Classic and delicious Malaysian breakfast food

Nasi Lemak with banana leaf

If someone were to ask me what is the best thing you can find in Malaysia? I would say it’s “Food”.

Malaysian food is unique in the World. It’s a mixture of exotic cuisine brought over by the Indians, Javanese, Thais, Chinese and Portuguese. But of course Malaysians love their ‘fish & chips’ and beefburgers too. Which they cordially call “western food”. A reminder of a time when Malaya was a British colony.

Finding food in Malaysian is a galore. Everywhere you go you’ll find food – in the alleys, by the road side in the neighborhood, in shop houses, prestigious malls and morning or night market (pasar tani and pasar malam respectively).

Nasi Lemak

What do a typical Malaysian have for breakfast? “Nasi Lemak”.

I must have been about 7 yrs old when I first savored Nasi Lemak. Nasi Lemak is served with ‘sambal’ (hot chili sauce) so you must be of an age whereby your palate is tolerable to hot food.

When I was little girl, vendors came to your house to sell their delightful food. You can hear them calling out “Nasi Lemak!!”, or what ever they are selling. I remember a little girl and her sister (she was my age and her sister is a little older) They carried the Nasi Lemak in a rattan basket. She had a strong voice. I can hear her calling out a yards away. Her mother (God bless her) whom later became a family friend cooked the best Nasi Lemak on the planet.

My father who was an officer and a gentleman would order a dozen packets wrapped of Nasi Lemak in banana leaves. Then he would take us all for a picnic at the Lake Garden park in Kuala Lumpur. The best part before you could savor the contents was when the banana leaf wrapped packet was opened up. The first thing that hit you was the combined aroma of the pandan leaves, banana leaves and coconut milk. It was heaven. I’ve never forgotten the earliest memory of my first Nasi Lemak experience.

Nasi Lemak is a simple dish, but it must be cooked with just the right balance for it to be perfect.

What is Nasi Lemak?

Nasi Lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk, made aromatic with pandan leaves (screwpine, Pandanus amaryllifolius) and ginger root. It is served with Sambal Ikan Bilis (fried dried anchovies cooked in a dry chilli paste) and garnished with fresh cucumber slices, hard boiled egg and roasted peanuts. Traditionally packages are wrapped in a banana leaf. The dish is usually eaten as hearty breakfast or for supper after a late night clubbing.

Nasi lemak to die for

A makeshift stall at the centre of Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh is making a name for itself with its speciality

Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh has been receiving some media attention recently but for all the wrong reasons. But here’s a piece of good news.

There is a makeshift stall at the centre of the small village that sells “nasi lemak pandan kukus”. Frankly, I am not a big fan of nasi lemak but I will allow myself a plateful of the sambal, anchovies and curry sotong now and then.

So when I cruised past this stall in the middle of the Kampung Baru town, my “co-navigator” exclaimed “stop, looks like great nasi lemak”. Since I was in no mood to argue with a hungry person, I brought the car to an abrupt halt.

The guy in charge called himself Tok Mat but he doesn’t really look that old to be called “Tok”. He looked liked someone in the late 50s or early 60s. Tok Mat was a jovial guy who was talkative and funny at the same time.

He humbly admitted he was not in charge although he seemed to be giving orders to his daughter and a guy who looked like his son. “She’s the manager,” he laughed, pointing at his daughter.

“I just help to fry the chicken. One can’t simply put the chicken in the wok with oil and be impatient about it. Otherwise, the chicken would look nice on the outside and still a bit raw on the inside,” he commented.

How true, I thought. Here was a man who knew his fried chicken. He happily added that he used to carry out his business in Kota Damansara but that didn’t work out. Business was slow there.

Then he mentioned another kampung nearby. There, too, the going was discouraging. Finally, he took a chance with Kampung Baru, Sungai Buloh.

Suddenly, his business took off. “The Chinese here love my nasi lemak. To them, money wasn’t an issue. So long as the dish is excellent, they will pay,” he said confidently.

Seven variations

Altogether Tok Mat had seven variations of his home-cooked nasi lemak. Beginning with “nasi lemak kukus biasa” which costs RM1.50, Tok Mat also took great pride in promoting the “nasi lemak kukus dengan ayam berempah”.

That nasi lemak special costs RM4.50. It didn’t even come close to be labelled as expensive, at least not in my books. The big container of nasi lemak had a wonderful aroma. Embedded in the rice were pandan leaves.

While we were having a nice buddy conversation, Tok Mat was eyeing his chicken in the wok. We had earlier said we wanted really “fresh fried chicken”. So he gave us a rundown of what it was like to produce fried chicken of the finest quality.

Then Tok Mat imparted some sound advice against consuming too much “kari kambing” because it might be too much for those who were prone to gout. He jokingly said that if a large portion of this particular dish was taken, within an hour, the person could feel a “twitching in his big toe”.

Both of us had a good laugh. He must have had some experience with that, otherwise he wouldn’t be so graphic about that ailment.

Since it was not the time of day to sit and eat, we just ordered a couple of takeaways and kept our fingers crossed about the much acclaimed nasi lemak as advertised on the banner.

An hour later at home, we sat down to have our first taste of Tok Mat’s speciality. True to his word, the nasi lemak pandan kukus was easily the best I have tasted in the last five years.

Looks like I have to re-establish rapport with Tok Mat soon. I now know the short cut to that place.

“Nasi lemak pandan kukus dengan ayam berempah”is right at the top of my agenda. I am sure Tok Mat will be happy to see me again.

I simply love a man who loves to eat and knows how to make great nasi lemak. Thank god, there are still people like Tok Mat out there. They are a vanishing breed.

Best Nasi Lemak & Milo Dinasour @ Village Park Restaurant

Know where to get the best nasi lemak in town?

Head down to Damansara Uptown, located near one of the corner, is a new joint (ok, not so new) called Village Park Restaurant.

I've heard a lot of raving reviews of the Nasi Lemak here, so I decided to check it out one day.




We ordered each a Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken. At RM6.80 per plate, it's one of the pricier mamak Nasi Lemak you find these days.

But oh god, it's so worth it.

The fried chicken was one of the crunchiest and tastiest fried chickens I've tried in a long time. KFC was so below par compared to this.




The key ingredient however, in my opinion, was the sambal. Not too spicy and rather sweetish, it blended too well with coconut milk rice and fried chicken drumstick.

I topped it off with a heavy drink, hailed from Singapore culture - Milo Dinosaur.



Priced at RM4.90. It was rather pricey for a Milo drink. But if you look at it as a ice blended chocolate drink, it's really quite reasonable, and definitely sharable between two people.

Normally Milo Dinosaur is just Milo mixed with condensed milk and topped with a generous tablespoon of Milo powder. I first heard and drank such drink was in Singapore two years ago.




But the one in Village Park served the drink ice blended. Thick, rich, icey cold and chocolate-y. What more can one ask for?




Try it. It's worth the visit.

Though the restaurant can get really packed during lunch hour, then it's much faster to self service and queue order your own Nasi Lemak from the counter.



Food Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5


Village Park Restaurant (Damansara Uptown)
5, Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 03-77107860
Open from 7 am to 8pm daily, 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday/Public Holiday

Nasi Lemak Cilibilis at Gurney Drive Hawker Center, Penang

One will find numerous hawker stalls serving a wide array of local delights at Gurney Drive Hawker Center in Penang. Nasi lemak lovers should try the all-time favourite at Nasi Lemak Cilibilis. The stall specialises in nasi lemak kukus (steamed rice in coconut milk).

The rice, cooked with ginger, coconut milk and pandan leaves that give it an amazing aroma, is steamed on the spot on large metal trays in a giant steamer.

Rice and egg steamed in the premises itself

Once cooked, the fluffy rice is transferred and kept warm in a wooden tub. They will repeat the entire cooking process once the supply runs low.

A plate of nasi lemak cost between RM2 and RM4. The basic set comes with a half hard-boiled egg, cucumber slices, sambal, deep-fried ikan bilis and fried peanuts. The sambal is not too spicy and is slightly sweet. Together with the ikan bilis, it gives a good balance with the rice.

Simple tasty meal of Nasi Lemak with fried egg cost RM2.50

Deep-fried chicken and crunchy peanuts and anchovies

Nasi lemak goes well with Ayam Goreng (deep-fried chicken). The well-marinated succulent chicken with crispy skin makes an excellent accompaniment. The chicken is replenished with a new batch constantly by the workers.

This stall also sells Santan Pulut. The glutinous rice steamed using fresh coconut milk is eaten with either durian or mango.

The pulut durian looked delicious and I had one packet on the go. The sticky rice comes with a generous amount of durian and a small packet of fresh coconut milk. The whole concoction was delightful, a burst of creaminess and sweetness. However, this mouthwatering sticky dessert is only available when the owner has the fruit.

The stall faces directly opposite Sunrise Mc Donald. If you are looking for hawker food in Gurney Drive, do consider dropping by Gurney Drive Hawker Centre. It is an idyllic place to sample the range of Indian, Chinese and other Malay hawker fare. Click here for the Map Location.

Nasi Lemak CiliBilis
No 1 Gerai Kawasan Penjaja Gurney Drive
Padang Kota Baru
Pulau Pinang

Tel: 017 4928848

Business Hour : 5pm to 10pm

Closed on Sunday

The Nasi Lemak Adventure went to CountryPatch Cafe

A personal journey and my foodie adventure started a few weekends ago. The idea was to find the best Nasi Lemak dishes in Brunei.

Yesterday I went to CountryPatch at Kiulap. Easiest way to get there, use the road heading to Express at Kiulap. Its right behind it. If you still can't figure it out, look for Twelv Cafe, it's on the same building. If that fails and you own an iPhone and so happen to have the 'OhMyFood!' App, you can look it up there, just type 'Countrypatch'.

My wife and I used to go there often for the carrot cake or to settle a scone craving. To my surprise it has expanded, well kind of. The once open space is now closed with beautiful white panels and a sliding door and from the look of it can still be converted to an open space if the weather permits.

I remember @yasminpatera asked me about the NL there and to my recollection, CP only offers Chicken NL.

So come lunch time, my wife and I went there without making a reservation and was lucky enough to get a table for two. Place was packed so that is a great indication that business was going well.

The vintage walls and pictures have always impressed me about the place. A nice, small, cozy cafe with great food.

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First thing that stuck me was the menu. They had revamped the menu and I saw some very interesting sandwiches and pasta dishes. However my mission was to try their NL.

My wife settled for one of the sandwiches, unfortunately for me I had forgotten to note the name down. But it was a chicken sandwich with a balsamic vinegarette spread with grilled marinated chicken and fresh lettuce and a small helping of fries.

I remember trying out the NL before or I might have seen someone else order it.

At first glance the presentation had a striking resemblance to Sapphira's. But this one was on a smaller plate and it was very neat and well placed.

A pandan infused rice and topped with a sunny side up on one corner. The fried chicken thigh next to it and opposite the two were the sambal and the fried anchovies and peanuts. Looking at it, all I wanted to do was dig right it.

Verdict: You might be lucky. I was not very happy with my dish. It was rather unfortunate that the anchovies and peanuts were over fried and was very difficult to chew. The chicken too was over cooked, it was too dry and had a funny after taste. I did not lodge a complain to the waitress and perhaps I should have. I would like to point out here that my humble opinion should not discourage you from trying this dish. On the plus side, the sambal was very nice, but if you like it spicy this might not give you that extra 'kick'. The absence of any greens also disappointed me because I am after all paying $4.50 for this dish. A few slices of cucumber wouldn't hurt. Again, I would like to stress that you might have a better experience than me when you dine there. Also remember that this is of my own personal experience and am not trying to bad mouth the business. This is only an account of someone who wants to look for the best Nasi Lemak's in our beloved Brunei.

If it so happens that the owners of CountryPatch were to read this, I hope you do not take offense. I do love your establishment and I believe you serve one of the best Carrot Cakes in Brunei.

Food Trip in Thailand

Thai food is definitely one of my major weaknesses. The right mix of salty, sour and spicy flavors cooked with generous servings of meat and vegetables create an explosion of tastes that take any food lover to greater heights.

The unique and simply irresistible Thai cooking is so good it has become a global phenomenon. In any country you visit, chances are there's a Thai specialty restaurant just around the corner.

In college, there was a small Thai kitchen inside the UP campus run by a certain Mama-Thai and Papa-Thai. The food was so good and it was pretty cheap too, enough reason to have a strong following among students, rich kids and budget-conscious alike.

When our family moved to our new home in Malate in 2003, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a small but pretty expensive Thai restaurant called "Sala Thai" less than a block away, which caters mostly to rich patrons and tourists.

For years, that restaurant has been my favorite hangout whenever my mom decided to serve something I hate (I only eat chicken, pork, seafood and a few leaf veggies). The restaurant however, closed shop in 2008 as tourists visiting the Malate area dwindled. In fact, other popular pubs and bars in the area closed down soon after Sala Thai served its last meal.

You see, my love affair with Thai food has a long history.

That is why, on my first-ever visit to Thailand in 2009, I saw to it that I will indulge in the mouth-watering dishes that this country has to offer.

I consumed my fair share of pad thai served at 40 to 50 baht and of the mango and sticky rice that was so good, I ate three servings in one seating.

I also enjoyed the curry dishes, the prawns and the spicy chicken cuisines. At night, I decimated more than enough bottles of Chang beer, along with my staples Heineken and Carlsberg.

But while traditional Thai dishes certainly satisfied me, I was also up for some challenge.

Dared by some Belgian friends I met, I threw all my worries and munched a local delicacy, deep fried grasshoppers, which locals say actually served as aphrodisiac.

I was dared to try the worms and the larvae but these, I just couldn't take. Well, my Belgian acquaintances were more adventurous and finished entire servings of each delicacy.

Looking back, I can honestly say that such food trip was one of the highlights of my first Thailand trip. Although I felt weird towards some of dishes, I still savored the chance to enjoy some authentic Thai cooking.

And now that I am set to make yet another visit to this amazing country, I can't help but share these dishes that really made my maiden Thai adventure all the more memorable.

Exotic food in Thailand

These are fried edible insects. I haven't really dared tasting them but if you are up for a real food challenge, why not grab one of these exotic food?

Honeymoon Thailand

 

Ingredients of Thai Cuisine

The probably most noticable ingredient of Thai cooking is: chili. Even though it’s not an primary Thai ingredient – it has just been introduced to Thailand a incorporate of hundred years ago by Portugese traders who brought it from South America – it’s hard to imagine Thai cooking without chillis nowadays.

Fortunately for you, most Thai citizen nowadays know that Westerners prefer a milder taste and often have a hard time dealing with primary Thai spiciness and will get ready dishes “mai ped” (not spicy) if cooking for European or American visitors.

Coconut milk is other beloved ingredient. It’s being made by pressing with flesh of coconuts with water, and gives a meal a nice, mild, soft, round note that counterbalances the spiciness.

Lemongrass is also a generally used ingredient because it makes a dish taste pleasantly fresh. Separate sorts of herbs like Thai basilicum, ginger, galangal, tumeric and cilantro are also generally used. Note that in Thai cuisine, herbs are practically all the time used fresh, not dried. This is partly because fresh herbs tend to cool the body down in comparison to dried herbs, which often have “heating properties”.

Eating in Thailand: A Shared Experience

There is a positive incompatibility between the eating habits of Thai citizen and citizen from European or American descent. Western citizen tend to order isolate dishes, even when eating together. Thai citizen on the other hand order some dishes which will then be positioned in the middle of the table. Every person gets his own plate of rice, and then Every person eats from these foodladen plates. It is not tasteless to load your own food on your own table. Instead, you all the time take other spoonful from the shared plate, mix it with some rice, and eat it, and take other spoonful from the shared plates. Loading up food on your on plate is considered impolite for Thai people.

Vegetarian Food in Thailand?

Many citizen are under the impression that Thailand is a country where there are lots of vegetarians. However, this is not the case. Even most vegetarian dishes (like fried mixed vegetables) are ready with either fish sauce or oyster sauce (both of which are made from either fermented fish or oyster essence). If you characterize that you are vegetarian however, they will get ready vegetarian food for you, but you should then learn to characterize that in Thai before arriving in Thailand.

Beancurd is most often also just other condiment in a dish, and seldom the main ingredient. Even though it is generally used in Thailand, it most often is just added to a dish that contains meat for bigger variety.

Highlighting the Thai Fishery Industry "quality, variety, freshness" at THAIFEX - World of Food Asia 2011

The Thai fishery industry plays a significant role in the development of the Thai economy. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the Thai fishery industry which includes fish and food processing, cooling, freezing, packaging, ice making, shipping etc.

Thailand is one of the major seafood suppliers in the world today. Fishery products for export include fresh and frozen prawn (black tiger, white, pink, fresh water), processed shrimp (boiled, frozen breaded, stretched shrimp, and shrimp stick), squid, cuttlefish, fish filet, surimi and fish in the form of fresh, chilled frozen, and processed food.

Photos by Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA)

Over the years, Thai seafood has gradually gained worldwide recognition. And Thailand is now the largest exporter of shrimp, chilled fish, and prawns. The Thai seafood industry is one of the largest in the world in terms of production and trade. Thailand is the world’s number one exporter of canned tuna and shrimp products. The main export market is the United States, European countries, Japan, Korea and many other countries.

In 2010, exports of shrimp, squid, and fish yielded nearly 135 million baht (US$ 4.2 billion) with shrimp products being the largest contributor representing 70% at the total.

In conjunction with THAIFEX – World of Food Asia 2011, the Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) will organize its own mini-exhibition called Thailand Frozen Food & Seafood Zone at the Challenger 1 Hall 1. This year there will be more than 40 suppliers occupying 224 booths.

This will further emphasize significant roles in the business that generates over 100 billion baht worth of export revenue for Thailand every year. The exhibition will highlight the reasons why frozen food products from Thailand are widely popular around the world.

An exceptional and initiative service, Business Matching, is also provided for international buyers who visit the fair and would like to meet exclusively with members of TFFA. Please click here if you are interested in business matching with Thai Frozen Food Association members. All you need to do is provide us with information about your requirements and we will provide you with this for free service. This is one-of-a-kind service for your sourcing of frozen seafood from Thailand.

About Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA)

Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) is a private non-profit organization founded in 1968 under the Thai Trade Association Act. The original name was Thai Marine Products Association, then changed to Thai Fishery and Frozen Products Association in 1983 to cover the frozen products industry.

Finally, the present name of Thai Frozen Foods Association was adopted in 1994. The name clearly reflects the overall scenario of frozen products as food item, as well as expands the association’s supervisory role beyond marine products to cover many other food categories.

TFFA runs by Directors elected from its members to a 2 year-term. The main business of its members is processing and exporting frozen foods. TFFA derives its income from annual membership fee, as well as service provided such as sample analysis, arranging seminars, sales of forms and documents. It now has more than 213 member companies, with an office located at

Address
:
92/6 6th Floor, Sathornthani Building 2
North Sathorn Road, Silom,
Bangrak
, Bangkok 10500,
Thailand
Tel. ( 662 ) 235-5622-4, (662) 636-9001-6
Fax. ( 662 ) 235-5625
Website: www.thai-frozen.or.th E-mail: thai-frozen@thai-frozen.or.th

Thai sea food – Sea food restaurant in Thailand

Thailand is a country that covered by a long shoreline located in south East Asia. That’s why this country can get a lot of benefits from sea foods.

Sea food in Thailand can help to people in the local area and also can export to sell in the international market. They take those sea foods to steam, baked, curry, fried, stir, with soup. The way that Thai people prepare sea foods for their meal is quite different from other countries in the world because they like to use lots of herbs and spices which can get from the local farm.

Some sea foods are preserved by processing into salted fish. They can do it both in the farm and in the factory and then export to abroad such as United States.

There are two ways to breed Ikan bilis fish. First is to catch them from the wild seas and the second is to bred in fish farms. But mostly fresh wild fish are much more expensive and easy to sell to the market than those that bred in the farm. The fish need to breed and mangrove is the best natural place for their breeding.

The fishermen who can get lots of fish from their fishing are so enthusiasts proudly to bring their catches to home for their family and income. They can sell those fishes directly to the market with a reasonable price. During their fishing, they need boats to go out at night to where the fishes take place. There are so many people are doing this business for their family, hence the fishing industry has played main role for the income of country. And people can improve their standard living as well.Not only sea fish, but other crustaceans such as crabs and prawns are also popular resources for people in Thailand. They like to eat them for their daily meals. And others sea foods such as oysters, cuttlefish, squid, octopus mussels are very delicious for them.

When you visit Thailand, you can find seafoods restaurant in Thailand in many place. They served you lots of kind of seafoods as i describe above. So enjoy your time there and let’s test with those amazing test.

The Best Food for a Young Athlete

Here’s a revelation: eat the least processed food you can find.

Right, that’s not a revelation. You’ve heard it before but it’s not an easy thing to do when feeding the typical American teenage athlete. But it can be done, especially if you try to stick to the 80/20 rule that I’ll outline below.

There are a lot of different diets and recommendations around but the number of choices is very confusing, and frankly, I’m not sure all of them are safe for young athletes. What we’re trying to do with a young athlete is make them as healthy as possible to improve their sport performance -- but more importantly I believe that we can set them up with good habits for a lifetime of healthy eating.

What I’m talking about here is eating as close to natural and minimally processed foods as possible. Some nutritionists call this “eating close to the ground” and other call it “eating clean,” etc., and it means stepping back to the old days of eating the most nutrient-packed and least processed foods you can find.

It means shopping on the edges of the grocery store and not down the middle of the store in the pre-packaged frozen foods section. The nutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in natural foods will almost always lead to an improved health profile, improved performance, decreased body fat if the child is overweight, and increased energy levels.



Examples of good food choices for the young athlete
It’s hard shopping for young athletes because they can be pretty set in their ways and are heavily influenced by their friends -- who may be eating poorly. Here are just a few examples of what you should aim for in the food choices:



Fruits and Vegetables

• Apples, bananas, berries, kiwis, oranges
• Dried fruits as snacks
• 100 percent fruit smoothies from places like Jamba Juice
• Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard
• Beans and lentils
• Avocado



Meat, Fish, Nuts, and Dairy

• Lean meats: chicken, turkey, lean beef
• Fish: tuna, salmon
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pecans, cashews
• Dairy: low fat milk, low fat yogurt, eggs



Bread, Cereal, and Grains

• Bread: 100% whole wheat or whole grain, rye, sourdough
• High fiber cereal such as Kashi or Cheerios.
• Oatmeal
• Couscous



Let’s get real, kids will be kids: the 80/20 rule

The guidelines above represent the ideal situations but the practical matter is that it’s impossible to have a young athlete follow these suggestions all the time. That’s where the 80/20 rule comes into play.

The 80/20 rule means that 80 percent of the time you stick with the healthy eating rules and 20 percent of the time you’re allowed to “cheat” and stray from the ideal. When one of your teammates has a birthday and cupcakes are the post-game “snack”-- go for it and enjoy it with your friends! Having a (very) occasional burger, fries, and soda? OK, then do the best you can with your other meals that week.

Be realistic and do the best you can, when you can. You’ll live a healthier life for the effort and it will allow you to perform at your best during games.

Advice to decide on the best pet food for your dog.

In making a choice on what to serve your pet dog, it’s important to choose the best brand among all the dog foods in the market, because your devoted dog deserves only the best dog food. You cannot be totally confident that the ingredients in most supermarket supplied dog foods are healthy for the dogs. The quality cannot be guaranteed because it’s been sitting on the shelves for a long time already. Therefore, the question for caring dog owners will be, what is the best brand of pet food and where is this available?

Always Get the Freshest
Dogs also need to be fed with recently made dog food, and so sensible per owners should put this in top priority. The best way to get fresh dog food is to obtain it directly from the company that makes it. Dr. G’s pet food provides you with some of the freshest and best dog food currently available on the market. You can be confident that the dog food is fresh when you consider that they only make it after you place your order. Delivery follows soon after. The reality with most dog foods in the supermarket is that you don’t actually know how long it’s been sitting on the shelf.
The very best Ingredients

To make sure that your favorite canine is getting the best dog food is by making sure it contains the best ingredients. what is the best dog food that you can feed to your dog?? The good news is that Dr. G’s pet foods for dogs is rich in all the essential nutrients that is best for all dogs. The contents of Dr. G’s holistic dog foods comprise of a mix of low-gluten whole grains, chicken protein, some fruits and also marine lipids. In order for your favorite pet to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the key ingredients that are needed in their food should contain amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and natural insulin. It must also have Omega 3 fatty acids to complete the essenti.

Basic safety in Manufacturing
When searching for the proper food for your dog it is critical to consider the safety of the food. The method of preparing the food is what Dr. G’s dog foods is best recognized for. The process in Dr. G’s pet foods is that it is dealt with and made right after the order and then it is quickly delivered right at your home, unlike the other dog foods that are made in bulk and are stored in the factories and supermarkets for long periods of time. Dr. G’s dog foods always prepare healthy foods for dogs because it does not contain any preservatives and harmful ingredients. The end product is a completely holistic dog food that is healthy with only natural ingredients. Through this you can be assured of your dog’s health and safety.

Who is the Man Responsible for Dr. G’s Pet Foods?
Dr. G’s dog foods is better among all the dog foods in the market because of the distinct reputation of the founder. The creator is Dr. Martin Glinsky who has degrees in pet nutrition and nutritional biochemistry. He initiated his own pet food company in 1980, in accordance with his knowledge of what types of nutrients animals need. His dog food has the best holistic components that cannot be found in any other dog food in the market. It incorporates only fresh ingredients in every batch made. All pet owners can certainly be guaranteed that they’re giving the best dog food to their pet with Dr. G’s dog foods.
Most of the dog foods located on the shelves in supermarkets are of course not fresh and even contain harmful ingredients, and yet this is what some pet owners feed their dogs everyday.. The best choice in providing fresh and quality dog food is to order online from Dr. G’s pet foods. Your pet dog deserves only the best, and with Dr.G’s Fresh Dog Food, you are guaranteed of quality everytime.

The Best Vegetarian Chili EVER!

Historically, my husband has always been a bit skeptical of vegetarian chilis. I think this is because he used to eat meat (he turned veggie at age 15) and probably never got used to the non-meat flavor in veggie chili. (I could probably ask him why he didn’t like it but it’s more fun for me to speculate on this blog hehe). Anyway – I recently came across a really flavorful veggie chili recipe on Kath Eats and convinced my husband to try it. It was a total SUCCESS! He LOVED the chili so much he went back for seconds  I made a few modifications to Kath’s recipe – but overall stayed pretty true to it because it was so good! Thanks Kath for a great recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Navy (or pinto) beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto beans because I like them better)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen okra (I actually omitted this, and substituted 1 cup of chopped red pepper)
• 1/2 cup frozen lima beans (or canned) (I omitted this too, and substituted 1/2 cup chopped red onion)
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth) To keep it veggie friendly, I used veggie broth of course 
• 3 garlic cloves (I probably used closer to 4-5 to up the flavor)
• 1 heaping tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp Ghirardelli cocoa powder (unsweet) (This is totally the secret ingredient in the recipe! Makes the chili super smoky and gives it a wonderful flavor!)
• 2 sprinkles garlic powder (This ended up being about 1/2 tsp for me)
• 1 sprinkle cayenne pepper (This ended up being a little less than 1/4 tsp for me)
• 3-4 glugs Worcestershire sauce (Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it, so I actually used soy sauce as a substitute and it worked great!)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• A few grinds of black pepper

Directions

1. Chop the garlic, onion, and red pepper. Saute lightly over medium high heat in 1-2 tsp olive oil
2. Add everything else into the pot! Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 min or longer as needed
4. Top with cheese, sour cream, and serve with tortilla chips!

Nutritionals

This makes 12 ladles of soup. Each ladle has ~135 calories; 8g protein; 8g fiber! Talk about a nutritional powerhouse in a one pot dish!

Pictures of the Ingredients I used…

The chili is almost done cooking…

Dinner is served!

Now topped with the cheese for the final touch – yummyyy 

This chili really was the best veggie version both me and my husband have ever had. It had a great smoky quality about it, was super hearty with all the beans and veggies, and was amazingly easy to make! Thanks again Kath, you saved Sunday night dinner for me!

Top 5 food blogs for parents

My Daddy Cooks  is a fabulous video blog made by Nick Coffer featuring his gorgeous toddler Archie. In it they  cook fresh, creative and varied food together on camera in their tiny kitchen. After adopting a “baby led weaning” approach to solids when Archie was 6 months old (no purées or mushes, just eating and enjoying the same food together round the table as a family), Archie loves food and cooking and these videos really show this. Nick has his own radio show now and his first book out on May 26th and was recently on the vanessa show…he is that good! he is also really clear and makes you feel you can cook too even with kids!

Annabel Karmel

At the moment Annabel’s blog is all about her new show Annabels Kitchen where she cooks with 2 madcap penguins and really engages kids with food. It’s been on CiTV if you missed it and there is a great book to go with it. My 3 year old keeps ‘reading’ it and showing me pictures of clown sandwiches and the like! Annabel Karmel know s a lot about baby, toddlers kids and food she is also the best selling parenting author int he UK. She gets that  kids like things to look good but that parents want good nutrition. Do take a look at her blog she often post recipes and ideas up hat may really inspire you.

 

Any Lane - Cooking, Cakes and Children

The wonderful Amy Lane has recently published her fabulous fiorst book The Baking Pocket Bible which is an absolutely brilliant resource for loads and loads of need to know baking ideas. A book to pass on indeed! She also writes a tremendous blog called Cooking Cakes and Children where she shares recipes and muses on cooking with kids. She also owns an online shop  called cake shop corner where she sells yummy cake balls! There is no end to this ladies talent …do check her out.

English Mum

English mum is a blog written by Becky, an absolute lover of food. She writes about markets, shares tons of gorgeous recipes, reviews cook books and just embraces and adores food stuff! She once wrote me an amazing post on The budget birthday cupcake

Every childs idea of heaven (oh and mine!) Do take a look at her wonderful blog.

Frugalicious Food

This fab blog is written by Jen (who also blogs about family life The Madhouse) and Cass (who blogs at The diary of a frugal family) about  frugal family life. Both women are absolutely comminted to providing healthy food for their children but are on strict budgets. Here they share lots of ideas around frugal and delicious food with recipes, mealplanners and reviews. Frugalicious Food is perfect for baby budgeters!

Well these are my top 5-  just to point you in a few different foodie directions. Of course this is just my view. Would you like to share your top foodie blog or share some info on yours?