What the study says

Researchers at the University of Alabama have found that eating bananas every day could help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Their study, which aimed to determine how the mineral potassium affects blood flow and artery health, examined mice who received a diet containing either low, normal or high levels of potassium. Overall, mice given a low-potassium diet had much harder arteries than their counterparts. Mice who received high levels of potassium, on the other hand, showed significantly less artery hardening and reduced stiffness in their aorta, as well. Find out if green bananas are safe to eat.

Previous also research supports the importance of potassium

Previous studies and data also show that a potassium-rich diet helps lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, according to Ragavendra Baliga, MD, a cardiologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “One analysis published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology in 2011 included data from 11 studies and 250,000 people,” Dr. Baliga says. “This study reported that an average increase of 1540 mg of dietary potassium per day is linked to a 21 percent reduced risk of stroke.”

The University of Alabama study, however, is among the first to investigate the mineral’s impact on artery health. Getting enough potassium helps maintain a healthy heartbeat, according to Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDN, CDE, a preventative cardiology dietitian. “When potassium is deficient, low levels can cause heart arrhythmias and potentially impair blood flow to the brain, muscles and organs,” she says. According to experts, potassium also improves your heart’s function by regulating your heartbeat, digesting carbohydrates and building muscle. The combination of these perks could do wonders for your arteries, preventing heart disease and strokes down the road.

More research is necessary—and bananas aren’t the only way to eat potassium

The results of the study are promising, according to Ali Webster, RD, PhD, the associate director at the International Food Information Council. However, researchers need to replicate this in people to draw a definitive conclusion. “It certainly won’t hurt to eat potassium-rich foods every day, unless you’ve been instructed to watch your intake,” Webster says. “But we can’t say that one specific food is going to prevent cardiovascular disease.” You need to consider the whole diet as well as other risk factors, too, Routhenstein adds.

For most people, eating potassium-rich foods like bananas, sweet potatoes, beans and dark leafy greens will contribute to a healthy diet and possibly reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, according to Webster. Many people in the United States consume less potassium than is recommended, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans named potassium a “nutrient of public health concern.”

While bananas have a reputation for containing lots of potassium, Dr. Baliga normally recommends broccoli, spinach, carrots, cauliflower and other vegetables to his patients instead. So don’t worry if you hate the yellow fruit, there are still plenty of ways to eat a good amount of potassium.

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That’s right! Bottled water does have an expiration date. And while the reason why meat or dairy products have a sell-by date is pretty self-explanatory, you might be surprised that bottled water comes with a timestamp, too.

As it turns out, it isn’t the water quality you should be worried about; it’s the plastic that the water comes packaged in (usually polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for retail bottles and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for water cooler jugs). After a certain point in its life, the plastic can begin leaching into the liquid, which affects its taste and could create a serious health hazard. The porous plastic can also cause the water to accumulate odors and other accompaniments from outside. (This is why you should stay away from straws, too. Try out these alternatives!)

Still, it’s unlikely that an “expired” (but unopened) bottle of water will do you much harm. And here’s why: the expiration dates are fairly arbitrary. The only reason they were put there in the first place was because of a 1987 New Jersey state law that required all food products to display an expiration date, according to Mental Floss. Since it wasn’t very cost-effective to label and ship batches of expiration-dated water to one state alone, most bottled water producers just started giving every bottle a two-year sell-by date—no matter where it was going.

That said, New Jersey has since changed its law, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never established any specific limitations on the shelf life of bottled water. Most producers have just kept it there for efficiency’s sake. So when all is said and done, you can sip that two-year-old bottle of water guilt-free.

Here are some more expiration dates you shouldn’t be overlooking.

The post Bottled Water DOES Have an Expiration Date—and Here’s Why appeared first on Taste Recipes.

While the Queen does like to imbibe on occasion, former royal chef Darren McGrady tells Reader’s Digest he’d told news outlets her favorite drinks—not her everyday liquid diet. “I said her favorite drink is gin and Dubonnet and she likes a gin and Dubonnet for pre-dinner drinks, and then I was asked ‘Does she have any other favorites?’” he says. “Along the way, others did interviews, so they picked and cropped from those.”

But just because she sometimes likes a cocktail before dinner and has a favorite wine (don’t we all?) doesn’t mean she has both—and more—every day. The Independent previously quoted Her Majesty’s cousin saying she has four drinks daily, but McGrady says Queen Elizabeth II doesn’t even have her favorite pre-dinner cocktail every day. “I’m pretty confident she doesn’t have four drinks a day,” says McGrady. “She’d be pickled.”

Original post, 8/1: For Queen Elizabeth II, it’s always five o’clock somewhere. Her Majesty already gets away with celebrating two birthdays every year (and here’s why!) But when she’s not meeting foreign dignitaries or negotiating with the British Parliament, the Queen could be found sipping one of her daily boozy beverages.

In fact, former royal chef Darren McGrady just dished on Queen Elizabeth’s drinking habits. What he revealed might surprise you.

According to McGrady, Queen Elizabeth starts her day with a pre-lunch gin and Dubonnet cocktail, garnished with a slice of lemon and plenty of ice. Business Insider speculates that she drinks Gordon’s Gin, which holds an official royal warrant: a trademark awarded to companies who provide goods or services to the royal family for more than five years. You can find the queen’s coat of arms displayed on the selected businesses’ packaging and promotional materials, PopSugar reports. (Check out even more fascinating facts about Queen Elizabeth.)

For lunch, the Queen matches a simple meal of vegetables and fish with a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate, McGrady told The Telegraph. A cousin claims that she may also sip a dry gin martini should the mood strike her.

Her Majesty’s afternoon tea has a tamer vibe; she usually selects a simple herbal drink and a dessert, such as pie or chocolate biscuit cake. (But these are the foods that Queen Elizabeth will never, ever eat.) Finally, the Queen washes down her light dinner with a sophisticated glass of champagne before heading off to bed.

If you’ve been counting, that adds up to four alcoholic beverages in one day. At six units of alcohol in total, the Independent points out that the 91-year-old is technically considered a binge drinker by UK law. But surprisingly, that’s not why someone called the police on Queen Elizabeth—yet!

The post No, Queen Elizabeth II Does Not Have Four Alcoholic Drinks Every Single Day appeared first on Taste Recipes.

Bake salmon fillets

Dishwashers are good for more than just cleaning your cookware; these kitchen appliances can whip up a tasty meal, too. Just for starters, wrap salmon (seasoned to your liking) in a foil packet, place it on the top rack, and run a normal cycle without soap for a hassle-free dinner. While it might not be the most efficient way to cook a meal—and it can reportedly make your dishwasher smell funky—it can’t hurt to put this fun trick to the test.

Rinse fruits and veggies

If you still hand-wash each individual fruit or vegetable from your weekly farmer’s market haul, you’re wasting your time. Throw them all in your dishwasher and run a cold (soap-free) rinse cycle, instead, and you’ll never need to turn on your sink. Bonus tip: To protect more delicate items, such as tomatoes and peaches, place them on the top rack. Heavier produce like potatoes and cantaloupes can go on the bottom.

Here are more surprising things you can clean in the dishwasher.

De-germ your computer keyboard

Our computer keyboards are downright filthy—no exceptions. Thankfully, many experts say tossing them in your dishwasher can remove all that grime in a jiffy. But you should proceed with caution; avoid using soap and hot water, never select the heated drying cycle, and don’t put anything else in the dishwasher. You should also allow your keyboard to air dry for up to three days once it has been through the wash. For a less risky cleaning, some manufacturers recommend gently wiping the surface with a damp cloth, instead.

Check out these 50 cleaning secrets that will make your home sparkle. 

Keep food warm

Let’s be honest: Keeping cooked food warm until you’re ready to eat might as well be rocket science. If your oven is full, set the dishwasher to dry cycle with no water and leave the dish on the top rack. Your meal will stay nice and toasty, guaranteed.

Warm up dishes

Every restaurant-worthy feast needs warm plates and bowls. While some dishwashers have a convenient plate warming setting, you can always turn on the heat/dry cycle for the same effect.

Ripen avocados

Need to ripen an avocado fast? Your dishwasher is here to help. Just throw the fruit on the top rack for one normal cycle; according to a restaurant employee, something about the heat and/or humidity can soften up these rock-hard fruits.

This genius trick will ripen an avocado fast.

Steam veggies

Did your stove decide to take some unexpected time off? Save the day by placing chopped vegetables—Brit+Co recommends green beans or asparagus—into a Mason jar with one cup of water and seal it shut. Then, leave the jar on the top rack of your dishwasher and run a normal cycle. You will have delicious, perfectly steamed veggies on your plate in minutes. Bon appetit!

Sanitize makeup brushes

All the scouring and scrubbing in the world won’t make that gunk in your makeup brushes go away. Instead, try placing them in your dishwasher’s silverware basket and running a normal cycle. You can do the same thing for nail clippers, hairbrushes, and combs, too.

Cook homemade lasagna

Your dishwasher might be the next crockpot. To see what we mean, seal lasagna inside a packet of foil and run a normal cycle, selecting “heated dry” and “sanitize” for extra heat. Granted, it’s faster to cook lasagna in an oven, but this trick can come in handy if you’re in a pinch.

Try this trick out with one of these amazing lasagna recipes.

Reuse the racks as storage

Ahh, another dishwasher bites the dust. But before you toss it out, you can actually reuse almost all of its parts. The top rack, for example, can double as creative storage for craft supplies or gardening tools. Just turn the rack on its side and hang it on a wall in your craft room or garage.

Organize utensils and writing supplies

Speaking of salvaging broken dishwashers, that old silverware caddy can also have a second life as a place to stash pencils, markers, crayons, or other craft supplies.

De-grease car parts

No need to break your back making those pesky hubcaps and wheel covers spic and span; simply remove them from your car and place them in the dishwasher. With little to no elbow grease, they will shine like new—just try not to wash them with your dinner plates.

Dry your hand-washed dishes

Hand-washing dishes is time-consuming enough without drying them all, too. Let that huge stack of delicate bowls and plates air dry in the empty dishwasher (with the door cracked open), or run the dry cycle if you’re in a hurry.
This clever hack will help you dry a full load of dishes fast.

Clean fake flowers

Your plastic flower arrangements can look beautiful on a mantel, but they are also major dust magnets. The simplest solution? Just throw the whole bouquet on the top rack of the dishwasher, and they will get back to brightening up your space in no time.

Create under-the-bed storage

Not everything inside your old, broken dishwasher belongs in the junkyard. Turn the wheeled bottom rack into extra storage underneath your bed; it can roll back and forth for easy access to your stuff.

The post 15 Things You Never Knew Your Dishwasher Could Do appeared first on Taste Recipes.

You can pay less for your favorite meal

Saving big on your favorite Mickey D’s order isn’t rocket science—and we know the best deals. Try ordering a sausage muffin ($1.29) and a side of round egg ($1) to make a cheaper version of the Sausage Egg McMuffin ($3.29). Other menu hacks: A sundae with a McFlurry topping is cheaper than a McFlurry, and ordering any sauce on the side is free of charge. Don’t miss more mind-blowing facts about McDonald’s.

The ice cream machine really does break down

No, we’re not lying—there is a reason why it seems the ice cream machines are always broken. If the mixes for McFlurries and milkshakes are poured in the wrong sections, the entire machine could be out of commission for the day. You might be better off ordering a soda, instead.

There is no “secret menu”

Apparently, there is no “secret menu” as such. But if you ask for an off-the-menu item, we might not know how to make it. Just tell us exactly what you want; we will whip up almost anything we have the ingredients for. Looking to shake up your usual order? This McDonald’s has the best menu in the world.

Know your order before you reach the register

If you’ve been standing in a long line, be ready to order when it’s your turn. Your indecisiveness can be a major inconvenience for us—not to mention the other customers waiting behind you in line.

Drive-throughs can’t serve you on foot

Same goes for customers on bicycles and electric scooters. According to McDonald’s policy, we can only serve people who are driving a motorized vehicle in the drive-thru lane. Trust us, it’s for your own safety.

You might pay more for certain ingredients

Ordering double lettuce and double cheese on your Big Mac, for example, will cost you an extra 20 or 30 cents each. Luckily, you don’t have to pay more for the secret ingredient that makes McDonald’s French fries so addictive.

Bring cash

Craving McDonald’s at 2 a.m.? Make sure you have cash on hand. Because the 24-hour locations must restart their cash register systems every night, there is always a certain time period when we can only accept cash.

Also, don’t forget to get your receipt at McDonald’s, here’s why.

You can get creative with the sauce

You won’t always love the sauce that comes with your order. But just ask us to substitute another sauce, instead—and don’t worry, we won’t charge you for it. Just make sure you’re not eating at the most expensive McDonald’s in the world.

We don’t wear gloves—but it’s sanitary

Rest assured that employees are required to wash their hands at least once an hour. Gloves, on the other hand, can harbor a lot more bacteria than our clean fingertips. You’ll want to be sure you’re not ordering this drink ever, though.

Artisanal sandwiches are the most time-consuming menu items to make

So be prepared to wait a little longer for your order. (The chicken alone takes an average of eight minutes to prepare!) Same goes for Happy Meals; the toy, drink, and dessert take extra time to track down.

The egg McMuffins are made with real eggs

We physically crack the shells and use special rings on the grill to make them perfectly round. It’s the only breakfast item on the menu that uses real eggs, too.

You should always ask for a receipt

Certain people are paid to visit McDonald’s restaurants and rate their experiences online, and they are reimbursed for their purchase. So if a customer asks for a receipt, we are more likely to serve that customer first and give them the freshest food.

It’s tougher to get hired than you think

Although our jobs might seem easy, a surprising number of applicants are turned down in the hiring process.

We’re not allowed to sit down…

Employees who work the drive-through window often remain standing for many hours at a time. All that standing can make our lower backs and feet ache.

…But we get great employee discounts

Working for the famous golden arches has its perks. Popular companies like Apple, Via Rail, Hotels.com and Payless all give us sweet discounts.

Avoid apple pies and breakfast burritos…

Since they’re among the least-ordered items on our menu, they can stay on the shelves for a long time. Translation: They might not be as fresh as you think. By the way, this is the secret ingredient that makes McDonald’s apple pies so amazing.

…But the beef is Grade A

This might surprise you, but our burgers are made of high-quality meat. The only ingredients we add are salt and pepper.

[Sources: Eat This, Business Insider, The Sun]

Next: Find out why filet-o-fish tartar sauce is always off-center.

The post 17 Things McDonald’s Employees Won’t Tell You appeared first on Taste Recipes.

Legend has it that Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz took a trip to Italy in 1983, where he was “captivated by the romance of the Italian coffee bar,” according to the Starbucks website. So much so, in fact, that he decided to emulate it in the U.S. with his own coffee shop, called Il Giornale.

With his shop, Schultz “wanted to convey a different image, something far more exotic than a simple cup of joe,” author Karen Blumenthal wrote in her book Grande Expectations. And “since the stores were designed around the concept of Italian coffee bars, [Schultz] wanted distinctive names” for the beverages to honor that heritage. Hence the unconventional (and often Italian!) terms like macchiato, latte and grande.

Il Giornale eventually expanded into the Starbucks franchise as we know it today. But the story doesn’t end there. In the ‘90s, its menu listed three sizes: short, tall, and grande. A short essentially correlated with a small, a tall was a medium, and a grande was a large. The introduction of the venti size demoted the tall—making it the new short—and removed the short size altogether. However, you can still order a “short” at most Starbucks locations today.

[Source: Inquirer]

The post The Real Reason Why Starbucks Coffee Sizes Aren’t Small, Medium and Large appeared first on Taste Recipes.