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Banana snack industry goes stale

Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success. Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack. Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang. But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve. "Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang. Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2). Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month. "Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said. Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive. "What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said. "Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it." Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun. "If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said. The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold. The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors. Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation. "Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing." http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/

Tuesday 2 December 2008

stuffed banana peppers

in all facets of life, not just about weight loss. So ... .. get your sticky note, write how beautiful you are and you can do this, YOU CAN LOSE 10 POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS! Drink Lots of Water Do not underestimate this part of the program. Water is very important and if you are drinking water, you will fill fuller faster, you will flush toxins and you will lose water weight. There is lots of differing information on how much water. My rule of thumb that I use is to drink your body weight in ounces every day. I weigh 120 so I drink 120 ounces of water a day. It sounds like a lot, but once you get used to it you can't go without it. Eat Small Amounts - But Eat Often You must eat to keep your metabolism going. If you starve yourself, you will only gain weight in the end. You should eat something every 3 to 4 hours. Don't eat a meal, just eat small amounts. One good trick is to use smaller plates. You won't eat as much and it is a little psychological trick that make you think your plate is full. Be sure you are eating a variety of foods from all the food groups. Stay away from pre-packaged and boxed items. We will cover this in the next section about what kind of food you should be eating. If you must eat out, like we all do occasionally, eat small. Get a salad or get a chicken sandwich and take it off the bread. Skip the fries all together. If you are going to a restaurant it will be much easier to find something healthy rather than fast food. Watch the Kind of Food You Eat You need to have breakfast within a half an hour of waking and eat every 3 to hours after that. Here is an example of how I eat every day. Breakfast - two egg white omelet with fresh tomatoes, onions, green peppers and mushrooms or low fat yogurt and a banana. Mid morning snack - slice of turkey and some broccoli or celery Lunch - Salad with turkey or chicken, eggs, cheese and low fat dressing or small chicken breast with some rice and green beans. Mid afternoon snack - carrots, broccoli or cauliflower and an apple. I try to have a fruit and a veggie. If you get tired in the afternoon add some mixed nuts to this snack, it should help with energy. Supper - A small, lean steak with baked potato and a salad or Turkey or chicken breast with rice and green beans. Before bed snack - Any kind of fresh veggie. I try to stick with something green and my favorite is celery because it actually help you burn calories. These are just ideas. You can have your own choices. The main thing is to stay with fresh fruits and veggies and be sure to get protein and some carbs. Never cut a food group completely out of your diet, it is just not safe or healthy. Walk, Walk, Walk !!!!!!!! I know not everyone has time, but this is not only good for weight loss, it will make you feel better and it is good for your heart. All it takes is 20 minutes three times a week and you will tell a difference. If you want to do more, by all means go for it! At the very least you need to walk fast paced for 20 minutes three times a week. Congratulations and good luck. I know you can do this. If yo
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