Sensory Nutrition

Monk Fruit Sweetener Blend Advertising Increases in 2013

Monk fruit extract blend sweeteners have hit the marketplace with a bang! You’ve probably seen a major increase in advertising for monk fruit awareness since anything possibly having to do with weight control is always at a fever pitch in the January of any new year. “No-cal” and “Low-Cal” sweetener blend products of all types continue to sell well across the globe, but companies are always looking for something “newer” to the marketplace to promote. (Luo han guo image property of and used courtesy of the Fruit Species fruit blog). A monkfruit.org website is launched, and television, print, as well as online advertising, etc.

Pakistani Cuisine Will Dazzle Your Senses

Pakistani cuisine which will dazzle your senses is being featured in this next two-part blog series during March 2014. This Part 1 includes details about a number of the wonderful nuances of some of the better known cultural dishes and spices that help to bring out the distinctive flavors of Pakistani cuisine. Part 2 focuses on a glimpse of a typical Pakistani cultural dietary pattern. Earlier this month, we introduced our Guest Author for 2014 National Nutrition Month (NNM), Pakistani Registered Dietitian, Teba Abdul Lateef, who recently accepted a college lecturer position in Karachi.

Hydrate Like an Olympian! Part 2 of 2

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on everyone’s minds this July, we’re continuing our series on the importance of hydration. In Part 1 of 2 of this series on hydration, we noted via infotainment some considerations as to when it might be most appropriate to use just cool (not cold) water to rehydrate and when something more might be needed. (Symbol of the five Olympic Rings which is in the Public Domain in the United States shown for identification purposes only courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). We’ll get into a bit more of the subject of hydration in this infotainment blog post, including

Make It Now At Home Pizza (An Alternative to Delivery, Frozen, or Take-Out Pizza)

Even on days when almost every last bit of energy seems to be used up, you can still nuke a cup of water, right? Well, we’re here to tell you that if you can nuke a cup of water, you can make at home a no-kneading-required pizza! No kidding! We’ll share a single rise crust, fun to top and super simple to bake pizza recipe that our webmaster has kindly agreed to share with our readers. It is adapted from the Pizza Dough I recipe which can be found at the allrecipes.com website, so full credit goes to that source

Are You Food SMART When it Comes to Attending Summertime Parties or Picnics?

Summertime parties or picnics can be wonderful social events, but they can also pose some potential health risks when it comes to unwanted food safety and/or potential food allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance situations. You need to be food SMART when it comes to attending any Summertime party or picnic. SMART stands for: S = Savvy about food safety / foodborne illness risk and/or potential food allergen, intolerance, or sensitivity reaction risk; M = Makes adequate plans to have alternative food choices available so that each member of the group attending the event will be able to have something they can safely

Pakistani Cuisine Will Dazzle Your Senses Part 2

In Part 2 of 2 of this latest two-part series referencing Pakistani cuisine, we focus in on a glimpse of a typical Pakistani cultural dietary pattern. Once again, for National Nutrition Month (NNM), we feature our Guest Author, Pakistani Registered Dietitian, Teba Abdul Lateef. Teba shares details of her observations of some of the traditional food ingredients utilized in preparing Pakistani cuisine. She compiled the listing based on her experience living in Karachi, thus it is not meant to be all-inclusive. In Part 1, Teba shares details about the wonderful nuances of some of the better known cultural dishes and spices that help

Good-for-you Qualities of Spices and Herbs

When it comes to spices & also herbs, potency is everything! As a rule, the higher the potency of the spice, the higher the price it can command in the marketplace among knowledgeable commodity buyers. Think of aromatherapy and how you can have an immediate change of mood when affected positively by soothing aromatherapy. Well, potency of spices can also provide an element of satisfaction with a much smaller ingestion of an actual food item–thus you get more bang for your calorie buck. Another way in which good-for-you qualities of spices & herbs can be measured might

Sensory Elements Can Set the Tone For Mealtimes

Since it is springtime, we thought it would be a good time to share some infotainment relative to various sensory elements that can set the tone for mealtimes. Those sensory elements can include, but are not limited to, ones which are visual in nature, or are from sound, are aromatic, pertain to taste, or are textural, all of which can influence the tone at mealtimes. Sensory elements may interplay in multiple ways in terms of mealtime atmosphere as well, but that’s a topic for another time. These principles can be especially beneficial to keep in mind if you have any

Dishwasher Buying Considerations Part 2

Part 1 of this blog series began some discussion of factors to consider when buying a dishwasher, zeroing in on noise or sound level as measured in a logarithmic decibel (dB) acoustic scale for sound or dB level. Now we’d like to focus on other considerations including cycle and option choices. Inside of stainless steel interior dishwasher image used with permission ©KB/Quirky KimUS10

Dishwasher Buying Considerations

Anyone who cooks and/or bakes at home from scratch winds up having a lot of preparation equipment, etc. to deal with when it comes to washing and sanitizing those items. Since this blog site encourages home food preparation, we thought we would share some points to ponder when it comes to home model dishwashers. Few folks can have anything professional when it comes to major appliances in their kitchen, so we’ll stick to home retail models only. Hidden dishwasher control image used with permission ©KB/Quirky KimUS10 If you have been thinking about possibly buying/replacing a dishwasher, a useful kitchen major