The Crystal Room is featuring such delectable items as Key Lime Chicken and Herb Roasted Strip Loin of Beef with Guava Red Wine Sauce along with a full Seafood display including shrimp, oysters and St. James smoked salmon. Located in the SE corner of the resort’s main lobby, serving 11 am to 3 pm. Adults $49.95, Children $19.95 excludes tax & gratuity.

The Diplomat’s newest culinary indulgence is Aizia, a spectacular room overlooking the Intracoastal featuring traditional flavors of China, Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries presented to titillate the senses.  Enjoy Pad Thai made to order at the wok station, sizzling beef from the tandoor oven and a sushi display on carved ice. Located at Diplomat landing, serving 11 am to 3 pm.  Adults $49, Children $19 excludes tax & gratuity. Also visit www.AiziaHollywood.com

Links Restaurant and Lounge, at our Golf location 501 Diplomat Parkway, Hallandale, FL, is a comfortable and bright setting with both indoor and veranda seating overlooking the beautiful Diplomat Golf Course. Brunch at Links is sure to impress starting with  fresh shooters of pineapple and yellow tomato chilled Gazpacho Soup with Rock Shrimp while breakfast aficionados will be sure to enjoy Pannetone French Toast with Bananas Foster.  Seating at 10:30 and 12:30 pm. Adults $44.95, Children $19.95 excludes tax & gratuity.

For all dining options please visit www.DiplomatResort.com/dining and make your reservation in advance online or by dialing 954-602-8347.

Everyone needs coffee in the morning, and fumbling with buttons when you bleary eyed and half awake can start your day in a bad way.

Primula Products has brought the future into today! A coffee maker that responds to voice commands! How cool is that? The ‘Speak and Brew’ coffee maker actually understands what you say. You can pre-program the coffee pot and it will confirm your request by repeating it back to you!

The sleek design of the Primula coffee maker fits into the modern kitchens of today; a durable glass pot has a metal band and rubber handle to prevent burning yourself and stainless steel body will brew the perfect cup of coffee time after time.  You can brew up to ten cups of coffee at a time and you do not have to purchase special coffee for the ‘Speak and Brew’ coffee maker; you can brew your favorite coffee.

Programming the ‘Speak and Brew’ coffee pot is very easy. The large LCD screen will ‘talk’ you through each step of programming, however if you want to do it manually, you can.

The ‘Speak and Brew’ also has a pause feature that will pause the brewing process, and an automatic shut off feature that kicks in two hours after the pot is brewed.

You would think that the coffee maker of the future would be outrageously priced; however the ‘Speak and Brew’ is available for under a hundred dollars.

The  ‘Speak and Brew’ is so cool that you may want to buy one for yourself too! When you give this incredible coffee maker as a gift, you will definitely score points with the one you love!

The two largest fast food chains have been in competition for decades; McDonalds and Burger King each have similar menus, however looking at the nutrition facts for the most promoted menu options may have you spinning in your seat.

On the breakfast menu, a Sausage biscuit sounds pretty tasty. However when you look at the nutrition facts, you may think twice about ordering one.

A Sausage biscuit at Burger King contains 650 Calories: 650 of those calories, 410 are from Fat: 46 grams are from Total Fat:  and 14 are from Saturated Fat. The cholesterol in a sausage biscuit is 190 grams and sodium is a whopping 1600 grams.  Carbohydrates come in at 38 and Fiber: 1 Sugars: 4 Protein: 20

A Sausage biscuit at McDonalds is slightly better; the Calories in a Sausage biscuit is 410 the Calories from Fat are 240grams and the Total Fat is 26 grams. The Saturated Fat count is 8 grams and the Cholesterol is 30 grams.  Sodium is much lower then the Burger King biscuit coming in at 990 grand and the Carbohydrates are at 34 grams. The Fiber content is 1 gram and the Sugars are 2 grams. The Protein is 10 grams.

As you can see, the McDonalds sausage biscuit is much lower in all aspects of nutrition.

On Sunday in Guanajuato, Mexico, this fellow sells honey, pollen and beeswax from his cart near the upper market at Embajadoras. The price is good too… just 60 pesos for a liter of honey! That is under $5.00. What a bargain. Add that to your fresh goat milk yoghurt or teas or ? The beeswax is sold by the kilo, or peso. Super nutritious.

Check out the smile on his face – he recognizes a repeat customer!

Guest Post by Andrea

Diets and dietary supplements work well however when you change your diet to include fat burning foods, you will increase the rate at which you lose weight.

Simply switching your snack foods from chips and cake to fruits and vegetable can boost your metabolism a great deal, and when you add an exercise routine it will boost it even more.

Foods like Apples, apricots, artichokes, asparagus, beets, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, Brussels, sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries. Some of these do not sound like appetizing snacks, however you need to have a positive attitude and at least try them out! It will not harm you, and you may find that the weight just falls off of you!

Using ingredients such as chives, garlic, leeks, kale, lemons, lime, okra onions, peppers and parsley will also enhance your weight loss. It is all mind over matter, if you put your mind to it, nothing but weight loss will matter.

Bathing suit season will be here before you know it. Do you want to be among the millions of people who are too embarrassed to wear summer clothing?

Traditionally irreverent highlights of the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration include a “drag” race between female impersonators in startlingly high heels and a lighthearted sea skirmish featuring tall ships in Key West Harbor.

As well as showcasing the independent and eccentric spirit that characterizes the Florida Keys, the celebration benefits a variety of local charitable organizations.

The birth of the Conch Republic was prompted by a 1982 U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint set up at the head of the Florida Keys so agents could search cars for drugs and illegal aliens. It virtually halted traffic on the only road to the mainland.

Realizing that the island chain was being treated as a foreign country, local officials protested by staging a secession from the U.S. and proclaiming the independent Conch Republic. They waged “war” on the mother country by pelting federal agents with stale Cuban bread, surrendered almost immediately and requested $1 billion in foreign aid.

The Border Patrol checkpoint was removed, but not before the Conch Republic had captured the popular imagination.

As well as the drag race and sea battle, highlights of the 2010 Conch Republic Independence Celebration include the World’s Longest Parade, named because its route down Key West’s Duval Street proceeds from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Conch Republic Red Ribbon Bed Race, billed as “the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on.”

Among the other scheduled events are a reception aboard a World War II ship turned floating museum, open-air crafts show and food fest, fiddlers’ contest at the Green Parrot Bar, sailing race commemorating the Keys’ salvaging history and rebirth of a Key West tradition featuring a 7-foot Key lime pie.

For more information and a complete festival schedule, visit www.conchrepublic.com.

Spring Grüv continues the next weekend on Saturday, Apr. 3 with the Red Bull 1976 Games, followed by a free concert by Robert Randolph & The Family Band in the Resort Village. Sunday, Apr. 4 The Canyons will host the final Miller Lite Downhill Dish Series and a concert by The Soulistics. And, in The Canyons’ music tradition, all concerts will be free and open to the public.

Need to rest your weary head after all the fun on the hill and at the concerts? The new Ski Free with Breakfast package features special rates starting at $343 per night for one-, two-, three and four-bedroom suites at Silverado Lodge, Sundial Lodge, Vintage on the Strand or Escala Lodges. Guests will receive two lift tickets and a two buffet breakfast vouchers for each night of their stay. This package is available through April 11, 2010. A second Spring Grüv package features a studio at Silverado Lodge or Sundial Lodge for $119 per night, or $199 per night at Escala Lodges.

For additional information on all Spring Grüv events, lodging packages, videos and a full calendar, visit www.SpringGruv.com.

Although the Christmas tree is the symbol of Christmas, it is interested to find that it has been in existence long before Christianity began.

In ancient times people did not have a tree in their homes. In the northern hemisphere, the people hung boughs of evergreen trees above their doors and windows to ward off all the evil that they believed came in winter. It was believed that the sun was a god and in the winter, he lost most of his strength and health. The winter solstice was celebrated as a way to make their god well again.

Ancient Egyptians had a similar ritual for their god Ra. When the solstice arrived, they would gather palm rushes and place them all over their homes. This symbolized the triumph of life winning the battle over death.

The first actual Christmas tree is credited to Germany in the 16th century. Martin Luther was said to have been in awe of the stars twinkling behind huge trees in the night sky and tried to recreate it at his home using candles attached to the tree.

Puritans in America found the tradition of decorating Christmas trees to be a pagan ritual and it was actually outlawed in Massachusetts. Anyone found to be decorating his or her homes in this manner were arrested and punished by the Church.

It was not until the mid 1800’s that Christmas trees were accepted as a form of celebration. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who was from Germany, made the tradition fashionable and from there the Christmas tree began to be accepted worldwide.