Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Ring in the New Year 2011.  This is the year that you will be successful with your weight loss!  Happy Low-Carbing! :)

GI News—January 2011

[COLLAGE]



  • Catherine Saxelby checks out cooking with the new low GI Carisma potatoes
  • Should you avoid carbs after 5pm to lose weight? Nicole senior investigates
  • Why eating well is not just about weight control – Dr Joanna McMillan Price
  • 3 low GI fish recipes to try
  • Is honey better than sugar from the perspective of blood glucose?



    Until recently most people had few problems deciding what to eat. There wasn’t much choice so they simply ate what was available locally – and put in front of them. Today we are bombarded with so many messages about what we should or shouldn’t eat, it’s no wonder we are confused. In this issue we feature an extract from nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan Price’s award-winning book Inner Health, Outer Beauty on how what we eat and drink affects the way we look and feel and ultimately how healthy we are. She makes the point that yes, plenty of other factors are involved like genes and environment, but since we don’t have too much control over those, she suggests we exercise it where we can – on our food choices.



    Good eating, good health and good reading.



    Editor: Philippa Sandall

    Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD
  • Food for Thought

    ‘Just tell me what to eat’



    Dr Joanna McMillan Price

    Dr Joanna McMillan Price



    ‘The most common request I receive from women, ‘writes Dr Joanna, ‘is just tell me what to eat. If we want to look and feel our best, we have to consider what we put in our mouths. The right combination of food and drink can give you radiant skin, glossy, healthy hair, strong nails, clear eyes (not to mention good vision) and great teeth and gums.



    Despite the intense scientific and public arguments over which diet is best – high protein, low fat, low GI, low carb, low kilojoule or whatever – it seems to me one message resounds above all. We can only do our best when we go back to basics and eat real food that has been minimally processed. This is the food our bodies have evolved to eat and not the kind manufacturers have devised.



    Nonetheless, we lead busy lives. We don’t have time most days to spend long hours preparing and cooking food. Certain modern preservation, storing and food distribution techniques are convenient, safe and often necessary, and can help us achieve a healthier diet. Growing your own veggies organically in the backyard is commendable if you can do it, but the fact is most of us can’t. What we can do instead is use selected frozen, canned, marinated and dried produce, as well as local seasonal fresh produce, in order to eat as well as possible.



    We also now have to bear in mind more recent problems that affect agriculture and contribute to the rising cost of food such as climate change, oil price hikes and other factors. While a diet high in animal food and low in grains may be the one on which we evolved (and therefore may physiologically be best for us), we can no longer eat that way when compelling practical, ethical and environmental considerations are taken into account. The simple truth is we cannot feed the world without grains.’



    Inner Health Outer Beauty is available from leading bookstores in Australia or you can order a copy HERE.

    News Briefs

    The Diogenes children’s study

    In December GI News we reported the findings of the Diogenes Study, which was set up to investigate whether people who have undergone recent major weight loss could maintain that lower weight. The researchers reported that: ‘A modest increase in protein content and a modest reduction in the glycemic index led to an improvement in study completion and maintenance of weight loss.’



    Professor Arne Astrup

    Professor Arne Astrup



    To recap, the research team led by Professor Arne Astrup at the University of Copenhagen randomly assigned 773 adults who had previous lost an average of 11kg to one of five diets for a 26-week intervention period. These were not calorie controlled diets – those taking part could eat as much food as they liked from their assigned diet group. Participants were on average 41 years old and were all parents. Their children, although not part of the trial, were assigned to the same diets. All five diets were designed to have a moderate fat content (25–30% of total energy). The diets were:

    • Group 1: Low protein (13% energy consumed), low GI
    • Group 2: Low protein, high GI
    • Group 3: High protein (25% energy consumed), low GI
    • Group 4: High protein, high GI
    • Group 5: Control diet which followed current dietary guidelines without special instructions regarding GI or protein levels
    The results of the children’s study have been published in Pediatrics. In the families, there were 827 children who only participated in the second part of the program, the diet intervention stage. Thus, they were never required to go on a diet or count calories – they simply followed the same ab libitum diet as their parents. Approximately 45% of the children in these families were overweight. The results of the children’s study were remarkable: in the group of children who maintained a high-protein (21.4% of calories), lower-GI (56.9) diet the prevalence of overweight dropped spontaneously from approximately 46% to 39% – a decrease of approximately 15%.



    Paddock2Plate

    Paddock2Plate is a new feature where we share produce stories from food and nutrition blogs that caught our eye and we think may catch yours.



    #1 Australia’s home-grown chickpeas Making the most of chickpeas in your meals is a great way to reduce the overall GI of your diet. But chickpeas are not only good for us, they are good for the land as a rotational crop allowing the soil to rest and regenerate (they add nitrogen). From the 1970s, Australia’s annual chickpea crop has grown from virtually nothing to more than half a million tonnes. Award-winning food writer Carli Ratcliff explores this success story on the SBS Hunter-Gatherer blog and gives recipes for spinach-and-chickpea curry, chickpea salad and chickpea patties with mint raita. Check it out HERE.



    #2 Cooking with Carisma Check out the results of a detailed taste test comparing the new general purpose low GI Carisma (GI 55) with the popular high GI Sebago (GI 87) on Catherine Saxelby’s Foodwatch website. Dietitian Josephine Mollica did the cooking and rates Carisma better than Sebago for boiling, mashing and dry baking but when it came to roasting, she found that although the Carisma was the more flavoursome, it didn’t crisp as well on the outside. Of course, when it comes to glycemic impact, the Carisma wins hands down. Read the review HERE – and keep those potato portions moderate!



    #3 Bee Story Much of the food we put on our tables depends on pollination by honey and bumble bees which makes their decline a major concern. In the UK, bee colonies have doubled in six months due to amateur beekeepers harvesting honey. Martin Smith, president of the British Beekeepers’ Association, discusses whether it is the beginning of the end of the bee crisis HERE.



    bee on a flower



    ‘It’s very easy for all of us to do our bit for honeybees, bumblebees and other pollinating insects by growing the sort of plants and flowers they love – either in our gardens or in pots on windowsills or balconies. To have bees visit your garden is a cause for real celebration.’ – Kate Humble, Springwatch.



    Professor Jennie Brand-Miller talks about her latest edition of the Low GI Diet Handbook ... and how it all began and truly became a Glucose Revolution



    Professor Jennie Brand-Miller

    Professor Jennie Brand-Miller



    ‘In 1995, I joined forces with Dr Stephen Colagiuri and Kaye Foster-Powell to write The GI Factor, the first book for the general public about the glycemic index of foods. Research on the glycemic index, or what became known as the GI, clearly showed that different carbohydrate foods had dramatically different effects on blood glucose levels. We believed that it was high time someone brought this story out to the general public. We knew from our own work that understanding the GI of foods made an enormous difference to the diet and lifestyle of people with diabetes. For some it meant, in our experience, a new lease of life.



    In the early 1980s I was studying the nutritional composition of Aboriginal bush foods such as acacia seeds and cheeky yam. These foods are unique today because they are uncultivated foods, unlike wheat or potato. Food samples were sent from all over Australia to my laboratory at the University of Sydney for analysis and I took the opportunity to check the metabolic responses they created, that is, how they actually affected blood sugar levels in the body. The results were telling. Aboriginal bush foods produced only half the blood sugar responses of starchy Western staples like bread and potatoes. So, the question had to be asked: had these traditional foods somehow protected Aborigines from developing diabetes in times past? The answer was yes.



    The GI of more than 2000 foods has now been tested worldwide, both singly and in combination with mixed meals. Long-term studies on its potential to improve diabetes control have also been carried out. We now know that consuming low GI foods is associated with a lower risk of both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.



    Our studies with animal models show that the GI of foods influences the rate at which animals gain body fat and develop abnormalities in insulin secretion. We have also tested the applications of GI for sporting performance and appetite control. It is now obvious, not only to us but to many expert committees and health authorities around the world, that the GI of foods has enormous implications for everybody. It is indeed a ‘Glucose Revolution’ in that it has changed forever the way we think about carbohydrates.



    When our book was first published in 1996, we received a great deal of feedback from readers and health professionals. And still, hardly a day goes by without an email or letter from someone wanting to say thank you and to find out more. Now retitled the Low GI Diet Handbook (Hachette Australia), it brings together all the information that we have put together over the years to give you the most up-to-date and key dietary messages in one package. It will show you how the GI carbohydrate story fits in with all the other messages about fat, protein, exercise and the many ways you can approach having a healthy diet that suits you and your family’s lifestyle, no matter how busy you are. Most importantly the Low GI Diet Handbook focuses on individual needs, likes and dislikes and can be adapted to your particular eating habits and food preferences. Our Low GI Diet Handbook is not about one way of eating a healthy diet – it is about giving you the information to make eating a healthy diet much, much easier.



    Low GI Diet Handbook



    There’s not just one way of eating a healthy diet. What we now know about these different nutritional factors gives us a great deal of flexibility, which is extremely important and helpful in choosing food and food combinations that suit the likes and dislikes of you and your family.’

    • Also available: Low GI Diet 12-week Weight-Loss Plan (Hachette Australia).
    • Both titles can be purchased from good bookshops or online booksellers in Australia and New Zealand – e.book editions available soon.

    Get the Scoop on Nutrition with Emma Stirling

    The scoop on a healthy kitchen # 1



    Emma Stirling

    Emma Stirling APD



    If you’ve made resolutions around healthy eating and home cooking for 2011, give yourself a big pat on the back. But before you can take charge of new health goals, you really need to get your house in order. Well, more importantly, your kitchen and its setup for good nutrition. Let’s kick off 2011 with the scoop on a healthy kitchen and a look at our top equipment picks.



    In a spin: A multicoloured, vibrant salad is one of the best ways to boost your health and help meet your vegetable serves each day. But nothing spoils a salad more than unwashed, gritty rocket or spinach or soggy leaves that are not spun dry. So invest in a salad spinner and aim for at least five different veggies in your salads. You can also toss in some low GI chickpeas or three bean mix for a fibre boost.



    Back to basics: It's not a long list, but good knives, heat resistant silicon spatulas, wooden spoons, separate cutting boards for meat and produce, a colander, a heavy based saucepan or Dutch oven and non-stick fry pan are on my list of essentials.



    The added touch: A long hand held fine grater, called a microplane, allows you to artfully but quickly add a little parmesan to the top of pasta, lime zest or fresh ginger to fruit salad or fresh, whole cinnamon or nutmeg to Bircher muesli. Remember it’s that little touch of spice or garnish, that turns healthy fare nice and boosts the flavour without added fat, salt or sugar. And don’t discount the old box grater. Hand grating, instead of using a food processor, is a great way to burn off kilojoules and give your arms a workout as you cook.



    Measure up: It’s so easy to measure and weigh ingredients and check portion sizes when you have stainless steel measuring spoons, a set of cups, glass jugs for liquids and digital scales.



    Under pressure: Pressure cookers also help cut down cooking time, trap in flavours and retain nutrients. They are perfect for speeding up cooking time of those healthy low GI chickpeas and other legumes.



    Take it slowly: Electric slow cookers allow you to prep a curry or bolognaise sauce and leave it on low, slow heat all day (while you’re away) without the risk of burning or bubbling over. Slow cooking is also one of the best ways to tenderise cheaper cuts of meat.



    With a twist: you can use a coffee grinder for spices, a cast iron grill pan for pressing toasted sandwiches, a fruit dehydrator for drying fresh herbs, and a wok for dry roasting nuts and seeds.



    On hand: You don’t need to spend the price of a small car on the top of the range food processor, especially if you’re just getting going. Many people find an inexpensive hand held blender just the ticket to healthy fare. You can keep it ready on your bench top to immerse directly into soups, whip up a smoothie or use the mini chopper for a quick and healthy dip, salsa or marinade.



    Emma Stirling is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and health writer with over ten years experience writing for major publications. She is editor of The Scoop on Nutrition – a blog by expert dietitians. Check it out for hot news bites.

    In the GI News Kitchen

    American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna's website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.

    [JOHANNA]



    Crumbed cod with vinaigrette topping

    My grandfather owned a fish store and so fish was often on the menu when we ate at Grandma’s. If she was cooking just for us kids she wouldn’t fuss too much, but who knew? We all loved this recipe and always cleaned our plates! Grandma served this with veggies like steamed cauliflower florets or sautéed zucchini as we had already had pasta in some form beforehand. If you don’t have pasta first, I suggest serving it with veggies or a salad and perhaps baked orange-fleshed sweet potato wedges. If cod is not available, use another firm, white-fleshed fish such as scrod or halibut. Ask your fishmonger for suggestions. Serves 2



    2 x 150g (5oz) fresh cod fillets, rinsed and patted dry

    2 tbsp egg substitute (or 1 small egg, whisked)

    ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs (made from a low GI bread of course)

    vegetable spray

    1 tbsp sherry vinegar

    1 tsp olive oil

    1 clove garlic, finely minced

    freshly ground sea salt to taste

    freshly ground black pepper to taste

    4 large sprigs flat parsley, finely chopped



    Crumbed cod with vinaigrette topping



    Preheat the broiler/grill. Coat the bottom of a shallow baking dish with vegetable oil spray.

    Place the egg substitute and the breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip the fish into the egg first and then the breadcrumbs, coating both sides well. Lay the fillets flat in the baking dish, bottom side up and cook about 15cm (6in) from the heat for 2½–3 minutes. Turn and cook a further 2½ minutes or until flesh flakes and they are done.

    Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

    Sprinkle the parsley over the fish, drizzle with vinaigrette and serve immediately with vegetables or salad.



    Per serving (fish and vinaigrette only)

    Energy: 600kJ/143 cals; Protein 20g; Fat 4g (includes less than 1g saturated fat and 40mg cholesterol); Available carbs 8g; Fibre 1g



    Cut back on the food bills and enjoy fresh-tasting, easily prepared, seasonal, satisfying and delicious low or moderate GI meals that don’t compromise on quality and flavour one little bit with Money Saving Meals author Diane Temple. For more recipes check out the Money Saving Meals website.



    Asian fish & cucumber salad

    This Vietnamese-style salad from our book, Money Saving Meals, is made with basa fillets – a freshwater Vietnamese catfish with a mild flesh (and not too many bones) that remains moist during cooking. It was also very cheap. If you want to use a local fish, tell the fishmonger what you are making and ask for some economical suggestions. Serves 4.



    ½ teaspoon turmeric

    1 tablespoon fish sauce

    1½ tablespoons peanut oil

    400g (14oz) fish fillets (such as basa), cut into chunks

    125g (4oz) vermicelli noodles

    3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce or 100 g mixed lettuce leaves

    2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthwise, sliced thinly

    1 carrot, coarsely grated

    2 tablespoons chopped dill

    4 green onions, sliced

    1/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped



    Dressing

    1 tablespoon fish sauce

    1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

    1 tablespoon caster sugar

    1/3 cup lemon juice

    2 tablespoons peanut oil



    Whisk the turmeric, fish sauce and 2 teaspoons of the oil together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the fish and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

    Prepare the vermicelli noodles. Pop them into a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave them to soften. Drain, run them under cold water, drain again, then snip in half (or small pieces) with kitchen scissors.

    Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Put the lettuce, cucumber slices and carrot into a large serving bowl with the noodles and drizzle over the dressing.

    Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat and stir-fry the fish for about 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until just cooked. Add the dill and green onion, stir to combine. Fold the fish mixture gently through the salad so that the fish is coated with the dressing and top with the roasted peanuts for added crunch.

    Per serving

    Energy:2000kJ/340 cals; Protein 29g; Fat 25g (includes 4g saturated fat and 59mg cholesterol); Available carbs 32g; Fibre 5g



    Diabetic Living

    This month’s Diabetic Living magazine (for ANZ) comes with a free booklet (Your Low GI Healthy Eating Guide) stuck to the cover that was generous sponsored by Abbott Diabetes Care. As we were putting together this issue of GI News, we spoke to Diabetic Living editor Erica Goatly about the booklet: ‘We’re already getting very positive reader feedback about how it is motivating them to get their eating back on track and it has only been on the newsstands a few days,’ she said. The following low GI recipe is reproduced with permission from January/February Diabetic Living magazine (photography by Louise Lister). If you haven’t used puy or French-style lentils before, you can buy them in supermarkets, health shops and delis. McKenzies brand French-style lentils are widely available in supermarkets in Australia and not pricy at all (your GI News editor buys them in her local IGA at Bondi Beach.)



    Ocean trout with lentils

    1 tsp olive oil

    1 red onion cut into thin slivers

    1 garlic clove, crushed

    ½ cup (100g) Puy or French-style lentils, rinsed and drained

    ¾ cup water (180ml)

    ½ cup (125ml) salt reduced chicken stock

    Freshly ground black pepper

    200g (7oz) skinless, boneless ocean trout fillet cut into 2 portions

    1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed

    Olive oil cooking spray

    2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

    ½ tsp grated lemon zest

    Flat leaf parsley leaves, to serve

    160g sugar snap peas or mangetout, steamed, to serve



    Ocean trout with lentils



    Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium. Add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes until onion softens slightly. Add lentils, water and stock. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, for 20–25 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Remove pan from heat. Set aside, covered, for 5 minutes. Season with pepper.

    Meanwhile, preheat the barbecue grill or chargrill pan to medium-high. Spray each side of the fillets and asparagus with cooking spray. Add asparagus to barbecue grill or chargrill pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for 3–4 minutes or until just tender. Transfer to a plate. Add trout to barbecue grill or chargrill pan. Cook on each side for 2½ minutes for medium, or until cooked to your liking.

    Divide lentil mixture between plates. Top with trout. Sprinkle the lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley over. Accompany with asparagus and sugar snap peas.



    Per serving

    Energy: 1513kJ/360 cals; Protein 38g; Fat 9g (includes 1.6g saturated fat and 55mg cholesterol); Available carbs 28g; Fibre 11g

    Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

    Myth: You have to avoid carbs after 5pm to lose weight.



    [NICOLE]

    Nicole Senior



    Fact: The time of day you eat carbs makes no difference to your weight – it’s the total amount you eat over the day that counts.

    Avoiding carbs after five is popular advice, often given by people in the fitness industry to assist their clients lose weight. There’s even a diet book of the same name. While proponents may mean well, such advice simply adds to the mythology around weight loss. Following this advice might even work in the short term, but this only compounds the misunderstanding about why.



    Similar to the previous myth ‘eating at night makes you fat’ (GI News November 2007) , the timing of carb intake is physiologically irrelevant; it’s the amount and type you eat that matters. There’s not a single study on the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) database about carbohydrate timing and weight loss (however, there’s plenty on carb timing and athletic performance if you’re interested).



    Like other diets that restrict a particular nutrient or food group, the advice to avoid carbs after 5pm is simply a kilojoule/calorie reduction strategy dressed up as something catchier. When you think of a typical evening meal of chicken, noodles and vegetables, it’s not hard to see how skipping noodles creates a kilojoule deficit. If you can do it, great – it is possible to eat enough grain foods (preferably wholegrain and low GI) at other times during the day.



    However a common experience of evening carb avoiders is they are still hungry after dinner and that’s when TV snacking can wreak havoc. Biscuits, chocolate and sweets are common evening saboteurs and they all contain carbohydrates. (And a side note, many people don’t understand that sugar is a carbohydrate too, which results in starchy foods getting a bad rap and sugar sailing through unsullied). Unfortunately the biscuits and chocolate also contain hefty amounts of saturated fat and kilojoules as well. This carb-craving may be physiological or psychological but it doesn’t really matter – the kilojoule damage is done.



    The ‘no carbs after 5pm’ rule – and its variants 4pm and 6pm – is part of a dieting mentality we know is inherently unsustainable, although to be fair it is a much more moderate ‘low-carb’ diet. By deliberately depriving ourselves of commonly eaten, enjoyable foods we repeatedly build up psychological pressure that eventually results in overeating blow-outs: the classic dieting merry-go-round.



    A far more balanced approach to lose weight is to eat smaller portions of carb-rich core foods like bread, pasta, rice, noodles and the like, and choose lower GI versions combined with plenty of vegetables and satisfying amounts of lean meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian alternatives. In nutrition circles, this is what we call a ‘balanced meal’. Unfortunately for many, the ‘moderation’ message is boring and unappealing.



    This situation is not helped by the diet industries who also know the moderation message doesn’t sell and come up with all manner of trumped-up benefits and half-baked theories as to why their diet will actually work when all they are doing is selling creative ways to eat fewer kilojoules.



    To lose weight we must reconcile the facts we must eat less and exercise more, and all the while ensure we eat quality foods to meet our nutritional needs. Blacklisting particular nutrients like carbs or fats is not helpful to this end. Prioritising nutrient rich foods from all the food groups in suitable amounts according to our energy needs is the answer.



    Nicole Senior MSc (Nut&Diet) BSc (Nut) is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist. You can find good advice and great recipes using nutrient rich foods in Nicole’s books Eat to Beat Cholesterol and Heart Food available HERE.

    GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

    [ALAN]

    Dr Alan Barclay



    A healthy low GI diet is achievable

    There’s pretty compelling evidence from population health studies and clinical trials around the world that as part of an overall healthy, balanced diet, we should aim for an average dietary GI of around 45 for longterm health and wellbeing. It’s not as hard as it sounds when you take the ‘this for that’ option, that is you simply substitute healthy low GI carbs for high GI ones when shopping, cooking and eating out:



    Substituting low GI foods for high



    While this is in principle relatively simple, finding those healthy low GI alternatives has not always been that easy. This is why one of the primary objectives of the Glycemic Index Foundation has been to work with food industry in Australia and around the world to develop healthy low GI alternatives for popular everyday foods thus making healthy low GI choices, easy choices for everybody.



    Our first step was to identify the top five sources of glycemic carbohydrate in the Australian diet (and the pattern is very similar in North America). They are: Breads, Breakfast cereals, Potatoes, Sugars and sugar-based products and Rice and pasta. Giving people healthy low GI alternatives for these foods will make it relatively easy for anyone to achieve an average dietary GI of 45 (this is a good 10 points below the ‘low’ GI diets achieved in the European Diogenes study and the UK’s RISCK study).



    Breads: Healthy low GI breads are now relatively common in Australia, with popular brands like Burgen found on most supermarket shelves. New additions include popular tortillas like Mission Foods White Corn Tortillas (GI = 52) which can be used as wraps or in Mexican cooking.



    Breakfast cereals: This category is harder. Currently when people ask us about low GI breakfast cereals we tend to suggest traditional porridge oats or natural mueslis such as Morning Sun mueslis (GI=49). The reason healthy low GI ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are harder to find on the supermarket shelves is partly because modern processing techniques (rolling and flaking) make their starch rapidly digested and absorbed. Don’t be disheartened, the challenge is not insurmountable. We are currently talking to a major breakfast cereal company (as we did with the potato growers) with the aim of working with them to help them lower the GI of all of their popular ready-to-eat cereals.



    Potatoes: The Carisma potato is the first success story of an ongoing collaboration between the GI Foundation, University of Sydney and the Australian potato industry. Large scale production of this low GI (55) general purpose potato is the first step to providing shoppers with a full range of low GI potatoes that they can use for specific purposes such as potato salads, mashing, roasting, baking, etc.



    Carisma potatoes



    Sugar: Logicane, the first low GI (50) cane sugar was launched in Australia in 2009, and is helping to lower the GI of popular sugary foods that are popular contributors to our daily glycemic load.



    Rice & pasta: There are an increasing number of low GI rices being produced and tested including Moolgiri (GI54) and Saffola Arise (GI54). And despite popular perception, regular pasta made from hard durum wheat has a low GI. For example, the GI of Vetta’s range is 49. Like potato, keep those portions moderate to reap the glycemic rewards of these popular, inexpensive starchy staples.



    What next? The GI Foundation looks forward to working collaboratively with food industry in 2011, to continue to make healthy low GI choices easy choices. And by the ‘food industry’ we mean food manufacturers around the world. If you are a GI News reader in the UK or US, you may say: “we don’t have the healthy low GI choices you do.” We have to say we have knocked on doors around the world to encourage food manufacturers to a) have their products GI tested and b) join the Symbol program to make is easier for shoppers to identify those low GI foods. To date we haven’t had much success internationally – they say there’s not enough demand. We need you to show them they are wrong. What should you do? Create DEMAND. Contact the customer service department of the manufacturers of your favourite breads and breakfast cereals for starters and ask them about the GI of their products.



    New GI Symbol



    For more information about the GI Symbol Program

    Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD

    Chief Scientific Officer

    Glycemic Index Foundation (Ltd)

    Phone: +61 (0)2 9785 1037

    Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046

    Fax: +61 (0)2 9785 1037

    Email: alan@gisymbol.com

    Website: www.gisymbol.com

    GI Update

    Professor Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions



    honey dripping



    From the perspective of blood glucose, is honey better than sugar?

    Up until recently, we would have said honey is not different from table sugar. After all, honey doesn’t contribute much in the way of micronutrients, and we thought it had a similar effect on blood glucose as table sugar.



    In fact, while most commercial varieties have the same or greater effect than table sugar, recent evidence suggests that some forms of honey have only a minor effect on blood glucose. These are the pure floral honeys – (in Australia) red gum, yellow box, ironbark and others – that have been produced by allowing bees access only to some types of gum trees (eucalypts). It’s possible that all pure floral honeys have only modest glycemic effects, but it is too early to say as there hasn’t been sufficient testing around the world. Romanian locust honey appears to have the lowest effect of all the honeys.



    Why would one honey be different from another? Well, most commercial honeys are made from a mixture of honeys derived from different hives and different floral sources. To maintain a consistent flavour, some of the more pungent characteristics are removed. We suspect that the components that are removed are physiologically active and work to slow down absorption. For example, Australian floral honeys might contain alpha-glucosidase inhibitors that bees have extracted from the eucalypt flowers. We know that these potent inhibitors exist in many plants and, indeed, some diabetic medications (e.g. Acarbose) are based on pure forms of these inhibitors.



    In addition, a recent study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that five German honeys have a low GI. The researchers found that the ‘glycaemic index and insulinaemic index correlated significantly with the fructose content of honey varieties’.



    GI testing by an accredited laboratory

    North America


    Dr Alexandra Jenkins

    Glycemic Index Laboratories

    20 Victoria Street, Suite 300

    Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 Canada

    Phone +1 416 861 0506

    Email info@gilabs.com

    Web www.gilabs.com



    Australia

    Fiona Atkinson



    [FIONA]



    Research Manager, Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS)

    Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences

    Sydney University

    NSW 2006 Australia

    Phone + 61 2 9351 6018

    Fax: + 61 2 9351 6022

    Email sugirs@mmb.usyd.edu.au

    Web www.glycemicindex.com



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    Simple Ways with Hard Boiled Eggs

    HARD-BOILED EGGS

    This is my son, Daniel’s no-fail method for preparing hard-boiled eggs. It is so hassle-free that once you try this method, you will be sold on it.

    Text Box: Yield:  6 servings 1 serving 74.5 calories 6.2 g protein 5.0 g fat 0.6 g carbs6 large eggs
    hot water







    In medium saucepan, place eggs and cover with hot water.  Almost cover saucepan completely with lid and cook over medium-high heat 20 minutes (set timer).  Remove from heat.  Pour water off.  Pour running cold water over eggs in saucepan.  Remove shells, dipping eggs in cold water, whenever too hot to handle.  Refrigerate in covered container.

    Variation:  Stuffed Eggs:  Cut hard-boiled eggs in half and remove yolks. In medium bowl, mash together with 1/4 cup (50 mL) mayonnaise, 1 tsp (5 mL) prepared mustard, 1/2 tsp (2 mL) hot pepper sauce and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt.  Fill whites with mixture.  Cover eggs and refrigerate until ready to serve. 
    Yield:  12 servings.  (0.4 g Carbs).

    Vary the filling for Stuffed eggs above by adding 3 tbsp (45 mL) crumbled, crisp-fried bacon or 3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped ham or 2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped green onion or chives.

    Helpful Hints:  Eggs are a low-carb dieter’s best friend, as they are low in carbohydrates, and they tend to digest slowly, warding off hunger for hours.  To help you stay on track, keep some in the refrigerator for weak moments, when the snacking urge strikes.

    A Heartwarming Note

    I received this heartwarming note in a private message on lowcarbfriends.com  When I asked her Norma said I could share her note.  I decided to leave out her last name, but everything else is the same.  Through the years there have been people that have written to thank me for my work, and you cannot even imagine how warm and fuzzy it feels, to know my recipes have been a small part in making another person's life more enjoyable.  As I told Norma, those sweet praises were often what kept me going, and now I'm wondering if I have any more cookbooks in me after a 7-year hiatus, however, it is people like Norma who will be the catalyst. 

    Here is the message Norma wrote that touched my heart.  What a sweet lady and how she deserves to remain successful and to touch many other lives as a result.  Thank you, Norma!  God bless you.
    Dear Jennifer, I found your web site Splendid Low carbing and starting following your recipes then I found Low carb friends and started reading ... I just want to say Thank you for I started March 30/2010 and today December 27/2010 I am down 82 pounds.
    I have gotten a new start in life... I am 67 years old.

    I now only use your recipes as they are simple and easy for me to follow and they always are so good... I must say Thank you again for sharing...


    Jennifer you are a special person..


    Norma, Toronto Canada

    Thursday, December 30, 2010

    UAE: Court sets precedent for death penalty application

    ABU DHABI -- The emirate's highest court has ordered a convicted murderer to be retried under an alternative Islamic school of legal thought that may allow for him to be sentenced to death.

    The ruling by the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation is a legal precedent in a case in which the killer was sentenced by two lower courts to 15 years in prison, instead of the death penalty, because he was a Muslim and the victim was not.

    Abu Dhabi courts and the Federal Supreme Court hear cases under the Maliki school of Islamic legal thought, which includes rulings that a Muslim who murders a non-Muslim cannot face execution.

    In this case, the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation ordered it be tried under Hanafi teachings, the only Sunni school of jurisprudence that calls for the death penalty if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim.

    The current case, from 2008, involved a Sudanese Muslim man who murdered a Christian woman from Ethiopia by stabbing her 17 times.

    The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance found him guilty of premeditated murder, sentenced him to 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay Dh100,000 in blood money.

    The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals upheld the sentence and public prosecutors appealed the case to the Court of Cassation.

    Prosecutors presented two main arguments. They said it was in the interest of the country to try Muslims and non-Muslims under Hanafi to ensure equality for all residents. They also said the victim was a legitimate resident and therefore entitled to protection, security and sanctity for her "blood, honour and money".

    Chief Justice Al Siddiq Abulhassan Mohammed of the Court of Cassation agreed, overturned the sentence and sent the case back to the appeal court to be tried under Hanafi. The appellate court sentenced the man to death.

    Court of Cassation rulings are binding on local courts, so judges in the emirate will be required to treat the murder of a non-Muslim in the same light as that of a Muslim. Murder cases are tried under Sharia, which requires the death penalty if the victim's family demands it.

    Dr Ahmed al Kubaisi, the head of Sharia studies at UAE University, praised the ruling which he said considered the wider and long-term interests of the country as ordained by Sharia.

    Dr al Kubaisi said Islamic law required judges to use their discretion when there was a conflict between justice and politics.

    "In Islamic jurisprudence judges can announce that a person is sentenced to death in accordance with Sharia but should not be killed in consideration of politics," Dr al Kubaisi said. "In Islamic law the interests of the nation precede the interests of the individual.

    "Justice that safeguards the interests of the whole nation is preferable to that which safeguards the interests of the individual. The ruling is completely sound according to Islamic law."

    The Hanafi school is one of four schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam, and the oldest.

    Hanafi scholars argue that Sharia requires the death penalty for all murderers regardless of their religious background. They note that an Islamic text that prohibits the killing of a Muslim for taking a non-Muslim life was meant to be applied only in times of war.

    The Court of Cassation's ruling is final, and not subject to appeal.

    Source: The National, December 30, 2010

    Top 10 biggest shipping companies of 2010 in US

    Here is a summary of the top 10 biggest shipping companies of 2010 in United States. They not only just national winners but continue to be the universal leaders as well.

    1. United Parcel Service of America Inc.

    UPS is one of the world’s leading providers of expert transportation and logistics services and the largest package delivery company. It was founded in 1907 as a messenger company in US and has now grown into a multi-billion-dollar corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of enabling commerce all around the globe. And today it is one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world and is still growing.

    2. FedEx Corporation

    FedEx has been a leader in the transportation and information industry throughout its history. It provides customers with transportation, e-commerce and business services. It is widely acknowledged as a world-class company and one of the most respected companies. FedEx has been awarded as the “Best Employers in China” by Hewitt Associates in 2007.

    3. All America’s Auto Transport:

    It was founded in 1964 and since then it has been transporting vehicles to every city in the country and overseas. AAA transport continues to be one of the leading providers for national auto transport services by offering competitive car shipping rates, friendly customer services thereby assuring customer satisfaction. Its satisfied customers include individuals, military and government personnel, private corporations and professional sports team nationwide.

    4. Maersk:

    Maersk is one of the primary liner shipping companies in the world which serves customers all around the world. It ensures reliable and comprehensive worldwide coverage. Maersk was founded by Arnold Peter Moller and now it operates in 130 countries. It is one of the world’s largest shipping companies and is involved in energy, logistics, retail and manufacturing industries.

    5. Hapag-Lloyd:

    Hapag-Lloyd is one of the largest shipping companies in the world which has been in service for more than 160 years. With more than 120 modern ships and almost five million containers transported in a year, it has set industry-wide benchmarks reliability, service, productivity and environmental protection.

    6. COSCO:

    COSCO is a multinational enterprise which focuses on shipping and logistics business. In addition, it also provides trade, financial and IT services to its global customers. Founded in 1961, COSCO is now ranking the 327th in Fortune Global 500. It owns rich logistics facilities and resources and operates more than 4,000 logistics vehicles.

    7. American President Lines Ltd:

    Founded in 1848, APL provides container transport services to its customers all over the globe. It is a global transportation and logistics company which is involved in shipping and related businesses. APL provides worldwide coverage with its containership fleet which is among the most modern and the largest in the world.

    8. Hanjin:

    Hanjin shipping is a world-class global shipping logistics company. Established in 1977, it has a comprehensive business network with three regional headquarters, 200 branch offices and 30 local corporations. Hanjin shipping has received the MASTA award by U.S Masco Corporation in 2007.

    9. NYK Line :

    Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha has America as the centre of its operations and has nearly 170 subsidiaries in United States. NYK logistics delivers fully integrated logistics solution and its logistics services include warehouse and distribution, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting etc.

    10. Evergreen Marine Corporation:

    Since 1968 Evergreen Marine Corporation has secured its place in shipping history. Its shipping network covers more than 80 countries with above 240 service locations.

    Happy New Year!

    Brand new from the CA Studio (VIII)





















    Presented here is the eighth drawing 'Keith II'. Mixed media on paper, 27.7 x 35.5 cm (10.9 x 14 inches).

    Wednesday, December 29, 2010

    TV Week: 3rd Jan - 8th Jan 2011

    3rd January 2011
    2:25am
    Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice
    BBC1

    9:00am
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday

    10:00am
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday (Plus 1)

    7:00pm
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday

    8:00pm
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday (Plus 1)

    4th January 2011
    8:00am
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday

    9:00am
    Who Do You Think You Are? (UK)
    Yesterday (Plus 1)

    5:40pm
    Doctor Who: Partners in Crime
    Watch

    6:40pm Doctor Who: Partners in Crime
    Watch

    5th January 2011
    5:40pm
    Doctor Who: The Fires of Pompeii
    Watch

    6:40pm
    Doctor Who: The Fires of Pompeii
    Watch (Plus 1)

    11:00pm
    How to Train Your Dragon
    Sky 3D

    6th January 2011
    5:40pm
    Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood
    Watch

    6:40pm
    Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood
    Watch (Plus 1)

    7th January 2011
    5:40pm
    Doctor Who: The Sontaran Stratagem
    Watch

    6:40pm
    Doctor Who: The Sontaran Stratagem
    Watch (Plus 1)

    8th January 2011
    5:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Idiot's Lantern
    Watch

    6:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet
    Watch

    6:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Idiot's Lantern
    Watch (Plus 1)

    7:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Satan Pit
    Watch

    7:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet
    Watch (Plus 1)

    8:00pm
    Doctor Who: Smith and Jones
    Watch

    8:00pm
    Doctor Who: The Satan Pit
    Watch (Plus 1)

    9:00pm
    Doctor Who: Smith and Jones
    Watch (Plus 1)

    9:00pm
    The Greatest TV Shows of the Noughties
    E4

    9:00pm
    The Greatest TV Shows of the Noughties
    E4 HD

    10:00pm
    The Greatest TV Shows of the Noughties
    E4 (Plus 1)

    Cuba Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentence

    Humberto Eladio Real Suárez
    HAVANA TIMES, Dec. 29 – The Supreme Court of Cuba decided to commute for a 30-year sentence Humberto Eladio Real Suárez’ death sentence. He was tried in 1994 for landing on the island with the aim of carrying out subversive actions against the government. This was the last of the maximum sentences that still remained in the Caribbean island nation, whose authorities have not applied it since 2003, reported IPS.

    AP noted: “On Oct. 15, 1994, Real and six other members of a Florida-based exile group came ashore in northern Cuba, armed with assault rifles and other weapons. A man was killed, and the group was captured shortly thereafter. Real received the death penalty, and the others got lengthy prison sentences.”

    Source: Havana Times, December 29, 2010


    Cuba commutes death sentence against US man

    HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence against a Cuban-American who was the last person remaining on death row in the island nation, according to a veteran human rights activist.

    Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the independent Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said the court sentenced Humberto Eladio Real to 30 years in prison instead. Sanchez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that Real's parents informed him of the decision.

    Earlier Tuesday, the state-run Cubadebate website posted a story saying the court was reviewing an appeal by Real, who was convicted of killing a man in a 1994 raid. Cubadebate did not immediately report the court's decision.

    On Oct. 15, 1994, Real and six other members of a Florida-based exile group came ashore in northern Cuba, armed with assault rifles and other weapons. A man was killed, and the group was captured shortly thereafter.

    Real received the death penalty, and the others got lengthy prison sentences.

    Havana officials have said the group intended to carry out acts of sabotage and attacks on military units to destabilize the government of then-President Fidel Castro.

    Cuba's constitution allows the death penalty, but for years the country has effectively had a moratorium on carrying out death sentences.

    Earlier this month, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentences against two El Salvador men convicted for their roles in a deadly bombing campaign on tourist sites in the 1990s. Ernesto Cruz Leon and Otto Rodriguez were given 30-year prison sentences instead, leaving Real as the sole convict on death row in Cuba.

    Human rights activist Sanchez hailed Tuesday's decision, adding "we regret that the (death) penalty remains on our penal code."

    Source: AP, December 29, 10

    Sexy In Specs

    According to a poll carried out by the College of Optometrists David Tennant is one of the sexiest celebs to wear glasses. He came 4th in the list.
    Dr Susan Blakeney said: "It's great to see such an eclectic mix of celebrities that people think look good in glasses."
    The top 5 was as follows:
    1. Gok Wan
    2. Johnny Depp
    3. Alan Carr
    4. David Tennant
    5. Chris Evans

    Source: The Daily Mirror

    Polar Bear: Spy On The Ice

    David Tennant has narrated a new documentary for the BBC, Polar Bear: Spy On The Ice, and it will be broadcast tonight on BBC One at 20:00pm.
    BBC Scotland will show it at a later date on 31st December at 8:40pm.
    You can watch some clips below:









    The BBC Press Office says:
    Shot mainly using spy cameras, this film gets closer than ever before to the world's greatest land predator.
    Icebergcam, Blizzardcam and Snowballcam are a new generation of covert devices on a mission to explore the Arctic islands of Svalbard in Norway. Backed up by Snowcam and Driftcam, these state-of-the-art camouflaged cameras reveal the extraordinary curiosity and intelligence of the polar bear.
    The cameras are just a breath away when two sets of cubs emerge from winter maternity dens. They also capture the moment when the sea-ice breaks away from the island in the Spring. As one set of mother and cubs journey across the drifting ice in search of seals, the other is marooned on the island with very little food. How they cope with their different fates is captured in revelatory close-up detail.
    The cameras also follow the bears as they hunt seals, raid bird colonies, dive for kelp and indulge in entertaining courtship rituals. Icebergcam even discovers their little-known social nature as seven bears share a washed-up whale carcass.
    Often just a paw's swipe from the play-fighting and squabbling bears, the spy cameras face their most challenging subject yet. When their curious subjects discover the cameras, they are subjected to some comical-but-destructive encounters.
    As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bears' lives, it reveals how their intelligence and curiosity help them cope in a world of shrinking ice.

    UK Business Secretary Vince Cable given ultimatum over execution drugs

    Legal action charity Reprieve has given Business Secretary Vince Cable 72 hours to ban the export of execution drugs to the US or face legal action.

    The charity's director Clive Stafford Smith wrote to Mr Cable yesterday giving him until close of business on December 30 to end the export of sodium thiopenthal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - all used in the lethal injection process - to the US by British firms.

    Reprieve argued that the government's failure to prevent the exports is in breach of European human rights law and Britain's own publicly stated opposition to the death penalty.

    The charity has already brought one successful legal action against the government over is failure to place a moratorium on the export of sodium thiopenthal.

    A shipment of the British manufactured drug has already been used in the execution of at least one death row inmate, Jeffrey Landrigan in Arizona.

    As a result of the action, Mr Cable was forced to ban the export of the chemical but his delayed response meant that a large shipment was despatched to California before the ban came into effect.

    The shipment, which it is estimated would be enough to execute more than 80 prisoners in the US, has yet to be released by the US Food and Drug Administration.

    Reprieve argued that an urgent intervention from the Business Secretary could still prevent the drug being shipped to its destination.

    The charity also reiterated calls for Mr Cable to impose a ban on the export of both pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

    Mr Stafford Smith said: "Vince Cable has had a difficult few weeks, but it is never too late to refocus on what he entered government to do. We are asking that he devote half an hour to helping to prevent scores of executions.

    "Since he apparently spent 20 hours rehearsing his foxtrot for Strictly Come Dancing, this does not seem too much to ask.

    "The Foreign Office is struggling to help us prevent the execution of British nationals in the US, at the same time as Mr Cable sits on his hands and allows the export of British drugs that will kill those same prisoners."

    "Mr Cable's department can hardly claim to be in a coalition, when he is acting in opposition.”

    He said one British firm had cynically capitalised on the demand by marking the price of the drugs up 3,500 per cent and "making obscene blood money selling them to America's executioners."

    Reprieve has also given notice to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso that the commission had the legal 60 days in which to impose an EU-wide ban on the export of the three drugs or face litigation in the European Court of Human Rights.

    Source: Morning Star, December 29, 2010

    Russian military plane crash kills 12

    http://news-updations.blogspot.com/
    An aging Russian armed cargo plane not working south of Moscow, killing all 12 people aboard, officials said Wednesday. The federal analytical group said the An-22 plane was on a flight Tuesday from the southwestern county of Voronezh region when it crashed in the Tula region, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) south of Moscow.

    It said that along with the crew piloting the Antonov, the giant four-engined turboprop airplane was also was carrying one more crew to the Migalovo military air bottom in the Tver region. The cause of the crash was not right away strong-minded.

    The An-22, which was considered in the 1960s, has a payload of 60 metric tons and is competent of airlifting about 300 troops. Only a handful is still in examined with the Russian air force. The aircraft that went down Tuesday was built in 1974.

    Full story

    useful links: transport rankings

    700 NATO soldiers killed in 2010; new firefights

    http://news-updations.blogspot.com/Justify Full
    Afghanistan – An alliance patrol fought off an rebellious attack in hilly eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, on a day when two servicemen were killed in the country's anxious south, bringing the death toll for overseas troops in the nation for 2010 to 700, according to an AP count.

    This year is by far the deadliest for the alliance in the almost decade-long war, as tens of thousands of extra international troops have pour into the country in an effort to suppress a strong Taliban insurgency. Other than while NATO and the United States note growth has been made in the militants' conventional strongholds in the south, they recognize gains made remain unstable.

    Security has also decline in the north, while many parts of eastern Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan, remain aggressive and under militant control. NATO forces often connect in heavy combating there.

    Full story

    useful links: transport rankings

    Russian space officials fired over failed launch

    http://news-updations.blogspot.com/
    Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has ablaze two space officials in excess of a failed rocket start on that resulted in the hammering of three satellites.

    The Kremlin said Wednesday that the second-in-command head of the Russian space agency, Viktor Remishevsky, and the representative chief of the state-controlled RKK Energiya rocket producer, Vyacheslav Filin, have lost their jobs over the Dec. 5 launch when the Proton-M booster rocket failed to place three GLONASS-M satellites into a chosen orbit. The space organization chief, Anatoly Perminov, received a talking to.

    An exploration has exposed that the failure was caused by an estimate error that resulted in excessive fuel being pumped into the carrier's higher stage.

    Full Story

    useful links: transport rankings

    Tuesday, December 28, 2010

    Mummification Museum Lectures this winter 2011

    This years lectures seem to be a bit more haphazard than last year. I actually have no idea who is organising them but today I phoned the director of the museum and he believes there is one this Saturday and every Saturday. He has no idea what the subject is. You now know as much as me

    *Quiche Lorraine* (GF)

    QUICHE LORRAINE

      My favorite is Swiss Cheese and Onion Quiche below.  You can mix and match ingredients, as in add mushrooms as well as bacon, for instance.

    Text Box: Yield:  8 servings 1 serving 278.7 calories 14.2 g protein 23.2 g fat 3.7 g carbsCrust:
    1/2 cup ground almonds (125 mL)
    1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (75 mL)
    2 tbsp gluten-free oat flour (25 mL)
    3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (45 mL)
    1 egg yolk
    Filling:
    6 bacon slices
    3 eggs
    11/2 cups table cream, 18 % BF (375 mL)
    1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
    1/8 tsp white pepper (0.5 mL)
    1 cup grated Swiss, OR Cheddar Cheese (250 mL)

    Crust:  In medium bowl, combine ground almonds, grated Parmesan cheese, oat flour, melted butter and egg yolk.  Press into 9-inch (23 cm) glass pie dish.  Bake at 350°F (180°C) 10 minutes. 

    Filling:  Place bacon slices on microwave bacon rack or on plate with two paper towels; cover with paper towel.  Microwave on high 6 or 7 minutes until cooked, but not completely crisp.  When cool, chop bacon into small pieces.  Spread over prepared piecrust.  With wire whisk, beat eggs, table cream, salt and white pepper.  Stir in cheese.  Pour egg mixture over bacon.  Bake 15 minutes at 400°F
    (200°C).  Reduce heat to 325°F (160°C); bake 25 minutes more.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

    Variations:  Swiss Cheese and Onion Quiche:  Omit bacon. Stir-fry one cup (250 mL) chopped onion in 2 tbsp (25 mL) butter, until soft.  (5.2 g Carbs)

    Mushroom Quiche:  Saute 1/2 lb (227 g) raw mushrooms, sliced, 2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped chives or green onions.  Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt.  (4.7 g Carbs)

    Deluxe Quiche Lorraine:  Use 2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream and 4 eggs  (3.7 g Carbs).  OR, if desired, omit crust. (2.3 g Carbs)

    Poll: Obama and Hillary Clinton are 'most admired'

    http://news-updations.blogspot.com/
    For the third as the crow flies year, President Barack Obama ranks as the man most well-liked by people livelihood in the U.S., according to a yearly USA Today-Gallup poll.

    Escritoire of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most-admired woman for the ninth year in a row, binding out former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and TV host Oprah Winfrey, as she did last year.

    The poll, on the loose Monday, asked respondents what man and woman, living anywhere in the world, they most trendy. Rankings from one to 10 were base on total declares and reported in percentage.

    Full story



    useful links: transport rankings