My personal theory on jam sandwiches is that you eat them when you are poor.

OR

if you just have no standards or taste in food what so ever. What is with a person who thinks that jam is the ultimate in sandwich cuisine??!!
Am not stuck up….where I grew up that was the theory and it was a working class neighbourhood.

I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I am not poor. We actually make pretty good money. I just like it lol.

sushi, asian cuisine and more! Desserts, mixed drinks, the works. going to be a fun, and hip place. not traditional. so no like Sushi garden, or any typical names. something unique!

1. Cold Fusion
2. The Fuse Box (Have an assortment of bento boxes)
3. Neo
4. Epicurean (look it up on dictionary.com)
5. Asia FX

Most people feel reassured by the pictures of smiling veterinarians and dog breeders paying tribute to the commercial pet food they feed their dog. Or perhaps, you’ve been convinced by your own vet that the food they sell is sure to be nutritionally balanced.

For your dog’s sake, be a bit suspicious. Don’t be convinced by anyone (including me) that what they are trying to sell you is necessarily in your dog’s best interest.

Instead, it may be in their own best interest if they gain a sale from convincing you.

If you’re having a problem getting your head around the idea of raw dog food, then I suggest it’s your problem, not your dog’s.

Dogs evolved on a diet of raw food over millennia. Humans have only recently taken an interest in making dog food.

Do you really imagine, for one moment, that humans have been able to change the domestic dog’s digestive and immune system in fifty odd years?

You may well say that humans have had an impact on the way dogs look, with all the different breeds. Yes, that’s true. But have you also noticed that pedigree dogs are also the most unHealthy? What I call a Heinz 57 dog, is normally much healthier.

So in breeding a selective type of dog, humans have gone against nature, by isolating one or more traits, until the breed becomes what the breeder wants.

And so it is with food. Humans tinker about with food, under the guise of ‘science’. I call it junk science, because there’s nothing scientific about commercial dog food. The word ‘science’ has come to be revered by the majority. Just as the word ‘natural’ is currently enjoying popularity.

So a clever commercial dog food manufacturer will incorporate the word ‘science’ and/or ‘natural’ in the advertising, to lure you in.

That doesn’t mean there’s anything of quality within the packet or can. It could be anything. You have no way of knowing how the food was prepared or what is in each pack.

Raw dog food, on the other hand, contains all the nutrients essential to a healthy dog.

I appreciate that it may take you time to get your head around the idea, because you’ve probably been brought up on the idea that commercial pet food is the healthiest way to go.

If that was true, how cum that dogs health invariably improves when a switch from commercial to raw dog food is made? The only way you’re really going to find out for sure is to try it out yourself.

You may be worried about parasites and bacteria in raw dog food.

Neither of these are an issue for dogs, whose digestive system is very robust, with powerful digestive juices. Dogs aren’t carnivores, they’re omnivores, which means they can eat anything (as long as it’s raw), including vegetation and rotting carcasses.

In fact, you will notice that when you feed a raw dog food, fleas and worms decrease and almost disappear.

Dogs have problems with unnatural foods – those that are cooked, those that contain preservatives. Neither of these are natural. Cooking destroys many vitamins and denatures other nutrients.

I can genuinely assure you, that your dogs health will improve considerably when you start feeding a raw dog food. There may be a ‘de-toxing’ period initially, but this is normal, natural and only takes a short time to go through.

Why not try it for a month and see for yourself? What have you got to lose?

Madeleine Innocent
http://www.articlesbase.com/Pets-articles/raw-dog-food-how-can-you-be-sure-its-healthy-727561.html

I wanted to try Nutrisystem but it is way expensive. I see the frozen dinners in the grocery store like Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers, SmartChoice, etc. Will these work the same?

I know they are low calorie and low fat, but Nutrisystem claims they have this system of food with glycemic index…. does these frozen meals offer the same? I don’t see it anywhere on the box. Thanks.

You might consider Weight Watchers. Alot of doctors recommend it as the very best, Healthiest diet. You might lose weight slightly slower, but it will STAY off…and you learn how to eat "normal" foods for the rest of your life. If you go on a system that "caters" your meals, you’ll gain the weight back when you go back to regular food …. Best to learn how to cook for yourself FOR LIFE………

Reading Pet Food Labels
or
What to run away from at the pet store

With all the pet food recalls and more and more ingredients coming out of China that are contaminated, we need to learn to read the ingredients on our pet foods just like we read the labels on our own food.

You should read the label every time you purchase pet food.  Manufacturers will change ingredients on a whim if they can make the product cheaper and reap a bigger profit.  Very few companies are as concerned about the health of your dog as much as they are about their bottom line.

Pet food is not highly regulated.  Dead, diseased, dying and drugged animals are allowed in pet food.  Many pet food ingredients are leftovers from meat processing for the human food supply and consist of ingredients not fit for human consumption.  Here’s what you should be looking for on each label.

Look for the Ingredient Statement on the label.  Read the first five ingredients as these first five ingredients make up 90% or more of the total quantity of what’s in the dog food.

1. Does the food contain a quality protein?  Look for an identifiable animal source such as chicken meal or beef meal.  This is a concentrated protein source wherein the water has been removed from the meat.  “Chicken meal” is better to find on the label than simply “chicken” as the latter can contain a large quantity of water.  It may be the first ingredient on the list, but doesn’t necessarily make up the larger portion of the food due to the water content.  Wheat gluten or corn gluten are protein sources, but they are not meat.  Dogs and cats must have meat to live a Healthy life.  If your dog were on the loose in the wild, would you find him eating an ear of corn?  

2. Look at the packaging.  Does it contain a picture of a healthy dog or cat and then say things like “natural” or “wholesome grains” or “vegetables?”  The term natural is meaningless as it is not regulated.  There can be some natural ingredients in the food, but there can also be chemical preservatives that can cause cancer such as BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquine.  There are some pet treats on the market that are labeled natural, but contain propylene glycol, a form of antifreeze!

3. Wholesome grains are not whole grains.  The term wholesome grains can simply mean the addition of wheat gluten which was the source of the largest pet food recall in history.  Whole grains are excellent sources of protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, and other essential minerals.  They also provide carbohydrates that a dog (not a cat) needs to provide energy.  Look for ingredients like ground brown rice or oats in a dog food.   Soy, corn, corn gluten, wheat, wheat gluten and rice gluten are cheap sources of protein.  These grains are also prone to molds which can be toxic.

4. Look for the term “by products.”  If it says by products, don’t buy the products!   These are inferior protein sources and can be difficult for your dog to digest.  These can be all the parts of an animal unfit for human consumption such as hooves, feathers, intestines, etc.  By products contain ingredients you would never knowingly give to your dog. 

5. What are the sources of fat?  The fats in dog food should be animal based.  This is what your dog evolved to eat.  Your dog cannot be a vegetarian or vegan and maintain health.  Fats should also be identifiable such as “chicken fat” or “beef fat.”  If the ingredients state “animal fat,” it should not be fed.  It could (and probably does) contain road kill, spoiled grocery store meats, euthanized Pets, or zoo animals.

6. Check for vitamins and minerals.  A list of added vitamins and minerals should be on the label, but avoid the ingredients menadione and sodium selenite.  These are cheap and non-bioavailable sources of vitamin K and selenium respectively. 

7. Your dog food should contain fruits and vegetables, but not as the primary source of nutrition.  The first ingredient should be meat and everything else should follow.
While this short article does not cover every single detail of purchasing pet food and reading labels, it provides the consumer with some guidelines for a happier and healthier dog.  Go beyond the fancy packages and read the ingredients.  Your dog deserves you and he certainly deserves a good diet. 
Just remember that what you find on a dog food packaging isn’t necessarily what you’ll find on the ingredient label.  Packaging is advertising and is meant to entire you into buying that particular product.  The packaging is irrelevant-read the ingredients.  You’ll soon find that even so called premium dog foods contain junk that you would never feed your dog.
Randy Walden
http://www.castlehillsoaps.com
Full reprint rights are given for this article as long as it is reprinted in its entirety.  Author credit must be given and the URL must remain on the article.  This article cannot be sold or altered without the author’s permission.  The author may be contacted via the URL at the end of this article. 

Randy Walden
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/reading-pet-food-labels-738493.html

I want authentic sichuan cuisine! Hot pots, etc. Where is a good place for this in Dallas or the surrounding area?

Little Sichuan 240 Legacy Dr Plano
Sichuanese Cuisine 2001 Coit Rd Plano

In spite of many thoughtful and forward-thinking updates in schools, school design, and classroom curriculum, grade school cafeterias haven’t changed significantly in the past 50 years. School kids are still either buying their lunch, which they receive on a tray (“hot lunch”); or they bring lunch from home (“cold lunch”). School lunches often include a self-serve salad bar with a nice variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain rolls; a Healthy improvement over years past. However, an enormous amount of good food goes to waste: whole sandwiches, uneaten fruit, unopened cups of yogurt and applesauce, and untouched bags of chips have all been found in waste audits performed at local schools.

Unfortunately, these schools were not unique.  A comprehensive study from Great Britain recently revealed that one third of all food purchased is thrown away, of which 61% could have been eaten. Other studies have found that in the U.S., an estimated 40% to 50% of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten. The average family of four throws away nearly $600 a year in edible meats, vegetables, fruit, and grain products.

Returning to the grade school waste audit, it was revealed that 17% of the trash generated at the school was food waste and 24% was food-packaging waste.  Other schools have found that up to one third of their trash stream is comprised of food waste. Considering that the schools have to pay both for the wasted food AND the waste management, addressing how food comes to the schools and what happens to it is worth a closer look.

So what can be done to stem the tide of good food gone landfill?

Start at the beginning: reduce what is provided for lunch. While free-choice salad bar offerings are an excellent idea, kids often take more than they can eat in one sitting. Signs and classroom guidance can help everyone remember to “take what you want, but eat what you take.” Cold lunch diners can also usually bring less food and still be satisfied – read on for more details.

Pass it on: have a “no thanks” table. Anything brought from home that is unopened, such as yogurt cups, bags of chips, granola bars, applesauce cups and the like can be dropped off at a “no thanks” table where other kids can find something they like. Although there are some issues such as allergy concerns and the stigma associated with “the used food table”, they are not insurmountable. Food left over at the end of each day would be welcomed at a shelter or food bank.

Tackle the tabletop culture: use reusable containers. It has been observed that when a sack lunch is packed in baggies and disposables, any leftover food – like a whole sandwich – is seen as disposable, just like the containers it came in. The same holds true for prepackaged foods, like chips, crackers or cookies in single-serve bags. However, when lunch is packed in reusable containers, uneaten food is returned to the container and put back in the lunch box. This has several immediate and valuable benefits: first, based on the quantities that come home after school, portions can be adjusted accordingly. Second, if there is any leftover food, it usually becomes a ready-made after-school snack (assuming the lunch box has an ice pack to keep everything fresh till mid-afternoon).

It was recently revealed that milk cartons, contrary to common wisdom and due in part to the current economic downturn, usually do not get recycled when they are pulled out of the waste stream but are instead thrown out with the rest of the trash. Furthermore, kids rarely drink the full eight ounces of milk they provide, resulting in additional waste. Schools should consider investing in washable cups and a milk dispenser, both to eliminate the single-use cartons and to reduce the wasted milk. This also has its own issues, one of which is the time necessary to wash the cups after use. Again, this isn’t insurmountable, but may only be a shift in behavior away from stocking the refrigerated milk case to handling the wash. Students themselves can fill the dishwasher trays as well.

Address the school culture: have recess before lunch. Many schools report that cafeteria time is frequently cut short because kids are in a rush to go to recess. The result is that many kids never eat at all, and spend the afternoon hungry and unable to concentrate. Several school districts throughout the U.S. have implemented a reverse strategy: kids go directly to recess for their mid-day break, after which they return to the cafeteria for lunch, where they stay until it’s time to return to the classroom. Reports from Montana schools indicate that “recess before lunch” programs improved student behavior on the playground, in the cafeteria, and in the classroom and resulted in less wasted food. One middle school reported a 50% drop in “plate waste” (food thrown away), and a decrease of 60% in disciplinary actions related to the lunchroom over a three year period. The teachers also reported better concentration and more effective time management with the recess before lunch program.

Finish at the end: offer composting. Some food waste is just that – inedible parts, like banana peels, eggshells and coffee grounds. Many schools have introduced compost bins to help manage these leftover bits, often in association with school garden projects.

As with any change, the usual guidance applies: find advocates among the school staff and parents; research where similar strategies have been attempted and consider whether the results would apply at your own school; consider how every step in a new program might impact classroom time, staff time, and staff resources; and communicate, communicate, communicate to students, parents, teachers, and staff.

Schools are embracing, and teaching, a refreshing environmental message, but they could drive that message home if they applied it to the simplest of everyday activities such as eating lunch. By reducing food and food packaging waste, families and schools alike save money both by reducing the loss of good food to landfills and by avoiding having to pay for its disposal. In today’s budget-conscious home and school economic conditions, that’s no small potatoes.

Nancy Myers
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/no-small-potatoes-how-to-reduce-food-packaging-waste-from-school-lunches-736569.html

I’ve been fond of chinesefoods and been wanting to learn how to cook one so that I won’t have to go to a chinese restaurant every time I want to eat their cuisine. Can anyone refer me a site teaching how to cook one?

This is on online cooking school site. If you browse through the recipe section you will see lots of chinese and asian recipes there. You can also use the search function to find chinese or the exact recipe your after. This is a good site to learn how to cook as they have instructional videos and easy to read step by step instructions. You can also join for free. http://rouxbe.com/ click on recipes to get started. Good luck