Easy Bacon Stuffed Cabbage Packets

Savory stuffed cabbage is a fast and easy dish perfect for a light summer supper or served as an appetizer. These packets of goodness will get even picky eaters to try cabbage. A nice change from traditional coleslaw, stuffed cabbage makes good use of garden fresh cabbage. Of course, store bought varieties work just as well.

Click here to read more, see demonstration video and get the recipes.

Luscious, diet friendly macaroni and cheese recipes (classic, low carbohydrate and low fat versions)

Macaroni and cheese is an all time favorite comfort food. Not usually considered diet friendly, macaroni and cheese recipes feature high fat cheese, cream, and carbohydrate loaded noodles. But a few simple tweaks can make for a weight loss friendly dish you'll be proud to serve.

The classic macaroni and cheese recipe below is delicious, but loaded with calories, carbohydrates and fat. Recipe two below will show simple changes to make a classic macaroni and cheese recipe into a low carbohydrate dish. Recipe three below shows how to prepare the dish as a low fat recipe while keeping lots of flavor.

Click here to read more and get the recipes.

Sea Changes, Health Challenges and Foodie Fun

I haven't worked out regularly. Family illnesses, another new writing job, a change in venue in my Examiner column, and time consuming personal challenges got in the way of my doing so.

Beyond testing and writing reviews for exercise videos, I'm just doing resistance training now and then. I'm not posting reviews on all the fitness DVDs I get. Because, frankly some of the workouts, well, frankly suck. Frank should pay me for the press.

The reasons are simple for not reviewing some exercise DVDs. The host is a bore or too cheerful, or a drone. The setting is not inspirational, or doesn't apply to the workout venue. Or the exercises / workout is a rip off from other routines. Think chatting Cathy in her too neat and tidy pink and purple exercise room, or in a cheap film studio. If you're doing one more version of Taebo, kick boxing, or whatever the latest trend is at the moment, I don't need another wannabe.

By the way, Kettlebells have a flaw. It's easy to skip negative reps. This equals a lack of muscle stimulation and growth. I think Jon Benson said so in a newsletter. Read up, kiddos. I digress.

Maybe I should warn you all off these mediocre or bad exercise videos. But the titles are new and often obscure. I'm not that worried you'll end up blowing a few dollars on a so so fitness DVD and not financially survive. If your budget margin is that tight, go here, or here.

I digress. I like to.

Things are settling down somewhat now. Summer is coming and hopefully that will mean more time to devote to non essentials - like blogging!

Yes, blogging is no longer a priority. It's not that I don't want to, I really do miss it. But when writing time should be devoted to better paying projects, I have to put my freelance writing first. My Examiner column, which started with my being assigned as a "Fitness Examiner" and later the "Nutrition Examiner" is now a completely different ball of wax. I'm now the "Healthy Recipes Examiner" and I love it!

I started at Suite 101 covering diet and nutrition, but quickly moved to the Food Section. Yes, a dream has come true, I am a Food Writer! Like old times, when my son was little and I was immersed in writing cookbooks, I'm hip deep in recipes and food experiments. Yum!

(I did gain ten pounds due to lack of exercise. As a family we've been sick with allergies, colds, and other crappy conditions most of this year. But I plan to workout more and eat less carbs soon.)

God willing and the sea don't rise, I'm back to blogging as often as my schedule will allow. For now, check out my recipes at the Examiner Food Section and my recipes at Suite 101.

Top five websites for buying budget friendly gourmet food

Go gourmet and make any occasion exquisite.

Eating is a natural pleasure. All healthy people enjoy good food and we should. Food isn't just fuel for the body, nor was it designed to be something to avoid or fear. Our taste buds don't just make food pleasurable, they signal our brains that a food will meet our nutritional needs. And taste points us to the right foods to nourish and sustain us physically and psychologically. Food is a natural mood elevator as well as a means to keep our bodies healthy and energetic.

Summer is filled with opportunities to enjoy fresh, whole, healthy foods. The internet has many excellent websites that cater to our desires for delicious gourmet treats. Even decadent foods like chocolate, cheeses, and wines have their place in a healthy diet. Dark chocolates, with at least 45 percent cocoa, are rich in antioxidants. Wines also supply health promoting antioxidants and moderate drinking lowers the risk of heart disease. Cheese is rich in calcium and adds zest to other dishes, as well as being a delightful stand alone treat.

Shopping online is a time saving convenience that offers a world of products not available in even the biggest grocery warehouses. For treats out of the ordinary, try these top online gourmet food websites: Read more, get the links, and watch the videos.

Summer treats, eat gourmet smoked ham and lose weight

Summer is the perfect time for sandwiches. It's easy to make these no cook meals gourmet. Premium meats are a must for delicious sandwiches the whole family will enjoy. Your grocery store's deli department has decadent, yet healthy, options like lean roast beef and turkey.

To take your sandwiches to the next level, try a delicious ham from iGourmet.com. A top seller with grand appeal and versatility is their Le Cochon d'Or Smoked Ham. Available in Black Forest and honey varieties, these gourmet hams are a sandwich lovers dream. They also go well with eggs, salads, cheeses, and stand alone as a ham steak.

Fine ham is not just for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. And lean hams are extremely diet friendly. Simply by switching out a lean 4 ounce sirloin steak at 200 calories for a 4 ounce ham steak at 100 calories, you save 100 calories. Read more and watch the videos.

Hot dog! You think you pigged out this 4th of July

Chicago style hot dog.

Competitive speed eaters are a rare breed. They train to overeat. While Americans as a whole tend to overeat from time to time for various reasons, then tend to feel guilty afterwards, these overeaters do it for the thrill of competition.

Yesterday, Joey Chestnut won the Nathan's hot dog eating contest by eating a record 68 hot dogs. Eating, or should we say gobbling, two hot dogs at a time, Chestnut crammed the bunless hot dogs into his mouth and barely bothered to chew. He gulped, forcing dogs down his throat in record time. Then he dipped the buns in water after the hot dogs were gone, and swallowed the wet bread. Not appetizing, yet totally fascinating to watch.

Read more and watch the videos.

Frugal Friday - save $100 off your grocery bill

Savvy shopping saves big bucks.

I cut $100 off my last grocery bill and so can you. The secrets to saving big bucks are simple. This guide will show you how to get started on the path to saving on your grocery bill every time you shop.

First get savvy about the difference between name brands and store brands. Quality is relevant. But many store brands are from the same manufacturing plant and the same materials as the name brand. Read more, watch the videos.

Check Out The Random History Website

Random History.com is a fun and educational site with random facts and trivia about a variety of subjects. readers would really enjoy two articles we recently published on Random Facts about food and nutrition. These engaging, yet professional articles cover a wide array of information, including ancient perspectives on food and nutrition, the relationship of food and sex, myths and superstitions surrounding food, and modern nutritional trends:

Random History Food Facts


Random History Nutrition Facts

The Protein Edge Cookbook New 2008 Revised Edition Coming Soon

I started a small independent cookbook publishing company back in 1997. Juicy Britches Publications - also known as JB Publications - was named after our mini-ranch Juicy Britches Ranch. We came up with the name "Juicy Britches" because Jerry found a branding iron at a flea market with the initials JB. As in Jerry Bardelli...I came up with J is for Juicy, B is for Britches.

The lady at the county business license desk thought it was amusing.

The business plan all started over a small out-of-print comb bound game cookbook I bought at a garage sale for 50 cents. I put it up at eBay and got $44.00 for it. I thought, "Hey, I could write cookbooks like that." And about a year later my first signed and numbered limited edition copy of "Wild Man Gourmet" sold for $26.00 at eBay.

Over the years I've written ten cookbooks - mostly on authentic cowboy cookery - which is why I rarely mention them here. Cowboy cookery ain't exactly low carb though it can be high in protein.

And I also published two cookbooks including 'An Executive Chef's Diabetic Recipes Cookbook' and 'A Chef's International Recipes Cookbook' by Executive Chef Vernon Almon. Vern was a trained chef with 40 years experience who unfortunately died of complications of diabetes after completing his second cookbook. Vern's books will still be available in eBook format through JB Publications in the future.

We did everything in house ourselves including writing, editing, design, printing, and comb binding. This saved a lot of overhead and sold well for years through eBay, Amazon, drop shipping, and mail order until the economy started to sour. This is one of the main reasons I've decided to convert to eBooks - to bring down costs and offer our products at competitive costs.

About two and a half years ago I went on hiatus and stopped all production and sales due to personal reasons. Now, I'm back with a new business plan and I'm rewriting all my cookbooks and moving to Adobe .PDF eBook format.

The first revised cookbook out of the JB Ranch gate will be 'The Protein Edge Cookbook' first published in 2004. Subtitled "Recipes For Muscle Gain and Smart Fat Loss" this cookbook is packed with high protein, low carb, and calorie controlled recipes. If you are looking for high protein, low carbohydrate recipes and also want bodybuilder friendly nutrition this book is for you. It's based on nutrition principles I studied as a certified sports nutritionist, and as an avid researcher of everything on nutrition and fitness. And every recipe in this book is one I developed and have used myself for years.

If anyone wants to write a review for 'The Protein Edge Cookbook' to be included in the book I'll be offering advanced complimentary copies.

About JB Publications:

Our Cookbooks are featured in "The Best of the Best From Nevada Cookbook" Published by Quail Ridge Press - Available Now!

JB Publications Exclusive Cookbooks will soon be available again at Our Website Bardelli Arts.com

Our Cookbook Catalog Includes:

A Chef's International Recipes Cookbook

Weight Loss That Works with Recipes

The Best of the Best of JB Ranch Recipe Sampler Cookbook

A Cowboy Cooking Every Night

Authentic Cowboy Cookery Then & Now

The Protein Edge Cookbook

Easy Gourmet For Diabetics

Wild Man Gourmet - Wild Game Cookbook

The Hooked Cook - A Fisherman's Cookbook

An Executive Chef's Diabetic Recipes Cookbook

All American Meals - Proceeds Support The USO

Use Your Noodle! - Three Italians Cook

A Southern Style Cowboy Cookin' Every Night

Foodie Friday - Cheesy Goodness

I got the idea for this post because I'm staring down the week ahead at my scheduled cheat day on Wednesday via the Cheat To Lose Diet plan. I'm shopping for my cheat foods today at iGourmet. And I'm buying this bargain because if I don't get some Cotswald - which I haven't had since Christmas - I'll die. Besides that much cheese, properly stored, will last me two months. I have a Seal-A-Meal and if you reseal cheese in an airtight bag cheese lasts up to 9 months as opposed to a week or so in a regular baggie.

(Joel Marion, author of The Cheat To Lose Diet, says not to shop ahead because you may not be craving on cheat day what you bought ahead. Too bad, Joel. I live 20 miles from the store and I'm not wasting $10 in gas to do an unnecessary shopping run on a Wednesday. Ain't happening, baby. Besides I KNOW what I want, cheese and chocolate).

If you're into diet, nutrition, weight loss, and fat loss, chances are you're also a foodie. Some of us foodies are gourmets, love to cook, own and use every herb and spice known to man, and prefer imported English Stilton to plastic wrapped slices of plastic tasting American cheese any day. Other foodies are not purist and don't know Cotswold from coriander. These foodies love McDonald's, Frito Lay, Oscar Meyer, and Banquet microwave dinners. Whichever side of the foodie fence you sit on, even if you're a fence sitter, there's something below that should tickle your fancy.

My very favorite place to buy food is iGourmet. They have excellent customer service and the biggest selection of American and international gourmet food. Also, if you're signed up for their newsletter you receive great deals including customer appreciation free shipping days. And they have sales, today I got a daily special, one pound of Royal Blue Stilton for $6.00 off.

Can you tell I'm crazy for cheese?

Here's some great food, cuisine, and cooking sites (in no particular order):


Gourmeted.com - The Adventures of Two Desperate Foodies

Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes

The Restaurant Hopper

Healthy Cooking Recipes

Jenn Cooks - Adventures From The Kitchen

The Grill Man

Fruit Species

Suger & Sweets - Find Something Crave Worthy

Mouthing Off

Articles


Immune System Needs Food To Function Well


Pimp My Meal - 8 Instant Ways to Make Healthy Meals Delicious by Josef Brandenburg

Gail Simmons 10 Best Spring Dishes

The Best Pies In London

Foodie Videos

Food Wars



The Hippy Gourmet Makes Veggie Sushi



Extra Cheese: The Rap



Fast Food Freestyle