Foodenator

You are going to be a fat slob and eat everything, we know. But the key here is MODERATION.

Keeping things in moderation is a major key to the Christmas overeating issue. It is easy to say “eat and drink in moderation”, but not quiet so easy to carry out so here are some ideas for moderating what you eat this festive season.

- Use a smaller plate ~ your mind will consider it a full plate regardless of its size!

- Where there are choices, take a little of many things rather than lots of one thing. This ensures you are getting a balanced meal and not overloading on a fatty food.

- For every glass of alcohol or soft drink, have a glass of water. Water fills you up, has no calories or side effects, is cheap and will help wash out the excesses.

- Help clear the table as soon as everyone finished eating rather than sitting and picking at leftovers.

- Make your own mixed drinks with real fruit juice instead of canned drink.

- Don’t be afraid to take things home for later – especially fruit cake as it will keep for ages!

- Only put out some of the available food so people don’t over serve themselves. More can always come out as required.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM FOODENATOR!

There exists food out there which takes no preparation at all. Those foods are excluded from this list. These are the easiest foods to make. Chosen by a panel of food enthusiasts.

1. Grilled Cheese Sandwich: In its simplest form this is just a slice of cheese sandwiched between two slices of bread. Then toasted.

2. Spaghetti with Sauce: Throw spaghetti (or any pasta really) into a boiling pot of water. Wait several minutes. Strain spaghetti. Top with Sauce.

3. Hot Dog: Heat a hot dog in the microwave. Place heated dog in roll. Top with condiments of your choice.

You’ve seen Foodenator’s Steve’s Margarita Preview, Now, after multiple tastings, we have this Steve’s Margarita review.

First a little background on Steve’s Margarita:
After three years of formulation, testing and regulatory work, AL-RITE presents Steve’s Margarita, a ready-to-drink margarita made from blue agave wine. The 12 percent alcohol beverage comes in 375 ml, 1 L and 3 L freezable, lightweight PET bottles. The goal of Steve’s Margarita is to fill a niche of portable, RTD cocktails that consumers can enjoy anywhere without sacrificing quality.

Review Time
Foodenator was fortunate to have the opportunity to test out two forms of Steve’s Margarita, On the Rocks and Frozen. Both were surprisingly tasty, and considering the sophisticated palates of the Foodenator reviewers, this was quite a feat. The most notable margarita ingredient, tequila, has been replaced by a blue agave wine, a possible turn-off for margarita purists, but let Foodenator assure you, telling the difference is next to impossible. These margs tasted like the real thing, on the rocks and frozen. The taste of freshly squeezed lime and a perfect balance of sweetness/tartness really made the drink.

“Steve’s Margaritas transported me to the Yucatán Peninsula” -Sarah T.

It’s worth noting, frozen is the best way to enjoy the Steve’s Margarita experience. You simply place the drink in the freezer, once frozen, easily squeeze out the frozen marg.

For the lazy Margarita drinker, there is no equivalent. Steve’s Margarita easily claims the #1 spot in the ready-to-drink Margarita market.

Highly Recommended

********* 1/2 – 9 1/2 out of 10

Foodenator Choice Award

“Imagine relaxing and enjoying the great taste of
a margarita by just simply pouring something
in your glass. Well it has arrived…
Steve’s Margarita! This delicious beverage is
ready to drink and can be enjoyed frozen or
on the rocks.”

Review Coming Soon

Just by looking at it, Foodenator knew it would be a 6 – The Dunkin’ Donuts Chicken Parmasan Flatbread sandwich. On taste alone the dd chix parm delivered. On looks, it didn’t look so hot to a tender eye.

This flatbread is made up of a chicken patty, a top piece of flat bread, melted parmesan cheese (could have fooled me, looked and tasted like mozzarella), marinara sauce, and a bottom piece of flat bread. First thing noticed when unwrapping was the bread was not exactly flat, it was moist and bent – dissapointing. The chicken patty looked out of place sandwiched between the top and bottom flat bread. The bread is triangles and the chix patty is ovalish. The melted mystery cheese was in effect melted and had a great consistency.

First bite and Foodenator was impressed. The whole package went down easy. Paired with a dd iced tea with nothing in it, makes an entire meal. Recommended

****** 6 out of 10

Golden Bag is one of Foodenator.com’s favorite Asian appetizers. Beautiful and elegant, these are wonderful for a special occasion or dinner.

********** 3/4 – 9.75 stars (out of 10) (if made correctly)

Here is Foodenator.com’s recipe:

Ingredients
6 ounces ground pork
2 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 wood ear mushrooms, soaked and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce (or 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce)
1 teaspoon white pepper
25 wonton wrappers
25 chives, green part only (optional) or 5-10 green onions, green part only (optional)
vegetable oil
Thai sweet chili sauce

Directions

*Chop up shrimp and mix with ground pork, mushrooms, garlic, green onions, mushroom soy sauce, and black pepper.

*Scoop a teaspoonful of mixture onto the wrapper.

*Pull the edges up and pinch to close making a little bag. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

*Optional: Tie with a chive (*be sure to knot it twice so it doesn’t come apart). If you are using green onions, place them in boiling water for 20 seconds to make more pliable. Cut each green onion into 3-5 thin strips (lengthwise) and tie around the bags.

*Heat oil in deep fryer or wok until very hot.

*Fry until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

*Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

“Absolutely amazing” – Famous Chef Jones

What is this exactly: A Tasty Dish

You’ll Need:

* 2 teaspoons turmeric
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*
* 1 cup water
* 1 13 1/2-to 14-ounce can organic light coconut milk
* 3 kaffir lime leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and
* 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
* 1 tablespoon (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
* 28-ounces of cooked Chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 1 1/2 cups 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices peeled carrots (about 3 medium)
* 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
* 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger
* 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1/4 cup organic peanut butter

Food Creation Instructions:

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic; cook until shallots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and chili paste; stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup water, then coconut milk, lime leaves, and brown sugar; bring to simmer. Season sauce with salt. Add Chicken, carrots, and bell pepper; simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender, adjusting heat to medium-low if beginning to boil and occasionally stirring gently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

EAT! mmmm

It’s Thursday, you know what that means. The ice cream truck arrived on time. 2pm. Most everyone at foodenator was especially pumped. The weather sucked though. A quarter of Foodenator staff doesn’t have a sweet tooth. The ice cream truck was out of WWF ice cream bars, Foodenator got its second choice, the Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Bar. How did it fare in the mouth of Foodenator? Foodenator finds out

The bar itself was double packaged. Boxed then wrapped. Ben, Jerry,… your not fooling anyone. Your ice cream bars are in the same league as all other ice cream in the ice cream truck. For Foodenator, its just annoying to open two packages. Your ice cream isn’t special enough to require double packaging. Cherry Garcia is a decent flavor on the flavor spectrum. The chocolate used to coat the cherry garcia is awful and tastes very budget.

**** 4 (out of 10)

Foodenator had the opportunity to dabble in Pasta Bowls from Domino’s late last evening, after the Phish Show. Does pasta bowl go well after nitrus consumption, apparently. Is it a good mix with ’shrooms, yep. Can you dine on pasta bowl post eating tainted brownies, mmhmm. Foodenator devoured the pasta bowls

Four Pasta bowls, one sausage and marinara, one chicken alfredo, and dos chicken carbonaras were delivered to Foodenator’s Phish at Fenway after party. They were all delicious, Carbonara being the highlight. The sausage pasta bowl could have used better sausage and more sausage. The chicken in the pasta bowls was white and tasty. Bread bowl in which the Pasta was delivered in was better than anyone at Foodenator expected. Overall, an eater really cannot go wrong with pasta bowls from Domino’s

******** 8 (out of 10)

note: unfinished Domino’s pasta bowls make decent breakfast pizzas

American History, from WWII to present day, told through the eyes of food.