant serves authentic Mexican food featuring daily fish specials, grilled chicken and steaks complimented by special sauces, sauteéd artichoke hearts and roasted red bell peppers. Pizza Fusion is a restaurant chain that specializes in organic pizza.

Their first branch in Central Florida opened up on Orlando's Sand Lake Road. This large 100 seat eatery is the first certified organic restaurant in the Orlando area. Bento Cafe is still another new restaurant on Sand Lake Road. It is modeled after cafes in urban Japan and Taiwan and as its name suggests features bento box rice and noodle bowls along with boba teas. If you are looking for a quick and casual dinner, then try it out. Tommy Bahama Bar and Grill is an existing restaurant with a new feature.

It offers a Sunday "Reggae Brunch" every week from 11 a.m. to 3p.m. Diners get authentic Jamaican food and drinks and can listen to a three-piece reggae band. Ala carte meals average around $12. The Sancturary Diner is located in downtown Orlando's South Eola District. Formerly known as FiFi's Patisserie, the new diner features classic diner foods with low prices and classy surprises.

For example, you can get French toast with brie cheese and wash it down with a root beer float. FiFi's Patisserie in downtown Orlando's South Eola District was transformed into the Sanctuary Diner. The new restaurant serves classic diner comfort foods, with an eclectic twist, at low prices. Menu items include French toast with brie cheese, root beer floats and Kobe-style meatloaf. Sanctuary Diner will be open 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

As you can see there are a number of new dining options waiting for you in Orlando. If you have never been there before then take your pick of the restaurants that attract you most. If you are a regular visitor, then be sure to try some of the new restaurants.

yaki soba nouilles japonaises cuite

yaki soba nouilles japonaises cuite



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNl1MlGnVw8&hl=en

Chusok - Korean Thanksgiving

Chusok, sometimes Romanized as Chuseok, is often called Korean Thanksgiving. It is one of Korea's main holidays, and is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month by the Lunar Calendar. This Harvest Moon Festival is over 2,000 years old, and is a traditional time for Koreans to thank their ancestors for the year's harvest. It is celebrated over a three day period, and viewing the full moon is a feature in the evenings.

I remember my first Chusok in the 1980s when a Korean family invited me and a couple of friends to Chusok dinner. I remember the one thing that stands out for all of the Chusok dinners I've enjoyed since, plates and bowels full of great food. For anyone who enjoys Korean food, Chusok and New Year's are the holidays you want to attend in Korea. The food is outstanding!

Chusok and New Year's are also the most popular holidays in Korea, and unfortunately, that means unbelievable traffic. I've visited during the holiday and traveled with in-laws to our family gathering, and the traffic is definitely one of the down sides. Highways and roads are jammed as people journey to visit families and honor the graves of their ancestors.

This remembering of ancestors is an important tradition of the Chusok holiday. Food is offered during a memorial rite (jesa) which is accompanied by a deep bow to the floor (from kneeling position). Depending on each families religious and other beliefs, the ceremony may be different. However, regardless of those beliefs, Chusok is celebrated with a family feast. And I'll admit, when my wife and her sisters get together in the kitchen to prepare for Chusok, all thoughts of diet go out the window. Just like the American tradition of stuffing oneself on Thanksgiving in November, I've stuffed myself during Chusok just as full. One of the special foods prepared for Chusok is songpyun. These are special rice cakes that are molded in a shape that looks like a half moon and are stuffed with sesame seeds or chestnuts sweetened with honey. They are an excellent desert or snack. Some of the main foods served are galbi (grilled ribs) and or bulgogi (marinated beef), chapchae (clear noodles), saengsun jun (battered and fried fish), and kimchi of course. And yes, I love kimchi. If you have only tried the kind in a jar at American supermarkets, you are doing yourself a disservice. Good kimchi is excellent, and there are many varieties. There are many other side dishes and foods on the table, including soups, vegetables, fruits, and much more.

Besides the great food, I like the holiday for the meaning behind it. Just like the meaning behind American Thanksgiving (That I'm afraid some people forget), the Korean holiday focuses on some of the most important aspects of Korean culture. These include family, respect for elders and ancestors, and the sharing of communal food and drink. Besides eating together, families play games and have the opportunity to catch up with one another. Often traditional games are played by family members and outside festivities are visited. It is a great holiday to celebrate family and give thanks.

Yakisoba - ricetta giapponese

ricetta giapponese degli yakisoba



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stxo12HRpww&hl=en

Tips For Growing Organic Foods

Many people would love to buy organic foods from the markets and grocery store but they have a budget for food that doesn't allow it. One great idea though is grow your own fresh fruits and vegetables at home. You can create a wonderful garden with more than enough of these foods to feed your family. It will also cut down on your food costs overall so you can use that money for something else.

It is important to know that an organic garden can be time consuming to manage. Yet it can be something for the entire family to help with. The satisfaction that all will have as you enjoy those great foods is well worth the time you dedicate to it. One of the biggest rules to follow is that you don't want to apply any chemicals to the area or around it. Take a good look around to be sure that chemicals can't run into your garden area when it rains from a neighbor's property as well.

The location needs to be one where it will get lots of sun. Without it, your organic foods won't grow as they should. Take the time to clear the space for your garden. Make sure you remove rocks and other debris so that you have a flat and clean surface to work with. In order to get the soil ready you want to provide organic compost.

You can buy this from many locations but you can also create your own. Dry leaves and coffee grounds work extremely well. You can also get into the habit of collecting compost from your family so that you have lots of it to use when you need it. Ideally, you want at least three inches of compost in your garden.

You want to make sure your garden area gets plenty of water. The soil needs to be wet but you don't want it to be flooded. Now you are ready to plant what fresh fruits and vegetables you wish to grow. Make sure you follow the planting directions for them in order to encourage the very best results.

When it comes to organic gardens you will have to fight a constant battle with a couple of things. The first one is the weeds that will fight for the nutrients in the soil. It is ironic that we can struggle to get what we want to grow but those weeds tend to be able to do so without any problems. You will want to pick the weeds by hand. Doing so as they start out is the best way so try to spend time doing this at least once a week.

Insects and bugs will be in the area too so set various traps for them. This will give you a way to relocate them. Check those traps on a regular basis. Make sure you have a small fence around them or mesh panels too. This will keep animals including cats, raccoons, and mice from finding your organic garden to be their place to dine when they feel like it.

Make sure you harvest your organic foods when they are ripe. That way you can enjoy them at the best time for ultimate flavor. You want to make sure you carefully wash all items that you have grown in your organic garden before people consume them. This process is one you will really benefit from. It can take some time to get started but after the first season you will have a good idea of what works for you and what doesn't.

Raw Food VS Processed Food

One of the main reasons why most people are getting ill with 21 century diseases like: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity is eating processed foods as their foremost form of nutrition. Over eighty percent of the foodstuff Americans buy every year are mechanically processed foods, and food marketers do a wonderful job at making it seem that mass produced processed and junk food are the apparent choice.

The problem is that processed foods, are nutrient dead and are devoid of any real nutrition. The reason that they taste so good is the result of a combination of a chemical cocktail of artificial flavours and additives, without which this artificial processed food would have the look and flavour of cardboard. But what the food industry forgets to inform you is that there is a terrible price to pay for consuming this pitiful diet. For the sake of convenience we are trading the most valuable assets that we have, our health.

This food ingredient alone is enough to completely wreck your health, and it is only one of the dangerous ingredients in processed foods. One of the terrible side effects of eating a mainly processed food regime is that it means we're also consuming foods that are choc full of high-fructose corn syrup. High-fructose corn syrup is the greatest source of calories in ones diet. This chemical food cocktail is enough to completely destroy your health, and sadly it is only one of many dangerous ingredients in chemically processed foods.

Are You Addicted to a poisonous Diet?

Processed foods are mainly chemically altered so they appeal to your taste buds, they can also trick your body's regulatory signals that would normally tell you it's had enough to eat - snacks like potatoes chips (you know the kind that make you want to eat the whole bag- check the packaging)! These chemical cocktails are crammed full of large amounts of sugar, salt, corn syrup and MSG, these radically increase the chances of you becoming addicted to them.

In one study of laboratory rats that were fed a diet that contained 25 percent sugar, they became fretful when the sugar was taken away - displaying symptoms akin to people going through drug withdrawals, such as: the shakes and shivering. The researchers who conducted the study found a causal link between opioids, (the brains pleasure chemicals) and a feverish craving for sweet, salty and fatty foods. It is thought that these high-fat foods excite the opioids, as when the researchers stimulated the rats' brains with an artificial version of the natural opioid enkephalin, and the lab rats ate nearly six times their usual intake of fat.

It was also noticed that long lasting changes occurred in the rats' brain chemistry - which are similar to those caused by heroin or morphine use. According to researchers, this is understood to mean that even casual exposure to pleasurable foods is sufficient to alter gene expression, which would suggest an addiction to the food.

Processed Foods Can Ruin Your Taste Buds

In the meantime, refined sugar, which is in nearly all processed food - because it is cheap and improves the taste of the food, has been demonstrated to be more addictive than cocaine! Your body's sweet receptors (two protein receptors that are located on your tongue), are not adapted to cope with high-sugar consumption. Therefore, this abnormally high stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets generates extreme reward signals in your brain, which have the possibility to override the normal self-control mechanism, and thus can lead to an insidious addiction. This is why, if you regularly have a diet of processed foods, some whole foods seem to be lacking in flavour. This is because you have become conditioned to think that these chemically changed foods are the norm, when in fact - it is quite the opposite.

The unfortunate truth is that when you have a mainly processed food diet - it leads to a flood of harmful changes to your body's metabolism. One of these negative effects is elevated insulin levels, and ultimately an insulin resistance. Elevated insulin levels are the foundation of nearly every major disease known to man, such as: cancer cardiovascular disease and arthritis. Most people think that if they can't have their junk food, they are being deprived. In actuality, the sooner you change your eating regime, the quicker you'll enjoy increased vitality, weight stability, improved mood and enhanced health. If you decide to try the raw food diet - I suggest you do it gradually - beginning with one meal a day. A target of 70% raw food is comfortably achievable.

If You Give Up Processed Foods, Should You Eat Raw Food?

It's a really wise decision to have as much raw food in your diet as possible. There are a number of sound reasons for this. For starters, cooking food, especially at high temperatures, destroys those naturally occurring enzymes. Enzymes are proteins. They are the catalysts that help speed up and make possible reactions in your body. In point of fact, some biochemical reactions will never occur without these enzymes (we each have about 1,300 of them). So if all nearly all of your food is cooked, your body is going to be deficient in the enzymes it needs to function efficiently. Ideally you'll want to eat as many foods as possible in an unprocessed state - organic grown fruits and vegetables that have been grown locally and in season.

It is wise to seek medical advice before trying the raw food diet. It is not recommended that you give up meat altogether,eating meat three times a week is sufficient to obtain most of the nutrients and trace minerals that you require for a healthy diet.

上野ぶらり/上野公園親子フェスタ

ken3tv.com ▼KEN3TV 企画・撮影・編集：KEN3TV プロデュース by ：ケン＠らぶふらっと。



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4scHQARxk&hl=en

Scrap & Build 【Haruna】

man this song is difficult =w= sorry if it sucks Mp3:www.mediafire.com tsumetai taiyoo ga watashi wo terashi-ta muki-dashi no kokoro ga kogoe-te shimatta anata wo ushinat-te namida wa kare hate-te watashi wa koko kara aruki dase-nai no uso no you-ona shinjitsu to honto no yoo na moo-soo no hazama de watashi wa koware-te shimatta Ah muse-kae-ru hodo-no atsui kuchi-zuke wo watashi ni kuda-sai aishite kuda-sai yogore-te shimatta watashi wo yurushi-te anata no sono te de watashi wo kowashi-te sabi tsui-ta kioku ga mushi-bamare-te yuku anata no egao mo omoi dase-nai no fuhai shita kokoro ga kuchi hate-ru mae ni moo-ichido anata ni aini yukita-ku te ugoki dashi-ta hon-noo to osae kire-nai kan-joo de koware-ta kokoro ga yomigaet-te yuku-n da Ah nomi kome-nai hodo no tsumeta-i kuchi-zuke wo watashi ni kuda-sai aishi-te kuda-sai kie yuku kioku ni anata wo yaki tsuke-ru sore igai ni nani mo nozomi wa shi-nai no futashika na mono ga afure-ru sekai de hitotsu tashika na mono soba ni atta Ah muse kae-ru hodo no atsu-i kuchi-zuke wo watashi ni kuda-sai aishi-te kuda-sai yogore-te shimat-ta watashi wo yurushi-te moo ichido sono te de watashi wo kowashi-te



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaJwCo68RM&hl=en

5 a Day - Do You Get Yours?

All over the world people are being encouraged to eat in a healthier manner. In the U.S.A. they have the 5 a day promotion. Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. In Australia they have the 2+5 campaign. That is, eating 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables a day. No doubt other countries have similar publicity designed to help people make changes to their diets.

People are obviously finding it hard to manage this. A report in 2005 found that only 33 percent of adult Americans ate fruit twice or more each day and only 27 percent ate vegetables three or more times a day. The target that the government is trying to reach by 2010 is to have at least 75 percent of Americans over 2 years old eating at least 2 servings of fruit each day and to have 50 percent of people eating three or more servings of vegetables each day.

Here are 5 breakfast tips to help you get your 5 a day.

1. Have some fruit with your breakfast. Cut up bananas or add berries to your cereal.

2. Make a fruit smoothie for a quick breakfast drink. Try banana, mango berry or peach smoothies.

3. Eat a piece of whole fruit as part of your breakfast. For example an apple or an orange or be exotic and eat a mango when they are available.

4. Add chopped vegetables to scrambled eggs or omelet.

5. I like to gently fry a ripe banana with my breakfast eggs. Even very over ripe bananas are tasty like this.

Starting the day with at least one serve of fruit or vegetables sets you up to reach the 5 a day target. Your health will improve in a whole host of ways if you can make the 5 a day a part of your daily diet.

Thoughts Become Things

So many people I know say they hate reading. What they seem not to get is that a book is an alternate universe, where you can go anywhere, or choose to just set the book down and leave that universe alone. -Zeke Willey

The steps to success are arranged in this chronological order:

Visualization ===> Thoughts ===> Action ===> Results

First, we visualize. Then, we summon up our talents, charm and virtues and act on our dreams. We become as powerful as the protagonists in our favorite stories and defeat the obstacles along the way. Finally, we live our dreams. In every step of the way, reading helps.

Making dreams come true: Stories can bring us to wonderlands that we have yet to imagine prior to reading a book. Through stories, our dreams are either created or expanded into our own reality.

Here are some characters we meet in fairytales:
1. Snow White represents the danger in being an object of envy.
2. Little Red Riding Hood is an ordinary girl who has great devotion to her grandmother and the big bad wolf is literally and figuratively a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing.
3. The Ugly Duckling, before its swan hood stage had to cope with issues concerning rejection and poor self esteem.
4. Cinderella is the epitome of a person whose transformation from a dirty ash girl to a lovely bride happened because of hard work and charm-attributes which can help us succeed in life.

In both work and play, we meet our own versions of Snow Whites, Riding Hoods, big bad wolves and ugly ducklings. We have bosses and friends who can be as kind as the huntsman in Red Riding Hood or as cunning as the witch in Snow White. Cinderella inspires everyone -students, workers and even office managers to be as humble, hardworking and charming as Cinderella.

Aside from fairy tale characters, there are embellished heroes like Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan; Davy Crockett and the seven Chinese brothers who solve problems in funny and exaggerated ways; the wily tricksters like Anansi who's capable of outwitting the gods and lots of people whose brains are filled with noodles and do foolish things. We call them noodlehead characters.

In nonfiction reading, think about what we could learn from the biographies of successful people like Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Bill Clinton, Beatrix Potter, Hans Christian Anderson and so many more.

Children are able to empathize with these characters in some way or another. Reading about the characters' adventures and misadventures; their successes and follies and their vices and virtues can guide our children into undertaking the most appropriate actions and solving problems in the most intelligent way.

Reading also prepares our children to deal with all the types, shapes, sizes and characters of people they will be meeting in real life. It makes them realize the consequences of certain actions; magnifies the mistakes to avoid and guides them to the right directions.