History of Food & Prices

Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.

Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.

Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality often affect which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with foodborne illness claiming many lives each year. In many languages, food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in "food for thought".

Prices

Consumers worldwide faced rising food prices, it was reported on March 24, 2008. Reasons for this development are freak weather, dramatic changes in the global economy, including higher oil prices, lower food reserves and growing consumer demand in China and India. In the long term, prices are expected to stabilize. Farmers will grow more grain for both fuel and food and eventually bring prices down. Already this is happening with wheat, with more crops to be planted in the United States, Canada and Europe in 2009. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization projects that consumers still face at least until 2018 more expensive food. It is rare that the spikes are hitting all major foods in most countries at once. Food prices rose 4 percent in the United States 2007, the highest rise since 1990, and are expected to climb as much again 2008. As of December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. In China, the price of pork has jumped 58 percent in 2007. In the 1990s and 1980s, farm subsidies and support programs allowed major grain exporting countries to hold large surpluses, which could be tapped during food shortages to keep prices down. But new trade policies have made agricultural production much more responsive to market demands -- putting global food reserves at their lowest since 1983.

Food prices are rising, wealthier Asian consumers are westernizing their diets, and farmers and nations of the third world are struggling to keep up the pace. The past five years have seen rapid growth in the contribution of Asian nations to the Global Fluid and Powdered Milk Manufacturing industry, which in 2008 accounts for more than 30% of production, while China alone accounts for more than 10% of both production and consumption in the Global Fruit and Vegetable Processing and Preserving industry. The trend is similarly evident in industries such as Soft Drink and Bottled Water Manufacturing, as well as Global Cocoa, Chocolate and sugar Confectionery Manufacturing, forecast to grow by 5.7% and 10.0% respectively during 2008 in response to soaring demand in China and Southeast Asian markets

Organic Baby Food A Big Hit In Scotland

**50% of Scottish Babies fed Organic Baby Food

According to the Scotsman, more than half of Scottish children under two are now fed an exclusively organic diet. In fact, organic baby food accounted for 43% of total baby food sales in 2004. That represented sales of more than 63 million GBP in 2004.

A survey of 805 mothers and pregnant women conducted by the polling company BMRB found that four out of five mothers chose organic food for weaning their young children off of milk (between 6 months and 1 year old). The reasons given were clearly related to additives and chemical spraying. Mothers in the survey cited "less risk of chemical pesticides" (87%), "no additives" (80%), and "no GM" (84%)

Intensive marketing campaigns by groups such as the Soil Association Scotland are getting the message across about the negative effects of pesticides. This is clearly having an impact on the buying preferences of parents, and also on changes in school menus.

Organic milk also has positive health characteristics. It can contain up to 71 per cent more omega 3 than non-organic milk and most organic milk has a better ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 than conventional milk. Companies such as Hipp are bringing new products to market -- such as organic purees for weaning purposes -- to take advantage of the demand.

But adults are not changing their own eating habits nearly as quickly. Asda, a Scottish supermarket chain owned by WalMart, says organic produce for adults accounts for only about 2% of total sales.

**Self-Serve Machines moving in on fast food restaurants

People fond of ridiculing low-paying fast food restaurant jobs will be pleased to hear that many of these jobs will soon be a thing of the past. At least if RoberServer has its way. The company has recently unveiled its new fast food self serve machines called the "Line Buster."

According to RoberServer, the Line Buster will allow customers to place their own orders from a 15" touch screen, and then pay for their order with the onboard credit card processor. Customers then pick up their order at the counter. Industry estimates show that self-serve technologies can cut customer waiting time by as much as 33%.

The company is targeting the 115,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. Similar technology has already been deployed in ATMs and self-checkout grocery stores.

Would you like fries with your meal?

**FDA says snack makers must show trans fats

The term "trans fats" has become a synonym for "unhealthy". That's because these ingredients hide in most mass produced snacks, cookies, and frozen french fries and then help to clog our arteries and contribute to our obesity.

As of January 1, 2006, the FDA is requiring the labels on packaged snacks and foods to list the amount of trans fats per serving.

Trans fats are an ingredient in nearly 40 percent of packaged foods, and they are suspected of contributing to diabetes, heart disease, strokes and many other unhealthy conditions.

Health researchers have found that trans fats raise the levels of unhealthy cholesterol and lower the levels of beneficial blood cholesterol. They say as little as 2 to 3 grams a day -- less than is contained in a typical donut -- can be detrimental.

Trans fats are common in processed foods because food manufacturers can use cheap liquid oils and turn them into solids by hydrogenation. Most experts agree it is better to use products that have been made with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats such as those found in canola and olive oils.

Simply avoiding processed foods and snacks accomplishes the same thing, since whole, unprocessed foods do not have trans fat additives.

Why Blessing Your Food is So Important

If you want to maintain happy emotions it is very important to pray over your food and drink before consuming it. This is even more important to do if you want to grow spiritually.

Praying over your food and drink is especially important if you are eating food that has not been prepared yourself or at least by someone who has a good energy.

Food is made of energy. Your body, mind and spirit are energy. Energy can be transmitted by touch. There are subtle invisible thought-forms that can pass from one person to another when one person prepares food and another eats it.

I will give a story to illustrate this. Like most people, I virtually never did bless my food. Then I met and married my husband Michael. He always prayed over his food and drink and blessed it in Jesus' name. My food and drink received the same treatment, so I still didn't do it.

During this time I was also growing in sensitivity to different energies and working to improve my self in as many different areas as possible. One day, I ate some sandwiches or something similar that I had purchased from a cafe. Soon after, I felt REALLY tired and rundown. I then realized that since Michael was not with me, that no one had prayed over my food. I then prayed for the food that was inside me. I reacted in some way like yawning which is a sign that energy is being released, and then I felt much better.

As you grow spiritually and increase your sensitivity, this becomes even more important. One day, after I had learned that 50% of chocolate that is not organically grown is grown by children slaves in Africa, I gave into my baser instincts and ate some chocolate frozen yogurt which was not organic. Very soon after, I got very sick. I realised that I had tuned into the energy of those poor child slaves through the chocolate and my new knowledgeof their existence. I prayed to break the connection to those children, and committed to never again eat any chocolate that wasn't organic or guaranteed to be free of promoting child slavery. Immediately thereafter, I recovered.

Blessing your food and drink is especially important to do if you are eating food prepared by strangers. Consider how many people now are involved in all kinds of negative activities, such as pornography and satanism. Some of those people may be in the kitchen that prepared the food you order.

Offering your food and drink to God before consuming it can nullify bad energies in it.

Foods and Diets Litigations

Why is that food processing and commerce are not strictly regulated by law so as to prevent health problems generated by an inadequate diet? Unhealthy products encourage an unhealthy diet, appealing the consumer by their availability within reach and the invading advertising. If the food producers are controlled by health officials, then it must be that the regulations are too lax in as far as marketed foods are concerned.

Everyone knows that, for instance, hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils are highly unhealthy. Tons of studies and informative material have been published, yet there is a population segment that still falls into traps saying that margarine is a "healthier alternative for butter, full of vitamins", when in fact the trans-fatty acids it contains surpass the "healthy benefits" it offers. For this particular case, all foods containing hydrogentated oils (if the law allows their production, though it shouldn't) should have a health hazard warning (like those on the cigarette packs), saying something like "This product contains trans-fatty acids that increase the risk of heart disease". Thus, people would be constantly reminded of the bad effects of such products on health.

Generally, when it comes to foods and dieting, people should be advised of the potential inconvenience that might occur due to some ingredients or the way the food is prepared.

Take for instance the case of the release of so many diets that are not documented, not officially controlled and approved, promissing great things but not being explicit about the great problems they generate. Such as the very popular Atkins, for instance, which is a real danger to health.

I wondered why such anti-health practices are not forbidden? Oh, pardon me! Why should I wonder? It's obvious: in an ever growing pragmatic course of events, the industrial interests have overpassed the interest for the health of people.

At this point, the role of the well-informed consumer is decisive for his own health. And if people are not fully convinced by so many scientific studies, informative articles and materials, then they surely become when finding out of the multitude of lawsuits against food producers (such as Kraft Foods Inc, the producers of Oreo cookies), fast food chains (McDonald's) or promoters of diets (such as the Atkins diet).

The producers of the popular Oreo cookies, Kraft Foods Inc were sued in 2003 by the attorney Stephen Joseph, who based his accusations on a provision of the civil code of California saying that manufacturers are liable for products if the consumer is not advised of the products' unsafety. He rightfully claimed that the public was not aware of the high content of trans-fats in Oreos. He declared that he sued out of concern for the public health and that no money was requested in the lawsuit, which he finally withdrew, explaining that the publicity on this case had made people aware of the health risks enhanced by the product. Anyway, if the lawsuit was intented as bad publicity for the Oreos, the aim was not reached, as Kraft Foods Inc will continue to produce Oreos in a trans-fat free version.

Another famous case of litigation is the suit from 2002 against McDonald's. The lawsuit was filed by the lawyer Samuel Hirsch on behalf of some obese children. The lawer sustained that the fast food producer mislead the consumers into believing that the products were healthy and safe and claimed that the children developed health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity because of eating McDonald's products. The suit was dismissed on the grounds that no one is forced to eat at McDonald's and that the law has not the role to moderate individuals' excesses.

A recent date "diet trial" is going on in Florida. The suit was filed by 53-year-old Jody Gorran against Atkins Nutritionals on May 26, 2004. The plaintiff claims that after going on Atkins diet his cholesterol level increased so much that he needed angioplasty in order to unblock an artery. In addition to financial damages, there is also the request that the company warns the public of the potential dangers of a diet favoring meats, cheeses and other high-fat proteins by labeling their products. The sequel is yet to come.

Even if some of these lawsuits started out of reasons beyond humanitarian, (as for instance the chase for money from damages that such important companies would pay) they have a positive result, namely, the publicity around such cases arises questionning, gives people the idea of doubt, the "assumption of guilt".

Summer Food

Once the warm weather hits, if you're like me, you don't like to cook. The stove heats up my whole house, and since I don't have air conditioning, this is a major problem!

There are some dishes however, that I love to prepare and enjoy in the summer time.

Here are my top ten summer dishes!

1) Gazpacho

This soup is so refreshing, and very healthy too! We prepared this soup for our Vegetarian Cooking class at Thyme to Cook, http://www.thymetocook.ca make it as spicy as your like! My favorite gazpacho recipe is posted on the Recipe page.

2) Pasta Salad

Another summer classic! You can make it with just about anything you have on hand. I like to make mine with cheese ravioli, broccoli, peppers, sunflower seeds and a vinaigrette. I find that using a ravioli makes the dish a lot more hearty. This is best prepared the night before, so the flavour becomes more intense. You can use the stove right before bedtime so the increase of temperature doesn't bother you as much.

3) Broccoli salad

This is an old favorite. A roommate of mine had me convinced that this was his original recipe. Well, he turned out to be the worst roommate ever, and the recipe turned out to be a classic that I could easily find on the internet. I wish I had known that earlier, I might have kicked him out sooner ;) You can find a good recipe here.

4) Veggie Dogs

Since I am a vegetarian, I prefer the meat free version of hot dogs. They are tasty grilled and served on a toasted bun with lots of garlic mustard, and maybe some cheese. Easy, fast and makes me feel like I'm 7 again.

5)Tomato, mozzarella and basil with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

A classic Italian appetizer, easy to prepare and delicious. Use all fresh ingredients from an Italian grocery store for the best results.

6) Alfalfa sprout, tomato and mayo sandwich

My favorite sandwich from the time I was about 8. Toasted multi grain bread, with summer fresh tomatoes, lots of alfalfa sprouts and a bit of mayo!

7) Corn on the Cob

Here in Guelph we have Strom's corn, which I believe has the best corn I have ever tasted! There are many different varieties, ready to be cooked in whichever way you choose.

8) Summer Rolls

You can find rice wrappers at any oriental grocery store. Here in Guelph, I prefer to go to Tan Dai. There are a wide range of rice wrappers, from plain to sesame seed and much more.

You can cater your ingredients to taste. I usually make them with: Smoked Tofu, rice noodles, mint, carrots, and lettuce (a dark green lettuce). You could also use shrimp, peppers, udon noodles, cilantro.... the list is endless. Have all of your ingredients chopped into thin strips and ready, I find little glass prep bowls make this much easier, and they look so cute too! Have a shallow dish of water to dip the rice paper into.

To assemble:

Dip the rice paper in water. Place thin strips of ingredients down center of wrapper. Fold like you would a tortilla, or in any style you choose. Here is a page with some ideas. Place seam down on a serving dish. Continue to make as many as you need. These can be prepared the same morning as you need them, but they will dry out if you make them too far in advance.

Thyme to Cook offers a few wonderful dipping sauces (Thai dipping sauce, peanut sauce) that would compliment this dish perfectly! http://www.thymetocook.ca

9) Portobello mushroom burgers:

Before this year, I was a mushroom hater. The first barbque i went to this year, I was served Grilled portobello mushrooms with Brie cheese. Now, I'm willing to admit that I am a converted mushroom lover.

For best results, marinate the burgers for a few hours before serving. Place on a hot grill, and cook about 5 minutes per side. In the final minute, add cheese if you are serving. I find that Brie makes the best addition, but you could also use provolone, mozzarella or goats cheese. Serve either on a bun or alone!

10) Grilled Fish

fish is light, easy to digest and cooks quickly! There is a wonderful teriyaki recipe at Thyme to Cook. Use your favorite fish, and experiment with the best way to grill it! You can find lots of ideas here.

If you're looking for a new bar b que, Aqua Mar pools offers some really great ones, along with their top notch pool service. Check out their website, or go to the store on Victoria Road if you have any questions!

You can still eat well when it's too hot to cook outside! There are lots of ways to grill your favorite foods, or else you can eat your food raw!

Next entry I am going to cover Raw Food and some recipes anyone can try!

Dealing With Food Allergies

Normal and regular people get food allergies, but, food allergies are not normal.

Yes, they are common, but they are not normal of a perfectly healthy body.

An allergic response is when a person's body reacts to certain foods in such a way that the body employs an immune system response. This is because it "believes" the food as harmful. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, respiratory system, or other areas of the body. Some of the most common allergic responses include a tingling sensation in the mouth, vomiting, difficulty breathing, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, swelling of the tongue and throat and can progress to a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness and even death. With symptoms sometimes showing withing minutes of exposure that the food, this can be dangerous, especially for younger kids, or people with special needs.

Severe allergic reactions can result in anaphylaxis, the extreme of an allergic reaction which can mean death. It can involve any or all of the areas of the body including, the respiratory system, skin, digestive and gastrointestinal system and the cardiovascular system. In such cases, the use of epinephrine is necessary. Epinephrine is also known as adrenaline. It is available through prescription in forms that can be self administered, such as the Twinject and the EpiPen.

Within the medical industry, they say that there currently is no known cure for food allergies. It is simply said that the best way to avoid a reaction is to avoid the foods to which you are allergic. This may seem like a "duh" to many people. But a lot of people outgrow their food allergies as they get older. However, some allergies are considered to be "lifelong" allergies. Examples of these would be peanuts, nuts, fish and shellfish, all of which are delicous foods that are good for the body. Research is currently being conducted, with a hope to one day find a cure for food allergies, so that everyone can enjoy these foods.

Warning:

If you just start to remove foods from your diet because you think they may cause allergic reactions, you are likely to wind up with a diet that is not balanced or nutritionally sound. This could result in catastrophic long-term health problems in the long run! You could end up missing out on some very important vitamins and minerals, or other essential nutrients. In fact, it is really recommended that you talk to your doctor and have allergy tests performed, before you start staying away from foods that you only think may cause you to have allergic reactions.

A person could be allergic to any food, such as vegetables, fruits and meats, however, there are eight specific foods that have been found to cause a whopping 90% of all food allergies and food related allergic reactions. These foods are milk, eggs, tree nuts such as cashews and walnuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Some of these foods are relatively easy to avoid but others require more attention. If you are mindful, though, you can still enjoy many foods, by carefully those that cause you reactions.

Hope for Many:

Many people have found that when taking glyconutrients, allergies diminish and in some cases are completely removed. Glyconutrients were recently featured on the 20/20 Television show! The glyconutrient supplements are a new class of nutrients that have shown to help improve immune system function and cell-to-cell contact. With healthy cells, you have healthy tissue, healthy organs, and a healthy body. The results that people have had with glyconutrition supplements have caught the attention of the media, research facilities, universities, and doctors. To learn more about the research and science behind "glyconutrition supplements", visit the site below.

Introducing Kid Play Food to Your Kids

Parents are often concerned about introducing the concept of kid play food to their children especially if their kids are boys. The usual idea is that kid play food may be just for girls. This may not necessarily be the case. A lot of certified chefs are males and they may have started with just their own set of kid play food. In most cases too, kid play food can effectively teach kids healthy eating habits.

In introducing kid play food to your kids, it is important to take a close look at each food item in a kid play food set. Try to pick kid play food items that have gender neutral colors. You can also go for a set with various appliances and utensils like ovens and grills just to make sure that you have a “manly” set of kid play food appliances. As for kid play food design, it would help your kids if you picked items that are simple in design and easy to recognize.

If you are a parent with specific food or eating habit rules and principles, then you should also consider weeding out kid play food items that go against your beliefs. Vegans for example can take out all the meat items. Whether you are a vegan or not however, it is also a good idea to take out all the junk food items or items that may imply eating too much sugar and preservatives. These items can include packs of junk food, pies, hard candies, and cola bottles.

You can encourage kids to become more interested in their kid play food and on food and health in general by bringing your kids to the grocery as you shop for food. It is also a good idea to let your kids help around in the kitchen when you prepare and cook food. Your little boys can be tutored by the father of the house to remove all traces of role stereotypes.

Teach your kids how to play with kid play food by participating. Line up some stuffed toys or have the toys sit on chairs around a table. Help your kid prepare a pretend meal and serve the meal to the stuffed guests. It is suggested that you maintain constant communication with your child as you prepare the pretend meal. Ask her what ingredients are in the meal she is cooking and why these ingredients are good for people to eat. Make “yum-yum” sounds as you feed each stuffed guest.

Dog Food Linked To Behavior

We all know the dangers of eating junk food or living on a diet of foods that are processed. We know about them and most of us make a point to avoid them. We also make sure that our children avoid them. This is often because hyperactivity and an array of behavioral problems have been closely linked with the diets of sufferers.

What many pet owners fail to see, is that by feeding our dogs a diet that mainly consists of processed, poorly prepared dog foods or the equivalent of junk food, they may be causing many of the behavioral and severe illnesses that are found in dogs today. Basically, the diet that you are feeding your canine companion could not only be making him aggravated, hyper or plain old mean it could possibly shorten his life span.

A well balanced diet provides quality nutrition and in turn keeps the cells, tissues and organs healthy. This enables an animals’ immune system to stay in top condition to fight any invaders.

The same holds true for behavior. If you ate fast food and candy bars everyday, eventually it will affect your energy level and your mood.

Because we love our pets, this may be a little confusing for those who think that they are doing the right thing, say, feeding their pets dog foods out of the can. Admittedly, not all dog foods are bad. However, many are and contain ingredients that are difficult for your pet to digest and can make him sick. So how do you weed out the good dog foods from the bad?

In order to give your pet the best life, you must make sure that he has the best type of lifestyle, just like us humans. Before buying pet foods, check the label to see what is in the food. Basically, the first five ingredients are important. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients may have more vegetable protein than animal protein which means less nutrition and more clean up.

Canned food can also be full of preservatives, to keep the food inside from going bad. Dog foods containing preservatives should be avoided. Not only has the pet food been filled with preservatives that could cause your pet harm, the pet food has been boiled at high temperatures in the cooking process causing any of the useful nutrition found in the food to be lost anyway. Proper cooking of pet foods will ensure that no preservatives are needed to keep it fresh.

Keep in mind that canned dog food mainly consists of water so feeding a canned diet alone will not give your pet the proper nutrition they need to live a healthy lifestyle.

So let’s look at the things that should be avoided when buying pet food:

• No Preservatives. Avoid foods that contain chemicals in them such as BHT or BHA. If these preservatives are found anywhere on the label, give the food a miss, as these chemicals can be harmful to your pet.

• No by-products. By-products are the parts of meat that are unsuitable for consumption, such as the feet, necks and intestines of other animals. As you can imagine these parts of animals were not made to be digested by humans, dogs or any animals for that matter.

• Beware of grains. Soy, corn, corn gluten and wheat gluten are often used as protein sources; however, they are generally inferior and difficult to digest.

Give your pet the chance at life that he deserves, feed him with a good nutritious premium dog food, free from preservatives and additives that are not meant for dogs. A great way to decide what is suitable for your dog to eat is ask yourself if you would eat it? If your answer is no, don’t feed it to your pet.

Genetically Modified Food Debate

Tony Blair on Genetically Modified Food Debate

This week, I want to idolize British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, because of remarks he made last week on genetically modified foods.

Addressing a group of scientists last week, Mr. Blair suggested that opponents of genetically modified foods aren’t “rational” when debating this issue.

"Government must show leadership and courage in standing up for science and rejecting an irrational public debate around it [GM food]," said Mr. Blair, referring to “those who have distorted facts to oppose developments such as GM foods.”

Mr. Blair, expectedly, did receive flaks for these remarks. Some challenged him to state if he was openly criticizing Prince Charles, who has openly opposed genetically modified foods [I must, hereby, mention that Prince Charles is wrong to use the privileges of the British throne to make statements that can’t be scientifically substantiated about genetically modified foods].

Others insinuated that it was payback time to multinational biotechnology companies, for millions of dollars donated to the Labor Party.

I found this quite amusing because of instead of addressing real issues, Mr. Blair’s critics decided to dwell on side issues. This, needless to say, has been the hallmark of the debate about genetically modified foods.

Opponents of genetically modified foods dare not attack the science behind genetically modified food because they have no case to make against it. Instead, they go for fringe issues with the aim of confusing the public.

Mr. Blair is right in urging the public to “discuss technological innovations in a more scientifically literate fashion.” Those who genuinely care about food safety should support and not criticize him. Mr. Blair evidently means well for the world.

How else can the world determine the safety of genetically modified foods other than subjecting them to thorough laboratory investigations? This is the premise of Mr. Blair’s argument.

Genetically modified foods have been subjected to rigorous examination by various scientific bodies. The British Royal Society of Science has produced numerous reports showing that genetically modified foods can be beneficial to humans and the environment.

Various United Nations Agencies, notably the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have also published similar reports.

Perhaps Mr. Blair should use his political leverage to prevail upon other European countries to change their attitude towards genetically modified foods. Currently, Europe maintains the most draconian and restrictive laws on genetically modified food. These laws aren’t informed by science, but by populist sentiments

I Love Italian Wine and Food

I Love Italian Wine and Food - The Latium Region

Latium is located in the central western part of Italy on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes the Apennines mountains, fertile foothills and valleys. There are four groups of ancient volcanoes, each with crater lakes. This area was once the center of the world, and remains an international center of art, politics, religion, and trade. Its population is 5.2 million, making it the third most populous region of Italy.

Latium, also called Lazio, was settled by Indo-European tribes during the 2nd millennium B. C. Later it became Etruscran. When the Etruscans were driven out by the Romans, the area became impoverished and remained so for centuries.

Food abounds, you name it and it’s probably grown in the region. The region’s most special vegetable is the artichoke. It may surprise you to learn that Latium is a center of kiwi production. It is also known for seafood, fish, and shark. Meat raised here includes beef, lamb, pork, and veal. The regions most famous cheese is Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Mozzarella made from the milk of water buffalo. According to the popular local legend, Julius Caesar sent Marc Anthony to Egypt, where he fell in love with Cleopatra and this cheese. He sent water buffalo back home and local residents have been enjoying this Mozzarella ever since. Whether or not this legend is true, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese has been popular for centuries. Latium once produced Falernian, which was considered the best wine in the Classical World.

Latium’s major city is Rome, the capital of Italy. As the Italian writer Silvio Negro said, “Roma, non basta una vita,” Rome, a lifetime is not enough. Ancient Rome was a center of wine production and of amprhorae, clay wine jugs. The area still produces wine. A short Internet search revealed an 18th Century villa for rent 35 minutes from the heart of Rome, surrounded by 30 acres of vineyards and olive groves.

Latium devotes three hundred thousand acres to grapevines, it ranks 7th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is about 78 million gallons, also giving it a 7th place. About 16% of the wine production is red or rosé, leaving 84% for white. The region produces 25 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only 6.5% of Latium wine carries the DOC designation. Latium is home to three dozen major and secondary grape varieties, half white and half red.

Widely grown international white grape varieties include Malvasia, Chardonnay, Trebbiano, and. Sauvignon Blanc. The best known strictly Italian white varieties are subvarieties of Trebbiano, the yellow Trebbiano Giallo, the green Trebbiano Verde, and Trebbiano Toscano.

Widely grown international red grape varieties include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon. and Merlot. The best known strictly Italian red variety is Cesane. Also popular is Sangiovese, an Italian grape now found elsewhere including in California.

Before we reviewing the Latium wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.

Start with Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Spaghetti with Cream, Pancetta (Italian bacon), and Egg.

Then try Luccio Brodettato alla Romana, Pike in an Egg-Lemon Sauce.

For dessert indulge yourself with Pizza di Polenta e Ricotta, not a pizza, but Sweet Polenta Ricotta Cake.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Tenuta Gasperini’ Vigneti VillaFranca ‘Castelli Romani Rosso DOC 2002 13.5% alcohol about $13

This wine was produced about 20 kilometers south of Rome. It is a 50/50 blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano, two popular Italian red varieties. I found it a bit acidic and relatively tasteless at first. I tried it with kube also called kibbe, a Middle-Eastern specialty, balls of ground rice filled with ground meat. They were cooked overnight with potatoes in a somewhat spicy tomato sauce. The wine tasted a bit of cherries and tobacco. In a meal of chicken burgers and zucchini in a bland tomato and onion sauce, the tobacco taste was stronger than previously. The marketing materials for this wine mentioned raspberry, plum jam, leather, sweet spice, and tomato leaf. When looking for them I found plum jam and leather, but not the other elements. The distributor recommends this wine with baked pasta or veal medallions in a red wine sauce. Maybe.

Pecorino Toscano is a sheep’s milk cheese made in Tuscany and neighboring Umbria for thousands of years. It is also produced in Latium. Soft Pecorino Toscano is white with a tinge of yellow, while semi-hard Pecorino Toscano is pale yellow. This cheese is moderately strong smelling and has a complex nutty flavor. I tried this wine with sliced soft Pecorino Toscano on toast with a somewhat spicy Moroccan tomato and pimento based dip. The flavors blended well, and the wine wasn’t thin. However, in the final analysis I would not buy this wine again. It seems overpriced and cannot compete with many other wines that I have tasted in this series.

Best Dish Network

How to Find the Best Dish Network Deals

It can be a long process wading through all the various online Dish Network Satellite TV deals. In the end, you want to make sure that if you sign up for 18 months, you don’t come across a better deal the next day! Even the creators of the http://www.the-states-online.com/dish-network-directory, will tell you how confusing it can be. At the end of the day, you don’t want something in the back of your mind telling you that maybe you could have signed up to a better deal elsewhere.

Comparing Dish Network Deals

What do you need to look for when comparing deals? Well there are two main criteria – product and cost. These allow you to determine what is best described as value-for-money. In simple terms, the better the product and the cheaper it is, the better value-for money you are getting. The only way to ensure that you are getting best value-for-money is to research the market. This is particularly important with something like Dish Network since you may decide to sign up for quite a long period.

Dish Network Equipment

This should be easy I hear you say, just select what you want, all the retailers are offering the same deal – free equipment in four rooms and so on. Well you are right in some respects, but it’s not that simple. You need to decide whether to spend a little more to get something that’s a bit better than the ordinary. For example, spend $49.99 more and you immediately open the world to HDTV, or High Definition Television. More and more HDTV channels are becoming available. You don’t want to regret in a year’s time that you didn’t get HDTV. There there’s HD DVR – do you want to record and play back with HD quality?

Dish Network Costs

Once again, this should be easy, there are many Dish Network satellite TV special deals just waiting to catch your attention. But when you compare the different retailers, it really is difficult to find which one is best. Once again, doing your research really is the key. Take notes, there’s nothing more annoying than not being able to find a website that you know you looked at the previous day. With enough patience, you will eventually see that one deal stands out.

Dish Network Specials, Deals and Offers

This is what can really make the difference between an average deal and the best deal around. If you take time to look at the http://www.the-states-online.com/dish-network-directory, you will find that not only are basic costs provided, but you will also find that the specials are listed, side-by-side. These specials come in several forms. Sometimes it may be that a particular retailer is offering rebates, or a special starting deal, or a special promo code or coupon. Sometimes it may be something like a free gift. A free gift may not sound much but if you were told that you could get a free home theater system, then maybe this would grab your interest.

Conclusion

If you are prepared to spend a little time to research the market, you will always find a Dish Network deal from a retailer that stands out from the others. When you do find one, make your decision quickly since these deals tend to change or be updated on a regular basis.

411 on Chafing Dishes

Planning your next big get-together? Whether it's a birthday bash, church fundraiser or holiday gathering--serving buffet-style is the way to go. When setting up a buffet table, chafing dishes are the best way to keep food hot. They allow a large number of guests to serve themselves while the host can mix and mingle without having to worry about food on the stove or in the oven. Even if you don't entertain frequently, purchasing or renting chafing dishes can't be beat.

Chafing dishes, sometimes called steam pans, are simply large serving dishes in which food is kept warm (or cold). The different types of chafing dishes consist of a frame or wire rack, a water pan, a food pan and a cover. Water in the pan is used to conduct the heat which maintains the food at a proper serving temperature. The heat source is sterno or an electrical heating element placed underneath the water pan.

TYPES

Oval or round, ornately decorated chafing dishes, would be perfect for an elegant or formal gathering. They are generally made of silver and sit on a platform with tapered legs. They can be used with sterno or a heating element and are available to rent from party rental stores, or for purchase at department stores or restaurant and catering supply outlets.

The most widely used chafing dishes are long and rectangular in shape and made of stainless steel. The water pan is placed on a wire or chrome rack and will hold up to two half-sized food pans. Rent these from a party rental store or purchase at a party supply store, department store or restaurant and catering supply outlet.

Disposable chafing dishes are the least expensive and are designed like the stainless steel set-up. They consist of a large aluminum water pan and one or two smaller aluminum food pans. The wire racks are somewhat thinner. These are sometimes called caterers' racks and are usually found at party supply stores, discount stores or restaurant and catering supply outlets.

For the home buffet table, stainless steel and aluminum rectangular food pan sizes range from 20 x 12 x 4 (full size) to 10 x 12 x 2 (half size). Water pans are sized to fit and the wire racks are usually full-sized. Other chafing dishes vary in size.

HOW TO USE

The first thing to remember is that chafing dishes cannot be used to bring foods up to serving temperature. Food must first be at the proper temperature before adding to the pan. Stainless steel and aluminum food pans can be used for cooking and/or heating the food in the oven. The water pan is placed in the wire rack and filled with HOT water to a level that is close to but not touching the food pan. The sterno is then lit and placed under the water pan. The resulting steam will maintain the temperature of food that is already at serving temperature. The water pan should be checked periodically to make sure the water level is maintained and the food should be stirred occasionally to evenly distribute the heat and prevent scorching. Using a lid or cover will keep food moist.

Chafing dishes will also keep cold foods cold. Fill the water pan with cold water and ice and of course, don't light the fuel!

A WORD ABOUT STERNO

Sterno fuel is a formulation of denatured alcohol, water and gel and is perfectly safe when used as directed. It comes in small cans and is generally available from hardware stores and party supply stores. The sterno wick is lit and placed underneath the water pan. A full-sized water pan may require two sterno cans placed at opposite ends, particularly if the food is dense (such as pasta and cheese). The flame is blue in color and an 8-oz. can burns for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The fuel can be extinguished and relit.

QUICK SAFETY TIPS

-DO NOT LEAVE AN OPEN FLAME UNATTENDED

-Open the pan cover carefully, to avoid burns from the escaping steam.

-Do not use anything but sterno-type fuel in the burner.

-Properly working chafing dishes keep hot food at a safe temperature of 140 degrees or above to avoid bacterial growth. Ideally, temperature should

not exceed 160 degrees to avoid overcooking

Chafing dishes make your buffet table look professional, appetizing and attractive. They also allow you to cook food ahead of time and place in the dishes just before your guests arrive--leaving you free to mingle with your guests. Yes, chafing dishes are a party hosts' dream come true.

Happy Cooking

French Wine and Food

I Love French Wine and Food - An Alsace Pinot Blanc

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Pinot Blanc wine.

Alsace ranks tenth out of the eleven French winemaking regions in terms of vineyard area. Don't be fooled by the numbers; Alsace is a major producer of quality French wine. Its wine growing area is only about 60 miles (100 kilometers) long, and at the most a mere 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide nestled between the Vosges Mountains to the east and the Rhine River and Germany to the west. But this relatively tiny area is known for distinctive wines. Their wine bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that feature the grape variety, not the usual practice in France. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories.

About 95% of Alsace wine is white. The major white grape varieties are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. Secondary white grape varieties include Pinot Blanc, reviewed below, Sylvaner, and Muscat. The major red grape variety is Pinot Noir, reviewed in a companion article in this series.

Colmar is an Alsatian town pretty well in the middle of the Alsatian wine villages. Go there if you don't like rain; given its proximity to the Vosges Mountains, Colmar is the driest town in all of France. This city of about sixty-five thousand was founded in the Ninth Century. In spite of the fact that Colmar was largely destroyed in both World Wars, its old town (Vieille Ville) remains worthy of a visit. Some say that it's more interesting than Strasbourg. You really should visit both and decide for yourself. Among Colmar's sights are the St-Martin church constructed from the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth Centuries, the Ancienne Douane (Old Customs House), and the Maison aux Arcades (Arcades House).

Ribeauville is the home of Trimbach wines and has been since 1626. In spite of its size, under five thousand, it has a bit of everything: ancient town walls, Gothic churches, storybook medieval houses, ,a town hall peppered with antiques, and a spring. Nearby are the ruins of three castles. And the first Sunday in September, Ribeauville hosts a major Minstrel Show.

Before reviewing the Alsatian wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Foie Gras (Goose or Duck Liver). For your second course savor Baeckeoffe (Meat and Potato Casserole). And as dessert indulge yourself with Gateau Chasseur (Almond Cake with Raspberries and Meringue).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2004 12.5% alcohol about $13.50

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note Straw colour; apple, pear fruit aromas with light biscuit and citrus tones; medium- to full-bodied with ripe peachy flavours and a clean, zesty finish. Serving Suggestion Smoked salmon, shellfish or asparagus in hollandaise sauce. Alsatian Pinot Gris is becoming increasingly fashionable, and this example illustrates why. Honeyed fruit aromas, such as peach and pear, plus a texture of smoke and mineral seduce in this just off-dry white that's, round, soft and quite rich. The producer recommends this as a good substitute for red wine with meat dishes such as cold cuts, roast beef or game. They also suggest pairing it with smoked chicken, fish or lobster. And now for the review.

My first meal consisted of a commercially prepared chicken breast with the skin on (more calories, more flavor), potato salad, and a spicy salad based on tomatoes, red pepper and garlic. The wine was refreshingly acidic and somewhat fruity. I finished with fresh pineapple. This combination was quite good; the pineapple's fruit flavors and the wine's fruit flavors melded well, and seemed to intensify each other.

I then paired the Pinot Blanc with a reheated home-cooked chicken leg in a tomato-based sauce with beets and more of the above potato salad. The wine scored as in the first round, but was more assertively fruity including the taste of pears. I am not used to a Pinot Blanc wine being so present, and I like this change.

My last meal consisted of a cheeseless broccoli, mushroom, and zucchini quiche and mashed potatoes. While the wine was powerful and quite fruity, it did come up short.

The first cheese was a French goat's milk cheese that really seemed more like a Camembert. At the first sips the cheese sort of cut off the wine. Later the results were somewhat better; the wine was moderately acidic and somewhat fruity. Then I went for a Swiss Gruyere with a lightly sharp, nutty flavor. This combination was even better; the Pinot Blanc came out nice and fruity.

I usually don't go with a non-imported cheese when tasting wines. However, I am making an exception for a Canadian Asiago cheese that our local supermarket almost never carries. I think that this is the best cheese I have tasted in quite a while; in my opinion it clearly surpasses its Italian Asiago cousin. When I like a cheese that good, I really want to try it with wine. The result wasn't disappointing; this gem intensified the wine's fruit and acidity.

Final verdict. There is no doubt in my mind, this wine is a winner. And the price is reasonable to boot.

Best Casserole Recipe

Best Casserole Recipe: Texas Tater Casserole

Try this easy-to-make tater tot hotdish recipe the next time you’re in the mood for tater tots.

1 pound ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
2 cans (10 ¾ oz. each) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 (11 oz.) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
½ cup picante sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 (16 oz.) package frozen potato nuggets (tater tots)
½ cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook beef, onion, celery, and garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes; stirring occasionally; until beef is brown; drain.

Stir soup, corn, picante sauce, chili powder, and pepper into beef mixture. Spoon into ungreased 2 ½-quart casserole dish. Top with potato nuggets.

Bake uncovered 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Top 10 Quick Tips recipes

The Top 10 Quick Tips that will save common household recipes!!!

1. Making great biscuits: biscuits are great from scratch because most recipes use only 5-6 ingredients. My personal recipe uses only baking soda, baking powder, flour, buttermilk, salt, and butter. The most important thing to remember to ensure that your biscuits come out fluffy is to make sure that you use cold butter and that you leave the butter in small chunks throughout the mixing process. A common error is to mix the butter smoothly into the mixture. If you leave the butter in chunks, as your biscuits cook, the butter will form layers in the dough and the result will be more rise and fluff. This also works for making any puff pastry from scratch. Another great idea is to take the dough and put a thin layer over the top of a bowl of soup, then to bake the whole bowl in your oven. This will give your soups a beautifully fluffy top. Of course, make sure that your bowl is oven safe before baking it.

2. Get a really good non-stick skillet: if you're tired of having food stick to the bottom of your cookware, then you really need to invest in a great non-stick skillet. The one that I have only set me back $30 and I can cook an egg on it over easy without any oil and not break the yolk . I'm very partial to Caphalon's commercial lines, but definitely check out Anolon, T-Fal, and Farberware as well. Some other very important features are whether the skillet comes with a cover, whether or not the handle gets hot when it cooks, and how long other buyers have found that the non-stick surface lasts for. Make sure that you don't confuse non-stick with hard anodized. Hard anodized is definitely not non-stick and you'll get very frustrated if you get the two mixed up. The additional bonus of a non-stick pan is that cleaning is really easy. Run your pan under water and most extraneous food will slide off easily.

3. Grilling or pan frying chicken without getting it stuck in the pan: one of the biggest problems with cooking chicken is trying to move it off the grill or pan. The key is to be patient. Use a spatula and wait for the chicken to release, because it will. Of course, if you didn't use any oil then the chicken will most likely get stuck anyway. But all proteins reach a certain temperature where they will release and it's just a matter of being patient and waiting for this.

4. It's never too late to marinate: a lot of people end up eating bland food because they think that they don't have time to marinate their food. Even if you only have less than an hour, you can make a great marinade. Just make the marinade twice as strong, and use strong flavors. Here's a few quick marinades that have worked for me - balsamic vinaigrette, soy sauce and minced garlic, or lemon juice/zest and white wine. Also try using dry rubs such as crushed red pepper and garlic powder.

5. Use kosher salt to season: kosher salt is the what every professional cook uses and there's good reason. Regular iodized salt breaks down right away when added to water. In contrast, kosher salt breaks down slower and delivers a more pronounced flavor to whatever you are cooking. If you want your steaks to taste like steak house quality, all you need is kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper.

6. Extra virgin olive oil is pasta's best friend: after cooking pasta, make sure that you mix the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil immediately. Otherwise, you'll find that the pasta will start to stick together after a short amount of time. Don't ever refrigerate plain pasta without adding olive oil. If you do, you'll end up pulling a big pasta block out of the fridge. Also, when you boil pasta, make sure you add a cup of kosher salt per gallon of water. This is what will give the pasta its flavor.

7. Making amazing french toast: the best way to make amazing french toast is to avoid using regular bread. Extraordinary french toast is made with cakes or specialty breads. Try slicing a pound cake from your local grocery store and turning it into french toast the same way you'd usually do it with bread. Another great idea is to make french toast out of banana bread.

8. Making icing for pastries. Making icing for pastries is one of the simplest secrets in the pastry world. To make icing, all you need is water and powdered sugar. Start with the powdered sugar in a bowl and add water slowly until you get the consistency that you desire. Then just use the icing to make danishes, cakes, and other pastries even more delicious.

9. Keep your kitchen knife sharp:- A common misconception is that people cut themselves in the kitchen because their knives are too sharp. The reason for most kitchen cutting accidents is actually the total opposite. When you use a blunt knife, the knife will slide off whatever you're cooking and this when the knife usually cuts your hand. To keep your knife sharp, use a diamond steel and bring your knife down the steel at an 18 degree angle.

10. Cracking an egg without getting shells in the mixing bowl. This seems easy enough, but it's surprising how many experienced cooks still experience the annoyance of getting egg shells in their favorite foods. The way to avoid this is to first gently hit the egg's middle against a hard surface. Then, use two hands to do the rest. If you're right handed, hold the egg with your left hand, and use your right thumb to push the middle in and then pull the egg apart with both hands. If you are left handed, just switch the directions above.

Good luck with your culinary adventures!

Irish Food And Wine Pairing

I think the Irish are unlucky.

Every St Patrick’s Day I conjure up visions of eating corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Then I wonder “What wine goes with corned beef and cabbage?” The corned beef is too salty and doesn’t work with any wine very well. Someone yells to me that beer is more in order. Maybe a wine from Ireland?

The climate of Ireland isn’t the best for growing grapes. There's only one wine that that comes from Ireland and it's made by Llewellyn's - a farmer in north county Dublin. His normal produce is apples and he makes a lot of apple juice for upscale independent retailers. His wine is more of a novelty item at best. What is interesting about Irish wine is the Irish connection with Bordeaux. Irish names like Lynch, Barton, Phelan adorn the labels on some of the best wines from the Bordeaux region. As for wine making, the Irish are better off sticking to the black stuff, Guinness.

But I’m a wine guy and don’t care for beer so I do some more digging. Guess what? It seems that corned beef and cabbage is more of an American St Patrick’s Day tradition. According to Bridgett Haggerty of the website Irish Cultres and Customs their research shows that most likely a "bacon joint" or a piece of salted pork boiled with cabbage and potatoes would more likely have shown up for an Easter Sunday feast in the rural parts of Ireland. Since the invention of refrigeration, people eat fresh meats. Today corned beef and cabbage is considered a peasant dish and is more popular in the United States than in Ireland. People eat it on St. Patrick's Day as a nostalgic reminder of the Irish heritage.

If you want to try really authentic Irish dishes, Gerry at www.WineOnline.ie says that one of the very traditional Dublin dishes is Coddle which is still served to this day.

Many of these dishes had their origins in very basic peasant style food dating back to the pre-famine era (mid 1800's)when potatoes were the staple Irish peasant diet mixed with vegetables and meat, if available - the slow cooking process of the stew allowed for lesser cuts of meat. And man are these two recipes hearty.

But if your heart is set on Corned Beef and Cabbage, food and wine pairing isn’t an exact science. Laurence with The Irish Wine Blog at www.sourgrapes.ie says “I'd go with a fruity red with high acidity to get through the saltiness of the corned beef. I'll put my neck out and suggest a Chianti Classico.”

For St. Patrick’s Day, Guinness and Green may be more American, but In the spirit of food and wine pairing, try a truly Irish dish and pair it with a great wine.

USA Food Court to Enjoy

Are you thinking of partying at the best place? Do you love steak food? Then steakhouse in USA can be the ultimate destination point of your partying place. Just imagine that lip-smacking food, its aroma, the ambience and decorations of the steakhouse in USA. A steakhouse can be the ideal place to celebrate your wedding anniversary or birthday parties. Any couple can enjoy a quite candle light dinner at the steakhouse. Dinning in the steakhouse can be a memorable experience for steak lovers.

Steakhouse is the ultimate restaurant that offers you tasty steak to eat. Usually, the steak food consists of beef slices and a side dish. The steaks are cut into desired shapes and cooked properly, to lend the special taste to it. Some of the customers demand less cooked steak. The main reason behind this is that the less cooked steak is juicier than the completely cooked steak. Just like the preparation of the food, its presentation is another factor that attracts the customer’s attention. The decoration of the food item in the serving plate has to be beautiful as it adds to the overall dinning experience. It is the temptation of the steak that attracts steak lovers to a steakhouse.

There is a wide variety of beef items in the steakhouse, that it becomes difficult to make selection. You can place the order for grilled chicken sandwich, steak tid bits, bacon cheese burgers, turkey burger and lots more as the main course. In the case of appetizers, you can choose sizzling Canadian bacon, tuna, baked clams and many more. The list of the delicacies of a steakhouse can have endless number of different kinds of food. You just have to order your favorite dish and enjoy its taste.

The steak food or beef products are not the only option for steak lovers or sea food lovers. The sea food lovers can order for specialized sea food for them. You can pick from the variety of tasty lobsters, mouth-watering crabs, calamari and variety of fishes. A steakhouse can be the dinners’ delight because of the food court. The sea food or steak food are accompanied with the side dishes. These side dishes can be baked potatoes, creamed spinach, sautéed broccoli and various other vegetables. All the food items in a steakhouse are cooked at various temperatures to lend a variety in taste.

Steakhouse has to have various benefits that can act as the crowd pullers. The hospitality, the interiors, the service timing and other arrangements have to be of high quality, so that the steakhouse can have a wonderful business. Everybody enters the market to earn money and do competitive business. They need to have certain special qualities that can get compliments for them and positive responses from the customers. These factors are responsible for the growth of their business.

Steakhouse is the best place to have a peaceful dinner and celebrate a special occasion. There is a variety of steakhouse in USA that reserve certain days for organizing private parties. The drinks, the food and the other arrangements are done up with due care to lend a grace to your party. Well, you can get every type of ingredient for an enjoyable party and dinning experience in a steakhouse.

Five Secrets for the Very Best Cat Food

There is a significant difference between dog and cat food even though their may appear to look the same. Cats need a much higher amount of protein and fat than dogs do. Also, cats have different needs than dogs, so don't feed your cat dog food, or your dog cat food. Remember, Cats are primarily carnivores and need plenty of meat in their diet. Here is what to look for when you are deciding what to feed your furry friends.

Avoid Cat Food Fillers

Cats need to eat food that is rich in protein, so make sure the amount of fillers is kept to a minimum. Carbohydrate rich food is not good for your cat, so don't buy cat food that is full of them. Instead, read the labels and buy a cat food that is not filled with fillers and other by products. Even when a cat food is high in protein, it doesn't mean that the protein comes from a meat source. Avoid those blends which contain a lot of wheat or rice, and look for a meat source as the first ingredient.

Cats Need Protein

Your cat food should always be rich in protein. The protein should come from a meat source such as poultry or fish, and should be the first ingredient. Many cat food brands advertise chicken, beef, and tuna flavored cat food because they know that cats need protein and cat owners are looking for quality cat food. However, you need to make sure the cat food you buy has a sufficient amount of protein regardless of what flavor it is. Also, some will list chicken as the first ingredient, however, when it is listed as "chicken" this means raw meat. Approximately 70% of it is water, so when it is cooked with the other ingredients, chicken will probably really be the 5th to 7th ingredient.

Look for Taurine content

Check the cat food you buy for an amino acid called taurine. This amino acid is very important in your cat's overall health, and your cat will eat as much food as it has to in order to supplement this particular amino acid. So, if you are buying cheap cat food that does not have the proper nutrients your cat will eat a lot in order to get the nutrients it needs. If you buy a nutrient rich cat food then your cat will eat less and save you more money while still getting proper nutrition, and probably not gaining a lot of weight either. Look for taurine on the ingredient label.

Canned or Dry Cat Food?

Cats should be fed a mixture of both dry and canned food. The dry cat food should be given for free feeding. Canned cat food should be use as a supplement at meal time because it has extra water in the food. Look for canned cat food that has a high amount of protein from a meat source. You can mix and match with dry and canned cat food as long as they have a high nutrient density. Cats should always have access to water, and you should consider having an extra bowl of water always available.

FUS/ Crystals

Cats are subject to FUS, crystals that can cause urinary tract disease and pain. Feline formulas should be carefully designed to reduce or eliminate this problem through low magnesium and low ash, correct pH levels and high digestibility. Look at the percentage of magnesium and ash on the label of what you are feeding your cat. You can also play a major role in controlling this problem by always having fresh water available. Cats drink and store water differently from dogs. They store body water in highly concentrated urine. High concentrations can lead to crystal formation. In our work with cat owners, we find there are several ways to enhance water intake to reduce problems:

- Always keep fresh water readily available, 24 hours a day.

- Place food and water dishes several feet apart and feed and water in a quiet area.

- Place a second water dish close to your cat's favorite spot.

- Feed canned cat food (to provide additional moisture content) for one of the meals.

- Leave dry kibble available at all times.

Cats will nibble/feed between 10-20 times throughout the day and night. Eating over an extended time also allows for continuous water intake to balance the food intake.

Summary

Here's what to look for:

- High protein and high fat content.

- Meat as the first ingredient.

- Avoid those blends which contain a lot of wheat or rice fillers.

- High Taurine content.

- Low Magnesium and low ash content.

ADHD and Food Allergies

Introduction

There are a number of controversial areas in medicine when it comes to ADHD. Food allergy is certainly one of them.

The classic allergic reaction, which is classified as the type-1 hypersensitivity reaction, can be elicited by food, but this is fairly uncommon. When we discuss food sensitivities in ADHD we are discussing a different, not well-defined, mechanism.

One of the main progenitors of the food allergy/ADHD connection is Dr. Doris Rapp. Dr. Rapp was a pediatric allergist who noticed that many children in her practice had significant physical and behavioral changes when exposed to certain foods. They may have red ear lobes, dark circles under their eyes, or glazed eyes after eating certain foods. These children could have tremendous swings in behavior. They can be calm one minute and wildly hyperactive a few minutes later.

To make it more interesting, children with food allergies usually crave the food that affects them negatively. That means a child who is allergic to peanuts will demand peanut butter and jelly for lunch everyday, and for the rest of the afternoon you have to peel him off of the ceiling.

What is Food Allergy?

The classic allergic reaction operates through a very specific mechanism. The reaction is caused when a specific type of antibody, called IgE, reacts with a specific provoking substance called an allergen. The result of this interaction is an allergic response and the person is deemed allergic to that allergen.

The specific type of antibody involved in classic allergy is called IgE. The proposed antibody mechanism for this type of food allergy does not involve IgE, but a different antibody called IgG. This is significant because standard allergy testing tests only for IgE antibodies. If your child has IgG mediated sensitivity, his allergy test is going to miss it. That means that your child may have a severe allergy to a specific food, but your allergist will tell you he is not allergic to it.

Why the Controversy?

Reason 1: Diagnosis

I said this was a very controversial area of medicine and here is one of the reasons why. Food allergies are very difficult to diagnose. One reason is that the symptoms wax and wane. When a child has a classic allergy, for example to bee stings, then every time a bee stings him, he will have a reaction. Food allergies don’t work that way. There seems to be a threshold that must be exceeded before there are any symptoms. In addition, this threshold seems to vary from day to day. On some days a food will affect the child, and on other days it won’t. Dr. Rapp explains this phenomenon using the analogy of a barrel.

We can view each allergic child as if he has a barrel. As long as the barrel is empty or only partially full, your child will have no problems. Your child won’t become hyperactive until his barrel is overflowing.

Various things will fill your child’s barrel. Let’s say your child is sensitive to chocolate, cats, and peanut butter. Each of these things all can partially fill his barrel. As long as he only has peanut butter or only plays with the cat, his barrel is only partially full. That means that there are no symptoms and that his behavior is fine. Then, one day he has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, has chocolate ice cream for dessert and plays with the cat all afternoon. These things in combination make his barrel overflow, and by evening he is out of control. Your child has food allergies, but sometimes they affect him and sometimes they don’t.

The barrel can change sizes. If your child has a cold or is upset his barrel gets smaller. It takes less to make it overflow. If he is happy his barrel is bigger. It takes more to make it overflow. If he isn’t eating well and that day he is low on certain nutrients his barrel gets smaller.

Many traditional allergists find this barrel concept ludicrous. It doesn’t fit into the pattern of how other allergies work.

Reason 2: Method of Diagnosis

The next problem is the way in which you test for food allergies. Dr. Rapp describes a technique called provocation-neutralization testing. This method works as follows: Say that a child frequently has headaches after eating eggs. The practitioner will give an intradermal injection of egg extract. If this elicits the child’s headache, then the child tests positive for egg allergy. Other signs of a positive test include an increase in pulse rate of 20 points, a large skin reaction (this indicates a classic IgE reaction), a change in the child’s handwriting, or some other physical or emotional complaint. This last criterion “some other physical or emotional complaint” is problematic. It is too vague. The result is that when studies compared how several physicians evaluated the same group of patients, their results didn’t agree. For each patient if there were twenty different doctors with twenty different sets of findings. None of their diagnoses matched.

Reason 3: The Mechanism

As I mentioned before, the proposed mechanism is an IgG mediated response. Some food allergists diagnose specific food allergies by measuring IgG levels. This runs counter to all of modern allergy practice.

Allergists give allergy shots to treat allergy. The way this works is they give a low level of allergen, which is not enough to elicit an IgE reaction. The dose is slowly increased until eventually the patient can tolerate a significant exposure to the allergen.

This is how it works. The repeated low-level exposure to the allergen induces the body to make a different antibody to the substance. This antibody attaches to the allergen and deactivates it before IgE can cause the allergy reaction. What is this antibody that allergists try to induce to cure their patients of their allergies? You guessed it, IgG. So the very antibody the traditional allergists have been inducing for decades to successfully treat allergies, the food allergy people claim is the antibody guilty of causing allergies.

For a traditional allergist this is nothing short of heresy. IgG has been used for decades to treat allergies successfully. Comes along Rapp and her friends and they claim that IgG causes allergy? This is a little hard for some people to accept.

Just how strongly do allergists reject this idea? I once tried to contact an Israeli physician who was a food allergy specialist to discuss with him provocation-neutralization testing. I called the hospital where he is on staff and asked to speak with him. For some reason the operator instead put me through to the head of the Department of Allergy.

I began discussing with him the theory of food allergies, provocation-neutralization testing and IgG testing. He told me that he was the head of a committee of allergists who were in the process of testifying before the Israeli Knesset to get legislation passed to make IgG testing illegal in Israel.

Can you imagine? You visit a prison in Israel. In one cell there is car thief. In the next cell there is a mass murderer. And in the next cell there is a guy who tested someone for food allergies. Now that’s pretty strong opposition!

Do Food Allergies Really Exist?

The formal medical societies like the AMA claim there is no such thing as food allergies. Rapp and her friends have been screaming for decades that they do exist. So, what is the bottom line? Does it really make sense that what a child eats can affect him so strongly that experts will diagnose him as having ADHD?

We know that the brain is a highly complicated and sensitive organ. We know that many foods have a physiological effect on the body without inducing a classic allergic response. For example, people who are sensitive to monosodium glutamate can have a severe reaction to eating it. The chemicals in red wine affect certain people. We also know that ingesting certain foods alters brain function. Diet has been proven to influence neurotransmitter function. Components of foods can also be used as drugs. For example, tryptophan, tyrosine, and choline have been used in the treatment of sleep disorders, pain, depression, mania, hypertension, shock, or dyskinesias.

The logic of Rapp’s argument is so strong and there is enough circumstantial evidence, that I feel that the question is really the other way around. We know that the brain is intricate and has tremendous metabolic requirements. We know that some people have very strong reactions, including behavioral changes, to certain foods. These things are undisputed. If it turns out that foods do not elicit significant problems in sensitive children, in my opinion, we would need to explain why not!

Are we really seeing an allergy mechanism to food? I prefer to stay out of that debate. Rather than be ostracized by the doctors who specialize in allergy, I feel it is safer to call them food sensitivities. There are no doctors who specialize in sensitivity.

Does Your Child Have Food Sensitivities?

A large number of ADHD children may be having a negative response to food, and this response may be the primary cause of their ADHD. In what type of child should you suspect food allergies?

The following is a list of symptoms that resulted from food allergies in certain children:

• Hyperactivity
• Changes in mood
• Halitosis
• Sleep disturbances
• Delay in sleep onset
• Migraines
• Other headaches
• Abdominal pain
• Bedwetting
• Tantrums
• Eczema
• Asthma
• Seizures

Research shows that by treating the food allergies all of these symptoms can be relieved.

If you see your child’s symptoms in this list it is possible that food allergies may be contributing to his problem. If your child also has other allergic problems, such as allergy or asthma, then food allergies are almost certainly contributing to his problems.

What Should You Do?

As I wrote in How to Help the Child You Love, there are a number of approaches to diagnosing food allergies. None of them are well substantiated and all of them have difficulties. Yet, many people find that these diagnostic techniques worked for them. Therefore, I’d suggest you could use them provided you have it on good authority that the person administering them has a strong record of success. In my experience, these techniques are more of an art than a science. They really depend upon the talent of the diagnostician.

As I said last time, the best approach to finding food allergies in your child is an elimination diet. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose. I prefer the three that I outline in How to Help the Child You Love. (see http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html)

Conclusion

Researchers claim that the percentage of ADHD children whose behavioral symptoms are affected by foods ranges from 60% to 75%. This, however, is probably not an accurate number. Parents who consent to have their children participate in diet studies usually believe they have observed food-induced problems in their children. Therefore, children who participate in these studies are more likely to respond to foods than the general population. The truth is we do not know what percentage of ADHD children will respond to dietary changes, but it seems that the number is significant.

Treating the food sensitivities in ADHD children has a number of advantages over using medication. One major advantage all the current methods of treatment can be used to treat pre-school children. Most clinicians do not use medication on pre-school children. A more significant advantage of treating food allergy is that when it works, it works all day. In contrast, Ritalin wears off in about 4 hours.

All this, of course, is providing that food allergies really do exist.

The main thing to remember is that if you think your child has food allergies, then the biggest mistake you can make is to go to an allergist. They don’t believe in food allergies. And whatever you do, do not go to an allergist and ask to have your child provocation-neutralization tested for food allergies. He is going to laugh at you.

Food allergy is an alternative medicine diagnosis. Still, there are physicians who specialize in diagnosing and treating these sensitivities, but they no longer call themselves allergists. Rapp and her group were so ostracized by the formal allergy societies that they eventually broke off and formed a new field called Environmental Medicine.

Therefore, if you want a physician to treat your child you need to find an Environmental Medicine specialist. They are not so common, but they are around.

As I mentioned before, there are a number of approaches to treating food sensitivities. The one you can do yourself is to use an elimination diet. I devoted a large section of How to Help the Child You Love describing exactly how to use elimination diets to diagnose and treat food sensitivities.

In the final analysis, I feel it is fair to say that many ADHD children have sensitivities to the foods they eat. These sensitivities may exacerbate their ADHD symptoms. I won’t go so far as to say that food allergies cause ADHD. That means that if your ADHD child has severe food sensitivity, treating that sensitivity may not get rid of his ADHD. However, until you treat his food allergy, nothing else you do will really help your child’s ADHD, either.

The Right Food For Your Pet

Tips On Buying The Right Food For Your Pet

Food is one of the most important necessities in your pet’s life. It provides the nutrients they need in order to grow and develop into mature animals as well as giving them the energy they need each day to enjoy life by your side. There is a vast array of manufacturers that provide food for all animals and it can be a confusing task to decipher all the ingredients, proteins and benefits of each one in order to choose the very best one for your pet.

Depending on the type of pet you have, you will still have to do some research to find out exactly what you should be providing them for their main meals as well as any snacks or treats on the side. You can find a multitude of information on the Internet, from friends or family with similar animals, or even from sales representatives at your local pet shop. When it comes down to the final decision though, you are the responsible one who will choose what you feel is best for your pet, not your aunt or the guy in the pet store.

With the awareness of organic foods for the public in every supermarket and health food store, there has also grown the niche for organic pet food. There are many painstaking efforts that go into providing a balanced meal for your pet that is free of many additives that are not necessary for your pet’s nutritional health and yet are included in many other manufactured pet foods.

Organic pet foods are not always available at every pet store or grocery store where other popular brands are sold, thus making it harder to find for some pet owners. With the increased awareness, organic meals are being produced more than ever, but due to the nature of the process, these types of foods for your pet are generally more expensive than a store-brand bag of dry food that you could pick up at any local corner store. As with any food for your pets, there are positives and negatives to each.

Price is not always an indication of the quality of food, but it tends to be a good guide for the market shopper. If you examine the store-brand plain dry food, you may find the ingredients to list not as many proteins or pure foods like some other popular brands. Additives may be more abundant in cheaper brands, but they can still be apparent in many higher-priced brand name pet foods. Just like you shop for your own health and wellness, be sure to read the labels and shop for your pet’s health and wellness.

There can be side effects to supplying the low-cost alternative food for your pets in some cases. Your pet can develop anywhere from mild to severe health issues that are directly related to the type of food provided. With some cats, liver problems and kidney stones can develop rapidly if not provided with a good quality food each day. You will want to be sure that you are doing everything you can in order to maintain your pet’s health and wellness for years to come.