Making Chocolate From Molds

In the late 1800's, chocolate makers already used molds made from metal. This made it possible to shape them either as flat or three dimensional. Plastic soon replaced that as these were expensive to produce making it possible for amateur chocolatiers to make these at home.

When you buy chocolate molds from the craft store, make sure that this is made from strong plastic that has intricate designs so the finished product will come out beautifully after it comes out of the freezer.

Remember that this must never be washed using soap as this can mare the taste of the chocolate. You should simply use hot water and then dry it thoroughly using a dry cloth.

Each time you use the plastic mold, make sure to wipe it clean. Greasing, spraying or dusting is not needed as this will ruin the appearance of the finished candy.

But there is an exception to that rule. If you will be mixing your chocolate with some marshmallows, candy sprinkles, jellies or cooked candies, then you must first grease or spray the chocolate mold with oiling spray. This will make the chocolate easy to remove from the mold and if you are going to make another batch, the good news is that you only have to oil spray it once.

Next thing you need to learn is how to properly put chocolate filling into the plastic sheet. For that, you use a regular teaspoon and fill each cavity with chocolate. Some of the chocolate might spill out but don't worry because you can clean that up later on.

There may be some air bubbles trapped within the chocolate. To release it, tap the filled mold on the counter to settle the chocolate. Another way is to hold the mold horizontally then gently drop it on the counter. You will probably have to do this several times until there all the air bubbles have been removed.

When the chocolate is ready, this is the time that you put this in the freezer. This is because it is the coolest place in the house taking it less time for the chocolate to harden so you can reuse the mold if you are making another batch of chocolates.

You will know when the chocolates are ready by looking at the back side of the mold. If the cavity appears to be graying, this means that the second you turn this over, the chocolate will easily fall off to the tray.

If it doesn't fall off on its own, you can tap it firmly. If this does not work, perhaps it needs a little more cooling time in the freezer so put it back in for a few minutes and then try again.

If you happen to have some leftovers from filling the mold, don't throw it away because you can use it again in the future. Just wait for the chocolate to harden so you can scrape it off and then wrap it in waxed paper.

You don't always need to make chocolate creations from molds even if this is the conventional way of doing it. The other option is to dip it in with other things like cookies or fruits so you have your own chocolate fondue as part of your dessert.

Source by Carlos Montenegro

Six Week Body Makeover - Body Type D

The 6 Week Body Makeover meal plan is divided up into five different body types. This article will focus on the body type "D" as the meal plan is quite unique for this body. D people are allowed to eat more red meat. The other body types are only allowed to eat lean proteins and seafood. The reason why D bodies can eat beef is because red meat actually helps build muscle for this specific body type.

People who are classified as "D" body types have very sluggish metabolism and a lack of lean muscle. This causes a double whammy when it comes to fat loss. Muscle is what burns fat and the more lean muscle that you have, the more calories you'll burn throughout the day. This is similar to the Atkin's approach, however, this meal plan is less restrictive when it comes to what type of carbohydrates you can consume. First off, if you are a D, you shouldn't eat sweet fruits, sugar and white breads. Complex carbohydrates are good for these body types (in moderation). Some complex carbohydrates that are included within the meal plan are potatoes, squash and low sugar fruits like grapefruit.

A sample dinner meal on the Michael Thurmond diet for a Body Type D is, grilled New York steak, garlic roasted potatoes and a green salad. A sample breakfast would be 4 oz. egg whites & 1 cup of oatmeal or steak & egg whites. The eggs can be scrambled with diced tomatoes and basil. You can use lean sirloin steak and add Maui grilled onions for flavor.

Source by Rico Kidd

Most Popular Ice Cream Toppings

Americans love their ice cream, consuming about 30 liters per person a year. From "jimmies" to hot fudge, it is the toppings that really are the cherry on top of this multi-billion dollar industry.

Once upon a time, an ice cream shop customer only had a couple of choices if they wanted to add a topping to their favorite frozen dessert. Now there are almost as many frozen dessert topping options as there are flavors of this special frozen treat.

Top 10 most popular toppings

1. Hot Fudge - this classic topping is still number one according to most consumers. Warm, gooey chocolate dripping over your favorite frozen treat flavor - what's not to love?

2. Caramel - There must be something about the contrast between the ice-cold dessert and a warm, sweet topping because caramel came in a close second to hot fudge.

3. Oreo cookie crumbles - that's the way the cookie crumbles. Oreo crumbs, more than any other cookie topping, are a favorite topping of both the young and old.

4. M&Ms - a less messy way to get tasty chocolate on your dessert.

5. Whipped Cream - you can't have a hot fudge sundae without topping it with whipped cream. A lot of people like to top their milkshakes off with whipped cream as well.

6. Sprinkles - whether rainbow sprinkles or chocolate sprinkles (sometimes called jimmies) this is a favorite ice cream topping of young children.

7. Peanut butter Cups - as if peanut butter and chocolate alone weren't delicious enough, added to a scoop frozen dessert, it become one of the most popular ice cream toppings.

8. Chocolate Chips - White or dark chocolate, sprinkled over the top or stirred in, chocolate chips are an easy choice for favorite topping.

9. Strawberry sauce - Poured over the top of vanilla ice cream, this topping tastes almost like fresh strawberry pie.

10. Cherry - what would a hot fudge sundae or whipped cream topped milkshake be without this quintessential ice cream topping?

What Does it Cost to Start an Ice Cream Business?

If you are thinking of opening up a neighborhood frozen dessert shop, knowing what topping choices to offer your customers is a bit of knowledge that can help your new business venture be that much more successful. But, knowing how much rent, labor, machines, and other expenses like, toppings will cost is what you really need to investigate before starting out on this new venture!

Having an industry specific business plan that will spell out the details down to the flavors of the dessert and toppings you should offer in your shop is important to your new business' success. A well-researched business plan can get you started on the road to success. However, if doing this tasks is out of your comfort zone, consider getting an ice cream business plan template that you can easily customize to fit your needs.

Source by M McHale

What Types of Vegetables Can I Eat on the Candida Diet?

Loading up on vegetables is a terrific dieting strategy. Vegetables are filled with essential vitamins and nutrients and are a great choice for any healthy diet but are all vegetables created equal? Believe it or not some vegetables may not be appropriate for certain types of diets. The candida diet is one of these diets in which you must pay particular attention to what type of and how much of certain vegetables you eat. To understand what types and why you must eliminate or reduce certain vegetables you must first understand what the goal of the candida diet is.

The candida diet is the cornerstone of treatment for a condition known as candidiasis. Candidiasis is a condition in which Candida albicans, a typically benign type of yeast become and opportunistic organism in the intestinal system. Candida albicans is an innate part of the microflora of the intestinal system which ideally will work in accord with "friendly" types of bacteria to keep the body healthy. Unfortunately, external factors such as overuse of antibiotics, steroids, oral contraceptives, stress and a diet high in processed foods/sugar foods often cause an overgrowth of Candida albicans. When this happens an abundance of toxins are released into the body and cause a variety of seemingly unrelated health problems. Symptoms of candidiasis include but are not limited to chronic yeast infections, chronic sinus infections, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression and fatigue. The candida diet seeks to cut off the food supply of the Candida albicans by eliminating food that encourages its growth. While the main culprits are sugar, vinegar, fermented foods, glutinous grains and quick acting carbohydrates there are other foods that candida diet guidelines suggest consuming in moderation. Complex grains and high starch vegetables fall under this category because all though they do not break down into sugar as quickly as the simple carbohydrates they do in fact break down into sugar and feed the candida. So which vegetables can we eat freely and which do we eat in moderation on the candida diet?

Vegetables to Eat Freely

Bulb vegetables such as chives, garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, shallots and water chestnuts are all great choices for the candida diet. This group of vegetables can be used to add flavor and texture to meals and onions and garlic in particular have antifungal properties which help combat Candida albicans. Inflorescent vegetables such as artichokes, broccoli, broccoli rabe and cauliflower make great side dishes. Use leaf vegetables such as arugula, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chicory, collards, endive, lettuce, kale and spinach to complement main dishes and to create delightful salads.

Fruit vegetables, which include avocados, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers and squash will help you to create delightful yeast free meals. Stalk vegetables such as asparagus, celery, chard, fennel and kohlrabi also have a wide variety of uses on the diet.

Vegetables to eat in Moderation

The two types of vegetables that you should eat cautiously on the candida diet are root vegetables and tuber vegetables. Beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, rutabaga, cassava, potato, sweet potato and yams all belong to this group. You can still enjoy these vegetables on the candida diet but plan meals so that you are not overloading on these types of vegetables.

For more information on living yeast free by following the candida diet visit Yeast Free Living.

Source by Tennille Jordan

Factors to Consider in Meal Planning

Meal planning is a technique that every household should utilize. It is a very comprehensive plan of what to eat and the products or ingredients necessary in cooking. It is an organized system of identifying recipes and for a certain period of time. It requires a skill to identify needs of a person of his entire family and taking into consideration of several factors that would affect planning activity.

Factors would include: health needs, economic factors, religious practices, dietary concerns, environmental factors and time and ability to cook.

Health needs.

It is necessary to include all the food groups to ensure optimum nutrition. It is very important that we include in our meals the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that our bodies require.

Economic factors.

We have to consider our budget and the prices of the ingredients. Budget is foremost the principal factor because you cannot cook what you cannot afford.

Religious practices.

Some religion or faith has restrictions on what they are allowed to eat. Muslims cannot eat pork and Jews are obliged to observe Kashrut practices. Hindus do not eat beef because of the view of the that cows are sacred.

Dietary concerns.

Certain diseases such as diabetes and hypertension restricts or limits an individual's food intake. They are not allowed to eat fatty foods and even sweets. Another consideration would be allergies that would yield unwanted reactions when trigger foods are consumed.

Environmental factors.

This would include the kitchen materials and equipments that would give you the capacity to cook certain food.

Time

If you have ample time to prepare food then you can go ahead and cook extravagant dishes, however when you have limited time you can opt for easy to do recipes than relying on fast food or instant products.

Ability to cook.

The most modifiable factor. They say you cannot cook if you don't know what you are doing. However you can research videos or follow cook books to help you prepare the dish that you want.

When you have considered all the factors of course you make sure that your cooking in variety while also acknowledging your family's preference. Play with texture and color as well as temperature. Add fun to the activity by making it a recreational hobby which involves family members.

Source by Ralph A. Miller

Important Facts in Catering Business

If you're one of those fearless people who enjoy giving elegant dinner parties, you get rave reviews from guests and your relatives beg to have holidays at your house because of your cooking, then catering might be your cup of tea. As a caterer, you'll plan menus and elegant or playful presentations for everything from company picnics to debutante balls, then cook it all up, deliver it to the event, serve it and clean up afterward. You can specialize in affairs like weddings; specific goodies like cakes or cookies; or clients like corporations, charities or individual parties.

A catered organization business provides foods program for the company occasions for example conferences, conferences, employee morale boosters, and grand openings. It also provides service for small or large events, weddings, and even private dinner events. The most important portion of operating any business is gaining purchasers. You truly ought to be a salesman having a magnetic persona from the catered group. You will be coping with distinctive clientele including business executives, celebration planners, and nervous brides. So which you can close to the sale, you might be heading to have to persuade them which you will not only provide a memorable feast, but it'll possibly be there on time, offered attractively, and served rapidly and unobtrusively. Productive caterers go out and produce a referral network to be able to drum up organization. You ought to introduce yourself to other women and men and businesses which could possibly be involved in event and occasion preparing as very well. Some of those women and men contain wedding ceremony planners, bridal boutiques, pastry chefs, florists, and card and celebration offer shopkeepers. Generally have on brochures and business enterprise cards offered to supply out. But, do not leave it at that - confirm in frequently to do the job up a mutual operating romantic relationship. You'll be capable to also acquire firm by bringing a couple of snazzy hors d'oeuvres or tasty desserts to produce as goodwill gestures. This really is really a fantastic solution to create particular that you are remembered fondly and may well properly even end result in vendors referring you to their clientele. It's achievable to send a product sales letter and brochure to organization offices along with other kinds of enterprises to acquire prospective clients then, comply with it up getting a phone call. You will be able to also request an appointment to discuss your experience.

Other than a commercial kitchen, the only things you need to get started are a phone and a delivery vehicle. A computer and printer are always nice but not a necessity for starters. You can get around the kitchen problem by arranging to use a restaurant's facility for a small fee in its off-hours or by sharing the rental costs of a commercial kitchen and its use with other caterers.

Like any company, your success with catering will most likely be immediately linked to the power of one's preparing, as well as the execution of that strategy. You are required to realize precisely what your customer wants, and provides that in the way that displays upon the customer positively. Amazingly ample, only seventy percent from your restaurant enterprise is created up of meals, although using the rest goes to firm, group, and so forth. Actually this changes in the catering group. Thirty percent inside the catered organization business is meals even however the rest goes to delivery, transporting the meals, lining up rental gear, and juggling personnel. This actually is precisely exactly where your organizational abilities truly count. Prioritizing duties and devoting your extremely finest perform to finishing each job successfully is what it's going to take to recognize accomplishment in this business. Enthusiasm, discipline, and intelligent option generating are also essential elements to making your venture do effectively. Consistently maintain the clientele would like your priority. Treat them with endurance and understanding in any respect events. They should comprehend that you simply have what it normally requires making the greatest out of any situation.

Source by Mike Williams Schultz

An Addiction That Is Keeping You From Losing Weight

The weight loss industry these days is huge. It seems as though almost everyone is trying to lose at least a few pounds. However, there is another industry among us that is crushing our potential of shredding those extra pounds. What could it be? Soda. The average American drinks forty four gallons of soda each year. Soda may very well be what is holding you back in your weight loss success.

Soda could basically be renamed and referred to as sugar. The average soda contains about thirty nine grams of sugar. To visualize that, think about this. Four grams of sugar is approximately one teaspoon of sugar, which makes a single soda equal to ten teaspoons of sugar. Think of grabbing a soda can and dumping ten teaspoons of straight white sugar in the can. Yuck! After drinking a soda, all that sugar causes your blood sugar to skyrocket and of course leading to a devastating crash later in the day. This process occurring over and over will cause weight gain or can even get as extreme as diabetes.

Sugar is not the only thing floating in that can of soda sitting on the table. They contain high amounts of caffeine, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and phosphoric acid. This all leads to weight gain. Also, there are other nasty side effects that come along with drinking soda. It will rot your teeth faster than you can blink. It causes plague buildup and can lead to gum disease. The phosphoric acid will interfere with stomach acid and cause less nutrients to be absorbed, which will prohibit weight loss. It can also cause osteoporosis because of a lack of calcium absorption in the bones. Weak bones will not allow you to workout efficiently without injury, so once again we see the negative side effects toward weight loss. Soda is not good for you, plain and simple. There are no nutritional benefits to it. If you want to lose weight, stop drinking soda and switch to water. When working out and trying to lose weight you need lots of water. In fact, you should take your weight, divide it by two, and drink that many ounces of water a day. Soda will only dehydrate you, causing your body to hold on to water and keep the weight on.

Many studies have shown that drinking soda is related to weight gain. Children who drink soda are much more likely to become obese than those who do not. People who consume these sugary drinks regularly have at least a twenty five percent higher chance of developing type two diabetes. Next time you walk into the store and see the colorful display spelling out words with soda boxes, ignore the sale. You will be doing yourself a favor in the short and in the long run.

What about the diet soda? No. Diet soda is still loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sweeteners, and other terrorizing chemicals. Here's the catch with diet drinks. They take out some of the sugar, but replace it with more artificial sweeteners. There is not benefit of switching from regular to diet. It is still a horrible choice.

People crave their soda, whether it's at the ball game, during dinner, or a mid-day pick me up at the office. Although, it may not seem dangerous, it is an addiction and it could easily be causing you to hang on to those extra unwanted pounds. It is filled with mass amount of sugar and harmful chemicals. Some people are hooked on the flavor, so try drinking flavored water or have a glass of milk instead. There are numerous factors for successful weight loss, but getting rid of the fizz filled soda will definitely play a major role.

Source by Ryan Ehmann