I remember reading that orange sales were down in the UK, and they believed it was because consumers were turning towards the "easier to peel" citrus fruits like mandarins and tangerines.

Well, the Aussie's have come up with a breed of oranges that are easier to peel, with most efforts revealing a single, twisty peel with minimum effort! I never mind peeling oranges, but I believe it is all in the preparation. If the orange is a little hard, I always give it a squash first. It seems to make it easier to peel afterwards.

I have seen lots of people use a knife to peel their oranges, but I am still a fan of digging my nail in and doing it manually. The only exception is when I want to reminisce about my old netball days, and cut my orange into segments that allow you to eat it off the skin.

The Australian oranges are apparently also sweeter than the regular oranges, which may prove to be their biggest selling point. The only problem is that firstly, they are more expensive, and secondly, they still leave you with sticky fingers after you have done the peeling.

If only they could come up with an orange that was sweet and that peeled itself, then everyone would be happy.

Source

My SIL from Perth sent this to me.  Now my husband is very good at making the kids lunches, however I found this very entertaining.

__________________________________________________ 

One night, a young wife asks her husband, for the first time in their 3 year marriage, if he minds making the next day's lunches for them both.

He is devastated by this request, and has a short power nap to gain the energy required to undertake such a strenuous task.

After all, his wife has only worked during the day, went shopping after work for groceries, cooked him dinner, cleaned up after dinner and ironed a shirt for him to wear to work the next day.
 

Surely, she can do this. After all, he did go to work today.

The young husband finds the strength to begin lunch. After all, he is the stronger of the two, and is willing to carry the heavy burden, if only to give his wife more time to rest.

Shortly afterwards, he informs his beautiful young wife that he has conquered the impossible, and has prepared lunch, despite the lack of energy his tired body has. Don't forget, he did work today.

 Surprised, his wife went to the fridge to see what he had prepared so quickly. Looking inside, she couldn't find the lunch he so proudly prepared.

'Where is our lunch honey?' The young wife asks her loving husband.

'I placed it on the second shelf of the fridge. My lunch is the one on the left, and yours is on the right' He responds from the bedroom, the task having tired him out, he is already recovering in bed.

Can you see the lunch he 'prepared'?

LOL

:-)

Two weeks ago was my friend's birthday.  We have been good friends for 16 years and I was her bridesmaid at her wedding.

As we've both been busy - yesterday was our chance to catch up and so I took her out for lunch to celebrate her birthday.  We agreed some times ago not to buy each other presents for our birthday, but just to take each other out.

So yesterday at noon I picked up my friend from her house and I took her to one of my favourite hip cafes for lunch.  We had entres, wines, and mains.  And then we got up to pay where we were greeted at the counter by our waiter.  I passed over my credit card, while happily chatting and the transaction was complete. 

When we walked out however, I looked at the receipt and then realised that I had paid for the WRONG table.  I was only charged for one main, a wine and a cappuccino which was well well under half the price I was meant to pay. 

Good for me, but now I'm feeling like a cheapskate, because lunch cost me hardly anything.

Should I now buy my friend a little gift or take her to the movies to compensate my win?

Sus

Tonight i decided to have a tofu burger, i have never tried tufu and have been reluctant to try it. But, along with my healthy eating i am trying new foods.

I LOVE tofu! it was so nice and creamy but without the fat that comes with usual creamy foods. Had it with some lettuce and mango chutney which went really well with it.

If you have never tried it, give it a go. I just sprayed a little oil on it with a sprinkle of black pepper and put under the grill for a few minutes. I just wish i could have another but that would be overeating and i am not aloud to overeat just because something is nice.

Every Sunday I do the hunter gather thing and fulfil the grocery shopping chore for the family.

However as we went away for the weekend, I was going to shop on Monday afternoon for the week when we returned - but then decided I could scramble enough food in the cupboard and fridge to last until Wednesday.

Then I thought to go today - as Wednesdays I'm not in the office.  But my remote computer access wasn't working, so I had to go into work (with the bambina!) as I had to finish a report.  So today I didn't get to go either.

Now looking in the cupboard and fridge - I think I can actually pull it off ..... that is to not have to do any grocery shopping this week and just use up all the bits and pieces in the house.

OK - I had to get some milk and bread on the way home from work today, and the kids will have to live with cheese sandwiches for their school lunches, but this is a great opportunity to use up all the fruit, freezer meat, vegies left at the bottom of the fridge, and strange cans in the pantry that need to be used before the used by date.

Sus

On Monday night for dinner I made some pumpkin soup and had it with some bread.  The kids love it and its good and healthy. 

We sat down to eat and I tasted the soup.

What is missing?

It tasted like............

boiled pumpkin.

I thought and thought what was different to the other times I had made this soup.

I added the pumpkin (of course) and a sweet potato and carrot.

And then I remembered.

I forgot to cook up the onion, garlic (and even left my special ingredient - soy sauce) prior putting in the vegetables and stock.  The whole first section of the recipe was missed out. 

So basically it had no flavour.

Oh well, you win some and loose some.  The kids still liked it.

Sus

Tonight I cooked the 13 minute no stir risotto. Now, I am known to love risotto, but to be the worst at cooking it, no matter what I did, no matter how many recipies I followed- even with a chef as a husband insturcting me, I was never able to perfect it, infact most time it turned out being just a big sticky blob or rice. That was until tonight.... I made a successful risotto that tasted great, was not sticky and gross, but absolutely beautiful. I read and re-read the recipie over and over until I thought I had it perfectly- I set the kitchen timer and the second it went off, I jumped at the stove turned it off and lifted the lid (I had been watching it in earnist worried that I would do something wrong).... and wholla.. it was perfect (I wont tell you about the tiny bit stuck to the bottom, but after yet again re-reading the recipie I realised that I forgot to turn it down to medium to boil, I was so worried about it not boiling full steam when I put the rice in I forgot!). I added- chicken, ham, mushroom, onion, parmeson cheese and a tiny bit of cream. It was delish!

I am looking forward to lunch tomorrow so I can have it again!

Thank you so so so much Sus, I have renewed faith in my cooking skills, I absolutly love risotto and you have saved me from a life without it!

Thank you

xoxox

I decided to check out how many calories i should be eating based on my weight and general activity levels. According to it, i should be eating 1500 calories a day, today, even though i have eaten foods i normally class as naughty, i have only eaten 972calories!

I really dont think i could eat that many calories and actually lose weight- does anyone count calories daily and stick to what is recommended? Based on todays effort i dont think i need to count, just keep track to make sure i dont overeat.

This was part of the monthly newletter I got from the gym email today.

I have been using www.calorieking.com.au as my food diary- I find it makes me more honest with what I am writing down than when I simply handwrite it in a book.

WEIGHT LOSS 

Keeping a food diary can double weight loss

People who keep a journal to track their eating habits may be more successful at shedding pounds, according to recent research.

In a study of nearly 1,700 overweight adults in a weight-loss program, researchers found that those who wrote in a ‘food diary’ every day lost twice as much weight over six months as those who did not keep a journal.

In addition to keeping food diaries, study participants were asked to follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or (DASH) diet which is high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat, attend weekly group sessions and exercise at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day.

After six months, the average weight loss was 13 pounds (5.9kg). More than two-thirds of the participants (69%) lost at least 9 pounds (4.1kg).

“More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. If we all lost just 9 pounds, as most people in this study did, we would see vast decreases in hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke,” says Victor Stevens, PhD, study co-author. In an earlier study, Stevens found that losing as few as five pounds (2.2kg) can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20%.

“Every day I hear patients say they can’t lose weight. This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support,” says Dr Keith Bachman, a weight management specialist. “Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice. It’s the process of reflecting on what we eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior.”

Source: Keiser Permanente – The Centre for Health Research
 

This Friday for dinner I planned a simple home made pumpkin soup made in the pressure cooker and some bread after a hard week at work.

My sister-in-law called me this morning and said that she'll pop around Friday night to catch up with us, and her mum who looks after my bambina on Fridays.

"Great" I said, "come on over".

We agreed that she'll stay for dinner and we'll just get pizza.  Easy, so I poped into Coles and managed to get some salad ingredients (before my son cut my shopping experience short because of a toilet need).

Anway - So Salad and Pizza for dinner Friday night - all good.

THEN, my friend across the road rang.  "Do you want to go to the pizza place for dinner - Charlotte's (her daughters) birthday.  Need to go out, because we've got our first 'open for inspection' on Saturday". 

They're selling their house, so need to keep it nice and tidy for the inspections.

"Sorry" I said, "My sister in law and her kids are popping over, but you're welcome to come over too - we're just getting pizza"

"Great", she said, "we'll come over".

So from a quiet dinner, to a seating of 12 in two easy phone calls.

Now, I'm thinking, should I just have salad and pizza (x a few more pizzas), or should I make something special - as it's Charlotte's birthday?  I might make some of my 13 minute no stir risotto and mushroom - but what else? (noting that I have to work all day)

Sus