The story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America. Until 1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions.

The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and laid before the Spanish throne a treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. Click here

 
 
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Eating Chocolates  |   Growing Chocolates  |   Chocolates just for kids

ARTICLES

Geat Breakfast Ideas

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all, you have just starved yourself for up to 12 hours. It is important to give yourself a nutritious meal to start your day well and to refuel your body, but it's easy to get bored of breakfast if you have the same thing every day and many people skip it altogether. Variety is the spice of life so don't eat the same breakfast every day. Use the ideas below to make breakfast more interesting, more appealing and healthy.

1. Porridge - Use porridge oats or instant oats to make yourself a satisfying breakfast which will keep those hunger pangs at bay. Oats are slow release energy and so will keep you going until lunchtime. Flavour your porridge with honey, fruit such as berries and seeds or nuts like almonds. 2.

Wholegrain cereals - Look for cereals which are wholegrain and serve with skimmed milk or soya milk. Add interest by serving with sliced bananas or mix in berries. The fibre in the cereal will really help your digestive system and help you to feel full. 3.

Scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast - A very nutritious meal and for a treat why not add some chopped smoked salmon to the eggs? Instead of eggs, you can use tofu - stir fry with some soy sauce, onions and peppers for a delicious breakfast. 4. Yogurt and muesli - Mix a low fat yogurt with some low sugar muesli and fruit for a tasty, quick breakfast. A perfect breakfast for when you are running late. 5.

Muffins - Find a recipe for some healthy wholegrain muffins and serve with jam or nutritious peanut butter. Make sure you choose a natural peanut butter. 6. Cottage cheese - Mix low-fat cottage cheese with fruit for a quick but nutritious breakfast.

7. Fruit salad - Chop up your favourite fruits and enjoy. You can prepare this the night before if you add lemon juice to keep apples from going brown. Store in an airtight container. 8. Fruit smoothie or shake - Search online for some smoothie and shake recipes to use in your blender.

Add protein powder to make a really nutritious breakfast. 9. Fruit, nuts and cheese - For breakfast on the run, grab and apple, chunk of cheese and a few walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts or almonds.

10. Breakfast Pizza - Spread a slice of wholegrain bread with ricotta cheese, add slices of tomato or some chopped tomato, sprinkle with some olive oil and grill - delicious! 11. Tostada - This is a traditional Spanish breakfast. Skin some tomatoes by cutting a cross on the top and bottom and soaking in boiling water for a couple of minutes, whizz in your blender and spoon over a slice of French bread (baguette) which has been cut length ways and toasted lightly under the grill. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt. 12.

Breakfast Sundae - layer chopped fruit or berries, low-fat yogurt and muesli in a sundae glass and drizzle honey over the top. 13. Homemade bread - If you have a breadmaker with a timer, you could time the breadmaker to finish at breakfast time - lovely fresh, warm bread to serve with preserves, honey or peanut butter. 14.

Omelettes - Omelettes are quick to prepare and you can enjoy many different varieties. Mushroom omelette is great for breakfast. 15. French Toast (Eggy bread) - Soak slices of wholegrain bread in a mixture of egg and milk and cook on a griddle or in a frying pan for a few minutes.

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. You can also make a sandwich by spreading the bread with soft cheese and jam or pureed fruit and then dip the whole sandwich into the egg and milk mixture before cooking. 16. Pancakes - Mix up a batch of pancake batter the night before and make pancakes for breakfast or reheat a batch of pancakes.

Experiment with different fillings or toppings. 17. Burrito - Serve scramled eggs and tomatoes or ham and cheese rolled up in a tortilla for a quick and tasty breakfast. 18. Bacon sandwich - Grill lean bacon and serve on wholegrain bread.

19. Cooked breakfast - Grill bacon, a low-fat sausage, tomatoes and serve with scrambled eggs for a traditional English breakfast. 20. Breakfast bars - Search for recipes for healthy breakfast bars or flapjacks.

These bars are a great standby when you need to eat on the run.

David provides content for the Recipe Collection site. If you are looking for a recipe collection which includes breakfast recipes, (amongst others), then the Recipe Collection site is right down your street. There is a breakfast recipe to suit every taste.



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