Fall Favorites

Fall is my absolute favorite season! I get to eat my favorite food, smell my favorite smells, and celebrate my birthday! Halloween is a fun part of fall too. Yesterday I was at target and I saw a mom buying Halloween decorations for her house and a full-size skeleton for her kids. The skeleton was a little creepy but, it’s fun to see how festive and creative people get.  Now, everywhere I look there are pumpkins. Pumpkins are the best part of it all. You can paint them, eat them, make them into lanterns, and put them on your front step for everyone see. Carving pumpkins is great but, so is eating them! It’s never too early to break out the autumn cooking recipes!

My fall favorites include apple cider, apple pie, pumpkin pie and pumpkin bars. Apple cider is such a great drink. It sounds gross to think about because it is basically just warmed up apple juice but, it’s just so good. Along with apple cider is apple pie. There are so many pies but apple pie is one of my top favorites. The best apple pie would have to be the homemade pie my old school made. We had a fundraiser every October and we made homemade apple pies and berry pies. The parents would come every day and cut the apples, make the crumb topping and pack them up into white boxes. The berry pies were good but they didn’t even compare to the apple pies. To this day I’ve never had a better apple pie than those ones.

Pumpkin pie is great but, nothing beats my mom’s pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. They’re vegan but I think they taste better than any other pumpkin bar out there. The main difference is the cream cheese frosting. She just uses a vegan brand of cream cheese and it doesn’t taste weird at all. For anyone trying to go vegan this is a great and easy dessert to make. We even brought it to a potluck and won first place for desserts! Nobody knew it was vegan until after we won!    

 

Green Tea: A Super Drink

       That cute, little Chinese restaurant isn’t the only place you can find green tea. Surprisingly green tea is found in a lot of things. You can find it in cosmetic items, health foods, dietary supplements, and various beverages. Green tea is an awesome healthy ingredient. It comes from a plant called Camellia Sinensis that was originally grown in China but, has become well known all over the world. There are green tea farms sprouting up across the United States, and it has become a popular rival to black tea.

Green tea is a fresh, healthy beverage that comes with lots of benefits. What are these benefits?

Well, accordoing to Kris Gunnars here are the top 10 benefits of drinking green tea:

1.      Green Tea Contains Various Bioactive Compounds That Can Improve Health

2.      Compounds in Green Tea Can Improve Brain Function and Make You Smarter. Green tea has caffeine in it but not enough to make you jittery like coffee does.

3.      Green Tea Increases Fat Burning and Improves Physical Performance. This is one of the reasons people use it in their shakes, drink it by itself, or take green tea pills.

4.      Antioxidants in Green Tea May Lower Your Risk of Various Types of Cancer. Green tea is a great way to get antioxidants, which fight against cancer and protect the cells. Multiple studies show that green tea drinkers have a lower risk of various types of cancer.

5.      Green Tea May Protect Your Brain in Old Age, Lowering Your Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Not only can green tea improve brain function in the short term, it may also protect your brain in old age. Multiple studies show that the catechin compounds in green tea can have various protective effects on neurons in test tubes and animal models, potentally lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

6.      Green Tea Can Kill Bacteria, Which Improves Dental Health and Lowers Your Risk of Infection.  It even helps against bad breath and kills germs.

7.      Green Tea May Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes. One study in Japanese individuals found that those who drank the most green tea had a 42% lower risk of developing type II diabetes.

8.      Green Tea May Reduce Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. Green tea also dramatically increases the antioxidant capability of the blood, which protects the LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation, which is one part of the pathway towards heart disease.

9.      Green Tea Can Help You Lose Weight and Lower Your Risk of Becoming Obese. Many studies have shown that green tea leads to decrease in body fat, especially in the abdomen area.

10.  Green Tea May Decrease Your Risk of Dying Sooner and Help You Live Longer. The ingredients in green tea fight against so many causes of death that it could be increasing your life span.

        

"Must-Visit" Restaurants at the Mall of America



 

 

 

The wonderful fumes and yummy looking crepes at the Magic Pan Crepe Stand are absolutely irresistible.  When my family and I went to the Mall of America we HAD to stop and get a crepe. If you’ve got a sweet tooth there’s an amazing strawberry and whipped cream crepe (which I got and it was to die for); or if you’re in the mood for more of a lunch option they have tasty veggie or chicken crepes too. 

If you’re looking into getting your hands on one of these French meals you’ll have to set up camp. There’s always a line at this stand. Every time I passed the Magic Pan customers were standing in line; but hey, that means they’re worth the wait.

Another restaurant that shoppers should visit is Crave. It is on the fourth floor at the very top of the mall. They not only have great food; they have an awesome atmosphere as well. They even have a balcony that looks out onto the amusement park. It’s higher than most of the rides, so you can watch people flying by on the rollercoasters, or running around on the ground.

At crave the variety of food is endless. They have sushi, pasta, burgers…. and the list goes on. I like to get the sushi because it’s tasty and fresh. To end the evening they have mouth-watering desserts. I recommend the chocolate-mousse cake. It’s not too heavy but has a rich, savory taste.

 

One of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever been to is Tucchi Benucch. They’re mainly known for their amazing baked spaghetti. It’s rich and warm and tastes like heaven. Tucchi Benucch is a great place to eat after a long day of shopping. The dimmed lights make for a relaxing end to the night, and it’s a great place to recover from a tiresome day.

Just make sure you plan ahead and make reservations because I promise you, you’re not the only person who wants to chow down on their baked spaghetti. A great refreshment to go with your meal would be the strawberry lemonade. It’s fresh and hits the spot, when you’re thirsty and all shopped out. Tucchi Benucch even has a nice little dining area on the outside of their restaurant. If you don’t want to spend your meal in a dimly lit room, just grab a seat right outside of the bar area. But wherever you decide to dine, I promise you’re in for a treat.

MSG Revealed

MSG stands for monosodium glutamate.  Monosodium glutamate is an addicting flavor enhancer used is canned foods, fast food restaurants, Chinese food, and processed foods. Although MSG may taste good it isn’t healthy for our bodies. It is a chemical that is added to our food to make us want more of it. Restaurants want their customers to come back, so some of them add this to their food to keep business coming.

If you’re allergic to MSG you might get headaches after you eat food that contains it. Headaches aren’t the only symptoms of an allergic reaction. According to Mayo Clinic, some other symptoms  include sweating, facial tightness or pressure, nausea, weakness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, flushing, and numbness or tingling. So how can you identify if MSG is in the food you eat? 

When you go out to eat you can always ask the person waiting on you if it’s in their food and, if they don’t know you can have them ask the cook. If you’re making your own food or eating a snack that you’re not sure about just check the ingredients list. It is usually disguised as “natural flavoring” so be careful. You might think since it says natural that it’s good for you. Don’t be fooled. The company just wants to sell more product.   

World’s Largest Food Chains… And Their Secrets

          Which fast food chain do you think is the largest in the world? Take a guess! Did you say McDonalds? That’s what I thought too before I did some research. It turns out that Subway is the #1 food chain in the world! There are approximately 33,000 stores worldwide!  79 of those stores are located in Singapore which is less than 300 square miles, and in Germany there are 778 stores country-wide. I don’t know about you but, I think their veggies look a little too perfect. So how do they keep them so nice?

            They simply add sodium benzoate to keep their vegetables, meat, and sauces fresh. This preservative has been known to cause allergic reactions because of its ingredients. Not only do they put chemicals on their veggies, they add yellow food coloring to their banana peppers so they look more appealing. That’s a little gross.

            The runner-up in this food chain “competition” is McDonald’s, with a whopping 32,000 stores worldwide. In America McDonalds is known for their Big Mac but in Germany they’re known for their Big Rösti. The Big Rösti is a beef patty with Emmentaler cheese, a hash brown, and bacon strips on an onion bun. That’s a crazy twist on a Big Mac if you ask me. In addition to a Big Mac (or a Big Rösti) are the french fries. Who could eat a burger without them? These fried taters are an American favorite. So what are they really made out of and why are they so addicting?

            The answer is 17 different ingredients! According to McDonald’s website and Michelle Schoffro, they start off with potatoes and add canola oil, hydrogenated soy bean oil, safflower oil, “natural flavor” which is a nice name often used in the place of monosodium glutamate (MSG for short; which is a nerve and brain toxin that leads to headaches), dextrose (sugar), sodium acid pyrophosphate (a color preservative that is hazardous if ingested), citric acid, dimethylpolysiloxane (this chemical is actually commonly used in sealants and caulking but McDonalds doesn’t seem to care), vegetable oil (used when the “chemical infused potato sticks” are fried), and TBHQ (a petroleum- based preservative that is like butane which is a lighter fluid!). The preservative TBHQ has been linked to skin conditions, asthma, hormone disruption, damaged DNA, and cancer.

            The person who came up with the saying, “Don’t eat what you can’t pronounce” sure knew what he was talking about. There seems to be a lot of truth behind it. Even if everyone knew what went into Mickey D’s french fries some people would still eat them, because they’re addicting. The MSG in the fries has an addictive component that leaves the consumers wanting more. McDonalds sure did think of everything, to keep their customer count up. On that note, which other big food chain is racking in the big bucks?

            Of course, it is the beloved Starbucks! If you haven’t heard of Starbucks, I’m sorry but you live under a rock.  With about 16,700 stores worldwide, Starbucks coffee is an early bird favorite. I’d be careful about getting coffee at Starbucks though. Since their coffee is pre-ground there are bugs in it, specifically cockroaches! While doing research I read that the cockroaches get in with the beans and since it’s hard to sort them out they are ground up together. Even when buying whole beans to grind yourself, you still have to be careful. Bugs such as cochineal insects are used to give the coffee beans their rich brown color. Not only does Starbucks have a cockroach problem; they have a cochineal insect problem as well!

Styling & Photography of Food

Food is one of the hardest things to take pictures of. This means a food photographer must create the best lighting to show off the colors and depths of the food. As well as a food photographer, there is a food stylist. The food stylist is in charge of arranging the food perfectly, and keeping the appearance of the food fresh, so it is appealing to the people who see it. Because of all these tedious steps, food stylists usually replace real food with fake food.

You might think you are looking at a glass of milk, when in reality you are looking at a glass of white glue. Or a bowl of ice cream might actually be a bowl of frosting made out of shortening, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. This prevents the “ice cream” from melting while under hot lights.

So why do salads in magazines look one hundred times better than the flat, dull salad you made at home? They actually place a smaller bowl upside down in the bigger bowl and, cover that with the leafy greens. They go on to add the colorful toppings but, they don’t use dressing because the weight and slipperiness makes it hard to arrange the leaves. Instead they might use olive oil and seasonings on the salad to create a shiny yet weightless finish.

Food stylists even use fake ice cubes made out of acrylic. They use this strong, clear plastic because it doesn’t melt under the hot studio lights. This makes it much easier to photograph than real ice.

Some soup ads don’t even use real soup. There might be a picture of a bowl of steaming soup on a cold day but, it’s fake steam. The food stylists use cool air nebulizers or a mixture of chemicals to give off smoke that looks like steam.

They also use this steam technique on burgers to make them appear hot. The photography of a burger takes a dozen or more steps to get just right. The hamburger meat is cooked with a torch so the stylists can add the right amount of brownness, the middle of tomatoes are cut out so they don’t get everything soggy and discolored, and all the ingredients in the burger are held together with toothpicks. The final touch is applying the condiments with an applicator bottle to ensure that there is not a single drop of mustard in the wrong place.

 

Fast Food

            According to dictionary.com the definition of fast food is: food, as hamburgers, pizza, or fried chicken, that is prepared in quantity by a standardized method and can be dispensed quickly at inexpensive restaurants for eating there or elsewhere.
         
           This is true. As Americans we’re always in a rush. Running from here to there, taking all the short cuts we can think of. Dictionary.com’s definition of fast is junk food. I mean, that’s what pops into our minds when we here “fast food”. So what if we redefined the word?

            Fast food doesn’t have to be juicy cheeseburgers and greasy fries. It could be carrots and hummus or, a banana and a Clif bar. Making your own “fast food” even saves time! You won’t have to wait in line at a drive through, while the person in front of you can’t decide between a #1 combo and a #7 combo.

            Here are some great to enjoy your own “fast food” at home or on-the-go:

         Ants on a log... Just cut up some celery, spread some peanut butter on it, and stick little raisins on top! If you don't like peanut butter or if you're allergic you can substitute sun butter or almond butter; and if you don't like raisins you can use dried cranberries instead!

        Clif bars... Give you lots of energy! They won't melt in your purse or bag, and they taste good. My personal favorite is the white chocolate macadamia nut.

       Smoothies... They're a perfect on-the-go meal and are easy to make. They're especially great for breakfast because you can drink them in the car on the way to school or work. They are also a great way to sneak in your veggies. You can add spinach or kale to smoothies, and you get all the nutrients without their bitter taste.

     Organic pop tarts... If you have a sweet tooth, but don't want to eat a real pop tart or slice of cake just grab one of these. I promise it will satisfy your craving.

 

Eating A Plant-Based Diet

 The word "plant-based" basically means eating a diet that consists of plants, legumes, nuts, soy, and DEFINTELY no animal products whatsoever. That means cheese, bacon, and butter are out of the question. For some people being "plant-based" is just another word for vegan, when in reality they can be completely opposites. 

When someone switches their diet from eating whatever to becoming “plant-based” it's usually for health reasons but, when someone becomes a vegan it can be for a bunch of different reasons. Maybe it's the cool thing to do or, maybe they're protesting to save the animals. I've even heard that hardcore vegans don't wear fur coats, (and if I'm being completely honest here, neither would I) and they don't eat honey because it's made by bees, which are animals. I think that's a little over the top because honey is actually good for you, and it can reverse allergies if you take a spoonful each day. Anyway, there are also different health benefits between the two. While both are healthier than eating the standard American diet of way too much meat and dairy products, being “plant-based” wins the award for being the healthiest. It’s simply in the name. This diet in based on consuming primarily vitamin rich vegetables and fruits.

Whereas being a vegan just means you don’t eat any animal products but, you can eat anything else. This is what leads to people becoming “junk vegans”. There is so much food that is vegan but, that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Oreos are vegan. Fried tofu from Sushi House (which is awesome) is vegan. Oil is vegan, and you know what they say. “It goes straight from your lips to your hips.”

Now if you were wondering, becoming “plant-based” is not just a hop, skip, and a jump away from your old lifestyle. It takes a lot of time, effort and self-control. This is hard because the one thing people need is time, and it’s really hard to find.

I’ve found it pretty easy to try to be “plant-based” but, only because my mom did first. She had really high cholesterol so, she researched the best way to bring it down and it turned out to be a “plant-based” diet. Her cholesterol dropped 60 points, she lost weight, got rid of weekly migraines, and now for the most part my sister and I eat that way at home. It’s really hard being “plant-based” at school because, a lot of people don’t eat that way. There’s cheese and meat on everything, or there’s milk hiding on the ingredients list. This has brought me to the conclusion that it’s just easier to bring my own snacks to school.

If you’re a teenager, like myself you should totally try going “plant-based”. I’ve noticed that it’s given me more energy for school and sports, clears up my skin (whenever I’m strictly eating plant-based), has made me more fit, and I just feel better overall! All you have to do is eat more plants. Instead of making your veggies the side dish, make them your main course.    

 

#Foodporn

You’re scrolling through your news feed and you see a picture of a triple-layer chocolate mousse cake, a big juicy cheeseburger, or a plate full of colorful sushi. Your mouth starts to water, and you wish that you were the one posting that picture and eating that food. Well, that’s food porn.   

 

             Instagramming food started out as a boring cliché thing to do but it’s become so much more than that. Restaurants are even getting involved. For them it’s just a great way for them to advertise to our food worshipping world. Some restaurants are even starting to reward customers for posting  pictures of their food on social media. There’s a restaurant in London called The Picture House that lets their customers pay for their food by taking a picture of it, and posting it to Instagram or Twitter. All they have to do is hashtag #PictureHouseLondon or #PictureHouseLeads with their post. The Picture House even has an in-house food photographer who gives tips on how to take pictures that make the food look more delicious and appealing.

With so many people whipping out their phones at dinner some restaurants are banning their customers from taking pictures of their meals. They say it keeps the other people at the reataurant from enjoying their meals or, that it even distracts the chef… but how would he know? He should be back in the kitchen anyway, and isn’t he just turning down free advertisement of his wonderful restaurant?

There has even been research done that proves food tastes better after Instagramming it! If all restaurants knew that, they would never ban food porn.  Researchers at Harvard University and the University of Minnesota did four experiments which proved that “rituals” such as taking a picture and posting it before eating makes it taste better. This isn’t the only way to make your food more satisfying. Anything that makes you have to wait a little longer before eating has the same effect. Whether that’s serving everyone else before yourself, giving a toast, or blessing the meal. They all make the food more satisfying. So the next you order that perfectly, browned crème-brulee take a picture- It’ll last longer.