What does Sarah Palin eat after a day of snowmachining? Learn the answer to that and many other fun facts about US presidents' favorite foods.

I first discovered taralli a year or two ago. My friend and I went out for beer and ordered an "Assortito" plate. What arrived was pure finger food heaven -- meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, roasted vegetables, and these small pretzel-like crackers boasting the wonderful taste of fennel seed. But I drank too much to remember what they were called, and forgot until this weekend, when I once again ordered the Assortito. Memory wasn't going to stop me this time! I went home and researched.

Taralli are an Italian snack food popular in southern Italy. They look a lot like an untwisted pretzel, and are really quite close to a bagel -- formed and pinched, quickly boiled, and then baked. But whereas the bagel is soft and chewy on the inside, perfect for toppings and bread-like meals, the taralli is crisp and dense, like a cracker. With the addition of fennel seeds, which are folded into the dough, these are absolutely wonderful with the foods I mentioned above. It's not quite a sweet flavor, but one that wonderfully balances strong, savory flavors.

It takes a little time to make these -- forming the dough, working with stickiness, a 2-hour rise time -- but if you like the flavor of fennel, you must try it. (But don't go overboard and add anise. I added a little ground anise and it was way too strong for this snack.) The taste is too good to pass up -- I'm even scheming to make some small ones for my salads -- a tasty alterna-cruton.

To make the above taralli, I used the recipe noted on BreadBasketcase and LemonPi, from Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking.

As we head into the holiday season, aka the Season of the Endless Buffets, portion control sticks in the back of any health-conscious or body-conscious mind. You know, at least while that mind is sober.

How are your portion control skills? Check them here on WomensHealthMag.com in a test where you are presented with pictures of two separate servings of pretzels and you have to guess which one you think is the 100 calorie serving. Sound tough? It is!

I got it wrong. Whatever, I just ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's. That's about 100 calories, right?

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to declare that all those 100 calorie packs totally bite, except maybe the Wheat Thins. They taste like the cereal version of whatever they're supposed to be. When I want Oreos, I don't want 100 calories worth of hexagonal Oreo-inspired crisps.

Everyone knows the secret of a good diet is to go ahead and eat what you crave, just don't eat too much of it. My entire pint of Ben & Jerry's? Well, I guess I'm not on a good diet today. Blame the economy. I don't know why, just do it.

If you think about it, it's rather amazing that in the year 2008 they're still coming up with new kinds of crackers. Haven't we already been through every cracker combo, chip/cracker combinations, exotic flavors and various shapes? Now Keebler has a snack that is cracker on one side and pretzel on the other., Flipsides. If you're in one of those moods where you don't know if you want something salty or something buttery (they also come in cheddar, but I've only tried the original so far).

Actually, they're pretty good. At first I thought they were going to be either a.) bland, or b.) a situation where one flavor overwhelms the other. But they're pretty tasty, and you can actually taste the pretzel side and the cracker side at different times as it moves around in your mouth.

I haven't tried any toppings on them yet, but they're good right out of the box.

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Are pretzels a "healthy" snack? Probably depends on what you mean by "healthy." They're certainly better than chips and they're low-fat, but they're also carb-heavy and have a lot of salt.

But if there's one day you should go crazy and eat lots of pretzels, let it be this one. It's National Pretzel Day! I like all kinds of pretzels. When I was a kid I loved the little pretzel sticks, and then when I got older I liked the pretzel rods (you can put them in your mouth like a cigar!). I like the twists too, and all the incredible flavored pretzels (mustard

Here's a recipe for Soft Pretzels from Alton Brown, and here's one for New York Pretzels, from Gourmet. If you like your pretzels sweet, here are recipes for Pretzel Turtles, from Rachael Ray, and one for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Stuffed Pretzels from RecipeZaar.

So what's the latest word on pretzels? Thoughout the 80s and 90s we heard they were good for you because they were low fat. Then we heard they might not be the best snack for you. And then companies started putting the "no cholesterol" stamp on packages. Are they a good snack or not?

October is National Pretzel Month, and whether you like the little sticks plain or the big soft ones with mustard on top, celebrate with a bag today. Does anyone here make their own pretzels? It's one of those things I've just never thought of doing.

When I was a kid I use to eat the long pretzel rods and pretend they were cigars.

And I guess I should clarify by what I mean by "fat-free foods." I'm not talking about foods that are naturally fat-free, such as celery or water (those are the first two examples that come to mind). I mean foods that usually have a fat version but also have a fat-free version. On to the list (and yes, I'm well aware that fat-free doesn't necessarily mean healthy and can often be higher in sugar).

1. Fat-Free Milk: If you had asked me ten years ago that today I'd be drinking fat-free milk instead of whole milk, I would have thought you were crazy. But I love it, and in fact, can't even drink whole milk anymore. Tastes too thick and heavy for me.

Back when I was working like a crazy woman right after college, I would snack every time I got stressed -- and that was pretty often. Suffice it to say that I started putting on a few "stress pounds" until I decided that pretzels were a smarter option out of the vending machine than that enormous bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Yes, pretzels are a healthier option.

Now uber pretzel-maker Snyder's makes pretzels even better with a new line of multi-grain pretzels. The pretsels are made from, ahem, whole grains, are low in fat, sugar, and are high in fiber. They come in the standard lightly salted flavors, as well as honey mustard and onion.

[via: Daily Candy]

These avocado and chili pepper-shaped serving bowls are just the thing to present your favorite salsa, guacamole or other dip at your SuperBowl party. The covered bowls are made out of ceramic and hand-painted to add the vibrant colors that almost make them look real. Each one includes a cover, a coordinating serving spoon and recipes.

For hot dips, a, electric chip and dip set might come in handy. It has an electric power base that will gently heat the included 22-oz. stoneware crock in the center of the serving plate, ensuring that every dip you serve stays pleasantly warm regardless of how long you need it to sit out. The power base has an on/off switch so that it doesn't have to be left on all the time.

If you want something that is specifically designed for the big game, check out the Wincraft Super Bowl XLI Snack Helmet, which includes a realistic, logo-bearing helmet with two snack bowls: one on top of the helmet and one inside the facemask. It's best for serving chips, pretzels or other dry snacks, but the uppermost bowl has a lid if you choose to use it for a salsa or dip that might need to be covered.

The praline frosting that I used to top the buttermilk layer cake that I made a few weeks ago was probably the best part of the cake. It was very sweet, almost candy-like, and after scraping a spoonful from the bottom of the bowl, I was struck with a craving for something salty to counteract the sugary praline taste. Inspiration struck when I spotted a bag of pretzels was sitting within reach on the counter. One thing let to another and soon I was making up a second batch of the praline to coat pretzels with. The pretzels were devoured by friends and family within a few days and almost everyone requested another batch.

Next time, I think I'll be adding a chocolate drizzle, too. You can find the frosting recipe here, though you might want to cut it in half unless you need dozens of pretzels.

Peanut butter and pretzels are a good combination. The crisp dry crunch of the pretzel is perfect for cutting through the creamy, sticky texture of the nut butter, and the fact that the whole combination is a bit salty makes the pair dangerously addictive. Synder's of Hanover is introducing a new product that is going to make the temptation that much stronger: Chocolate Fudge Coated Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches.

The bite-sized sandwiches are about the size of mini Ritz crackers, so in each bite you'll have rich chocolate, crunchy pretzel and creamy peanut butter. Synder's actually suggests serving these with ice cream for a "fancy dessert dish" - and though that doesn't sound like the epitome of gourmet presentation, they would make a fantastic "mix-in" when crushed up with vanilla ice cream.

According to their website, Snyder's will only be selling these snacks from October through December of this year. After that, you'll have to get a bag of their plain, but tasty, peanut butter pretzel sandwiches and chocolate dip them yourself.

Jif has a new product on the market called Jif Peanut Butter To Go. Are you familiar with those individual containers of applesauce? This is almost the exact same thing, but with creamy peanut butter instead of applesauce. The idea behind it is that the 2.25-oz cups can be tucked into lunch boxes, picnic baskets and the backseats of cars to make a convenient dip for veggies, pretzels or anything else that tastes good with peanut butter.

You might want to limit yourself to veggies, with these though, because although peanuts in general are very good for you, they're also high in fat and calories. Each container has 390 calories and 32 grams of fat - that's 50% of the recommended daily maximum! It's a good source of fiber and quite low in carbs, but that is still a hefty snack for such a little package.

Those lucky enough to be in Germany for the World Cup next month will no doubt want to sample that country's traditional food and drink. With that, ahem, goal in mind The Guardian published a guide to the 12 cities that will play host to the tournament.

In addition to general descriptions of the cities, "halftime snacks" are listed for each. After watching the first match in Hamburg, the paper recommends ending a night of clubbing with a vist to the Fischmarkt in St. Pauli at 5AM for some smoked eel and Alsterwasser (a mixture of beer and lemonade). Moving on to Berlin the pick is Moroccan restaurants, which are all the rage, and, of course the city's famous currywurst.

I won't be anywhere near Stuttgart for the sixth match but the brezen, buttered pretzels filled with salami or cheese, sound mighty tasty. The local specialties of Kaiserslauten (match seven) are slightly less mouthwatering. Anyone for saumagen, pig's stomach filled with potatoes, or pferdwurst, horsemeat sausages? Hanover, host to the last match, has something I'd love to try, however. The Pfannkuchenhaus (Calenberger Strasse), serves up pancakes baked over an open fire with solid maple syrup. IHOP menu planners take heed!

[image: Football.co.uk]

Nothing can beat a fresh, soft pretzel from Philadelphia. The best ones come from "the Sale," which is a cross between a flea market and a farmer's market and also happens to have a lot of Amish people selling outrageously tasty food. Going out to find the perfect pretzel is not always convenient, however, and a homemade pretzel can be a good alternative. Not only is the the taste to look forward to, but the pretzels are easy and fun to make. Another kid friendly recipe, you can let your kids help to shape all the pretzels after the dough is risen. A second rise is not necessary when making these, as it helps them stay chewy.