June 2014
Food is fuel for the body.
The higher the octane, or nutrition, the better the body responds. For that reason and others, more than seven million Americans choose a vegetarian diet. It tends to be low in cholesterol as well as total and saturated fats, which guard against Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. Besides forgoing meat, poultry and fish, a vegetarian diet may include dairy and eggs or not. A vegan diet adheres to stricter boundaries, eliminating animal sources and their products, such as milk, eggs and honey. Continue reading “VIVA Vegetarians”
Summer 2014
When Chyna Wheatley was crowned Miss Sugar Land 2014, she wore a luminous, asymmetrical, beaded gown with chandelier earrings, and a winning smile. Winning doesn’t always come on the first try, though. Wheatley’s success was the culmination of experience and perseverance from entering six competitions prior. “It was exciting to win, and the previous pageants prepared me to compete,” Wheatley says. Winning Miss Sugar Land has qualified Wheatley to vie for Miss Texas and Miss America. 
Issue #118, 20 May 2014
After returning from a trip to Thailand, serendipity awaited me—I’d be visiting four Thai restaurants, all located on San Francisco Street or Bangkok Street, as locals might come to call it. As on our trip, this nourishing task involved colorful stir fries and fragrant curries, eaten in friendly company. Each restaurant is owned by a Thai, whose culture makes meals a social occasion.
The incredible, edible egg is all it’s cracked up to be. The nutrient-packed ovum delivers dense protein for a measly 70 calories. And while it’s high in nutrition, it’s low in cost. Each year in the U.S., 75 billion eggs are laid, and well over half are used by consumers. The egg is a versatile food, and it’s been said that the many pleats of a chef’s toque represent the many ways an egg can be prepared. Scrambled, fried, poached, baked and soft or hard boiled. For Easter, they are dyed every shade of spring, and those hard-boiled pretties become egg salad, deviled eggs and more. 
When it comes to lifting a Guinness on Saint Paddy’s Day, everyone flirts with being Irish. And according to the Census, 34.5 million Americans actually call themselves Irish. That’s seven times the population of Ireland. So, Americans are right at home in a pub. The term pub is short for Britain’s public houses, which the working class frequented. These neighborhood watering holes also served meat pies and fish and chips to mop up the beer. It wasn’t fancy, but it was filling. Now with food the star of its own television channel, bar snacks, pub grub and game munchies have received an upgrade. It is still based on traditional eats, yet these reinvented classics boast high quality, inspired ingredients.