Vegetarian Means Vegan, Right?

Actually vegetarians tend to differ from what Vegans consider themselves to be. The exact reasons for why, evade me at the moment.

I eat plenty of vegetables but also enjoy eggs so I think this means I may be a vegetarian but I am not a vegan because eggs are not on their menu. I need to watch my calories and weight.

Veganism, if I may, seems to be more like a religion than just a healthy eating regime. I think the term is applied to not only eggs but even to wearing things that may have once been alive, like leather.

I have no feelings on this one way or another and think our life choices are just that, our life choices.

Monday, July 27, 2009

If Only Christopher Columbus Had Had A Navy Bean Soup Recipe

By Kris Russell

'Goodbye England' ' and 'Hello America'. Once my family and I had taken the decision to lift up our roots and head to the US for a new life, it didn't take us long to make the necessary changes. We were all very keen to embrace opportunities available in the New World, and quite rapidly found ourselves living the life ' and being a part of a real neighbourhood.

One of the things we most wanted to do was to try to fit in. Standing out as foreigners didn't really appeal, and we all wanted to not only embrace the whole concept of the American life, but we wanted America to embrace us too. When in Rome.. and all that. So we all tried hard to understand the local customs, the traditional activities, and even the food. My wife and I both love cooking, and to us food is very important.

For many years we've been very happy to cook traditional British recipes, everything from Fish and Chips to the old Spotted Dick. But now we were in the US we wanted to introduce our family to traditional US recipes. At first we were slightly stumped, knowing that we couldn't very well feed our kids on steak and chips every day. What we needed to do was to find out as much as we could about healthy, delicious recipes we could enjoy making in our new home.

So we spent quite a while trying to identify just what makes a traditional US recipe. We were looking for recipes that were very much part of America, taking in its history and culture as well as local foods and popular dishes. We had started making a lot of friends, and wanted to be able to offer them local recipes and typical US meals, not so much to make them feel at home, but to help them feel that we were trying to feel at home ourselves.

Our search for traditional US recipes was predominantly carried out online, and we found a huge number of US recipes we had never heard of, and were very anxious to try. We came across a Navy Bean Soup recipe which sounded fantastic, as well as a Ham Navy Bean soup recipe. These sounded ideal, not just because they were delicious and healthy, but warming too. As the weather was chilly even by the standards of an Englishman used to the somewhat inclement climate of the UK, we felt that it would be ideal to find recipes that were warming.

Well, our first attempt at following the Navy Bean Soup recipe was, though I say so myself, superb. The whole family loved it, including our kids. We tried the Ham Navy Bean Soup recipe shortly afterwards, and this went down a treat too. Mind you, it was all very well having two successful dishes to our repertoire, but this might become somewhat tedious over time. However, I had another look at the website we got the Navy Bean Soup recipe from, and had quite a surprise.

The website from where I downloaded the Navy Bean Soup Recipe had a number of others available, two hundred other recipes to be precise. I figured that two hundred traditional US recipes would probably be about enough to see my family through the winter! They sounded just as appetizing as the Ham Navy Bean Soup recipe, and when I saw the price I was astonished, 200 recipes for just $10!

To be able to pick up two hundred delicious, traditional US recipes, each as enticing as the Navy Bean Soup recipe, and as easy to follow was great, and for $10 there's simply no argument. I ordered a pizza the other day that cost more than that! I know that the $10 I spent on those 200 recipes was appreciated by the whole family and I think our new found friends from the local neighbourhood are quite appreciating it too!

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Eating Chicken Can Be Great For Your Health

By Chris Lee

It is a widely known fact that eating chicken is a much healthier act than eating beef. Not considering the fat difference, the protein in chicken is much leaner as well. Medical professionals encourage their patients, particularly those with heart disease, to consume chicken at least three times each week. Research has been done on the results of substituting chicken for beef or pork in those older people who have AMD. People who are fifty or older have a much higher risk of contracting macular degeneration or AMD.

Other studies have shown that eating chicken in place of fattier proteins can reduce your overall risk of other diseases. It is also important to add fresh fruits and vegetables to your daily food intake. Since most people enjoy the flavor of chicken, this should not be a problem.

There are thousands of ways to prepare chicken that are healthy and delicious. There are many ways that you can prepare your chicken that are healthy, but still give you the taste that you love. By simply substituting chicken for six meals each week, instead of fattier proteins, you will begin to notice positive changes in your health very soon. You can lower your risk of heart disease, lose fat and enjoy healthier blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Substituting chicken for fattier proteins is one way that you can contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Taking this step can lower your risk for many age-related conditions. Choose some recipes that will allow you to prepare your chicken in a healthier way and you will soon see your risks for certain diseases dropping. The protein in chicken is not fatty, which is what you get when you eat red meats and pork.

Chicken has a much healthier overall protein, includes much less fat per serving than other meats and is simply one of the healthiest meats available for consumers. If you feel that you may eventually grow tired of eating chicken every day, simply mix it up a bit. Due to this versatility, there are thousands of ways to prepare this meat for a number of different meals. For the taste, versatility, lean protein and other health benefits, you simply cannot find a better meat than chicken.

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Create Your Restaurant Menu Cover

By Zack Dobbins

Are you thinking of starting your own restaurant? Or do you wish to design a restaurant menu cover? Designing is a fun and enjoyable activity which is meant to show how creative and unique you and your restaurant are. Before beginning to design a menu cover however, there are certain things you should consider:

What is your restaurant?s theme? Are you planning on a restaurant that is fun and comfortable for the whole family? This should be shown in your menu cover. Are you planning for a fine dining restaurant? Then make sure that the menu cover you create will show your customers the great service and special food that your restaurant has to offer.

Nobody wants a thoughtlessly done cover; if your menu cover shows some detail and is generally attractive, this will give the customers an idea of the careful planning of your restaurant, and that they will expect the same service to be given to them. Though seemingly irrelevant, your restaurant menu cover will actually say a lot to your customers.

Creating a menu cover does not mean you have to put painstaking details; it simply should show a bit of careful planning, a dash of fun, and a lot of creativity. Normally, restaurant menu covers are pretty similar; this is alright for a regular restaurant, but you want to give your customers the idea that your restaurant is different from others. Whether fun or a serious, a menu cover should immediately draw customers in; making them feel comfortable and excited to taste the dishes that you offer.

The usual things you consider in creating your menu cover should be the font and its size, the colours, as well as the graphics or images you want to put. Your menu cover can also be plain, if you want a classic, elegant look. The size of your menu cover depends on the number of dishes you are offering, as well as the images you want to place inside.

Placing pictures inside your menu is a nice idea, as it will give your customers an idea of what the food is like, especially if they have not tried it before, or if they have forgotten what it is. Fun images will show a fun cover and restaurant, while elegant frames will show a classic fine dining restaurant.

When designing your menu cover, do not feel as if it is unnecessary; you do not want a simple list of the food you will be serving. Nor should you think that it is a tiresome project; a beautiful and effective menu cover can be simple. Make sure you do not create a complicated menu cover that has too many designs in it; this will only serve to confuse your customers.

Whatever design you have in mind, and whatever theme your restaurant has, make sure that designing your menu cover is a fun activity for you, as it should show how unique your restaurant is, and how creative you are. After you have made a nice menu cover, you will see the smiles in your customers? faces!

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Coffee - How To Make A Great Espresso!

By Marc Warren

Every barista (professional maker of coffee drinks) will have his or her method. Here's mine...

It all starts with water. No coffee grounds, no matter the quality, can overcome an association with poor water. It must be fresh and very hot. Yes, even water can get stale, thanks to mildew, poor cleaning practices, and inadequate filtering. The optimum temperature is 203F (95C), nearly boiling.

When selecting a bean, choose arabica. This bean is grown at a higher altitude which gives them a better flavor. Fresh is important so if you do not grind the bean yourself be sure you buy fresh grounds. You can tell its freshness by the aroma.

The robusta coffee bean is excellent for a nice hot cup of coffee to give you a boost for your day. This is because of its high content of caffeine. But these beans should not be used for espresso.

You want your beans to be ground in a burr grinder and not chopped. And the beans should be a French or Viennese roast because these are dark roasts best for espresso.

The distance between the plates determines the fineness of the granules. Sand grain-sized is good, powder is too fine, and small-gravel too large. Of course, the grind should not be exposed to air any longer than necessary. Coffee, like any food, will oxidize and absorb odors from the air. Neither is conducive to a good cup.

And, last but not least, a good espresso requires a clean machine of good quality. 'Good quality means: generates heat by boiler or thermoblock and is capable of producing pump pressure of 9 bar or better. A 'thermoblock' heats water as it passes through the machine on the way to the pump. Avoid the cheaper units that rely on steam to create pressure.

Now that you have gathered together the right equipment the rest is up to you the maker.

Start by running good clean water through the espresso machine to be sure it is nice and clean and to warm it up to get it ready for your coffee. Simply run clean water, no coffee, through the machine.

Put in your coffee and pat it down a bit. It should not be packed in to tight but it should not move around easily either.

Replace the coffee holder into the machine and secure it well. Then replace your warmed espresso cup into the machine and you are ready to turn the machine on to start the process.

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