Evolution of a Lens: Deli Sandwiches

When I was asked to make a food lens during my one RocketMoms experience, I went into a panic. I'd never made a food lens before. In fact, I have a very spotty relationship with cooking issues as one might detect from reading my fear of cooking lens.

Making a lens about food sounded frightening, at best.

At the time I'd recently lost a restaurant job - one I'd been at for eighteen months. Though cooking at home had been problematic for me, especially in my early youth, I loved cooking at the restaurant. One thing I loved was the opportunity to work on deli sandwich making.

I decided to make my lens on how to create a great deli sandwich.

I wasn't expecting much to come of it.

The lens looked good, I passed that part of the Rocket Moms challenge, and pretty much forgot about it.

Months later I noticed the deli sandwich lens was rising in popularity and lensrank.

Who would have guessed?

The lens went live in August 2009. By September the lensrank was 25,081. I expected it to stay there and be a non-prospering lens, but no... it has never gone that low since then. Only a year later it had its highest lensrank ever: 665.

Since then the lens has floated around in lower-first tier or second tier. Usually second. I've tried to backlink it but so far my efforts haven't succeeded in making it a steady first tier lens.

So far this month it has been in first tier two out of twenty-seven days. It is a borderline lens I very much want to see do better.

With lifetime earnings, so far, of $452, I'm very grateful that I took that Rocket Moms challenge on, and made my first food lens. That's more than I could earn writing an article about deli sandwiches for a major New York women's magazine!

...

LindaJM is a Squidoo lensmaster and owner of The Squid Grotto.

Just In Time For The Holidays: Low Calorie Foods

Holidays are around the corner and this means we are all going to eat more than we should. This means that as of the first of the year we are all going to start making resolutions to lose weight. Same as every year.

More than half of the US population is now considered obese and from 1980 to 2004, the percentage of young people who were obese tripled nationwide, rising to 18 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Happy holidays!

But there are some little known low calorie foods out there which can make the holidays less difficult. In fact there are so many excellent low calorie food ideas that this lens may develop into several lenses. So, start your holidays out right by planning to include some of these low calorie foods

These Pancakes Will Be A Hit With Your Kids

Do you want to spoil your kids? What parent or grandparent doesn't? Are you trying to get your kids to eat? We are. Our little guy is a super picky eater.

If you fall into one of the two groups above check out Jims Pancakes. You will be amazed by the level of creativity that Jim has come up with. Jim can turn a pancake into a fairy tale dream that would make Walt Disney proud.

Also, Jim is smart enough to use his "cute as a bug's ear" daughter as model for many of his pancakes. So, Jim's website combines creativity with a sweetness that will warm the heart of any parent. (My little guy is equally as adorable, but unfortunately his dad is not quite as creative as Jim).

Becoming a vegetarian: tips for your health

People become vegetarians for all kinds of reasons. Some are allergic to fish or meat. Others only consider the environmental issues. For most the treatment of animals in modern farming methods plays at least some part. My personal reasons have a lot to do with most of those (not the allergy), but also with another less well known factor: being a vegetarian is supposed to be good for spiritual development. The consumption of meat (especially blood) is said to make a person more aggressive. So if you want to become more peaceful it makes sense to stop eating meat.

Vegetarians don't eat fish either. If you do eat fish, please don't call yourself a vegetarian. Call yourself a pescatarian or something.

While a vegetarian diet has the public image of being unhealthy, it is certainly healthier than say a 'McDonalds' diet. On the other hand, there are some things to look out for. I've collected them on my lens: vegetarian health tips.

But all that aside: did you know there are vegetarian foods that just plain make you happy :)