Dollar General - A Proud Supporter of US Military!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

Dollar General is one of the convenient stores that I frequent.  I like that it is small and I can just go in and get what I want without wasting time.  The bonus is it also saves me money as most of the national brands are at Dollar General prices and lots of items are priced as $1 each.  Not only that Dollar General is also a proud supporter of US Military.  We like to thanks the Military for what they do for us, their values and commitment to serve the country and providing us with a safer place to live.  Thank you veterans!

On this special Veterans Day, Dollar General is giving all Veterans, active military, members of the national guard and their family members a special 10% off discount.  This is their small token of showing their appreciation to the military.  This offer is valid on November 11, Tuesday only and is a ONE DAY EVENT.  This offer is good at all locations of General Store, just identify yourself as such at the register when check out.  Some restrictions do apply, those include Cell Phone Minutes, Rug Doctor Items, Lottery Tickets, Propane, Wine & Beer and all prepaid item (i.e. Gift Cards).  Don't miss out this opportunity to save an additional 10% off the already low price items.

New Kellogg's Special K with Added Fiber!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this new Kellogg's Special K Red Berries with added fiber as sample.  This product is packed with 3 grams of fiber per serving and zero gram trans fat.  Each serving is about 1 cup and I think this make a great snack for the afternoon too.

I loved the crunchy rice and wheat flakes with strawberries.  It tasted great and would certainly make a healthy, delicious and convenient breakfast for my family.  Anyone would benefit from the extra fiber especially for those who hardly eat your veggie.  From now on, I should make choosing a healthier cereal for my family as a priority, one that is better for us and tastes great, instead of the one that has more sugar and with added colorings.

What about you?  Do you make an effort to check the ingredients list and choose a cereal that is healthier for your family or just buy whatever your kids like?

MSG, Monosodium Glutamate

I wanted to write a blog post about MSG or monosodium glutamate, or the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid from my stand point. Are you afraid of the word MSG? Because I do, I was brought up to fear or stay clear of MSG. My mom and media always said how MSG is bad for our health, American even have the so-called, "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" anecdotes. Thus over the years, MSG is kinda taboo to me, a product to avoid while shopping at the Asian stores. It became so much so that I felt unease when I spotted a packet of MSG in my friend's kitchen cabinet. I believe I have been brainwashed.

In reality, MSG is concluded as safe by FDA for most people when eaten at customary amount. It usage is like salt, just a little to season the food at the end for the ultimate "Umami" taste, the so-called fifth taste or meaty/savory taste. A lot of researches had been done on MSG and the results were the same, it is a safe "food enhancer" or "food addictive" to use. Chinese and Japanese have been using MSG for years with no problem. They openly used MSG in their cooking shows (which prompted me to research about MSG in the first place). I wonder what would happen if the American food cooking show openly uses MSG in their cooking shows?

Our bodies need Glutamate or amino acids. Our bodies produce it. Even human breast milk has a fair amount of glutamate compared to cow milk. If nature thinks amino acids is safe for newborn baby so why are we so afraid of it? Tomato, mushroom, soy sauce, Parmesan cheese have natural occurring Glutamate (free Glutamate) in them. We eat them with no problem because it makes the food taste better. Modern commercial MSG (sodium form of natural occurring glutamate) is produced by fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. Fermented products such as soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce have levels of glutamate similar to foods with added MSG. Lots of bottled Chinese sauces, American canned food, broths, chips, condiments, bouillon cubes have MSG in them. I eat them and I never suffer from any sort of "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome". We are so taboo of the word MSG that the manufacturers had to come out with a different name to conceal it. Such as hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, yeast extract, soy extracts, hydrolyzed yeast just to name a few. Even now if you do a search on Monosodium Glutamate, lots of anti-MSG web pages are there.

Recently as I was watching the Chinese cooking show, the host even said the latest finding on MSG is actually good for health. It also promotes appetite especially for older people, picky children, pregnant women to at least make them eat some food and thus increase the nutrient intake. Also read that by using MSG, you can significantly cut down the salt intake. But I am so brainwashed that I just couldn't pick up a packet of MSG from the store. But I have no problem picking up chicken stock granules though, my reason being it is chicken stock with added MSG, as opposed to 100% MSG. I know I am kidding myself, even you cooks out there who use the commercial chicken, beef or vegetable stocks, bouillon cubes to cook your food, you know MSG does make the food taste better. Hey, you loved to add Parmesan cheese and soy sauce on your food right?

Why are we so brainwashed? FDA already concluded that MSG is safe except to some small amount of over-sensitive people after some intensive research . It is so controversial that there are more bad news of MSG than good on the web. But billions of Chinese have been using MSG like salt as another form of food enhancer, we have been eating it unconsciously or consciously in restaurants and packaged food all this time. SO?

I wanted to conclude that I am brainwashed as even now my mom and older aunties still telling me to avoid MSG as it is bad for me. But I did some research and I can see the fact and I am going to be more open-minded because I know most of the bottled sauces have MSG in it, even soy sauce that Chinese cook can go without and frankly I have been consuming MSG all my life just in another form. So, why all the hype about the word "MSG" or "Ajinomoto"? = I am kidding myself. As for the majority of population, MSG is safe unless you have vitamin B-6 deficiency, or overly-sensitive to MSG.

Sources:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/fdamsg
http://www.squidoo.com/monosodium-glutamate-health
http://www.whatprice.co.uk/food-drink/MSG.html#ixzz0MvYD7PDO
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Monosodium_glutamate
http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/msg.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/monosodium-glutamate/AN01251
http://www.starch.dk/isi/bio/msg.asp
http://www.drtindall.org/Monosodium%20glutamate.htm




I would love to thanks Tracie Moo from Bitter Sweet Flavours for passing me these two lovely awards. I am not going to pass it around as I stop doing tag long ago. Thanks though Tracie! :)

Malaysian Chinese Cookware 101

Anyone with a decent amount of experience in the kitchen understands how the material, size, and shape of the cookware sets used have a strong influence over how your final dish will come out. This is especially important with traditional dishes that rely on specific flavors and textures that are associated with a particular country’s culture. In the case of cooking traditional Malaysian Chinese dishes, there are a number of fundamental cookware items that will give the delicious and satisfying results you’re looking for to serve to your friends and family. Since Malaysian Chinese dishes use a number of different vegetables and meat options, it’s important to take notice of the many ways in which you can prepare a delicious meal for your family.

One of the basic cookware items to have around your kitchen is a bamboo steamer that is perfect for steaming vegetables or making the traditional Yum Cha dish. In addition, a wok set of varying sizes serve as a great tool to use when cooking all of your meal’s ingredients together. The bowl-shaped pan distributes heat evenly throughout the depth of the pan and will allow you to toss both vegetables and meat together to create the stir fry dish you’re looking for. Clay pot cooking for Malaysian dishes is a reliable cookware piece to use for putting together soups and stews or steaming a side of vegetables. They are also versatile in design as they can be used in the oven or on a stovetop surface for slow-cooking meats or creating a delicious casserole.

In addition to the main cookware items used for traditional Malaysian cooking, it’s a great idea to consider adding smaller cooking utensils to your collection in order to make the cooking process easier. Such items include ladles, copper wire strainers, and steam racks that can be used while you’re cooking various meat and vegetable meals. Wok turners and ladles will allow you to handle the ingredients cooking in the wok more easily while wire strainers and skimmers will help separate any components of the meal you need to put more attention on.

The above article was written by a guest writter, Suzanne, an expert at cookware.com.