A scientist in the kitchen

Summer is gone, but the memories of luscious mangoes linger on. Everytime we harvest mangoes, we always make it a point to make this no-bake mango cake.

It’s so easy to make. Chop some ripe mangoes. Mix all-purpose cream and condensed milk according to taste. Dip graham crackers in milk and line a glass pan. Layer with mangoes and cream. Continue to layer graham crackers, mangoes and cream till you reach the top.  Decorate any way you wish. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

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Yellow is not only a color of summer but a color of hope for the fight against cancer. This month’s Click Photo Event is Yellow for Bri, dedicated to a fellow food blogger Bri of Figs with Bri, stricken with cancer.

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This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

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One of the key points for behavioral weight control programs is dietary self-monitoring. In a study conducted to investigate whether personal digital assistants would help in dietary self-monitoring, results show that using PDAs are comparabale to using traditional paper diaries for dietary self-monitoring during a weight loss program. More frequent monitoring, though, is correlated with weight loss in both methods.

This is where the ease of using a handheld calorie counter comes in. An example is the CalorieSmart handheld electronic calorie calculator and food diary which stores the nutritional information from over 35,000 food items. Dining out? Brand items are also at your finger tips. It also has the nutritional information from over 250 restaurants including your favorite fast food joint.Did you know that a cup of A Taste of Thai peanut noodles contain 300 calories? Or that a bacon double cheeseburger from Burger King has 540 calories (288 from fat)? Compare that to McDonalds double cheeseburger (460 calories, 207 from fat!). Nutritionists have put forward several steps for a successful weight loss program. This includes setting your goals and keeping a food and exercise diary to meet those goals. A food calorie counter will certainly go a long way to achieve your goals.

Not only do personal digital assistants perform well in keeping calories at bay, these can also help you in tracking your movements by counting calorie expenditure throughout the day. A study on how physical activity is promoted by using handheld computer technology reveal hand-held computers may be effective tools for increasing initial physical activity levels among underactive adults. In this study, 37 healthy, initially underactive adults 50 years or older participated. Physical activity levels were monitored twice per day, and the participants (n=19) received instructional session and a PDA program. In contrast, the controls (n=18) received standard, age-appropriate written physical activity educational materials. Participants using handheld PDAs reported significantly greater 8-week mean estimated caloric expenditure levels and minutes per week in increasing moderate intensity.

So consider using a handheld PDA to help you attain your goal.

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I got a lovely surprise on the mail this week. My own personalized business cards for A scientist in the kitchen, courtesy of Foodbuzz.

I know I made the right choice in joining the Foodbuzz community.

Want to be a featured publisher, too? Check out my post on why you should join Foodbuzz or go directly here to join us!

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