Blog Posts by The_Stir

Wendy's Foie Gras BurgerWhen you think of burger toppings, you think of the usual suspects, don't ya? Lettuce, tomato, cheese, that sort of stuff. Well, Wendy's thinks a bit differently. The popular fast food chain is mixing things up at their new restaurant in Tokyo by adding some flare with a new ingredient: Foie gras. Yup, the foie gras hamburger comes stacked with a hefty $16 price tag and is available RIGHT NOW!

Why does Tokyo have to be so far away?! Sure, fatty liver isn't my go-to burger topping, but I've got to admit the idea peeks my interest. Besides, when it comes to the crazy stuff fast food joints sell from Hawaii to Japan -- foie gras is pretty tame. Take a look at these 5 unconventional fast food items from across the globe:

More from The Stir: Healthy Junk Food: Are You Seriously Buying This?

McDonald's Spam McGriddle
Where: Hawaii
Inside: Spam, pineapple, and rice. Rice? Next to Spam? On a bun? Thanks, but no thanks.

Pizza Hut's Double Roll Pizza

churrosWhat's the worst that could happen if you try a new recipe? Maybe you'll burn the cake. Maybe that slow cooker stew tastes like swamp water. So you cooked and ate something repulsive and wasted some food. No use crying over curdled milk, right?

Okay, but what if your food EXPLODES? That's what happened to at least 13 people who tried out a churros recipe from a Chilean newspaper. Churros are sticks of sweet dough fried in oil -- and usually they're a danger only to your waistline. But with this recipe, the dough had a frightening tendency to shoot out of the pot of boiling oil, burning the cook!

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Need I tell you some of these injured readers sued the newspaper? The Chilean Supreme Court ruled in their favor, saying the newspaper should have tested the recipe before printing it. YA THINK? The victims were awarded about $125,000 -- mostly to cover expenses. I shudder to think what that number would be if this happened

detox foods for healthy
It's not mashed potatoes, but . . . Holy moley, am I swollen. Between the ham, the cookies, the cocktails, the fudge, the cheese . . .it's amazing I can even fit into my Forever Lazy. It's time to pull together a list of those other foods. You know the ones that actually do something good for you other than that sugar high.

Whether you decide to make eating healthier a 2012 resolution or not, you might want to spend at least a day or two focusing on these fantastic foods, to at least allow your body to recover. It's your business what you eat come Valentine's Day.

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Here are 5 foods that will help your body detox from all the revelry.

Daikon Radish

This radish actually helps lower your cholesterol. You may be tempted to shred some on top of your bacon cheeseburger (and hey, no judgment!) but if you try it in a salad on a regular basis, you'll help reduce that heart attack risk.

Ginger

Cleaning,

Guy Fieri JewelryWhen I think of Guy Fieri, I think absolute craziness. The spiky-haired culinary rock star has made a name for himself hosting foodtastic shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Tailgate Warriors on Food Network. Now, he's taking on a different, more dainty venture: The jewelry business.

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Fieri has teamed up with Room 101 Jewelry and deals website Open Sky for his "off-da-hook" line. Featuring items like a set of cuff links for $75, dog tags for $75, and chain bracelets for a cool $175, the line most definitely reflects Guy's over-the-top personality.

I can get over the hilarious fact that foodie Guy Fieri has his own jewelry line. What I can't get over is how gaudy all of it is. If I was to see any man wearing this sort of stuff, I'd run in the other direction immediately.

Men wearing jewelry has always been a tough idea for me to swallow. I'm more of a simplistic gal, I guess. Seeing a guy

WalmartSure, you're grateful that your sister-in-law or great aunt thought of you this year, but did you really need a pair of polka dot socks or a critter cap? Every year, this post-gift-giving week is the one in which we're stuck with several items we'd rather return for something we will actually wear or use. As much as I admit I'm terrified by the crazy lines at the mall, I'm devising my plan of attack for returning and exchanging certain gifts -- and impulse buys I bought for myself while gift-shopping! -- as we speak.

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Part of that game plan is knowing what the stores return policies are before heading there, so as to avoid argument or anguish once face-to-face with a store employee! It's always wise to have a receipt, gift receipt, and your photo ID. But here, all you need to know about returning to Walmart, Target, Macy's, J.C. Penney's, Sears, Best Buy, and more ...

Walmart: Most items can be returned

shhh signPeople say inappropriate things. I know words have come out of my own mouth that I wish I could magically capture and bury and reverse time so those who heard them could un-hear them. I've also been the recipient to those words, and there are words that sting but also words that hurt even deeper -- the things people think they can say to a single woman. It's those words you can expect when around your family, that aunt you haven't seen since last Christmas, from those smug marrieds ... and they can really make a person feel like a giant meteor came crashing down upon them.

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So in an effort to stop those terrible things from coming out of a person's mouth, I present to you ... the 10 things you should never say to an unmarried woman. People have said all of these things to me before I got married at the apparently very old age of ... somewhere in my 30s. Let's hope the right people see this list

Smart eating this Christmas

The holidays are an easy time to lose focus on eating healthy. You're in a festive mood, enjoying the company of your friends and family, and in close vicinity of way-too-many tempting finger foods and, my personal weakness, delicious drinks.

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Not to worry, mis amigos! It is possible to stave off seasonal weight gain by making the right choices. Pick smart between grandma's loaded eggnog or hot chocolate, as well as four other Christmas favorites, with our helpful holiday eating and drinking tips:

First up: eggnog vs. hot chocolate

The winner: hot chocolate
By a landslide! Whether or not you're loading up the eggnog with alcohol, the main ingredients for this holiday fave are eggs, cream, and milk, usually making it at least 350 calories. Keep your hot chocolate in the low-cal zone by opting to make it yourself instead of snagging it from Starbucks, using skim milk instead of whole, and avoiding mounds of

hugSigh. As if we needed further proof that life is tough for parents raising special needs children, the outrageous treatment of a Missouri teen with Down syndrome falls under the infuriating category. Aleczander Fujimoto has been suspended from his school for sexual harassment of a school bus aide.

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Or, in his mind, giving his school bus aide a hug. And it's Alec's mind that matters here, right? He's the one being punished, but it doesn't seem like anyone cares about why Alec's hug crossed the line. This is the problem parents of special needs kids are facing every day, and the number-one issue school districts need to address.

It doesn't matter what happened if a child doesn't know what they did is wrong. It's like disciplining a baby. They're not supposed to "get it." Most people are fairly familiar with the physical markers of Down syndrome -- small ears and mouth, eyes that slant