The Day Loans Blog

Kid party food doesn’t have to take hours to prepare or completely blow your budget. When it comes to kids and party food, variety and presentation are the answer.

Rather than cooking a few specialty dishes, aim for serving lots of small dishes of fun and kid-friendly finger foods.

Try to serve mainly savory foods and only a few sweet treats. This will help avoid the dreaded sugar highs. Here are a few time-tested party food tips.

Presenting Kid Party Food - Make it fun, fun, fun!

Honestly, it really doesn’t matter what you serve as long as you wow them with the presentation. You want the kids to see the table, light up and rush to their seats. Okay… so how do you do that?

1. Plenty of color - Use colorful kid tableware, balloons, serving bowls, etc.

2. Plenty of variety - Serve lots of small bowls or plates containing a selection of different finger foods such as cut fruit, bread sticks, mini muffins, mini wraps, crackers, cheese, etc.

3. Serve Fun Foods - You can easily turn the most normal foods into fun kid foods. Cut sandwiches with fun cookie cutter shapes to make them more interesting or roll them into pinwheels, cup up a selection of veggies and fruit and serve with a colorful dip. Also make all foods kid size. Cut everything from pizzas to hotdogs into small bite size pieces. This will make it easier to eat and be more fun.

4. Personalize - I’ve found that using table setting tags with individual names doesn’t work as kids will just rush to find the first seat available. Instead tie a plain balloon to each chair and using a black marker write each child’s name on a balloon in large letters. Make a game out of each child finding their seat.

5. Keep it interesting - Play a calm game at the table. For older kids have each one take turns in telling their favorite foods or a funny joke. Sing or play songs for younger kids.

So what do you serve?

Here are some top favorite kid party food ideas:

Fun mini sandwiches and wraps.

Cut up fruit and veggies with dip.

Breadsticks and chocolate sprinkle dip.

Pizza fingers, chicken finger, fish fingers… anything fingers!

Potato wedges or mini baked potatoes.

A selection of small savory crackers, dried fruit, and a few chocolate chips will make a fun trail mix.

Mini muffins.

Classic cheese and crackers with baby tomatoes in the center of plate .

Small meatballs (chicken, pork or beef all work well).

With a little imagination you can turn most foods in your kitchen cupboards into kid party food. Also, don’t go overboard in the amount of food you provide. Most kids are so excited by the actual party they will only lightly pick at their party food… no matter how yummy it is.

So take it easy, prepare lots of quick finger foods, present it nicely and most of all enjoy the day!

Mila Sidman is a mom of three and the creator of http://www.easy-kid-recipes.com - A leading website providing simple, kid-friendly recipes, nutritional information, meal planning tips, fun kid cooking projects and much more.

A business partner of mine had a conversation with a healthcare client which pointed out an intellectual conflict that I imagine is fairly common among medical practices and healthcare providers; The Business of Medicine Conflict.

Healthcare providers rightly feel that their primary purpose is the provision of medical services. Conflict however seems to arise from the idea that providing care is their only purpose and that attending to the details necessary to successfully provide this care, namely promotion and advertising of the practice, is not only unnecessary - but actually contrary to the ideals of practicing medicine.

Healthcare providers operate on a classic fee-for-service business model, however it can distasteful to some physicians to view their “care” as a “business”.

This fundamental business/medicine conflict underlies poor business and marketing decisions that negatively impact the success many healthcare practices:

* No Advertising - “We provide excellent care - people find us by word of mouth.”
* Insufficient Marketing Budget - “Advertising cuts into our bottom line.”
* Weak Practice Branding - “I’m a physician, not a product.”

From an emotional viewpoint these statements are understandable - they stem from a common desire by the physician to view their work as something unique that should be recognized on it’s own merits. The pragmatic reality however is that medical care almost entirely a commoditized service; outside of instances of medical malpractice, there is very little to differentiate one physician’s care versus any other’s.

In the end a patient’s choice of one physician over another often comes down to a name in the phonebook, the results of an online search, or personal recommendations from friends and family. It is the patient’s perception of the healthcare provider that governs their decision.

Based on experiences with the coercive tactics of pharmaceutical companies, it’s perhaps not surprising that many physicians view advertising as distasteful. Advertising however takes many forms and there is an important distinction to be made between manipulating public perception and simply publicizing an honest and useful service.

Marshall Clark is Founder and Principal Consultant of FirstRanked Healthcare (http://www.firstranked.com) - a privately owned healthcare marketing agency specializing in search engine marketing strategies for pharmaceutical, medical device, and medical provider markets.

Fans extending from the ceiling have been around for centuries and the modern ceiling fan as we know it today has been used since Victorian times. Savvy homeowners use the ceiling fan in every room imaginable. They like their looks as well as how comfortable they make them feel. Why keep all of this style cooped up inside? Take the ceiling fan outdoors to the patio for a focal point of a great outdoor room. Look at your patio furniture and the style of home before you purchase an outdoor ceiling fan. If you own a log home, you wouldn’t want a futuristic black enamel ceiling fan or the contemporary pastel home in South Beach may not look good with dark oak fan blades. A Victorian mansion speaks of a matching outdoor ceiling fan that fits the period of the house. You get the idea, common sense and your decorating style will dictate which fan you go with. Lighting kits are available for these fans but I prefer your outdoor lighting to come from other sources. My husband and I think it feels much cozier when a glaring ceiling light isn’t shining on us. There are great looking area lamps and sconces that will compliment your ceiling fan. Let a fan be a fan when it comes to the patio.

Since your fan will be outdoors it is going to be exposed to the elements for most of the year. When they are on the patio there is little heating or air conditioning and the fan can be exposed to large amounts of humidity and temperature change. The big difference between indoor and outdoor fans is that you need materials that are not affected by the elements. Choose resin and plastic for the outdoors. These materials stand up better to humidity and moisture. If the fan is wood or metal, they will need to be specially treated to stand up to rain etc. Another major part of buying a ceiling fan for your patio comes from reading the label. DO NOT buy a ceiling fan for the outdoors if it isn’t given a “wet rating” from the manufacturer. These fans have specially enclosed housings for the motor that will protect it as well from the elements. Trying to install an indoor ceiling fan outside is like leaving a lawnmower out in the rain. You would have lots of repairs, the fan just won’t work right and it probably wouldn’t be safe.
Some very basic things you also need to consider before you buy are ceiling height and size of area. If the area of the patio is 100 square feet, a 36″ fan would be ok. Choose a 42″ fan if the patio is up to 144 square feet and 44″ to 48″ if the space is up to 225 square feet. Fans come as large as 60″ to accommodate larger spaces. Generally your patio ceiling will be quite high, but if you are considering the fan for a porch setting, your ceiling clearance may demand a hugger style fan. These fans have no rods to drop down the fan blades creating a safe clearance. Nothing is scarier than walking into an area with a very low ceiling fan. Check to see the fan you have chosen comes with a remote control. Who can live these days without having control from the lounge chair? Just because your ceiling fan is outside doesn’t mean you give up convenience. Ceiling fans aren’t that tough to install and usually come with directions. If you don’t feel like you want to tackle electrical issues or if you don’t have enough support to hold up the fan, bring in the professionals. It needs to be installed correctly so it won’t wobble, be noisy, or worse yet - unsafe.

Complete your outdoor room with great looking patio furniture and all of the garden décor that brings the setting to life. If you have a pool or hot tub you have now created a fantastic place to entertain guests and have fun with the family. Invest in the outside of your home as well as the inside. Your wallet will benefit and you will feel more comfortable at the same time.

About the author:

Beverly Marshall is a successful freelance writer offering guidance and suggestions for consumers buying portable air conditioners, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, air filters and more. Her many articles can be found at http://www.portable-air-conditioner-4u.comShe gives information and tips to help you save money and make informed buying decisions

It is truly amazing how easily people are confused with so many choices of how we might power our vehicles in the future. There are hybrids and Tri-brids, using a combination of propulsion systems. Some run gasoline and batteries; others run ethanol and gasoline or a combination with batteries. Some also charge those batteries with solar panels on top it is amazing the amount of innovation goes into these cars; everything from new materials to super powerful state-of-the-art and high-tech batteries.

The B30 and B50 are Bio-diesel blends in many people today use these in the Northern Midwestern states in their pick-ups and over the road trucks. E85 Ethanol is 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol. Of course in the future granddaddy of them all would be running our cars on hydrogen, which just happens to be the most common element on planet Earth. That would be cool wouldn’t it?

Indeed, however each one of these technologies has its advantages, as well as disadvantages. Buying enough hydrogen to take your car 20 miles might cost as much, as a $1.60 although with economies of scale the price would come down. Ethanol and many bio diesel blends mean that we have to grow our own fuel, which is a nifty idea however, what about droughts? Hybrids make a lot of sense however, currently they are quite expensive and there is a waiting list at Toyota and Honda, but there is also a $3400 tax rebate, Hello! That would sure come in handy.

Many believe that the more options possible the greater the competition and this in itself will lower prices which OPEC sells their oil for. As new technologies come into play and more competition in the marketplace exists, then these options will help lower prices. As we know current gasoline prices and diesel prices are affecting American families and our small businesses. Please consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/