hot dog stand tribute

The Benefits of Electric Cordless Kettles

Coffee is one of the most enjoyed beverages all over the world – hot or cold. And many have benefited from making coffee in the comforts of their home. It is incredibly easy for coffee lovers to use a cordless kettle product.
A cordless electric kettle has many advantages over the traditional stove. Anyone who drinks coffee on a regular basis will be glad for a device that makes the process of preparing coffee easy.

Many Advantages of Cordless Kettles

One of the advantages of changing to a cordless kettle is the time saved. Conventional stoves take about ten minutes to boil water for coffee. But water in a cordless electric kettle will be ready in five minutes – or less. This is beneficial for people who start their morning early. Often we find ourselves very busy; this is where an electric cordless kettle comes in.
An electric kettle can be easier on your electricity consumption as well. Since the traditional stove heats unevenly, energy consumption varies. Whereas the electrical power in cordless kettles goes directly to heat water.
Small cordless electric kettles are also safe alternatives. The majority of units in the market have a neat feature of automatic shut off when the water reaches boiling point. This feature will be appreciated by busy people and individuals who frequently forget. If you are to boil water on the traditional stove for an extended time, the bottom of the kettle may burn and will result to unwanted problems. It can also lead to fire hazards if left unattended.
The cordless electric kettle has the capability to heat up water to a certain temperature. This innovative feature is ideal for people who prefer their coffee or tea not too hot. This is very difficult to attain when using a conventional kettle. A cordless electric kettle really is a smart choice.

Copyright (c) 2009 Graceland International Inc.

Would you like to provide your family with cost effective, healthy meals that are easy to prepare and appealing to children? With your busy schedules running around from football practices, to soccer games, to dance recitals and music lessons without a spare moment in between. This is where a menu planning becomes a life saver for active families.

Creating nutritional meal plans starts with a meal pattern that takes into consideration a variety of foods, colors, textures, and meal components and then combines them throughout the daily menus.

It even gets better if you could get a four week menu plan including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Included with the four week menu plan is grocery lists so you have all the ingredients you need to create the delicious recipes – this will give your family one full month of healthy meals.

Dinner menu creativity can be very challenging at times especially when there is a need to incorporate healthy diet into the menu. A little helping hand may go a long way.

There are some debates on whether menu planning service really worth given a try. I think you should be the judge of that…

***7 Reasons to Treat Yourself to the Benefits of a Menu Planning Service***

- Menu planning services offer a wide range of foods and recipes that are wholesome, delicious, and nutritious. These planned menus incorporate all your family’s favorite foods while staying within your budget.

- You’ll get bonuses full of tips and strategies for saving time and money while giving your family a healthy heart diet. Skip the fast food joints and keep your family on the road to health and well being with pre-planned menus.

- Menu planning services create real life daily menus that take advantage of the quick cooking time of microwaves, the slow cooking of a crock pot that will have a full, hearty meal ready when you get home with the kids, or a timed oven that will cook a whole turkey or roast beef while your scooting around town on errands and kid’s activities.

- Imagine four weeks of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks all figured out and ready to go. For a healthy, active lifestyle, menu planning is the way to go.

- Eat healthy during the holidays and on special occasions. Menu planning will keep you on track with healthy, low calorie foods while enjoying the holidays with your family.

- No need to break that resolution you made about losing weight for the New Year. With menu planning recipes, there is no need to worry. A low calorie, low fat, low sugar, or organic menu plan is all you need.

- A menu planning kit usually provides up to four weeks of quick, easy dinner recipes that follow meal patterns, providing your busy family with healthy meals.

The fun of menu planning is that there is no right way or wrong way, as long as you provide your families with all the required daily nutrients. Holiday planning is stimulating and gets you in the mindset of the holiday and the opportunity to try a variety of menu ideas.

A menu planning service could be a life saver when you ran out of healthy menu choices and dinner time is no longer FUN.

The students at Robertson Charter School had no idea what they were in for when they walked into the auditorium to find a group of strangely dressed adults. The grown-ups, employees of the University of Illinois Extension, were dressed up to represent the characters of the OrganWise Guys program.

Hardy Heart; Peri Stolic, the large intestine; Pepto, the stomach; Windy, the lungs; the Kidney Brothers; Sir Rebrum, the brain; Calci M. Bone; Madame Muscle; Peter Pancreas and Luigi Liver, paraded before the children, each spreading his or her own special message.

The OrganWise Guys program, devised by Dr. Michelle Lombardo of Georgia in the early ’90s to teach youngsters about basic human anatomy and physiology and the importance of making healthy choices in their daily lives, only recently came to the local area through the efforts of Naiman Khan, a dietitian and University of Illinois doctoral student.

The extension recently got funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois to expand the program, which already exists in Chicago and Peoria, to area schools.

“We’re targeting about 16 schools,” Khan said.

Last week’s assembly was only the beginning for the Robertson students. Each site in the program gets a kit with plush toys, workbooks, DVDs and other materials to continue the curriculum as long as it would like. The Extension educators plan to return to the school for monthly lessons.

The OrganWise Guys’ world is both whimsical and educational. Rather than learning about the digestive system through a book, for instance, Peri Stolic, the large intestine, translates it into song on one of the DVDs.

“Solid waste elimination is my noble occupation,” the gray puppet sings. “I monitor and schedule all the solid waste migration. I’m a necessary part of everybody’s automation, but nobody wants to mention me in dinner conversation.”

Most people probably don’t picture the colon as a cute, sad-eyed character wearing a little blue bow, but there she is on the screen, singing an affirming song about her job of “taking out the body’s trash.”

“I am colon, hear me roar!” she exclaims at the end of the number.

Research has shown that the program sticks with kids, Khan said.

“I like the fact that it utilizes all different ways of learning,” he said. “We are not just giving the kids knowledge by giving them texts. We’re using games, activities, having the kids more involved in the learning process.”

During the assembly, the presenters addressed four important tips. “Low fat, high fiber, lots of water, exercise,” became their mantra, and the kids chanted it with them.

Khan portrayed Sir Rebrum, the brain, encouraging the students to eat a healthy breakfast.

“I was picked for the role because I’m a grad student,” he said. “I’m a nerd by default.”

Phyllis Herring, an Extension educator in charge of two nutrition programs, was dressed as Windy, the lungs.

“It’s important because we know that there has been an epidemic of obesity with children,” she said of getting the curriculum in schools, adding that the program teaches students about how nutrition works from the inside out.

Schools have been creative with the program, Khan said. One school even performed a play based on the characters.

Amber Halvorson, a dietetic intern at St. Mary’s Hospital, played Calci M. Bone at the assembly. She works with community agencies as part of her rotation.

“I think it’s a good idea,” she said of the program. “I think it will be effective. It’s important to link what you eat with what goes on in your body and let kids know that.”

Holiday appetizers are all about the different flavors that satisfy your taste buds. Whether it is Christmas evening or a huge party with your friends, a table with assorted appetizers along with a bowl of punch is indeed a great beginning. There are some specific appetizers are there for some occasions like; you can’t have Labor Day party without chicken wings or Halloween without crawly cookies.

Let’s look at some easy to make holiday appetizers for this holiday season. Mini quiches, are easy to make holiday appetizer. You can add any flavor from chopped olives to tiny shrimps. Filo onion rolls can be the other option where there can be a variation by making triangles instead of long roll. They have to be kept crisp and have to be baked them just before serving. Tapende, is a spread made with different type of chopped olive. Apple mint chutney, any kind of chutneys are great as spread for anything, you can make many different types of ingredients.

There are traditional holiday party appetizers like chips or sandwiches, which can also be a used as Holiday appetizers. Just with cheese balls, you can have many different appetizers like mini cheddar cheese balls, pineapple balls, salmon cheese balls, sausage cheese balls. You can have many different dip recipes like creamy shrimp dip, chili dip, artichoke cheese dip, crockpot spice chile cheese dip, avocado dip, lobster dip, clam sip, beef and bean dip and more such dip with anything you have with you at home. You can have many different salsa recipes.

If you don’t want ordinary chips and dip then here are exclusive appetizers for your holiday party. Holiday goat cheese leaf, just make small loaf with goat cheese in plate, cover it with olives, sun dried tomatoes and peppers and spread some pita chips around goat’s loaf. Or you can make Cranberry brie pizza, cranberry cream cheese roll ups or special holiday meatballs with various vegetables and meat. Then you can have spiced sausage lettuce wraps. Gingerbread caramel corn is also one very delicious recipe, in this flavor of gingerbread is combined with sweet and crunchy caramel corn.

If you want some show stopper appetizer for your holiday party, you can combine your cooking skills with creativity to produce creative holiday appetizers. You can make Christmas cheese trees with just combination of different cheese and some sauces like pesto sauce. You can make many different creative appetizers with combination of cheese like cheese pinecones or snowman cheese balls and many more. With olives you can make perky olive penguins. You can serve your smoked salmon with cucumber cups. Then you can have different tarts or you can create Santa with strawberries.

Holiday appetizers are usually very rich and heavy. If you want to have some low fat but tasty appetizers like; marmalade, apple butter on lo fat cracker with slices of gourmet cheese. Pears and low fat cheddar cheese is delicious but healthy option. If you chose lean varieties then ham and turkey are low fat meats. Different appetizers made up if Shrimps is also great low fat recipe option.

Halloween can be a parent’s worst nightmare. Just picture those sugar-infused little bodies that ultimately crash at the end of a late night in the form of one doozy of a tantrum. Now that’s a scary halloween.

How are you going to deal with your little gremlin this October 31st?

Plan a pre-holiday family meeting – Parents, meet with your kids before halloween trick-or-treating or parties and work together to come up with a plan for how much candy they can have. Make them a part of the decision making process so they feel they have some say.
For better or for worse – What’s better, what’s worse? Look out for food dyes and colours as some kids react; allergies, behavioural issues or difficulty sleeping. If chocolate is their favourite, have some healthier choices (organic or dark choc) on hand and make a trade for the ‘junk’ ones. Talk about why you are trading, using this as a great learning opportunity for all (and don’t forget to mention that in your family meeting).
Post-holiday crash – Ever notice an increase in colds, flu or tummy aches post sugar rush? Sugar can depress the immune system for hours so boost the immune system with some probiotics for a week or so before and give some extra vitamin C (powders work well – mix in water or dilute juice) to try to dodge the sickness that’s likely to follow October 31st. Also if you notice digestive upsets, headaches and eczema flare-ups, the sugar intake can be the cause.
Balanced dinner before – Help keep those blood sugar levels from peaking and crashing with a pre-trick-or-treating meal, which is a balance of carbs, veggies and protein. Take a water bottle with you en route with diluted juice, or thermos with herbal tea as it’s usually chilly.
Do YOUR part – Ever thought about starting a new trend? It’s easier with the younger ones. Start a new tradition of giving out small toys to your trick or treaters. Talk about giving out healthier choices and alternatives. My faves include:

- Recycled Crayon Stars – pack of 20. Hand out one to each kid (maybe the younger ones).

- Glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets – a visit to the dollar store got a whole lot healthier!

- Stickers or temporary tattoos.

- Candies and other treats made with alternative sweeteners. Whole Foods Market has a fantastic assortment of lollipops and individually wrapped treats that won’t have your dentist running for cover.

- Candies or treats made with natural food colorings including beet, carrot and others.

trade up the Loot – is there something that your little princess or Spiderman has been coveting? Suggest a trade of their bag of loot (after some nibbling of course) for a longer lasting treat, or have the “halloween Pumpkin” (cousin of the tooth fairy) come a day after halloween and leave that special something in its place.

Now if I could only find somewhere to donate the treats to after my daughters forget about it (out of sight out of mind after a few days), I’d be happier.

If you know of a charity that would welcome some treats, or have a great suggestion of what to do with it all, please share!

For more information, please visit www.sproutright.com or www.socialtoddler.com

Do you drool over the delectable dishes made by your favorite celebrity chefs on The Food network? Many people watch those shows and wonder how those chefs got so lucky as to find themselves in a position where they work in amazing kitchens, cook their own set of recipes and get paid to be seen doing it all on television. How exactly does one go from an Alabama culinary arts program to a Hollywood kitchen? It’s not magic. It takes hard work, dedication to developing a culinary career and a little bit of charisma. It’s something that anyone can do if they set their minds to it but only a few ever get motivated enough to make it so far.

The first place to start is getting an education in cooking. Perhaps not all of the chefs on The Food Network went to a culinary arts program but most of them did. If you looked at their resumes, you’d find that it didn’t matter whether they went to a well-known chef school in a city like New York or to an Alabama culinary arts school that few had heard of. The point is that they started the classes, finished the program and learned everything that they could along the way. Someone who is going to make it all the way to The Food Network has to be committed to taking advantage of every lesson that is offered both inside and out of the classroom.

Education alone won’t suffice, though. You also will need to get experience in the real world. Most chefs work their way up the ladder. They start out as assistants. Eventually, they become the head chef of a nice kitchen. From there, they move up to running the kitchen in a better restaurant. And these days, they may go from there to a position on a television show where they can just cook without having to serve anybody at all. They are willing to start at the bottom but they also make active efforts to move up. You have to know when it’s time to say enough is enough and take the next leap up that ladder.

As you’re out there getting this education and experience in the culinary arts world, you should be networking with as many people as possible. Leave a lasting impression on the chefs who teach the classes that lead to your degree. Remember to go the extra mile to make sure that bosses at all levels of the job remember who you are. The food that you cook is important but the connections that you make are what will often get you the jobs that you desire. You should make it a point to network at events and meet influential people in the food business. Make sure that you’re attending some events, which are related to food on television so that you can build up your connections in that specific area.

What all of these different steps have in common is that you have to have confidence in yourself to make them work. If you’re the kind of person who thinks, having an Alabama culinary arts degree is one that no one is going to care about, you’ll sabotage your chance at starring on food TV before you even get started. If you decide that you’ll make the most of each opportunity and use it to show off your unique talents, you’re already a star. The people who have celebrity personalities are the ones that will be able to combine their love for cooking with their desire for a spot in the spotlight.

In today’s world of 2 minute instant cup of  noodles, there are lots of speculations about how to adopt the healthy eating methods to achieve those healthy families. A healthy eating plan is helpful to a great extent as it includes major calculations about the nutrients and ingredients that a human body needs. One of the most important points of healthy living is never to skip breakfasts as they are the most significant part of a day’s meals and they are able to keep you going for the entire day. Another big problem people cant seem to remember is not to eat so many big meals. Instead, meals should be broken down into several smaller meals per day so that the body is able to absorb the food more efficiently. Many healthy families have reported that as a part of healthy lifestyles, they follow a regular time table for their meals and by having meals at the right time daily, they are able to keep themselves in perfect shapes.
When we talk about healthy food and healthy eating habits, the very first thing that comes to our mind includes fruits and vegetables. No doubt but they should be a mandatory part of a person’s diet without which, a proper nutritious diet is not possible at all. While looking for healthy eating foods, you should ensure that they are natural and organic as far as possible. You should try to avoid artificial and canned foods as far as possible and also make sure that you consume some cereals also for your breakfast. These are healthy foods to be eaten in the morning as they are able to provide enough energy to the person’s body. It is also better to eat green foods as much as possible as they are extremely rich in nutrients like calcium, fiber and vitamin C.
Some of the most popular healthy food items include Broccoli, wild salmon, grape tomatoes, milk and sweet potatoes. It is wise to make a list of which foods you should eat and which foods you should avoid so that it will become easier to understand which foods you should consume. The main type of food that should be avoided are fats and foods that contain too much of sugar. Healthy foods such as different types of nuts not only provide a lot of energy to the body but also a great deal of body strength.
People who believe in healthy lifestyle and healthy living are looking for ways through which they can prepare food at their own home. We all know the unhealthy ways of dealing with food in restaurants and unreliable quality of grains ground in grinding mills in the market. Several healthy cooking equipments are available in the market including juicers, flour and grain mills, blenders, sprouters and cookers so that you can prepare your own food with your own hands and eliminate any chances of adulteration and unhygienic methods of cooking. All these healthy cooking equipments help the consumers to carry out all methods of cooking at their own home including sprouting, roasting, baking and blending and adopt a healthy lifestyle of living.

Read more and find out other tips to a healthier lifestyle at :http://eatingplantoloseweight.com/

This dish is very similar to a stew recipe because of the combination of vegetables and a chicken, beef or lamb, but it is finished off in the oven rather than on the stove top or in a slow cooker. The dark meat chicken gives the dish a stronger flavor than would be had with chicken breast or other white meat chicken. The dish is more hearty than even a stew because of the absence of added water. It is more like a roasted meat and vegetable dish.

 To convert this recipe to a stew, you could add a cup or two of water. You may have to adjust the amount of water to get the consistency you want. If you prefer beef, pork or lamb, any of these meats could probably be used in place of the dark meat chicken.

If you prefer vegetarian, then by all means go all vegetarian. If you decide to go this route, you should probably dredge the vegetables in flour (as you would the chicken or the other meats), then saute’ them before finishing the cooking. The vegetables themselves should provide enough water, but if you would prefer a soupier dish the add stock or water before going to the simmer stage. .

The recipe will taste great whichever way you do it..

Ingredients.

2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bell peppers, de-stemmed, seeded, and cut into strips

 2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped

1 stalk Celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions.

1 – Mix the salt and pepper with the flour and put on a plate.

2 – Dredge the chicken thighs in the mixture until coated all over, then shake off the excess.

 
3 – Saute’ in a cast iron or other oven proof skillet until browned.

4 – Add the vegetables, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

 
5 – Uncover and put the skillet in an oven preheated to 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

In this article today I would like to talk about several tips, tricks, and techniques that doctors use to stay healthy even though they are surrounded by sick people every single day of their lives and how you can use the same tips to stay healthy yourself.

Have you ever wondered why doctors aren’t sick all the time? I mean, they’re surrounded by sick people day in and day out… forever! Why don’t they constantly have the flu or other communicable diseases? Heck, it seems like I get sick just from shaking people’s hands in the winter, what gives?

Most doctors give scientific treatment to their patients and they often hold off on recommending different alternative treatments. This is ironic because many of those doctors use these same alternative treatments to stay healthy themselves throughout the year.

One alternative treatment is the use of vitamins and other supplements. Most doctors don’t recommend vitamins to patients but a recent study showed that over 60% of doctors take supplements regularly themselves. The best thing for anybody is to eat a healthy balanced diet to get the nutrients and vitamins that you need to keep your body going to stay strong and healthy. Unfortunately many of us don’t have the time or the money to eat healthy and in our case the next best thing is to load up on vitamins and supplements.

Everybody should take a multivitamin and just about any over-the-counter multivitamin will work well. But in addition to a regular multivitamin you may also look into taking vitamin B six, folic acid, vitamin C, and natural beta-carotene. The amounts of each of these supplements that you should take will vary based on your body’s own makeup and you should really speak to a doctor. before you engage in any vitamin regime.

In addition to taking vitamins, stress management is incredibly important. Most of us don’t realize the devastating effect that stress has on our body, literally shredding parts of our insides. Stress is not all in our head, it is an actual physical process that damages the tissues and cells in our bodies so anything we can do to reduce stress can only lead to healthier living.

One form of stress reduction I find beneficial is this simple meditation. Sit in a quiet and comfortable place and close your eyes. Focus your mind on a pleasant place, I think about the pond that I used to fish at when I was young. While you were picturing this place take 10 long deep breaths followed by 20 short shallow breaths. This exercise should take 5 to 10 minutes and should calm you immediately but if it doesn’t, simply repeat it.

So there you have several very simple tips and tricks and inside secrets that many doctors use to stay healthy throughout the year themselves even though they are surrounded by sick people day in and day out.