Monthly Archives: February 2016

Party Appetizer Ideas Why We Love Hummus

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Deviled egg recipes

Where is hummus from? What is its ethnic origin? We find this popular dish in a variety of ethnic cuisines: Greek, Israeli, Lebanese, Egyptian, all claiming hummus as their own. To whom does hummus truly belong, and why is this centuries-old recipe the subject of such a heated argument?
Whether you’re eating a Lebanese dish or a Greek dish, the primary ingredient in the hummus will always be chickpeas. What few people know is that Canada is one of the top exporters of chickpeas in the world. In 2012 and 2013, Canadian farmers grew 158,000 tons of chickpeas in response to a higher demand for hummus.

Besides its smooth and creamy texture that pairs perfectly with a base of pita bread, hummus is gaining popularity due to its health benefits. A 2014 study shows that people who choose to snack on hummus are 51% less likely to have high blood sugar than those who select other snacks. Not enough protein in your diet? Canada’s Food Guide states that three-fourths of a cup of hummus is the equivalent of one serving of meat.
Because hummus recipes vary so much from one type of cuisine to another, there is an infinite number of unique dishes one can prepare using hummus as the fundamental element. Hummus is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and kosher. With so many things to celebrate here in Canada, why not include hummus in your party appetizer ideas?
We all know that hummus can be used for dips and spreads, riding on the backs of pita chips or raw vegetables. However, there are many creative uses for hummus spread that will keep your party fresh and fun.
Try adding some hummus to the filling of your deviled eggs, or spreading it on toasted bread for a Mediterranean bruschetta. Hummus also makes an excellent substitution for mayonnaise on sandwiches or in wraps.

So, to whom does hummus truly belong? It belongs to you. Use it in any delicious form you choose, and share it with the world as party appetizer ideas or just a quick snack.

Which is Better for You When on a Diet Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt?

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Plastic ice cream cups

You are trying to lose weight or be healthy for whatever reason it is that you’re staying away from carbs and sugar. But you have such a sweet tooth and it’s killing you. You’ve done so good for two weeks and not even had a cheat meal, would one ice cream cup really set you back that far? It’s so hot outside and at least there are no bad carbs in ice cream. It’s the sugar right? Maybe if you just use tasting spoons you’ll eat less. You could justify but you know what happens if you cheat: you’ll spend the next month trying to get back on track after eating every single thing you’ve deprived yourself of for the past week. What about frozen yogurt? If it’s that much healthier than ice cream, you wouldn’t have to limit yourself or to eat it with tasting spoons or toothpicks or however you control yourself or even feel guilty. Could frozen yogurt really be healthy as they say? Well, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of frozen yogurt and see if that might be an option for you today.

  1. Frozen yogurt does have more minerals and nutrients than ice cream such as protein that can be beneficial to us.
  2. Frozen yogurt contains enzymatic benefits that help with digestion so that even if you are lactose intolerant, you may be able to digest frozen yogurt because of the enzymes that are naturally in yogurt already and therefore also in frozen yogurt.
  3. There is a fat free option if you are trying to stay away from fat.

However…

  1. If you do not choose the fat free option, the fat in yogurt can be almost as high as ice cream, depending on the flavor you choose because of the fruits and flavor enhancers that are added later to the yogurt.
  2. All frozen yogurt, even fat free options, are extremely high in sugar in order to get them that sweet taste. They are basically just as high in sugar as ice cream is.
  3. The protein in frozen yogurt could be no more then the size of one of those tasting spoons. Research has shown that frozen yogurt contains less than a third of the protein that the same size regular yogurt would have.

Let’s take a look at how frozen yogurt is actually made to help us get a better understanding of how it compares to ice cream on the healthy scale.

The lactic acid that is released in the milk of the yogurt by live bacterial cultures cause the milk proteins to thicken well at the same time protecting it against bad bacteria. The best yogurt for you still has the live bacterial properties at the end of the process.

Frozen yogurt in particular is made by replacing the cream content of ice cream with regular yogurt but other than that most of the same ingredients are used such as sugar. This is the main reason why frozen yogurt is not as healthy as regular yogurt. Sugar can be very bad for the body if to much is ingested.

Basically, you can put frozen yogurt between regular yogurt and ice cream on the scale of healthiness; not as good for you as a regular pot of yogurt, but not as bad as a bowl of ice cream either.

In order to make your frozen yogurt snack healthy enough to not feel guilty about you would need to find a fat free, sugar-free option which can be very difficult to find in a regular yogurt store. Try calling around to some different yogurt shops and see what they have. You may want to use tasting spoons to make sure than any sugar free, fat free options are even appealing to your taste buds and satisfy that sweet tooth.

However, to answer the original question or questions, although frozen yogurt is not necessarily as healthy as a piece of fruit or vegetables, it is definitely better than ice cream. You can think of it as the same as surveys or frozen milk.

Party Catering Service a way for Bars, Restaurants to Increase Business

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Craft beer bars

Having a bar that also serves food or a restaurant with a liquor license is a good idea. Offering both services is much more likely to make your business successful. Your menu doesn’t even have to be that sophisticated. Just offering burgers for happy hour can be enough, because the average American eats about one burger a week. On top of that, the craft beer market is worth almost $20 million a year, so just by offering burgers and craft beer, you may be able to make a go of it. You don’t even need to offer wine and spirits, because 41% of Americans name beer as their top alcoholic drink. On the other hand, it’s always good to diversify and offer as many services as people will buy with your business, which is why it can be a good idea to offer party catering services.

When you offer party catering services, it can take your business to a whole new level by offering you additional business that is outside your regular bar or restaurant customers. To keep your catering business successful, however, you shouldn’t try to do too much. For instance, if your regular business is American craft beers and burgers, you shouldn’t try to offer wine and full course meals as part of your professional catering services. Because of that, your clientele is probably not going to be weddings or high school graduation parties. More than likely, you will be tapped to provide food for things like Super Bowl parties or bachelor parties.

If your bar or restaurant is big enough, you might even offer it as a party hall venue where people can host their events. If you require that they get the food and drinks from you while renting out your space, it can boost your business.

While a party catering service may help you boost your bar and restaurant business, you have to keep in mind that it is a lot work and may require extra time and money to get started. For example, you may need to get a separate catering license, and you may need additional equipment and additional staff to have enough people for the events you cater. You should weigh both the pros and cons before adding catering services to your business.