10 Fun Food Facts of the Day

It's a while since I've done the regular version of fun food facts. It's been a slightly hectic few days on my end with projects and relatives visiting. Time seemed to be non existent and I've been hankering to cook something up. Hopefully now things will settle down just a little bit. But for today, I'll indulge you with some facts. Since you've already been bombarded by all the food porn on the interweb. hehehe... Anyway... Here's you go. Enjoy!!


One -
The flavor of bubble gum comes from the fusion of vanilla, wintergreen and “cassia,” a form of cinnamon.

Two -
The smaller the size of a berry, the sweeter its taste.

Three -
Iceberg lettuce is 90 percent water, and therefore, of negligible nutrient value.

Four -
Diet soda has not been proven to aid in weight loss. In fact, it’s been shown to actually increase hunger.

Five -
 Each American eats an average of 51 pounds of chocolate per year.

Six -
Goulash, a beef soup, originated in Hungary in the 9th century AD.

Seven -
In an authentic Chinese meal, the last course is soup because it allows the roast duck entree to "swim" toward digestion.

Eight -
 Eating about 20 tart cherries a day could reduce inflammatory pain and headache pain.

Nine -
Today, in Michigan, there are almost 4 million cherry trees which annually produce 150 to 200 pounds of tart cherries.

Ten -
It takes 24 to 26 hours for a hen to produce an egg; there is 30 minutes between each egg-producing cycle.


resources:
http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/31918.aspx
http://www.bitoffun.com/fun_facts_food.htm
http://www.agday.org/education/fun_facts.php

All You Need Is Love

"All you need is love. All you need is love...love. Love is all you need." - The Beatles

I don't really have a valentine this year. So, will you my lovely readers be my valentine? And to show my appreciation, I give you a kiss...a hershey kiss.

 photo from Goodhousekeeping.com

It's always been a little tradition of mine to give out a Hershey kiss to friends and colleagues and now to you my awesome readers. I still remember the days in grade school when everyone would pass out little cards, candies and cupcakes. I'd always buy myself a little box of those conversation hearts just for the fun of it.
 
To celebrate the day, I've included a 10  Fun Food Facts. So after reading this, go tell someone close to you that you love them. Give them a hug, a kiss, even a handshake. I'm sure it will make their day.




Valentine's Day Fun Food Facts

One - 
In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St Valentine's Day to make them dream of their future husband.

Two - 
Valentine's Day is one of the biggest candy selling day along with Halloween, Christmas and Easter.

Three - 
More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.

Four - 
In 1866, candy manufacturer NECCO made the first "Conversation Hearts" — then called "Motto Hearts." According to NECCO, eight billion of these little candies are sold between January 1 and February 14.

Five  - 
American men and women agree that the most romantic place to share candy is in front of the fireplace.

Six - 
Children receive 39 percent of all Valentine’s Day candy and gifts. Following them are wives/mothers (36 percent), fathers/husbands (6 percent), grandparents (3 percent), and pets (1 percent).

Seven - 
In the 1800’s physicians commonly advised their lovelorn patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.

Eight - 
As an elixir for love, chocolate has been believed throughout history to bring smiles to the broken-hearted and to prompt amorous feelings in both men and women. It is believed that Madame Du Barry served it to all her suitors; Casanova consumed chocolate instead of champagne to induce romance; and Montezuma, the king of the ancient Aztecs, believed chocolate would make him virile.

Nine - 
Conversation Hearts: About 8 billion hearts will be produced this year; that’s enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona 20 times and back again.

Ten -
Even if they don’t make the final purchases until the last few days, the majority of men (75%) testify that they plan ahead for Valentine’s Day.




Resources:
http://www.romancestuck.com/holidays/valentine/valentines-day-trivia.htm
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fcandy.html
http://www.theromantic.com/valentinesday/trivia.htm
http://candy.about.com/od/thecandyindustry/a/vday_trivia.htm

10 Fun Food Facts of the Day

It's that time again. It's fun food facts time!!!!! I love doing these. It's been a while since I've posted a set, so here we go. Enjoy!!


one - 
The world record for eating cheesecake is 11 pounds eaten in nine minutes – by Sonya Thomas, who weighs 105 pounds.


two - 
The smaller the size of a berry, the sweeter its taste


three -
Popcorn has been around for 6,000 years.


four - 
The “special sauce” in a Big Mac is actually thousand island dressing.


five - 
If you could eat only one vegetable for the rest of your life, eat spinach; it’s one of the highest ranking vegetables as far as overall antioxidant capacity, yet so versatile in recipes.


six - 
Whenever a recipe for cake or muffins calls for oil, applesauce can be substituted.

seven - 

The first breakfast cereal ever produced was Shredded Wheat

eight - 

The average person eats almost 1500 pounds of food a year

 

nine -
Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in 1889, was the first ready-mix food to be sold commercially.


ten -
The first Oreo was sold in 1912.



Resources: 
http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/31918.aspx
http://www.nms.on.ca/Elementary/fun_food_facts.htm
http://www.bitoffun.com/fun_facts_food.htm

Halloween Fun Food Facts

Happy Halloween!!!!

 taken from http://artgalleryonline.ning.com/

Let the ghouls, ghosts and goblins come out and play. It's been a while since I've done a Fun Food Fact post, so I figured I devote it to this sweet and spoooooooky holiday. For all you trick-or-treaters going out tonight, stay safe out there. Now on with the fun facts.

 One - 

On Halloween, Irish peasants would beg the rich for food. For those that refused, they would play a practical joke. So, in an effort to avoid being tricked, the rich would hand out cookies, candy, and fruit – a practice that morphed into trick-or-treating today.

Two-

The number one candy of choice for Halloween is Snickers

Three-

There are an estimated 106 million potential treat-or-treat stops (i.e., housing units occupied year-round, per the U.S. Census)

Four - 

Of all the candy sold annually, one quarter of it is sold during Halloween time (September – November 10) making it the sweetest holiday of the year. 

Five - 

The world's record for biggest pumpkin is currently held by a gigantic gourd weighing a whopping 1,385 pounds!

Six - 

More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces -- enough to circle the moon nearly four times if laid end-to-end.

Seven - 

Each year 2 billion dollars is spent on Halloween candy.

Eight -

The biggest pumpkin pie on record was baked by the New Breman Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio in 2005. After baking for five hours in a special oven, it weighed 2,020 pounds and measured 12 feet, 4 inches wide and 4 inches deep

Nine -

Candy corn was invented in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy and is produced today by the Jelly Belly Candy Company.

Ten -

Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

sources:

http://www.rexanne.com/hwn-facts.html 

http://www.parents.com/holiday/halloween/traditions/fun-and-freaky-halloween-facts/?page=2

http://www.babycenter.com/0_fun-facts-about-halloween_1386422.bc

http://www.celebrations.com/article/Halloween-Candy-Fun-Facts

10 Fun Food Facts of the Day and a couple of awards

It's that time again. Woohoo...fun food facts!!!!! Enjoy!!


one -
Did you know that butter is one of our oldest foods?

(Hooray for butter!!! I don't know what I'd do without you!!)


two -
The candy bar "Baby Ruth" was named after the daughter of U.S. President Grover Cleveland in 1921.


three -
In 1919, a molasses flood killed 21 people in the north end of Boston.

(Wow how much of molasses do you think it took?!)


four-
In 1930, Ruth Wakefield of Massachusetts, invented the chocolate chip cookie. At that time, it was known as the "Chocolate Crispie"

(Thank you, Mrs. Wakefield. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be a chocoholic!!!)

five -
There are over 240 varieties of fish and shellfish sold in the fish markets and grocery stores.


six-
In 1953, a 1 pound can of lobster cost a nickel! It was also commonly used as farm fertilizer and was considered "Poor Man's Food"

(oh, how the tides have turned on this beloved crustacean.)

seven -
Carrots really can help you see in the dark! Vitamin A is known to prevent "night blindness," and carrots are loaded with Vitamin A.

(So be sure to eat your carrots, folks. Bugs Bunny did!!)


eight -
It takes 50,000 bees to produce 500 pounds of honey in one year!


nine -
Asparagus is related to onions, leeks, and garlic.


ten-
More than 96 billion pounds of edible "surplus" food is thrown away in the U.S. each year. It is estimated that almost 27% of our food supply is wasted.

(Which is why I don't like to waste. I'm all about making use of any leftovers.)

--------------------
Sources:
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/foodtrivia.htm
http://www.vvsd.org/districtdept/food/foodfacts.htm#popcorn
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I'd also like to acknowledge a couple of awards that I recived this week. The first is from ValleyWriter at Adventures in the Pioneer Valley. She had passed along to me the Kreativ Blogger award.


Second is from Laura at Hey What's for Dinner Mom? She passed along to me the Hard Working Food Blogger award.


Thank you ladies!!!! Please be sure to check out their blogs. They got some wonderful stuff and you won't be disappoint. ;-)

Father's Day Dessertizer: Meatballs with cheese sauce

Meatballs with cheese sauce.

I remember watching an episode of Dinner:Impossible and the mission was to make a dinner for magicians in Las Vegas. Robert Irvine had to create dishes that tasted one thing, but looked completely like a different dish.

Here's what I did with the scrap cake pieces, leftover filling and icing. Meatballs and cheese sauce aka German Chocolate Cake Balls with Butterscotch Icing. It looks like it, doesn't it? The coconuts can be the onions.

Dessert or appetizer? It's a Dessertizer. I don't know. You decide.

-----------------------

You can view my recipe for the German Chocolate Cake and Butterscotch Icing here.

To make the cake balls:
Crumble the cake into itty-bitty pieces shortly after baking. Make sure that both the cake and filling a cool enough to hand.

Mix in the coconut-pecan filling. Mold into balls. Size is your choice.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour to let them firm up, then drizzle the icing over like a sauce.

Chill in the fridge for at least an half an hour before serving to let the icing set.

------------------------

Trick you husbands, dads, father-in-laws or guests at a party with this.

"Hey dad, try some meatballs and cheese sauce" Takes bite. "Whoa...it's cake!!"

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS!!!
Here's some "meatballs with cheese sauce" for you eating enjoyment.

10 Fun Food Facts of the Day

It's that time again. Yes, fun food facts. Enjoy!!!


1- On average, each of us consumes: 290 pounds of dairy, 150 pounds of meat, 125 pounds of potatoes, 80 pounds of fruit, 68 pounds of bread, 48 pounds of poultry, and 35 pounds of eggs per year.

2- Pearls melt in vinegar.

3- Instant coffee has been in existence since the middle of the 18th century.

4- During a lifetime the average person eats about 35 tons of food

5- Frankfurter sausages were first created in China

6- Bakers used to be fined if their loaves were under weight, so they used to add an extra loaf to every dozen, just in case -- hence, the expression "baker's dozen"

7- There are over 15,000 varieties of rice.

8- Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or 350 slices per second.

9- Hushpuppies are pieces of fried cornmeal batter which are a great southern tradition. Years ago, pieces of the fried batter were fed to hungry dogs that begged for food. After the scraps were given to the dogs, the owner would say "Now hush, puppy."

10- Pasta made its way to the New World through the English who found it while traveling through Italy. The English made pasta by cooking it for about a half an hour and then smothering it with cream sauce and cheese. This was the beginning of Macaroni and Cheese



sources:
http://www.cookwithjohn.com/FUN_FOOD_FACTS.html
http://learnsomethingnewtoday.us/2008/01/09/fun-food-facts/
http://www.nms.on.ca/Elementary/fun_food_facts.htm
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/foodtrivia.htm
http://www.vvsd.org/districtdept/food/foodfacts.htm

A Mother's Day Fun Food Fact

I'd like to wish all the wonderful mommies out there a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! And in honor of them, here's a little fun food fact for the day.


The ancient Greeks celebrated Mother's Day by honoring Rhea, "Mother of the Gods" with honey-cakes and fine drinks and flowers at dawn during the time of spring.


Breakfast in bed, anyone?



Source:
http://www.agirlsworld.com/amy/pajama/mothersday/momtrivia.html

10 Fun Food Facts of the Day

Here's some fun food facts. Definitely more to come. Enjoy!

One-
Did you know that the cheese residue left on your fingers after eating a bag of Cheetos is called "Cheetle"?

(Yes, there is a name for it.)

Two-
Fortune cookies are not a chinese invention. They were invented in 1916 by George Jung, a Los Angeles noodle maker.

(So, if you ever go to China, don't expect one after your meal.)

Three--
Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family.

Four-
The first lollipops were made by George Smith in New Haven, Connecticut in 1908 and was named after a race horse - Lolly Pop.

Five-
Did you know it takes 50 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of maple sugar?

Six-
The first breakfast cereal ever produced was Shredded Wheat.

Seven-
You're more likely to be hungry in you're cold! Temperature can affect your appetite.

Eight-
In Japan, the most popular topping for pizza at Domino's pizza is Squid.

(Is it in fried calamari form?)

Nine-
Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite.

Ten-
The first ice cream cone was made, served, and eaten in New York City on September 22, 1886.