palate

Walnut Power

I was reading an article from AAA's Westways. The article stated that you can now rent a car powered by fuel made from California walnut oil. This is pretty amazing. Hopefully, this innovation will catch on  and we won't be so dependent on oil. The article provided the website of  Bio-Beetle . The author of the article is Kristine Hansen.

Low Carb Pizza

Source: CNN.com article

Here's another article highlighting a new craze that could affect your diet: low carb pizza. HHHmmmm.... I'm highly skeptical. How can you make the dough or crust low carb? What about the taste? Since diet programs like the Atkins's diet, the Zone and the South Beach are popular right now, this has a drastic affect on the pizza sales around the country. It's not just the dough or crust that makes pizza fattening. What about the toppings?

What affects a person's diet, in my opinion, is the number of slices that a person eats. Realistically, an average person could probably eat 2-3 slices of pizza. I probably know about 2 people who could eat more in one sitting. I should try one of these low carb pizza and write a review about it.

Survey: US leading in fattest teens

I was a skinny kid growing up right until maybe 7 years ago when I first got together with the hubby. Also, as you get older, your metabolism changes. It's much harder to lose weight now compare to when I was in my early 20s. My doctor always say that the only way you'll lose weight is to eat a balanced meal with a good proportion of food and exercise. No diet ever works.

I certainly agree that eating fast food is a factor of the obesity in children. Most people in the United States, not just children, are probably bigger and heavier than people in Europe. It's easy to just come home, order something to go and eat while watching TV or play games.

What the article didn't mention that I think is a factor in obesity is that most food portion served in the United States is bigger in comparison to food served in other countries. When you go to a fast food restaurant, the cashier will ask you if you want to "Supersize" your food for xxx amount. As an example, you can get a medium soda for 99 cents. But for 25 cents more you can "Supersize" it.

This is the article that I'm referring about. cnn.com

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Teenagers in the United States have higher rates of obesity than those in 14 other industrialized countries, including France and Germany, a study of nearly 30,000 youngsters ages 13 and 15 found.
U.S. teens were more likely than those in other countries to eat fast food, snacks and sugary sodas and were more likely to be driven to school and other activities, contributing to a more sedentary lifestyle, said co-author Mary Overpeck of the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Decoding Winespeak

I was reading an article about wine. I don't drink a lot of wine nor alcohol so learning about wine is something of a challenge. Not only do I have to drink the wine but I have to learn a lot of terminology.. so to speak.

Here's some of the basics I've learned every wine lover should know:

Body is the weight of the wine on your palate. The analogy that the author gave to determine the body of a wine is the following: A light bodied wine will feel like a skim milk, a medium-bodied wine will feel more like a regular whole milk and a full-bodied wine is like half and half.
Crisp Wine's crispness comes from acidity, since acids are natural components of grapes. So when we describe wine as refreshing, we are describing the wine's crispness. Some grape varieties are high in acidity (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris) and some are low (Chardonnay and Zinfandel). Climate is critical - the cooler the climate, the higher in acidity and crisper it will be.
Finish The longer a wine's flavor lasts in your mouth, the better the wine. The way to determine this is to take a sip of wine, hold the wine in your mouth, swirl it around and swallow while you mouth is closed. With your mouth still closed, breathe out forcefully through your nose.

Pizza Prevents Cancer

Here's an interesting article that my friend Lance forwarded me. (Read entire article.) If you're a pizza lover, not only are you getting a complete meal, it also helps you prevent cancer of the stomach or digestive tract. The results showed that people who ate pizza once or several times a week were less likely to get cancer than those who chose not to eat it at all.