DEB'S FOOD JOURNAL POST (July)

Welcome to another Food Journal Post.  In this post, you will hear about some new products and a few different articles that might be interesting to you.

Good Enough To Eat

We are all familiar with vegetable flowers in the form of Cauliflower, Broccoli and Artichokes, but other, more ornamental flowers have been used in the cuisine of cultures all over the world for thousands of years. The Romans were keen on them, as were the ancient Chinese, and European medieval writings talk about feasts of venison cooked with marigolds and violets in salads. 

Using peppery Nasturtium flowers in salads and sweet, perfumed rose petals in desserts is quite well known, but did you also know: 

• The young shoots of Hostas are good spinach alternative – Hostakopita is a Greek spinach pie made with hosta shoots and in Japan nori maki sushi is filled with parboiled hosta shoots marinated in soy sauce, sugar & salt. They can also be steamed like asparagus. Only use young shoots though as older leaves are too tough. 

• Hemerocallis – Day Lily – the flowers and buds have a sweet nutty flavour and look pretty in salads. (Don’t use other types of lilies though as they are poisonous!) 

• Violets & Pansies – the sweet, fragrant flowers can be used in salads, desserts and drinks and can be crystallised for cake decoration. 

• Sunflowers – we all know you can eat the seeds, but did you know you can also eat the buds & petals? The petals have a bitter-sweet taste and can be used in salads. The unopened buds can be steamed and have a flavour similar to artichokes. 

• Lilac – the flowers have a floral, slightly lemony flavour and can be used in salads. 

• Honeysuckle – the flowers have a sweet honey flavour and can be used as a garnish for salads and desserts. (Don’t eat the berries though as they are poisonous). 

• Fuchsias – the vibrant flowers look great as a garnish. 

• Campanula – the narrow leaves make a sweet addition to salads. 

• Yucca – the white flowers have a thick and crunchy texture and a sweet flavour. Be careful of the spines at the tips of the leaves when picking though! 

• Typha – Reed Mace – the young shoots taste similar to water chestnuts and the rhizome can be eaten raw or cooked, or dried and ground into flour! 

• Even the humble Daisies and Dandelions in your lawn can be picked and used as garnishes. 

N.B. It’s fun to use some of these more unusual edible garden plants, but do be careful you are sure what they are, as so many of our common garden plants are in fact poisonous. If in doubt, leave it out! 

Also, never use insecticides or chemicals on plants you may want to eat, and make sure you wash them carefully first – not least to get rid of the creepy-crawlies!

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ROB'S BRAND

I would like to start this out with saying I had never seen this product before.  So this was my first time tasting all these great flavors of this product.  I have to say that the flavors really caught my eye.  My family and I tried each and every kind of product that I will be listing below.

Rob’s Brands are … commitment.

‘Be smart, be thoughtful and be generous.’

For Rob’s Brands founder and CEO Robert Ehrlich, its that simple…and that important. Our commitment to smart nutrition begins with Non-GMO butterfly popcorn kernels sourced from independent and agriculturally conscious farmers. From there, we work with only the finest all natural ingredients to create our unique flavors. Every bag of Rob’s Brands are 100% whole grain, high in dietary fiber, rich in antioxidants, and certified Kosher and Gluten-Free. Best of all, each serving of every Rob’s Brands flavor is 40 guilt-free calories or less, which we think is pretty thoughtful, too.

 Well I have to say when I seen this one I was thinking Spinach chip. I do have to say that this flavor is very unique one.  I actually liked it along with my son.  This chip are crunchy and chuck full of antioxidants.


The Himinlyam Pink Salt popcorn (right) has a very smooth salt flavor to the popcorn.  The popcorn is light and fluffy and full of taste to the last one.

 The sweet & salty popcorn really speaks for itself.  The popcorn is popped light and each popcorn kernel has the sweet and salty taste.  It is a nice mellow combination.  My whole family loved this one.


Now for the Bangin' Cheddar popcorn (right) it is a real cheddar flavor.  It reminds me of eating cheddar cheese, but with a crunch.  It really has the sharp flavor of cheese.  My son and I loved this one.

 I have to say I was a little reluctant to try the one above.  The only reason is because I was not certain on how Pineapple flavor would be on popcorn.  So with that being said I did have my son try it first.  His opinion to me was that it is really different.  So I figured I would try it so I can write this up.  So I popped one in my mouth and was pleasantly surprised.  The popcorn had a pineapple flavor but not a strong one.  So it is very different but really good.  I ended up finishing the whole bag myself.  So I guess that says it all.

The mushroom kettle chips were alright.  It really didn't have the flavor I imagined they would. It had a very light taste to it.  So this one I wouldn't rate too high, but my son liked it.

Now for the last one that is pictured above.  This is a great tasting popcorn and my whole family loved this one.  The coconut flavor makes this popcorn really good.  You really need to try this flavor and of course the other ones too.

So make sure you stop by Rob's Brand Snacks and enjoy some awesome flavors and no guilt of eating snacks.  These snacks are so healthy for your body.  So why not eat healthy and like it.

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The Effect of Changing Tastes on McDonalds 

There are around 40 Million American are considered obese. We live in a world, where everything is almost instant. We can go to a drive up window and receive a fast, hot meal in less than 3 minutes. Everything is about fast. That is the Mc Donald's golden years. But sometimes, going too fast is not good for us. Customers now substitute healthy food for a quick cheap meal, a healthy diet, included with healthy habits, can change our life. These changes are great for our world, but it is hurting the Mc Donald's profits. 

Consumer tastes and preferences are changing and the [fast-food] industry need to be able to adapt to them. There is a huge opportunity to develop new products that appeal to the health conscious customer. To be more specific, they need to develop new products that appeal to young, health conscious women. Because consumer tastes are changing there is an opportunity to develop new healthier product lines that appeal to the new tastes of consumers that satisfied their tastes. 
Question3: What are Mc Donald's strengths and weakness and what conclusion do you draw about it future? 
Strengths: 
- Industry's leader: McDonalds has been the leader in the fast-food industry for decades, literally changing the way Americans ate. Like every other business, McDonald's is subject to opportunities and threats in their specific and general sectors. 
- McDonald's financial condition seems to be fair, but on the rise and could go back to being strong in the near future. The company has enough money to satisfy it short-term and long-term obligations and their interest payments, signifying that debt is not a major problem for them.

 
- Production: McDonald's has prided itself on its consistent product value. A Big Mac in New York tastes just like a Big Mac in Los Angles. Consistent product value has been strength for McDonald's because customers know what to expect when they go into a McDonalds. If a consumer wants a Big Mac they know that they can get one, with consistent taste and quality, at any McDonalds worldwide. 
- Others: McDonald's, along with consistent product quality, delivers a consistent restaurant experience, a best supply chain in the industry and highest respect from its vendors. 

Weaknesses: 
- An old brand: McDonald's has been around for so long, and most Americans have eaten at McDonald's more times than they can count. It causes decreases in profits and puts a bad name on intangibles such as the McDonald's name and the golden arch logo. 

- Current competition: McDonald's has been a part of fierce competitors between itself and other fast-food restaurants (Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arby's, etc), but it seems to be getting more intense. Since the fast-food industry has a lot of growth potential, we are seeing thousands of new fast-food stores open every year. Quick meals can be found anywhere, supermarkets, convenience stores, and vending machines. The competition McDonald's faces are becoming more and more intense and growing larger and larger in number. 

- Marketing: McDonald's ads were hitting the mark with little kids, but failed to reach teens and young adults, even alienating them. Consumers were left uncomfortable with the unfamiliar "I'm Lovin' it" ads. There are many people only ate at McDonalds because there was no better alternative. 

Question 4: Should Mc Donald's develop a separate strategy for the heavy user segment of fast food industry? 
Yes, because McDonald's brand is one of the highest ranking, best known and most valuable in the world, McDonald's found itself in that brand – the Big Mac- and it is the main stream of its revenue to keep company stable. 

Question 5: What should Jack Greenberg do to grow sales, profits, and market share at Mc Donald's? 
I would suggest that McDonald's attempt to develop new products, because the opportunity to do so it too great to avoid. They have experienced nothing but success with their new line of Premium Salads: it seems only logical to at least attempt to develop a new product that has the potential to be a very successful product in an ever growing industry. There is so much potential for generating high sales from the development of a new product because consumer trends and tastes change faster than ever.

 
McDonald's ads should target market in that of teens and young adults. Because the "I'm Lovin' It" campaign is not working and it needs to be changed, especially if new products are developed. The fact that their ads are successful with children and not teen and young adults poses a problem. Without good marketing it would be difficult to launch a successful new product and would also make it difficult to develop. But continue with its "I'm Lovin' It" ad campaign and use it globally as a single brand message. 

Once a new product is developed and is successful, then McDonald's can focus on increasing production in their functional areas – the heavy user segment. Also, McDonald's should want to peruse other alternative once a new product have been developed and has become successful; it's more of a long-run alternative.

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JENNIE-O

You might have already heard about Jennie-O and maybe some of you never have,  Well I have seen their products in the stores while I was doing the grocery shopping. As of a few months ago my family and I had never tried the product, in which I am very sorry that we didn't.  Jennie-O is one of the greatest turkey products out there.  Jennie-O has several different types of products you are able to get and use.  There are so many different kinds of recipes you can make with these Jannie-O products.

Now I am going to introduce to you the products my family and I tried and share what we thought about products.  I might even fill you all in on 1 or 2 recipes for them.

This Ground Turkey product of Jennie-O's is quite really good. It's not just good for the taste it's good for it being lean also.  You can make all kinds of dinner's out of this great product.  Actually, just use this ground turkey in any of your meals that you use hamburg.  It will not only be healthier for you but it will give your meal a great taste.  I went to the store to get this ground turkey and I made a meatloaf out of it.  I added my onion, salt, pepper, egg, breadcrumbs, italian seasoning and adobo.  I mixed it all together and put it in a baking pan and in the oven it went.  

I persoanlly have to say that I think that was the best tasting meatloaf I had ever made.  I am a great cook, but this was damn good. My family loved it to and my son even said make it this way from now on, that's how good it was.  Besides the taste it was so juicy and tender.  You really need to give this a try.

Now these Italian sausages are just as good.  I had used them in several different kinds of meals for my family.  These to are lean and healthier for you.  I have cooked them and put them in spaghetti, sausage n peppers sandwiches, fried them up and served on some white rice.  The options are endless.  You can even use your old recipes that you have used pork sausages in and just substitute for these Sweet Italian Turkey Sausages.  You need to give it a try!

Now these turkey burgers are already prepared into burger patties.  This makes it easier to just buy, take out of the package and cook up.  Why not have an awesome grilled burger that is healthy and nutritous for you and your family.  They have a delicious taste to them.  Why not try these on the grill this summer?

Miami Street-Style Turkey Tacos

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16-ounce) package JENNIE-O Lean Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey
• 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage
• 1 mango, peeled and cut into thin strips
• ½ red bell pepper, cut into strips
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 soft taco shells

DIRECTIONS

Cook turkey as specified on the package. Always cook to well done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.

In medium bowl, toss together cabbage, mango, red bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt.

Spoon ground turkey mixture into taco shells. Top with slaw mixture.

Now this is a recipe that you must try.  Your family will love it.  Make sure you come back and let me know how your family liked it.

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I hope you enjoyed this Food Journal Post.  Come back and let me know what you think. Make sure you give these products a try.  You will be amazed at the taste of them all.

Do you like Kettle Chips & Popcorn?

Have you ever tried Jennie-O products?

How did you like this post?

Make sure you come back for next months post!