Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food t...]]>

Lean protein is your diet is essential to weight loss and weight maintenance. Fish is an excellent source of lean protein as it is lower in fat that red meats.

Long term weight loss isn’t about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It’s a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. “Fish in Orange Sauce” is one of a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. This irresistible, no-hassle meal will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Variety is an essential element of any successful health program. If you get bored with foods, you’re much more likely to abandon your program altogether. Each main meal should be accompanied by an exciting range of colorful vegetables.

Fish in Orange Sauce (serves four)

Ingredients
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon margarine

The answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture).

By reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. You can continue this p...]]>

Any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that?

The answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture).

By reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. You can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not.

This is one of the most important tools in the kitchen, believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal.

And literally ANY liquid can be reduced.

A few uses

Wine is frequently used in cooking, both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat.

There are some problems with it though, one of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people.

On the other hand, if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of ‘gourmet’.

What’s more, you don’t have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. You can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge.

You can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. Just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe!

Pork with apple sauce? Use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. And if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process.

Are you getting an idea of how simple this is?

Take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. You will transform it into something even the manufacturer won’t recognize. But beware!

You need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify ALL the flavors, and not just the good ones.

If it’s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you’ve reduced it even by half. So if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it’s an extremely good one.

And believe me when I tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces.

Thickeners

Because you will be tasting as you go (won’t you?), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached.

So here’s a couple of hints right now for your sauces.

Sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. Surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked.

For meat sauces, one of the most effective ways to thicken is to mix corn starch with water and whisk this into your sauce a little at a time until the required thickness is reached. You do this at the end of the reduction time.

If you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. Stir in a little extra water to thin it.

Reduction pans

Reductions need to happen rapidly in order to preserve flavors. And the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate.

For fast reductions, therefore, I often use a skillet, or frying pan, only transferring the sauce to a deeper pan when I want to whisk it. (whisking ‘finishes’ off a sauce, making it shine)

However you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that I find a small wok is best; one with a handle.

A wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. But try both methods and see which you prefer. You may even end up using something totally different.

There’s no magic to this. Whatever works for you, that’s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking.

Just bear in mind that what you’re after is speed and ease of use. As well as a great tasting result, of course. :>)

Keeping

For the most part, reduced liquids can be frozen in cubes and used as needed. However if the sugar content is high this may not work too well and they would be better stored, covered, in the fridge.

If they should dry out, simply add a little water and heat through.

Sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you’re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. There is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it’s better not to. Simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil.

Why do you do this? To avoid food poisoning, that’s why. You are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off.

Don’t worry, this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (I hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean.

In fact your food, and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. Don’t worry about them. Careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

For more information on the subject, see my booklet “Hygiene In The Kitchen”, which is available free through the Cool Cook’s Club.

Michael Sheridan is an acknowledged authority and published writer on cooking matters. His website at http://thecoolcook.com contains a wealth of information, hints, tips and recipes for busy home cooks.

The Starbucks Coffee Company grew slowly but by 1981 had 4 retail stores and a roasting ...]]>

Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 by three businessmen in Seattle, Washington who had a love for coffee and tea. It was important to them that the city of Seattle to have access their coffee.

The Starbucks Coffee Company grew slowly but by 1981 had 4 retail stores and a roasting plant that sold whole bean coffee in Seattle only.

By 1983 the marketing manager had a vision of re-creating the magic and romance behind the Italian coffee bar and wanted to test out the concept of selling espresso by the cup. When Starbucks Coffee opened its 6th store in downtown Seattle, the idea had become a hit. Within 2 months the new store was serving over 700 customers a day and it was selling 3 times more than the whole bean locations.

In 1987, the owners of Starbucks Coffee Company decided to sell their coffee business along with the name to a group of local investors for $3.7 million.

The new investors were told that they would open 125 Starbucks coffee stores in the next five years. Starting from a base of 17 stores in 1987, the company expanded rapidly to Vancouver, Portland and Chicago.

By 1991 Starbucks had expanded into the mail-order catalogue business, licensed airport stores and expanded further into the state of California.

In 1992 the company went public and after the initial public offering, Starbucks continued to grow at a phenomenal pace that no one had ever seen in the coffee world before. By 1997 the number of Starbucks Coffee stores grew tenfold, with locations in the US, Japan and Singapore.

Starbucks initiated several successful product and brand extensions including offering coffee on United Airlines flights. They also began selling premium teas through its Tazo Tea Company and offering people the option to purchase starbucks coffee online to enjoy at home.

They began distributing whole bean and ground coffee to supermarkets through an agreement with Kraft Foods. They also produced premium coffee ice cream with Dreyers. Starbucks even sold CDs in its retail stores.

Starbucks began turning its name into a household word not through advertising but through word of mouth. In fiscal 2004, Starbucks opened a record 1,344 stores worldwide. The once small regional roaster, Starbucks Coffee Company, now has more than 9,000 locations in 34 countries serving over 20 million customers a week.

Copyright © 2005 Perfect Coffees.com. All Rights Reserved.

This article is supplied by http://www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase starbucks coffee online, tea, cups, mugs, coffee makers, delicious desserts and sugar free desserts online. For a free monthly coffee newsletter with articles like these go to: http://www.perfectcoffees.com/newsletter.html

There are even some small studies that suggest that coffee colonics can aid in the treatment of panc...]]>

Coffee enemas detoxify the liver, as well as cleans the colon. Some people claim that they provide immediate relief to toxicity symptoms, such as congestion, indigestion, pain and headaches.

There are even some small studies that suggest that coffee colonics can aid in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

At the very end of the colon, before reaching the rectum, is an “S” shaped segments called the sigmoid colon. There is a special circulatory system between this portion of the colon and the liver.

This is because stool at this point in the colon contains putrefied material and needs to be handled carefully in order to avoid toxicity leaking into the bloodstream.

This system of veins enables toxins to be sent directly to the liver for detoxification, rather than them passing through the bloodstream to the rest of the body and vital organs.

During coffee enemas, the caffeine in the coffees goes straight to the liver where it becomes an extremely strong detoxifying chemical called glutathione-S-transferase. The coffee itself also stimulates the liver to make more bile.

The bile comes from the gallbladder and draws out environmental and metabolic toxins, as well as the toxins from Candida albicans and other parasitic organisms. The colon is responsible for ridding the body of these toxins.

In addition, the liver is then stimulated to produce enzymes that clean the blood since it’s no longer needing to work as strenuously on the colon. The coffees itself never enters the bloodstream as long as the coffee enema are performed properly.

Only organic coffees can be used for coffee enemas. Non-organic coffees contain herbicides and pesticides that will hinder the coffee colonics healing properties, as do instant and decaffeinated coffees.

Organic coffee is available through natural food stores, both in person or online.

How often you perform coffee colonics really just depends on what your goals may be. In the first few months of a more intensive regimen, many people prefer to take a coffee colonics as many as three to seven times each.

For people in a more relaxed regimen or in the latter, established stages of an intensive regimen, this is much too much.

At this point, it is recommended that you limit your enemas to only when you feel they are needed; you may feel constipated, have Candida overgrowth, or just generally feel out of sorts.

Currently, there is a clinical trial underway at the Columbia University Department of Surgery to test the so-called “The Gonzales Protocol.”

(1) This clinical trial is currently in its Phase III randomized study after the first two phases showed as much as three times the average life expectancy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

(2) The Gonzales Protocol involves a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, supplements, and detoxifying colonics, including coffee colonics.

In this study of seventy-two to ninety patients, half will receive standard chemotherapy and half with receive The Gonzales Protocol. The doctor hopes to recreate the promising results found in his pilot study in this more involved Phase III clinical trial.

While many within the medical community find The Gonzales Protocol extremely difficult to accept, it’s difficult to dispute its pilot study’s results.

The median survival rate for patients in the stage of pancreatic cancer as those in the pilot study is four to six months. Some of Dr. Gonzalez’s patients are still alive after three years.

This indisputable evidence has led some skeptics to acknowledge that maybe there’s something to the protocol that includes coffee colonics as a base part of the program. If nothing else, the skeptics feel that the results warrant further study.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Coffees Historical Time Line and Arabica Coffee.

But as the century turned, social reform was gaining steam. Companies and factories inst...]]>

The American custom of taking break during the working hours. Thus coffee breaks began in the early 20th century. At the end of the 19th century, the American workplace was a dreadful place for a break.

But as the century turned, social reform was gaining steam. Companies and factories installed in-house lunchrooms, and coffee breaks became part of the reform.

In 1952, the term “coffee break” was coined by a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign that read, “Give yourself a Coffee-Break — and Get What Coffee Gives to You.”

Many people take a coffee break while at work, believing that this will ease their stress. Research has been conflicting on the effects of caffeine; some studies suggest that it can worsen anxiety and trigger stress, while others show it boosts confidence and alertness.

Recently, however, a study done by psychologists Lindsay St Claire and Peter Rogers of Bristol University in the United Kingdom suggests that taking coffee breaks while working may actually deter employees’ ability to do their jobs and undermine teamwork instead of boosting it.

So this raises the question: do the classic American coffee breaks hurt more than help?

The study found that caffeine is particularly unhelpful to men and can disrupt their emotions and hamper their ability to perform certain tasks.

This latest report, released by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, also suggests that caffeine makes people less co-operative when working in teams.

“Our research findings suggest that the commonplace tea or coffee break might backfire in business situations, particularly where men are concerned,” says St Claire. “Far from reducing stress, it might actually make things worse.”

The researchers began their work after they heard a story during a stress workshop. A man described how he and a group of co-workers went on a business trip to the United States.

In the United Kingdom, coffee isn’t readily available in the workplace. However, in the United States, coffee was freely available and the team drank indulgently. Soon, they noticed that their stress levels had risen.

They felt that the extra caffeine had disrupted their team cohesiveness and affected their ability to work together.

The team from Bristol University tested caffeine’s effects on 32 coffee drinkers. The subjects were that they would be given one of three drinks; a caffeinated coffee that would enhance their performance, a caffeinated coffee that would make them feel stressed, or decaffeinated coffee.

This, however, wasn’t completely true. Half of the drinks contained 200 mg of caffeine and the other half contained none. The subjects were then asked to perform two stressful tasks.

The results of the tasks? Men did significantly worse than women in coping with the caffeine from the coffee. Those that had been told that their coffee contained the performance-enhancing caffeine had higher heart rates and showed more stress, especially during a public speaking task.

The caffeine, however, did not affect the men when it came to mathematical tasks. When the subjects performed a “desert survival task” in teams, taking coffee breaks did reduce stress, especially in men, but drinking coffee seemed to reduce teamwork.

So when it comes to coffee breaks, it may be advisable to lay off a bit if you’re about to speak to an important client or head into a team meeting where you know there will be much bickering about the latest project plans.

And while coffee and caffeine have been shown to be extremely beneficial in other areas of your physical health, maybe they should be reserved for before and after work or on the weekends.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Are Coffee Enemas the Real Thing?, and Arabica Coffee.

For the past several years, many experts have touted how horrible ...]]>

Here are some facts about the relationship between coffee and asthma. Regular coffee drinkers have about 1/3 less asthma symptoms than those of non-coffee drinkers according to a Harvard researcher who studied 20,000 people.

For the past several years, many experts have touted how horrible coffee was for our health and that the drinking of caffeinated coffee should be immediately ceased. Recently, however, several studies have shown that caffeinated coffee can actually be extremely good for people. One of the groups of people who can reap health benefits from drinking caffeinated coffee is those people who suffer from asthma.

In particular, drinking caffeinated coffee in the situation of an emergency onset of asthma can allow the patient to breathe easily. Doctors have recommended coffee as an emergency way of treating asthma patients who find themselves with a sudden onset and no medication for many, many years.

In Scotland, as evidenced by the Edinburgh Medical Journal, asthma and coffee are good for each other. While not recommended for exclusive treatment, one to two cups of strong coffee may help open airways.

This coffee and asthma treatment can help a patient who is suffering from an onset of asthma symptoms and finds himself without an inhaler breathe more easily until the inhaler can be obtained. This emergency treatment has proven extremely effective due to the similarities between caffeine and a tried-and-true asthma medication known as theophylline.

The similarities between these two chemicals lead doctors to routinely advise patients who are about to undergo tests for lung function to avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages for one to two days prior to the time of the test.

Several large coffee and asthma studies conducted in the past few years have examined the relationship between drinking coffee and the prevalence of asthma. A study of over seventy thousand Italians showed that there was a significant reduction in the appearance of asthma amongst patients who would regularly drink coffee.

The risk of asthma symptoms fell by 28% when patients drank three or more cups of coffee every day.

In 1992, the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) examined over twenty thousand Americans. The study found that the risk of symptoms from patients with asthma going into the study fell dramatically (over 29%) when patients who regularly drank coffee were compared with patients who did not drink coffee on a regular basis.

In addition, the risk of patients suffering from wheeze fell almost 13%. A relationship was also found between the amount of coffee consumed and the effects gained by the asthma patients. Those who drank more coffee had fewer symptoms; those who drank less coffee had more symptoms.

Another smaller coffee and asthma study was performed on nine adult asthmatics using four daily doses of caffeine similar to the doses contained in coffee. This study showed a dose response effect of caffeine on forced expiratory volume (FEV), forced expiratory flow (FEF) and specific airway conductance (Gaw/VL). This data also suggests that caffeine is an effective tool to use in opening airways during an onset of asthma.

While doctors will never advise drinking coffee as the sole treatment for asthma as they did hundreds of years ago, they do agree that the caffeine found in coffee is particularly beneficial in an emergency situation. Anecdotal evidence shows that people have used coffee in situations where inhalers were completely unavailable, such as when on vacations and on an airplane. Coffee is particularly useful in these situations, as the patients might otherwise suffer serious consequences due to their inability to breathe properly.

Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Coffee and Alzheimers, and Coffee Breaks.

1. "Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life."
   --Georges Blanc

2. "I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage."

   1. “Happy and successful cooking doesn’t rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
      –Georges Blanc

   2. “I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.”
      –Erma Bombeck

   3. “As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.”
      –Sandra Boynton

   4. “Noncooks think it’s silly to invest two hours’ work in two minutes enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.”
      –Julia Child

   5. “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
      –Ben Franklin

   6. “I prefer butter to margarine, because I trust cows more than I trust chemists.”
      –Joan Dye Gussow

   7. “My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.”
      –Buddy Hackett

   8. “Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour.”
      –Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

   9. “An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh.”
      –Will Rogers

   10. “The two biggest sellers in bookstores are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it.”
       –Andy Rooney

   11. “Oysters are more beautiful than any religion….There’s nothing in Christianity or Buddhism that quite matches the sympathetic unselfishness of an oyster.”
       –Saki

   12. “Why, then the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.”
       –William Shakespeare

   13. “So in our pride we ordered for breakfast, an omelet, toast and coffee and what has just arrived is a tomato salad with onions, a dish of pickles, a big slice of watermelon and two bottles of cream soda.”
       –John Steinbeck

   14. “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”
       –Voltaire

   15. “Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
       –Orson Welles

   Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

   ]]> http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/top-15-food-quotations/feed/ http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-travel-mug/ http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-travel-mug/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:50:16 +0000 admin http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-travel-mug/ A good travel mug is a must when you need to take your coffee or tea with you on the road. There are many different types of mugs available, so here are a few tips to consider before you purchase one.

   Travel mugs are offered in both stainless steel and plastic with plastic being the least e...]]>

   A good travel mug is a must when you need to take your coffee or tea with you on the road. There are many different types of mugs available, so here are a few tips to consider before you purchase one.

   Travel mugs are offered in both stainless steel and plastic with plastic being the least expensive.

   Even though stainless steel initially costs more, it will give you much better value for your money.

   Plastic mugs can break when dropped and they don’t keep your coffee or tea hot nearly as long as the stainless mugs.

   You can expect superior performance from a stainless steel travel mug keeping your coffee or tea hot for about an hour. If you are looking for the very best way to keep your favorite beverage hot or cold longer, look for a mug with stainless steel double wall insulation.

   Stainless steel also cleans up easier than plastic and the plastic liner over time will absorb coffee or tea. This build up will affect the taste of your beverage and the only way to remedy it is to buy another travel mug.

   If you still prefer a plastic travel mug, make sure it has a stainless steel liner. The advantages of these are you won’t feel the heat on the outside of the mug and you have a variety of colors to choose from.

   You should also decide if you want your travel mug to fit a cup holder in your car or if you want it to have a wide bottom for stability.

   The advantage of a travel mug that fits a cup holder is you don’t have to hold onto it. Just make sure the dimensions of the mug will fit your holder.

   If you don’t have a cupholder or don’t like to use one, you need a travel mug with a wide bottom.

   Look for a non-slip wide bottom because not all of them come that way. You don’t want it to slide if you let go of the travel mug.

   Next, what kind of a lid do you prefer? The lids that snap on can sometimes come off if the travel mug tips over or is dropped. Screw on lids are better because they stay on no matter what happens and that’s the idea of a travel mug to begin with.

   Also, consider how the beverage hole will be covered and uncovered when you want to drink. Do you like a flap over the drink hole that snaps shut or do you prefer a slide that stays open or closed? Then there is the Press’N'Sip lever design that opens when you push on the spring loaded lever and closes when you let go.

   Travel mugs come in a variey of volume sizes too. If you only drink a small amount, consider a smaller 8 oz. travel mug. On the other hand, if you want a large amount of coffee or tea to drink, consider a larger 16 or 20 oz. travel mug.

   Once you get the travel mug that is just right for your tastes, hand wash it instead of putting it in the dishwasher. Sometimes soap residue gets left behind either in the lid or in the travel mug and no one likes that kind of surprise. So be sure to rinse it extra good so all that you taste is the rich flavor of your coffee or tea.

   If you leave your travel mug in the car while at work, store it away from direct sunlight. That way the hot sun magnified by the windows won’t damage the rubber seals in the lid.

   Keep these tips in mind the next time you shop for a travel mug so when you fly out of the door with your favorite hot beverage, it will stay in the mug and remain hot until the last drop.

   Copyright © 2004 PerfectCoffees.com. All Rights Reserved.

   This article may be re-published “as is” (unedited) as long as the author’s bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

   About The Author

   Gary Gresham is the webmaster for http://www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. If you are looking for the perfect travel mug he offers you only the top rated travel mugs that he knows you’ll be happy with at: http://www.perfectcoffees.com/Travel-Coffee-Mugs.html; Gary@perfectcoffees.com

   ]]> http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-travel-mug/feed/ http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/what-is-in-your-blt/ http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/what-is-in-your-blt/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:50:14 +0000 admin http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/what-is-in-your-blt/ The traditional BLT that is, a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich is hard to beat. Think back, can you remember eating a warm BLT on white bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise, the real stuff not that fat free flavor free product we seem to use these days, with crisp bacon, cold ice berg lettuc...]]>

   The traditional BLT that is, a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich is hard to beat. Think back, can you remember eating a warm BLT on white bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise, the real stuff not that fat free flavor free product we seem to use these days, with crisp bacon, cold ice berg lettuce and tomatoes so juicy your shirt catches the drippings? Yum-Yum. Well today’s BLT is that and even more.

   For a pleasure you did not know existed in a BLT try using a rye bread or a whole wheat that is deep in color with a rich molasses flavor. Then instead of simply mayonnaise couple the mayo with a spicy brown mustard or a Dijon mustard. If you are looking to spice up the sandwich use chipotle mayonnaise and thin sliced pepper jack cheese.

   For a simpler taste that pleases even the most die hard BLT fans try a light wheat bread, traditional yellow mustard, mayonnaise, thick sliced deli bacon, ice berg lettuce, tomatoes and a layer of white cheddar cheese.

   If you are one of the health conscience and want to eat a salad instead of a sandwich why not try a BLTS. That is a bacon, lettuce, and tomato salad. Start with a layer of fresh ice berg lettuce, the spring mixes and mescaline mix salads are too heavy a green for BLT’s. Ice berg is light and crisp and lends itself well to the flavors of a BLTS.

   Then on top of the ice berg lettuce place chopped thick sliced smokey bacon. If your butcher has bacon behind the counter it is almost a sure bet that this will be a better choice than the pre-packaged varieties. When it comes time to choose a tomato think about trying a new variety such as a Cherokee purple or Sweet Tangerine. These fresh out of the garden can add a new and delightful flavor to your BLTS. If one of these varieties of tomato are not for you stick with the always wonderful Beefsteak Tomato.

   To top off the BLTS make a dressing using chipotle mayonnaise blended with a small amount of milk to thin it and sprinkle on top shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese.

   Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who specializes in creating gourmet meal plans. She has extensive experience cooking with easy to find grocery items to create delightful gourmet meals. She is also the publisher of a no cost bi-monthly gourmet newsletter. Her newsletter is always fun and informational packed with tips and trivia you can use everyday. http://www.gourmayeats.com

   ]]> http://www.ez2feed.com/food-and-drink/what-is-in-your-blt/feed/