America Turns To Green Coffee Suppliers For Their Weight Loss Needs

After a long reign of assumed weight-loss benefits, Green tea is now finding competition in the weight-loss field to its counterpart, aptly called Green Coffee. The makers of a new green coffee (Coffee Shape) that contains a blend of unroasted coffee and roasted Arabica beans claim it could help users lose 4.45lb in a month without any other dietary changes. Drunk every morning before breakfast, each 3g sachet of Coffee Shape contains six to ten per cent of chlorogenic acid, a natural plant compound in green coffee that acts
as a slimming and health promoting substance.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that chlorogenic acid from green coffee causes significant levels of weight loss by reducing sugar absorption from the gut and speeding up the rate at which fat is burned in the body. In a four-week trial assessing Coffee Shape, those who drank one cup a day lost 3.5lb in two weeks, and 4.45lb in a month. How does this work? Well, it is reported that Green coffee seems to have three times the amount of antioxidants as green tea. If the unroasted green coffee beans are used in conjunction with a healthy diet it can decrease fat absorption and turn it into energy, which you can burn, instead of depositing it as layers of fat.They help you get rid of the right type of weight, which is fat and not body mass.

You will find several Green Coffee Suppliers that provide a blend of green bean coffee with normal coffee beans, just so the taste is not altered. HOwever, Sweet Maria's is the one who introduced Green Coffee Beans to the US, and you can find lots of information about buying or growing your own beans, as well as roasting them at home on their website.

So, at a top glance, looks like Green Coffee could be your answer to a faster metabolic rate, and definitely an alternative to Green tea, but like any other weight-loss gimmick, this only works for a short time. If you want to stay fit and healthy for your life, you have to stick to a balanced diet and an exercise routine. Otherwise none of these so-called weight-loss charmers will work!

Magic Bullet To Go - Contest & Giveaway

If you are someone who likes to cook, I'm sure you know about Magic Bullet - the lovely food processor ensemble which can make your life in the kitchen a tad bit easier by taking away the load of cutting, chopping, grinding, blending and more! And now, the readers of Fun and Food Cafe have a chance to win a free Magic Bullet Express! All you have to do is send in your favorite snack recipe, and you can enter the contest to win this coveted MB Express.

For more details, please visit the event announcement at:

http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2010/06/win-magic-bullet-to-go-recipe-contest.html

Summer Activity - Having Fun with Bonsai

For someone who loves gardening, I have never really pursued growing bonsai plants before. However, when I received an email from Jake of ProFlowers to review a version of Bonsai Hibiscus for them, there was no way I could deny the offer! I love Hibiscus, and have several varieties in my garden. Owning one of the Bonsai varieties helped me understand the philosophy behind this wonderful array of Bonsai plants, and I discovered that it could not only add an element of beauty to your indoor/outdoor garden, but could also be a fun Summer activity to pursue.

A Japanese art of growing miniature container-grown trees, bonsai actually originated from China and spread to Japan and Korea. The art of Japanese Bonsai is centered on the principle that the tree must give a picture of "heaven and earth in one container". Contrary to what people believe, Bonsai is cultivated, not grown so genetically - it is actually a normal tree that is kept small by continued root pruning and regular re-potting.

The roots of these plants are very thin, like grass blades, because they don't have room to grow and are confined to a small pot. However, they do need more water and fertilizing, as the roots can't suck any nutrients from the limited soil in the pot.

Bonsai Hibiscus, just like its regular counterpart, needs a lot of sunlight. Make sure you put it outdoors with plenty of sun, and yet water it abundantly. There are several tutorials online to help people like us, I'm sure. I have just embarked on having fun with Bonsai, and I have a lot to learn! But I am enjoying every bit of this new activity, thanks to ProFlowers.com. They have several other products for plant-lovers, so take a moment to check out their website, if you like.

Till next time, wish you all a Happy Summer!

The Icing On The Cupcake - Romance Mystery & Cupcakes??

Romance Mystery Revenge & Cupcakes??? It all sounds confusing, right? But that's precisely how it all comes together in Jennifer Ross's latest cookbook The Icing on the Cupcakes. Yes, I am talking about an actual cookbook about cupcakes, complete with tonnes of beautiful and unique cupcake recipes that will win your heart over. But rather than creating yet another cupcake cookbook that lists page after page of recipes, Jennifer Ross takes cookbook writing to an altogether new platform, by presenting it in the form of a Novel!

In this delectable novel, which also features delicious cupcake recipes, intertwined with the story of a young woman, Jennifer introduces us to someone who takes upon the challenge of being successful and fulfilling her dreams, one delicious cupcake at a time.

This is a story about Ansley Waller, who is a typical Southern belle from Dallas, with the ultimate goal of getting married to a rich and loving husband, raising his kids, and gracing parties and banquets in Southern style. But when her fiance unceremoniously kicks her to the curb and cancels their upcoming wedding, Ansley's world is all topsy-turvy, and she decides to head to New York City to live with her recently widowed and wealthy grandmother, Vivian, so she could forget her sorrow and get rid of ugly memories. But in turn, Vivian gives Ansley a no-nonsense ultimatum: Rather than wallow in misery, either get a job or go back home.

Then begins Ansley's journey to gather her nerves, put her MBA coursework to practice, and find a place for herself in this world. She decides to open a Cupcake shop with an endearing wish to bake the most exquisite cupcakes that any New Yorker has ever had! But unfortunately for her, New York is not a safe haven as Dallas - everything here is different, and Ansley has to go through her fair share of hard work, misery and sleepless nights before she can fulfill her dream, not to mention the fact that someone might be trying to sabotage her business, even before it opened!

Amidst this chaos, Ansley also has to find out why her grandmother had estranged her daughter, Ansley's mother at the tender age of 5, and never came back for her! Vivian is a great baker too, and Baking helps the two women to come closer and forge the bond that they never knew existed. What's the dark secret of Vivian's past? Who's trying to ruin Ansley's life? Was Ansley able to open her cupcake shop? You'd have to read this book to find out the answers.

All I can say is, Ross does a beautiful job of developing her characters and creating suspense in this book, finding space to end each chapter with an appropriate cupcake recipe. Plus, read the pages carefully and you'll also be able to find some serious baking tips that could turn a novice baker into a chiseled one!
The Icing on the Cupcakes is a lovely book that marries drama and cooking in an enticing way. For a small price tag of 11 bucks, this is one book that you'd love to add to your cookbook/novel collection.

About the Author: Jennifer Ross is a former Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News reporter, and the co-founder of the movie production company Brick House. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, children, and her two Papillions, Navette and Ruby. You can find more about her on her website, or check her out on Twitter

Mango Ice Cream with Condensed Milk

Mango is undoubtedly the King of fruits, at least for me, and I bet several others would agree with me on this one! With a beautiful color, rich creamy pulp and unbeatable taste, mangoes hold a special place in every recipe. Though they are great to just consume by themselves, they do add a special touch to the food they are paired with, especially desserts. So here's a household favorite - rich creamy Mango Ice Cream, made without using an ice cream maker! And I add a hint of Cardamom to the recipe, which is a taste I developed after trying it for my Peach Melba with Vanilla Cardamom Ice Cream recipe. The Condensed milk is indeed the second star ingredient which lends the smooth texture to this ice cream.

Back when I was a young kid in India, helping my mom in the kitchen we did not have the convenience of fancy kitchen gadgets. It was hard to find a proper baking oven in most homes, as some of you might recollect, so having an Ice Cream Maker was definitely not treated as a valid expense!:) But that does not mean we did not get to enjoy creamy dense ice cream at home - it just meant you had to add in a few extra steps to develop that smooth velvety texture, and this Mango Ice Cream is proof that you don't always need gadgets to do things right!

Eggless Mango Ice Cream Recipe using Condensed Milk, and Flavored with Vanilla & Cardamom

Ingredients
Makes about 6 servings

1/2 litre full-fat milk
4-6 medium sized ripe mangoes
100 ml (small can) of sweetened condensed milk
additional sugar - add to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 tsp ground cardamom powder

Method
Boil the milk till it becomes a little thick and creamy, about 12-15 mins, then remove from flame and add condensed milk to it.

Allow the milk to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, de-seed the mangoes and blend the pulp in a mixer to make thick mango pulp. Do not add water or any other liquid.

Once the milk is cool, add the mango pulp to it and blend well. Check for taste and add more sugar, if needed. Now transfer the mixture to an ice cream pan; cover it with cling-wrap, then put an inverted baking dish over it, to prevent ice from forming on the top of the pan. Freeze the mixture for a couple hours.

Remove the mixture and transfer to a mixer again. Add the cardamom powder and vanilla essence, then blend well, using the Whisk/Froth setting on the Blender.

Again freeze it for an hour, then repeat the blending process again, one more time. This may sound strenuous, but it is what you need to do when you are not using the convenience of an Ice Cream maker! But don't worry, its totally worth it - the freezing/churning process will ensure that your ice cream becomes nice and creamy, and sets well to give you same texture as an ice-cream maker recipe.

Now put the ice cream pan in the freezer, again, covered with cling-wrap and freeze for another 3-4 hours, or until ready to serve.

When you want to serve it, remove the pan from the freezer and let it thaw for 5 minutes. Then take an ice cream scooper and dish out as many scoops as you like in a bowl. Garnish with some fresh fruit and mint leaves, more mango pieces if you like, and serve immediately. You can also use pistachios or other fresh fruit like berries as a topping.

I like my Mango Ice Cream plain, but adding a few raspberries makes the presentation look much better:)

Related Recipes
Eggless Anjir (Fig) Ice Cream
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Easy Mango & Mascarpone Mousse

Fight Obesity With A Low Sodium Diet

Its no surprise to see the growing awareness among people to switch to low-sodium alternatives, as they understand how high sodium intake is related to weight gain, hypertension as well as heart diseases. Salt increases fluid retention in the body, leading to excessive weight gain and edema. I have done a precious post about the benefits of a low-sodium diet, but this time, we focus specifically on how it can help control weight gain. Obesity is on the rise in the US, and it is our responsibility to evaluate where we stand in our dietary choices so we can avoid obesity in our families.

Sodium & Obesity
A person who gains weight has a higher calorie requirement. There are two reasons for this. Having to carry a greater mass around and service a more massive body uses more calories. And having a bigger surface area means greater heat loss, since heat lost is proportional to surface area. - A greater calorie requirement results in greater appetite/hunger, so, really, overweight people need to eat more than people of normal weight. If the overweight eat insufficient calories (i.e. if they 'diet') they may lose weight, but it is at the cost of being hungry. There has never been the slightest evidence that the practice of fewer calories in and more calories out by way of exercise reduces obesity! - It is often confidently stated that fat will be lost by doing this. - Sadly, what is more often lost is lean tissue, usually an irreversible adverse effect.

Contrast this with the right way to lose weight - by eating less sodium. - Eating less sodium releases some of the excess sodium and water held in the blood stream. This lowers the blood pressure and, significantly, lowers the weight. - Weighing less results in a lower calorie requirement so very gradually less food is eaten and this becomes a virtuous circle because less food eaten results in lower sodium intake.

How Much Sodium Do You Really Need?
Most people who are following a weight-loss diet tend to watch out for fats and sugars but often neglect to think about the sodium content of foods. Most health authorities suggest limiting sodium to between 1,500 and 2,400 milligrams a day. (The body only needs about 400 to 800 milligrams of sodium a day.) Yet most Americans eat closer to 3,500 milligrams a day. A single meal at a fast food joint can easily contain well over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Most sodium we eat is from salt (sodium chloride), but sodium is also present in MSG (monosodium glutamate), in baking powder, in bicarbonate of soda (aka sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) and in a few other compounds which are sometimes added to food or to drinks. So its important to read food labels carefully, so you can keep an eye on the sodium content. On labels, more than 0.5g of sodium (1.25g salt) per 100g is high, less than 0.2g sodium (0.5g salt) is low.

Sodium Substitutes in Cooking
If you find it hard to cut down on salt, do it gradually. Your taste will gradually change. Try using pepper, herbs such as basil, chives, lemon grass, rosemary or coriander, spices such as chilli or ginger, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, rather than salt, to add flavour to your food.

If you feel you must use salt in cooking or to sprinkle on your food, you could try using LoSalt or Solo Low Sodium Sea Salt. - These mineral salts contain only about a third of the sodium present in ordinary salt and taste very similar to salt. This is still a high proportion of sodium, so use as little as you can manage and try gradually to reduce the amount you use.

There is ample evidence to prove that high sodium intake leads to several problems in the human body. And certain groups of individuals, like babies and children, pregnant women with high oestrogen levels, older people, people on prescribed medication or steroids are more prone to hypertension and obesity caused by salt sea diet. I always say its good to be prepared than sorry - so if you still have any doubts about benefits of low sodium diet, and how its linked to obesity or weight control, I hope this article helps clarify some issues.

The next time you try to grab that packet of ketchup to slather on your fries, think about what you are getting into your system, and stop right there! Of course, you can use some hummus or fresh vegetable yogurt dip instead!

How To Make Fondant Icing

Image courtesy of The Wedding Chicks

Have you ever sat admiring the beautiful cakes that the team of Charm City Cakes create for their beautiful events!! And I bet you have spent more than a few minutes admiring the beautiful wedding cakes that you see these days, with exquisite flowers and pearly designs adorning the smooth and shiny base. Much of this magic is created using Fondant Icing. Sounds familiar? Yesterday I posted a recipe for Cherry Blossom Chocolate Cupcakes on Fun and Food Cafe, and I got several responses from readers, admiring the cupcakes and also the power of Fondant Icing! Some of you also requested a post on how to Make fondant at home. Whether you are a baker who knows how to work with fondant, or are a novice who wants to dabble at making fondant icing yourself, just so you can decorate your cakes and cupcakes, here's a tutorial that will serve as a set of guidelines whenever you want to work with Fondant Icing.

What is Fondant Icing
Fondant Icing is an alternative to butter-based Royal Icing, and is used to decorate cakes and petit-fours. It includes gelatin (or agar-agar in vegetarian recipes) and food-grade glycerin, which keep the sugar pliable and creates a dough-like consistency, that makes it easy to roll out, then use to cover the cakes, rather than slathering it on like regular frosting. It can also be made using powdered sugar and melted marshmallows. It is definitely not as tasty and creamy as Royal Icing, but rolled fondant can be used to cover the cake, giving it a smooth appearance, and also to make more decorations sticking to the base.

How To Make Fondant Icing
Here is a basic recipe that I learnt during my Wilton Cake Decorating classes. it is fairly simple, and I'm sure a novice baker should be able to follow instructions and recreate the recipe.

Ingredients
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp glycerin
4 cups powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
oil or cornstarch

Method
Add the gelatin to a saucepan of water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to let it bloom. Simmer the gelatin under low heat, and stir until dissolved completely in the water. Be sure to use a low flame so as not to boil the water, as this can create lumps in the fondant icing; cover the gelatin and keep warm.

Pour the confectioners' sugar into a mixing bowl. Create a medium sized well in the center of the sugar. Add the glycerin and light corn syrup, and do not stir the mixture. Pour the warm gelatin into the well, and then stir the mixture until well blended.

Continue stirring until the mixture becomes stiff. Be sure to stir in one single direction only - switching directions can cause air bubbles to be trapped in the final fondant. Grease your palms with some oil or cornstarch and knead the dough until all of the sugar mixes completely into the fondant.

Now sprinkle cornstarch on a flat surface and knead the fondant on that surface. The cornstarch will prevent the fondant from sticking. Continue the kneading process until the fondant becomes smooth and shiny. Add a few drops of water if the fondant is dry or starts to crack.

Next step is to roll the fondant. For best results, roll the fondant into a ball, wrap it with a plastic wrap, and wait for at least 30 minutes until you roll the fondant out to place it on your cake. You can even refrigerate your wrapped fondant for some more time so that its easier to work with it when decorating your cake.

Adding Color to Fondant
Decorating cakes is not much fun unless you add some color to the end product, right? When you want to color your fondant icing, the best time to do this is when you have rolled the icing into a ball, but not refrigerated it. Get your fondant on your counter and smash it out a bit. Using a toothpick dipped in food coloring gel, add a small glob of the Wilton color on the white fondant. You can also take a golf ball size of fondant and use that to smear the food coloring around on the fondant. Put the ball in the middle, fold the fondant over it and knead the big gob of fondant until all of the color is evenly mixed in. You might need to add a bit of shortening to your hands and counter to keep the fondant from sticking. If it is still too pale, use the same procedure to add in more color. Remember that it is easier to add color than take it out. Start with small amounts of color and add more as you need to.

How To Decorate with Fondant Icing
You should always refrigerate your fondant icing before using it to decorate your cakes. This makes it easier to form shapes with the icing. Remove your icing from the fridge, sprinkle some cornstarch on your countertop, then roll out your fondant on it using medium-pressure and long strokes on a rolling pin. Roll it out till it is 1/4th inch thick, and slightly bigger than the size of your cake that needs to be covered.

Fondant as a Base
To cover a cake, flip over the rolled fondant and stick it gently on the cake, covering all sides evenly. Cut off any extra fondant using cooking scissors and trim the edges. Remember to flip your rolled fondant - the side facing the counter-top is shinier, and this should be on the top of the covered cake.

Fondant Decorations Over Fondant Base
To make small decorations, use the rolled fondant technique, then use different shaped cutters to make your own designs. You can even form 3-D sculptures using your hands and some oil or cornstarch to make shapes. In order to stick the fondant decorations over a fondant base, take a paint-brush - dip it in water and apply it to the smaller decorations. Then gently press it onto the fondant base and hold on for a few seconds so it sticks to the base. Remember to not use too much water as this can cause the color of the icing to tint and mix with one another - just a drop should work just fine!

I bet you know more about Fondant Icing now that you've read this tutorial! So are you ready to try your hand at Fondant decorations? Then start with these really simple Cherry Blossom Cupcakes - perfect for upcoming Mother's Day celebrations!

Happy Baking! And do come back and share your experience with us!