Low Calorie Food and Drink Dishes You Can Make at Home

Is it time that you set yourself on a diet? Not just any diet but a whole new lifestyle change? If so, then perhaps you want to forget the Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers type pre-packaged foods and set yourself on a course for perpetual low calorie living? Is that what you want to do now?

One thing that you need to know is that if you are worried about calories you need to switch to eating whole wheat breads, low fat milks and power down the fruits and vegetables. In fact you can eat unlimited vegetables and not get fat. May I suggest that you have for a snack a vegetable dip plate with perhaps;


Carrots
Broccoli
Beats
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery
And for the dip do not use salad dressing, but rather use Virgin Olive Oil, a couple of tablespoons and sprinkle on top some spices like basil and garlic and Italian Seasoning instead. It is quite tasty and actually better than a Thousand Islands or Blue Cheese dressing. It is better for you and tastes better too.

When considering a snack, blend up a fruit drink smoothie at home. Blenders are really inexpensive and you can get a killer blender for under $20.00 at Wal-Mart. There really is no excuse for you not to try these simple techniques and recipes to stay healthy, thin, happy and fit eating the low-calorie way.

I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

The Size and Dimensions of the Munich Beer Festival

Each year the Munich Beer Festival is held in a huge park located directly in the center of Munich, Germany. The park is named the Theresienwiese and called the Wies'n by the locals and is transformed into one of the largest annual celebrations in the world. Half of the park is filled with rides, side shows, food stalls and tents, much like you would expect to see in a county or state fair. The other half of this large park is filled with beer halls that each seat approximately 4,000 people inside with gardens outside that will seat more.

The Theresienwiese has an actual space of 420,000 square meters or approximately 261 miles. The park is restricted by Bavaria in the west which symbolizes the State of Bavaria. In the east it borders Esperantoplatz which holds a memorial commemorating the victims of the Oktoberfest bombing which took place in 1980.

The Munich Beer Festival is free to enter, although you do pay for your activities and beer drinking.
The Munich Beer Festival is a two-week festival which is held during late September and early October. It is one of the most celebrated events throughout Germany and every year around six million people enter the gates into the festival. It is the largest fair in the world to date.

Millions of people flock to Munich each year to attend the festival, staying in the various Munich hotels for this amazing experience. It is fairly easy to find a hotel in Munich for the celebration, as the festival lies directly in the heart of the city and there are multitudes of hotels scattered about for accommodation purposes.

The locals from Munich brew special beer just for the festival. The beer is slightly darker and stronger than the typical beer that is brewed in this area, both is taste and in alcohol content. It is served in a one liter tankard. During the celebration, the first beer is served to the Bavarian Minister-President and the beer is only served by local Munich breweries that are permitted to serve their beer. The tents, again, seat thousands with more seats located outside each tent in the garden area to allow for the multitude of visitors.

Although it is called the Munich Beer Festival, there are also large quantities of food sold and digested each year. Traditional foods such as chicken, sausage, cheese noodles and sauerkraut are served as well as Bavarian foods such as roasted ox tails.

Music is enjoyed throughout the festival as well from traditional sounds to more modern genres. In 2005 the concept of a "quiet Oktoberfest" was implemented to undermine violence during the celebration. The music is now only played to 85 decibels and is only played during the afternoon.

The beer tents play quiet music as well, the most popular being wind music, typically until 6:00 pm, then Schlager and pop music are played. Traditional German dress such as the Sennerhut, Lederhosen and Dirndl has become extremely popular throughout the world due to the festival and a parade can be seen during the event with locals dressing in their traditional fare. Because there are those who are not accustomed to the alcohol content in this specially brewed beer, there is also a medical tent used for those who consume too much as well as those who become ill in general.

The Munich Beer Festival remains today one of the most famous and popularly visited festivals in the world. If you are planning to attend this massive event, be sure to book your Munich hotel well in advance to ensure that you have proper accommodations during your visit.

Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham, he has interests in a number of websites including:
stuttering
xsite pro

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Hill

Becoming a Festival Vendor

If you agree that nothing could be better than being outside, making new friends, and making some money as your own boss then you are ready to become a festival vendor. Becoming a festival vendor can be easy or difficult; it really depends on the festival you want to sell your wares at. Below are some useful tips on how to get your foot in the festival door. There are many different ways to start out as a festival vendor. If you can’t get in the first time around, then check out some of these additional hints to help you figure out a way.

Join Fairs And Festival Events

If you’ve been to a few festivals, flea markets, or craft show and want in on the action then you’ll have to get busy – early. That’s right, most of the festival vendors you see at your local festivals have signed up for their spot up to a year in advance. Some festivals are more competitive than others. If you have some prior experience being a festival vendor, but you’d like to join a well-known or traveling festival than you know how hard it can be to get a coveted space to sell your wares.

Need to Pay Anything to become Festival Vendor?

The first thing to do no matter what festival you want to be a festival vendor at is to find out who is in charge. Try to speak directly with them about signing up. If you are lucky you will just need to pay up front to reserve your spot and then show up on the first day of the festival. Sometimes you won’t have to sign up until the day of the festival, but most will require you to put down a deposit ahead of time. This means that even if you are signing up for a hot festival a year in advance you still might need to lay down a hefty deposit now. This also means that if you can’t make it at the last minute it you will probably lose your entire deposit. Unfortunately, this is just how things go in the festival circuit and if you want to become a festival vendor you will have to shell out some cash before you’ve made a penny.

Things to know in Fairs and Festival Events

If you have chosen to become a festival vendor at a more competitive show and there are no available spots left, then you can try a few things. You can always ask to share a space with an established vendor. This is an especially good move for a festival vendor that has a small set up or someone just starting out. If the booth fees are high, another festival vendor might be happy to let you set up inside their booth. Ask whoever is in charge or approach a friendly festival vendor yourself. You can also see if there are any cancellations that day or the day before. This can be a real pain since you have no guarantee, but things happen and this could get you in. Negotiating with another festival vendor to hold their spot for them if they need to be away for a day or two is another way to get in on a temporary basis. If you want to be a festival vendor, then you are surely a creative type, so use those skills and figure out a way to get in there.

How to perform well in Festival Events?

The more experience you have as a festival vendor, the easier it becomes to get a space or a better one. Like almost anything in life, who you know matters. Being connected with the organizers and other festival vendors can help you out a lot when it comes to getting a prime space at a festival. This does not mean you need to try to get the management’s attention every chance you can. In fact what it means, is try to be a festival vendor who is easy to get along with and pays attention to the people running the show. It may sounds simple, but you will see many festival vendors put up quite a fuss when it comes to their space or a variety of things. Be the kind of festival vendor that people want at their festival. People will take note of this and this it will help ensure you a place at the festival or make sure that the your favorite space is vacant when you arrive.

http://www.fairsandfestivals.net/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amrendra_Singh


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Phuket Vegetarian Festival - Great For Tourists

The most important Phuket festival that is held each year must certainly be the Vegetarian festival. The Vegetarian festival in Phuket takes place during the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month of the traditional Chinese calendar.

The Vegetarian festival normally falls in the last week of September of within the first week of October.

The Phuket vegetarian festival is organized each year to celebrate the start of the Taoist lent. Due to the large number of Phuket residents with Chinese roots, the Taoist lent is celebrated among a large group of the population of Phuket. The festival starts of by devout Chinese religious believers completely abstaining from all dairy and meat products.

The festivities in Phuket that are held during the vegetarian festival can be found at one of the five main Chinese temples on Phuket. The best Chinese temples to visit are the Bang Niaw Chinese Temple and the Jui Tui Chinese Temple.

The vegetarian festival involves more then only the abstinence of dairy and meat products. Other parts of the festival includes the temple offerings to the Monks, offering of gifts to the nine emperor gods which awake during the festival, fireworks and cultural shows but to name a few.

A number of participants to the vegetarian festival on Phuket act as mediums between the 9 deities to earth. These mediums try to achieve a special state of trance. Once this state of trance is reached, their cheeks are pierced by numerous sharp objects such as spears and knifes.

Afterwards these special Vegetarian festival mediums all join a large procession which takes them by many shops which have places altars along the street with special offerings. These mediums pick up the fruits which are offered to them by the shop keepers and they add the offerings to the sharp items which are sticking out of their cheeks. If there is no space available the mediums will give the offerings to bystanders.

It is said to be a sign of good luck and a true blessing if one is to receive a gift from one of the mediums during the festival procession.

The atmosphere of the vegetarian festival is certainly unique and should be experienced by every traveler who is staying on the island during the event. If one was to describe the whole event in a few words then the festival could be described as a religious frenzy.

Where ever you look you will see spectacular ritual dancing, loud fireworks, blood stained shirt worn by the mediums and ancient religious worshipping activities.

If you ask the Phuket residents with Chinese roots as to the origin of the festival then they will tell you a tragic story. They say that a Chinese theatre troupe visited Phuket around one and a half century ago.

The Chinese troupe was struck by tragedy when all members of the Chinese theatre troupe turned seriously ill. The story goes that they had turned ill because they had neglected to offer respects to the nine emperor gods of Taoism. The only way in which the Chinese troupe members could cure themselves was with a 9 day lent which included solely vegetarian foods, long periods of meditations and acts of self piercing.

James is currently living on Phuket and is working on a number of projects. If you are looking for a great Phuket hotel then do consider staying at Club Bamboo Resort. Read more about Samui in his Samui Guide

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Bukovsky

A guide to some of Spain's quirkier festivals

Author: Mike Mcdougall

Spaniards seem rarely to need much of a reason for a fiesta or
festival of some sort and you can pretty much guarantee that
wherever you are in Spain there will be some merrymaking going
on somewhere in honour of a patron saint - I've decided to look
at some of Spain's quirkier, slightly less known festivals and
enlighten readers as to some of the stranger practices which
take place at various times around the country.

Our journey begins in the east of the country in the town of
Bunol in the Valencia region where a week long festival in
honour of the town's patron saint, San Luis Bertran, ends in the
famous "Tomatina", a two hour tomato fight where lorries
bring in 120,000 kg of tomatoes for the locals to pelt each
other with. It's all a bit of a free-for-all and it's usually
girls pitted against boys for two hours of madness from 11am to
1pm. Participants can expect to get extremely messy and it's
advisable to wear something old, and preferably red, if you
don't want the stains to show up. Despite the "Tomatina"
clearly being the highlight, there are many other facets of the
festival to be enjoyed throughout the week with fireworks,
parades and a paella cook-off amongst the most notable.

Not so far away in the city of Valencia, townsfolk revel for a
week in the festivities of "Las Fallas", another one of
Spain's more unique festivals. The raucous week of celebration
takes place in March and is most notable for "Las Fallas"
which are huge papier-mâché figures up to 60 feet in height.
Built in the streets, the figures often have a satirical edge;
Tony Blair and George Bush's effigies graced last year's
festival. The culmination of the merry-making comes on the
"Night of Fire" when all 700 of "Las fallas" are
burnt to a cinder turning many of the city's streets into huge
bonfires. Undoubtedly the local fire services busiest evening of
the year and certainly one not to be missed by visitors to the
region.

Next stop is Catalonia and the town of Valls located about 100km
south west of Barcelona, where every year townsfolk gather for
the legendary "Calcotada". A celebration of food and in
particular the "calcot" (similar to a spring onion) with road
side bbq's char grilling piles of them for locals to eat.
There's even a hug pot of dipping sauce on hand to spice things
up a bit. The main event is the eating competition as burly
local champions from all over the region line up to see how many
onions they can put away in 45 minutes, apparently it's not
uncommon for the victor to eat in excess of 300! After a winner
has been decided the town decamps to huge local cafeterias where
for a small fee the "calcots" are served in plentiful numbers
alongside grilled meats and washed down with as much red wine as
you can drink. It's certainly off the beaten track a little bit
and for that reason you won't see many tourists but expect a
warm welcome from the locals who will, undoubtedly, be in high
spirits.

29th June, the day of San Pedro and we're deep in Spain's wine
producing heartland, La Rioja, where for one day every year the
medieval town of Haro is host to the famous "Batalla de
Vino" (literally "Wine Battle"). Apparently the battle's
origins lie in an ancient dispute with between Haro and its
neighbours. These days the fight is pretty good natured with
thousands of gallons of wine being hurled around the
battleground (a hillside overlooking Haro). Like the
Tomatina, this is going to be a messy one and I'd suggest
coming prepared with some ammunition of your own, the locals
have been doing this for years so expect to take a few shots
early on.

About the Author:
For the last five years Mike McDougall has been working as a
travel writer and marketeer. He's currently working for a
Spanish language School (http://www.babylon-idiomas.com/) to
provide additional cultural and travel related material on Spain
and Latin America. This article is licensed under a Creative
Commons License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/uk/

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - A guide to some of Spain's quirkier festivals

ARGUNGUN 2009 FISHING FESTIVAL

Author: Yetunde Farinloye

The Argungun International Fishing Festival can now be said to have assumed the status of one of the global preferred tourist destinations with nationals of 21 countries witnessing this year edition of the four-day event.

They came in their thousands to Bernin Kebbi, state Capital of kebbi state to celebrate one of Nigeria’s most flamboyant events in the tourism calendar.This year’s edition lasted from March 11th to 15th.

According to the figures released by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, a total of 262,386 visitors witnessed the famed fishing festival in 2009 out of which a total number of about 400 people were from outside the country.

The figures indicate that visitors from Niger, Mali, Chad, USA, Germany and Britain top the list of foreign tourists at the event.

True to their reputation as the most travelled tourists in the world, a total of 40 Germans attended the show followed by the Americans and the British.

The total expenditure at the festival according to NTDC was N1.3 billion out of which food and drinks alone accounted for half a billion naira, transportation fetched N78 million while accommodation at Argungu, Sokoto and Birnin Kebbi brought N146 million.

The report also indicates that at least about N206 million exchanged hands for shopping particularly for souvenirs, mementoes, decorations, textile materials and crafts; while N50 million was realized from package tours both by air and land.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on the report, the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe commended the Kebbi State government for utilizing to the fullest, the public/private partnership for the success of the festival.

He urged other states to bring up products that can be promoted and marketed by the NTDC as part of the holistic approach at developing Nigeria tourism.

A cash gift of 300,000 naira and a Honda Civic car was presented by President Umar Musa Yardua to the winner of this year’s edition, Abubarkar Indiri who caught a fish that weighed 65kg.

This year saw the fiftieth event since its origins in 1934, when the then Sultan Dan Mu'azu of Sokoto paid a friendly visit to the Emir of Argungun, Malam Mohammed Sama.

To commemorate the occasion, and as the highest traditional honour of the Kabawa, a grand fishing competition was organised by Malal for the august visitor and members of his entourage.

What began as a simple gathering of traditional Argungun fishermen has grown into an international event of epic proportion, where many thousands of fishermen converge to take part in the barehanded competition armed only with a modest net. Canoes filled with drummers and men rattling huge gourds drive the fish to the shallower waters where they are captured, much to the delight of the crowds who come to watch.

About the Author:

Goodlife is an online,offline,advertising and promotion company.For more info visit www.goodlife.com.ng

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - ARGUNGUN 2009 FISHING FESTIVAL

The Varied Festivals of Japan

Author: Luke Humble

If you're looking to take a holiday in Asia, Japan is an excellent choice. It's a land of many contrasts with ultra modern lifestyles juxtaposed against ancient traditions, and rural communities set against sprawling metropolises. A single holiday in Japan can take in many conflicting aspects of life in the country.



If you're looking to absorb the culture, or simply to find some outstanding entertainment for your stay, you could do a lot worse than timing your visit to coincide with one of the many popular festivals that the country is host to. Here are some of the more memorable ones:



Sapporo Snow Festival



The Sapporo Snow Festival will be entering its 60th year in February 2009, and you can expect the event to have an extra special feel to go along with its landmark year. The festival, based in Sapporo - the capital of Hokkaido - takes place over a week and includes the construction of hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures throughout the town. Each year you can expect around 400 immaculately sculpted ice structures displaying everything from instantly recognisable landmarks to famous celebrities. If you're planning a winter holiday in Japan, then it's well worth joining the 2,000,000 people expected to attend this legendary festival.



Nagasaki Kunchi Festival



If you're taking your holiday in Japan in Autumn, the Nagasaki Kunchi festival is a must. Started in the 16th century to celebrate the harvests, the festival has now grown to become one of the most popular in Japan. Visitors to the country will be able to see traditional dancing, huge floats decorated like river barges or Chinese boats and the legendary 'dragon dance'. To give you an idea over how well planned the whole thing is, preparations for the annual festival begin as early as June 1st.



Kyoto Gion Matsuri Festival



The Gion Festival is another famous one, this time held annually in Kyoto. Unlike the previous entries, this one is on for the entire month of July, but the legendary parade (Yamaboko Junko) is worth being there for on the 17th. Those wanting to get an insight into how Kyoto residents live will also want to visit at this time, as the customary Byobo Matsuri (folding screen festival) means that many residents will open their homes for others to visit. An unparalleled opportunity to get off the tourist trail and see how people live on your holiday in Asia.



Nebuta Matsuri Festival



The largest festival in the Tohoku region is the most popular 'nebuta' event in the country with tourists, and that should be enough to convince you to visit on your holiday in Asia. Nebuta festivals involve the float of brave warrior figures carried around the city, accompanied by dancers moving in time to the famous Rassera chant. It has an atmosphere like no other, and is definitely worth seeing.



Sanja Matsuri Festival



Although Sanja Matsuri is celebrated nationwide, Tokyo is without doubt the place to be for it. The main festivities take place at the Sensoji Shrine on the third weekend of May and some 2 million people come to enjoy the huge parades, traditional music and dancing. Those who dislike crowds need not apply, but it is an unusual experience that everyone with an interest in Japanese culture should try.



Takayama Matsuri Festival



One of Japan's most popular festivals, the Takayma Matsuri festivities take place both in Spring and Autumn. Both festivals welcome the changing seasons and involve colourful floats moving through the Takayama streets and huge crowds. The Autumn version is on the 9th and 10th October, while the Spring version is held on April 14th-15th. Accommodation can be hard to come by, but tourists looking to see it should be able to find something in the neighbouring towns of Furukawa and Gero Onsen.



Fuji Rock Festival



It may not be a traditional cultural experience like the others, but if your idea of a good music festival is a muddy field in England, Fuji Rock may just change your expectations completely. Hosted at the Naeba Ski Resort (it was moved from Fuji in 1997, but retained the name), it is the cleanest mainstream music festival you'll likely ever see. Alongside quality food and drink, the acts are impressive too - past years have attracted the like of The Cure, The Chemical Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck and The Foo Fighters.



Whether you're interested in music, arts or just absorbing the country's history and culture, there is a Japanese festival for you. By timing your luxury holiday in Japan to coincide with one of these festivals, you're guaranteeing yourself memories that will last a lifetime.

About the Author:
Kieron Sellens is the marketing manager of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AiTO). With holidays in Japan from AITO, you can tailor-make the dream holiday.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - The Varied Festivals of Japan