Food 'n' Drink – Food and Drink news |

If you have made your own food and want it to stay edible for a long while then you can preserve it. A great way to do this is to use Le Parfait. Normally people associate preserved food with things such as marmalade, jams, and pickles. However, people are beginning to realise that there are many different foods that can be preserved and many of these can be done through the French invention which is over eight decades old.

For the French, preserve means something different, and it basically means any food that has been created at home and then stored for consumption at a later date. Le Parfait is a method to preserve food for a very long time so that you can enjoy a home-cooked delight months down the line.

With the rise of country kitchens, farmers’ markets and preparing food from scratch to make us all healthier, Le Parfait has chosen the perfect moment to expand its distribution nationally across Britain.

Whether it is a rich tasty casserole or delicate summer soup, the secret of French families being able to put great food on the table fast is that it is already in the cupboard. Food preserved ‘Le Parfait’ style requires no time-consuming defrost; it is ready to reheat straight from the jar. What is more, Le Parfait preservation keeps all the flavour locked in, so they taste just as good as when they were prepared. This contrasts to the rather insipid, watery nature of many defrosted meals.

We love our home-made traditions, now British cooks can extend their repertoire with no more than a few Le Parfait jars and a pressure cooker. Preserve your favourite recipes or try one of the tasty recipes on the leparfait.com website. It’s so easy.

When you cook a meal for your family, just cook twice the amount and preserve the rest for another occasion. So you’ll never run out of your favourite dishes, when you’re back in a rush and really can’t face cooking or when friends drop in unexpectedly.

All Le Parfait jars are made in France from pure, natural materials, which are completely recyclable, so they are kind to the environment. Le Parfait Super jars and terrines are available in a variety of sizes from quality homeware stores and garden centres throughout the UK.

Details of your nearest stockists are available from Le Parfait Consumer Care on 0113 201 6738      .

Scientists have recently issued a warning to consumers that many healthy drinks are not as healthy as people initially think. There is an automatic assumption among people that fruit juices and smoothies are healthy drink options. However, they also contain an enormous amount of sugar.

A study recently showed the people in Britain thought that fruit juice contained a much smaller amount of sugar than it actually does. For example, people thought the pomegranate juice didn’t contain much sugar but in fact contained 18 more teaspoons than they thought.

This research has been conducted by the University of Glasgow and it has shown that people consume over 3000 calories every week through non-alcoholic drinks. This is around 25 percent of the total amount of calories people should be consuming a week, and it is far too high for just drink consumption.

The study involved asking people to estimate how much sugar they thought were in a range of different drinks. The researchers found that people misjudged drinks the most when it came to smoothies, fruit juices and even milkshakes. In many cases these fruit juices contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks such as Coca-Cola.

50 percent of people in the survey said that they consumed more than three sugary drinks every day and did not cut down the amount they were eating in order to reduce the amount of calories they were putting in their body overall. Scientists recommend calories from drinks should only make up 10 percent of our total calorie consumption.

Studies have shown that most people who live in the United States are happy with their home life, as well as with their friends and family. Unfortunately however, the happiness figures are not so good when it comes to people’s health. Around 20 percent of Americans have said that they are unhappy with the state of their physical health.

A survey, that has been put together by BIGinsight, a consumer information group, has shown that people who visit certain fast food restaurants tend to be even less happy with the state of the health than those who don’t. Recent examination of the study has been made which has looked into which fast food chains cause their customers to be the least happy.

It is not shocking to find out from the study that those who visit fast food restaurants regularly also have other unhealthy habits. The chances are that these extra habits are also leading them to be unhappy with the state of the health. Interestingly, McDonald’s is the fast food chain with the most customers who are unhappy with the state of the health. It also has the customers who do the least amount of regular exercise.

All of the restaurants which were shown to have the most unhappy customers, were also shown to have the fewest customers watching the amount of calories they consumed. This sort of behaviour does not bode well for health, especially when combined with the regular consumption of fast food.

The survey also showed that not all people who dined in fast food restaurants were unhealthy though. Subway customers were shown to have above-average levels of happiness with regard to their physical health. A director of a consumer insights group is Pamela Goodfellow who has stated about the study, “The difference between the happy customers and the unhappy ones is what they do away from the restaurant, not what the actual restaurant itself does. It is all about whether they exercise regularly and count calories.”

Interestingly, an average of 30 percent of people who eat at fast food restaurants don’t take part in healthy habits such as watching fat and calorie intake. This compares to a 20 percent average across the country. It is clear that those who eat in fast food restaurants are significantly less likely to take part in healthy activities.

In recent years, fast food restaurants have come under a great deal of criticism for not providing healthy enough meals. They have launched marketing campaigns about these issues and taken several steps to improve their image in regard to healthy food. In the United States McDonald’s has started offering apple slices on its menu as well as reducing the size of its portion of fries.

The survey also revealed some interesting results about the demographic of various fast food restaurants. For example nearly 60 percent of the people who go to Burger King in the US are male. The chain also sees the customers with the lowest average household income. The company have also made efforts to change their image in regard to healthy food over the last few years but they still retain some of the most unhealthy food in the fast food industry on their menu. For example, one Triple Whopper at Burger King, without drinks and fries contains over 1100 calories.

While many restaurants have actually introduced items to their menu which have lower calories, which are advertised as healthier options. Taco Bell has a rather different approach. They have a range of salads available, but rather than being healthy, the salads contain more calories than the restaurants regular meals.

The word macrobiotic makes most people think of a strange diet that will involve eating unusual foods in unusual ways but many people don’t realise that going back to basics with this type of diet is easier than most people think.

A macrobiotic centre in Scotland is Penninghame House and one of the course teachers is Bill Tara who recently said, “Many people have some serious misconceptions about macrobiotic diets but in reality they are mostly false.”

Most people are unaware of what a macrobiotic diet actually entails and they generally associate them in their minds with mung beans and Gwyneth Paltrow. In reality, a macrobiotic diet is something that has been utilised for thousands of years in the Far East and involves people viewing the body as something that will remain perfectly healthy if it is treated in a good way.

At Penninghame House there are many courses being offered in how to develop a macrobiotic diet yourself. There are cooking classes as well as lectures which allow visitors to master various techniques associated with the lifestyle. As well as an educational opportunities there are many detoxifying treatments available and relaxation sessions for attendees.

Whole grains are a focus of the macrobiotic diet and generally things such as dairy, sugar, meat and processed foods are to be avoided. Coffee and alcohol are also not part of the diet and eating organic food is encouraged. The core of the diet usually revolves around beans and pulses as well as vegetables.

Foods are viewed by the macrobiotic diet as being either acid or alkaline and it is important that there is a balance struck between these two types of food. Fermented foods are very popular with those on this type of diet as they are seen as balanced.

For most people, the idea of eating this food will not be so appealing but the health benefits could be significant. The World Health Organisation has said that many of the types of food encouraged by a macrobiotic diet are valuable for preventing many diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Those who advocate the macrobiotic diet claim that it is possible to alleviate many conditions and diseases by embracing this form of eating.

Retired film producer, Ian Fraser, recently experimented with a macrobiotic diet. He commented, “I have type II diabetes and I wanted to try a new diet to help me tackle this. I was able to reduce the amount of tablets I was taking after just a week on the diet.”

Recent research that has been released by Cancer Research UK showed that lifestyle factors were important for over 40 percent of cancer recurrences in the UK. Alcohol and smoking are the most common culprits of cancer but diet is also a major player. A lot of people who choose to eat a macrobiotic diet also embrace vegan foods but this is not mandatory.

The foods that are eaten on a macrobiotic diet generally fall well into line with government advice about healthy eating, such as avoiding red meat. Red meat is known to increase a person’s chance of getting bowel cancer and practitioners of macrobiotic diet state that there are plenty of other ways to get protein. Beans and nuts are popular options and eating plenty of these will make up for the lack of meat.