(ARA) - For even the most seasoned host or hostess, the holiday season can be nerve racking and stress inducing. However, there are tips and tricks that anyone can have in their arsenal to make their festivities merry and bright. Here are five tips that will guarantee your holiday feast is a healthy indulgence to holiday entertaining.
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A guide for festivities, family and food this holiday season
As you prepare to stock up for the busy holiday season, remember to put a case of the funnies at the top of your list to keep you going all season long. With 46 million parties planned this holiday season, preparation and a sense of humor are key. With a few simple steps you can make the most of your time with family and friends as you run the party gauntlet.
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(ARA) - Whether hosting a special meal for the family or an open house for the neighborhood, entertaining can be stressful.
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Customize your coffee: Create personalized beverages at home
(ARA) - Home personalization has extended to new heights, going beyond the trend of creating customized kitchens to creating customized beverages. Consumers are brewing up personalized specialty coffee drinks on par with those in high-end restaurants and coffee shops. In fact, "do-it-yourself flavor" is among the top 10 beverage trends of the year, according to The Food Channel, a leading online source for food industry trends.
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Authentic Tuscan tastes bring big holiday flavor
(ARA) - When Janelle Maiocco learned she was traveling to Italy last summer on an all-expenses paid trip through Tuscany, it was as though the chef and blogger were really just coming home.
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Give a gift that goes beyond the ordinary
(ARA) - Are you looking for gift ideas this holiday season that are more than just a gift? How about enhancing a tasteful gift with culture and knowledge to enhance your loved one's stature?
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Dreaming of a stress-free holiday party
(ARA) - The holidays are the perfect time to reconnect and mingle with family and friends. However, the stress of hosting holiday get-togethers can sometimes be discouraging. This year, avoid a festivity fiasco by keeping in mind the following five preparation tips:
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Simple ways to make dinner at home a special night
(ARA) - Dining at home has many advantages, from saving money to affording family members more time together. But it's easy for those at-home meals to become routine and boring - unless you take some simple steps to make dinner time a special time for everyone.
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How to use Prosciutto di Parma to make holiday entertaining easy
When the holidays leave you short on time and high on stress, entertaining can be daunting. With the right ingredients and a little planning, you can reduce the work load and free up time to spend with loved ones.
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Make over your boring breakfast with these tempting turkey recipes
(ARA) - Are you starting off your day with a bagel and a coffee ... again? It's easy for a breakfast routine to quickly turn into a breakfast rut. People often sacrifice a well-rounded breakfast that helps fuel morning activities and stave off hunger for a quick breakfast loaded with refined carbohydrates and sugar.
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Five tips to make snack time easier for moms and kids
What's the first thing kids are looking for when they get home from school? More times than not, it's a snack - and a recent survey shows that moms are more than happy to oblige their children; 90 percent of them think it's important to give their kids a snack between lunch and dinner. However, finding something that is easy to make and can be eaten on the go is also important. Here are a few tips for moms trying to find the perfect snack for the occasion:
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Five tricks for celebrating the holidays with smart and satisfying choices
(ARA) - Celebrating with friends and family over the holidays can lead to one too many glasses of eggnog and slices of pumpkin pie. But just because the holidays include decadent indulgences, it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice the celebrations and treats you love.
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Don't wait until the holidays to start planning your annual cookie exchange
(ARA) - 'Tis the season for delicious treats and festive gatherings. The fun of baking, sharing recipes and getting together for holiday parties, such as a cookie exchange, are what make the season extra special.
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Holiday recipes with a twist
(ARA) - The invitations are arriving. Office parties, family parties, school parties and the list goes on; it's a sign the holiday season is fast approaching.
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Tips for creating meaningful new holiday traditions
(ARA) - Holidays are a great time to celebrate traditions with family and friends, and every family has unique activities they love to observe year after year. You can incorporate new traditions into the holidays to bring more memorable fun to your gatherings. Here are some simple tips for creating meaningful new traditions that can bring joy to your holidays every year.
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Impress your guests with holiday etiquette 101
(ARA) - You've spent the entire day in the kitchen cooking the perfect holiday meal. But it's an hour before your guests arrive and you find yourself standing in front of the table listening to that little nagging voice inside your head.
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Put a healthier spin on favorite comfort foods
(ARA) - As the cool temperatures of fall and winter arrive, many people find themselves gravitating toward warming, rich foods. Many of those dishes are fondly remembered childhood favorites or even part of a longstanding family tradition. While those cozy comfort foods warm you, body and soul, it's no secret that many of them aren't the healthiest foods you could eat. But with a bit of creative cooking, you can put a more nutritious spin on beloved dishes - and still enjoy the comfort they bring.
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Try adding a twist to your holiday staples this year
(ARA) - We look forward to the holidays for many reasons, and the food is often near the top of the list. But while traditional holiday dishes are a familiar comfort that everyone in the family can look forward to, there's no harm in adding a slight twist to your staples to give them a gourmet touch.
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Tips for taking care of your wine collection
(ARA) - Your wine collection is growing and probably so is its value. Based on the results of a recent wine auction, held in Hong Kong in early October, the price of collectible wines is breaking records.
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What's up in the workplace this holiday season?
Keeping the season fun and festive at work can take on a lot of different forms. Staples.com recently surveyed close to 400 people through social media to find out what was going in their office this holiday season. Here's what people found to be the most important to them this year:
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Go ahead, be an egghead: fortified eggs benefit the brain
(ARA) - Egg consumption is on the rise, and not just at Easter. According to the American Egg Board, each American eats about 250 eggs annually - 20 eggs more per person every year than people were eating two decades ago. And there are many ways to enjoy eggs of all kinds of varieties, from colors to sizes to omega-3 fortified eggs.
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Healthy holiday eating advice for people with diabetes
(ARA) - The holidays can be difficult for people watching their diet. For those with health issues such as diabetes, the dietary minefield of holiday temptations can be especially troublesome.
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Three simple ways restaurant owners can save money
Whether you own a mom-and-pop cafe that's a staple of the town, or just opened a new franchise restaurant in the mall, you know that saving money where you can makes a big difference for any restaurant owner. The first step in cutting costs while keeping quality high is taking an analytical step back.
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Mix summer sausage in with your holiday leftovers
Energize your holiday spread with creative recipes using the summer sausage found in your favorite gourmet gift baskets from Hickory Farms. You can easily mix and match specialty foods into tasty and unique meals that you and your family will enjoy for days after the holidays.
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What you need to cook like a pro at home
With the proliferation of shows like "Top Chef" where viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to create restaurant-quality food, more and more people are becoming interested in raising their own skill level in the kitchen. Cooking better at home has many benefits, including saving money that you would otherwise spend dining out and the satisfaction you can take in creating a delicious meal of your own.
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How smart shopping can help transform your lifestyle
(ARA) - Eating right and exercising is something we all know we should do, but the follow-through can be harder than we think. You don't need to take part in an expensive or radical health program to improve your life. Thinking long term and making small changes like shopping smarter and taking a closer look at what we eat can help improve our lives.
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Tips for easy, fun holiday entertaining
(ARA) - Entertaining friends and family during the holiday season is as customary as drinking eggnog and opening presents. These gatherings usually involve investigating new - and delicious - recipes, decorating the house to the hilt, building the perfect collection of holiday tunes to play and finding fun activities to keep everyone engaged throughout.
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Easing the stress of hosting guests during the holiday season
(ARA) - Whether it's for the holidays or another big occasion, hosting people in your home can be both gratifying and stressful. It can be especially tricky when you're entertaining out of town guests for days at a time. By planning ahead, you can avoid some of the common pitfalls that can cause a gathering to go south in a hurry and ensure that both you and your guests have such a great time that everyone will be looking forward to the next get-together once it's all over.
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Shopping advice: knowing what's in your food
(ARA) - How do you protect strawberries from an early frost? Some scientists choose to insert a gene from an arctic flounder so the strawberries tolerate the cold, just like the fish. That may sound a bit strange to you, and mounting evidence indicates that tinkering with nature like this might even prove harmful.
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Blend up a no-fuss, festive recipe for holiday entertaining
(ARA) - The holidays are here. For many that means it's time to pull out the best serving platters and the tastiest recipes for entertaining special holiday guests. Does contemplating your holiday party or dinner menu make you anxious? Don't fret. Today's technology is making it easier for you to quickly and easily prepare festive recipes that will bring good cheer to your guests.
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