Is It Your Head Or Your Stomach That’s Saying “Feed Me”?

By on April 9, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Manage Your Weight

“I’ve got to have a donut—the kind with chocolate icing and sprinkles.”  “I really, really want some crispy, salty French fries and a strawberry shake.”  But, are you really hungry or is it your head that’s yapping at you? Your head can be very proficient at ringing the mindless eating bell. It’s often the culprit [...]

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Do You Make 2, 20, Or 200 Food Decisions Every Day?

By on April 4, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Manage Your Weight

How many times a day do you think about food?  How many times a day do you make a food choice? How do your environment and surroundings influence those decisions? People grossly underestimate how many daily food related decisions they make – not by a little but by an average of more than 221 decisions. [...]

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Is It Coffee Or Chocolate That’s Keeping You Awake?

By on April 2, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

You’ve finished dinner – perhaps you’re stuffed to the gills – and some chocolate along with the check.  It could be those squares nicely wrapped in shiny foil or it could be some chunks of the really dark stuff artfully arranged on a plate. Somehow there magically seems to be some room for the chocolate [...]

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Jelly Beans: Do You Eat Them By The Handful Or One-By-One?

By on March 27, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

Jelly beans: do you think they should they should come with a warning label, “STOP NOW or you’ll keep eating until they’re gone?” Seriously – it’s pretty darn hard not to love those little nuggets of sweetness that come in multitudes of colors and flavors and get stuck in your teeth! The Birth Of The [...]

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Where’s My PEEPS?

By on March 23, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

Do you have a thing for those fluorescent marshmallow bunnies and chicks that were hatched over 50 years ago? They got their name – PEEPS — because they were originally modeled after the yellow chick.  Now they’re made for Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day, too  – so you can get them in yellow pink, blue, [...]

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Chocolate Eggs And Bunny Ears

By on March 20, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Manage Your Weight, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

It’s time for pretty chocolate eggs nesting in baskets, bunnies and ducks in all shades of chocolate, and brightly wrapped candy stuffed in plastic eggs for Easter egg hunts.  Couple that with chocolate smeared over little kids’ faces and indestructible fluorescent peeps molded into weird shapes before they’re popped in your mouth. It’s Easter candy [...]

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Why Is There A Cross Cut Into The Top Of Irish Soda Bread?

By on March 15, 2013 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Shopping, Cooking, Baking

Look anywhere on St. Patrick’s Day in the US and you’re likely to find green bagels, beer, and even green McDonald’s milkshakes. You’ll also find “Irish soda bread” — with a cruciform slashed on top.  Why the shape of the cross – and why is it known as soda bread? Thank The American Indians For [...]

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10 Tips For Making Menu Choices That Are Easy On Your Wallet

By on March 14, 2013 in Food for Fun and Thought, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food

A menu is targeted not just at your stomach, but also to your mind. Smart restaurant owners and chefs use menu psychology to suggestively sell from their menu pages. They use design, placement, and words to direct your attention to key items on their menus so it’s more likely that you’ll notice, remember, and order [...]

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How To Be Dollars And Cents Savvy When You Read A Menu

By on March 12, 2013 in Food for Fun and Thought, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food

Restaurants are savvy. They’re in business to take your bucks and don’t want you to think about spending them – especially when you’re looking at a menu. That’s why – may restaurants, especially those at a higher price point — you won’t see a dollar sign next to the menu choices.  Dollar signs – or [...]

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Menu Descriptions That Make Your Mouth Water

By on March 8, 2013 in Food for Fun and Thought, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food

Have you ever been ready to order your usual meal when something on the menu seems to reach out and grab you? Those long tentacles aren’t a fluke, but a product of creative phrasing and mouth-watering  words. Bacon and eggs can turn into a “fluffy omelette made with farm fresh eggs, leafy spinach, and crisp [...]

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