Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Truffles

These truffles are unbelievably easy to make and taste great.  I know that I have been on a health kick and have been generally avoiding sweets.  I justify these because when I make them I know exactly what I put in and they just feel healthier.  After the holidays I will post some healthier "hippy" chocolates using dates for sweetness and nuts for fat.  Optional cayenne pepper, coconut powder are a nice touch but not necessary.  Bring these to a potluck or present as a gift to loved ones.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whipping cream (35%)
1 cup dark chocolate (chips/chunks) - best if you use something high quality
Cocoa (to dust)

Optional Ingredients:
1/8th tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Pinch of Salt
Coconut powder (to dust)

Instructions
1.) If using big chunks of chocolate cut into small bits.  If using chocolate chips don`t worry about it. Place in a medium size bowl. If using optional cayenne or salt add these to the bowl.

2.)Heat the whipping cream in a pot to 175-180 degrees (f).  If you don`t have a candy thermometer this is just at the point of boiling.  Be careful not to let it over boil.  If you want to make it easier you can set a pot with water on the element and put a smaller pot with cream inside that pot.  This will take a little longer but will prevent you from scalding the cream.

3.) Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir with a spatula till fully mixed.

4.) Let the mixture cool for a 3-5 minutes then pour out onto a piece of plastic cling wrap.  Roll this up into a tube and place in the refrigerator to cool.

5.) Once cooled, unwrap and slice into small pieces.

6.) If you are using coconut powder place some into a small bag.  Put some of the pieces into the bag and toss to coat.  If not skip to the next step.

7.) Place cocoa powder in a small bag.  Place some of the pieces into the bag and toss to coat.

8.) Enjoy.  Be sure to save some for your friends.

The 4 Hour Chef?

Author Tim Ferriss announced today on his blog that his next book is coming out soon and it will be called "The 4 Hour Chef".  His first book shows you how to establish a carefully constructed business that can be run on only 4 hours of your time per week. Ferriss' next book "The Four Hour Body" shows you how to achieve and maintain optimal health in only 4 hours per month.  If I extrapolate based on the existing pattern this book will show you how to cook in only 4 hours per year!!! I don't know about this...  I know my Dad and many other people who don't even cook 4 hours per year yet consider themselves chefs.  I have personally been trying to spend more time in the kitchen, not less.  I am trying to do more stuff from scratch and relying less on restaurants and prepared foods.  That being said, I have read and enjoyed Tim Ferriss' other two books and will be sure to check out the new one as his books always have great tips that I can put to use right away.  On reflection, the model of this blog is somewhat similar to Tim Ferriss' approach of providing a wide range of useful ideas.  Much like TED Talks.  I should also note that I first discovered the author through his excellent TED Talk - How to Feel like the Incredible Hulk.

As far as the new book, I will provide an update after it comes out, but until then have a look at it on Amazon or at the author's website.  I'd be curious in the comments what you thought the 4 hours means - 4 hours a day, week, month or year?  I would love if I only worked 4 hours a week to spend 4 hours a day working out and 4 hours a day cooking and gardening...  One can dream.

As a special bonus if you promote the book you could win an Amazon Fire tablet - details on the author's website.

First impressions of Swype 3.0 Beta

I had been using Swype for a while and switched back to Swiftkey - my other favourite Android keyboard.  After news of the new release I have switched back to Swype to give it a try.  They have added a predictive tap technology that sounded to me to be similar to Swiftkey.  One day into using the new version of Swype it would seem that predictive tapping only starts to work after you have begun to Swype or "tap" a word.  In my earlier blog post I noted the astonishing "psychic" ability of Swiftkey to predict my next word in it's three choices.  I will give Swype a chance for a week or more to see if this starts to happen, but as it stands I think I will be going back to Swiftkey after I have completed this trial.  They are both excellent keyboards and this new version is a big improvement over the last as far as "Swyping".  I used to find it rather cumbersome having to correct for mistakes and now with the choice of words that goes a  long way in correcting for this.  I was also impressed when the program offered to remove a word from my custom dictionary that had long been a nuisance in my past usage of Swype.  I will give it some time... That being said, I understand that there is a new version of Swiftkey that is currently being beta tested.  I haven't checked this out, I am going to wait until this comes out for general release before trying.  Both keyboards are awesome and another key to Android users ability to customize their smartphone experience.

NeilMed Nasal Rinse - one of my favourite products

Disclaimer:  Please don't run at the title.  Many people are turned off by the idea but I really believe that this is a product that everyone can benefit from.  I am saying that because I have really appreciated this product for a long time and I have suggested it to many people and their reaction has almost universally been a mix of disgust and distrust.  If you give this a chance it can make a big difference.  I have no vested interest in you buying or not buying the product but I hope that you will give it a try.  If you use it already or have benefited from another product, please share your experiences in the comment section.  Particularly if you know the ratio of Salt to baking soda that is in the pre-mixed packages.

Nasal congestion has been a recurrent problem for me, especially when I have a cold, during allergy season, when I am cleaning or when I eat or drink certain foods.  Several years back I was introduced to this simple product based around the Neti Pot (which has been used in India for thousands of years and comes from the Ayurvedic medical system.)  The principal difference is that the NeilMed device is a squeeze bottle which allows you to add some gentle pressure and more effectively cleanse sinus fluids.

What I like most about this product is that you are rinsing your sinuses with a natural solution of Water, Salt and Baking Soda.  This means that you won't have the same rebound effect that you get with regular use of most nasal decongestants.  You can use the product several times a day as needed and it will have a lasting effect as it thins out the sinus fluids.  I use the product from time to time and then more often when I have a cold, during allergy season or when I go on a scuba dive vacation.  I would suggest that if you are reading this because you have never tried it that anyone who tries the product at least half a dozen times will see the benefit and continue to use it.  NeilMed is available through many retail distributors in many countries around the world.  If you want more information on the product or where to purchase it, please visit their website at: http://www.neilmed.com

Please leave comments below, particularly if you know the quantities of Salt and Baking Soda that go into the pre-mixed packets or if you have tried their newest product SinuSurf (a nasal surfactant) which I am very curious about but have yet to purchase.

Swype vs Swiftkey on HTC Desire - a users comparison

Initial expectation of Swype at time of phone purchase
The first application I wanted to get for my HTC Desire was Swype.  In fact, until I heard about Swype I had not considered getting a touch screen only phone.*  Swype was faster than pecking and looked like fun too.  The HTC Desire and The Samsung Galaxy S came out the same day and I had to decide on a phone.  I chose the HTC Desire, the sister phone to the Google/HTC partnered Nexus One.  The Samsung phone featured Swype as one of its many attributes.  I was unaware that they had secured an exclusive lock-up on Swype.

Swiftkey is the next best thing
I discovered that the next best thing was something called Swiftkey.  With this application you still peck out your words but based on your past history and predictive technology Swiftkey is often able to suggest your next word before you even start typing.  As soon as you see the word that you want press it and on you go.  I have composed text messages entirely from suggested words.  Swiftkey has made significant improvements in stability and speed and the user interface is a thing of beauty.  I really have gotten to like Swiftkey and to use it very fast.  A minor annoyance is the input of my email address.  I have always found this to be an overly difficult task on Swiftkey as the "@" throws the program off.  Not too bad a problem as I have been able to input my address still pretty quick and haven't spent too long trying to fix this.  


Re-opening of Swype beta and immediate switch over
Imagine my suprise when over the holidays the Swype beta re-opened and I was able to download the much anticipated app.  I had all but forgotten about it and was quite content with what Swiftkey offered.  Needless to say, I was eager to try Swype and could set the bar high.

Swype is easy to learn using the on phone video tutorial.  I was off to the races in minutes and within a few weeks pick up more speed.  It is fun.  For me it is almost whimsical and I enjoy writing longer messages as I love dancing my fingers across the screen.  Sometimes however I have to re-engage the program by select an alternate data input and then re-selecting Swype.  This is only a minor annoyance as it seldom happens and only takes several seconds to perform the fix.

I went back to Swiftkey to use it again and see.


Performance comparison
At the end of the day it looks like they are both solid technology.  They stack up well together in terms of speed.  Swype offers a great typing/word-tracing experience  and Swiftkey offers equally impressive word prediction and user experience is equally compelling.  My expectation is that they will both improve significantly in the near future and that further competitive offerings will continue to keep raising the bar higher and higher as smart phone adoption continues.  I have been toggling back and forth between the two over the last several months and for now I am going to stick with Swiftkey.  As fun as it is to Swype, I really can't get over the near psychic abilities of Swiftkey.

That being said, one of the main reasons that I have posted this other than to offer out my feedback is that I love getting comments from people I have never met who stumble on my blog posts.  Please share your thoughts!

* Link to earlier blog post from before I bought the phone.

Think twice before you buy an Orabrush

I was curious about the Orabrush after watching an ad on Youtube.  I searched the web and blogosphere to see what I could find out and finding little I decided I would write out a post on this blog and see what kind of feedback it would elicit.  Ever impatient, I didn`t really wait to get feedback and decided that I would order an Orabrush for me and my girlfriend.  I waited eagerly for it to arrive by mail - I live in Canada and it shipped from the United States.  It didn`t take long to arrive but I was very eager as Youtube kept showing me the Orabrush ad after I clicked on the first one.  When it did arrive I used it regularly,  in addition to brushing with my Oral-B electric toothbrush, flossing, sometimes using my Waterpik and frequently rinsing with Listerine - what can I say, I love my teeth.  I guess the Orabrush is alright, but I don`t feel strong enough about it that it is worth ordering by mail.  I suppose it was worth the price, it is not an expensive product and it indulged my curiosity.  As far as I know it is still only available by mail and I vastly prefer buying products that I can pick up locally.  I have since picked up a tongue scraper and I would recommend this over the Orabrush as I believe it to be longer lasting, similarly priced and equally effective -- I would suggest that its durability makes it a better value.

If you are wondering why I am bothering to write this update, it is because after writing my prior post a year and a half ago, it continues to be my most frequently visited posts.  I have updated the comment section some time back to include my recommendation that people could go out and get a tongue scraper but I wasn`t sure if that was being read -  I don`t know how to track the comments as separate from a blog post in Google Analytics.  I am curious if this current post will ride on the popularity of the prior one (still by no means viral) or if it can in fact surpass the first one... Also I am curious if by including a link to my first post if people will actually go and visit the first post.  Additionally, I got more feedback for that post when it was brand new and I would be keen to receive user feedback on the Orabrush and on other dental care devices, especially from    other people who have tried both the Orabrush and the tongue scraper.

Happy brushing, scraping and flossing.

Links: Orabrush ad on Youtube; My Original Post

Taking Inventory of Your Eating and Exercise Habits

I have been on a mission to increase my personal wellness.  In that vain I have been reading "Power Moves" by Marco Borges.  The book is organized around four major joints in the human body  - Shoulders, Hips, Knees and Elbow.  Borges is a personal trainer to celebrities in Miami.  The book is worth reading as for several reasons: his writing is simple and inspiring; he knows what he is talking about and most importantly there is a wealth of exercises, with easy to follow photographs and descriptions.  I wanted to share with you a list of questions from the book that you can use to take inventory of your own eating and exercise habits.  There are no right or wrong answers.  It provides a useful tool for you to look at your own practices.  I suggest cutting and pasting this list into a word processor and saving it to check in from time to time.  I would also suggest picking up the book.

Routines

1. Do you get hungry at night?
2. Are you a morning person?
3. Do you get the “munchies” at a certain time every day?
4. Do you work so hard that you sometimes forget to eat -- and then feel famished?
5. Do you watch TV when you eat?
6. Do you always eat with your family or with friends?
7. Do you like to dine alone?
8. Do you eat a lot of frozen entrees? Do you think, Who has time to cook?
9. Do you love to cook?
10. Do you plan ahead, making weekday meals on Sundays?
11. Do you often eat standing up?
12. Is the first thing you do when you come home open the fridge?
13. Is there nothing in your refrigerator except some moldy cheese and a half-drunk bottle of wine?

Likes and Dislikes

14. Are you a junk-food junkie?
15. Do you try to eat organic as much as possible?
16. Are you a steak-and-potatoes person?
17. Do you love salad - but need dressing to make it edible?
18. Do you eat a lot of fish?
19. Do you like sweet foods?
20. Do you like salty foods?
21. Could you eat a pound of pasta if no one was looking?
22. When you’re eating your favorite snack, do you go through an entire box or bag as if you’re on autopilot?
23. Are you a chocoholic?
24. Do you only like to eat vegetables if they have some kind of sauce?
25. Do you love peanut butter --  on just about everything?

Weight-Loss Behaviour

26. Can you never seem to take off those last five pounds?
27. Have you lost and gained the same twenty pounds all your life?
28. Do you hate measuring food when you’re on a diet?
29. Do you record everything you eat?
30. Do you want to look great for an upcoming event or occasion?
31. Is your idea of looking thin to disguise yourself: to wear a sarong on the beach, and big long T-shirts when you’re out and about? Or to never wear a shirt with a belt?
32. Are you more interested in building muscle than losing weight?
33. Do you want to lose at least thirty pounds?
34. Does your doctor say you have to lose weight for your health?
35. Do you just want to be able to maintain your current weight?

Activity Levels

36. Do you have a gym membership but don’t use it very often?
37. Do you love to walk?
38. Do you usually use the stairs at work instead of elevators?
39. Do you spend a lot of time on the couch in front of the TV?
40. Do you love taking naps?
41. Are you an indoor person?
42. Do you hate exercise even though you know it’s good for you?
43. Are you intimidated by gyms? Do you feel unfamiliar with the equipment?
44. Do you feel comfortable using the weights at your gym by yourself, or do you need someone standing over your shoulder?
45. Do you go to the gym religiously? Would you consider yourself a regular?
46. As soon as the sun comes up, are you out there doing something?

47. Do you love exercise classes -- the harder the better?

Best Social Buying Website for Toronto Residents

Many web savvy Torontonians are by now familiar with the mega-deal websites Groupon, Living Social and the like. The concept has been such a hit and has been practiced and modified by competitors from small local upstarts to large multi-national efforts.  Fortunately you can subscribe to a daily email that summarizes all the deals available.  As always, be sure that you know what you are buying.  I always visit the website of the deal offeror, usually search for third party reviews and often call or email if I need clarification before making a purchase.  I have made quite a few purchases across several of the deal websites and while I can say the websites that run the deals have all been relatively easy to use, the quality of the deals has been quite variable.  It is really up to you as the buyer to do your homework and sniff out good value.  Without further ado, here is the link for the daily summary of deals for Toronto.

http://www.dailydealzone.com/toronto-daily-deals.aspx

Today as an example there are 17 new daily deals and 18 extended deals.

I would like to post a piece in the future about suggestions for deal site purchasers.  A guide to how to get the most for your money.  If anyone has thoughts on the subject I invite your comments below.