FoodBozo.com

By Amy Painter

The erotic power of food has been celebrated for centuries. Casanova was said to share oysters with his paramours to whet their sexual appetites. Greek and Roman cultures enjoyed a parade of ripe fruits and exotic dishes before engaging in sensual pleasures. It has even been said that a delicious meal is the quickest way to a man (or woman’s) heart. Afterall, what courtship would be complete without a romantic dinner?

Nutrition plays a vital role in love and lovemaking. The quality of our diet has a great deal to do with the quality of our sex. Many nutritious foods can stir libido, revive sexual function and enhance overall health, especially when served up in a sensual way.

Healthy Ingredients for “Gourmet Love”
The dietary ingredients for a lifetime of wonderful sex include a variety of fresh, wholesome fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. Complex carbohydrates should be the centerpiece of a healthy sex diet, with lean proteins comprising about 20% to 30% of daily calories, advises Chris Meletis, N.D., chief medical officer at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. Meals rich in fruits and vegetables provide beneficial nutrients that keep organs in peak condition and energy at maximum levels, both of which are essential for lovemaking.

(more…)

A sugar beet byproduct may be used to de-ice part of the Trans-Canada Highway in northern New Brunswick.

BrunWay, the company that built and operates the stretch of highway from King’s Landing to the Quebec border, is considering a pilot project in the St. Leonard area this month.

But company officials have declined to discuss the plan for their coldest, most northern stretch of road, saying it’s still too early.

Sugar beets are a big source of industrial sugar in North America, but the mash that’s left over once the juice is squeezed from the beets often goes to waste.

(more…)

Fifty chefs in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh on Friday mashed up over four tonnes of hummus, beating the Guinness World Record set in Lebanon just months ago.

“This is a new record,” said Guinness adjudicator Jack Brookbank as the massive dip, dished out in a six-metre (20 foot) satellite dish provided by sponsors, weighed in at 4,087.5 kilos (8992.5 pounds).

That is about twice as much as the previous record set in October in neighbouring Lebanon, Israel’s political and culinary rival.

“I’ve heard Lebanon is already planning to strike back,” Brockbank told AFP as a band struck up a traditional Arabic tune to words hailing the humble hummus.

A simple but tasty dish of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, hummus stirs passions and rivalries across much of the Middle East.

(more…)

Salad bars can be diet salvation or junk-food minefields. Here’s how to get from one end to the other without detonating an explosion of bad fats, sodium, sugar, and refined carbs.

1. Go dark on greens: Build a vitamin – and fiber-packed foundation by starting with roughly 1 cup of spinach and romaine leaves (for more than half of your daily vitamin A and all of your K, plus some C, folate, two potent vision protectors, and more). Skip’em: Lighter greens tend to offer less nutritionally. Iceberg lettuce, for instance, delivers only about 7% of the A you need, some K and not much else.

2. Go bright on veggies: Next, add about 1 cup of the most colorful crudités – broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, green and red peppers, beets, like that. Ounce for ounce, vibrant veggies give you more fiber, minerals, vitamins, and disease-fighting antioxidants than their paler companions, like celery and cucumbers. Skip’em: Anything coated in mayo or an indefinable dressing, including carrot and raisin mixes, cole slaw, and potato salad.

(more…)

By Deena Waisberg

We’ve all been there – when you’re carrying extra pounds, losing weight can seem like a daunting task. But the rewards are sweet. The first time you can slide into your skinny jeans (you know, that pair we all save “just in case”) is a moment of pure personal triumph.

The key is to sort through all the diet info out there and find out what honestly works. We spoke with dietitians, weight loss coaches, personal trainers and real women who’ve lost the weight – and kept it off – to find out the 20 top diet tips.

Approach
Diet tip #1
Think lifestyle change, not diet

You have to change your eating habits permanently if you want to lose weight and keep it off. “You can’t just change what you eat for a short while, for a lasting effect,” says Ramona Josephson, a Vancouver-based registered dietitian and president of weightlossdeal.com

Cooking and Eating
Diet tip #2
Beware of refined sugar

Foods high in refined sugar are one of the fastest ways to add pounds. Check food labels for sugar in all its disguises: dextrose, fructose, corn syrup and maltodextrin, says Jennifer Salib Huber, a Halifax-based reigstered dietitian and naturopathic doctor. We all have our weaknesses, so if it’s sugar you crave, reduce the amount over time. Ajax, ON mom Kathy Kirton, was overweight after three pregnancies. She went from eating a regular-size chocolate bar every day to a Halloween-size and then to a 100-calorie bar. Then she reduced the frequency of the treats and has lost 28 lbs so far. (more…)

To follow a healthy diet is not about avoidance of eating favorite cuisines and obeying nutritional charts. It is only aimed to keep you fit by following some basics of nutrition in a way that works for you.

Following a healthy diet does not apply rocket science. Here are some tips for maintaining a healthy diet.

(more…)

By Maura Judkis

As many of you have spent the last few days & weeks thinking of ways to better ourselves in 2010, there are a number of green resolutions to add to your list.

Many of them will help you with your financial resolutions, as well, since going green can often save you money.

• Buy organic – but if you’re worried about the expense, learn which foods to prioritize. Apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, potatoes and spinach are always better to buy organic. But bananas, kiwi, mangos, papaya, pineapples , asparagus, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onions and peas are ok for you if they’re conventionally grown, because the contain less pesticide residue. (more…)

By Amy Toffelmire

Bubble tea shops are popping up all over the place – in malls, on corners, and anywhere else thirsty teens tend to gather. Bubble tea, also called pearl milk tea or boba tea, originated in Taiwan and has become a worldwide sipping – and chewing – phenomenon.

But what is bubble tea anyway? Take a cup, plop in a handful of round, gelatinous pearls of tapioca, top it with brewed black or green tea, mix in some milk, sugar, flavouring, and ice. Then shake it all up, and you’ve got yourself a bubble tea.

Oddly enough, the “bubbles” in bubble tea are not those starchy tapioca pearls, which are similar to the little black spheres of cassava you’d find in tapioca pudding. No, the “bubble” comes from the way the drink bubbles up when it is shaken. In fact, the first bubble tea didn’t contain tapioca pearls at all.

Because of the shaking required, most bubble tea shops seal their plastic cups with cellophane and give customers a straw to poke through the top. The size of the straw may vary, depending on the size of the tapioca pearls: smaller pearls, thinner straw. To sip the more common 6-millimetre pearls, you’ll need a fatter straw.

(more…)

Contributed by Amy Toffelmire

A French epicurean once said, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” But can eating certain foods make you smarter, happier, or more able to constructively respond to stress? Could junk food lead to a junk attitude? Connections are being made all the time between the foods we eat and the way we feel, think, and act.

Did you know, for instance, that depression and aggression have been linked to diets that are high in harmful fats and low in beneficial fruits and veggies? Or that eating fish and seafood may reduce the risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease? Or that tea may bring on a calm yet alert state of mind?

Memory, alertness, and mood can all be impacted by your nutritional choices. And while intelligence and mental functions are complex and involve many bodily systems and processes, there are a few key nutrients that could help to boost your cerebral stamina.

(more…)