Not just coffee

Archive for category lifestyle

Potatoes Getting Mashed Up Again

Jun 24

Posted by admin in food, food universe, health, healthy eating, lifestyle, news, USDA

I know, I know, it should come as no surprise to me or anyone that potatoes, in all forms, are the villains of the food universe. They have been beaten up by the South Beach diet folks, and the school nutrition people chimed in recently, but a large-scale food study probably added the extra topping. Even my beloved baked got scathed in this study.

Let’s cut to the chase. In a Harvard study entitled, “Changes in Specific Dietary Factors May Have Big Impact on Long-Term Weight Gain,” the potato ( in all forms, with fried leading the list) tops the chart of offenders. This study says it is not just a matter of how much we eat but specifically what we eat that will determine our future body frames! We are not talking about a small study or one over a short period of time; rather an examination of three major studies encompassing results over 20 years. That in itself is impressive: A true clarion cry or calorie headliner!

What changes need to be made in our diets to digest the conclusions. First off, yes, the potato, needs to be reduced (eliminated) or we will continue to rock the obesity numbers. Very sad reality. On the other hand, the love of nuts continues to be a positive. Well-known cookbook author Susan Herrmann Loomis may help you discover some new uses for nuts.

Sure, everything in moderation, but grabbing a handful of nuts over the small bag of chips proves a healthy decision. Yes, fruits and vegetables have overall high scores. Let’s hear it for the new USDA plate!

Yogurt scores well, too, and makes it into the slimming column. Another interesting takeaway from the study is that getting less sleep, less than 6 hours, proves a weight-gaining decision. Go for fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and yogurt. Get 8 hours of sleep, and you’ll be following the right approach to lessen weight gain.

I begin now: Major lifestyle changes ahead since there’s never been a potato I haven’t liked!

Tags: , ,

No Comments

Time to Refocus Your Geometry: Pyramid Death

May 31

Posted by admin in Administration, First Lady Michelle Obama, food universe, gardening, healthy eating, lifestyle, Michelle Obama, news

Just as color alerts became a confusing part of our daily routines, the food pyramid chart has confounded “new” thinking about food and is about to die a natural death. As in, it will be removed from the visual universe of what we should eat. It is high time the icon was put aside into the annals of food history. Yet, what will the new look say about our food when all is revealed on June 2? The pyramid becomes history, and the plate details the new food visual.

Not just any plate, but one that has been approved by the First Family. A plate that says, less is better but what constitutes less will be unveiled in stages. We have become a full plate society from our parents earliest admonitions to finish your food to dining out and expecting full plates brimming over with food. Oversize restaurant portions were supposed to imply monetary value but instead helped contribute to our obesity numbers.

The President and the First Lady exemplify their commitment to exercise and good eating habits. The White House Garden has been a huge success and farm markets continue to expand in close proximity to the White House. At the same time some of the nation’s top chefs have contributed their time and expertise to improving the school lunch program. Logically, the next step is to take the tired pyramid of foods and replace its message with one that stresses vital health information. This is a more active focus that demonstrates the importance of being active and eating healthy. In addition to the USDA, other government agencies will help drive the important message.

Making the plate a thing of beauty with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables is a natural starting point. After all we are in the heart of the growing season and product availability. Grocers are competing with farm stands to show that locally grown food can be readily available to all shoppers.

Eating healthy has new rules and as a nation the time has come to step up to the plate and move into a healthier position. We welcome the pyramid retirement party.

It’s time to set up a healthy plate.

 

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments

Men Finally Get Their Java Jolt

May 19

Posted by admin in coffee, health, lifestyle, news

Coffee news; coffee research. Big difference between mere news and research studies uncovering the health benefits of coffee. Yes, health research makes plenty of news items, but sometimes the research is so thin it barely deserves a headline. Not so for these last few coffee nuggets.

It was not that many months ago that women got a great pass on their coffee consumption. Now men have their day at the Java shops with a significant study detailing the benefits of 6 cups of coffee staving off prostate cancer. The specific details are worth stirring around:

–Study involved almost 50,000 men.

–Six (6) or more cups of coffee produced a 20% drop in prostate cancer (the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the US). When compared with men who avoided coffee all together, the risk decrease was 60%.

–Even those who drank only 1-3 cups daily demonstrated a 30% lower risk of getting prostate cancer.

Coffee, often maligned, has gained new respect in the health community. Do not lose sight of the fact that coffee, because of its antioxidant properties, has brought positive news to those with Parkinson’s and diabetes. Plenty of studies moving coffee into the plus column!

Coffee may prove to be the beverage darling of health studies! Hot or cold: Coffee rocks. Today I’ll deal with the humidity with my espresso over ice. Thank you.

Tags: , , ,

No Comments

Local Before Locavore: Ireland

Apr 14

Posted by admin in dining out, food universe, healthy eating, lifestyle, travel

If there’s one aspect to an Emerald Isle trip that stands out loud and clear, it is the emphasis on freshness: Fresh caught, fresh picked, or even fresh slaughtered. There’s no doubt that the food on the plate defines freshness. No one ever bothers to explain to a diner or a guest at a B&B: It’s understood, a given. No one uses terms like day boat, it is expected that the cod or the haddock, the soul of a proper lightly breaded fish and chips entree, whether at a pub or a restaurant, resonates fresh out of the water. Hours, not days.

Chips. Now that’s a word used frequently as the exalted Potato has a life of its own. Yes, you can ask for your chips extra crispy, no problem. To go with the chips, you might get a side of new potatoes. No one wants the fresh veggies to be alone in a side plate! Since it seems everyone you meet is some sort of farmer or has a strong tie to the land, getting a new potato is almost a joke of the phrase. Of course, it’s new as in just dug up! If it’s a vegetable you crave, and mushrooms you favor, you’ll be delighted. I may have enjoyed the best side of Portobellos I’ve ever had!

Besides the line caught fish, there are an abundance of seafood choices for those who prefer the popular seafood chowders or want to begin their morning with a few fresh oysters. April normally has a limited supply of the oysters, and often small, but this year’s bizarre cold and snowy winter has chefs delighted with a variety of large-sized bivalves.

Of course, the salmon, the lox, the smoked fish: It’s all there and all fresh-caught or prepared in a nearby smokehouse.

When you inquire about a dish, the person taking your order is apt to wax eloquently about its flavors, almost regardless of the item. Look at the meats. Yes, it’s true that the lamb, prepared any number of ways, speaks volumes about lifestyle. Grass-fed is the norm in the country as animals roam the hills and freely eat without much exposure to a penned life. The taste comes through with every bite. Fat? No. Meat, yes.

As we in the states put up banners shouting “LOCAL”, and take great pride in what our farmers are producing and carrying into the city, we are reminded how far we have come and far we must go. Packaged and processed are not words that should be in our vocabulary.

Let’s celebrate Earth Month with a strong focus on how we can continue to emulate what some countries have been doing as their norm.

Champion the fresh.

 

Tags: , , ,

No Comments

Color-Coded Food: Vegans Rejoice!

Apr 13

Posted by admin in cooking, healthy eating, lifestyle

It’s been a long established fact, no research needed, that an attractive plate of food beckons us to lift our forks and begin the process of enjoying dining. No, we do not need to be at a restaurant in front of a four-star chef to have this experience. Bright colors arranged lovingly on a plate will hold the same attraction whether we are eating in our kitchen or at a chef’s table.

That’s the premise of so much of what we do: Attractive presentation wins whether the board room or the dining room. Our eyes are our first taste buds. Now couple that with the alarming fact that so many of us ignore fruits and vegetables and focus on the high-protein, starch-based universe, and you have the premise of a recently published cookbook, Color Me Vegan.

Stop, don’t panic, you do not have to subscribe to the Vegan lifestyle. In some respects, I think the title is misleading as the appeal is far greater, but the author, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has written other Vegan books and is the founder of Compassionate Cooks. The book has a universal appeal as it is filled with overall food information. Yes, it has recipes for the plant-based lifestyle, but any of these can as easily be adapted for any type of eater. The emphasis is on information and explanation as colorful food displays can appeal to all diners.

It’s called color-intense meals. That’s an important aspect of overall cooking presentation. If you just stand in front of a large vegetable display, you might select the same tried and true performers, but if you follow the color palate, you’ll add more vitality to your meals. Look at the blue-purple section (my personal favorite colors), and you’ll put a little spice into your food repertoire right away. There’s the familiar purple cabbage salad but you could as easily focus on purple cauliflower soup and chilled blueberry mango soup. Now the eyes are talking and no one has even mentioned healthy terms like antioxidant or fiber-rich!

This is a fun, new book that slides easily into the spirit of springtime rejuvenation and appreciation for our local growers and farm market vendors.

Change your palate and open the basic white dinner plates to a new colorful, healthy set of food tips and recipes.

Tags: , ,

No Comments

Gluten-Free Gold: Ireland

Apr 11

Posted by admin in food universe, gluten-free, lifestyle, tourism, travel

Whether one is Celiac, has some gastro requirements, or is gluten intolerant, there is no easier place to visit than Ireland. From the minute you check into your first B&B, you’ll be treated to a food surprise. People ask if you need anything special, as in GF bread, or as you venture into a bigger establishment, you’ll be greeted with a menu that lists so many food options for both the Vegetarian and the Gluten-free.

Why? Well, that is still the unresolved issue although the country seems to have a very high percentage of Celiacs. Several theories circulate, but nothing is a spot-on answer. There’s the brown flour theory as in the staple of the Irish meal: Soda Bread. Brown flour is quite different from many of the flours we have in the states and is not sold here, but it is a heavy flour. As for the GF breads, they toast, and toast well. No one seemed to have many details, but both the flour discussions are far from over. More to discover.

In the meantime, Ireland proves itself a welcoming destination as the people are so warm and friendly, and yes, so dependent on tourism dollars. Visitors, GF or not, will agree it is an idyllic setting, but those with special food needs will find travel easy and wonderfully accommodating. Quite a surprise. No need to seek out a list of a few restaurants that might have a menu or an item for your needs. Rather the opposite of the States, as the whole country seems to be on guard for the Celiac. Travel can be so difficult for those with special food needs. Or so easy as in the case of Ireland. What a pleasant surprise on so many levels!

Go for it. Erin go Bragh!

Tags: ,

No Comments

Deals, Deals, and More Deals

Mar 30

Posted by admin in chocolate, dining out, life, lifestyle, news, restaurants

One day you wake up to find an offer too good to be true. Your inbox entices. You buy; you subscribe. After all $15 for $30 worth of Mediterranean food at a place you frequent makes good sense; the math simply computes. That’s how the addiction begins. Before long you find the corollary services and pop your email into the location box and you’re off and running.

Then, the impasse. Your email is filled with offers. Deals, bargains, two-fers; you name it. They’re there. What happened? How did we get to this point, and why was no one offering us these “bargains” before? Marketing organization is the strategy that convinces businesses to take advantage of online energy. It’s simple for the companies, especially small companies, but no one should forget how well big players such as Gap (Groupon deal) and Amazon (Living Social deal) did with their offers!  Small businesses, on the other hand,  see the advantage of possibly getting 1,000 new customers. Will they have stickiness is the big question or does the purchaser only visit the place on his special deal visit?

Look at the possibilities that I awoke to this morning: Half-off a burger, $15 for $30 worth of food from a large selection of Asian and European restaurants, $25 for $50 at an American spot…I could continue, but it is rather alarming how these deals multiply. Subscribers are divided into only two groups: The Addicted and the Never Again. The fine print often gets the Never Again as they missed the expiration date or the deal was not what they expected.

The Addicted, a group I might claim chairmanship, means a daily scroll through the possibilities and some serious personal, private conversations about how many deals should one have floating in their cloud at any one time? I do have self-control, as in, I did not buy $20 worth of candy which looked like jelly beans for $10. Yet, a good chocolate offer…BTW, companies are sprouting up all over the country. New online contenders continually seem to offer a deal a day. Deal categories continue to expand from cooking classes to clothing to home decor and activity trips or vacations. You name it; there’s a deal site.

What’s one to do? Of course, cancellation would be an option, but then you’d miss the hot new restaurant that’s trying to get your attention. After all when you scan through sold out past deals, you see what you missed!

Just to show you the popularity of these programs, try to take advantage of the offer to get “free” money with a referral. Everyone you send it to seems to respond, “already subscribe.”

The obvious solution: Invest in the companies when they go public. They know how to make a deal.

Tags: , ,

No Comments

The Healthy Cups of Coffee

Mar 11

Posted by admin in beverages, coffee, health, lifestyle, wine

As with wine, my favorite finds are the health articles that discuss the benefits from the beverages. Today is no exception. The latest study from Sweden reports on the beneficial effects from drinking more than a single cup of coffee daily. The focus is on women without a history of cardiovascular disease. Findings clearly support a 22 to 25% reduction in the possibility of having a stroke. The lead researchers followed more than 30,000 women (from 49 to 83 years old) for 10 years. The single nor occasional cup does not produce these results.

It should be noted that the research indicates that women who do not drink coffee or have very limited coffee consumption are more likely to have a stroke. Other factors such as smoking, weight, and alcohol consumption did not affect the overall benefit women gain from daily, multiple cups of coffee. Researchers did not separate out the caffeinated from the decaffeinated drinkers, but Sweden is well known for its strong coffee brews so the authors doubt the number of decaf drinkers would significantly affect the data.

This study follows on the heels of an earlier one from Israel (The Heart Institute of Sheba) that found that 3 cups of coffee a day is good for you and protects against heart attacks and is good for the circulatory system. What is interesting about this study’s findings is that both individuals who have suffered heart conditions and those free of disease benefited from the caffeine dosage. People who have shied away from coffee for fear of a spike in their blood pressure and pulse rate might start to enjoy those multiple cups.

These studies support my overall philosophy that coffee has strong benefits and that days of diminished consumption help no one, especially those with whom you come into contact! Keep healthy, enjoy good coffee in beautiful cups.illyrehberger_143x130

Tags: , ,

No Comments

A Done Deal: The Single Cup

Mar 10

Posted by admin in beverages, coffee, lifestyle

We have been waiting for the announcement and just got it: Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ Keurig units have completed the paperwork, and we’ll be the winners come this fall. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz identified a significant piece of  research: Over 80% of current customers do not yet own a single-cup brewer. Following on the heels of the company’s most successful rollout ever, the VIA paks, they are ready to combine two concepts into one swift marketing move.MW-AJ137_starbu_20110310090529_MD

The products will be widely available and not limited to a single retail outlet. Remember the coffee deal with Kraft expired so their reach with this partnership has expanded almost infinitesimally. Not just coffee, but the units will work well with their Tazo tea lineup.

Let’s think about the home use advantages: All those times when you don’t want to brew a whole pot could grab the top slot. How about one person favoring a decaf and another an espresso, that works. All of this brew technology rests with the success of the single-pod machines. For travelers, there could be an across-the-board in-room revolution: Hotels could throw out the in-room coffee pots and go for the more sanitary single-use approach. OK, how about the office where no one wants to clean the pot; so no one does! My personal travel and in-home list could continue, but most importantly the news comes at the same time everyone is reporting an insane spike in the cost of Arabica beans.

One issue to ponder: The environmental impact of these little containers. Last fall this was at the top of the radar pile; let’s see what news comes out on this fractious issue.

As coffee prices rise, a single cup solution may win over a whole new legion of followers. We’ll watch and taste.

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments

40 Years: That’s a Lot of Steam

Mar 8

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news

As CEO Howard Schultz made the media rounds to establish his place in history and that of the company, Starbucks, it is fitting that we, too, get to share in the pride of accomplishment. Forty years for any establishment, especially one that has made its name on pouring specialty brews, is an impressive marker. To celebrate they have officially imprinted their new logo and have 2 days of celebrations lined up to thank customers and give them a preview taste of the new food items.

From March 10-12 in the afternoons (from 3-5P) when you order a drink, they will give you a taste of their new lineup: the Petites. Yes, small bites are in and these little guys come in at just 200 calories so they pack a perfect pairing with the afternoon visit. Personally, I’m all over the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie. Hear me shout. OK, the Salted Caramel Sweet Square comes in a close second: Sweet and Salty continues to thrive in the food world.

Starbucks continues to expand its food lineup as they have successfully learned that customers want a little bit with that cuppa. The biggest issue they currently face is coffee pricing as futures continue to climb. It looks as if they are holding steady, at least for the moment.

redvelvelwhoopie68fa65c2120d49ed85b8140dc47b8c83

As part of Tribute week, the term they created to thank customers for their patronage, (or as is evident, they’d be nowhere without our overcaffeinated lifestyles), they have a new coffee, the Tribute Blend. It’s a combination of their most successful coffees: Aged Sumatra and sun-dried Ethiopian with Colombian and Papua New Guinea added to round out the flavor profile. This is a salute to their most popular coffees working together. Or, a parallel to their solid customer base.

So when you sit and daydream about starting a new business, think about this little coffee company that started in Seattle and has spread its wings worldwide. It truly is the Little Engine That Could. Any company that survived the last two difficult economic years when so many analysts wrote off the concept as being too expensive for many, deserves attention. Sure they made changes. Everyone did, but here they are today.

Coffee and…please.

Tags: , , ,

No Comments