Impress Your Guests and Enjoy the Party with Easy Entertaining Ideas
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to entertain. I want to put out a spread that’s memorable and delicious. For me, the food I serve is like a gift to my guests. I want to impress them, but I don’t want to work my butt off while everyone else is having fun at the party. Ya with me?
I was on Let’s Talk Live this week sharing some of my tips to help you look like you spent all day in the kitchen (without actually doing it!). Read on for some highlights from my segment.
Idea #1: Easy, Creative Cheese Pairings to Make Your Gathering Fun
Instead of the typical “wine and cheese” pairings, why no...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - April 19, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: rebeccascritchfield Tags: eating healthy food nutrition recipes kebab Kind Bars lamb lets talk live mango mangos protein salsa satay Source Type: blogs
How to Eat Real Food Without Spending Hours in the Kitchen
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jules Clancy of Stonesoup.
Are you eating real, whole food as much as you’d like?
If you’ve been following Zen Habits for any length of time, you’ve probably been inspired by Leo’s story. My favorite part is how he went from being an overweight junk food eater to a lean, plant-food-loving machine.
Like Leo, I’m a big believer that for optimum health it’s best to eat real, whole food as much as possible. Preferably prepared at home.
The good news is, it doesn’t need to take as much time as you’d think.
When I was writing my b...
Source: Zen Habits - April 5, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Health & Fitness Source Type: blogs
Experience Umami “The Fifth Taste” with this Ratatouille Recipe
How Humans Experience Taste
If I asked you to name a food you’ve had that fits into each of the categories of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, you could do it with ease. But what about umami? (ewww-mom-e)
Umami is the least known taste in our culture and satisfies the heading of savory flavors. Asian countries celebrate this wonderful flavor with fermented beans and grains, as well as shiitake mushrooms. The most common umami product is soy sauce, a fermented condiment. Glutamate (an amino acid) is responsible for the unique umami taste.
You’ve probably had umami before, perhaps without realizing it. Examples include me...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - April 4, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: carlenehelble Tags: cooking diet food recipes Source Type: blogs
Struggling With Balanced Eating Habits? Choose My Plate!
If you have ever played darts, or even if you just understand it, then you know how to use “Choose My Plate” to help you put together healthy plates at each meal. Choose my plate is the guide (and best I’ve seen) from the USDA to empower people to make healthy food choices.
Why darts?
I compare “Choose My Plate” to darts because of the “bullseye”. In darts, you strive to hit the bullseye. You aim to get as close as you can pretty much every throw, and sometimes (let’s face it) you’re happy to get on the board!
That is how I view the realities of healthy eating. There&...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - April 2, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: rebeccascritchfield Tags: eating healthy food fruits nutrition weight loss balanced plate my plate Source Type: blogs
Who are the microbes on your fruits and veggies?
Nice paper from Jonathan Leff and Noah Fierer in PLOS One: Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surfaces of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Abstract: Fresh fruits and vegetables can harbor large and diverse populations of bacteria. However, most of the work on produce-associated bacteria has focused on a relatively small number of pathogenic bacteria and, as a result, we know far less about the overall diversity and composition of those bacterial communities found on produce and how the structure of these communities varies across produce types. Moreover, we lack a comprehensive view of the potential effects of diff...
Source: The Tree of Life - March 31, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs
Cozy Up to this Healthy Vegetable Chili Recipe
I originally found this recipe in Food and Wine magazine. I tried it out with my friend and marathon running buddy Rolando. He’s the kind of guy who buys stuff from the store and “pretends” he made it. I really don’t care because he is an amazing host and friend — and he always provides enough wine!
I can also say as a new mom, dinner is harder than ever to get on the table (y’all with me). This is an easy recipe that lasts and freezes well. It’s also versatile. You can change the toppings, wrap it in a tortilla with some spinach, or even add a little to a couple eggs for a savory ...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - March 27, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: rebeccascritchfield Tags: cooking eating healthy food nutrition recipes healthy chili healthy stew one pot meal vegetable chili vegetarian chili Source Type: blogs
Creating Beauty From a Life of Chronic Pain
When I sit down to write these blogs each week, my creative self often takes me to surprising places. I’ve discovered last week’s theme of finding beauty is the beginning of a series of three blogs on beauty. It certainly surprised me to find two more blogs lurking in my mind. The more I reflected on the role of this particular quality in my own life, I realized it has many ramifications. For many of us who live with daily pain, creating beauty and participating in something beautiful has been a welcoming open door into a dark room and a way out of the pain.
Naturally, when you create a beautiful photo or picture you ...
Source: Life with Chronic Pain - March 14, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: admin Tags: happiness creating beauty endorphins Source Type: blogs
Pain can be a relief - ScienceDaily
When something causes less pain than expected it is even possible for it to feel pleasant, a new study reveals. These findings may one day play a key role in treating pain and substance abuse.If you accidently kick your toe against a doorframe you are probably going to find it very painful. As a purely intellectual experiment, imagine purposefully kicking a doorframe hard enough to potentially break your toe. When it turns out your toe has been battered but not broken, the pain may be interpreted more as a relief."It is not hard to understand that pain can be interpreted as less severe when an individual is aware that...
Source: Psychology of Pain - February 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Chef Pete Evans goes wheat-free!
Australian chef and TV personality, Pete Evans, asked me to write a section for his new cookbook:
Over the last 12 months we have been working on a new cookbook, which will be available in about a years time [February 2014]. Dr William Davis, a preventative cardiologist who wrote “WHEAT BELLY” (a must read book) has kindly shared his research for our new book, along with a host of other highly respected health and wellness pioneers and experts.
And for the record the only flour we use at home is coconut and almond flours.
Pete tells me that, in the new cookbook, “there will be no recipes featuring wheat&...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - February 24, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Celebrate Heart Month With These Tasty Tips
Earlier this week I was on Let’s Talk Live in DC and WBAL in Baltimore sharing some easy and delicious ways you can eat your way to a healthy heart. No matter what time of day — breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks — I shared foods that will keep your heart and belly happy all day long. You can watch both videos below, but check out below for a few highlights too.
Tip #1: Go for Oats
Research has shown that consuming 3g/day of oat soluble fiber – as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol – may help reduce the risk of heart disease. “Perfect Portions” is a fabulous new inst...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - February 20, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: rebeccascritchfield Tags: eating healthy food nutrition recipes vegetables corn oil heart health kale pasta Mazola oatmeal Perfect Portions pistachios Potassium Quaker vitacoco Source Type: blogs
Comment Reply… Helen’s Pimento Cheese Spread…
amelia said... I have to ask as I am such a HUGE cheese lover. How do you make pimento cheese? Please tell!! Andrew Replies… Amelia, I am a huge cheese lover as well. I mix my spread in a food processor, but a regular mixer will do. Pimentos are roasted red peppers so you might not be able to find them if you live out of the South. Two large packages of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. One large jar of diced pimentos drained of their liquid. Blueplate mayonnaise added until you get your desired consistency. One pinch of salt and pepper. One tablespoon ...
Source: The 4th Avenue Blues - February 19, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Andrew Quixote Source Type: blogs
PLoSOne paper: Parallel polymorphisms for pepper population phylogenetics, from #UCDavis, not #Pepperspray
Interesting new paper from colleagues at UC Davis: PLOS ONE: Characterization of Capsicum annuum Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Based on Parallel Polymorphism Discovery with a 30K Unigene Pepper GeneChip.
Press release is here: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10497
Good to see something on peppers from UC Davis not about spraying.
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This is from the "Tree of Life Blog"
of Jonathan Eisen, an evolutionary biologist and Open Access advocate
at the University of California, Davis. For short updates, follow me on Twitter.
-------- (Source: The Tree of Life)
Source: The Tree of Life - February 14, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs
Got Change?
By Jan Chait
Spring is coming! I know it is because I just got my shipment of seeds. Tomatoes and basil and mint, oh my! (And carrots and lettuce.)
Of course, what that means is that I need to figure out how to start seeds. Like, find a place in the house that's well lit and stuff because I looked at the price of grow light setups. Oh, MY!
At the moment, I'm eyeing the counter to the left of the kitchen sink. It's right in front of a window and I think I can manage to put up some barbed wire to keep the three cats from eating the seedlings. But I'll have to remember to rotate the plants. And, of course, there's a "but firs...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 12, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Jan Chait Source Type: blogs
What's in Store for 2013?
By Amy Campbell
At the end of the year, articles and predictions abound on what the latest, greatest, or hottest food trends will be for the upcoming year. In the recent past, for example, we've seen the rise in popularity of cupcakes and cake pops, quinoa, gluten-free foods, organic foods, and sustainable farming, to name a few. Some of these are still going strong, including cake pops and gluten-free foods! I'm never really sure who makes the decision to make something a trend, but it's all very interesting.
Of course there are also food trends for 2013, and now that we're into February, a few are worth mentioning. Not a...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 11, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
