Alright, it’s Friday!! I’m willing to bet the clock is watched more often on Friday than any other day of the week. What do you think?
In an attempt to be consistent with my Friday Fun Facts that I first posted last week, I present to you another installment of 5 foodie fun facts you may or may not know.
Posting these almost every Friday shouldn’t be a problem because I’m learning new things about food as well. And, as many of my friends, family, and readers might know, I’m pretty into food.
Popcorn pops because water is stored in a small circle of soft starch in each kernel. As the kernel is heated, the water heats, the droplet of moisture turns to steam and the steam builds up pressure until the kernel finally explodes to many times its original volume.
The same chemicals that give tart cherries their color may relieve pain better than aspirin and ibuprofen; about 20 tart cherries a day could reduce inflammatory and headache pain.
The banana plant can grow up to 20 feet tall, which is the height of a two-story house. This large tropical plant is really an herb which means it does not have a trunk like a tree. The stalk is composed of leaf sheaths that overlap each other and grow from an underground stem called a rhizome.
Egg shells have as many as 17,000 tiny pores, and can other absorb flavors and odors. Keeping them in their cartons helps to maintain freshness and flavor! Egg yolks are one of the few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.
One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of soda.
I love making air-popped popcorn, and thought it was cool to know exactly how those little guys “come out of their shell” and turn into those fluffy, white puffs that are fun to eat. Much better than using them to make soda…
Tomorrow, Saturday, our little family will be going to visit several other families nearby. I met the dads through a dad blogger’s group on Facebook, and one of them offered to have everyone come over with their wife and kids.
Hopefully Avery is cooperative and has a good nap so we can head over there in the early afternoon.
Who me? Of course I’ll be good!
I’ve already explained my peculiar food ways after they generously offered several things to eat, but I think we’re on the same page with having good beer!
We are looking forward to a good time and getting to meet new people. The kids coming over vary in age, and I think the one closest to Avery’s age is 11 months, so maybe they’ll have something to….errr, blabber about….
Food encompasses our lives and is typically on our minds the majority of the day. Of course our loved ones always have a place in our thoughts, but don’t you ever think about what to feed your loved ones? See, you can think of food and loved ones simultaneously.
Sadly, too many people only view food as something they eat and either tastes good or not. There is so much more to food than we realize and it affects more than our taste buds. From skin, hair, mind, how we function and recover, etc. food is a major player.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge advocate of real food and try my damnedest to limit packaged products. Sure, there are many healthy packaged options, but whole foods trump all.
I could go on forever, but I’ll save that for another day and another post. Today, I’d like to start the first of a series of fun facts revolving around food. Some may be funny, some may be serious, but hopefully all will be of interest.
Going Mom and I went out last night to use her Mother’s Day gift I got her to attend a BYOB painting class. The chosen item to paint was a jellyfish and I’ll be sure to share our pictures soon.
For now, enjoy these facts and please feel free to share your own in the comments below. Happy Friday!
1. Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are also flowers!
2. Onions, apples and potatoes all have the same taste. The difference in flavor is caused by their smell. Pinch your nose and try it – they will all taste sweet.
3. Lettuce is the only vegetable never sold frozen, canned, or processed in any way, it’s only sold as fresh lettuce.
4. The meat from a fast food hamburger can come from up to 100 different cows.
5. Best for last…..The largest living organism is a mushroom in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. It has been growing for 2,400 years, killing trees along the way. The giant fungus covers 2,200 acres with an average depth of 3 feet into the ground.
Stay tuned for the second installment of foodie fun facts if for no othe reason than the joy of knowing it’s Friday!
And, of course I have to share a photo of Avery. Here she is working on her pull ups.
Hey there, happy Hump Day! How’s your week going so far?
Doing good here, and now that it’s summer, the Texas weather is wasting no time on turning up the heat! If you’re looking for a way to cool down with a refreshing drink, look no further than Zevia, the zero calorie soda.
Zevia offers 15 flavors of zero calorie deliciousness and anyone is sure to find a favorite or two…..or more! Not only do I love the company for creating a healthy alternative to those unhealthy sugary sodas or dangerous sugar-free sweeteners, but they are helping to spread the word and fight against childhood obesity.
Here’s a video they have on YouTube that gets the message across pretty well!
As a major supporter in the fight against obesity and raising awareness of what we are putting in our bodies and feeding our children, I love to see companies that help spread the word. And, now that I’m a parent to the most precious little girl ever (Biased? Nahhhh), I know it’ll be tough trying to teach her about all of the processed food we don’t eat when so many of her peers and parents will have it daily. It will be a struggle, but something I will never back down from or give up on. Thanks to companies like Zevia, the fight will be easier.
Avery’s not ready to drink anything other than mommy’s milk right now, but you can rest assured I’ll happily share a can of Zevia on a hot summer day when that time comes. Who says being healthy is boring? I say it’s only what you make of it, and it is far from boring!
Zevia sent a 6-pack sampler for me to review which included their Cream Soda (yes!), Ginger Ale (double yes!), Ginger Root Beer, Grapefruit Citrus, Grape, and Cherry Cola flavors. I’ve tried these in the past, but not since they’ve “cracked the code” with their next gen sweetening system, SweetSmart.
Tangible Happiness!
I was already more than happy with their flavors before, so I had to find out if they could actually get any better. Turns out, they can! Ha ha, get it? Can? Anyone? *Crickets chirping*
Grape – If you like grape soda, you’ll love this one! It’s crisp, bubbly, and not overwhelming. I’m not a huge fan of grape flavored drinks, but if someone offered this to me, I’d happily accept.
Cream Soda – Loved it before, and now I love it even more! Going Mom and I both rank this as one of our favorites! If you’re trying to get off the sugar-laden cream sodas out there, you’ll be surprised to find you’re not sacrificing anything by switching to Zevia’s Cream Soda.
Ginger Ale – I buy this one often, and enjoy it with a little bourbon every now and then. Alone, it’s not a very strong ginger flavor, but it’s light, refreshing, and subtle. Perfect in the Texas heat!
Grapefruit Citrus – Probably my least favorite of the sampler pack, but by no means bad. I actually like the real grapefruit and its slight bitterness, but the slight bitterness in this drink just didn’t do it for me. Like the grape, I’d happily accept if offered to me, but wouldn’t buy this one for myself.
Ginger Root Beer – Ginger + Root Beer = two things I love! Another favorite of ours, and one that I also use with bourbon or a little vodka. This has more of a root beer flavor than anything, but that’s okay with me.
Decisions, decisions….
Cherry Cola – Another winner for me! I used to love Cherry Coke back in my “heavy boy” days and was excited when Zevia first released this flavor. It tastes just like a cherry cola should, and is a perfect replacement for the high calorie, liquid sugar alternative.
Something I found a few years ago was a recipe to make cake with Zevia. The instructions were simple; just use a boxed cake mix and follow the instructions using a can of Zevia for the liquid. If it was yellow cake, Cream Soda was the preferred choice, and if it was chocolate cake, Dr. Zevia (like Dr. Pepper) was suggested.
Well, I’m not a fan of using boxed anything, so I skipped that and tried my own recipe with Cherry Cola. The result was a big hit and Zevia even has it on their website now. Check out my Zevia Cherry Cola Protein Bread recipe here and look around at other creative ways to cook with Zevia.
Kelley and I have been enjoying Zevia for several years now, and have enjoyed watching the health-minded company expand as more people caught on to their guilt-free sodas. Zevia is the only soda we’ve had in our home for a long time, and it was always a treat for us to share a can during lunch when we both worked together.
When Kelley was pregnant with Avery, we anxiously counted each passing week of her pregnancy, and it became a weekly tradition to have a celebratory Zevia to cheers with. Every Wednesday, the completion of another week pregnant, I would pack either a can of Cream Soda or Ginger Root Beer Zevia for us to share. For the major milestones, I’d pack 2 full cans for us each to enjoy!
We loved the fact that Zevia was an extremely delicious safe drink to enjoy while Kelley was pregnant, and it will always have a place in our heart when thinking back to those 9 months leading up when we first met Avery.
Ready for a tasty treat at work!
Now that I’m a stay-at-home parent, we aren’t able to share a Zevia at lunch, but every now and then, I still pack a can for Kelley to enjoy on Wednesday. It makes me happy just picturing the smile on her face as she opens her lunch bag to see a Zevia waiting for her to enjoy.
Another reason to love Zevia is that they have agreed to give 5 lucky readers a 6-pack of their wonderfully refreshing and guilt-free soda. Winners can select the flavor of their choice. All you have to do to enter is complete the Rafflecopter entries below.
Make sure to check out Zevia on the following social media sites and look for great deals and coupons that they’re always sharing! Or go to their site and print off a coupon now!
