Simple ways to make dinner at home a special night

(ARA) – Dining at home has many advantages, from saving money to affording family members more time together. But it’s easy for those at-home meals to become routine and boring – unless you take some simple steps to make dinner time a special time for everyone.

Fortunately, making dinner at home more special doesn’t need to eat up a lot of time or money. Whether you’re serving a feast for the whole family or making a romantic meal for an at-home date night, these simple ideas can help make dining at home feel like a night out.

Make it restaurant style

One of the reasons people love dining out is the chance to eat something they normally wouldn’t make at home. Making some of those restaurant favorites in your own kitchen isn’t as difficult as you might think. By adding a delicious, easy-to-make dining-out treat to your at-home menu, you can give your meal restaurant quality flair.

One restaurant staple is the bread basket. You can create your own version with take-and-bake options, like New York Brand Garlic Knots. Found in your grocery store’s freezer aisle, New York Brand Garlic Knots are hand-tied and contain no trans fat and no high-fructose corn syrup, but pack all the flavor and appeal of this traditional restaurant favorite. What’s more, they’re ready – from freezer to table – in about five minutes. Make your meal extra special by serving your Garlic Knots with your favorite pasta or homemade pizza with a marinara dipping sauce.

Tune out the outside world

You wouldn’t be so rude as to take a cellphone call at the table in a quiet restaurant, so why allow such disruptions during your meal at home? Have everyone turn off their phones, switch off the TV and radio, leave all handheld digital devices in another room, and encourage a dinner conversation that truly focuses on each other.

Wear your “Sunday best”

Even if you wear a suit to work every day, there’s still something special about dressing up for an unforgettable meal. If you’d prefer, you can leave the heels, jewelry or cufflinks behind – just skip the jeans and sweatshirts in favor of a skirt or a nice button-down and a pair of slacks.

Cook together

Cooking together increases the amount of quality time you spend with loved ones. Whether it’s a date night or just a friendly get-together, involving everyone in meal preparation makes the evening memorable and special. Using easy-to-make and delicious products, such as New York Brand Garlic Knots, will ensure your meal will have that homemade taste that’s sure to please.

For simple recipe ideas, visit www.newyorkfrozen.com.

Tags: date night at home, dining at home, dinner date night, dinner tips, Simple ways to make dinner at home a special night

Ease the stress of grocery shopping during the holidays

(ARA) – Hectic schedules often make meal-related decisions a chore. And planning for a bigger family meal over the holidays just adds to the stress. Affordable and simpler shopping routines could help you start savoring family meal time again.

Regardless of whether you’re planning a holiday feast, a birthday celebration, or just day-to-day meals throughout the year, it’s easier and more cost effective if you go into grocery shopping prepared.

Consider these tips from national grocery retailer Save-A-Lot before your next shopping trip:

Create a weekly meal planner
Many grocery shoppers make the mistake of only planning for a big special meal when they can cut time and cost by planning for several. Think about what you and your family members typically consume each day. If there is a particular food item or meal idea that your whole family enjoys, make sure to stock up when it is on sale. Ask each family member to pick a meal for dinner.

Decide ahead of time how your family might want to use leftover meat or veggies from the meal, and buy extra ingredients to create new meals. For example, be sure to stock up on bread, mayonnaise, mustard and lettuce in advance if you plan to cook a turkey or ham for a holiday meal or Sunday dinner.

Keep track of ingredients to replenish
You’ve got everything laid out to make chocolate chip cookies, but you forgot to buy the baking soda – nothing is more frustrating than having to make a return trip to a store.

Keep track of ingredients you frequently use in your cooking. Then, as soon as you use up an item, immediately add it to your ongoing grocery list. By the end of the week, not only will your shopping list be complete, but also you won’t be stuck in the store trying to remember what is or is not in your cupboard. You also won’t be tempted to buy something you don’t need.

When cooking, be sure to use measuring utensils so you don’t use more ingredients than necessary – which can be costly to your family’s waistline and budget.

Visit grocery store websites for tools and deals
Grocery retailers frequently offer tips and tools for meal planning, as well as exclusive online bargains. Check to see if your store is offering discounts in exchange for signing up for their shopping clubs year round. For example, Save-A-Lot offers a $5 coupon for signing up for its Smart Shopper Club.

Take advantage of store brands
Many grocery stores offer their own exclusive brands of foods and everyday items, and frequently these items are of equivalent quality as more expensive national brand names. By using store brands, you can save a little money on your grocery bill and splurge on something special, such as a celebratory dessert. Store brands are great for helping to keep your weekly grocery costs down.

Simplify shopping trip
A popular strategy for many shoppers is to shop at several retailers throughout the week for bargains. While this approach may add up to a couple of cents saved on a receipt, it is quickly gobbled up in fuel costs as well as time. Instead, save both time and money by limiting shopping trips to one day a week or add a stop to the grocery store on the commute to or from work.

With these few simple tips, you’ll not only save money at the grocery store, but you’ll have more time to enjoy cooking and celebrating with those you love.

Tags: Ease the stress of grocery shopping during the holidays, grocery shopping, grocery shopping tips, grocery store tips, holiday shopping for food

Bacon Wrapped Pork with Bok Choy

(NC)—“Gung Hay Fat Choy!” Happy Chinese New Year. This year, on January 23rd, people all over the world will be celebrating, welcoming the Year of the Dragon. The fifteen-day festival is celebrated with singing, dancing, arts and crafts, lion dances and dragon parades.

You don’t have to travel all the way to the Great Wall to take part in Chinese New Year festivities. With a few pantry staples, you can bring the aromas and cuisine of the Far East directly to your home. To add a little international flavour to your dinner table and mix up your regular mealtime routine, consider the Asian-inspired pork tenderloin below. Wrapped in bacon and infused with traditional Asian flavours, this dish offers the look and flavour of five-star restaurant fare but takes mere minutes to pull together.

Bacon Wrapped Pork with Bok Choy

Serves: 4

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

1 lb (500 gr) pork tenderloin

1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil

8-10 slices bacon

8 cups (2 L) baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise and washed

1 bottle VH Sweet & Sour Sauce

1. Heat oven to 400?F (200?F); slice tenderloin into 2 pieces. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and brown the pork, about 7 minutes.

2. Layer 4-5 bacon slices side by side on a cutting board; allow edges to only slightly overlap. Place one piece of pork across the bottom ends of the bacon strips; roll the bacon around the tenderloin and place the wrapped pork seam side down in a baking dish. Repeat with second piece and remaining bacon.

3. Place baking dish in oven and cook until bacon is browned and pork is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160?F (70C)?.

4. Pour out leftover oil from sauté pan, add baby bok choy and 2 tbsp (30 mL) water, cover and cook on medium heat for 8 minutes. Add bottle of sweet & sour sauce and heat through, lowering heat to simmer to keep warm.

5. When pork is ready slice and serve with bok choy and VH Sweet & Sour Sauce.

If you’re pressed for time, try VH Steamers Kung Pao Chicken from the company’s line of frozen entrees. Packed with crisp vegetables and Asian-inspired sauces, these flavourful meals are ready in less than five minutes.

Additional recipe ideas are available online at www.vhsauces.ca.

www.newcanada.com

Tags: Bacon Wrapped Pork with Bok Choy, Bring a dragon home this Chinese New Year, Chinese new year, chinese recipe, Gung Hay Fat Choy

Seafood is the new 'fast food'

(NC)—Did you know a serving of Pad Thai from a Canadian food court restaurant chain can have as many as 1,400 calories in a single serving? That’s70 per cent of your recommended calorie intake according to the 2,000 calorie/day diet as outlined by Canada’s Food Guide.

Compare that to a tuna Pad Thai dish at 310 calories. By making a few variations to the ingredient list, like incorporating flavoured tuna into the mix, you can have a tasty, easy-to-make, low-calorie and high protein meal.

Challenging Canadians to take a good, hard look at their fast food habits, Clover Leaf Seafoods is launching a new campaign that pits every day, high-calorie take-out against its own “fast food” recipes for old-time favourites like pizza, tacos, Pad Thai, shawarma, burritos and even the classic burger with bacon and cheese.

“You can lose up to 7.5 pounds in the course of a year if you eliminate just 500 calories from your weekly diet,” said celebrity chef Michael P. Clive, who partnered with Clover Leaf to develop the new recipes. “And this is easily done by swapping a single, high-calorie fast food meal with a low-calorie and high protein version.”

As delicious as they are nutritious, the recipes also include healthy side dish and beverage alternatives like fruits and vegetables instead of French fries and onion rings, and citrus-flavoured water instead of sugar-heavy pop.

“Much of the fast food out there is short on nutrition and usually high in fat, calories, and sodium—and it’s often served in very large portions,” said Clive, who also worked with Clover Leaf to develop the popular Take 5 recipes. “Beyond basic calorie counting, our fast food recipes offer a healthy balance of protein, essential nutrients and vitamins that let you leave the dinner table feeling satisfied and more likely to keep pounds off.”

A recent survey by Technomic, a leading consulting and research firm serving the food industry, discovered that the fast food industry accounts for $25 billion, or about 60 per cent, of all restaurant sales in Canada. The survey also found that North American burger consumption has grown considerably since 2009, with nearly half of consumers reporting indulging in a burger at least once a week compared with 38 per cent two years ago.

At www.cloverleaf.ca, some of the tantalizing“fast food” recipes include: Spicy Tuna Pad Thai, Personal Naan Pizza, Chili Thai Tacos, Original Shawarma, Hooked on Tuna Burrito, and the Captain Burger with Bacon and Cheese. You can find them all at www.cloverleaf.ca.

www.newscanada.com

Tags: Canada's Food Guide, Chili Thai Tacos, Clover Leaf Seafoods, cloverleaf.ca, fast food, Hooked on Tuna Burrito, Pad Thai, Seafood is the new 'fast food'

The secret to gourmet cooking: Know your ingredients

(NC)—Type “food blog” into your favourite Internet search engine and the results will astound you—nearly 975 million options to choose from. If we drill down a little further, a search for “gourmet food blog” returns more than 59 million results. While the numbers are overwhelming, the results reveal a growing interest in food, recipes and home cooking. Home cooks are also becoming more educated about ingredients and understand that choosing the right ingredients based on quality, performance and desired results is of utmost importance to ensure the end result is perfect.

Take mozzarella cheese, for example. Usually the first thing that comes to mind is pizza, and the long, stretchy cheese that trails from pie to plate with every slice. While few people likely have a wood-burning oven at home, creating a gourmet pizza is possible with the right kind of mozzarella.

Originating in Italy and recognizable for the long strings of cheese that stretch from every slice, stretch mozzarella is the best type that for creating a pizzeria-quality pie. Mozzarellissima by Saputo is stretch mozzarella with a mild, buttery taste and superior melting ability that makes it the preferred choice of pizza chefs across Canada.

Available in most dairy cases and deli sections at the grocery store, mozzarellissima will melt and stretch just the way you expect. It is also very versatile and can be paired with any number of ingredients, from traditional pizza toppings like pepperoni, to more sophisticated choices like roasted peppers and caramelized onions.

Next time homemade pizza is on the menu, think like a pizza chef. Using the freshest ingredients—and the right kind of mozzarella—will help create a gourmet pizza right in your own home.

www.newscanada.com

Tags: cooking tips, gourmet cooking, gourmet food, gourmet food blog, mozzarella, mozzarella cheese, The secret to gourmet cooking: Know your ingredients

Sweet and Spicy Cajun Roasted Peanuts

Cocktail Canapés

(NC)—Drop-in guests are the best, but it’s nice to have something on hand to serve with a drink. These dressed up peanuts go perfectly with beer or cocktails. More great recipes can be found online at www.peanutbureau.ca.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Roasting time: 20 minutes

Makes 2 cups (500 mL)

Ingredients:

1 egg white

1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar

1 tsp (5 mL) Kosher salt

1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme leaves

3/4 tsp (4 mL) each cayenne and garlic powder

2 cups (500 mL) unsalted peanuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until frothy. Then whisk in sugar and seasonings (if you only have garlic salt, add only 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt) until blended. Add peanuts and stir to coat.

2. Spread peanuts out on prepared baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven, stirring a couple of times until nuts are golden brown and mixture is barely sticky, 20 to 25 minutes. Taste, adding a little more salt if needed. Cool completely, breaking up nuts as they cool. Store in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.

www.newscanada.com

Tags: Cocktail Canapés, cocktail party foods, peanut recipe, roasted peanuts, Sweet and Spicy Cajun Roasted Peanuts

Getting to the bottom of food intolerance

(NC)—There’s a reason food intolerance is known as the “hidden” condition: Triggers and symptoms can be difficult to identify and nearly impossible to solve without proper testing and guidance. Lactose and gluten intolerance are well-known triggers, but there are over 100 more food triggers to consider. It’s important to understand that the path to relief is a lifestyle change that that can change your quality of life for the better.

“I recommend beginning a food intolerance program which tests the blood for problem foods and gives patients the tools to put those results into action,” says Dr. Gordon Ko, director, fibromyalgia integrative treatment clinic at Sunnybrook HospitalThere is a difference between food allergy and food Intolerance

Food intolerances are different from food allergies. Unlike food allergies, food intolerances are not life-threatening. However, they can be the cause of chronic pain and discomfort. Food allergy symptoms have a short reaction time whereas food intolerance symptoms can take hours, or even days, to appear. This is where it gets tricky. When symptoms don’t occur right after eating, patients may attribute pain to the wrong foods or not even realize they are related to food. Common symptoms of food intolerance include bloating, headaches and migraines, eczema and fatigue, which can be attributed to any number of medical issues.

Guessing your food intolerances can be nearly impossible

In order to identify food intolerances, patients must be committed to cutting problem foods out of their diet for at least three to four weeks. Problem foods can range from fruits and vegetables, to nuts, fish and meat. “Food intolerance programs like the YorkTest FoodScan begin by testing patients for more than 100 different foods,” says Dr. Ko. It only takes a few minutes to collect a simple finger-prick blood sample, and this test can be done by the patient from the comfort of their own home. Imagine how long it would take you to cycle through all the foods in your normal diet using a trial and error method.

Identifying your intolerances is the first step on your road to recovery

“It’s important to begin a food intolerance program that also includes counselling and nutrition sessions that teach patients how to put their test results into action,” says Dr. Ko. A proper food intolerance program should guide patients as they implement their new diet plan and track progress over a four-to-six week period. “I have seen success stories in my practice. One of my patients that suffered from chronic lower back pain found relief by simply identifying and cutting out problem foods from his diet,” says Dr. Ko.

More information about food intolerance and the YorkTest FoodScan Program, is available at www.canlabs.ca.

www.newscanada.com

Tags: food intolerance, food intolerance treatment, food issues, Getting to the bottom of food intolerance, triggers of food intolerance, York Test Food Scan

How to host a girls' night in 'pairing party'

(ARA) – You can always find a good reason to organize a girls’ night in with your best friends. But why not spice up the theme of the gathering this time and host a “pairing party” featuring everyone’s favorite ingredient: dark chocolate?

Pairing parties are great social events designed around the education and sampling of two ingredient themes. A pairing party combining the delicious varieties of dark chocolate with food and drinks will be a huge hit with your friends. Imagine the girls laughing over the different combinations of dark chocolate with drinks and food, making notes of their favorites and discussing the intricacies of all the flavor combinations.

As you begin planning your party, follow these guidelines to make it both educational and fun.

Tip 1. Invite your friends.
Invitations are very important for pairing parties, because you need to know exactly how many people to prepare for. A gathering of 10 to 20 is ideal. Give your party a fun name. Send invites out early, explain the purpose of the party – including the main ingredients – and request an RSVP. Invite each guest to bring a specific item.

Tip 2. Create your pairing list.
Plan the pairings that you will all sample during the party. Dark chocolate is a complex ingredient and blends well with many different flavors. For example, candied ginger and apricots taste delicious with Ghirardelli’s Evening Dream 60 percent cacao Intense Dark chocolate, according to Leslie Sbrocco, author, television host and wine consultant. For drinks to compare with this treat, line up some smooth green tea, or white dessert wines like Sauternes from the Bordeaux region of France.

Tip 3. Develop an ingredient sheet.
Organize a tasting sheet, listing all the dark chocolate flavors and all food and drink ingredients that will be served during the party. On your sheet you can showcase recommended pairings – for example Sbrocco highlights framboise (a raspberry liquor) and red zinfandel with Ghirardelli’s Twilight Delight 72 percent cacao Intense Dark chocolate. But also leave room on your sheet for your guests to make their own pairing preferences.

Tip 4. Determine serving ware and supplies.
Make sure you have the correct serving pieces and accessories on hand, including plenty of wine glasses and serving trays. If you decide to feature a red wine like malbec, which Sbrocco says pairs well with a savory and bold dark chocolate like Ghirardelli’s Midnight Reverie 86 percent cacao, you’ll want to serve the malbec slightly chilled in deep-bottomed wine glasses for best flavor. Small platters for nuts, dried fruits and even cheese varieties will also be very handy for your party. Make sure you also have plenty of corkscrews around, and provide your guests with wine glass charms so they can easily identify which glass is theirs.

Tip 5. Research everything.
Research your products and brands so you can share interesting facts about both. For example, Ghirardelli is partnering with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to promote the importance of early breast cancer detection. Specially marked pink ribbon packages of Intense Dark chocolates will have a code inside the package redeemable for a $1 donation to the NBCF. Enter the code at www.ghirardelli.com/intensedark for your donation to be counted. As you’re serving different pairings, also educate your guests about proper serving practices for the foods and drinks.

Tip 6. Get conversations started.
Make a note of interesting conversation topics you can bring up to get discussions started, if needed. Since you’ll already be chatting about breast cancer awareness, also encourage your guests to discuss the importance of early detection efforts and doing both monthly self examinations and yearly mammograms.

Hosting a pairing party is perfect for girls’ night in and your party will be a hit with your friends. Before you know it, pairing parties will become a common theme for your group’s gatherings.

Tags: dark chocolate, girls' party, How to host a girls' night in 'pairing party', pairing party, wine party

BLT Egg Wrap

(NC)—Weekday mornings are a busy time, but investing a few minutes to prepare a healthy breakfast rich in protein will pay off with long-lasting energy for the day ahead. Look no further than the BLT Egg Wrap from the eggs.ca website—full of flavour, it’s a delicious way to start the day. Add grated cheese or a tablespoon (15mL) of salsa for variety.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 2 minutes

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

• Slice chicken or turkey bacon, cooked

• Egg

• 1/4 tsp onion powder 1 mL

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• low-fat flour tortilla

• 2 tsp fat-free mayonnaise 10 mL

• Leaf lettuce

• tbsp tomato, diced 30 mL

Method

Cook the chicken or turkey bacon in non-stick skillet over medium heat or in microwave until crisp; fold in half and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Whisk together egg, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste, in small bowl. Pour mixture into skillet; cook, stirring slightly, over medium heat. As mixture begins to set, gently move spatula across bottom and sides of skillet to form large, soft curds. Cook until eggs are thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, but eggs are still moist. Spread tortilla with mayonnaise. Place lettuce on top; add chicken or turkey bacon, egg and tomato. Fold wrap and serve.

Nutrients per Serving

Calories 230

Carbohydrate 21 g

Fat 11 g

Fibre 2 g

Saturated fat 3 g

Sugar 3 g

Trans fat 0 g

Protein 12 g

Sodium 610 mg

www.newscanada.com

Tags: BLT Egg Wrap, breakfast recipes, egg recipes, eggs.ca, Wrap up breakfast

Should I stay away from fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list?

(NC)—Every year the Environmental Working Group out of the United States publishes a dirty dozen list of fruit and vegetables it claims contain high pesticide residue level. Fortunately for Canadians who are concerned about their health, the list is finally being debunked and consumers are being assured that these foods are indeed safe.

“The misinformation presented in the EWG’s report should not dissuade consumers from eating fruits and vegetables,” says Peter MacLeod, vice-president of chemistry for CropLife Canada. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are an integral part of a healthy diet as laid out in Canada’s Food Guide.”

Canadian farmers today have a bigger challenge than ever before to provide consumers with blemish-free and high quality products. To do this, they rely on pest control tools to protect their fruit and vegetable crops against pests that have the potential to ruin their entire crop if they aren’t controlled.

The pesticides they use to help grow their crops are highly regulated by Health Canada to ensure they pose no risk to the farmers applying them or to the people eating food grown with them.

The federal government’s process involves a scientific review and risk assessment by over 350 scientists at Health Canada, before registering a pesticide for use or sale, making crop protection products among the most stringently regulated products in Canada.

Next time you reach for an apple or pick up a piece of celery, you can do so knowing that they’re safe to eat.

www.newscanada.com

Tags: Canadians foods, CropLife Canada, dirty dozen fruits and vegetables, Health Canada, Should I stay away from fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list?