Alcohol Awareness

Every holiday I see a lot more swirvy (possibly drunk) drivers on the road and it's prime time for police departments all over the country when it comes to alcohol-related crimes. It stands to reason that people tend to drink more alcohol over the holidays and New Years due to parties or people feeling particularly lonely and melancholy. But don't let the holidays lure you into drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. It's the wrong thing to do on so many different levels. I'll just take the health angle here for a moment.

It's different for women: Men are from Mars once again. Because a woman's body has more fat and less muscle than a man's... alcohol lingers in a woman's bloodstream longer. You see, alcohol can be diluted in water-holding muscle tissue, but not in fat tissue. The health risks for cancer and liver disease are suspected of being greater for women.

In the long term, drinking beyond "moderate" dramatically increases your risk of disease and dying. This just in... Researchers from Italy pooled data from 34 observational studies conducted in Europe, the U.S., Australia, Japan, and China, where participants reported their drinking habits. This included a whopping 1 million people in total. Their data shows that consumption of little amounts of alcohol leads to a reduction of mortality up to 18%. But after a certain number of glasses, things radically change and the (disease) tables turn big time. People who drink too much increase their death risk in relation to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Yes, even cancer. Researchers have linked alcohol to head, neck and liver cancers and they believe it may be a culprit in higher risk for colon, rectal and breast cancers as well.

Drink in Moderation, Drink in Moderation, Drink in Moderation

Did I mention the importance of drinking in moderation? The rule of thumb for people who drink is to limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women and two for men-with one drink equaling 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. Granted this can be particularly difficult over the holidays, what with egg nog flowing and wine and brandy bottles everywhere. Here are 6 tips I hope will help:

* Start with a non-alcoholic drink. Try coffee, tea, soda (diet or regular), sparkling water with lemon, fruit punch or juice mixed with club soda.
* Try non-alcoholic options at the bar like non-alcoholic beers and wines (there are some great-tasting non-alcoholic beers!)
* When you do partake of your one or two drinks of alcohol, have the drink you most enjoy and are looking forward to.
* Don't drink on an empty stomach. Take small sips of your alcohol drink so a little lasts a long time and enjoy it with or near your meal so it will be digested along with some food. (This will help slow alcohol's effects).
* If you are the holiday host, help your guests drink less alcohol by having water or tea classes next to every plate at the table. Try using smaller-sized glasses to serve wine and other alcohol. And always provide plenty of non-alcoholic choices. If you are a guest, bring plenty of non-alcoholic drink choices to the party with you (like sparkling apple cider, non-alcoholic wine and beer, flavored mineral water, festive holiday tea bags, etc.
* Be festive without drinking alcohol! Enjoy light egg nog without the added liquor, enjoy sparkling apple cider or sparkling cranberry apple cider at the party or at the holiday table, enjoy coffee without added liquor.

The bottom line is simple: if you're going to drink, don't overindulge. And as always, don't drink and drive.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Top 10 Drinking Dangers, Strategies for a Hangover-Free Holiday

Technorati Tags: alcohol, drinking, holidays, newyear, cancer, mortality

Holiday Food Hazards

We all have our little idiosyncrasies don't we? Well I'll tell you one of mine if you tell me one of yours...

I'm downright paranoid about eating food at parties that has been sitting out too long. Hot food should be kept hot and cold food should be kept cold when it is sitting out at a party.

Here are some simple suggestions to help you do this:
* Keep hot food hot by only putting out smaller portions of hot food at a time. It's a little more work to bake or heat your batches as needed, but it's worth it!
* Keep hot food hot by keeping appropriate items in a crock-pot. You just need access to an electrical outlet and an extension cord might be needed.
* Chafing dishes can often be used for this purpose too.
* Keep cold food cold by putting out small batches of cold food at a time and replenish as needed. Store your second and third batches in the refrigerator until needed.
* Keep cold food cold by placing shallow bowls filled with your cold food item over a deeper bowl partly filled with ice.

What else do you need to know? Keep The 2 Hour Rule and the Leftovers Law in mind over the holidays when you are party hopping or enjoying holiday meals at homes of friends and family.

The 2-Hour Rule:
Once food is cooked, it should not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours, including serving, eating and cooling time. Why be so vigilant about this? Small amounts of bacteria that may be in or on meat and other perishable foods can reproduce rapidly at room temperature.

The Leftovers Law:
First of all, allow food to cool only briefly before refrigerating it. People have a habit of wanting to let food cool for hours before putting it in the refrigerator. Over the holidays especially, food can sit out for several hours before it is wrapped up and stored in the refrigerator. If you are at someone's house and you are looking forward to taking meat leftovers home (or dishes with other perishable ingredients), ask if you can make a plate for yourself right after the meal and then store it in the refrigerator immediately. If you have a long drive home, bring along one of those re-usable frozen blocks to keep your perishable food cool on the ride home. (If you don't have these, frozen boxes or pouches of fruit juice will work too). Store leftovers in shallow containers so they will cool quickly to the proper temperature in the refrigerator. Enjoy your leftovers the next day and possibly the day after that, but you probably want to throw out whatever is left on that third day. Better safe than sorry (that's my motto when making decisions about leftovers).

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Don't Let Food Make You Sick, Avoid Food Poisoning: Keep Your Fridge Safe

Technorati Tags: leftovers, foodsafety, parties, holidays

Recipe: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I love plain homemade mashed potatoes but I think I love this variation even more! The roasted garlic flavor is subtle throughout with roasted garlic cloves sprinkled in. You can do step #2 and step #3 simultaneously to save time. There isn't any added butter that way everyone can do what they wish at the table!

Makes 8 servings

2 large heads garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cup fat free half and half
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Slice about 1/4-inch off the top of the garlic heads, throw the tops away, and place heads on a piece of foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the garlic heads and wrap them well in the foil. Bake until tender and golden, (about 35-45 minutes). Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin away from the garlic cloves.

2. Add the garlic cloves to a small nonstick saucepan along with the fat free half-and-half. Start simmering the mixture over medium heat until cream is hot. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pan and continue to simmer for a couple more minutes. Turn the heat off and lift out the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon, place in custard cup and set aside. Leave the saucepan with half-and-half on the stove until needed.

3. Place quartered potatoes in a large stockpot, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potato pieces in a colander.

4. Add hot, steaming, and drained potato pieces directly to a large mixing bowl and beat on low while you slowly pour in the fat free half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper if desired and gently stir in the roasted garlic cloves. Serve!

Yield: 10 servings

Advice: WebMD Weight Loss Clinic journal as 3/4 cup starchy foods without added fat

Per serving: 200 Calories, 7 g protein, 45 g carbohydrate, .7 g fat (.1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 3 percent.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Cooking With Herbs, Roasted Garlic and Sage Pocket Rolls Recipe

Technorati Tags: mashedpotatoes, recipe, roastedgarlic

Taste Test Tuesday: Lean Cuisine Brick Oven Style Pizza

Individual frozen pizzas with 7 grams of fat and less than 300 calories. That got my attention. Well, that and the "brick oven style" advertising slogan plastered at the top of the box. It's new from Lean Cuisine and I bought the two flavors my store had: Gourmet Mushroom Pizza (with a creamy mushroom sauce) and Roasted Garlic Chicken Pizza (with a garlic sauce).

Tried them both and found myself exclaiming, "Hello...it's pizza! Where's the tomato sauce?" Both of these pizzas come with a flavored white sauce instead. But once I let go of the fact that they didn't have red sauce, I definitely liked the mushroom pizza better than the garlic chicken pizza. It had a pretty good flavor and the box that converts to a microwave pedestal for your pizza, did a pretty good job of crisping up the pizza crust too.

1 Lean Cuisine Brick Oven Style Gourmet Mushroom Pizza contains:
280 calories
7 g fat (22.5% calories from fat)
3 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
5 mg cholesterol
15 g protein
40 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
660 mg sodium

Bottom Line: The mushroom pizza was a pretty good option for work, or something you could keep in the freezer for meal emergencies. It would work even better nutritionally for lunch or dinner if you enjoyed it with some vegetables and fruit.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Choosing Frozen Meals Wisely, Make Your Own Fast Food

Technorati Tags: leancuisine, brickovenpizza, whitesauce, frozenpizza, pizza

Camera's Slimming Effects

"With the slimming feature anyone can appear more slender instantly," claims the ad for these new HP digital cameras.

Is it me or is this over the top? First of all let me just say that my personal experience has taught me that while TV adds 10 pounds, cameras often don't. And while reading their new ad, a few questions crossed my mind...

Why are we so obsessed with appearances that someone dreamed up and developed this special feature?... That some of us actually want a special feature on our cameras that helps us appear slimmer than we really are? And why is "slimmer" considered better? Will the next ads boast "lose 10 pounds in 10 seconds?"

The only positive thing I can think to say about this new invention is that taking a picture with the slimming feature of this camera is certainly safer than other "lose 10 pounds" alternatives like surgery, fad dieting or pharmaceuticals.

~Elaine

Related Topics: What's Your Price to Be Thin?, Thin Ads + Low Body Image = Stress

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Slashfood cookbook of the day....

The Fry Light, Fry Right Cookbook is featured as the Cookbook of the Day on Slashfood. Thanks Nicole and Slashfood!

Technorati Tags: slashfood, frylight, friedfoods, healthycooking, recipes, cookbooks

On the thirteenth day of Christmas...

We've all gotten them at one time or another-food gifts that were perhaps misguided or disappointing, or at the very least--comical. Sometimes it isn't the food gift itself that didn't work so much as the match between the food gift and the gift recipient.

A few of the examples below have actually happened to me over the years. Like in example number seven below? I was the goofball that, with all the best of intentions, gave a Starbucks gift card to a music teacher at my daughter's school. It didn't occur to me that he might be Mormon. And in the number six example, I was the person who was given dark chocolate as a gift, when anyone that knows me well, knows I prefer milk chocolate. Do you know who it was that gave me the dark chocolate? It happened to be my mother. And as someone who has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, I came up with the first example below based on a rather unfortunate personal experience.

So, with some tongue in cheek reflections of food gifts from Christmas past and some personal experiences from people I know, here is a list of 13 food gifts NOT to give:

1. Don't give sugar-free candies or chocolates to someone with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or other intestinal issues.

2. Don't give a tin of tea with special properties to someone whom it might offend. The Republic of Tea, for example, makes "Get Lost" tea (described as "herb tea for weight control") and "Get it Going" tea (herb tea for regularity) or "Get Gorgeous" tea (herb tea for clear skin).

3. Don't give alcohol to someone who doesn't (or shouldn't) drink.

4. Don't give those stale popcorn tins to pretty much anyone because if it isn't fresh, it isn't worth the calories.

5. Don't give fruit cake as a food gift because all of the fruit cake jokes known to man are bound to ensue mere moments after it is unwrapped.

6. Don't give a dark chocolate gift assortement to someone who is passionate about milk chocolate (or visa versa). Take it from a milk chocolate enthusiast... if they knew you well, they would know your chocolate preference! The same goes for giving cream-filled chocolates to someone who is rabid about "nuts and chews."

7. Don't give alcohol or anything with caffeine to a Mormon (someone who attends the Church of Latter-Day Saints) because these food items are not in line with their beliefs.

8. Don't give those holiday processed meat gift packs (ie. Hickory Farms or other gourmet catalogue companies) to someone who prefers to eat natural or believes strongly in eating vegetarian.

9. Don't give foods gifts that feature chocolate, peppermint/spearmint, garlic & onions, coffee, caffeinated tea, citrus, tomato products, and chili peppers, to someone who tends to suffer from acid reflux. These are some of the worst heartburn triggers discussed in my book, TELL ME WHAT TO EAT IF I HAVE ACID REFLUX).

10. Don't give any food that contains pork or pork products (or that combine dairy with meat products) to someone who is keeping kosher or observing Muslim dietary laws.

11. Don't give peanut brittle, caramel apples, and candy canes to people with braces. According to Dr. H. Dixon Taylor, an orthodontist in Concord, California, these are the three worst food gifts for someone with braces. (And about twenty percent of Dr. Taylor's clients happen to be grown ups.)

12. And to that friend of yours that is working really hard to lose extra pounds... Don't give them a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory. "That's just cruel," advises Kate Royston, a Senior Producer with WebMD.

13. Don't give chocolate covered insects to people who might be "bugged" by it. This actually happened to a WebMD moderator's mom and she was definitely not amused. While it's true I love chocolate, I'm not personally willing to choke down some bug juice along with it. You can find chocolate covered insects for purchase at science museums or candy websites such as candywarehouse.com. I found myself wondering what types of insects are used to make chocolate covered bugs (not that it would make me any less repulsed). They seem to use mealworms and crickets, which "give the treats a definite crunch," notes one company that sells them. Frankly, that pretty much says it all.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Why Our Loved Ones Hate Our Gifts, Emotional Survival Guide for the Holidays

Technorati Tags: holidays, holidayshopping, giftguide, foodgifts, fruitcake

On the twelfth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

12 Pieces of Personalized Fudge

Hello...It's the holidays! And what candy says "Christmas" more than fudge? But this fudge recipe is super special because it literally takes 5 minutes to make in the microwave. It also gives you some ideas and options to personalize your fudge. Your fudge recipient will know the fudge was created just for them.

Personalized 5-Minute Fudge
Ingredients:
3 cups chocolate chips, according to preference (such as 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips + 1 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips)
14 ounces fat free sweetened condensed milk
dash salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
mix-ins to personalize your fudge gift--such as:
* For Rocky Road Fudge (1 1/4 cups miniature marshmallows + 1 cup walnut pieces)
* For German Chocolate Cake Fudge (1 cup flaked or shredded coconut + 1 cup pecan pieces)
* For Peppermint Stick Fudge (1 cup crunched up candy canes)
* For Choco Mint Fudge (add 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract)
* For Peanut Butter Fudge (1 cup of peanut butter M&Ms)

Directions:
1. Line an 8 X 8-inch or 9 x 9-inch square baking dish with foil.
2. Add chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and a dash salt to an 8-cup microwave-safe glass measure and stir to blend. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir and microwave 1 minute more and stir until all the chocolate chips are completely melted and a smooth mixture has formed.
3. Stir in any of the mix-ins to personalize your fudge (including vanilla extract) and spoon into the prepared baking dish. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until firm. Pull foil out of baking dish so you can easily cut fudge into about 49 squares (cut 7 columns vertically and horizontally)

Yield: makes 49 squares

WebMD WLC Advice: Journal as 1 portion light dessert. Journal (with mix-ins) as 1 portion medium dessert.
Per 2 squares (not including mix-ins): 144 calories, 2 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g fiber, 25 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 37 percent.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Make-over Your Favorite Holiday Treat, Grand Marnier Fudge Recipe

Technorati Tags: fudge, fudgerecipe, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy Elaine Magee

On the eleventh day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

11 Cups of Coffee

But not just any coffee, give them the best coffee on the planet (at least what you think is the best coffee). You might want to know if they like their coffee locked and loaded (with caffeine) or if they are discreet decaf-ers (like myself). Obviously the "best" coffee on the planet is highly subjective, so I'm not even going to try to suggest what that might be. But if you are looking for a great-tasting coffee company that sells coffee befitting fine restaurants and cafes around the world and also happens to package their fabulous coffee in sleek festive looking tins...give Illy a look.

Illy is not just for espresso machines anymore, they now sell coffee ground perfectly for a drip coffee system! They sell a 2-pack for $26 that comes with two tins (8.8 ounces each) of medium grind for drip coffee in medium or dark roast-and an Illy-engraved measuring spoon is thrown in just for fun.

The Illy company was founded in Italy in 1933 and now its coffee is brewed in more than 41,000 of the best restaurants and coffee bars and is sold in over 100 countries around the world---totaling over 6 million cups of Illy espresso coffee a day! Basically it's been my personal coffee drinking experience that Illy offers coffee enthusiasts an authentic Italian experience in every cup. I will travel to Italy one of these years, but in the meantime, at least I've got my Illy coffee.

--Elaine

Related Topics: Coffee is #1 Source of Antioxidants, Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze

Technorati Tags: coffee, illy, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy of Illy

On the tenth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

10 Facts About Flaxseed

Send your special someone the gift of flax! You can send a pound of ground flaxseed along with these "Ten Facts About Flax." Or you can put together a little Flax Pack by packaging The Flax Cookbook with a pound of ground flaxseed... all wrapped up in holiday ribbon with a shiny new tablespoon measure dangling from the bow. The book is available on amazon.com for $11.64, and add a pound of ground flaxseed for about $2.50 per pound.

10 Facts About Flax

I think that flaxseed is one of the most nutritionally powerful plant foods on the planet. I believed this so much that I wrote a cookbook a few years ago titled, THE FLAX COOKBOOK. It was the first cookbook on the market that featured information and recipes for ground flaxseed. Quite a bit more research has come out since I wrote the book, most adding even more credibility to the idea of adding a tablespoon of ground flaxseed to your daily diet.

To help motivate you to add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed a day, here are 10 interesting facts about flax (most of which are from THE FLAX COOKBOOK):

1. Flaxseed has been on the planet for thousands of years and is currently mostly grown in Canada and the Dakota states.
2. You need to grind flaxseed before you eat or cook with it (or buy it ground) otherwise it passes through your digestive system and you don't get all of its nutritional attributes.
3. Flaxseed contains a high concentration of plant omega-3 fatty acids (around 1.5 grams per tablespoon) and lignans (phytoestrogen phytochemicals), which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
4. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contributes about 2.3 grams of fiber, a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber.
5. A tablespoon of ground flaxseed also contributed some important vitamins and minerals: 6% of the recommended daily amount for vitamin B6, 6% for vitamin E, 15% for folic acid, and 12% for magnesium.
6. Three new studies published in June 2006 point to positive effect of flaxseed: reducing the risk of breast and colon cancers, and decreasing inflammation caused by the treatment of lung cancer.
7. Why attach a tablespoon measure if you are giving a pound of ground flaxseed to someone as a gift? It serves as a reminder of the amount of flax to work into each day. "I think it is reasonable to take one tablespoon of ground flaxseed a day," says Lilian Thompson, Ph.D., an expert on flaxseed from the University of Toronto.
8. Lilian Thompson's recent animal studies suggest that flaxseed does not interfere with the action of tamozifen (medication often given to women being treated for breast cancer), as previous studies have found, rather "it helps tamoxifen in reducing human breast tumor growth," says Thompson. "However, there are no clinical data on this interaction yet." So stay tuned!
9. It only takes two weeks! Eat a higher omega-3 fatty acid diet for two weeks and you will see a significant increase in desirable plant omega-3 concentrations in body tissues (a three to four-fold increase), according to an Australian study and earlier studies by Stephen Cunnane, a researcher with the University of Toronto.
10. What would a list of facts be without the obligatory disclaimer: Keep in mind that researchers have yet to conduct large, randomized studies on the role of flaxseed in reducing cancer and other health risks. For example, there is no conclusive data on the safety of flaxseed taken daily by children, and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or on anti-estrogen medications.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Adding Flaxseed to Your Diet, The Benefits of Flaxseed

Technorati Tags: flaxseed, cookbooks, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy of Elaine Magee

On the ninth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

Nine Ounces of Nifty Nuts

You can find festive 9-ounce cans of nuts from Planters in your neighborhood grocery store. Dress it up with a colorful bow and holiday gift tag and you have the ninth festive food gift. One of my favorite Planters Nut can collections is:

The lightly salted Heart-Healthy Mix with peanuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts & hazelnuts

The health claim on the label reads "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as peanuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts & hazelnuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat & cholesterol & not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease."

~~Elaine

Related Topics: FDA OK's Nutty Heart Health Claim, Full of Fat and Helps You Lose Weight

Technorati Tags: nuts, hearthealthy, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy Planters

On the eighth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

Eight Easy Cinnamon Rolls!

This easy bread machine recipe for lighter, higher fiber cinnamon rolls makes two cake pans filled with eight cinnamon rolls each. They rise in the refrigerator overnight and are ready to bake in the morning. You can either give them ready-to-rise, ready-to-bake, or ready-to-eat...it's your choice! The best part is this recipe makes one pan to keep and one pan to give. Everyone wins.

Easy & Light Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
Dough
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk (105-110 degrees)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour (add 1/4-1/3 cup more if dough seems too wet in the pan after the first 5 minutes of mixing in the bread machine)
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons bread machine yeast (rapid rise)
Filling
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup good-tasting less fat margarine (like Take Control) or whipped butter
Icing
1/2 cup light cream cheese
2 tablespoons less fat margarine or whipped butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Place dough ingredients in a 2-pound bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer (usually in the order listed here). Set machine to "dough" cycle and press START.
2. When dough cycle is complete, roll dough out on lightly floured surface (with rolling pin) until it is about 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4" thick.
3. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. Spread the margarine evenly over the top surface of the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture evenly over the margarine.
4. Working carefully from the 21-inch side, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 16 slices (about 1 1/4-inch thick) and place slices (8 per pan) into two, 9-inch round cake pans that have been coated with canola cooking spray. Cover the pans with plastic wrap or foil and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for an hour.
5. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the rolls are light brown on top and cooked throughout. While the rolls bake, beat the icing ingredients with an electric mixer until fluffy.
6. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing and serve!

Yield: 16 cinnamon rolls

WebMD WLC Advice: journal as 2 small muffins OR 3 pieces of pancake, waffle, French toast

Per roll: 370 calories, 7.5 g protein, 66 g carbohydrate, 8.5 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 330 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 21 percent.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Top 10 Healthy Cooking Gadgets, Amish Wheat Bread Recipe

Technorati Tags: cinnamonrolls, recipes, breadmachine, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy Elaine Magee

On the seventh day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

Seven Festive Food Bars

To all your sporty friends, give them the gift of fast "festive" fuel. Assemble an assortment of 7 of your favorite power bars (I've offered some suggestions below) packaged with a new sports towel and sports bottle, and even a small workout bag if desired. They are about $15 per box of 12 bars.

From Clif Bar:
* Iced Gingerbread
* Caramel Apple Cobbler
* Spiced Pumpkin Pie (include 2 bars)
* Banana Nut

From Luna Bar:
* Peppermint Stick
* Chocolate Pecan Pie

~~Elaine

Related Topics: The Best of the Bars, Energy Food Fuels Busy Lives

Technorati Tags: powerbars, clifbars, lunabars, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy of Elaine Magee

On the sixth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

Six Faux Frying Essentials!

This Faux Frying Gift Basket uses a brand spanking new non-stick frying pan as the basket, which is filled with:

* a nonstick spatula (to help "light fry" food in your nonstick frying pan and bakeware)
* a silicon brush (for brushing canola oil lightly onto food or your nonstick frying pan and bake ware)
* a can of canola cooking spray (for lightly covering your food or pans)
* a small bottle of canola oil (Light frying often requires a small amount of a smart oil that can handle higher temperature oven-frying and light pan-frying)
* FRY LIGHT, FRY RIGHT!--my cookbook that's all about having your favorite fried foods and eating light too.
* the 6th item is the nonstick frying pan!

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Super Stir Fry, Deep Fried Favorites Get a Face Lift

Technorati Tags: friedfoods, frylight, cookingsprays, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy of Elaine Magee

On the fifth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

Five Chocolate Bars!

The 5th day of Christmas, in the original song blasts "5 golden rings!" I c