Biggest cheese in the world!

Zoniana, a small town in Crete, has claimed a place in the Guinness World Records. Whoever was in Zoniana on the 31st of July had the opportunity to taste the biggest cheese in the world, the traditional kefalotiri. It is an initiative taken by the municipality celebrating the 4th Shepherd and Cheese Festival, organised by the local cultural association. 

In order to make this large cheese they Cretans used about eight tonnes of milk, having a diameter of two meters and weighing over a tonne.  

Justin Bieber and father Jeremy enjoy UFC!

Justin Bieber and his dad Jeremy Bieber were recently seen enjoying the sight of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas. The pair have been bonding a lot currently, in a bid to get themselves closer together.

Apparently after watching the fight, the couple ordered pizza and other types of lovely food to their hotel room, where they no doubt enjoyed a great boys' night in! We bet they would have watched a movie or something too!

Justin Bieber and father Jeremy Bieber

Justin Bieber's father Jeremy has preferred to stay out of the limelight since his son shot to fame, and we prefer it that way too. Leave the headlines to the star, we say! Unfortunately the time apart (because of Justin's touring schedule) has meant that they aren't as close as they would like, so it would seem this recent outing was meant to rectify that problem. Let's see if we'll see them out and about together more in the future!

Justin Bieber and father Jeremy enjoy UFC!

Justin Bieber and his dad Jeremy Bieber were recently seen enjoying the sight of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas. The pair have been bonding a lot currently, in a bid to get themselves closer together.

Apparently after watching the fight, the couple ordered pizza and other types of lovely food to their hotel room, where they no doubt enjoyed a great boys' night in! We bet they would have watched a movie or something too!

Justin Bieber and father Jeremy Bieber

Justin Bieber's father Jeremy has preferred to stay out of the limelight since his son shot to fame, and we prefer it that way too. Leave the headlines to the star, we say! Unfortunately the time apart (because of Justin's touring schedule) has meant that they aren't as close as they would like, so it would seem this recent outing was meant to rectify that problem. Let's see if we'll see them out and about together more in the future!

Greek Souvlaki in Vietnam

It is a fact that you can find a Greek in every corner of the world. What is not known is that you can even find Greek souvlaki in Vietnam. George Tsakoyias from Thessaloniki moved to the South-Eastern corner of Asia due to economic problems.

He resides in the coastal city of Nha Trang, and specifically on the Nguyen Thien Thu Street. It is the first souvlaki restaurant to open in Vietnam, which opened a couple of weeks ago. 

George wants to teach the Vietnamese to eat not only rise but also souvlaki and tzatziki. Due to the fact that the ingredients needed cannot be found anywhere in the country he makes everything from scratch, the traditional way. However the souvlaki is too expensive for the locals, so his customers are mainly tourists and middle class locals.

If anyone is in Vietnam and feels he wants some Greek traditional food just visit George!

The most expensive pizza

Nino Selmaj owns a pizza restaurant in New York called "Nino's Bellissima Pizza". In 2007 he had a bright idea to create the most expensive pizza. This of course has several expensive ingredients, four types of caviar, a lobster tail cut in pieces, salmon roe and  the spice wasabi, which are on top of the crem fraiche base.

This pizza is worth 1000$. The funny thing is that Nino believes that this is affordable, however I believe that many will want to try this expensive and unique pizza.  

Chinnesse eat babies

It is a fact that Chinnesse cuisine includes every living thing that exists on the planet, including scorpions, snakes and other which are 'alien' to us in the West. That was the reason why during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games many athletes and reporters from around the globe had a major problem with Chinnesse food. However they do not stop there. Chinnesse cuisine is also cannibalistic. 

The babies are always female due to the fact that people in China prefer to give birth to boys and not girls. The babies used for various food, mainly soups, come from abortions, principally they are 5-6 months old and in many cases are aborted when the child's sex is revealed. 

The babies are sold in specific restaurants and are very expensive to purchase. Chinnesse believe that these soups have an aphrodiciac affect. 

Although we, in the modern world, are open minded, I cannot accept this as a dish or that man eats man. It is one of the unatural things one sees in other countries and traditions. This 'dish' produces many ethical, sociological, religious and political problems, involving human rights violations. Maybe this practice needs to be stopped by international organisations in order to stop these killings.

Popeye was right!!!

Popeye and mothers urge us to eat our greens such as spinach in order to grow strong. Health experts have long echoed this sentiment as studies show the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables, especially the green ones. 

A new study published in the February issue of Cell Metabolism has emphasised that eating vegetables can make muscles more efficient. The researchers gave volunteers small doses of inorganic nitrate for 3 days and found that they consumed less oxygen when riding an exercise bike. Green vegetables such as spinach contain these nitrates   which consequently means that this could provide some explanation for these health benefits. 

However these nitrates have short term benefits, so more work is necessary in order to find and understand the longer term effect.  This study shows merely how a belief and a habit introduced to us by our mothers and the cartoon figure Popeye  has been now verified scientifically.

Mykonean Feta from Buenos Aires

Many refer to modern globalization and many of the products we eat or wear come from all around the world. This is no different. A company named Armar in Buenos Aires which produces white cheese, manufactures two products called "Feta Mykonos" and "Feta Juan Grande" which are sold to various shops in the city. Argentina does not import feta cheese from Greece, according to some statistics from the Greek Embassy in Buenos Aires, although feta is found regularly in many supermarkets in Argentina. 

It is known that feta cheese is also produced in Bulgaria, Turkey, India, USA, Hong Kong and Denmark. This is a major problem for the Greek Feta, which after decisions taken at the European Court no one else, except for the Greek Feta from central Greece can use the name Feta. This is a serious and global problem for Feta from Greece, especially since the other white cheese manufactured in other countries are cheaper. That is why for example most if not all the Greek and non-Greek restaurants in the UK use Turkish and Danish Feta. Unfortunately for them it is easily identified as non-Greek since the taste is totally different. 

All of these statistics are verified when we are reminded that the turnover of consumption of Feta cheese within the EU is estimated at 1 billion euros annually, while Greek exports of Feta are approximately 130 million euros.  

She gave a discount to whoever ate all their food.

A restaurant owner in Australia got annoyed with all the food she had to throw away because people simply did not eat all their food. So she tried to find a solution. The owner not only was not happy with all the extra food the customers ordered that they did not eventually eat, meaning that she got more money, she tried to stop this phenomenon. She therefore announced that whoever ate all their food will receive a 30% discount. In front of the restaurant's entrance she placed a notification stating that: 

'To contribute towards creating a more sustainable future we ask a little more from our customers than other restaurants'. For some reason I do not see this working in many countries and cultures. Most of us order more than we can eat...But, working in restaurants the past few years, I find it dreadful how we throw away so much food.

Chocolate monuments

Mirco Della Vechia, one of the most famous Italian chocolate 'craftsmen', created world monuments by using white chocolate. 

His magnificent creations are exhibited in Hong Kong. Della Vechia also holds the Guinness record for creating the biggest chocolate sculpture in the world, a copy of the Cathedral of Milan, which was 1.5m high and 2.5m in length. To achieve this record he used 5.37 tones of chocolate.

All I can say is...when can I eat one of these monuments...?!

Mediterranean diet is good for the brain

According to a study from the United States who ever eats Mediterranean food has clarity and it also minimizes the chance of suffering from mental depression, especially the elderly. Mediterranean diet, which is rich in vegetables, olive oil, fish and wine, demonstrates how beneficial it is for the brain.  

Scientists observed 3.790 people living in Chicago who were 65 and over since 1993 until today. Every three years they examined them and saw how well they kept the diet. Those who followed the diet had low levels of mental depression.

Another study found, through studying the Mediterranean diet, that it lowered the risk of developing Alzheimer.

Mediterranean diet consists of vegetables, fruit, cereals, fish, low fat milk products and unsaturated fat. Also it discourages the high consumption of saturated olives, milk, meat, chicken and refined sugar ( although I do believe many countries in the Mediterranean have incorporated many of these products in their diet, hence the souvlaki in Greece and pizza in Italy).

A fact that should interest us all is that the Mediterranean diet protects us against heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

GUEST BLOG: Nutrition and the brain

Hello, Happy Brain Awareness Week!

As a Speech Language Pathologist, Educator, Parent and owner of Early Insights, I am thrilled to be doing collaborative work with braininsights. Due to my deep commitment to provide information on healthy brains, it is great to have the opportunity to share a guest blog. My desire is to help parents know how to ensure they are doing all they can for their own brains as well as for their children. When we take care of ourselves we are better able to take care of our children. Both adults and children are going to function optimally when understanding and implementing knowledge of the impact nutrition has on the brain.

braininsights provides education to parents on the importance of brain development for babies...The Healthy Foundations Program of Early Insights is committed to helping educate those babies who have grown into young children (and their families)...on the importance of brain health. braininsights and Early Insights share a passion for supporting parents, babies and families on this journey.

Taking care of your brain now (whether you are a new parent, grandparent, child or teen) will pay off in later years. This is pretty much a guarantee. What we eat now, along with our overall lifestyle (i.e., stressed out or cool as a cucumber, or somewhere in between) will affect our health in the years to come. Your baby deserves YOU to follow a brain health protocol too! Children pick up on our habits, what we do is imprinted on their brain...You know the saying "actions speak louder than words"...well, it's true. If you're a good role model for your child, s/he too, will learn to take good care of her/his brain.

Wishing you all healthy choices and positive thoughts. Thanks for this guest blog opportunity. Here are some brain healthy thoughts:

Nourish Your Brain with a Healthy Diet ...

Like any high-performance machine, the brain needs top quality fuel.
A few brain healthy tips shared by the brain team:

1. Your brain needs a well-balanced, low cholesterol, low saturated (animal fat) diet.

2. Timing is significant in nutrition. Research supports the importance of a good breakfast...for everyone, not only children.

3. Protein and unsaturated fat is especially important for developing brains.

4. Fish, a rich source of protein and "healthy" fat is often referred to as the brain vitamin, otherwise known as Essential Fatty Acids (Omega Fatty Acids).

5. Your brain needs vitamins and minerals; they come from your diet.

6. Eating a natural rainbow each day, comprised of fruits and vegetables provides important antioxidants (which will help keep you healthy and help ward off colds and getting sick)

7. Research suggests antioxidant vitamins E and C protect the brain.

8. Avoid excess food. Reducing calories can help slow age-related brain changes.

9. Get out into nature...it does a brain good!

10. Studies suggest that sleep is essential for the maintenance of proper immune function, and it also serves as a mental "down time" during which neurons can repair themselves and memories can be organized into long-term storage.
As a general rule, good nutrition for the body, is good nutrition for the brain.

With positive, healthy and happy thoughts,

Lauren
 
 
Lauren Zimet, M.S.,CCC/SLP, N.D.T. Certified, is a recognized expert in speech language pathology, specializing with medically involved children with oral motor/ feeding and communication issues, as well as neurotypical children supporting healthy development and enhancing self esteem. She is the founder of Healthy Foundations, an Atlanta based education program geared for infants and children of all abilities. Healthy Foundations facilitates brain health awareness and all that relates to caring for a healthy brain and body. Lauren has been published in a variety of publications: Parenting Magazine, Advance Magazine for Audiologists and Speech Pathologists, and contributed to The LCP Solution by Dr. Jacqueline Stordy and The Late Talker, by Dr. Marilyn Agin. She holds a B.S. from the University of Maryland in Communications and a M.S. in Speech Language Pathology from Nova Southeastern University, FL. Lauren is thrilled to be collaborating with braininsights on promoting brain health awareness for babies, children and adults. Please visit http://www.earlyinsights.com/ for more information.