I was talking to a friend one time and we were sharing our love for food and everything sweet. I was sharing my love for chocolates when I was literally aghast with surprise when she told she has never eater Tim Tams.

Seriously, Tim Tams?!?!??!!

THE Tim Tams?

(and she’s 30 now, by the way)
So sad.

Tim Tams are a chocolate biscuit made by Arnott’s Biscuits, Australia. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.

According to Arnott’s, around 35 million packs are sold each year – nearly 400 million biscuits, an average of approximately 1.7 packs per Australian.[1] Tim Tams were first put onto the market in 1964.[1] They were named by Ross Arnott, who attended the 1954 Kentucky Derby and decided that the name of the winning horse Tim Tam was perfect for a planned new line of biscuits.[2]

These add flavor and spice to our food!

From Wikipedia:

Seasoning is the process of adding or improving flavor of food. Seasonings include herbs, spices, and all other condiments (which may themselves be referred to as “seasonings”). Salt may be used to draw out water, or to magnify a natural flavor of a food making it richer or more delicate, depending on the dish. For instance, kosher salt (a coarser-grained salt) is rubbed into chicken, lamb, and beef to tenderize the meat and improve flavor. Other seasonings like black pepper and basil transfer some of their flavor to the food. A well designed dish may combine seasonings that complement each other.

In addition to the choice of herbs and seasoning, the timing of when flavors are added will affect the food that is being cooked.

In some cultures, meat may be seasoned by pouring sauce over the dish at the table. A variety of seasoning techniques exist in various cultures.

Infused Oils is another method of seasoning. There are two methods for doing an infusion — hot and cold. Olive oil makes a good infusion base for some herbs, but tends to go rancid more quickly than other oils. Infused oils should be kept refrigerated.

I personally love patis (fish sauce) most of all!

I knew it!

Mars and Twix have been all-time favorite and I have confirmed it is a best seller!

There is much debate over which is the best selling chocolate. While some claim that it is Mars, others think it to be the caramel layered Twix. Yet others believe it to be Kit Kat.
Earlier, the Mars bar, also known as the ‘Snickers Almond’ used to be manufactured with almonds. Although most countries today sell the plain Mars bars, the one with nuts is available in a select few countries.

Its manufacturers are Mars Incorporated. Twix, also known as ‘Raider’ in some countries, is another chocolate coated candy bar from Mars Incorporated’s table. It usually comes in pairs owing to its smaller size and is available in different flavors such as peanut butter etc. Kit Kat, found in the UK is layers of chocolate that cover thin wafer sticks. Today it is produced by Nestle and is enormously popular in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the world.

Having spent a week on a road trip, I learned one thing along the way: Fast food is unavoidable, given time and budget constraints. You can’t beat a drive-thru for convenience and speed of service, although a bellyache later can quickly remind you of the excess calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium you just put into your body.

While a super-sized value meal can give you a day’s worth of calories in one meal, you can exit the drive-thru with a healthier meal. Because sometimes there is nothing better than a hot French fries or a juicy burger, it’s important to learn how to make good choices.

Drinks
It might cost a few dimes more to guzzle down a large soda instead of a small one, but your waistline will be paying the real price. Soda, diet or regular, isn’t a healthy choice since it provides no nutrition at all. Soda is often filled with calories, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and other ingredients that fill you up without giving your body any benefits. One way to make a fast food meal healthier is to opt for a drink other than soda. Of course water is a great choice, hydrating your body and aiding in digestion. Unsweetened tea is virtually calorie-free if you want something other than water. Juice (100% fruit juice, not “fruit drinks”) and low-fat milk are two alternatives that cut add nutrition to the calories you drink, making them healthier choices than soda and other sweet beverages.

Fruits and Vegetables
Like you would at any other meal, try to include at least one serving of fruits or vegetables with your order. And no, French fries do NOT count as a healthy vegetable! Load your burger with extra tomatoes, or enjoy a side of fresh fruit instead of fries or chips. If you are having a sandwich, load up on lettuce, peppers, even cucumbers. If they offer it, opt for a baked potato (nix the high-calorie fixin’s like cheese and sour cream) instead of fries.

Most fast food chains now offer delicious side and entrée salads. Including these with your meal is a great way to add lots of vitamins for few calories. Just make sure not to smother your greens with cheese, eggs, bacon, fat-filled dressing, or fried toppings, such as chicken and croutons.

Portion Control
One of the biggest problems people face when eating fast food is out-of-control portions. You don’t have to get the value meal with the big burger, bigger fries and even bigger drink. Instead, try a child-sized meal. You still get the burger, fries, and drink, but consume about half of the fat of the full-sized version. Ordering small is automatic portion control—you won’t be tempted to overeat.

If a kiddie-sized meal with a toy on the side isn’t for you, split an order of fries with a friend. You’ll still enjoy that salty crunch without consuming all of the calories of a full order.

Extras
The “extras” can add on the calories and fat. A tablespoon of mayo will add on an extra 57 calories. Make that another 106 calories for a single slice of cheese! Instead of smothering your burger with sauces, opt for mustard (about 10 calories). Forgo the sour cream and three kinds of cheese on your taco, and add flavor with low-calorie salsa. Go easy on the ranch dressing and salt shaker. These little substitutions can really add up! Your taste buds will be happy (and so will your waistline).

Don’t be fooled by healthier sounding meats, either. While breaded chicken or fish may seem healthier than a beefy burger, these sandwiches often have just as many, if not more, calories than your average burger since they’re fried. Try grilled versions of your favorite sandwiches instead, or opt for the low-cal veggie burger, which is becoming more widely available these days.

Breakfast
A healthy breakfast is the best way to start your day. But while hitting the drive-thru on the way to work may be convenient, it might put you at a calorie overload early in the day. Making healthy, nutritional choices comes into play again. Instead of a breakfast sandwich (English muffin with eggs, bacon, and cheese), order a bowl of fresh fruit, a fruit and yogurt parfait, oatmeal, or plain eggs. That way, you’ll be starting off the day with energy—not too many calories.

The word “diet” doesn’t always mean eating less to lose weight—although that’s what we commonly associate it with today. Someone “on a diet” is trying to eat less, or stop eating sweets to fit into a smaller pant size.

Diet has another meaning. It also describes the food that you normally consume—following a vegetarian diet, an American diet, or “My diet consists of meat and potatoes.” Improving your normal diet by making gradual, but permanent changes is a healthier way to lose weight than by just restricting calories.

Low calorie and fad diets can have serious health implications—insufficient vitamin and nutritional intake, lethargy, slowed metabolism, hormonal effects, and even dehydration. Dieters commonly experience intense feelings of hunger and deprivation, which can lead to “cheating” or bingeing over time.

Here are a few tips to help you decrease your caloric intake without “dieting” or feeling deprived.

Don’t eyeball it
Studies show that people tend to underestimate how much they really eat every day. In doing so, we consume too many calories without realizing it. Research shows that keeping a log by recording exercise and food intake is one of the best predictors of successful weight loss.

* A written record can point out your eating patterns (eating in front of the TV or in the car, eating the same breakfast every day), triggers (stress, sadness, boredom, time of day), and areas where nutritional changes can be made. You may find that you are eating less fruits than you thought or drinking too much soda, for example. Then you’ll know where you can implement healthy changes.
* Reading food labels is key to healthy portion sizes. At a quick glance, a bottle of juice (or bag of chips, candy bar, or frozen entrée) may appear to contain 100 calories, but a closer look will reveal that the package includes two or more servings, which doubles the caloric content.
* After familiarizing yourself with portion sizes, be sure to measure. Be exact if cooking at home, but when eating out, think about common objects. Two tablespoons of peanut butter, mayo, or dressing is about the size of a golf ball. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand. A medium piece of fruit is similar to a baseball.
* Having trouble stopping at one serving of pretzels or chips? Buy single-serving packages of your favorite foods for built-in portion control, or measure out single servings into baggies or containers.
Read more… »

Glasses
Each place should be set with all the glasses that will be used during dinner (except dessert-wine glasses, which may be brought out when the dessert is served). The water glass belongs to the right of the plate, just above the knife. Wineglasses should be set to the right of the water glasses in the order in which they will be used.

China
The only pieces of china that should be part of a table setting are the bread plate and a charger, if desired. A charger (or service plate) is a purely decorative oversize plate used to add texture, color, or pattern to the table. Chargers may be made of china, pewter, brasseven straw or papier-mch. Food is never served directly on a charger, but a first-course soup bowl or salad plate can be set on top of it. The charger should be cleared along with the bowl or plate.

Silverware
A proper silverware setting follows one simple rule, no matter how formal or relaxed the event: Set the silverware on the table in the order it will be used, from the outside in. The fork for the first course is the one farthest to the left; to the right of the plate, the knife for the first course is the farthest to the right. Any spoons needed before dessert (say, a soupspoon), should be placed to the right of the knives. Dessert utensils should always be placed horizontally above the plate, or they can be brought in later, with the dessert course.

Hmm, seems like there is competition among the two.

I personally like Red Ribbon better, I so love their chocolate cake (because it chocolate caramel fillings) and their banana loaf crunch - I can eat one loaf in one sitting. I also love their Coffee Crumble cake and of course their mango cream pie.

Though Golidlocks has better styles for party cakes, and my kids love their pambaon snacks (Marble cake and ensaymadas).

Did you know that your digestive tract contains more than 400 types of “friendly” bacteria? These little guys, commonly referred to as probiotics (which means “pro-life”), help reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system. That’s right! Probiotics are live bacteria with clinically-documented health benefits.

Health Benefits
It appears that when the digestive system is kept healthy, other body systems greatly benefit as well. Probiotics may:

* Protect against infection
* Enhance and boost the immune system
* Promote and improve digestive health
* Alleviate diarrhea caused by antibiotic treatments
* Promote urinary and genital health
* Assist in the management of inflammation
* Help alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance
* Improve some types of eczema in infants and children
* Reduce cholesterol levels
* Decrease the risk of certain cancers

It is important to note that each type of friendly bacteria has a specific health benefit to the body. With over 400 different types of probiotics identified, researchers are just starting to uncover the health roles and benefits of each.

Food Sources
Currently, foods that contain probiotics are primarily dairy products and dairy beverages, including:

* Yogurt
* Drinkable and squeezable yogurts
* Fluid milk with added probiotics
* Fermented milk such as sweet acidophilus milk
* Kefir

Through fermentation, probiotics enhance the flavor and texture of these particular dairy products. Dairy foods actually buffer your stomach acid and bile, thereby protecting the probiotics from the stomach acid so that they can reach the intestines.

The following rules for setting a table correspond to the numbers seen in the table setting illustration below.

1. The flatware, plate, and napkin should be one inch from the edge of the table.
2. The plate is always in the center of the place setting.
3. The dinner fork is placed at the left of the plate.
4. If a salad fork is used, it is placed to the left of the dinner fork.
5. The napkin is placed to the left of the fork, with the fold on the left. It can also go under a fork, or on top of the plate.
6. The knife is placed to the right of the plate with the sharp blade facing in towards the plate.T
7. he teaspoon is placed to the right of the knife.
8. If a soup spoon is needed, it is placed to the right of the teaspoon.
9. The soup bowl may be placed on the dinner plate.
10. The drinking glass is placed at the tip of the knife.
11. If a salad plate is used, place it just above the tip of the fork.
12. The cup or mug is placed to the top right of the spoons.

When I was working, I used to drown three cups of coffee a day. These days, unfortunately, going above two makes my heart palpitate so I try hard NOT to drink coffee.

I still stick to one cup a day - decaf of course.

What’s yours?