by Gabrielle on August 2, 2010
Trying to shed a few pounds? It’ll be easier to skip high-calorie treats when you carry a photo of a new swimsuit or dress you want to fit into and look at it whenever cravings strike. A new University of Texas at Austin study shows that having a strong reminder of the long-term benefits of not giving in to temptation—such as fitting into a smaller size—makes it significantly easier to stick to a diet plan since folks tend to focus on the short-term benefits of giving in—such as how good the treat will taste.
[photo: Alaskan Dude]
by Gabrielle on August 2, 2010
Barbecuing is an easy way to add delicious flavor and juiciness to steaks, hamburgers, chicken and shrimp that your guests rave about—if you do it right. Unfortunately, common barbecuing mistakes can make food tough, dry, undercooked or overcooked, says Steven Raichlen, author of Planet Barbecue. Here are his tricks for overcoming barbecuing disasters to get a perfectly grilled meal every time:
* Put the food on the grill at the magic moment. If you’re using charcoal, wait 20 minutes after you light it—by then it will be glowing orange. Put the food on sooner and the charcoal may not provide enough heat to cook the food properly; if you wait longer, the charcoal may burn out before you’re finished cooking. If you’re using a propane or natural gas grill, pre-heat it for 15 to 20 minutes before you start cooking. Also key: Be sure to have at least 1/3 a tank of fuel, so you’ll have enough gas to last until the food is done. If your tank doesn’t have a gauge, carefully pour hot water over one side of the tank; condensation will form where the fuel is, indicating how much is left.
* Leave 30% of the grill grate empty. This way, if a flare-up occurs, there’s extra space to move the food out of the way of the flames until they die back down so it doesn’t get charred.
* Flip meat with tongs. Using a fork punctures holes in it, causing its juices to run out, making the meat dry.
* Give meat the poke test. There’s an easy way to avoid undercooking and overcooking—pull meat to front edge of grill and press it with your finger. If it’s soft and squishy, it’s rare; if it feels firmer but still gives, it’s closer to medium rare; if it’s mostly firm, but has a little give, it’s closer to medium; if it’s hard and springy, it’s well done. For larger meats, like a roast, use a meat thermometer.
* Let meat rest for 5 minutes before serving. The intense heat from the grill tenses up the meat, making it tough. Letting it rest for five minutes on a plate covered with foil allows the muscle fiber to relax, making it softer and juicier.
by Gabrielle on May 22, 2010
Tired of nutrition claims on the front of food packages or store shelf signs that are hard to decipher because of non-specific statements or symbols (for instance, indicating the food is “natural”, “low-fat” or “a good source of fiber”) or misleading information (for instance, foods that are labeled “zero trans fat”, but still contain up to .5 grams of trans fat per serving)? The Food and Drug Administration is asking you to help them improve this kind of confusing and deceptive nutrition information by telling them what you’d change or keep about front-of-package and store shelf labels, plus how you notice and use them.
To submit your suggestions: Log onto regulations.gov, click “submit a comment”, enter FDA-2010-N-0210 in the “enter keyword or ID” search box, press “search”, then scroll down and select “submit a comment”. Or mail your comments to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD, 20852. Suggestions must be emailed or postmarked no later than July 28, 2010.
Tip: See what other folks have already suggested! Log onto regulations.gov, enter FDA-2010-N-0210 in the “enter keyword or ID” search box and press “search”.
[photo: colros]
by Gabrielle on May 21, 2010
Want to wow family and friends even more with your homemade lemonade, smoothies and milkshakes? Serve these drinks in a glass or mug rather than a plastic or paper cup. Sounds strange, but in a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, participants were convinced that beverages served to them in sturdy cups tasted better than those served in a flimsy cups—even though the beverages were the same. Why the difference? Our perception of how good or bad drinks taste is affected by how sturdy the container is—the firmer it is, the more we like what we’re drinking.
[photo: Bryan Davidson]
by Gabrielle on May 20, 2010
The easiest one! It doesn’t matter which weight-loss plan you choose—Zone, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, etc.—so long as it’s one that you find easy to stick to. You’ll lose twice as much weight on it as someone who’s trying to shed pounds on a diet they don’t like, reveals a study out of Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. So, ignore what works for your friends and family and pick the diet plan you prefer the most.
[photo: Foxtongue]
by Gabrielle on May 11, 2010
Next time you’re shopping for cereal, crackers, cookies and other foods for your child, take a closer look at the nutrition label if the package is adorned with a cartoon character, celebrity or offer of a free toy or other giveaway. In a recent Yale University study, a whopping 82% of foods with promotions like these failed to meet accepted nutrition standards for children by limiting sugar, salt and/or saturated fat.
Tip: Nutrition guidelines to aim for…
* 1 g. or less of saturated fat per serving and not more than 15% of calories.
* 0 g. of trans fat per serving.
* No more than 13 g. of added sugars per serving.
* No more than 200 mg. of sodium per serving.
by Gabrielle on May 9, 2010
Ever wonder how your restaurant bill got so high? Or why you planned to order a burger but ended up ordering something completely different? You could have fallen for one of the secret psychological strategies on restaurants menus that steer you toward more profitable items, such as…
* Making prices seem lower with a decoy. Ever wonder why some restaurants offer outrageously expensive dishes—like a $100 Kobe beef burger or $1000 sundae topped with edible gold? Restaurant owners don’t expect customers to actually order them. These high-ticket items simply make the other choices seem like more of a bargain, says restaurant menu engineer Gregg Rapp.
* Eliminating dollar signs so you spend more. A recent study in the International Journal of Hospitality Management reveals that diners shell out about eight percent more when there are no dollar signs on the menu. The reason? Without the reminder that you’re spending actual money, it doesn’t feel so painful to order pricier choices, explains study co-author Sheryl E. Kimes, Ph.D.
* Adding money-spending words. The right menu descriptions can boost sales 27%, according to research by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and author of Mindless Eating. The words with the most power to motivate you to spend? Those that describe flavor, such as “triple-basted”, “satiny cream sauce”, “crackling” and “tangy”; those that remind you of home or family members, such as Tennessee rib sauce or Aunt Sadie’s apple pie; and brand names, such as Jack Daniels chicken or Minute Maid orange juice.
* Steering your eye toward the more profitable items. They’ll be easy to spot—for instance, on the upper right hand side of the menu, in their own box or accompanied by a colorful photograph, says Rapp.
[photo: Steven Snodgrass]
by Gabrielle on May 5, 2010
Herbs are easy to grow and make your favorite dishes taste delicious. No wonder herb gardening is one of the most popular warm weather pastimes around. And you can savor your garden’s bounty long into the fall and winter months by drying them, says Amanda Bevill, owner of World Spice Merchants in Seattle, Washington. To do it:
* Harvest herbs at their peak. Pick leaves right before the plant flowers—that’s when they contain the hightest level of compounds that give them their distinctive flavor. Do your harvesting in the morning or evening since the sun’s heat reduces these flavorful compounds. Tip: If you harvest in the morning, make sure there’s no dew on the leaves since this will slow down the drying process.
* Dry herbs slowly. You may be tempted to pop them in the oven to speed up the process, but its high heat bakes away the flavor. Instead, hang spices with stems—such as lavender, oregano and tarragon—in small bunches. And spread out other spices on a screen that allows air to circulate. Put all drying spices in a shady, warm corner of the kitchen away from direct sunlight, which can burn the delicate leaves. Let them sit for about a week. When the leaves crackle between your fingers and fall apart, they’re finished drying.
* Store herbs right away. Put them in airtight jars away from heat and light. You’ll be able to use them for up to 12 months.
[photo: stevendepolo]
by Gabrielle on April 25, 2010
According to a recent study in the journal PLoS ONE, we end up throwing away an astonishing 40% of the food from our fridge and cabinets, usually because they expire before we eat them. Luckily, there’s an easy way to make use of all your food before it goes bad: Log onto supercook.com and simply type in the ingredients you have in your kitchen. You’ll be given hundreds of links to easy recipes for soups, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts that use all those items so they don’t go to waste.
[photo: carolyn.will]
by Gabrielle on April 15, 2010
Cinnabon is taking the sting out of Tax Day by offering free bite-sized versions of their famous cinnamon bun dessert. To find a Cinnabon near you, log onto cinnabon.findlocation.com. Hours and participation vary by location.
[photo: Andrew Currie]
by Gabrielle on April 14, 2010
Screw in a red or blue light bulb! According to a new survey of 500 wine sippers, folks enjoyed a wine’s flavor and thought it tasted more than twice as sweet when there was red or blue lighting in the background than when there was white or green lighting behind them, reports the Journal of Sensory Studies. It may be that pleasant lighting makes us perceive what we’re drinking as pleasant, too, says study author Daniel Oberfeld-Twistel, Ph.D.
[photo: jessicamelling]
