Author Archives: schatzi

Creative Gift Basket Ideas

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The idea of giving gifts to family and loved ones, friends, employees, well-wishers, business associates, colleagues, or just about anyone with whom you’d like to share a good feeling, is a practice that has been associated with mankind from centuries past. In earlier days, people used to gift each other grains, food stuff, fruits, knitted pieces of clothing, cattle such as cows and sheep, poultry, pigs; just about anything that was utility and appeal to the receiver of the gift.

These days, gifts are more a fancy and the entire gift-purchasing industry is worth billions. From simple things to flowers and chocolates, gifts now include prized dry fruits and nuts, expensive electronic gadgets, cars, bikes, perfumes, clothing sets and many others.

In particular, women love to receive gifts and they are more likely to be taken up with a gift that is put together with care and affection. Here is where the idea of ‘gift baskets’ fit in. A gift basket can hold anything from small, hand-picked items to jewelry, personal care products and cosmetics, exotic fruits, wide array of chocolates, imported cheeses, wine or liquor bottles, cakes and pastries, food items and many others. A carefully arranged and aesthetically appealing gift basket delivered personally makes a sure first impression than the most expensive gift merely wrapped in shiny paper and delivered through messenger.

Making a good basket just needs imagination and ingenuity; using simple everyday material anyone can fashion a gift basket. These days, with the mantra of recycling uppermost in everyone’s minds, materials like paper, cardboard, wood or wire mesh can be shaped into frames for baskets and then covered with colorful craft paper, hand paint, gift wrapper, ribbons and any other material to make original and creative gift baskets.

There are many ways to fill a gift basket with the choicest of items. Some sure-shot winners for gift baskets can be thematic and could include:

1. Chocolates – one of the most classic gift ideas, a chocolate basket can include small gourmet or large chocolate slabs; even home-made chocolates can fill a gift basket.

2. Wine and Cheese – a combination that never goes out of fashion, this gift basket can include a good bottle of red wine, classy cheese wedges or tins, choicest crackers to go with the cheese. To add a touch of class, a couple of wine glasses or a cheese slicer will complete it.

3. Aromatic – a gift basket filled with aromatic and scented bath oils, massage oils, incense sticks, scented candles in different shapes, an organic room or car freshener is a perfect gift idea.

4. Cocktail – a classy gift idea for a corporate or business associate, it can be put together with all the items needed for the perfect cocktail – a cocktail shaker, pourer, stirrer, muddler, mixing spoons, measures, umbrellas to fix garnishes etc. A cocktail recipe book, if included, will have the receiver thank you wholeheartedly.

5. Food – this is one area where the giver can give full vent to creativity and fill the gift basket with fruits, nuts, snacks, exotic teas, organic products, and a slab of meat cut marinade. The more refined sometimes include gift certificates for a meal for two at a snazzy restaurant or coupons for purchase at the latest specialty store in the area.

6. Travel – an amazing idea for a giveaway this travel kit can put together items like a compass, digital camera, maps, portable and reusable bottles, portable tent, sleeping bags, toiletries for travel, Swiss Knife etc.

7. Book-worm – for the avid reader, gifting a collection of the latest paperbacks along with bookmarks with funny or humorous tags, a tea mug with a catchy slogan are thoughtful items to include.

8. Coffee – for the die-hard coffee aficionado, a variety of coffee powder sachets, a painted or designed coffee mug and maybe a small compact coffee maker works well. Or the choicest coffee beans with a compact portable coffee grinder will take pride of place on the kitchen table.

Food is Poisoning Us – Part 1

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Companies are continually recalling food and drinks products due to mis-labelling or contamination. For example over the past 4 weeks:

A wine company recalled their products due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Sulphites

A food company recalled soft dried apricots due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Sulphites

A supermarket chain recalled a green Thai style stir fry sauce due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Fish

A supermarket chain recalled its Indian cooking sauces because the acidity levels are too low. As the acidity levels are too low, this means micro-organisms may grow and the sauces will be past their best before the ‘best before’ date that appears on the jar.

A drinks company has withdrawn batches of soft drinks because of high levels of benzoic acid (a permitted preservative)

A supermarket chain has withdrawn two batches of its own-brand wholegrain brown rice because they might be contaminated with insects.

I’ve looked at diet and nutrition in previous articles and the role of food in that diet. What about the food itself? Apart from the nutrients it provides, what other undesirable elements are included in food?

Safe food is defined as food which is free from contaminants and will not cause illness or harm.

Food poisoning is an acute illness (quick onset) caused by the consumption of contaminated or poisonous food.

There are four classes of contaminants: Microbial, Chemical,Physical and Allergenic. All have been implicated in making people ill and causing death.

Food hygiene is defined as all practices and procedures that food handlers adopt to ensure the safety of food. Poor food hygiene practices are a major cause of food poisoning, not just in the commercial world of cafes, restaurants, take-outs and pre-prepared TV dinners, but also in our homes.

It has been conservatively estimated by food safety scientists that there are at least 6 million cases of food poisoning in the UK and 30 million cases in the USA every year; approximately 10% of their respective populations. These figures refer to the reported, and more substantially to the unreported cases of food poisoning. The latter constituting the biggest part of the cases. So why the increase, rather than decrease over the past 15 or more years?

1. Increase in the purchase of cheap, intensively farmed poultry. Poultry farmed in closed buildings. 14 birds reared in an area of 1 square metre. Each bird pecking at each other, at each others urine and faeces, causing infection. That is not to say that free range, organically raised poultry are free from disease, far from it. Free range states that chickens have access to the outside, not necessarily that they take that option! Even if they reach outside, they peck at soil and faeces, again causing infection.

2. Intensive feeding of farm animals was responsible for starting BSE in the 1980s. Farmers feeding dead, scrapie infected sheep’s’ carcasses to cattle was the probable cause. If farmers leave their sheep and cattle to graze naturally, it takes longer for them to reach maturity than if they are fed supplements. Farmers have to get their animals to market as quickly as possible. It makes good business sense, this way they will make a profit more quickly and cash flows. However,in order to bring their produce to market sooner they use supplemental feeds based on high protein, usually meat or fish derivatives. From an ethical point of view they are feeding vegetarians animal based protein? From a business point of view it also makes good sense to use the cheapest animal food they can source. Unfortunately a lot of the cheap food is not sterilised to kill microbial contaminants. This is transferred to the animals and to us.

3. There has been a dearth of ethnic food outlets sprouting up throughout all rural communities. The problem here is not one of race or ethnicity; it is not being able to provide food hygiene courses in their native tongue, which is not usually English. Many large cities will have training providers, but not the rural areas, where the eateries are located. Although food hygiene books are provided in the majority of non-English languages, people will not learn just from books, they must attend an interactive lesson or online course. Books are so easily tossed to one side to gather dust.

4. Pre-prepared foods such as ready meals, TV dinners, desserts, etc are prepared out of our control. Do you really know what has been included in the preparation, can you trust the ingredients list, and can you guarantee the personal hygiene of the food handler? My background as a chef gives me adequate knowledge to prepare my own meals from raw materials. I know what goes into the preparation and cooking. But what about the raw materials? That’s one chink in my food preparation armour.

5. Barbeques are a major source of food poisoning every year. Here we have two problems. One is the handling of raw and ready to eat food. If there is one thing you must remember about food it is this: all raw meat contains food poisoning bacteria (pathogens). This is without exception. Meat is prepared in abattoirs, which are not the most sanitary of facilities. There is a lot of splashing and spillages from intestinal fluids and faeces of the animals being prepared for the table. These residues contaminate the prepared carcasses.

If raw meat is handled and one’s hands are not washed, the meat juices, along with the pathogens, can be transferred to ready to eat food, (bread roles for example), and cause illness. Food tends to cook quickly on a barbecue, especially the outside, but not the inside, not enough to kill pathogens. Foods must be cooked to the right temperature to kill bacteria or illness will ensue.

6. More bacteria variants are mutating, causing more illnesses than ever before. The more chemicals we use to try to destroy them, the more they develop an immunity to the chemicals.

7. We tend not to let our children play in insanitary conditions, such as in mud. We feed them highly processed food, which is totally devoid of bacteria. We are not allowing them to develop an immunity to pathogens.

8. When we buy ready to eat chilled food from an outlet,it must be kept chilled. Examples are: ready to eat cold meat, filled rolls/sandwiches/baguettes, scotch eggs, pork pies. These foods will contain pathogens, in small numbers, from the food handlers, customers, environment, etc. They will also contain spores from certain pathogens. If the food is not kept cold, the spores will germinate and start to grow as bacteria,the bacteria already present will also grow. This growth will then cause illness, even if the food is placed in the fridge, on arriving at home. The damage is done, it is too late.

9. There are less chemical preservatives in foods than there used to be. Scientists have found and are still finding that certain chemical additives can cause diseases such as cancer. Manufacturers strive to use more natural preservatives such as sugar, salt, vinegar, lemon/lime juice, herbs, and spices to prevent decay.

So what should we do?

1. Cheap poultry is a good source of cheap protein, especially for families who cannot afford more expensive protein. Cheap poultry will continue to be produced until the market dictates otherwise. Ensure the meat is cooked to the right temperature to kill the pathogens. Check the thickest part of the meat to ensure the temperature is constant throughout.

2. Intensively fed animals will still be produced as families look for cheaper cuts of meat. Again any pathogens will be killed by adequate cooking. I will be covering temperatures in a further article.

3. More effort by country’s’ governments to fund courses for ethnic food outlets should be encouraged. Whilst I am on the subject of ethnic outlets, please beware of the rogue kebab takeaways. Kebab meat (lamb or chicken) is raw meat; it is therefore a harbinger of pathogens. The kebab meat is placed on a skewer which rotates in front of a heat source. The only part of the meat to be cooked is the outside surface. When the meat is sliced it is still partly raw, therefore containing bacteria. The outlet should now place the shavings of meat on a griddle to finish cooking. If not, and the meat is served straight away, it contains pathogens and will cause illness. If you drink alcohol before you order the kebab, be especially aware! Alcohol reduces your immunity to food poisoning and the end result could be twice as bad!

4. Prepare your own food from raw materials. Cut out the middle man/woman who might contaminate your food. I will be introducing video cookery lessons later in 2010, so there will be no excuses!

5. If you handle raw foods during barbeques, wash your hands before handling other foods such as bread rolls. Ensure the right temperature is achieved before serving food. Check the thickest part of the food.

6. Avoid using chemicals wherever possible. The best disinfectant (a product which kills bacteria) I know is very hot water, for example straight from a kettle.

7. Let our children develop an immunity to pathogens. Let them play outdoors (under supervision); feed them freshly prepared foods, especially raw foods.

8. Keep chilled food cold, either by packing the food in thermal boxes with ice packs or mixing your frozen foods with your chilled foods in the same bag.

9. Check labels on containers to see what storage conditions are required. It either has to be refrigerated after opening or retained in a cool storage area, such as a kitchen cupboard. Supermarkets are recalling food products almost on a daily basis due to contamination or mis-labelling. Food poisoning is on the increase due to incorrect handling of chilled food, intensive farming/feeding, language barriers with ethnic eateries, BBQs cause major problems, eating out more, eating more pre-prepared foods, more bacterial mutations. Good housekeeping and a common sense approach to eating can help prevent many cases.

Making a Fashion Statement With Style

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Everyone has his or her individual style and fashion options make it possible for everyone to express their personality in style. Getting fashion items such as clothes, handbags and shoes among other different kind of accessories has been made easy. This is thanks to online stores which have eased shopping greatly for all fashion lovers. It is now possible to peruse through different online stores and what they have before making a purchase for the fashion items that you need.

Branded fashion labels offers endless opportunities for fashion lovers to find what they need to make their style statements. They cover the latest fashion trends for both men and women with a collection of shoes, leather goods and handbags. The clothing line is comprehensive and so is the accessories line which has everything designed to fit into the varying styles from one individual to another. There is definitely something for everyone in the store as far as fashion is concerned.

How to get the best fashion

One of the easiest ways that you can make sure that you get the very best with your fashion purchases is to choose the right store. Branded stores can be trusted to deliver the best for all your fashion needs. Here are some of the considerations that can help you make the right choice.

Variety: Does the store have a variety for you as far as the fashion items are concerned? The good thing about a store that has variety is that you can find everything that you need from clothes to shoes that match and other accessories and handbags to work out a look that is uniquely you.

Accessibility: Is the fashion store accessible from where you are? A good fashion store will have local branches in different areas to make it easier for customers to find the items that they need. When a store goes online, then all the accessibility barriers are eliminated. There are so many benefits of shopping online among them the possibilities to shop for whatever you need from any place and at any given time. Always consider how accessible you fashion store is so that you can choose one that will come to your fashion aid when you need it the most.

Product quality: If you want to make a fashion statement, then you will need to make sure that you go for quality products. A good trustworthy fashion store will have quality products which can be evaluated by the materials they are made of. For instance, leather products tend to be more of high quality and quite durable. There are however many other factors that can be considered to determine the quality of a product.

Experience in design: The years of experience in design together with quality craftsmanship makes a store or design house that understands the business. This helps in coming up with the latest fashion trends and a huge variety of designs to suit the varying preferences. You are bound to find very unique fashion pieces from such a store.

Five Types of Cloth Diapers

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Cloth diapers aren’t like they used to be. The days of safety pins, plastic pants, and leaks are gone. Today’s cloth diapers are engineered to be as effortless to use as disposables. Flushable liners, hook and loop closures and high-tech textiles provide more comfortable and dependable diapers which are easy to use. Easy-to-use features along with the eco-friendly nature of cloth can certainly make them the right choice for parents, regardless of their earnings. Through the years, there’s been a heightened interest in cloth diapers as a result of the many benefits they offer.

There are five major kinds of cloth diapers, with varying degrees of simplicity and price. The objective of this post is to simply break down the different cloth diaper styles and investigate the main advantages of each kind.

All in Ones

Using an all-in-one cloth diaper, or AIO, is much easier than using any other types of cloth-diapering techniques, given that there is a single piece. There is nothing to fold and there’s nothing to include or remove. It usually has a fast and easy fastening method, like hook-and-loop or Velcro, of course, it’s machine washable.

AIO diapers are a one piece diaper that include a number of absorbent layers (generally two, in some cases hourglass shaped) that have been sewn inside of an outer waterproof cover. They are practical for convenient changes, are widely used by lots of modern young families as the main portion of their diapering method, and along with a supplementary diaper booster inside can perform effectively over night. Major disadvantages of AIO diapers may include longer drying times (some brands) and also the “one wear, one wash” process which is used. Main advantages of AIO diapers are the sheer simplicity of the design, the sleek fit (of some brands), and that they are an excellent overall solution which can be in virtually any situation.

All-in-ones are definitely the simplest to operate for those who are not familiar with cloth diapering. Since the diaper and the cover are stitched to one another, they can be as simple to use as a disposable. This makes these diapers an outstanding method to use at a babysitter’s or grandparent’s house. Nobody will become scared of the fold/tuck/pin/cover procedure for various other cloth diaper designs.

Hybrid

Sometimes called an All In Two (or AI2) cloth diaper, Hybrid diapers are designed as a system to make it relatively easy for parents to diaper their babies naturally. Hybrid diapers include a shell (or diaper cover) into which you insert a variety of absorbency layers. The Hybrid style took its name because the absorbency layers used may be either cloth or disposable, chosen dependent upon the location. For instance, you may choose to implement cloth absorbency when in the home, but use a disposable or flushable liner when going to day care or traveling. Hybrid systems can come in a sized approach (meaning further expenses when your baby gets bigger) or in a one-size alternative (which grows along with your baby).

Key disadvantages of Hybrid diapers is that they can appear to be complicated (however, with very little experience, this concern typically disappears).

Key advantages of Hybrid diapers are the level of flexibility that they introduce to cloth diapering, the ability to change how many absorbency layers (less for day, more for night) and the fact that some brands are purposefully designed to enable multiple wearings of outer shells between washes.

Pocket

A pocket diaper comes up with an external watertight layer made from polyurethane laminate (PUL) which is attached to a cloth part which goes next to the skin, and you’ll find a gap left in the back between the two. You’ll see the pocket in the photograph.

You put an absorbent fabric insert inside that opening. Once the diaper is changed, you remove the insert to wash toss the insert and diaper both into the laundry together. A lot of styles include their unique inserts, but you can use prefolds or find more inserts. The complete diaper fastens with either Velcro or snaps. We use these at night, too, and they’re quite absorbent.

This method is straightforward and convenient. If your baby is a wiggler, you can easily put the inserts into the diapers earlier and change the baby fairly quickly. It is additionally very simple for babysitters and grandparents. Since you take the insert out of the diaper before you launder it, it gets quite clean and dries more quickly than all in ones.

Regrettably, they can be more expensive, somewhat more expensive than other cloth diapers. Additionally, they don’t ordinarily have natural fibers in the cloth that contacts the baby’s sensitive tush. Usually the cloth is a polyester microfiber that wicks mositure from the skin. It is possible to find natural fiber pocket diapers, but they’re tougher to locate.

Fitted

Fitted diapers, commonly referred to as Fitteds, are ingenious cloth diapers which combine simplicity of use and freedom. Fitted diapers bear resemblance to the size and shape of disposable diapers. The selection of super absorbing and breathable cloth from which to choose these are hands-down one of the best cloth diapering possibilities to suit your little one’s unique requirements.

Fitted diapers are diapers that contain numerous layers of absorbent cloth, have back and leg elastic, and fasten on baby with snaps or hook and loop closures. Fitted diapers do NOT have a water resistant outer surface, and therefore will need some sort of waterproof cover. Fitted diapers are hourglass shaped and do not involve folding. Most fitted diapers are sized and therefore call for that you must purchase larger sizes as your baby gets bigger. However, some brand names (including the Kiwi Pie one-size pima cotton fitted diaper) have introduced one-size fitted diapers that use snaps on the front rise of the diapers to enable them to grow along with your child.

Although fitted diapers are not water-proof and do require the use of a diaper cover, herein lies undoubtedly one of their strengths! You select: wool, fleece, or PUL covers; some parents even opt to go coverless (generally when indoors or when trying to eliminate a diaper rash).

Prefold

Prefold cloth diapers are the cloth diapers our mothers and/or grandmothers used. For everybody who is with limited funds, prefolds are an economical cloth diapering method, although perhaps not as effortless as a few of the other choices. Prefolds are rectangular and flat. They require that you fold them into a preferred shape, and after that fasten on the infant and put a cover on top. Covers could be basic and traditional as wool pull-ons, or as scientifically advanced as water-resistant and quick-dry diaper shells. Flats need little storage space and can even be washed by hand if laundry facilities are inaccessible. Flats tend to be just one single layer of fabric that usually can be folded to create more absorbency and dry out quickly. Disadvantages of prefolds are that you’ll need to acquire larger sizes as your baby grows, they might be bulky, and require a fastener and cover. Merits of prefolds are that they are usually very versatile, quite easy to dry and clean, and tend to be low-cost.