Cookouts and Calories: Eating Slim This Summer

By Cherie Rasmussen

Does enjoying cookout season have to mean saying goodbye to your diet this summer? Not any more. Now you can have your burger and eat it too. Just follow some smart tips; and you could enjoy cookout food without ruining your diet completely.

Here is an example of what a smart choice could save you – Jane picks a half-pound hamburger with potato salad, while Linda chooses a quarter-pound sirloin burger on a whole grain bun and fresh fruit salad. Guess what – Linda saves 500 calories! And that, as we all know, is a lot of calories to save in one single meal.

As Linda’s choice indicates, it’s not just the meat you pick that counts, but the portion size as well. So pick a quarter-pound burger instead of a half- or third-pounder or a regular sized light hot dog in place of an oversized sausage frank or link. Give up the 8- to 12- ounce steak in favor of the 4-ounce lean steak.

For every meat on the menu, there’s a slimmer, healthier choice. Take sirloin or extra-lean beef instead of regular beef. If it’s a steak you’re eating, go for the lean cut. Avoid Polish sausage links, hot links, smoked sausages or bratwursts and go for the reduced-fat sausage link instead. Grilled, skinless chicken breast or thigh is preferable to the breaded or fried chicken patty or even a grilled chicken thigh with the skin on.

Toppings matter too, as do the buns. Skip the bacon, mayonnaise, fried onion, and full-fat cheese toppings in favor of the healthier tomato, lettuce, onion, salsa, mustard, and reduced fat cheese and serve on the whole grain bun.

The side dishes make a difference too. Heap your plate with a fresh vegetable or fruit salad instead of chips and you could save about 120 calories. Pass the potato salad and add a serving of vegetarian baked beans, and you could bypass 50-60 calories. Eat all the carrot sticks and celery that you want. Remember, celery, when eaten raw, actually takes more calories to chew and swallow than it adds to your body.

And we’re not done yet. Choose unsweetened iced tea instead of the sweetened lemonade, and you could skip 100 calories. For dessert, opt for fresh berries, melons, or whatever other fresh fruit might be available. Avoid cakes, cookies, pies, and ice-creams.

Avoid empty calories at all costs. Say a firm “No” to regular soda and alcoholic beverages.

Also, pick foods that need minimum preparation at the campsite. You will need more stove fuel in the winter, and you’ll be wearing gloves as well, so food that needs cutting and slicing is best left out. Look for frozen foods that are already sealed in a bag and need only to be put on a pan of boiling water. Carry plenty of soup packets as well. These are easy to prepare, and keep you warm and hydrated too.

Remember, it’s possible to enjoy the season without having to worry about the extra pounds later. It’s all about the choices you make!

About the Author: For more information about outdoor grills and cooking accessories visit our website at http://www.outdoorgrillcenter.com/

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=545432&ca=Food+and+Drinks

No More Tainted Pet Food: Using Homemade Dog Food Recipes For A Healthier, Happier Pet

By Jennifer McVey

There are many places to find dog food recipes if you are considering making your pet’s food. There are also important points to think about when you make their food like sticking to the recipe, talking to a veterinarian, and paying attention to how your dog reacts to the food.

Two common places to find dog food recipes are on the Internet and through your local veterinarian. The Internet is not always trustworthy though. You cannot be sure that someone who posted their own idea for a dog food recipe is the right meal for your dog. Some of the factors might include the type of dog that they have and the types of foods in the recipe. If the dog food recipes are coming from a credible place on the internet like an animal shelter, a veterinarian, or some other place you can trust then you most likely are safe to use the recipe.

The best place to find dog food recipes is through your local veterinarian. Your vet already knows your dog best. He or she knows their digestive tract and what kinds of foods you can start your pet off with and how you can transition your animal from traditional dog food to homemade food. Many veterinarians already have recipes they can give to you so you can go home and make your pets food. Working with your vet ensures the health of your animal.

Switching your dog over to homemade dog food is a big transition. Your animal may not take the food change very well at first. For instance, your dog may not seem as if they like it or they might not be eating as much. You will notice a change in their stools. Your animal may vomit for a couple of days because their digestive tract is not used to healthy food. Be sure during the transition your dog is getting plenty of water. One thing that might be recommended is that you slowly break your dog into the new dog food rather than do a total change at once.

When you make homemade dog food, even the vet will tell you not to change the recipe. You might think you are being creative or making your pet happy by adding bacon grease to the mixture, don’t. You also should not substitute foods within a dog food recipe. Stick to the recipe. If the recipes are too expensive for you then you might not be able to afford feeding your dog homemade foods. Many people have made their animals very sick by not properly cooking the foods to save time or substituting foods to save money. For your dog’s health, stick to the recipes.

Dog food recipes are fantastic when you find them from the right sources. You should only trust your veterinarian or a reliable source for a recipe and you should follow it exactly. The purpose of making homemade dog food is for your dog’s health. So you should follow the recipes and pay attention to how your pet responds.

About the Author: Learn about making homemade dog food and more dog food secrets at http://www.saferpetfood.com

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=259197&ca=Pets

Pet Food Recall - Are Pet Food Manufacturers Killing Your Animals on Purpose?

By Kelly Marshall

The prevalent recall of pet food has created a huge fright to all dog and cat owners who rely on commercial brands to feed their pets. Throughout the country, contaminated pet food has caused many dogs to become very ill, while a huge number of them have died.

In March, Menu foods, a Canada based manufacturing company, recalled more than 90 brands of “cuts and gravy” moist foods (both dog food and cat food) after more than 14 pets died from eating them. A few weeks later, the same company added 20 more of their brand to be taken off store shelves.

It was later revealed that wheat gluten, an ingredient found in the said pet foods, was contaminated with rat poison. The risk of Salmonella contamination has also been a major cause of a recall for two popular brands of pig ear dog treats.

When Food Is Kills Your Pets, Something Must Change

Cases of toxic pet foods date back to December of 2005, when many dogs died and dozens fell ill after eating kibble manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. It was later discovered that the food was contaminated with aflatoxin; a naturally occurring chemical produced from fungus and can be found on crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and beans. This chemical is also toxic to domestic animals, livestock, and even in human beings. More pet food recalls during this past ten years has also involve the risk for Salmonella contamination.

Pet Food Recall - Are Pet Food Manufacturers Killing Your Animals On Purpose?

All pet owners want what’s best for our beloved pets, especially when it comes to the foods they eat. Our goal is to give them only the healthiest food available to make sure that they will live a long and healthy life. What if the so-called “healthy pet foods” that are being sold in stores are not as reliable as we think?

So, what do we do when we can no longer rely upon the food manufacturers who are supposed to provide pet owners with safe and healthy foods for our animals?

Are These So-Called Pet Food Companies Breaking The Law?

FDA regulations say that pet foods have to be manufactured similar to the way human foods are manufactured. So, they should be processed under a sanitary environment, do not contain any harmful ingredients, accurately labeled, and safe for our pets to eat.

All pet food manufacturers are expected to act in accordance with these regulations to make sure that the food is safe and healthy …But due to limited resources, the FDA can only check pet food issues after consumer complaints are made or if the FDA has a reason to believe that there is a threat to animal health. So, a recall is then announced by the FDA or the manufacturer if a contaminated product is found. Finding out that your dog has been poisoned is devastating. This is why I recommend that all pet owners keep abreast to current news relating to food recalls.

About the Author: Provided by Kelly Marshall from Oh My Dog Supplies - the largest choice of dog feeders online, visit http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/elevated-dog-feeders/

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=324432&ca=Pets

Vanilla Flavor: Natural or Chemical Evil?

By Phillip Tucker

You find it in your favorite flavor of ice cream, you find it in cakes, in air fresheners, in baby formula, coffee, donuts, perfurme, sodas and more. It’s ubiquitous, it’s the most popular flavoring since it was first mass produced over two centuries ago, and it’s name is synonymous with delicious, comforting feelings from our childhood. So popular we can’t conceive of a world without it, we can’t be surprised that it’s been artificially manufactured for close to a century. That most vanilla is actually ‘vanillin’, and is produced in chemical plants that have nothing to do with vanilla beans. What does this mean for our health, for what we taste, and what exactly are we eating?

The original vanilla bean is the second most difficult and expensive spice to produce after saffron. Grown primarily in Madagascar and Indonesia, it is in fact not a bean but the product of the sole orchid that bears fruits. These orchids are hand pollinated during the one day of the year they open, and their fruits are collected and then tended to by hand so that they dry out over the course of three to six months. The whole process can take five to six years from planting to sale. Natural vanilla costs hundreds of dollars/pound, and oscillate dramatically depending on weather and political conditions in the countries they are grown. Only about 2,000 tons are produced annually across the world. Luckily, only 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans are needed/gallon of alcohol and water. Still, it’s impossibly expensive and rare.

Which is where 4-hydroxy 3-methoxybenzaldehyde comes in. Known as ‘vanillin’, it’s made in two major petrochemical plants in China and one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Originally synthesized in 1875 from coniferin, which is derived from pine cones, then from clove oil, it was finally extracted from the lignin contained in wood pulp. Today, however, about 5-10% of vanillin comes from wood pulp. The rest is made chemically.

The process is byzantine, strange and disturbing all. If you could penetrate the maximum security systems surrounding one of these three petrochemical plants, you’d be able to watch benzyne gas being extracted from crude oil, natural gas and tar. That is in turn oxidized with propylene into cumene, which is then reduced to phenol. Got it? Phenol is then condensed into catechol, which is liquefied into guaiacol, which is then dried off into white crystals which are then further processed into vanillin.

The problem is that both artificial and natural vanilla flavoring is a delicate thing. Some people think of vanilla as ‘bland’, and so this begs the question: how do you subdue the other natural flavors of whatever you’re flavoring in order to allow the vanilla flavor to burst through, uncontaminated? The answer involves more chemistry. Involves neutralizing strong flavors so that the product is rendered neutral, and then the vanilla (read: vanillin) is added, and suddenly whatever it is you’re eating/smelling/drinking smells like this delicate produce of an orchid flower. Healthy? Not so much. Which is why you should always check the ingredient list of whatever it is you’re about to consume. If the back reads like the shopping list of a mad scientist, you’re probably better off not eating it, even if it does taste like the most delicate of vanilla’s (vanillin’s) ever.

About the Author: If you want the most natural, wholesome supplement possible, get into Shakeology. Derived from natural whole foods, with no gluten, artificial sweeteners and tons of nutritional punch, it’s the best. Also, get psyched! Free information on the awesome Turbo Fire workout here!

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=532916&ca=Food+and+Drinks