My Chocolate Fantasy

Easy cake decorating tips are not too hard to find. When it comes to cake decoration, many find it a very difficult task indeed. To bake a cake is easier than to decorate it. If you are trying to bake a cake for your kid’s birthday or you want to show off your new home to your friends and you have invited them for tea and you want to impress them further by your culinary expertise what better thing to do than serve delightfully decorated cake with tea?

When it comes to the cake decorating part the problem starts. If you are not very good with drawing then your problem is becomes all the more difficult. So what do you do in this situation? Well, here are few tricks of the trade.

It is easy to decorate a cake which has a flat surface. So make sure that the cake you bake, has a flat surface. In order to do that what you could do is after putting in the batter for the cake in the pan you should rap the pan on the counter for a few times. This will ensure that the air bubbles trapped in the batter are removed.

This will help to have a flat topped cake. But this is not enough. You have to make sure that the cake pan gets even heat. You could help your cake by rapping a wet and thick piece of a towel around it and join the ends together by a pin. As the oven starts heating the moist heat from the wet towel will help your cake to rise and bake the cake evenly. Once you achieve the flat top cake decorating it becomes all the more easy.

Now you can get icing kits in the market. You get different tips for the icing. So all you have to do is to follow the instructions on the pack of ready made icing pack and decorate your cake.

If you can make this into a family activity, your children will help you decorate the cake. This will help them feel great about themselves and even if the decoration is not perfect it will not matter!

Another attractive thing is the color combination of the cake. If you make a chocolate cake, decorate it with white color icing. Arrange some multicolored candies in any which way you want. Make arrows or just sprinkle them and you will be the greatest mummy in the world.

If you want to decorate cup cakes just a drop of mixed fruit jam will do the trick. Or you can place a slice of any fruit on the top. Here again if you pay attention to the color combination then you will have a winner on your hand.

You can go in the shop and look for some edible flowers and different things that are available in the market. Once you have that you can recreate many different designs by using those things. There are some books available in the market which tells you how to make those things step by step. Just follow the instructions and you can come up with some very fine looking cake decorations all by yourself.

Did you ever hear the likes, a “chocolate diet?” Brace yourself because you hear right. Chocolate acts as a vitamin replacement; if this is true then healthy benefits derived from this particular diet may not be so bad after all

The chocolate diet is just one of many fad diets which include you eating favorite foods. While consuming your specified amount of yummy allowance keep in mind it is supposed to control high blood pressure and prevent heart disease. Although encouraging reasons for using the diet, what of rotting teeth and the people who bang weight on if they as much look at a bar of chocolate.

The diet mainly consists of fluids. Powder or supplements are given to the dieter to mix with milk or water. Is this not cocoa as we all know it?

Chocolate contains anti-oxidants that help prevent arteries clogging. Does this not leave the dieter in a catch 22 situation after being advised to avoid sugary foods because of fattening issues? Weighing up the good and bad is it not healthier to carry a little excess weight to avoid pores clogging or having a heart attack. Chocolate prevents heart disease and obesity increases the risk of heart disease. Is obesity not the same as fat? I am confused.

Chocolate powder shakes are not for replacing or substituting meals, but designed as healthy snacks to stop a rumbling belly. Is this diet so bad when the sugar supply gives us that much needed energy boost?

The question is does the chocolate diet work.. It’s not clear that chocolate stimulates metabolism or helps the fat burning process. Beyond that, too much of anything can be bad. While chocolate does have health benefits, a diet with an emphasis in chocolate may not be the best way to lose weight. To shed pounds stick with a sensible eating plan.

Diet – Throughout the day you can munch two 40 gram bars of chocolate and drink sugar-free coffee with non-fat milk. Make eating exciting and appetizing, mix chocolate chips with strawberries in a glass bowl. Glass allows visibility of the delicious filling which guarantees lip licking. Slice a couple of bananas and drizzle melted dark chocolate over them. You have to take the chocolate diet for 5-7 days and no longer. After one course take a break for 3-4 days. The chocolate diet is a decreased calorie diet that centers on drinking liquid diet shakes to fill the gap. People use it as a replacement for food and if you consume less food this clearly indicate fewer calories.

I am not sure I agree this can be called a sensible diet when evidence proves different i.e. pounds piling on instead of dropping off and decaying teeth. Before dieting speak to your doctor or dietician

The sensible thing to do is ignore fad diets and embark on the sensible by following a sensible eating plan. Choose the wrong diet can be dangerous – seek expert advice. The best way to evaluate a diet is by the promises made. Overnight weight loss or miracle cures are promotional pledges you should snub.

Crash dieting is unhealthy. Weight loss is for more than just losing pounds. Exercise for skin and muscle tone is just as important. Exercise is necessary but it won’t replace a diet. A combination of both is ideally the key source to losing weight. Give yourself time to adjust and not to lose focus when you begin your first diet.

Consider a low-key diet that aims at healthy foods:

1 Choose an apple over a chocolate bar.

2 Cut out cordials and drink water.

3 Walk rather than use the car or bus.

4 Limit portion sizes of what you eat. It is easier than counting calories and carbohydrates.

5 Use a smaller plate to serve dinner on.

6 Replace sticky puddings for pieces of fruit

To lose weight, fewer calories have to be burned off than what you take in. Skipping meals and eating fewer calories can cause severe consequences; it can lead to binge scoffing later because of low energy and blood sugar levels. A sensible and healthy eating plan will include between 1200 and 1400 calories daily for women and 1500 to 1800 calories for men. Breakfast being the most important meal of the day is one you must not skip. Eat 4 to 5 times a day but in moderation.

Chicken breast is a good source of protein also low in fat. Two recipes below cooked in 15-30 minutes, low in fat, and under 400 calories a serving

Chicken & Vegetable Kebabs

4 Blocks of egg noodles

2 Skinless chicken breasts

1 Jar/195g yellow bean sauce

3 Button mushrooms

1 Medium courgette

½ yellow & red pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

4 spring onions

1 red chilli

Wooden skewers

Method

1. Fill large pot with water – bring to the boil, add noodles, return to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes.

2. Dice chicken breasts and place in a bowl. Add ¾ jar of yellow bean sauce and stir coating the chicken.

3. Preheat grill.

4. Prepare mushrooms into quarters; slice courgette; deseed. Slice peppers into squares. Size is up to you.

5. Skewer a mushroom quarter followed by chicken, courgette, pepper and so on.

6. Place kebabs on the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes turning frequently.

7. Heat some oil to smoking point in a wok, add spring onions chilli and stir fry for 60 seconds. Add noodles and remaining sauce – stir to coat. Heat through.

8. Serve kebabs over noodles.

Chicken Pancakes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

3 Skinless chicken breasts

Jar hoi sin spring onion stir fry sauce

Spring onions, sliced lengthways

1 Cucumber

8 Chinese pancakes

Method

1. Slice spring onions lengthways into 3″strips. Cube cucumber and slice into thin batons.

2. Thinly cut chicken into strips.

3. Heat oil in wok till piping hot, add chicken and stir fry for 7- 8 minutes

4. Preheat Chinese pancakes as instructed on packet.

5. Add stir fry sauce to cooked chicken – coat and heat through.

6. Serve chicken spring onions and cucumber onto pancake – roll and serve

Enjoy stay slim and healthy