An Advanced Happy Easter to everybody!

Continuing our tips on eggs, here are a few tips that will definitely set you apart as an eggspert when it comes to cooking this humpty-dumpty ingredient.

Rooting out Rotten Eggs

After some time, you may have eggs in your fridge that have already gone bad. Usually, those that are not in their prime anymore are hard to distinguish from the ones that are still good for cooking. Do this simple test, to root out rotten eggs. Fill a cup with water and add two teaspoons of salt. Gently place the egg you are testing in the water. If it sinks, it is still good for cooking. If the egg floats, throw it away as it is no longer fresh.

Scrumptious Scrambled Egg

For delicious fluffy scrambled eggs, beat some bread crumbs into the eggs before scrambling.These will not only result in more great tasting servings per egg, but will add that great texture your grandmother’s eggs are known for.

Scrambled Art

Add some art to your scrambled or sunny side-ups. Get your metal cookie cutters out and place them in your frying pan. Spray them with cooking oil, and pour your eggs directly over them. Your family will love this surprise. Your kids will find the eggs more eggciting to eat with shapes of bells, flowers, trees and stars on their plate.

Beat Eggs to a Fluffy Finish

Want to know what your grandmother’s secret is when making her fluffy omelets and scrambled egg? It is quite simple, for each egg, add one quarter teaspoon of cornstarch and beat well.

Easter Advice

For this Easter, here are a few tips to make the holiday more exciting.

Want exciting dyed eggs this Easter? Start by collecting rubber bands of all sizes and width. You can cut thicker and wider ones into wavy or zigzag patterns or into ovals by cutting them after pinching them in the middle. After you have collected a good amount with a variety of shapes and sizes, dress up your eggs with the rubber bands and toss them into the dye. Be ready to find exciting designs unveil themselves when you remove the bands. Get a two toned effect, dye the eggs a pastel color and dye in a darker shade after you put the bands on.

Get your kids involved in the designing of your eggs by putting your hard boiled eggs into a resealable plastic bag with the food dye. Once the bag is sealed completely, have your little kids shake them and help in removing the bands after a few shakes.

With Easter just around the corner, we felt it time to give some expert advice that will surely make you a n egg master. These simple tips are derived from the American Egg Board (yes there is such a thing).

How to Boil an Egg

Boiling is perhaps one of the simplest ways to prepare egg. To prevent cracking while making hard boiled eggs, use a pot with a tight lid. Cover the eggs with water, add a pinch of salt and bring it to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling rapidly, turn off the heat and allow the pot to stand unopened for ten minutes. Doing this will allow the eggs to finish cooking without cracking up.

To mark hard boiled eggs, put a little food coloring into the water. This way, you will know immediately which eggs are hard boiled when you put them back in the fridge.

Peeling a Boiled Egg

We know how peeling an egg takes the joy out of eating boiled egg. Usually,we find half of it sticking to the shell. To prevent this, add a pinch of salt to the boiling water. After this, the shell should come off easily.

In removing the shell, you can roll the egg on your counter  while pressing down a bit. Insert a teaspoon between the egg and its shell and gently move the spoon around the egg. This will make shell removal easier and faster, especially if you are making salad where you have several you have to deal with.

Warm Eggs

When using eggs with other ingredients, it is best to have it at room temperature. This will ensure that will combine well with other ingredients. To warm eggs, put them in a bowl of warm water and wait 10 to 15 minutes before using.

Storing Eggs

When storing eggs, it is better to keep them in the carton they came in when you bought them from the grocery store.  This way they can’t soak up odors from other food.

One of the best uses of Xagave agave nectar as an ingredient is for sauces in a variety of recipes involving pasta. Of course, no matter how good you sauce is, it will not be as delicious unless you have prepared the pasta correctly. With the following tips, we know you will be more confident in serving pasta in your next meal with the family.

Cooking Pasta like a Chef

Cooking pasta is as delicate as handling spaghetti strands with your hands. If you are heavy handed, you will have a hard time getting it perfect. When cooking pasta, be sure you use the perfect pot. A lightweight pot, will not only boil water faster, but can actually return it to boiling quickly after you have added the pasta. This helps you avoid having strands of spaghetti clump together or stick to the bottom of the pot.

To Rinse or not to Rinse

Here are the rules for rinsing (or not rinsing pasta). Experts suggest that pasta destined for sauces should not be rinsed since its slightly sticky starch helps hold the sauce the the noodles. For cases like lasagna, however, the vide noodles can actually be rinsed for better handling. You can also rinse any pasta to be used for cold salads.

Storing Pasta

When exposed to light, the vitamins in pasta start to break down. Because of this, it has to be used within a month or two to actually still get the benefits of the vitamins in it. When you display your pasta in nice glass containers, they not only lose their vitamin content but they also do not keep for longer. Pasta is best kept in airtight dark container where they can last for up to 18 months.

you do not have to look far for these the perfect pasta container, however. The next time you buy stacked chips keep the container to put your pasta in. These are sealed and do not allow light to go through making the vitamins stay put longer in your noodles. Just be sure you label the cartons correctly to aovid some disappointed kids on your next picnic.

Protect Yourself

Years ago, a chain email about exploding microwaves has become so popular that many people, especially moms have been extra careful when using this modern appliance. The content of the email especially warn users of the ability of microwaves to “superheat” liquids causing some cases of eruptions and scalding incidents. The truth is that microwaves can heat the inner layers of your liquid to a boiling point without any bubbles or movement on the surface as you would when you boil water from the stove.  After heating water on the microwave, any small movement or action on the water surface can cause all the energy inside the water to explode and may cause major burns.

To keep yourself from getting into any accidents, whenever possible, use your stove when heating liquids. If there is a need to use the microwave in heating liquids, use a container that is at least 1/3 larger than the liquid being heated. Stir the liquid being heated very well before putting it in and put something non metallic in the container to spread out the heat energy. (a tea bag or stirring stick will do). Break the heating time as well, making sure you stir the liquid at least twice while heating and then again after it is done. Recommended heating times are there for a reason and must not be exceeded.

Smart Microwaving

You can actually make your microwave work smarter for you. When heating food, you can actually arrange them when you put them in so everything will be finished at the same time. Microwaves take up a lot of energy when heating and following this simple tip will not only lessen the time you use it but will also allow you to avoid having portions of your food uncooked.

When microwaving food, be sure you put in the thicker or bigger portions of the food being heated on the outside edges of the plate while keeping the smaller pieces towards the middle. As example, put your vegetables with the stalk out on the revolving plate.

Using your Microwave as a Nutcracker

Okay, before you use your microwave door to crack those nuts, you can actually crack nuts easily by using this simple technique. Put your hard nuts (brazil, pecans and walnuts) in a bowl of water and cover. Heat the bowl with the nuts in a High setting until it boils. Let the bowl bowl stand in the microwave after it boils  till it cools down a bit. You can then take out the bowl and drain the water. (Don’t be afraid of it erupting. The nuts in the water allow the water to boil and not keep the energy inside.) Now, open your shells easily. Crack them over a bowl or a clean cloth to catch any excess water from the shells.

Ban Bacteria.

When grilling food (especially if you like it rare), there is a chance of bacteria staying on your food when you consume it. Most people think that it is okay to marinate their meat on their kitchen counters for hours thinking that it is safe since they will be cooking them anyway. The warm environment on your kitchen counter however, makes the marinate the perfect medium for multiplying bacteria. When marinating it is best to keep it refrigerated. The cold temperature keeps the bacteria from multiplying on your meat. Be sure that you never reuse marinade after it has been on raw meat as well.

Before serving your meat from the grill, be sure that you have a clean plate waiting for you to put the meat in. Putting the meat back to the plate it was from will expose it again to the bacteria that was there while it was raw. Be sure to use clean utensils when removing the meat from the grill before you serve it and always wash your hands while grilling. Nothing shows your love to your family than ridding them of a plateful of bacteria served on a platter.

Meat and Pineapple

Remember those recipes which had pineapple on them? When cooking one, be sure to add the pineapple before you serve. Pineapples contain enzymes that will make the meat fall apart if it is on too long.

We want it Tender

There are many ways to tenderize meat, however, there is no more delicious way to do it than with vinegar or with a tropical fruit.  When boiling the meat, add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water. This will tenderize your meat making it easy to cut with a fork when served. A more flavorful way to tenderize your meat involves the use of Kiwi. this tropical fruit contains the enzyme actinidin which not only prevents meat from becoming leathery, but also adds an interesting flavor to it as well.

Another unusual way to tenderize meat involve the use of tea. No tough cut of meat will soften when braised in black tea. Put four tablespoons of black tea leaves in warm water and allow to steep for about 5 minutes.  Remove the leaves and add in a half cup of brown sugar until it is dissolved. Season 2 to 3 pounds of meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and some onions. Place the seasoned meat on a Dutch oven and pour in the tea mixture over the meat. Cook in a pre heated, 325-degree oven until tender. It may take around an hour and a half for the meat to cook because it does so slowly, however, it will come out so soft and tender a knife wont be necessary in eating it.

These simple tips will not only impress your friends and family but will also make your meat recipes safer and more delicious.

Runner Ups:

Bela Rose for her Lemon Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze

Kim Merselis for her Peppermint Mocha Brownie Bites with Coffee Frosting

Gregor Beals for his Rawkin No Bake Cacao Almond Oaties!

Lucky Voter:

Shelly Brandli

Grand Prize Winner:

And the lucky winner of the sought after Vitamix Blender and a Gift pack from us is…

Maritza Kelly for her delicious Easy Chocolate Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

If you are a winner, you should receive a notification from us providing details on how you can claim your prize.

The Truth about Bottled Water

Bottled water is perhaps one of the biggest invention of this century. Whoever thought of selling water and bottling them after a promise of stringent purification processes is a genius. Like air, water is perhaps one of the few things in this planet that we just can’t live without. It is the first thing that we look for when deprived of the bodies sustenance. With bottled water, we are promised a safer and cleaner water than what comes out our home faucets. Not scary at all, right?

WRONG. In a recent study, a third of bottled water showed significant chemical or bacterial contamination that includes coliform, carcinogenic compounds, arsenic and nitrates. Another study has shown that some bottled water are no better than tap water and are rarely tested for purity. Industry and government tests estimate that almost 40 percent of bottled water is ordinary tap water. Furthermore, unlike tap water, whose contamination tests are made public, bottled water manufacturers do not divulge their test results to protect their trade secrets.

Peanut Butter, Bugs and Rats

A pound of peanut butter can contain up to 150 bug fragments and 5 rodent hairs. Of course, these may not be all that bad for you with all the processing involved, but just the thought that I am putting bugs and rodent hairs on my kids sandwiches is enough to make me cringe.

A Toast for Wine

Like, bottled water, there is another drink that we enjoy which requires our attention. Enter, wine. This coming Thanksgiving and holiday season, a lot of our tables will have wines on them. Here are a few facts on why you should be careful on which wine you buy.

To make your bottle of wine clear and pure, wineries do a process called Fining. For this process, a fining agent called isinglass is usually used. Isinglass is a collagen from sturgeon bladders. With gelatin and ox blood, your bottle of wine is made free from those unsightly particles and impurities.

There are two ways of harvesting the grapes for wine. Most wineries pride themselves of harvesting by hand. Even with this attention to detail, it is not uncommon for some insects to wind up in the picker’s basket as workers do not simply have time to inspect every grape that they pick.

For the wines harvested by machines, there is more of these MOG or “material other than grapes”. The machines harvesting the grapes usually scythe through everything in their path which may include sticks, insects, rodents and even small mammals. A good example of this contamination happened in 2001 in Ontario, Canada, where the whole wine region was infested with ladybugs. During the harvesting, the bugs become agitated secreting a strong foul  liquid containing pyrazine. This became perceptible in numerous wines of that vintage.

Dirty Fruits and Vegetables

Found below are four of the fruits we commonly eat which made it to the top 6 dirtiest foods according to the Environment Working Group. More than 90 percent of samples of these fruits tested positive for detectable pesticides, even after they were rinsed.

• Peaches
• Apples
• Nectarines
• Strawberries

For vegetables, the ones most likely to expose consumers to pesticides, despite being rinsed or peeled include the following:

• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Kale
• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

Avoiding MSG

A lot of consumers have made it a habit to check product labels for the presence of MSG or monosodium glutamate. The scary fact is that food makers have now found a way to conceal MSG in packaged food by listing it under other names such as hydrolized vegetable protein, autolyzed vegetable protein, torula yeast, soy extracts, yeast extract and protein isolate.

We hope that the above mentioned facts will scare you enough to make you be vigilant about the food you eat. Ignorance perhaps is bliss when it comes to what is in your food. However, it won’t hurt to be aware of what you are putting on the dinner table for your family.

Please feel free to get in touch with us. At Xagave, your health is our priority.

Found below are five infographics about sugar that you ought to see. These are not only informative but are beautiful works of art as well. Just click on the pictures to see the full pictures.

The Sugar Gram

This infographic shows just how much sugar is in everyday food we take it. Once you can visualize just how much sugar is in the food we take in, you’d understand just why we need to cut down on some of these to keep healthy. Xagave allows food to have the same sweetness with less the amount, allowing one to cut his consumption by half just by switching.

How Sugar is Changing America

This infographic shows our dependence as a nation to sugar and the negative effects consumption has on the body. At the end of the infographic, some of the substitutes are listed with their negative effects. Xagave is an organic, raw and healthy alternative to sugar. It is also delicious and has fiber and calcium which the body needs.

 Food Data Points

This infographic shows just how the American public is becoming more aware when it comes to the food they take in. It is good to consider how the web is a great influencer for many in what recipes to try and do. Our Cookbook Delicious Meets Nutritious is a great resource for those who are looking for healthier meals that are less fattening.

Put Down Your Mexican Coke

This infographic is a visual on how our body processes sugar and how it affects our health. It is good to note that with more and more sugar we take in as a nation, our kids are becoming more and more prone to the deleterious efects of sugar.

Diabetes Awareness

This cool infographic basically shows how much diabetes is now affecting the world and at the very end shows how one can avoid it with exercise and the right diet. Xagave is a low GI sweetener which makes it good for people already diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes as well as a good alternative for those who want to avoid it.