How to Calculate Nutrition Data Using Excel or Open Office Calc

EU directive 1169/2011 comes into full effect on the 13th of December 2016. The first phase of this directive came into effect in 2014 on December 13th but the second requires nutrition data which begs the question of how to calculate nutrition data.

The first phase of this regulation required that all ingredients on labels needed to include allergen information within the ingredient list. Prior to this regulation, it was legally acceptable to include allergen information in a separate area of your label.

The new regulations simply require allergens to be highlighted within the single ingredient list for the product but ingredients also need to be stated in quantitative order.

Quantitative order simply means the largest constituent ingredient must be indicated first, then the second largest and so on. The percentages of these ingredients should also be included. Continue reading “How to Calculate Nutrition Data Using Excel or Open Office Calc”

Advice For Restaurants in Oaxaca Mexico During COVID-19: Consider Staying Closed

Oaxaca de Juárez, a quaint colonial city in south central Mexico which relies on tourism for its very existence, relaxed its COVID-19 protocols near the beginning of July, 2020. And as we have moved into summertime, so have other cities throughout the world which are similarly dependent upon visitors. Restaurants have begun to open. Should they do so, just because of a change in municipal rules and regulations, especially as numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise?

While Mexico is thankfully far behind the US in terms of a litigation-happy public, nevertheless attitudes towards liability are changing, even in Oaxaca. Two questions come to mind:

It is going to make an appreciable difference to your bottom line with your eatery open, assuming tourists are not yet ready to visit Oaxaca and patronize your restaurant?
Are you prepared to follow sound advice, perhaps more stringent than your city dictates, so as to avoid the prospect of a patron or staff member becoming ill; and if not, are you willing to assume the risk of what may lie in store for you as a consequence?

Continue reading “Advice For Restaurants in Oaxaca Mexico During COVID-19: Consider Staying Closed”

Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds

Ever been to a barbecue party where the ‘chef’ placed as much food as he could possibly fit onto the barbecue grill, every so often stabbing the food with a fork and juggling it around so that it cooks evenly? Ever noticed how, within a few minutes, the flames start gently flickering under the food, the chef proudly standing back admiring the char grill effect that he’s creating? Ever notice the panic that sets in when the flames suddenly leap up and around the food burning it black on the outside and leaving it raw on the inside?

The difference between great char grilled barbecue food and burnt offerings lies in a few small precautions. The chef that we’ve just described made a few fatal errors that could easily have been avoided. Before discussing the errors though, lets consider the equipment that we’re talking about. Although the same can happen with gas as with charcoal, gas grills can be turned lower, or off, when the flames start getting out of control. The flames can also be controlled if the barbecue grill has a tight fitting lid, as with a Weber kettle grill. However most people seem to cook on an open top barbecue grill with the lid, if it has one, open. Note that we’re talking about a barbecue grill here, where the food is cooked directly over the hot coals. True barbecue uses indirect heat with the food fully enclosed as though in an oven. So, the barbecue grill that our imaginary chef is using is an open top, charcoal, barbecue grill. Continue reading “Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds”

5 Ways to Lose 8 Ounces a Day

What if I told you to go out join a top weight loss program and gave you false expectations. Lose 30 pounds in 30 days. That’s a pound a day, what happens if after the 1st week you’ve only lost 2 pounds? Maybe you were busy and couldn’t make all there meal suggestions, maybe they were asking to much money so you skipped a meal or two or maybe you went in saying this is it. I’ve tried 10 programs none of them worked and if this doesn’t show me results I’m done.

It’s the same with becoming a Millionaire, so many people give up on their dreams because they set unrealistic goals and quit before they even understand why? Wouldn’t you agree that before becoming a millionaire you have to earn your first $100 and then $1000, after you get better, learn more, gain more knowledge and then you earn $10,000 and so on. Continue reading “5 Ways to Lose 8 Ounces a Day”

Dark Chocolate Pros and Cons

This article will tell you the pros and cons of dark chocolate. Let’s start with the benefits of Dark Chocolate; one of the best qualities of this sweet is that it contains healthy nutrients such as cocoa, this agent helps to improves the body blood flow, not only that but also contains spicatechin a kind of chemical that does similar things like anaesthesia, which is beneficial for a pain free body.

These were the pros of Dark Chocolate; now let’s talk about the cons. The only big disadvantage of this sweet is that it is high calorie product, just like any other sweet, not everybody can consume dark chocolate in freedom, especially people with diabetics, because it contains sugar. Although the quantity of sugar is up to 70% less then the ordinary chocolate, but still is not sugar free sweet so it is a risky business for a diabetic person to consume this product. Continue reading “Dark Chocolate Pros and Cons”

Eguchi Toshihiro and Palm-Healing

One person whose name recently has appeared on a number of different pieces of the puzzle is Eguchi Toshihiro. Some people today believe that he influenced the teachings of Usui Mikao particularly through his deep knowledge of Shinto practice[i]. This is reflected largely in what we now know as Level 2 or Okuden in the system of Reiki.

From the early 1900s Japan was in a great popular health movement that continued well up to its entry into World War II. Not only was Usui developing a practice that would initially be taught to hundreds but so were many other seekers and searchers including Eguchi.

Japanese culture appears to have always held a special place for hand or palm healing within its natural laws. Palm healing in Japan has been practiced as an element of Buddhism since ancient times and similar concepts are currently in use with the popular deity Binzuru as an example. Here the devotee seeks to experience healing by rubbing his/her body’s physical equivalent on the statue of Binzuru. Continue reading “Eguchi Toshihiro and Palm-Healing”

The Folk Story of Bra Kakroch (Cockroach) and Bra Fohl (Fowl)

Once upon a time there lived two good friends, Bra Kakroch (Cockroach) and Bra Fol(fowl). They were living happily together in one isolated village called Dunkoma deep in the hinterland of Sierra Leone and sharing and doing things in common. Then both of them bought a piece of land on which they proceeded almost immediately to set up a farm from where they hope to earn their living. But Bra Kakroach started developing some wily and selfish if not lazy ways. He would leave most of the odd jos to Bra Fol to do whilst he kept making excuses whenever it was time for work. In as much as Bra Fol was not a dictator and would not wish to be so, he would allow Bra Kakroach to have his way most of the time.

Then famine struck the land and food became very hard to come by. Hunger took control of the land. Fearing that they would die of hunger, Bra Fol one day called Bra kakroach and suggested: “Bra Kackroach, you know what? Let’s go out into the farm and start doing some serious farming. One may never know what might come our way. Perhaps God will help us find some food.”

Having become used to laziness, Bra Kakroach started pretending to be ill and replied: Continue reading “The Folk Story of Bra Kakroch (Cockroach) and Bra Fohl (Fowl)”

Top Ten Kitchen Tools and Gadgets!

Hello and thank you for reading my article.

Here we go my Top ten favorite kitchen tools I feel every cook should own!

1. A Cake Tester – When I am cooking I always have a cake tester on me and I use it almost as much as my knife. You can use a cake tester to tell if a steak or piece of fish is medium rare or well done, you can also use it to tell if something is hot inside such as a meatball or crabcake. I explain exactly how you do this on my website.

2. Tongs – Cooking without a pair of tongs and a towel in my hand is to me like being on a battlefield with no gun. The obvious use of tongs is great, can’t grill without tongs! With a pair of strong tongs you can slide baking sheets closer to you so you are not sticking your arms in the oven. You can reach deep in the oven for something that may have fell, and one of my favorite things about tongs is that you can gently place a piece of chicken in the oil for frying without splattering hot oil on you. Continue reading “Top Ten Kitchen Tools and Gadgets!”

How To Plan A Banquet – A Guide To Planning Perfect Banquets For Company Or Private Parties

First time planners are often stricken with complete fear! Even those that plan events over and over again still fear that something will go wrong and they will be the subject of ridicule. Hopefully we can allay the fears and quell the butterflies in your stomach by helping you through the entire project.

There are a lot of questions you need to ask. First timers probably don’t have the foggiest idea what questions to ask, so, the first thing we’d better do is outline these for you.

Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to fill out a form. (I love forms!)
If you were to phone me and ask me to help you make arrangements for a special event, the first thing I would do is reach for a blank form, and over the phone we would fill it out. When I had all the information, I would be better prepared to help you.

Before you continue reading, you may want to print the banquet planning worksheet(PDF) from my website. That way you can follow along with the worksheet as I describe the planning process. I’ve also included a pre filled sample planning worksheet that you might help.

Continue reading “How To Plan A Banquet – A Guide To Planning Perfect Banquets For Company Or Private Parties”

The History of Rice Cookers

Rice has been a staple food of mankind across thousands of civilizations for almost as long as recorded history. As such, the cooking of rice dates back almost as far, which in essence requires the same basic principle steps today as it ever has. In short, the rice itself, hot water or steam and something in which to cook it.

Of course, never content with doing things the old fashioned way, manufacturers have moved away from tradition methods of cooking rice in favor of modern alternatives which offer both convenience and quality of end product. However, that state of the art rice cooker which takes pride of place in a huge number of modern kitchens may not in fact be as modern as many would think.

Using electrical heating to cook rice is fairly old concept, dating back to the first half of the 20th century. In fact, it is known that as far back as 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army created something of a primitive electric rice cooker in the form of a wooden box with a pair of electrodes attached at opposite ends. In order to cook the rice, the wooden box would be filled with water and washed rice, to which an electrical current was subsequently applied. The electricity would then heat the water to boiling point and cook the rice exactly as would be done conventionally. The first japanese rice cooker.

Continue reading “The History of Rice Cookers”