Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Maple Syrup

By Ian Kleine

This symbol of sugary goodness cannot be helped but get associated with Vermont. Maple syrup is a world-known sweetener derived from the sap of maple trees, those that grow well in good numbers in the forests and mountains of Vermont. Maple syrup is often served with waffle and pancakes around the US and in Canada.

It is also used for baking and making candy, for desserts or as an alternative source of sugar and as a flavoring agent for beer. The most prevalent form of sugar in maple syrup is actually sucrose, since fructose is less visible in non-fruit trees. Sucrose is also the more prevalent form of sugar in sugar cane and beets.

Maple syrup production is usually around the northern parts of America, associated with Quebec in Canada and the state of Vermont as the main producers of this sweet delicacy. Maple syrup can be obtained with the right and correct weather conditions. The trees most tapped for their sap is the sugar maple and the black maple, with a high sugar content of roughly two percent. The sap is tapped from the bark, delivered and sent to local 'sugar houses' for syrup production.

Traditionally, the sap is harvested by tapping, a process of producing incisions in the bark to allow the sap to drip. The sap is directed to run into buckets which are collected daily and then stored in a larger container. Some sugar houses use plastic pipelines in contrast to buckets, and only small-scale sugar houses and homes use the bucket method nowadays.

Sap harvesting is done during spring, when the nights are still winter-cold, but the days are somewhat summer-warm. This stimulates the trees to produce a good amount of sap. Every year, farmers must make a different tap section or hole in the tree because the tree heals the old wounds up.

About the Author:

Monday, March 30, 2009

Understanding Vintage Wine

By Tommy Hammerman

A vintage wine actually refers to a wine that was made from grapes grown, for the most part, in the same year. Vineyards will go through great lengths to label their bottles with the year associated with that wine when a vintage wine is produced.

The rules of labeling a vintage wine will vary slightly country to country. However, a majority of places will allow a small percentage of the wine to be made from grapes which are not from the same vintage.

Generally, vintage wines are produced in the same production period; in order to preserve the same taste for all bottles of the same vintage. There are many factors that can affect the taste of the wine, such as climate, the soil, the region and even the amount of rain or sunlight received when the grapes are grown.

The purpose of the vintage wines, for most vineyards, is to define a quality of wine for that vineyard, which will also define a standard for the rest of that vineyard's range of wines. This is a method of keeping consistency in this delicate process, as well as showing off the highest quality they can achieve. There are even some vintages which are only produced when the quality of grapes that year are a certain level, thus increasing demand for the beverage by decreasing supply.

In America, the highest quality vintages are given an AVA or American Viticultural Area label. This label defines that the wine was bottled with at least 95% of the vintage grapes during that year. If a wine doesn't have an AVA, it can still be called vintage, given that 85% of the wine was made from grapes grown in that same annual period.

There are also non-vintage wines, which consist of a blend of grapes or wines of different vintages. This allows for vineyards to keep producing wines when the quality of grapes that year is bad. Some vineyards, such as in France, take this blending to an important style.

There is growing debate over the actual quality of vintage wines as compared to the blended variety. More people claim that the cheaper and low cost blends are just as good as the expensive vintage wines. On the other hand, conservative connoisseurs object to this, and feel that consistency is essential for a high quality wine to be produced. Meanwhile, wine tasting contests are giving support to both sides of the claim.

About the Author:

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Charcoal Water Filter. What Are They? What Do They Do?

By Peter Abertoning

If you've read about the problems with drinking contaminated water you might be getting interested in water filtration. You will have heard of charcoal water filters or carbon water filters or even activated carbon water filters. What are these water filters?

A charcoal water filter is a water filter that uses charcoal for the filter process to remove the impurities. Charcoal is carbon that has been created by heating organic material in the absence of oxygen. The good ones are derived from coconut husks.

Charcoal is quite porous and absorbs many compounds in it's pores and it is this quality that is relied on for successfully filtering the water. That's why charcoal is used in gas masks, it absorbs things quite easily, both from gases and liquids. The pores are tiny holes made in the charcoal, or carbon, and the contaminants are absorbed into the charcoal. This is achieved by means of chemical attraction, because a wide range of organic compounds are attracted to carbon.

What then, is activated carbon? Activated carbon is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen in the manufacturing process to result in a much higher percentage of pores. In other words it is more porous than ordinary charcoal. The best charcoal water filters use activated carbon.

In fact it is so porous that it can have anywhere up to 20000 or more square yards of surface area for each ounce of carbon. Now that's really porous.

You need to replace the filters occasionally in an AC water filter because the filter gradually clogs up with contaminants as they are absorbed by the carbon.

There is no doubt that an AC filter works extremely well, however any water purification system that relies solely on AC for it's filtration has some drawbacks. The AC filters some, but not all, contaminants. So the best water filters need to be a multi stage filter utilizing a second filtration process.

For instance in the best water filters, there is a 2 stage filtration process. The second stage is used to filter those contaminants not removed by the first, like lead. This is achieved by an ion exchange process where the lead ions are replaced by potassium ions. Potassium is a mineral that occurs naturally in water and is not harmful.

And there are some very nasty bugs that are also potentially still in the water after the activated carbon filtration process, the two nastiest being cryptosporidium and giardia. These are removed by an extremely fine filtration process.

So although carbon filtration, or what can be known as charcoal or activated carbon water filtration, isn't 100% successful in removing all contaminants, when used in conjunction with a second stage filtration process targeted at the contaminants not removed by the carbon, it works extremely well. If there is lead in your water, and there is in the water of most Americans, you can expect around 99% of it to be removed.

Head over to my website if you're interested in finding out more about the worlds best water purifiers.

About the Author:

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Fitness Infos - Weight Loss Tips

By Marc Bauer

The good news is that there are a number of tips that you can use to help you successfully lose weight and hopefully achieve your weight loss goal.

When it comes to losing weight, the best thing that you can do is take healthy. Eating healthy involves watching the foods that you eat, not necessarily how much food you eat. Of course, you may want to restrict the amount of foods that you eat, when on a diet, but it is more important to focus on the foods that you do eat. For instance, if you were to take fruit instead of chips, you could have more fruit snacks with your meals than you would be healthy to if you were just to take junk food.

One of the first things that you should do is find and familiarize yourself with healthy meals. You can do this by way of standard internet search or by buying a collection of healthy eating recipe books. To reduce the boredom often associated with healthy eating, especially if you are not use to it, it is important that you ?spice,? up your foods and try to not eat the same meals over and over again each week.

If you are looking to lose weight, you should start an exercise plan for yourself. Exercise is important as it burns off calories. When you burn calories, the amount of calories that your body absorbs decreases. This is, essentially, what makes it possible for you to lose weight. If you haven?t been exercising regularly in the past, it is important that you take it slow. Exercise is a great way to lose weight, but you do not want to overdo it, especially at first.

If you don?t currently have an exercise plan or program in place, you may be wondering more about what you can do. One of the many ways that you can go about finding exercises or workouts to do is by buying a collection of fitness magazines. Many fitness magazines have detailed exercises outlined in them, often accompanied by pictures. You may also be able to find free instructional workout videos or exercise moves online. As a reminder, it is important to start out slow or at least start with exercises that would be easy for you to.

Eating healthy and regular exercise are both important components of losing weight, but there are additional tips that you can use to help you lose weight. One of those tips involves finding a workout partner or a workout buddy. This is a person who can exercise with you, whether your exercise involves visiting a local gym or just going for a walk at a local shopping center. Having a workout partner may help to keep you motivated and it may help to keep exercising and losing weight fun and exciting for you.

Another way that you can go about successfully achieving your weight loss goal is by ?spicing,? up your exercises. As previously mentioned, you can use the internet or fitness magazines to find workouts for you to do at home. To help reduce the boredom often associated with exercising you will want to change up your exercises, often on a regular basis. For instance, one day you may want to use a treadmill, the next day you may want to lift weights, and the next day you may want to do an exercise DVD, and so forth.

You should also consider making exercise and healthy intake logs or journals for yourself. These items can be used to track your progress. If you have a good week, like one where you completed all of your exercises, you may want to think about rewarding yourself. Your reward doesn?t have to include food; it can be something as simple as a sticker or treating yourself to a movie. Journals and logs have been known to help many individuals looking to lose weight and it may be healthy to do the same for you.

About the Author:

Friday, March 27, 2009

Crusade for the Best Female Weight Loss Supplement

By Jonathan McManus

There could be many different reasons for why you may have decided that you need to shed some weight; health reasons, upcoming party, the new dress from your favorite clothing store, the beach scene, or maybe you are feeling the need to trim down a little.

You have done the right thing so far, regardless of what your reasons are, the fact that you are reading this article means that you have taken a step in the right direction. But what is the best female weight loss supplement that will make you thin as quick as possible - you've seen tons of pills in the supermarket but which ones are safe and which ones don't work?

It is no surprise that you are confused. You health is the most important thing you have so it's imperative that you take your time in this decision.

Unfortunately, finding the very best female weight loss supplement that will give you your quick results may involve getting stuck in and conducting some vigorous research on the web and through other mediums.

Making The Grade

The Hoodia90 weight loss dietary supplement pill is making waves all over the country. It has been top rated in more than one consumer rating report, getting straight A's across the board from experts and satisfied customers alike.

It is therefore fair to say that unequivocally Hoodia90 is one of the best female weight loss supplements on the market today. This is a bold statement, how can this be true? Well the sheer number of proven success stories that women have had with Hoodia90 is pure testament to it's success in the market.

The kicker is, side affects are a bare bare minimum with only slight nausea being one of them if you take too much at one time.

By the same token, Phenhermine is another weight loss supplement for women and men that is definitely worth some research. Some sources say that it works the same way as Hoodia only Phenhermine is that much stronger. Many reliable sources state that this is currently the best female weight loss supplement around.

Flaming it's popularity, Phenhermine is probably the most potent weight loss drug that you can get without needing a prescription or go through your doctor at all. Added to the fact that you get loads of pills in a bottle and you can see why this is the choice of many women looking for the best female weight loss drug to help them become skinny women.

850Hoodia has been around for a while and considered by many as one of the best in weight loss supplements and appetite control.

The Hoodia herb is native to South Africa and is drawn from a prickly plant that resembles a small cactus. The formula used to design the 850Hoodia pill is based on careful scientific experiments and calculations so that any side effects are minimal or non-existent.

When looking for the best female weight loss supplement, it is definitely worth taking a look at some of the research surrounding the examples above in your pursuit for simple and east weight loss.

About the Author:

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Health Secrets of the Acai Berry

By Carter Sinclair

We've all heard of this new dietary supplement by now. It's all over the news, the internet and was even featured on Oprah as the number one super food today. What is it about this amazing little berry that has everyone trying it?

The Acai Berry comes from the Amazon Rainforest and has been named the "miraculous fruit". It is a small round shaped berry, much like the blueberry, but a dark dark purple in color. They grow as a bunch, much like bananas.

The Acai berry has been produced and made into energy drinks, granola bars, and even ice creams for those looking to try out its healthy nutrients. Many chefs are even experimenting with its flavor in dishes and in the future you may find yourself ordering it in an exotic restaurant.

The Acai Berry health fanatics have fallen in love with this fruit for countless reasons. All of which are beneficial to your body and overall health. If you are looking for an all in one vitamin and nutrient, then you have found it with the Acai Berry health system.

The Acai Berry is loaded with natural antioxidants; in fact, it has the highest amount of natural antioxidants found in any fruit. Antioxidants have been a proven cancer fighter for years and also work amazingly well as a body cleanser. Recently, antioxidants have been in the news about how they boost your immune system during this time of outbreaks of the flu.

The Acai Berry has countless more goodness in them then imaginable. Not just Omega 3, but Omega 6 and 9 as well; amino acids, electrolytes, protein, and vitamins A, B1 and E. With so much good for you, what could be wrong?

About the Author:

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Steps to Buying Popcorn Machines Just For You

By Poppin Pete

Since there are many types of popcorn machines, you probably feel overwhelmed when you begin your journey to purchase one. Hopefully this article will help you to choose the right one.

There are four easy steps to help you get to the one just for you: 1. purpose 2. size 3. maintenance 4. dollars

Purpose: do you want to make money or do you want to entertain? Answering these questions will narrow things down a bit. If you want to entertain, then who? Children or your friends when they are over to watch a movie?

Size: depending on the amount of popcorn you want to make, and taking into consideration the reason for buying a popcorn machine, you will be able to come to a conclusion on the size of the popcorn machines for your needs.

Maintaining: If you have the skills to maintain your popcorn machine, then things will be much easier for you. However, if you do not, do you know someone who does have the skills? Make sure you get really good warranty anyhow on whatever you purchase. A good warranty will ensure that you are up and running quickly. Good brands are what you want for this.

Your Wallet: Is it fat at the moment or very light? Depending on your answer, you will have a top of the range popcorn machine or not. Top of the range will be different for all the different sizes out there but you have already made that choice in another step.

Plugging in a new appliance and making it run for the first time is so much fun. When you do this, I hope you are very happy with your decision. These steps will ensure that you are if you follow them correctly. Pop away!

About the Author:

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Lose 10 pounds

By Viliam Kanis

Supplied by Pulse Heart Rate Watch.Food and physical exercises are not the only aspects to cover when you want to lose 10 pounds.

First of all, stop taking weight loss supplements recommended by word of mouth.

They are artificial most of the time so that they cannot possibly substitute for real organic food nutrients. Or, in case they may indeed substitute for nutrients, their absorption in the system could prove faulty. As a result, at the end of the treatment, you'll lack vitamins and minerals and you'll tend to compensate the deficiency by the urge to eat more than before.

Another thing you need to do to lose 10 pounds is to eat frequently enough so that you do not get the sensation of hunger. If you are actually following a harsh diet which means eating very little and very rarely, the body will not function properly and the metabolism will slow down making your body less able to deal with the quantity of food intake you will offer it later. If, instead, you have small but frequent you will manage to keep your metabolism high and everybody knows that a good metabolism has means superior fat burning. This is one key to remember when you want to lose 10 pounds. Remember the fact that two or three meals a day with a few healthy snacks remains the best option of to get and stay fit and active.

The psychological aspect should not be ignored either. In order to lose 10 pounds or so, you need to draw a picture in your mind about how it is all going to unfold. Picture one objective and see how it becomes real for you. The psychological preparation has a great deal of importance if you really want to lose 10 pounds. If you take on a diet and combine it with working out, you need to prepare and get yourself determined enough on a long term basis to give up certain aspects that have initially caused the weight gain. Laziness often equals comfort, or rather too much comfort. Indulging yourself in having too much unhealthy food and sweets may be the habits behind the initial weight gain.

About the Author:

Monday, March 23, 2009

Strange candy made from flowers

By Tracy Anderson

Love, they say, is lovelier the second time around. But in Madrid, where violets are always blooming, love is sweeter thanks to a strange candy made from these flowers.

Violet candies may sound weird but they have been around since 1915 when local confectioner Mariano Gil opened his first store in Spain.

Situated at Plaza de Canalejas 6, La Violeta is the original home of these sweet treats that have a distinctly floral flavor. The store sells both sugar coated violet petals and small, flower-shaped candies flavored with violet essence.

The purple sweets are elegantly packaged in glass and porcelain cases and are quite expensive. The natural violets cost about $150 while a pound of violet candies sell for about $60. But these candies have a lot of faithful followers, we are told, including the wife and mistress of former King Alfonso of Spain.

"Their taste can be a little odd for those who are not used to flower essences in food, but their sweetness and unique flavor make them a very sought after souvenir from this city," according to Wendygital.Com.

"Nowadays, in Madrid, it's getting more and more common to see new creations based on this traditional candy, as many renowned avant-garde chefs from around the world use them as the star ingredient for their new dessert recipes. Even some specialized stores offer cute little bottles of violet liquor and tiny jars of jam made of violet petals," it added.

In case you don't know, violets have long been used to decorate salads or in stuffing for poultry and fish. Many desserts are flavored with violet essence.

Violet candies are usually made from the species Viola odorata that is known for sweet smelling flowers that are either dark violet or white. Its other names are Sweet Violet, English Violet or Common Violet.

"A candied violet or crystallized violet is a flower, usually of Viola odorata, preserved by a coating of egg white and crystallized sugar. Alternately, hot syrup is poured over the fresh flower (or the flower is immersed in the syrup) and stirred until the sugar recrystallizes and has dried," explained the editors of Wikipedia.

Fortunately, not everyone can go to Spain and try this strange candy. But don't worry. There are many ways of expressing your love. And if you can't afford to buy these flowery treats for your loved ones, sending flowers will often do the trick.

About the Author:

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Fresh Cook Nutrients Meat-Healthy Living Part 4

By Haiyan Lai-Heskin

The low fat diet proved to be effective in reducing weight and promoting general good health. No more than 10 to 20 per cent of fat in calories can offer some measure of protection against heart and blood vessel disease.

Some meat such as beef, veal, and lamb, their protein content is most desirable for energy and palatability, and because of custom, they are basic ingredients in the low-fat diet. But it is extremely important to remove the fat from beef, veal, and lamb as they are naturally high in both visible and "invisible" fat and cholesterol.

The visible fat must be carefully cut away and trimmed while raw, before cooking. During the cooking, baking, or broiling of the meat, the fat should be drained off by keeping the meat or roast on racks.

Partially cook the meat on the day before it is to be eaten, it is the ideal way of removing most of the fat content of meat and making it almost fat free. Cooling the meat and the broth in the refrigerator and remove the layer of grease that has floated to the top and hardened with a spoon on the following day.

Always buy and eat lean meats. And remember that the highest fat content is present in the prime and choice grades of beef, lamb, and veal (which are more expensive too), since they originate from fattened animals. If you need minced meat, specify to the butcher that it is to be made from trimmed, lean meat.

You can Pan-cook or brown without fat or grease, if desired. But do not fry meats. By using a dry skillet; heat and salt it first before the meat is placed in it, while turning the meat repeatedly. After it is as brown as desired, cook slowly until well done or rare, whichever you like.

Among meats pork, bacon, and ham should not be eaten on the low-fat diet other than occasionally, if permitted by your doctor or by the virtual absence of other fat-containing foods in your menus for the day. The same is generally true of sausages, pork, bacon, and ham are literally highest in fat and cholesterol content.

Glandular organs such as sweetbreads, brains, kidneys, caviar, fish roe, and giblets are high in cholesterol and fat content, so should be avoided. Liver is an exception, it is quite desirable as a valuable nutritional source of essential vitamins and minerals, and because of the "protective" content of phospholipids that counteract the action of fat and cholesterol, it is not harmful.

If gravy is desired for the flavouring of meats, it must be prepared free of its usual very high fat content. The regular brown drippings found at the bottom of the pan after meat is cooked must have the meat juices separated from the exceptionally high melted fats. Separate the fat in this gravy by chilling or refrigeration.

Use spoon or by blotting with bread or absorbent paper to remove the thick layer of caked grease as described above. Fat-free gravies can also be made by consulting various low-fat cookbooks.

Instead of gravies, meats can be flavoured and made to look appetizing by the following garnishes: watercress, parsley, celery, carrots, radishes, pimento, pickles, paprika, green peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, and onions in various shapes and combinations.

Also helpful are spiced peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, cinnamon apples, spiced watermelon rind, apple sauce, cinnamon pears, pineapple pieces, broiled bananas, seasoned tomatoes, herbs, and the various relishes such as mint jellies and sauces, chilli, catsup, cranberry jellies, chutney, and many others. Also appealing are some of the following seasonings: garlic cloves, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, bay, and peppermint.

About the Author:

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Road to a Happy Easter Day 2009

By Rachel Samson

It baffles me as to why many many people get so worked up and stressed over the holiday period. Easter is no different, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there that almost go crazy striving for that happy easter day 2009 when there is really no need.

One thing I always try to do when thinking about preparing for Easter, is not to overthink all the tasks that I have to do before everyone comes over to my house.

Depending on what you do in your household and how you celebrate Easter will dictate your stress levels. If you find yourself freaking out then sit down with a cup of coffee and relax as you plan your Easter day 2009.

Don't overstretch yourself by trying to make the whole proceedings run perfectly. Aim for a happy easter day 2009, not for a perfect easter day 2009.

Let's face it, more times then not there is going to be something that is forgotten or that goes wrong on a holiday so there really is no need to get all worked up about any of it.

By keeping a positive mental attitude and not taking the planning stage too seriously, you will be able to laugh off any unfortunate mishaps and shoot for that happy easter day 2009 that you can be proud of.

All your friends and family will be able to tell how tense you are and may make them feel uncomfortable. So this is reason enough to keep your spirits up this easter day.

Happy Easter Day 2009 Stress Reduction Steps

When it comes to wanting to plan out the perfect happy easter day 2009, the best thing you can do is to start planning in advance.

The best way to plan a happy easter day 2009 this year is to make lists and account for everything you need to do to prepare for your Easter day. Don't miss out even the most obvious stuff on your list, like potatoes etc as it is often the obvious stuff that trips us up later on and ruins an otherwise happy easter day 2009 that you know your family deserves.

Involve friends and family that want to help you prepare or get things ready instead of insisting that you have it all under control.

By getting others to chip in will help you achieve a happy easter day 2009 as other people's cooking will give your meal a great deal of variety that will go down a storm with your family and friends.

A successful Easter will only be achieved it you can limit your stress levels. You wont be very fun to be around if you are dashing around all day with a short fuse. So create your happy easter day 2009 and rope your friends and family into helping you out so you can enjoy it too.

About the Author:

Friday, March 20, 2009

Small Kitchen Appliances: Small Electrical Kitchen Appliances and How they Revolutionized Cooking

By Little Known Food Facts

The equipment that allow us to cook entire meals or at least accent them with simple cooking uses. Do not get me wrong.

I have 6 Small Electric Kitchen appliances that are absolute must haves in my home.

Within 5 minutes you can have freshly made popcorn without all the preservatives!

Secondly I am all about the blender! This is such a useful tool that you can use it to make almost anything from gravies to drinks! I usually use mine if I need to make my own sauce for lasagna or fruit drink in the summer.

It is a quick clean and can be used year round!

The Toaster Oven: Now what an invention! You can cook almost anything in it and is great for small apartments that don't have stoves! You can use it to cook sandwiches (open faced are great in this), reheat food and more!

Open door, close door, start oven, open door remove food and eat!

The Indoor Grill: I love my George Foreman grill. Although I do not recommend making vegetables in it (they over cook and burn quickly) it is awesome for eating for a whole family and helps to have the fat drip off.

Mine comes with a bread warmer that comes in handy for hot pasta days!

The Slow Cooker: From lasagna to banana nut bread, it is so simple to make something to eat in a slow cooker. It allows for safe 'While You're Not Home' cooking and offers great meals in one pot!

Every kitchen should have these tools, just like they have a fridge or stove, and by having them will give you a chance to create almost any meal.

This is my list and I hope you have enjoyed it and have learned a bit about how we have altered the way we cook and how small kitchen appliances have allowed us to eat better and live longer!

About the Author:

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Making Good Coffee Fresh

By Janice Spears

When you taste a really fabulous cup of coffee you can be sure that a lot of care and effort has gone into its preparation. Great tasting coffee does not happen by accident, but represents the culmination of preparation, cleanliness and meticulous brewing methods.

The starting point for great tasting coffee does not come from choosing the right blend of coffee or even the type of brewing equipment to be used, but in the quality of the water used and the cleanliness of the equipment!

As coffee is more than 98% water is should come as no surprise that the quality of the water has a dramatic impact of the quality of the finished beverage. Freshly filtered water should be used when making coffee. Many domestic and commercial water filters and calcium treatment units are available and most do an excellent job in removing heavy elements, impurities and odors from water. Be sure to draw a little water from the system first, and pour it away. Use fresh clean cold water for starting off the process of brewing your favorite beverage.

Choose a good quality roast coffee bean to suit your taste and make sure you buy it in a sealed bag or container. Avoid buying pre-ground coffee - it may be more convenient but it will start to oxidise the moment you open the packet and even if subsequently kept in an air-tight container much of the damage will have been done. The flavor of freshly roasted coffee can deteriorate remarkably fast and within a week or so much of the flavor will be lost.

Whole roast coffee beans will also begin to lose some of their flavour once the seal has been broken on the coffee bag, but so long as you keep them in a cool dry place, out direct sunlight and not open to the atmosphere they will stay fresh for quite a while. For these reasons you should only grind as much coffee you need for the brew in question and not be tempted to grind more than what it going to be used immediately. Don't be tempted to store you coffee in the refrigerator as it may become tainted by the odors of other products.

The grind of the coffee is very important to the taste of the final coffee brew. Always follow the guidelines of the brewing equipment used and grind your coffee beans to their specification. Grind too large and the final beverage will be too weak, grind too fine and it may clog up the system. Keep your grinder clean. Grind a little coffee and then discard it, this should get rid of any old stale coffee within the grinder that you cannot see or reach after cleaning.

Typically a standard pour and serve drip method coffee brewer should take between four and six minutes to complete the brew. It is best to wait until the complete coffee jug has brewed before serving. Typically a drip filter machine will produce slightly weaker coffee at the start of its cycle as it comes up to temperature and slightly stronger towards the end. All good things come to those who wait!

About the Author:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Advanced Wellness Research Promos Info

By Linda Kemp

Keeping yourself at optimal health can be a challenge with a hectic lifestyle. With all you have to do during the course of the day it's not easy to get to the health store or pharmacy to pick up supplements that contribute to better health.

Think of how much easier life would be if you could have supplements for better living delivered right to your door without having to worry about placing an order every few weeks.

Advanced Wellness Research is a company that will take the hassle out of getting the best supplements and products for your good health.

The Advanced Wellness Research team strives to find the best supplements, and then deliver them to you risk free. Supplements like: Pure Acai Berry and the Bright Teeth Whitening System are proven effective and safe.

In fact, the people at Advanced Wellness Research promise never to sell any product they wouldn't give to their families. They seek out the best health products and then put them through rigorous testing to ensure their safety and high quality.

Every product that Advanced Wellness Research markets is available for you to try, free of charge, before you commit to buying.

Convenient Auto Shipping - With many companies that sell health supplements you have to remember to order additional supplies, or make a trip to the store. But with Advanced Wellness Research, you will receive automatic shipments of your favorite supplement at intervals convenient for you.

You can choose to receive an order every month, every other month, once a year, or whatever suits your needs with the freedom to cancel at any time.

If you're tired of missing doses because you forgot to order, or just can't make it to the store, then you owe it to your health to try Advanced Wellness Research. With their risk-free policy and cancel-at-any-time shipping, you have only superior health to gain.

About the Author:

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Advanced Wellness Offer

By Linda Kemp

With the popularity of the acai berry growing each day and more and more people adding this incredible berry to their diet, the question of where this berry comes from and exactly what it is is starting to pop up more and more. Since this berry practically took the country by storm without having even been previously known, most people probably have no idea where exactly this supplement is from. The claims about the acai berry are pretty tremendous and people are really exclaiming about how it has helped with every conceivable health problem. What you may not realize is that the history of use of this berry goes way back and people have been using this berry for health and wellness purposes for centuries.

The acai berry is a small fruit that is found growing native only along the Amazon River in South America. The fruit itself is extremely small, about the size of a blueberry, yet it grows at the very top of the acai palm tree- a tree that can reach past seventy feet in height! Getting these coveted berries down to the ground has involved sending the best climbers up to these towering heights in order to harvest the berries. However, the long climb and what would seem like a nerve racking decent are well worth it. Natives to the regions where these berries can be found have used them as a food source and as a health aid for many thousands of years.

While native peoples have been using the acai berry for thousands of years, outside interest in this berry is relatively new. The fact that people from other regions are interested in procuring this berry and in paying for the privilege has made it possible for people living in the acai palm tree's growing regions to find a new source of income from the forest. This is a positive experience for both the native people selling the berries and the people who are able to finally get the health benefits that the acai berry allows.

Once the acai berry is picked from the tree, it starts perishing. This makes it essential for this berry to be free dried or otherwise processed as soon as possible. By processing this berry, all of the nutrients such as the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can be preserved and the full health value of the berry realized. For this reason, it is very important for anyone considering using this berry as a supplement to make sure that the product they choose is of the highest quality and retains full nutritive power. Processing of this berry also allows the concentration of the most nutritive parts of the berry, as much of the berry is actually inedible and must be separated and discarded.

The surging popularity of this berry is a good thing for the people who are starting to depend on this product as a source of income and for the people who are coming to depend on it as a healthful supplement that can improve well being. Here in this country, we are able to get high quality acai berry product, such as through Pure Acai Berry, which has all of the benefits that the people of South America have been enjoying for millenia. Pure Acai Berry is a completely pure product that contains only instantly preserved acai berry for the highest nutrition possible.

About the Author:

Monday, March 16, 2009

Advanced Wellness Research Promotion Info

By Linda Kemp

One of the biggest threats to good health these days is something that you may not think a lot about- environmental toxins. While our society has made it easier to be healthy in many other ways, each and every day we are utterly bombarded with toxins that can cause irreparable damage to our bodies. And, don't be fooled by thinking that because the air in your city seems clean, you are not in danger or because you live in a rural area, that you don't have to be worried about toxins and pollutants. These days, you will find toxins and pollutants no matter where you are.

In fact, when you think of all of the sources of toxic pollutants that you are exposed to throughout the day, it is easy to become paranoid and very anxious. Food contains many antibiotics, pesticide residues, hormones, preservatives, and plenty of other scary chemicals. Municipal or well water can be contaminated with everything from human waste to jet fuel. And even bottled water can absorb plastic residue from its bottle! Air has pollutants, objects in our homes and offices outgas, and pretty much everything we touch or interact with has the potential to be dangerous! However, make sure you don't stress out about all of these toxins, because stress can be the most dangerous toxin of all! So, what are you supposed to do to stay healthy in light of all of these dangers out there?

Though the list of potential contaminates is long and you are never going to keep yourself from all exposure to pollutants, even if you eat only organic food and try to avoid the worst of the toxins, you can help your body to avoid the effects of being under constant assault by these toxins. The absolute best way to do this is to take a supplement that provides the body with nutrients essential to helping it clear toxins out of your system. Acai berry supplement has been proven to be very effective at just this and is probably the best supplement you can use to protect yourself against the toxins.

Your body has the ability to fight off the effects of being exposed to so many toxins- as long as it has the right nutrients to do so. After all, even before the onslaught of modern toxins, there were plenty of natural contaminants the body had to deal with. Acai berry has vitamins A and C, both powerful antioxidants, as well as a huge dose of anthocyanins- another form of antioxidants. Antioxidants are your first defense against pollutants and the damage they cause and enable to body to heal and recover from exposure.

Pure Acai Berry also provides support to your body in the form of energy boosting omega fatty acids and essential amino acids. Both of these nutrients found in Acai berry provide the body with the ability to get energy and to repair any damage. These are especially useful during stressful times and can help you avoid the health problems that are associated with long term stress. They are also useful for helping you get the energy for exercise, which is a proven method of effectively reducing stress.

Pure Acai Berry is nature's remedy for stress and toxic exposure. Don't take the chance of health problems stemming from everyday exposure to toxic ingredients. Order your supply of Pure Acai Berry today!

About the Author:

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Advance Wellness Research Free Trial Offer Information

By Linda Kemp

Advanced Wellness Research, Inc. is dedicated to bringing you, our customer, a wide array of innovative and pioneering wellness products that will both enrich and extend your healthy years of living.

We do this by searching the globe for hidden jewels in personal wellness to find revolutionary products. We then conduct extensive research to determine the products effectiveness and safety.

Only after this lengthy process, will Advanced Wellness Research bring the item to you for consumption. It's your body and your life... we won't ever carry a product that we wouldn't give to our own families.

Testing - our products are thoroughly tested for effectiveness and safety. Unlike other "snake-oil" products on the market today, our products have actually shown measurable results.

Free Trials - most of Advanced Wellness Research products come with a Free Trial. Don't just take our word for it, try our products for free before you commit to bring them into your daily lives.

Convenient Auto Delivery - once you have tried one or more of our products and determined it's for you, we will enroll you in our monthly reorder program designed to ensure that you always have our products available for consumption.

Before we bring you any product and make certain promises about products, we make sure that these products are thoroughly researched and proven effective for most user. While we do not claim to have created each and every product we sell, we can assure you that a lot of thought and analyzing went into selecting the product among many others.

At the present time, Advanced Wellness Research, Inc. is researching some products in weight loss, detoxification, skin care and general wellness. Provided that these items pass the stringent tests we require, we will begin introducing these products in 2009.

You owe it to your health to try Advanced Wellness Research. With the risk-free policy and cancel-at-any-time shipping, you have only superior health to gain.

About the Author:

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Advance Wellness Research Acai Berry Discount Information

By Linda Kemp

Congratulations! You come to the right place. Advanced Wellness Research, Inc. is dedicated to bringing you, our customer, a wide array of innovative and pioneering wellness products that will both enrich and extend your healthy years of living.

We do this by searching the globe for hidden jewels in personal wellness to find revolutionary products. We then conduct extensive research to determine the products effectiveness and safety.

Only after this lengthy process, will Advanced Wellness Research bring the item to you for consumption. It's your body and your life... we won't ever carry a product that we wouldn't give to our own families.

Testing - our products are thoroughly tested for effectiveness and safety. Unlike other "snake-oil" products on the market today, our products have actually shown measurable results.

Free Trials - most of Advanced Wellness Research products come with a Free Trial. Don't just take our word for it, try our products for free before you commit to bring them into your daily lives.

Convenient Auto Delivery - once you have tried one or more of our products and determined it's for you, we will enroll you in our monthly reorder program designed to ensure that you always have our products available for consumption.

Before we bring you any product and make certain promises about products, we make sure that these products are thoroughly researched and proven effective for most user. While we do not claim to have created each and every product we sell, we can assure you that a lot of thought and analyzing went into selecting the product among many others.

At the present time, Advanced Wellness Research, Inc. is researching some products in weight loss, detoxification, skin care and general wellness. Provided that these items pass the stringent tests we require, we will begin introducing these products in 2009.

You owe it to your health to try Advanced Wellness Research. With the risk-free policy and cancel-at-any-time shipping, you have only superior health to gain.

About the Author:

Friday, March 13, 2009

6 things that will improve your mashed potatoes

By Ben Cook

Ever since Sir Walter Raleigh and his bunch of sea-faring men brought potatoes to England from the New World, they have been used in many dishes all over Europe. French fries, potato chips and mashed potatoes have become part of our daily diet thanks to them.

The mashed potatoes recipe, especially, has had a memorable history. It all started in 1771, where a Frenchman, Antoine Parmentier suggested potatoes as a theme for a competition. He won first prize. He cultivated potatoes and even had a group of royal troops guard a farm near Paris. However, the guards may have not been vigilant enough, because peasants managed to steal some from the farm. This effectively launched potatoes into French and, much later, European cuisine.

Today there are plenty of different ways to make mashed potatoes. Actually the basic recipe is not very different most of the times, it is what is later added to the mashed potatoes that makes the difference. Things like cheese, bacon, onions are often added to the recipe. There are also plenty of recipes that use mashed potatoes as a strating point - potato croquette for instance.

So lets make mashed potatoes. You will need:

- one (1) cup of heavy cream (use low-fat cream if you're watching your figure),

- half (1/2) cup of salted butter,

- some salt for the seasoning

- six potatoes (not to big, not to small)

First tip I will give you is about what kind of potatoes to use. The best ones for mashing are red and Russet Burbank potatoes. They give a rough and unique texture to the end product. If you don't like lumps in your taters, use Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes. These give a smooth and creamy feel to the whole dish.

The first thing you need to do is peel and wash the potatoes. If you want, you can leave some of the skin on them. This will make your recipe a bit rustic and not so ordinary.

Now for the next secret - cut your potatoes and make big pieces. Big pieces will absorb less water and will make beter mashed potatoes. Next tip - cover them with cold water. Then bring them to boil and let them simmer for around 20 minutes. If you can stick a knife in them without problems they are done.

Drain the water and put them back on low heat so all the water evaporates (less water better taste!). In the mean time heat up some cream and butter in a saucepan at a low temperature. Now comes the fun part; the mashing. Use a food mill or a potato ricer. Avoid using electrical mixers, since they will over-mix the taters and break the starch molecules. The starch is what that gives the dish its wonderful texture. Mix them to a nice and lumpy mixture.

Stir in your butter and cream into the bowl. The following stage requires your imagination. To finish this mashed potatoes recipe you an add anything that suits your palate into the mash. It could be chives, parsley, cheese or leeks. Your imagination is the limit. You can also find plenty of recipes that will help you turn your basic mashed potatoes into something else.

Potatoes are great for your health since they improve glucose tolerance and protect against colon cancer.

About the Author:

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Water, the Best Way to Lose Weight Before Your Wedding

By Ricardo d Argence

If you're planning your wedding in the near future, obviously you want to take steps to ensure you look your best. For some this may include loosing a bit of weight. Its possible you want to look your best on the night of your wedding, or you want to trim down so that perfect dress will fit better.

Whatever the case me be, you probably want to find a good way to lose a few pounds. Well, one great way that you can quickly take of some weight is to start drinking more water. Here's a closer look at how water can help you meet your weight loss goals by your wedding day.

Wondering how drinking water can help you to lose weight? Well, one of the main ways that water can help with weight loss is by speeding up your metabolism. In fact, it works well enough that it can give you a 3% boost in the speed that your body burns off calories.

Often when you think you're hungry, it's really just that your body is dehydrated so consuming more water will help you lose weight. This leads to consuming more calories. You are less likely to get dehydrated and it can help you prevent problems with overeating, which will help you take off some pounds,when you drink plenty of water.

Consuming ample amounts of water will not only help you to lose weight; there are many other advantages you can reap. You'll get the benefit from less water retention, better energy levels and your skin may even clear up when you drink more water.

Drinking large amounts of water allows the elimination of harmful substances from the body and also reduces the chances of having stones in the kidney. As that include reducing blood pressure, reducing high cholesterol, alleviating headaches, and even helping to ease joint pain as well are other great benefits.

So how much water does it take to lose the weight you want to lose before your wedding day? Eight glasses of water - 64 ounces - is the minimum amount per day. But, you need to drink a little more everyday in order to loose weight.

One helpful tip to remember is to drink an ounce of water for every two pounds that you weigh. So, if you weight about 150 pounds, you should be drinking at least 75 ounces of water in order to boost metabolism and energy. If you weight 180 pounds, then you need to drink 90 ounces of water.

About the Author:

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Advanced Wellness Research Review Info

By Linda Kemp

Imagine being able to shed pounds and streamline your physique to exactly the way you want it! Imagine being able to eat what you want without having to worry about it going straight to your weight accumulating problem areas! Imagine being able to work out without discomfort and actually see results! All of this is possible thanks to Pure Acai Berry!

Pure Acai Berry is a nutritional supplement, but it's not an ordinary one. Unlike other weight loss pills that are packed with stimulants and substances that have questionable (if any) health benefits, Pure Acai Berry produces results naturally! That's because it concentrates the essential parts of the acai berry of the Amazon Rain Forest! The acai berry is a truly unique type of food because it can deliver everything needed to support complete human health. This includes healthy fats, fiber (of both soluble and insoluble varieties), and minerals. The acai berry is also the most potent source of antioxidants known to man! All of this combines to have a very positive effect on the health of the human body.

So what does all of this have to do with weight loss? It's actually pretty simple. The human body wants to maintain a healthy weight. It's what we're programmed for. The trouble is that modern society creates all kinds of obstacles to maintaining a healthy weight. It introduces stress and pollutants that interfere with the normal functioning of the body. It also makes incredibly calorie rich foods available all over the place. Yet, ironically enough given the huge number of calories that we have access to, we don't have the energy that we want. This lack of energy gets in the way of the exercise that kept our ancestors healthy.

The acai berry fixes this situation by purging the body of the pollutants that get in the way of its normal functioning and it also relieves stress by inducing peace of mind. Even more importantly, since the acai berry lets the body work more efficiently it increases the metabolism so that the body will burn calories more easily and naturally! This will lead to weight loss in two different ways. First of all, since the metabolism is working to supply energy to the body instead of depositing that energy as fat, you'll be able to burn off weight just by going about your normal everyday routine! Second, the fact that this energy is available to you for easy use, exercise is easier and more fruitful. In other words, you'll have the ability to see quick results from exercise so that you can have the body that you always wanted!

Of course, there are lots of other aspects of Pure Acai Berry that will help you to look and feel better. For example, it will also improve the quality of your sleep. This will give you better mental acuity and great memory capacity! Those improved mental abilities will help you to feel better about yourself, provide a sense of well being, and ultimately reduce you level of stress! In addition, you'll find that your skin looks better, your libido is stronger, and that you have fewer aches and pains in your joints and muscles!

With an improved ability to lose weight, and numerous additional advantages, Pure Acai Berry is a great investment!

About the Author: