If you are working an event, catering round tables, how many people are going to be seated at those tables is likely going to be a very important question. You need to know how to fit silverware on those tables and be able to serve people without difficulty.

When catering round tables, how many people will be sitting at those tables will likely depend on the table size as well as the room the tables will be in

As a general rule of thumb, the tables should have a maximum number of people sitting at them. If they are tables that are 5-feet, they should be able to hold 10 guests comfortably. For 6t foot tables, 12 guests can likely be seated around the tables.

From a catering standpoint, the problem comes when event managers try to put more people at a table. This is where you may hit a number of snags

Discomfort

Once you start trying to put more people at tables than they should have, many of the guests may start having discomfort issues. They may be bumping elbows with the person next to them or feel like they are so cramped they can’t cut their entrée without fearing to hurt the person next to them. While you may not think you have to worry about this if you are catering, you do. You see, if guests are uncomfortable at the table, they are going to be easier to irritate and less pleased with the entire situation. Therefore they may judge your catering service poorly as a result of their discomfort.

Tight Serving Space

From your point of view one of the problems that you may see a lot of related to serving meals and drinks to the people at these tables. If the tables are over crammed with people, that means you will be trying to fit more china and silverware into the space not to mention that you may have a tough time getting around the people who are now sitting closer to one another to be able to serve them. While you may not think a lot about this as you first start working an event, this is something you really need to make sure your staff is aware of and extra-careful in dealing with.

Additionally, there will be less and less space for things like bread and condiments on the table because of the tighter seating. Take this into account when taking service items to the tables.

Spills

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to working in a tighter table seating situation, is that this will likely translate to more and more spills and messes at the table. Since people are in tighter quarters they are going the be trying not to elbow and hit the person next to them. While they are paying attention to that they may well knock something over on the table. This is only compounded by the fact that there are many more items in a smaller place on the table that are perfect targets to be knocked over.

If you thumb through most books about breastfeeding, you are not likely to find a section on constipation. This is because true constipation in a fully breastfed baby is very rare. In fact, most experts agree that if a breastfed baby is constipated, there is something medically wrong.

Breast milk is a natural laxative; however a breastfed infant may become constipated due to the introduction of foods or formula. Formula in particular is constipating. If you have recently started giving your baby formula, this may be the reason for the constipation. The single best remedy is simply more breast milk.

Reasons for constipation in a breastfed baby:

1. Illness that requires medical care (call your doctor!)

2. Formula consumption

3. Starting solids

Signs/definition:

1. The American Academy of Family Physicians defines constipation as a delay or difficulty in defecation (pooping) for more than two weeks. In a newborn (less than 6 weeks old), the AAFP recommends that parents contact their physician if their infant has had fewer than five bowel movements per week over a two-week period

2. Hard, pebble-like stools

3. Excessive straining and crying in pain. Some straining, grunting, and fussing is normal. Babies are learning how their bodies work. Grunting, straining, and fussing that results in a soft bowel movement is not constipation and does not need to be treated.

Remedy/Treatment for babies younger than 6 months:

1. If you have been exclusively breastfeeding, call your doctor right away. This could be a sign of a more serious problem and your baby needs to be evaluated by your health care professional. Constipation along with weakness, a weak cry, and reduced eating could indicate botulism. While very rare, this is a life threatening disorder and requires prompt medical care.

2. If you were providing formula as a supplement, but mostly breastfeeding, stop giving the formula and exclusively breastfeed. Cow’s milk protein is very irritating to a baby‘s tummy and intestines. Providing only breast milk will help sooth that irritation.

3. If you have been formula feeding, start breastfeeding (if your baby is less than 2 weeks old) or get the help of an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) to re-lactate. Even if you have never breastfed before, you will most likely be able to produce milk. If breastfeeding is simply not an option for you, use donor breast milk. You can either contact a milk bank (this could be expensive) or you can ask a trusted friend or family member for some of her milk.

Some health care providers discourage using un-processed breast milk since you could be exposing your baby to drugs or illness through the donor milk. However, if you trust this person and their baby is healthy, you most likely have nothing to worry about. This could be a great use for the frozen breast milk of friends who aren’t sure what to do with their surplus supply. While you can try an alternate formula, they are not derived from human milk, therefore it is likely the problem will not be solved or could even get worse.

Babies older than 6 months:

1. More breast milk! If you are in the process of weaning, go back up on the number of feedings per day until the problem resolves. Back down on how much food or formula you are giving. See a Registered Dietitian to discuss solid foods that are less constipating for your baby.

2. Time. Usually, constipation will go away without any help from special foods or medications. Although there are over the counter treatments for constipation, talk to your health care provider before using them. Repeated bouts of constipation can be a sign of a more serious problem.

3. If you are certain it is constipation and you have approval from your health care provider, the American Academy of Family Physicians states that “Parents may give infants 1 oz of sorbitol-containing juice (such as prune, pear, or apple) to treat constipation.” This should only be given to babies over the age of 6 months.

4. Some health care providers recommend giving corn syrup for constipation. This is not necessary as the other treatment options mentioned will usually work better. However, if you do decide to give your baby corn syrup, put 1 teaspoon in 2 oz. of water. Do not put the syrup directly into formula or pumped breast milk. Corn syrup works by drawing water into the intestines and stimulating the intestine to move stool on through. It is easy to overdo the corn syrup and cause diarrhea and electrolyte imbalance. Both of these problems can be harmful to your baby.

References:

http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Medicine_OTC.htm

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060301/849.html

Running a bakery requires a lot of things all coming together at once.

I prefer the term, “The Daily Operational Requirements of a Bakery” rather than “how to run a bakery“.

The word “running”, is a term used in the sports field and though we as bakers do a lot of fast movements and it might seem to some that we are literally running from place to place. It is structured and designed to make as much use of our production time as is humanly possible.

Also running in a bakery business is one of the top reasons for professional accidents. The only time anyone should be running in a bakery business, is in the event of an emergency!

Now as far as the heading is concerned we are running a bakery but of course as I have explained my preferred term is the day to day operations of a bakery.

For some, it is also going to be a headache. It is certainly going to be a fun and rewarding experience to others. But it can also be your worst nightmare!

I am telling you this right up front…

…NOT to scare you into giving up your business venture, but to open your eyes, so you can see outside the box.

You have heard that statement many times i am sure. But, if you can think outside the box then many of the challenges will seem like an easy crossword puzzle. (Unless you hate crossword puzzles of course).

YOU!

YES you!

Whatever you do will be imprinted onto your business and whatever your employee does will also have a bearing upon “YOUR” business. It is therefore up to you to know as much about that business as is humanly possible.

What you don’t know can be purchased, such as managers, accountants and lawyers.

You will need to oversee every aspect or employ someone with whom you have complete trust and I do mean complete trust. This person will be spending YOUR money. They will be operating YOUR business. They may not be writing the checks, but they maybe designing the production flow and controlling your staff so that is where I say they are spending your money.

So, just what is involved with how to run a bakery?

Or as I have already said, arrange the daily operation of the bakery production.

One of the first operations is to cost your purchases and then cost the recipe’s you will use to acquire a sale price to pay all the expenses of your business.

Of course I am assuming here that you have already written your business plan and you have arranged an ingredient supplier, these are the steps to become a profitable bakery business.

The daily operations of the bakery are going to change every day. This is because production will change daily. After-all the chance of selling out every product every day is unrealistic – NOT impossible, but not likely.

We of course strive to produce just enough so that few pieces are left over. That way the product is at its freshest.

In the bakery we produce bread dough’s, and some of those bread dough’s require a bench time and some bread dough’s are what we call “No-Time” dough’s. So it is important that we arrange our time to work all these productions times into a standard operation for optimum use of every piece of equipment as well as utilizing our oven space appropriately.

Besides the bread dough’s we also make cakes and cookies, pies and other products that require different operational procedures. They also bake at different times and temperature.

Breads bake at a temperature of 400 to 450 degrees. But if you were to put a sugared top puff pastry product into that same oven, three things will occur.

1. The sugar will burn
2. The puff pastry will not cook correctly

3. The time, ingredients, labor and product are wasted!

Similarly, if you make meringues, the oven temperature will be 150 – 175 degrees so trying to bake a sponge

cake or bread at that temperature will be the same result of number three above.

In most bakeries, that is a small bakery with just a few employees will use a system called “baking down”.

Baking down is a way to run a bakery by baking all the highest temperature products first then the cake production then the cookie products and finally the meringues.

The products are then cooled, decorated, packaged and sold.

Seaweed Nori for Sushi Making – 50 Full Size Sheets + 1 Sushi Mat

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Seaweed Nori for Sushi Making – 50 Full Size Sheets + 1 Sushi Mat review

Seaweed nori for sushi making – 50 full size sheets + 1 sushi mat is one of the easist ways to eat seaweed. Nori is best used to wrap around small rice balls which are then dipped in shoyu. After soaking, Nori can be added to soup or used as a salad ingredient.

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NUTIVA Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 15 oz

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NUTIVA Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 15 oz review

How virgin coconut oil is processed is the key to optimizing its taste, texture, color, and aroma. Within two hours of Nutiva’s coconuts being chopped, the virgin coconut oil is cold-pressed. Contrast this with 99 percent of the coconut oil used today in cooking and body care. First, the coconut is chopped and left to dry in the sun for days. Then the meat is scooped out and sent thousands of miles to giant oil mills where the oxidizing coco meat is refined, bleached, and/or deodorized. Ironically, this product is often labeled as “certified organic.” There is no comparison between Nutiva’s cold-pressed, Organic extra-virgin coconut oil, with its light taste, pleasant aroma, and pure white color, and industrialized coconut oil, with its bland taste, faint aroma, and off-white color. Please note that any tiny brown specks found at the bottom of Nutiva’s Coconut oil are from the coconut fiber and are indigenous to extra-virgin coconut oil. Please Note: Nutiva’s Organic Extra-Virgin coconut oil is solid at room temperature and melts at 76°F. No refrigeration required. 100% Organic. Nutiva Extra-Virgin Coconut oil is Certified organic, Made from fresh coconuts, Cold-processed, Pure white like fresh coconut, Tastes like fresh coconut, Has a fresh coconut fragrance. Hempseed and hemp food products have an appealing nutty flavor and are a rich source of omega-3, vitamin E, protein, and GLA.

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There is a big craze especially when it comes to chocolate fountains. Chocolate fountains have been around for quite some time but they were termed as a luxury items. Today things have changed many people have witnessed the joy that an item such as this can bring to many and especially guest.

When it comes to chocolate fondue fountains nothing surpasses quality like the nostalgia electrics chocolate fondue fountains. Nostalgia as a company and doesn’t sell the chocolate fountains directly, to consumers. Many nostalgic chocolate fondue chocolate fondue fountains are mostly sold online by authorized stores such as Allbrands, Ebay and Amazon.

There is no point of just blabbering about nostalgic chocolate fondue fountain. Let me show you some of the features that make nostalgic chocolate fondue fountains a must have this coming festive season.

Other than being an elegant chocolate fondue fountain it is also a perfect addition to any party or special occasion, nostalgia electrics chocolate fountains are easy to assemble and disassemble, its a a common feature in many chocolate fountains. It really doesn’t make sense for you to buy a chocolate fondue fountain and then end up spending a life time trying to figure how to make it work.

Nostalgia electrics are dishwasher safe. Cleaning a chocolate fountain is a night mare believe me, after owning one you would really appreciate such a feature. Nostalgia electrics are 100% pure stainless steel. Stainless steel is what a quality chocolate fondue fountains should be made of, Stainless steel conducts heat easily and this is an added feature to help maintain the optimum temperature needed to keep the chocolate fondue flowing.

Quality is not optional and it comes a price, there are many fake contraptions in the market, avoid them like a plague. When it comes to chocolate fondue fountain there is no going round, cheap will not do, Get the best in the market get Nostalgia electrics chocolate fondue fountains.

Great Northern Popcorn, 2.5-Ounce Portion Packs (Pack of 24)

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Great Northern Popcorn, 2.5-Ounce Portion Packs (Pack of 24) review

How easy is open, pour and pop? As easy as it sounds. Don’t worry about how the popcorn will taste–we guarantee it will be great. No matter who is popping, every batch is sensational popcorn. If you just purchased one our new popcorn machines or are looking for that great theater taste in your existing machine, stop looking! This is great tasting, high-volume popcorn that pops up fluffy time and time again. We truly believe it is the best popcorn in the USA. The GNP secret starts with their premium-quality gourmet popcorn. After harvest, every kernel remains properly conditioned in specially designed storage bins. GNP utilizes the most advanced equipment for conditioning and processing the popcorn to insure it meets the governments highest standards. After processing, every load is test-popped for expansion before shipment to ensure customer satisfaction. If it does not meet our standards, we do not ship it. Combine the top quality corn with GNP’s proprietary blend of extra-fine buttery flavored seasoned salt, and exclusive low-melt oil and you have the taste and aroma of hot, fresh theater-quality popcorn for you or your customers to enjoy and remember. We truly believe we offer the best tasting popcorn in America.

Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
Amazon.com has certified this product’s packaging is Frustration-Free. A Frustration-Free Package is easy-to-open and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic “clamshell” casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It is exactly the same as a traditionally packaged product–we’ve just streamlined the packaging to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging during shipping. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without the need for an additional shipping box. Learn more.

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Reese’s Peanut Butter, Creamy, 18 oz (Pack of 6)

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Reese’s Peanut Butter, Creamy, 18 oz (Pack of 6) review

The indulgence of REESE’S peanut butter in a jar. Great on sandwiches or in your favorite recipes.

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Fruit is the perfect after school healthy snack for kids. Fruit is colorful and fun to eat. Getting kids to eat fruit is easy when we allow them to create their own fruit treats. The healthful snacks listed below are easy to prepare. Depending on the age of the children, they can use a blender to make their own fruit smoothie snack. The clean up after preparing this snack is also easy.

The fruits that kids often choose to eat are usually apples and bananas. This quick smoothie recipe can be made with a variety of fruits that will add variety. You can use any kind of fruit to make this healthy fruit snack.

The USDA “My Pyramid” recommends that children between the ages of 2 to 8, consume about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of fruit a day. For ages 9 to 13, 1 1/2 cups is recommended. American children do not consume enough fruit and vegetables. It is important that we prepare fruits in novel and interesting ways so that kids enjoy eating this important nutrient.

This recipe provides one serving of fruit – A strawberry smoothie is a cool and refreshing treat. This delicious smoothie fulfills one of those fruit requirements in a healthy but delicious way.

Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

*2 ice cubes

*1 cup frozen yogurt

*2/3 cup frozen strawberries

*1/2 teaspoons of sugar

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1) Pour all of the ingredients into the blender

2) Put the lid on the blender

3) Blend ingredients for 45 – 60 seconds until smooth

4) Pour smoothie into glass

5) Enjoy

This strawberry smoothie is so easy to make but so nutritious. Strawberries are sources of several

vitamins and minerals that children need on a daily basis.

For another delicious kid fruit snack recipe try this one with ripe bananas and everyone’s favorite chocolate.

1 Fruit Serving Coconut & Chocolate Dipped Bananas

Ingredients:

*4 bananas, cut in halves

*8 Popsicle sticks

*4 bars bittersweet chocolate

*Nuts

*Toasted coconut

*Sprinkles

*Granola

Instructions:

1) Place each banana half on a stick

2) Melt the chocolate in the microwave (Stir with a spatula)

3) Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper

4) Dip bananas in the chocolate

5) Roll in the topping of your choice

6) Cool to room temperature

7) Chill leftovers in refrigerator

Bananas are full of nutrients including potassium that is an important element in a healthy menu. The bananas dipped in chocolate are especially appealing to kids. They get to play with their food, which is something children love to do.

“We have old-fashioned tomahto, Long Island potahto, but Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today..”- Folk song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohen (1923)

Whether you are off to Rio following the colorful trail of Carmen Miranda’s fruit-filled hat or seated on your couch contemplating the universe, the banana can always come along for the ride. There are so many aspects to this strange and wonderful fruit. Even its shape is a bit mysterious; conjuring images of tropical islands and sun-filled days. Did you know that the word “banana” originates from the Arabic and means finger? Doesn’t that make you wonder where the rest of the hand is? I have been hooked on bananas ever since I was a child, and Miss Chiquita, drawn by Dik Brown who also created the Campbell kids, used to sing to me through the television in my parents’ living room. (I always wondered why she never had her own show. She was so much cuter than Ed Sullivan.) You remember her words:

I’m Chiquita Banana and I’m here to say

Bananas need to ripen in a special way

When they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue

Bananas taste the best and are the best for you.

The banana is so popular in America today that four million tons of them are imported every year. Not to compare apples to oranges, but rather apples to bananas, a banana has less water, fifty percent more food energy, four times the protein, half the fat, twice the carbohydrate, almost three times the phosphorus, five times the Vitamin C and iron and at least twice the other vitamins and minerals as a single apple! The average American eats 33 pounds of bananas a year. An excellent source of potassium and carbohydrates, they can be eaten any time of the day because of their digestive properties. Natural sugar provides energy for those sports requiring endurance and low proportions of sodium chloridium render a good recommendation for salt free diets.

That’s all quite impressive, I know, but where did the banana come from in the first place? Did it arrive as a conundrum along with the chicken or the egg, or did both of them precede it? Buddhist texts from 600bc mention the banana for the first time in history. Alexander The Great tasted bananas in the Indus Valley in 327bc and in his day they were called pala. China records the presence of banana plantations as far back as 200ad (way before the birth of Scarlet O’Hara). In 650 ad Islamic conquerors brought bananas back to Palestine and through trade spread them all over Africa. They were unknown to the New World until 1516 when the first root stocks were brought here by Spanish missionary, Father Tomas de Berlanger.

So much for traveling. How do they grow? The whole matter is extremely confusing. The banana tree itself (even though it is not a tree but a giant plant) is by definition an herb. What is an herb? Without passing go or collecting 0, the answer is a flowering plant with a fleshy, rather than woody, stem. Each stem consists of ten to fourteen hands, each carrying from eighteen to twenty bananas. The stem, however is a false one, formed by tightly wrapped overlapping leaves, resembling stalks of celery. The plant belongs to the same family as lilies, orchids and palms and the fruit is a berry. By definition, a berry is a simple fruit having a skin surrounding one or more seeds in a fleshy pulp. A banana cut lengthwise will reveal very tiny black seeds within its center. Therefore, a banana is a fruit, herb, berry and plant all at the same time. The expression “going bananas” probably came into vogue during the time all of these terms were being defined, don’t you think?

There are about four hundred different varieties of this fabulous fruit, but don’t tell Carmen Miranda. (Apart from the fact that she is dead and you couldn’t possibly, there is no way the woman could fit one more piece of anything on top of one of her hats!) The three chief imported brands are Chiquita, Bonita and Fyffes. The Chiquita (according to her whom I trust implicitly) is always a guarantee of quality. Its production sites are located in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Columbia. The Bonita banana hails from Ecuador and is the cheapest of the three, but only because it is never advertised. Fyffe’s founded in 1888, has the distinction of being the oldest fruit brand in the world. These bananas are produced in Belize, Columbia, Honduras, Suriname, Jamaica and The Windward Islands.

Harvesting is a race against time that starts while the banana is still green. From harvest to delivery at the supermarket twenty days remain before spoilage occurs. Transportation is done with specialized refrigerated cargo ships, each containing some 250,000 boxes of bananas collected the day before. The bananas are stocked in “ripening rooms” for six to eight days at a temperature that can not exceed 14.5C. This temperature allows a homogenous ripening of the bananas of different sizes.

The color of a banana’s skin indicates its degree of ripeness, but here is a more precise guide. Green bananas are not ripe, but can be safely used in soups and stews. Yellow with green tips indicates the fruit is partially ripe and it can be broiled, baked or fried. All yellow bananas are ripe and are best eaten raw or baked into cakes or pies. Yellow bananas with brown freckles are fully ripe and can be eaten raw, in a salad or in any other dishes calling for uncooked fruit. All brown bananas are over ripe, but if the flesh is firm they are still in prime eating condition. Blackened areas indicate bruised fruit and should be avoided.

Bananas can be utilized in hundreds of dishes prepared in as many ways. Roasted, fried, broiled, par boiled, baked, sautéed or eaten raw, the results are always delicious. They wear many hats, so to speak, and can serve as relishes, stuffing for goose, duck, turkey or chicken, sauces, spreads, jellies, jams, candies, cake and pie filling, flour for breads and fresh fruit in salads. There is little that one cannot do with a banana ( except maybe pay a utility bill.) I am sure that Carmen Miranda loved bananas in every way, but dying as she did at such an early age, I wonder if she didn’t put more of them on her hats than she ever ate. Chiquita could have told her the truth, but would she have listened? Somehow I tend to doubt that those two would have ever gotten along!