best antique gifts - Gifts Articles 10536

Baby Personalized Blankets
Have you ever seen something as nice as the range of Baby Personalized Blankets on offer? They make a great bespoke gift for a new baby. These sweet blankets come in a range of beautiful colours and designs so no matter how fussy the new mum might be, she will love a bespoke baby gift therefore Baby Personalized Blankets are the perfect choice as any mum will be well aware of the extra bother you have gone to. A baby can never have enough blankets and they often have a favourite one as they get older. It couldn`t be easier getting hold of one, you can find them for sale everywhere but they are most common on the web. It is just like buying anything else all you need remember is let the seller know the exact message you would like embroiderred or printed your chosen blanket. Just because they are personalised they are not very expensive at all, only a few pence more than the bog standard ones. Give the new arrival something special that can be kept as a keepsake for the future.

Badges
The basics of pin Badges stem back over numerous years but the fact remains that Badges are still as popular today as they have always been. When used as promotional pieces Badges can be highly effective and anyone that is considering putting a promotional campaign together might like to use Badges as a means of advertising. How many times have you seen politicians on the ?party` bus using Badges as means of promoting their party? You`ll see pensioners and kids, adults and animals wearing all types of the Badges in very prominent positions. The reason why badges are still popular as promotional pieces is that these little advertising aids are fun. If you want to promote your message in a positive manner then badges can be the ideal solutions. Bands that need the right types of advertising aids can use a variety of badges to good effect. Because they are relatively inexpensive to have printed, a cool looking badge can be given away to help build a fan base. In fact, if you look at the prices of batches of badges you`ll find that these inexpensive items can be printed for less than you would imagine. If you have specific artwork in mind you`ll be able to download it to specialist badge making companies and they`ll be able to make you a brilliant batch of bold badges. The basics of pin badges have remained the same for many years and they are still as popular today as they always have been.

Great news on the chocolate front! Chocolate is good for you. Under certain circumstances.

Katherine Tallmadge, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says, in the February 9, 2005, WASHINGTON POST, that ?cacao, or cocoa beans, contain ?flavanols,? naturally occurring plant compounds also found in tea, red wine, and apples. Their properties have been studied as heart disease inhibitors.?

Carl L. Keen, chair of the department of nutrition at University of California, Davis, states in the same article that ?the flavanols in cocoa help maintain a healthy vascular system. They reduce blood clotting -- an aspirin like effect -- reduce oxidative damage and improve blood flow.?

Unfortunately the flavanols in chocolate are bitter and are mostly removed from processed chocolate. The level decreases with each step, from the bean to the cocoa powder, and ultimately to a finished product. But big manufacturers like Nestle and Mars Inc.(producers of M&Ms) are working on chocolate items that are -- what else? -- good for you. We can soon expect chocolate bars and candies that advertise their high level of flavanols. In the meantime, the only product that states its flavanol level is Mars? Dove Dark Chocolate, which has 150 mg. in 1.3 oz., a high level. It also has 200 calories. We live in an imperfect world.

While we?re waiting for more high-flavanol products, Ms. Tallmadge recommends unsweetened cocoa powder, but not the alkalized ?Dutch processed? kind, which has had its flavanols reduced. Next in desirability is semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with a high cocoa percentage. Some chocolates contain as much as 70 percent cocoa, but they can have as little as 35 percent. The percent of cocoa in milk chocolate can be even lower, and she does not recommend it. She says, ?I recommend cocoa or an ounce per day of dark chocolate, which may be about 110 to 150 calories, depending on the chocolate. Any more than that and you?re probably going to take in too many calories for weight control.?

Do you have any idea of what you just read? A highly qualified nutrition professional is RECOMMENDING that you eat chocolate! Maybe not large quantities of chocolate, but chocolate. If you have suffered much in the area of chocolate, you may want to enlarge that statement and post it on your bathroom mirror, where it can cheer you on rainy mornings.

Now comes the chocolate frosting on the cake. Deanna K. reports: ?The Diabetic Educator told me about CARBOLITE, a 1.1 oz. low carb chocolate bar made with Splenda, containing 0 sugar carbs, 15-18g carbohydrates, depending on flavor. On Google type in ?Carbolite?for more information.?

Deanna continues, ?The other chocolate bar that I think is acceptable is Amber Lyn Chocolates (fine imported Belgian chocolate), sugar free and carb conscious. A little higher in calories than Carbolite, the 1.2 oz bar has 15-16g carbs. For nutrition information visit www.amberlynchocolates.com.? The dark chocolate bars have 157 calories.

Flavanols are not listed, but these dark chocolates are a good bet for that HEALTHFUL piece of chocolate it is your DUTY to eat regularly. And soon, no doubt, manufacturers will begin to formulate their candies to be high in flavanols -- and say so.

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Find Janette Blackwell?s storytelling country cookbook, STEAMIN? DOWN THE TRACKS WITH VIOLA HOCKENBERRY, at www.foodandfiction.com. Or visit her at www.delightfulfood.com.