Tag Archives | celebrations

Celebrating The New Year In Good Eating Style

By on December 27, 2011 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating with Family and Friends, Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Manage Your Weight

The earliest recorded celebration of the arrival of the new year dates back 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon.  The first new moon following the vernal equinox, or the day in the spring with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness, signaled the start of a new year. Today, New Year’s Day–the first day of [...]

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A Spooky Jack-o’-Lantern Tale

By on October 28, 2011 in Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Shopping, Cooking, Baking

A Jack-o’-Lantern Legend The Jack-O’-Lantern comes from a legend that goes back hundreds of years in Irish history. As the story goes, a miserable old drunk named Stingy Jack, who liked to play tricks on his family, friends, and even the Devil, tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree.   Stingy Jack then put [...]

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Food As Love, Joy, And Energy

By on June 16, 2011 in Food for Fun and Thought

The other night I went to a talk and book signing by Lisa Oz (married to Dr. Oz), for her new book, US:  Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships That Matter Most.  During the course of the evening there was a lot of discussion about the healing power of energy. As a nurse I began to [...]

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What’s Sweet, Shaped Like An Egg, And Doesn’t Come From A Chicken?

By on April 21, 2011 in Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Shopping, Cooking, Baking, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

Easter Eggs:  The Confectionary Type They’re everywhere and at every price point.  Some are piped with flowers and others are wrapped in foil.  You find them in supermarkets, discount stores, and fancy candy stores. Easter is the second ranked holiday for candy purchases in the US (just behind Halloween) and solid, hollow, and filled chocolate [...]

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Where’s My Peeps?

By on April 19, 2011 in Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

Peeps: the blazing yellow and hot pink marshmallow bunnies and chicks that were hatched over 50 years ago. They’re called PEEPS because the original candy was the yellow chick.  Now they’re produced for many holidays – in seasonal colors and shapes, of course –  and they continue to be the subject of lots of design [...]

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What Are You Drinking To Toast The New Year?

By on December 30, 2010 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating on the Job, Eating with Family and Friends, Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Holidays, Manage Your Weight, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car

So many of us toast to the New Year with drink in hand – alcoholic or not. Here’s a quick primer so you can make some informed choices: A standard drink is 1.5 ounces of hard liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. Nutritionally: 12 ounces of beer has 153 calories and [...]

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Happy And Healthy Holidays to You And Your Pets

By on December 23, 2010 in Food for Fun and Thought

It’s a time of celebration for both you and your pets. As the big week of celebrations approaches, here are some quick tips to keep your pet family members safe and healthy during the winter holidays. If the weather turns nasty and you need to use salt and de-icing materials, remember that they can get [...]

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Winter Holiday Weight Gain: Is It Seven Or Is It One . . .

By on December 20, 2010 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating on the Job, Eating with Family and Friends, Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Holidays, Manage Your Weight, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car

Pound?  Doesn’t it feel like at least seven pounds of weight gain, all of it blubber? A lot of us start indulging at Thanksgiving (some at Halloween) and don’t stop the free style calorie fest until those onerous New Year’s Resolutions.  Then, because we feel guilty about indulgences, we swear we won’t touch another cookie [...]

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A Holiday Eating Tip: Pick One Fantastic Treat

By on December 17, 2010 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Holidays, Manage Your Weight, Shopping, Cooking, Baking, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car

Chocolate bark at the receptionist’s desk.  Candy canes at the dry cleaners.  A rotating selection of Christmas cookies on just about everyone’s desk.  Happy holiday food gifts from grateful clients.  And that doesn’t include the fantastic spreads at holiday parties and family events! Send to Kindle

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Eater Alert: Beware End Of Summer Gluttony

By on August 31, 2010 in Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating with Family and Friends, Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Manage Your Weight, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car

It’s the week leading up to Labor Day weekend.  Not technically the end of summer, but it sure feels that way. I don’t know about you, but for me the thought process seems to be:  “Oh heck, it’s the last week of summer, the holiday weekend is coming up, all of my family is going [...]

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