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Food and Wine Time

Mar 14

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news

With aftershocks still continuing and more devastation being uncovered, it’s time to remind everyone that the great gift you could provide Chile at the moment is your strong support of their wine industry. A number of wine merchants have gotten on the bandwagon and are promoting Chilean wines with a major customer cost savings and some of the proceeds being sent to help the relief efforts. Chilean wines have often been considered bargains for us in the US, now it’s time to make a difference. Tough job: Drink Chilean Wine!

The school lunch program continues to be under the microscope. Numerous reports are out indiciating the postive effects of removing sugary drinks from the building and replacing them with less sweet choices including bottled water. With the First Lady so heavily focused on obesity issues, watch the attention grow on the lunchbox issue.

Spices are under scrutiny this week with more pepper recalls and an FDA focus on the number of spice recalls over the past few years.

On the trend side of the spice world is the annual Flavor Profile from McCormick, the 10th annual forecast of pairings and new, emerging flavors. Here’s a good example: Pumpkin Pie Spice and Coconut Milk  with an accompanying recipe to make the pairing easier: Caribbean Chicken with Mango Coconut Sauce.

Now for the most important news of the week: to celebrate the first day of Spring, Rita’s will be hosting its 18th annual First Day of Spring Giveaway, next Saturday from noon til 10P. Those who visit one of the 500 franchised operations that day will get to choose their favorite flavor and get a free regular sized Italian ice. Don’t forget that Rita’s has partnered with PEEPS from March 20-April 4 for a perfect combination. Just so you know, you’ll have lots of company, Rita’s gives away about 14 million ounces in this annual promotion.Peeps Ice Coming Soon Web Callout

Bring your Saturday paper and enjoy a true Spring welcome!


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Make it Bold: Bring It On, Starbucks

Mar 10

Posted by admin in coffee, lifestyle, news

StarbucksLoveCupFront_785_2432The month of March is turning out to be a true food fiesta. Starbucks just announced that they will have a weekly, as in strong, bold flavor profile coffee for the next 8 weeks. Starting off with Yukon Blend, a perennial favorite, the goal is to chase away the rough winter weather and welcome spring with a bold, new outlook.

I’m ready. They’ve got a good lineup.

Did I mention that this promotion has a great price point: $1.50. Hard to beat and certainly not one that should cause any pricing complaints. If this is the new Starbucks, then this is another example of a company that has spent time listening to consumers and responding to purchasing patterns. Until March 14, you can get a passport and each week when you purchase the featured beverage, you get a sticker stamp. A completed passport, 8 stamps, gets you a free pound of your favorite blend. This is my kind of brew.

For a complete list of the featured weekly coffees, visit the website. Before you worry that they’ve eliminated Pike’s Place Roast, allay your anxiety. That pour will be available during the promotion.

In the meantime, shake off the winter blues and get ready to lose the jackets and enjoy your bold blend in the outside shine of a warm spring. I’m hoping.

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Watch Your Oscar Snacks

Mar 5

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news

Big food weekend coming up with so many people trying to figure out how to host Oscar-themed parties. Go with Julie & Julia and it’ll be tricky for food pairings (better get started now), but not as complicated as fooding Avatar.

If you’re thinking about carrying in to help ease the set-up, then you have some additional homework. In one of the larger, more widespread FDA recalls, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) has been targeted for a Salmonella outbreak. This is a tricky one. First of all, if you follow the “I don’t buy it if I can’t spell it” rule, you’d never have it within 50 yards of your cupbaords or refrig. The problem is far more complicated as it is a pervasive ingredient. You may be surprised by its presence! Scroll through the list and start checking your larder. Almost all of the government agencies that get involved with food safety issues (USDA, CDC, FDA) have information on their sites. Plenty to read.salmonella

Popular veggie and spinach dips, some types of potato chips, soup mixes, pre-packaged meals (various tofus), and organic salad dressings are well-defined on this list.

This recall started the week with fewer items, but has multiplied.

Be thorough as this ingredient has become a popular additive. Even some Chinese restaurants list their HVP menus which they have cleverly crafted to increase their dining base. You don’t want to ruin the Red Carpet or miss the weekend festivities.

Lotsa movie competition. Make room.

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Chilean Wine

Mar 4

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news

I have written numerous posts about the affordable wines coming from Chile. The news from last week’s earthquake disaster and the numerous aftershocks have rocked the industry. So much is still uncertain and long-term effects are still unknown, but this is a viable, economic industry that has grown significantly over the past several years.

The leaders of the Chilean Wine Industry call the loss limited which is astonishing. This week’s numbers indicate a financial loss of $250 million (125 million liters), but the industry last year proved itself a strong contender in the international wine world with over a billion liters of wine.  They feel fortunate that the loss is not greater, and, of course express their concerns for the overall devastation that the earthquake caused. This information is, of course, still in the estimation period as the infrastructure at individual wineries has not yet been fully determined. Daily updates have become the norm.wines-of-chile-vinos-de-chile

If you are looking for a way to help Chile during this devastation, drink Chilean wine.

Do your part: Support a strong, growing wine industry with so many wonderful, affordable, and delicious choices!

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Eating Healthy

Mar 2

Posted by admin in health, lifestyle

Something happened on the roll-up to the month of March. Maybe it was the unusual weather extremes that plagued all parts of the country. Maybe it was the bad economic news and the long list of woes affecting the general population. Whatever the exact cause, one fact is clear: All the healthy eating kick-off promotions that are normally part of the January lifestyle alerts went nowhere. February was a long month of a blur, and now look where we are.

Whole Foods has decided to take its healthy message up a notch. Not that this is the first time this year they have focused their staff and customers on strategies to improve their healthy lifestyle, but this time the emphasis is on the Whole Body section of the store (and online) withe the emphasis on edfucating customers with lectures and podcasts to promote healthy energy. The philosophy focuses on an energy boost with good nutrition and smart shopping. BTW, whatever Whole Foods has done recently has positively improved their bottom line: They are a healthier company.

Fresh Direct is making it easier for NY shoppers who are already time-stressed to get on the health bandwagon. The online grocer with its commitment to farm-fresh foods just introduced a free app that’s compatible with the iPhone and the iPod touch to let customers create new orders or modify current ones. New customers will love this incentive as they’ll receive a 15% savings on their first two orders by signing up with the company and then using the app. That works.

Wegmans continues to expand its healthy eating selections under the category of “Food You Feel Good About.” Sub-categories include meals under 500 calories. There are various commonsense tips and strategies (that are worth reminding us) such as fill up half your plate with fruit and vegetables.principle3_Large

Spring’s official start is still 3 weeks away and swimsuit parading is months from then. Take advantage of the promotions, shop smart and join the health brigade. No matter the grocer or the chain, the emphasis is the same: We can all take advantage of strategies to improve our shopping experience and improve our overall health.

The advice is readily available and free. Now it’s up to us to follow it and eat healthy.

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Restaurant Promotions

Feb 26

Posted by admin in beverages, lifestyle, news

If you need ways to study dining out, then a simple barometer is the number of promotions that flood your email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. Social media has become the key communication tool to let potential guests in on ways to save money. The strategies were the saving grace during each of the major snow storms as followers received messages that said ”we are open,” or not. Double and triple point nites were a common incentive to get loyalists in the door.

This has truly been a long month of limited outings whether from record snows or unceasing inches of rain. The Coasts have been clobbered, and the spots with normally full outdoor tables have been holding court inside as record lows have walloped the FL sun. Enough about February; what’s to come in March?

It looks as if restaurants have come out of the gate in flying colors with multiple promotions to get us out of our homes. In Washington, DC, The Restaurant Association coordinated a one-week (March 1-7) “Unleashed” deal in the hopes of creating a buzz again as too many people have been stuck at home and not taking advantage of the conviviality of dining in a more spirited space.

Chicago restaurants, at all price points, have banded together and offer any number of food and drink specials via Open Table. This site is a particularly easy way to see who’s offering what during the coming weeks throughout the country. Hey, Minneapolis, get out, you still have til the 5th to enjoy Restaurant Week.

Resorts are getting into the act, too. One of my favorite properties, Meadowood in Napa Valley, has instituted a rain check. If your visit includes a rainy day during your stay from now through April 2010, they’ll give you a complimentary night’s lodging when you stay again before the end of July. It’s been raining a  lot in California. The fields still have their mustard color display, and the restaurant always offers a quiet respite with exciting food.

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Regardless of the city, coupons, social media tactics, and the old-fashioned Internet are ready to help move you from the doldrums to the tables. Let’s welcome March by getting out and helping the restaurants stay in business and be there for us when accessibility is even easier.

I’m on my way.

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Do More Than Shut Off the Ringer

Feb 20

Posted by admin in dining out, lifestyle

B2C_devour_ThumbHospitality: That’s the word that translates our dining out experiences. We want someone to extend the hospitality of good food and beverages and an environment that is welcoming. We can ruin the experience with the flash of a scroll or a button.

Yes, we understand about shutting off our ringers and plenty of menus say no cell phones, but what about texting or emailing? How do you like eating out with a dinner companion who can’t take his eye off the gadget and his finger from the button?

More often than not the texter or writer is a visible dinner companion. If you are dining alone, then quietly scrolling through emails may make a fine dinner companion. Returning calls or sending long tapping messages does not elevate the experience for anyone: Don’t.

Yes, if you are “ON Call” your situation is different, but for the rest of the universe, it’s time to soak up the hospitality and lose the gadgetry. Vibrate is no better. Hit off or quiet and settle in for a fine dining experience no matter the venue or the price point.

Relax.

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Tap Water, Please

Feb 16

Posted by admin in beverages, lifestyle

We’ve read and talked about plastic water bottles filling up the recycling bins and having no place to go. That we are stretching the limits of sustainability. Now, there’s a clever, and colorful, solution to the problem.

Welcome to Bobble, the little insert that fits inside a plastic bottle and filters regular tap water. Clever; smart; practical. BPA-free and, of course, reusable. We’re talking about an affordable solution with its activated carbon filter that goes into action and does the work of about 300 water bottles. Do the math: Not just on the wallet but on the environment, too.

You’ll love the design and the choice of 6 bright colors. Credit industrial designer Karim Rashid, a well-known design icon (who helped change the face of many of Target’s aisles), with the look.bobble

With your reusable bottle, you won’t have to look far to fill ‘er up.

It looks good enough to drink!

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Take Out the Party Hats

Feb 13

Posted by admin in lifestyle

Talk about a place ready for a party, and you’re probably thinking New Orleans. Didn’t they just have a party after winning the Super Bowl? Sure, but the big, annual (I didn’t say the Super Bowl win couldn’t happen again) fun fest is Mardi Gras. The religious day, Fat Tuesday,  before Ash Wednesday is a time of major celebration, after all deprivation is just around the corner. So this Tuesday, February 16 is the time to party. Religious notes aside, it’s a food feast.

If you’re not in the Big Easy, you can easily plan a Mardi Gras party and serve yourself some Cajun or Creole treats. Think Gumbo, Jambalaya, or even Etouffee.  If you prefer to go out and really whoop it up, plenty of restaurants are willing to show their true spirit by turning a single day event into two days of traditional foods and drinks. Bakeries stand ready for exhibiting their prowess with the traditional King Cake which you can make if you’re too late to place an order. Plenty of recipes, like the Emeril Lagasse Food Network version, make the colorful, ringed sweet a not so difficult spin for the mixer.FNmag_King_Cake-image_s4x3_sm

Those in the East who are still digging out from the record book snowfall are definitely looking for an excuse to celebrate something. Here’s an easy way to let the good times roll and partee.

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Support your Local Restaurant

Feb 12

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news

OK, East Coasters, it’s time: Get outta the house.

Restaurants are struggling after 3, count ‘em, 3 weekend snow storms and then the final touch, a monster 2-day blizzard.

Eat OUT–plenty of people ready to welcome you inside. It doesn’t matter where you go, just go.

Support your local restaurant and keep them in business.pizza

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