Brain Freeze

The scientific name for "brain freeze" or Ice cream headache caused by eating something cold is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia

 
WorldArtsMe

Does It Go Bad?

From the website:

DoesItGoBad.com is a place where you can find information about when (or if) a particular product will expire or will be unfit for consumption. If you have a product and you can’t use it in a couple of days, or simply you don’t know when it’ll go bad, DoesItGoBad.com is the place where you’ll get the information you need.

http://www.doesitgobad.com/

The Ancient Spoon

Spoons were invented at least a thousand years before forks. It is thought the earliest ones were natural items, such as seashells or conveniently shaped stones.  Later versions were carved from wood, but the wealthy had ones made from bronze or silver.

That said, knives were the earliest utensil used for eating.

The Meat of the Matter

The average American eats about 200 sandwiches every day.

When I first saw that bit of trivia, I thought "That can't be right!  I'm an old bachelor and probably eat more sandwiches than the average person, but I don't eat THAT many!" Doing the math, I figured that each American consumes nearly four sandwiches per week.  That figure still seemed higher than the amount I eat a week, though.  

After doing a little research, I found out that 50 percent of America eats a sandwich daily. It made me think about my own sandwich consumption and considering that - probably every other day - I eat a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast, that probably counts as a sandwich, too. In fact, I had one for breakfast earlier today and two small turkey sandwiches for supper.

Oh well, I guess I really am above the mean on sandwich consumption.

giblets

giblets gib·lets [jib-lits] plural noun

the heart, liver, gizzard, and the like, of a fowl, often cooked separately.

---

There IS one more definition, classified as slang, but I didn't see it at Dictionary.com.  It was a LONG time ago during a football practice and after a play, one of my teammates was still on the ground after the play was over.  The coach leaned over the prostrate boy asking him where it hurt.  I wasn't close enough to hear the muffled answer, but the coach got up with a smile on his face.

"He'll be all right." he informed the rest of us. "He just got hit in the giblets."

That was a scene that came to mind at every Thanksgiving dinner after that.

Since the Word of the Day was more-or-less related to Thanksgiving, I'll just combine two posts into one.  I was going to write one about how many calories were in the average Thanksgiving dinner: from 3-4,000 and the average American will consume more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the Calorie Control Council. (there were other sources that cited different numbers, but I like the alliteration of that website's name) 

That would take a LOT of exercise to work off that many calories!  A nice brisk walk would be better than spending the day in a gym, so check out the Walking Calories Calculator to see how far/fast you need to walk to get rid of those excess calories, or you can use the Holiday Calorie Counter to figure both the calories in your holiday meal and the amount of exercise needed to work off the meal.

I have my Thanksgiving meal already prepared.

Pathetic, huh? One good thing is that it will be ready in a minute and a half after I pop it in the microwave; another good thing is that it's only 290 calories with 9 grams of fat. I'll work that off watching the football games on TV!

The Toxic Avocado

At least they are to some animals, such as horses, cattle, goats and birds.

From the ASPCA website:

Avocado leaves, fruit, seeds and bark may contain a toxic principle known as persin. The Guatemalan variety, a common one found in stores, appears to be the most problematic. Other varieties of avocado can have different degrees of toxic potential.

How to Make Collard Greens

This looks SO good and an interesting change-of-pace to use turkey instead of pork.

Recipe Puppy

Recipe Puppy is an ingredient based recipe search engine. You can enter your ingredients in the search form or try an example search. If you already know what you want to make, there's a CookThing feature that lets you select the ingredients you want to use.

They also provide the code to put a nifty widget on your own website or blog.

Recipe Search by Ingredients:
Powered by Recipe Puppy

Recipe Puppy

What Flavor Kit Kat Are You?

You Are a Dark Chocolate Kit Kat

You are a passionate and quick-tempered person. You know what you love, and you know what you hate. You are very competitive and even a bit ruthless when you need to be. You have what it takes to get ahead. You are a daredevil that loves to take risks. You pride yourself on your courageousness, and you love to test your own limits. You have a real flair for adventure - and it starts with being impulsive. You do what you feel like, and you often feel like flying solo.

What Flavor Kit Kat Are You?

Not to wax philosophic about candy, but these results are spot-on...well, maybe I'm flattering myself a little bit...although I do like the regular milk chocolate ones, as well. Dark chocolate is supposed to be better for you, I've read.

They're just about my favorite candy bar. I don't think I ate them much until I saw Richard Simmons being interviewed and he was asked how to deal with chocolate cravings. He said he liked Kit Kats because he could open one up and eat just one segment and satisfy his craving. I was thinking "Yeah, right. Don't think I could stop at one little piece." and he added that he sometimes ate the whole thing. He went on to say that they were fairly low in fat compared to other candy bars.

These days I'm not so much worried about the fat than I am the grams of sugar, but it doesn't seem to affect my glucose levels as much as other sweets and doesn't even come close to what rice or pasta does to my blood sugar.

Cider Sipping Sum & Song

It takes about three apples to make one glass of cider.

Flippin' Out

You Are Genuine

You are focused and inner-directed. You know who are, and you live a very authentic life. You are quite modest and never too in love with yourself. You aren't perfect, and you don't take yourself too seriously. You are more ambitious than you let on. You strive to be better without beating up on yourself. You are highly effective, and others have taken notice. People want to be like you when they see who you really are.

What Does Your Pancake Say About You?

---

The title of this quiz post is an homage to an old friend; he was manic-depressive (or bi-polar, if you prefer) and his mood swings were severe, going from sleeping for days at a time to staying awake days at a time, frantically painting or writing. Most of the time his mood was even, though, but when he felt a bout coming on, he'd tell me "I'm goin' to see Aunt Jemima." (meaning, "flipping out", as in pancakes.

Personally, I'd have rather visited with Betty Crocker or even Little Debbie, but that's just me. (not a racist, I just prefer cakes and sweet snacks over pancakes)

What's Your Food Personality?

You Like Fun Food

You eat simply because you enjoy it, and you love food. You especially love delicious food. You're not too into foodie trends or the newest diet. If you like something, you'll eat it - simple as that. You love everything culinary. You love to cook, go out to eat, and grocery shop. There's nothing you like better than sharing a good meal with friends. Except occasionally keeping it to yourself!

What's Your Food Personality?

Italian Quality

In Italy there are pizza inspectors hired by the government to ensure restaurants are making their pizzas of "Italian quality".

Chocolate Milk

Chocolate milk was originally sold as medicine. (source: Smithsonian.com)

Caesar Salad on a Stick

From SampleStorm comes Caesar Salad on a Stick

Servings: 8 PREP 10 mins READY IN 10 mins Ingredients 8 croutons 8 (1-inch) wedges romaine lettuce 8 (1 ounce) cubes cooked chicken 8 (1/2-inch) cubes Parmesan cheese, or to taste 8 bamboo toothpicks 8 teaspoons Caesar salad dressing Directions Thread a crouton, romaine lettuce wedge, chicken cube, and Parmesan cheese cube onto each toothpick, respectively. Arrange toothpicks on a serving platter and drizzle Caesar salad dressing over each.

At first I thought this was silly, then after thinking about it for a while, decided it would be perfect for a picnic.

I Like My Trivia Over Easy

The 100 folds of a traditional chef's hat (aka "toque") are said to represent the many different ways a chef knows to cook an egg.

Got Milk?

The temperature of milk inside a cow is 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

But, after the cow is milked, the milk is then promptly cooled and stored at 40 deg. F.

What Country's Breakfast Are You?

You Are an American Breakfast

You are a real go-getter, and your ambitions start early in the morning. You need a hearty breakfast. You wake up ready to take on the day. You are highly motivated and a self-starter - even on the weekends. You are energetic, and even if you're lagging, you will force yourself to get moving. You don't let anything stop you. You are charismatic and inspiring. People are impressed by what you're able to do, and you always provide yourself with the right fuel.

What Country's Breakfast Are You?

Not so sure the descriptions of me in the results are accurate, but I DO love a good breakfast...at any time of the day.

I Don't Think Nuts

Are well-adjusted. Otherwise, we wouldn't be nuts, huh?

You Are Well-Adjusted

You are easygoing and take this world in stride. You can ride the ups and downs with ease. You are calm and level-headed. You are the one that people turn to in a crisis, and you're a good person to have on any team. You rarely have to deliberate when a decision needs to be made. You are very intuitive and know just what to do. You are naturally family oriented, and you do your best to make your loved ones happy and comfortable. Giving comes naturally to you.

What Does Your Favorite Nut Say About You?

Those are cashew nuts, btw, just in case you didn't know.  Not sure why the quiz results didn't mention what kind they were.  The quiz consists of a single question, namely what nuts are your favorite.

Cashews really ARE my favorite nut, although I do like most others, too.

"What kind of nut is your favorite, Mike?"

"Cashew."

"Gesundheit!"

Roast Mine Lightly, Please

Dark-roasted coffee has less caffeine than medium roast.  Roasting coffee beans burns off caffeine.