Monday, December 6, 2010

Breakfast Foods - Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is a much loved breakfast food. It is made by toasting a whole English muffin then topping that with ham, Canadian bacon, or bacon as well as poached eggs. The whole thing is then drowned in hollandaise sauce.

Much like many popular foods, the origins of Eggs Benedict are unknown. In one account, retired Wall Street stock broker Lemuel Benedict wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and requested "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise" in an attempt to find a cure for his morning hangover. The maître d'hôtel Oscar Tshirky, the legendary Oscar of the Waldorf, was immensely impressed by the dish and so put it on the breakfast and lunch menus. Rather than using bacon and toast, he substituted ham and an English muffin. This account was given in an interview in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942.

In another account, Craig Claiborne, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, described in a September 1967 column a letter received from Edward P. Montgomery, an American living in France at the time. In the letter, Montgomery detailed a dish that was created by Commodore E.C. Benedict. Commodore Benedict was a banker and yachtsman who died in 1920 at the age of 86. The dish created by Commodore Benedict was Eggs Benedict. The commodore claims that the recipe had been given to him by his mother who had received it from the commodore's uncle.

In November of 1967, Mabel C. Butler of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts responded to Mr. Montgomery's letter with a correction to the story that was the "true story" of how Eggs Benedict came to be. In Ms. Butler's story, the creation of Eggs Benedict was well known to the relatives of Mrs. Le Grand Benedict, of whom she was one. According to Ms. Butler, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, who were residents of New York at the turn of the century, dined every Saturday at Delmonico's. One day while there, Mrs. Benedict wanted to know if the maître d'hôtel had anything new or different to suggest. He then asked Mrs. Benedict to make a suggestion so she suggested poached eggs on a toasted English muffin with a thin slice of ham, hollandaise sauce, and a truffle on top.

While all of these stories are wonderful, it is most likely that the dish is a Lenten or meatless dish possibly dating to the Renaissance. It is a traditional French dish, most likely, and a variation of oeufs bénédictine. This dish consists of brandade, a purée of refreshed salt cod and potatoes, spread on triangles of fried bread. A poached egg is then placed on top and napped with hollandaise.

What is still not known is how the dish immigrated to the United States or even how it became popular. For more information on Eggs Benedict, please visit http://www.cdkitchen.com.




Joseph Devine

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Pizza Restaurants

Pizza is a very common type of meal made from flat oven baked bread and tomatoes that families enjoy. Restaurants where you can get pizzas are common place. The atmosphere is usually fun at a pizza place you can relax and be serenaded with great music. Many of the pizza restaurants have games that you can play while waiting for your food to be served. Chuck E. Cheese is a great pizza place to take kids as they can get tokens to play games too.

Apart from the games, on offer are good appetizers like breadsticks and salad to warm your appetite until your food is ready to be served. Some pizza restaurants offer other items including pasta dishes and calzones. Just take a look at their menu to find out the selections they have. Dessert pizza is a latest option that is also a good selling product.

Breakfast Pizza

Pizza restaurants are also called pizzerias. In USA, you may hear pizza parlor or pizza shop. Big Pizza restaurants now offer a buffet for lunch rush in order to serve people quickly. This also helps when you have a group of people that have very different tastes in how they pizza should be garnished. If you have some hearty eaters in your family this can also help to reduce the cost of food while you dine out.

There are many popular chain pizza restaurants out there. The largest and the most expensive is Pizza Hut.
This has also been a source of concern for customers. Some other popular and more affordable pizzerias include Little Caesars and Dominoes. Papa Johns is a common one but you have to get your pizza fresh prepared and then you take it home to bake it.

There are other pizzas restaurants around that may not be nationally known but where you can get great tasty pizzas from. These are fondly referred to as mom and pop pizza restaurants.

Pizza Restaurants

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Sunday, December 5, 2010

How Does Nutrisystem Food Taste?

I am asked a lot of questions about Nutrisystem.  Some common ones are "does it really work," "how hard is it follow," and "do you really get to eat pizza and desserts," etc.  Thanks to all of the celebrities that are or have been on this plan (Jillian Barberie, Marie Osmond, Tori Spelling, etc.), it's pretty common knowledge that you can eat chocolate and tacos on it. But, what isn't stated is how tasty these offerings really are.  Without a doubt, the most common question people want to know is: "how does the Nutrisystem food really taste?"  Because even if the diet plan works great, it isn't going to matter if you can't stomach the food. In this article, I will tell you how I rate the taste (keep in mind this is only my opinion, but I'm pretty picky) and I'll tell you which foods I really don't like and avoid when I place orders.

The Nutrisystem Breakfast Foods Taste Pretty Good: Some people don't realize that this is really a low carb diet.  The foods are very high in protein.  When I found this out, I was hesitant because I love my carbs and didn't want to have to give them up.  Luckily, the breakfast carb options are plentiful, including cereals, (NutriFrosted, NutriFlakes and NutriCinnamon Squares), muffins, and oatmeals.  Yes, there are also eggs but you can avoid them if you want. Overall, thumbs up.

The Nutrisystem Desserts And Snacks Are The Best Tasting Items On The Menu: Very smartly, the company stresses it's desserts and snacks.  (This is important because you eat five times per day on this diet, so you'll eat a lot of them.)  There are over thirty options here, with many of them being milk and white chocolate.  There are also cakes (snack sized of course), biscotti, and cookies.  Yes, the portions are small and some of them aren't as sweet or filling as their full sugar or full fat adversaries, but they are totally fine.  And, when you are craving something sweet, they do the trick without the calories or the guilt. 

There are also salty type snacks - chips, pretzels, etc.  Admittedly, these sometimes have the texture or a baked rather than a fried chip and are also much less greasy, but if you want something salty, they will certainly work.

The Nutrisystem Lunches And Dinners That Taste Most Decent: Since I've already covered breakfasts and snacks, I'll go over the lunch and dinner foods that I find taste the best (and are my staples which I order over and over again.) They are:

The pizza: (There is a flat bread option and a thin crust option. I like the thin a bit better. Neither is loaded with cheese or bread, but again, for diet food, it's pretty good.

The macaroni and cheese:  Again, it's not dripping with greasy cheese, but it's a nice creamy consistency (I was fearing a consistency of the sprinkle cheese that comes with my kids microwave mac and cheese, but it wasn't like that at all) and is more filling than I thought it would be.

The lasagna: OK, I'm going to admit that this was not what I was expecting. There is spinach and beans in it (in addition to a meat sauce) but it has a pleasant taste, sort of like a creamy veggie lasagna.

The chili: This is light and reminds me a bit of Wendy's chili.  It is very versatile and sometimes I use it as a topping to the nachos.

The fettuccine alfredo: This is one of my favorites.  It's very creamy, filling, and rich.  Of all of the foods, this is the one that fools me the most into thinking I'm cheating and am not on a diet.

The Nutrisystem Foods That Taste Pretty Bad: There are a few foods that I will not eat.  It is because of these foods that I always build my own package when I order (which is basically the same price anyway).  These are: the beef stew, the beef stroganoff, and the pasta with beef.  Can you tell that beef is my least favorite food?  To be fair, I doubt that I would willingly eat these foods even in every day, non dieting life.

My Overall Review Of Nutrisystem Food: Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the taste of variety of the foods offered.  After all, this is a diet and the foods aren't going to taste like haute cuisine.  However, for prepackaged diet food, I believe it's among the best that I have tried (especially the breakfasts and desserts.)  No, I don't like all of it, but luckily the plan allows you to customize your package so that you aren't stuck with foods you find bad.  I just started out with their basic package so I could sample what I liked and didn't.  And from then on, I just loaded up on my favorites and avoided the rest.




Ava Alderman is the webmaster of the Nutrisystem Celebrity Diet Website Review which includes a full list of foods included in the diet, as well as FAQs, a three week free coupon, comparisons to other diets, pros and cons, and the free ebook "Getting The Most Out Of Nutrisystem." You can visit the site at http://danielle-fishel-diet-review.blogspot.com/

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Easy Homemade Eggs Benedict Recipe For Breakfast

If you're looking for that special dish to add zing to your brunch, holiday breakfast or supper, Eggs Benedict should be your choice. This dish is sure to brighten up your loved ones' meal. Enjoy this legendary dish that was supposed to have first been served in the very first fine dining restaurant of the United States, way back in the 1860's! Here's how I make it.

What you'll need for this recipe:

4 eggs
Two English Muffins, cut into two halves horizontally
Canadian Bacon - 4 slices; you could also use baked ham
2 tsp of Fleur De Sel Salt or kosher salt
2 tbsp of distilled white vinegar
Hollandaise sauce

To garnish

Parsley leaves or chives

How To Make Hollandaise Sauce

Prepare this sauce just before you start on the main dish so that it remains warm.

Combine yolks of three eggs with a tbsp of fresh lemon juice and beat it around in a saucepan over a slow flame. To this mixture, add half a cup of white wine and a quarter pound of unsalted butter and keep stirring till the butter melts. Now add a tbsp of white vinegar, pepper and salt and keep stirring till you see the sauce getting thick. If you feel the sauce is coming apart, you could add two spoons of water and keep whisking till you get a creamy texture.

How To Make Eggs Benedict

First, toast your English muffins till they reach a crispy golden brown colour. Take them off the broiler or oven and spread a teaspoon of butter evenly on the toasts. Take a frying pan and cook the Canadian bacons or ham slices till they get brown. Now, place a slice of this on each muffin toast.

Next, we have to poach the eggs. Grease a deep pan with oil; then fill it with water. Make sure there's enough water to keep the eggs fully immersed. To this water, add salt and vinegar to enable the eggs to retain their shape. Let the liquid boil; then simmer the heat just before you add the eggs.

How To Add The Eggs

Take small sized bowls and break each egg into a bowl. Hold these bowls just below the surface of the liquid to let the egg yolks flow out into the water. Now switch off the heat and close the pan with a lid. Let the eggs rest in the liquid for at least three minutes. You can adjust this duration according to the firmness of the yolk.

Next, carefully pick up each egg from the water with a slotted spoon; hold for a while to let excess water drain off and place a poached egg on each of the toasted muffins. Add Hollandaise sauce over the eggs, garnish with chives or parsley and serve.

This recipe's good for four servings.




If you want to see what the completed dish looks like, check here: http://www.eggrecipe.net/featured-photo-gallery/eggs-benedict-by-thebittenword-com/

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Friday, December 3, 2010

Pizza's Mediterranean Roots

The type of pizza we have come to know is quite a bit different than it was hundreds and hundreds of years ago when it was first created using flour, oil, and spices.

Although Italian folklore claims the first pizza originated in none other than Italy, in ancient times the Greeks also enjoyed dining on unleavened breads topped with a variety of ingredients before baking. The first written reference of pizza occurred around the year 1,000 AD in Italy as circles of dough known as "picea" were topped with fillings and then baked. A few hundred years later, leavened dough was used to create the type of pizza crust we know and love today.

Tomatoes, a common component used to make pizza today, were once widely believed to be poisonous. Also, the fruit was not even introduced to Europe by Spanish conquistadors until sometime during the 16th century and mozzarella cheese, another staple of pizza, was also still unheard of in Italy at that time.

By the 1800s, pizza was gaining in popularity and became a tourist attraction in the Naples region of Italy as word spread of this delicious food. Pizza was commonly sold from outdoor stands lined with street vendors hawking their freshly baked wares and the smell would entice visitors from all around. The very first authentic pizzeria is said to have opened in Naples, Italy around the year 1830.

Pizza in Italy also soon became a favorite fish of aristocrats and members of the royal family and it was eaten on a regular basis as the main course and also as a side dish for lunch and dinner. Interestingly enough, pizza in Italy soon became known as a rather patriotic dish as its main colors, red from the tomatoes, white from the mozzarella cheese, and green from the basil leaves, are the same as those on the Italian flag.

Kalamata and Mozzarella Pizza Recipe

What You Need

1 large ball pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1-1/2 cups Kalamata olives, pitted, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

How to Make It

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a circular shape. Brush the olive oil all over the pizza dough and bake for about 8 minutes or until the crust puffs up and just starts to turn brown.

Simmer the tomato sauce and the seasonings over low to medium heat for about 15 minutes. Allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes before spreading all over the pizza. Top with the tomatoes, peppers, olives, onions, and the mozzarella cheese.

Bake the pizza for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the crust has turned golden brown.

Sprinkle the feta cheese on top of the pizza and bake for another 3 minutes.

Serves 4.




Pizza recipes are great for parties, special occasions, or just for serving to a houseful of hungry kids for lunch or dinner. Whatever types of pizza you may like best you can always vary the ingredients you use slightly for a fresh, new taste.

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Thursday, December 2, 2010

5 Healthy Breakfast Menus - Plus How To Save Money On Breakfast!

Five Healthy Breakfast Menus you can easily make under 15 minutes. These menus are low cost, super simple, and delicious. The whole family will love these Five Healthy Breakfast Menus!

Lately I've been on the search for variety in meals for my family. Let's start with Breakfast! I try to make a balanced breakfast with protein, whole grain carb, some healthy fat, and fruit. It fills my family up until lunch time on school days. Here my top Five Healthy Breakfast Menus-


Whole wheat pita filled with scrambled eggs and cheese, add diced veggies in the eggs if the kids will eat it, and strawberries on the side.
Breakfast Burritos- Whole grain tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, leftover sausage from the day before, salsa, avocado, low-fat cheese, you name it, stick it in there. Find out what they your family loves. Be creative, use shrimp, leftover diced potatoes, etc., plus watermelon on the side.
Hard boiled eggs (I have an egg cooker I got from Wal-greens, just pop the eggs in and it buzzes when they are done, super easy, cook extra for after school snacks), lean turkey sausage, Ezekiel bread toasted (this stuff is SO healthy and my kids love it, because they are use to it!) with 100% all fruit jelly, and sliced banana on the side.
Waffles or pancakes- Make from scratch, takes 5 min to stir together, and 7-8 minutes to cook, actually very easy, fresh, and healthy- Recipe: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, pinch of stevia, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 4 TBSP soft butter, 2 1/2 cups milk or almond milk, 2 eggs, beaten. Mix dry first, then add the rest together, stir until well blended, adjust the milk as necessary, add a little extra for thinner pancakes or less for thicker pancakes. Can use recipe in a waffle maker or for pancakes. Cook for a few minutes on each side, Variations; add mashed banana, pumpkin, blueberries, cinnamon, vanilla, diced apples, etc. Top with maple syrup, or honey. Try to stay away from regular pancake syrup, the stuff is no good- really. Or top with strawberries! Yum! (You can make a double batch and stick the extras in the freezer, then on another day just pop them in the toaster for a quick breakfast!)
Greek yogurt is amazing because it is full of protein, it is great for breakfast with fruit, and half and of a whole wheat English muffin.

Plus two bonus Breakfast menus- (*smile*)


Oatmeal is great, get the old fashioned oats, takes just five minutes to cook on the stove or microwave, stir in peanut butter, or a scoop of whey protein powder, top with a few nuts, sweeten with stevia or honey, serve with sliced apples or berries.
Smoothies, you can do all kinds of things with smoothies. Now these don't seem to keep my kids full as long, so you will have to see how it works for your family. Start with ice, a scoop of whey protein powder, yogurt, fruit like bananas, strawberries, pineapple, etc (yah, just throw what you have in there!), sweeten with a tad bit of stevia, and blend!

As you can tell I like to use Stevia to sweeten instead of sugar or artificial sugar. You can find Stevia anywhere now! Trader Joes, health food stores, grocery stores. Stevia is all natural, has no calories, and doesn't affect your blood sugar level. It's good stuff.

Money saving tips for my Five Healthy Breakfast menus-


Shop at a store such as Sam's Club or Costco for most items.
Watch store circular ads for their rock bottom sale prices, buy those items in large quantities while they are at the lowest price.
Shop health stores (such as Sprouts) that have big bins of grocery stapes that you scoop yourself, items like whole wheat flour, oats, sea salt, beans, brown rice, etc. The prices are much lower in bulk bins. (Stay away from the bulk candy bins smile)
To save money on produce hit up Farmer's Markets or Fruit Stands, prices are about a third of what you would pay in a normal store.
Make your own home-made muffins or scones using whole grains and natural sweeteners instead of white flour and sugar, store in freezer. Pull out for breakfast or after school snacks!

I hope you enjoyed the Five Healthy Breakfast Menus and it inspires you to try some new menus for your family. Have fun! If you plan ahead a bit you will be prepared to whip out breakfast in the morning in 15 minutes or less. You can do it! You are busy, but you can have a nice family breakfast in the morning. It's great to pull the family together in the morning for a nice breakfast, it doesn't need to be elaborate or fancy, but nutritious and fun! Send your kids off to school, or off to play after a warm loving breakfast (well, minus the sibling fighting, and the part about "hurry up so you won't be late for school". ha!).




The author of this article is a busy mom and fitness motivator who offers practical support with family life and accountability with fitness goals. Visit www.AnnMarieRichardson.com today to view more of her Tips For Busy Moms and Five Healthy Breakfast Menus.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Egg Production and Distribution

Birds and eggs have existed since before Man and the first recorded history of domesticated wild fowl were found in East Indian history as early as 3200 BC. Records show domesticated hens throughout history but it has been believed that Columbus, on his second trip to the Americas in 1493, brought with him the ancestors of the chickens we see today. There are close to 200 breeds and varieties of chickens worldwide, but the most common laying hen is the Single Comb White Leghorn.

Over the centuries, the processes used for egg production and distribution have changed and improved drastically. The process is broken down into seven basic steps, with some of the steps containing more detailed work within them:

Laying: The hens need to have well balanced and nutritious meals in order to be good egg producers. Their diet plan is researched on a constant basis to ensure the best diet is given as much as possible. They have free access to fresh water and the food is distributed by computer controlled feeders. The more modern hen houses are computer controlled with the temperature, humidity, and ventilation systems all run by means of these computers. The lighting too is on a timed system since light seems to be what triggers the hens to lay the eggs. The highest and most common egg laying happens between 7 and 11 am. The cages are raised off the floor so that waste can drop out of the cage and to keep air flow open to the floor of the cage which prevents sores from forming on the hens' feet or bodies, as well as keeping various diseases at bay.

Collecting: In most instances, collection is performed by the eggs automatically dropping onto a conveyor belt, below the hens' cages. They travel along this belt to the washing station.

Washing: The eggs need to be cleaned and sanitized by washing them with a special cleaning solution and water that is more than 100 F or 38 C. Once washed, they are then rotated past 16 individual cameras, which inspect them for any remaining dirt spots. If spots are found, the egg returns back to the beginning of the process to be re-washed. Once the washing has been completed, the eggs are sent to be graded according to size, and weight.

Packing: Machines automatically place the eggs in separate sections; lining them up in accordance to the grade they have been given. To lessen the chance of breakage during shipping, the eggs are placed in foam or fiber cartons. The cartons are labeled appropriately and a "best before" date is printed on the carton as a guide for the consumer. Each carton is then packed into boxes for later shipping.

Cooling: The boxes of eggs are then placed in a climate controlled warehouse for storage until they are shipped out. The eggs are stored at 45 F or 7 C to maintain the egg quality. When they are ready for shipping, the boxes are loaded into refrigeration trucks to keep the temperature at the same level. Once shipped and in the stores, the grocer also maintains the temperature of the cartons by keeping them in a refrigerated unit until they are sold.

In Canada, there are approximately 1050 egg producers in operation, all following these procedures. In comparison, there are about 280 million producers in the United States and just one of them can produce as many eggs as all those found in Canada.

Eggs were once seen as a springtime food because of many of the older Easter traditions, but now they have become more versatile and a mainstay of most meal plans.




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