Pronto Pollo

This book is more than just a review of great pizza. Within these pages are adventurous tales filled with pizza obsession, passion, heartbreak, and enlightenment. You will even find a cure for the dreaded Pizza Burn. Pizza Burn occurs when searing hot cheese meets the unprotected roof of your mouth. He also includes a pizza recipe for the home cook. Ed Levine has done his homework.

Levine is wise enough to enlist the assistance of such luminaries as Chefs Mario Batali and Peter Reinhart (American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza), Nora Ehron, Jeffery Stiengarten and many others. These authors add much varied flavor to the different tastes in the book. In some ways this book is a collaborative effort full of Pizza anecdotes and reviews, however, Levine pulls it altogether in the end.

Levine is very straight forward about his pizza picks. He is a New Yorker, and his choices have a New York spin. He feels (as many New Yorkers feel), New York is the center of the pizza universe. He is not a pizza elitist, however.

He nods his head to the famed New Haven, Connecticut Pizza; Pepe’s, and Sally’s Apizza. He does acknowledge Wooster Street in New Haven, as being a stronghold of some of the best pizza in America. He searches New York, Boston, Chicago, The Mid West, The South, The Southwest, and The West Coast. He even touches on South American Pizza. He takes a stab at Bar Pizza, Frozen Pizza, Chain Pizza and Internet Pizza (pizzatherapy.com, a web site based in Hawaii, is referenced).

Levine rates Hawaii pizza, by enlisting the assistance of Joan Namkoony and John Heckathorn from Honolulu Magazine. As part of their research, they ordered fourteen pizzas from Kahala to Mapunupuna and brought them back to their office for a pizza party. After a blind-test-side-by-side comparison, one pizza came out on top: Antonio’s New York Pizzeria. Owners (and cousins) Anthony Romano and Joe Tramantano are transplanted from Connecticut carrying on the thin crust pizza tradition here in Hawaii.

I recommend Pizza: A Slice of Heaven! without hesitation or reservation. This is a wonderful book for anyone who ever enjoyed a pizza. Levine does not sugar coat any of his reviews or recommendations. The book is totally opinionated and therein lies it’s charm.

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You’re hungry for pizza and you don’t have any pizza coupons, what do you do know? Go hungry, eat some left over food, or just order a pizza anyways? You know the craving, if you’re hungry for pizza, then you’re going to order the pizza! Before you place that phone call, let me show you a few ways to find some special pizza coupons.

The easiest way to gain a special discount on a pizza is to simply call the pizza shop and find out if they have any specials on pizzas. Most pizza shops carry some kind of special. The big three, Papa John’s pizza, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s pizza, all run monthly (or 6 week) specials. They are always creating new pizza’s and specials to get you into their door with their television advertisements.

Another way to find pizza coupons is to search through that stack of mail that has been sitting on your counter. All of the big pizza shops spend money every month to get coupons for pizza in your door. Their coupons come in a variety of ways, some use direct mail which comes from their data base of customer’s, other pizza places use coupons in a monthly coupons book, and some pizza shops even have crew members door hang. The great thing about paper advertising, is that it is less expensive so the independent pizzeria’s have a chance to compete for your business.

The third way to locate pizza specials is to log onto your favorite pizza website. All of the bigger pizza shops have a website now a days! When you visit, you can join their mailing list and receive special pizza coupons directly to your e-mail. This is the newest form of advertising for pizza shops and I believe it is growing every month. This gives them the opportunity to take advantage of any big happening in the world! If the big game is in a few days, you may just receive an e-mail about a special pizza discount for that day only. In any case, you can obtain an online pizza coupons and simply print it out and redeem it. Pizza thrives on main events, friends and families gather and pizza shops know that pizza is the easiest food to feed a gathering!

So the next time you ‘re surfing the net and get that pizza craving, log onto your favorite pizza site and grab some coupons! Be happy, Enjoy live, Eat pizza!

Pronto Pollo Scone Chicken Products

Are you going to build a backyard chicken coop as part of the Urban Chicken Movement?

It’s the “chicken underground” that’s sweeping the nation! City folks are re-discovering the benefits of raising chickens in their own backyards. Fresh eggs are only one of the many benefits of having these domesticated birds living in your backyard.

For me and my children, involvement with 4-H was a great way to help teach responsibility to my kids and get fresh eggs! The chickens are also gentle and very entertaining! They’ll come when called (a little food here helps) and they really don’t make much noise – or mess. As long as you do your part in keeping them and their coop clean. Which brings us to my main subject – building your own chicken coop – 4 simple steps to a great chicken coop.

Plan, Plan – Then Plan Again

Remember that old saying “measure twice, cut once?” The same applies when building your chicken coop – except it starts with planning.

How many chickens do you intend to keep? This has a direct relationship to the size of the coop you’ll need. What breeds of chickens will you have? Bantam chickens are small birds, but Wyandotte chickens are large – you’ll need to make sure you have enough space for either bird you are planning to raise.

The location of your coop is very important. For example, if you live in a colder part of the country, you may want to take advantage of the sun on a cold winter day to help warm up your chickens. You’ll need to choose a spot in your backyard that has good Southern exposure for those frosty mornings

Remember that you’ll need to clean under and around your chickens. This means you’ll have to have good access from all angles for a good cleaning. Speaking of access – determine before you build where the access door or hatch will be – then you can orient your chicken coop conveniently in the yard.

Don’t choose an area of your yard that puddles moisture – constantly wet chicken waste doesn’t make for a healthful situation. Pick a spot that’s high and dry – for the health of your birds.

These and other very basic questions should be answered before you buy materials and start building.

Use Paper – Put Your Design On Paper

With measuring tape in hand, sketch out basic shapes and dimensions on a piece of notepaper. It’s ok to crumple up and throw away many sheets before you settle on a good design. Transferring your thoughts to paper can mean the difference between success and failure – and failure is not what this is all about!

Don’t be too concerned if your sketches aren’t classical pieces of art – we’re looking for practical and sturdy first – beauty second. Do any of your neighbors (or friends out in the country) have chickens and coops? It can be a great to copy what works – you’ll get a lot of good design tips if you look at something already built.

Get Materials

Notice this section is titled “Get” Materials? If you’re a thrifty person, you may look at local newspapers and maybe even Craigslist to see if anyone is selling (or giving away) a chicken coop. Be cautious here, you don’t want someone’s junk, but I personally have seen a number of nice-looking and very usable chicken coops sold very cheaply – or even given away.

If it isn’t possible to find a used coop, then you’ll have to build from scratch. From the sketches you made, try and write down a list of materials you’ll need – everything! From 2×4’s to nails to chicken wire, if you have what you need on paper, you really can avoid some trips to the hardware store. One thing that has really helped me is to take the sketch to the hardware store in addition to the list I’ve put together. If I can’t get the exact bracket or piece of lumber that I planned on using, the sketch can help me substitute something I can get.

Don’t forget tools! Besides the basic tools – hammer, screwdrivers, square, saw, tape measure, etc., I always have my 18 volt electric screw gun. Over the years, I have really depended on that tool to help build tons of projects. While screws are definitely more expensive than nails, only screws allow you to take something apart without ruining the wood! This has saved me many times.

Now – Just Build It

I can’t stress enough the need to protect yourself – eye protection is critical, ear protection is nice, and a good set of leather gloves can be a lifesaver on a cold day.

Take your time with the construction, and don’t be afraid to modify your design as you go. Sometimes we miss critical features or other things, and as you build your chicken coop, you may find out you really missed something that you’d like to add – or correct.

It’s always easier to make small changes as you go, than end up with a severely compromised chicken coop.

Get help, if you can. Often, two heads are better than one – and 4 hands are definitely useful if you’re dealing with large or bulky items. I’ve learned that if I follow some basic steps like these I outlined, my chicken coop projects usually turn out a lot better than the ones I’ve seen hacked and band-aided together. And, your chickens will be happier. Remember – happy chickens make more and bigger eggs. And, that will make YOU happy.

Pronto Pollo Scone Pizzas

More than 90% of Americans consume a slice each month, but do we get what we are looking for? What is it? Pizza, the industry that produces more than $30 billion on a yearly basis. So do you know if the slice of pizza your consuming is up to par?

Isn’t it what all pizza lover’s are looking for? A quality pizza! So let’s take a look at what makes a quality pizza. A quality pizza is a pizza that produces three unique qualities. First is appearance, if it doesn’t look good then how do you think it is going to taste? The appearance of a quality pizza should have correct topping distribution. This means toppings over the whole pizza, no center loading. Center loading is when the majority of your toppings are in the center of your pizza, this often results in a doughy pizza. Another aspect of correct toping distribution is the amount of toppings on the pizza. This means that the more pizza toppings you order, the less you get. It sounds harsh, but it really isn’t. Please read on and I’ll explain why.

The baking of the pizza is the second unique quality of pizza appearance. The bake of a pizza is vital, consumer’s aren’t looking for a doughy pizza or a pizza with a burnt appearance, consumer’s want their pizza baked just right! Here is a little insight on how they achieve the proper bake of a pizza. The bake of a pizza depends on a few things, proper bake time, temperature, and toppings. Pizza shops spend countless hours every year perfecting the correct bake time and temperature. Time and temperature should be checked on a regular basis because they always need an adjustment tweak here and there. The adjustments could be due to the in store temperature, weather, cleanliness of the oven or thickness of toppings. I believe the most important aspect of the bake is toppings! Every pizza topping has a proper amount that should be placed on a pizza, but when you order multiple toppings, it would be impossible to place that single topping amount on the pizza simply because it wouldn’t cook properly. To give you a visual, think about this: An order is placed for a pepperoni pizza and let’s say that the proper topping spec. for a 1 topping pepperoni pizza is 50 pepperonis. With the proper amount of pepperonis on that pizza, it would cook properly. Now lets say there is an order placed for a 4 topping pizza; pepperoni, sausage, onion, and mushrooms. If a pizza shop used the 1 topping spec for all 4 toppings, the pizza would be to thick to cook properly. The end result would either be a doughy pizza or a very well done pizza because the pizza shop would have to bake it longer to try and cook the pizza the whole way through. In order to have a proper bake on a 4 topping pizza, the pizza shop would need to cut back the topping amount around 20%.

The final aspect for the quality pizza, is the taste.

It’s want we all want, a great tasting pizza. We all have our favorite pizza shop that we order from. Why? Is it because it actually taste good or is it because of the appearance of the pizza? We are all unique and we all have our own taste and desires, but it may just be that physiological thing we also have. If you see a pizza that is perfectly created and appeals to your eye’s, most of the time it is going to taste good! That is why all pizza shop’s place a strong emphasis on appearance of their product. When it simply looks good, it’s going to taste good! Yes, it is true, there are many pizza shops that have a great tasting product, that may not look superb, and you know who they are! The decision is up to you, so let’s all grab some pizza coupons and call our favorite pizza shop for that 30 minute meal!

Pronto Pollo Scone Foods

There was this line in a movie (I can’t quite recall which) that said “Fatless, salt-less, sugarless… and tasteless” or something to the same effect. This actually reflects a quite popular sentiment in this day and age of health consciousness. People who wish to be healthy or who want to lose a few pounds are of the belief that they have to sacrifice taste if they wish to achieve their desired weight or health goals. Naturally, tasteless yet healthy foods don’t lend itself well as a substitute for tasty yet rich foods to which we have been accustomed. As a result, people who go on a low fat diet usually find themselves reverting to old habits sooner or later.

Nevertheless, while it is true that majority of health and low fat foods being sold in the market do tend to be bland, this is not applicable in all cases. If nothing else, there is such a thing as a yummy, low fat pizza. Yup, a delicious low fat pizza is definitely possible. In fact this article will instruct you on how to make one. All you need is a proper understanding of what constitutes healthy, low fat food and how to apply such principles into making your pizza.

The Principles of a Low Fat Diet

Understand one thing: low fat doesn’t mean non-fat. These two are entirely different things. Low fat means you reduce the amount of fat in your diet. This means that less than thirty percent of your daily calorie intake should come from fat.

A low fat diet also means a reduction in the amount of unhealthy fats in your diet. By unhealthy fats, we are referring to saturated fats (which are unhealthy because they raise bad cholesterol levels) and polyunsaturated fats (which are unhealthy because they reduce the amount of ALL types of cholesterol and do not discriminate between good and bad cholesterol). Each of these two types of fat must consist less than ten percent of your daily calorie intake. Monounsaturated fats, on the other hand, are the “healthy fats” because they promote good cholesterol levels and reduce bad cholesterol levels. Such healthy fats, however, should still only comprise less than fifteen percent of your daily calorie intake.

Reduction in the amount of fat and reduction in the amount of unhealthy fats are the basic principles of a healthy, low fat diet. If you reduce the amount of fat intake but consumes only or mostly unhealthy fats, then you are, technically, on a low fat yet generally unhealthy diet.

A low carb diet is not the same as a low fat diet. A low fat diet can be one that has high carbohydrate content whereas a low carb diet can have a high fat content. With careful planning, however, it is possible to combine a low fat diet with a low carb diet.

There are debates as to which of these two types of diet is healthier. Definitely, a low fat diet that reduces the intake of unhealthy fats is healthy. However, if your goal is to reduce weight, a low carb diet is more effective in the short run. Nevertheless, a low carb diet can lead to more side effects and can be unhealthy in the long run whereas the low fat diet, although apparently not as effective as a weight reduction measure in the short term, is more effective as a weight maintenance measure in the long run.

Now that the definition of a low fat diet has been discussed, and the low carb and low fat diet have been sufficiently differentiated, it is time to apply such tenets. Get your pizza pan and wooden spoon ready. It’s time to make our yummy, low fat pizza. Take note that we are going to make real, homemade pizza – not something that simply looks and tastes like pizza.

How to Make a Yummy Low Fat Pizza

The secret to making a low fat pizza is finding out the fat content of your usual pizza ingredients, finding a low fat substitute, reducing overall fat content, and adjusting the other ingredients and the cooking procedures to reflect the changes. You need not compute the calories in pizza to make a low fat pizza.

Low fat pizza dough The change should start with the pizza crust. Whether you are making a thin crust or a thick crust, you should always focus on how much fat content your pizza crust recipe has. For instance, the basic pizza dough recipe has the following ingredients: flour, yeast, water, oil/shortening, milk, salt, and sugar. To make pizza crust relatively low in fat content, therefore, you must check each of the ingredients and find substitutes when applicable.

In the easy pizza crust recipe indicated above, it is easy enough to find low fat substitutes. First, you should use vegetable oil instead of animal fat or butter as your shortening in your pizza recipe. Of all vegetable oils, however, it is best to use olive oil which has the highest amount of monounsaturated fat content. Avoid palm and coconut oil as these have higher saturated fat content. Next, you should use dry, non-fat milk solids to replace regular milk.

Aside from replacing the ingredients that you can with their low or non-fat substitutes, you should also reduce the total amount of fat in your pizza dough recipes. Use as little oil as possible in your pizza dough. Moreover, do not use egg yolks even if your traditional homemade pizza recipe calls for it.

Substituting olive oil for butter or shortening should not result in any drastic changes. In fact, you can use extra virgin olive oil for a stronger olive flavor. If you prefer your crust to be creamy, you shouldn’t worry since you are using milk on your dough anyway. The above ingredients should therefore give you great-tasting, low fat pizza.

Now, if you want to make an even healthier pizza dough, increase fiber content by using whole wheat flour instead of the usual white flour; reduce the amount of salt and sugar, too. Then, you can decrease carbohydrate content by opting for a thin crust pizza (less carb per slice) or reducing the amount of flour. To compensate for the less flour, you can use egg whites as binder (of course, amount of water must be reduced in proportion to the amount of egg white used).

Pizza Toppings and Pizza Sauce Low Fat Pizza

It is much easier to choose pizza toppings for a low fat pizza recipe. You should primarily choose vegetable toppings. Thus, a vegetable pizza is preferable. For variety, you can add fruit and make it a vegetable-and-fruit pizza. You can find a vegetable pizza recipe or a fruit vegetable recipe online; you can also create your own.

No-cheese pizza is best, but if you really must have cheese, then find low fat cheese or find a low fat cheese blend that you can live with. Moreover, less cheese is best. Use just enough cheese to give your pizza flavor; I’m afraid that cheese pizza is generally out then.

Tomato sauce is healthy, but you should choose one with a lower salt and sugar content. If you want, you can make your own. You can even dice up your own tomatoes and use them as toppings. Finally, substitute lean meat to your fat-laden sausages; use white meat (without the fat portions) instead of red meat. Add herbs and herbal pizza spices to add flavor and taste to your low fat pizza.

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Without a doubt, Ed Levine knows his pizza. He is an author, food critic and full time pizza fanatic. Levine just can’t get enough pizza.

Levine takes his pizza seriously. He consumed over a thousand slices in twelve months, in twenty states and several countries. The result of this journey, Pizza A Slice of Heaven, is a volume dedicated to America’s favorite food.

He reviews all manner of pizza and pizzerias. He tries the fantastic as well as the mediocre. He begins his quest at the source of all pizza, Naples, Italy. He samples pizza from the East to the West Coast and many places in between. His focus is on pizza so memorable that his heart pounds just thinking about it. Levine has developed his own rubric for rating pizza. He notes the criterion is the fuel source, the oven, the crust, the mozzarella, the sauce and the balance.

Pronto Pollo Chicken Products

My wife and I love shopping at Costco. The quality and selection of bulk foods are a great way to save money buying large quantities at one time. Furthermore, the Kirkland brand at Costco has proven to us to be a great, high quality generic Brand.

One item we always purchase are whole chickens. Reasonably priced at $0.99 per pound, we typically buy 4 at a time and freeze them.

Freezing chickens for a family of two is always more convenient if the chicken separated in to pieces and isolated in zip top freezer bags. If you don’t know how to cut a whole chicken in to pieces, google “how to cut a whole chicken”. A bag of two thighs, two legs and two wings can be defrosted under cold water in less than two hours, on the day of use – straight from the freezer.

Save Money Step $ – Cut whole chicken in to pieces.

Separate the legs, thighs, wings and breasts from the carcass. Separate the thigh from the leg. Separate the wing tip from the wing, which is just skin and cartilage, and set aside for our soup stock pile. Don’t discard that neck either, that will also be used later.

Cut and peel away the breast portion by making an incision with your knife at the top of the breast, parallel to the breast bone and slice straight down to the carcass. Carefully place your fingers in the slit and nudge the breast meat away from the carcass while running the sharp edge of the knife down the side of the carcass releasing the breast fibers from the bones.

Save Money Step $$ – Separate portions in to bags and freeze.
By this time you should have two thighs, two legs, two breasts and two wings without their tips. Note that the wings can also be separated in to two individual pieces by cutting along the joint, making buffalo styled wings.

There are several combinations to consider while preparing to bag and freeze your chicken. If your family enjoys fried chicken wings, buffalo wings or snack sized chicken, you can place all of your separated wings into one bag and freeze. From each additional chicken you cut you can add four pieces (two wingettes and two drumettes) to this bag and save for later use.

My favorite pieces to use for fried chicken are the pieces with dark meat. Thighs, drumsticks and wings taste so good when fried and you don’t have to worry about it drying up as much as a breast, which is difficult to cook evenly without slicing in to thinner, even slices. Usually we will make zip top bags with a pair of thighs, a pair of legs and a pair of wings with the intention of frying. This storage scheme is also suitable for bbq.

When it comes to the breast, we usually place them in zip top bags in pairs – two breasts to a bag. We’ve had great results taking a bag of frozen breasts straight from the freezer and then adding brine or marinade directly to the bag to speed up defrosting. After defrosted we will roast the breast in a 350F oven carefully with a probe thermometer until all parts of the breast reach 160 degrees – typically about 35 minutes. This produces an evenly cooked juicy flavorful breast that would be hard to obtain if cooked while attached to other parts of the chicken.

When separating and bagging chicken for the freezer, the possibilities are endless. Simply think about the amount you will use at one time and separate accordingly.

Save Money Step $$$ – What to do with those extra parts?

After removing the breast from the chicken, you are left with the carcass. Do not discard this, I repeat do not discard the carcass. This is the most important part of the article.

You can still create two more meals from the carcass of the chicken. Remember that soup stock pile I mentioned previously that is to be used for the wing tips. That is your bag to collect parts and freeze for chicken stock. Add the carcass to that bag but before doing so, remove any extra skin from the carcass. It’s not important to get every piece of skin, but my wife and I love to fry the skin along side the chicken and make crispy chicharron. We will usually add the chicken skin to the same bag of pieces intended for frying.

Once you have at least two carcasses, you can stick them in a large stock pot, cover them with water, add onions, celery or any seasoning you desire and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the low, cover and simmer for 7 hours or unitl the bones break with little resistance.

At this point you can strain off all the bones and chicken pieces. Refrigerate the liquid until all remaining fat solidifies and rises to the top. At that point the fat can be easily removed and you are left with a rich flavorful stock that can be used as a base for many soups or as an ingredient in other recipes.

Whole chickens are better than buying individual pieces

Chickens that come whole tend to stay fresher longer than those that are separated and prepackaged – so you can count on your whole chicken keeping longer while in supermarket refrigerators. Furthermore you can do so much more when you follow the instructions listed here and separate parts. You have much more flexibility when buying whole and the ability to make several different meals from just one chicken. And using the chicken down to the carcass can add at least two more meals to a chicken, potentially saving you more money.

Pronto Pollo Foods

So? How much are you really going to save by finding one of those plans for backyard chicken coops and building it? All I can say is that after I ran the numbers, I didn’t hesitate at all. It really makes sense to do the little bit of work to care for chickens and build a chicken coop to save money and produce your own organic chickens and eggs.

The number of people seriously looking to build backyard chicken coops is increasing. More and more of us are wanting to save money, change our lifestyle to a greener one and maybe avoid some of the food problems that are becoming more evident every day. With all of the food recalls, e-coli breakouts, swine flu cases and the cost of organic food, it make sense to look at backyard chicken coops as a way to improve the overall quality of our lives.

Pronto Pollo Scone

Do you ever find yourself getting more and more angry and frustrated while trying to explain what is bothering you? Perhaps you feel like others are not really listening to you or trying to understand things from your perspective. In such circumstances, you may end up raising your voice or becoming verbally or even physically abusive. Unfortunately, responding in this manner usually decreases your chances of being listened to with empathy and compassion.

Another maladaptive way of handling your feelings, perhaps out of fear of losing control, is to work extra hard at keeping everything bottled up inside. What happens here is similar to what happens when a balloon keeps filling up with more and more air. The balloon will expand as far as it can and then eventually pop.

However, if the balloon periodically releases some of its air, the likelihood is it will never reach that point of popping. Similarly, a person who uses assertive communication will be much less likely to become explosive. As an extremely effective anger control tool, assertive communication involves honestly and effectively communicating your feelings while doing so in a nonhostile fashion.

Perhaps most challenging when using assertive communication is to express your feelings without the other person becoming angry or defensive. What makes this so difficult is that people, for the most part, do not like to be criticized. Telling somebody what they did wrong, what you do not like about their behavior, or how they hurt your feelings can very easily trigger a negative reaction.

One of the most effective ways of using assertive communication is by using a technique known as the Compliment Sandwich. The meat of the sandwich (your complaint, criticism, or concern) is surrounded by two pieces of bread (compliments or positive feedback). In order to minimize defensiveness, you would begin with a compliment (the first piece of bread), then present the main message that you are trying to communicate (the meat), and then finish with another compliment (the second piece of bread).

To help illustrate, here is an example of the Compliment Sandwich:

I have always considered you to be one of my best friends (first compliment / positive feedback).

So when I heard that you were talking behind my back, I felt really hurt. What I need is for you to talk to me directly and not get others involved (critical feedback).

You have always been there for me in the past and I know I can still count on you (second compliment / positive feedback).

As you can see in the aforementioned example, the Compliment Sandwich made it possible for an important communication to be made in a nonhostile manner. By opening and closing with positive feedback, a friendly tone was set and an important message was able to be conveyed. Rather than aggressively attack the other person and risk making matters worse or bottle things up and become potentially explosive, this type of communication allows one to get things off his or her chest without putting the other person on the defensive.

There are, however, a few key suggestions for using the Compliment Sandwich effectively. First, it is essential that your praise be genuine. As challenging as it may seem with some of the more difficult people in your life, you should be able to think of at least two things to say that are both complimentary and sincere. It may take some extra thought on your part, but there is almost always something positive that you can say.

It is also important to avoid overuse of this technique so that your words do not appear to be contrived. Finally, your compliments should in some way be related to the critical message that you are trying to convey. This is necessary in order for the conversation to flow smoothly and to feel genuine. Thus, the example provided earlier would lose its effectiveness if the compliments seemed to be out of left field (e.g., “I have always admired your dancing ability.” and “You are such a terrific football player.”). These compliments may be genuine, but have absolutely nothing to do with your friend talking behind your back.

By properly using anger management techniques such as the Compliment Sandwich, one can minimize the potential cost of anger. Health problems, impaired self-esteem, damaged relationships, emotional scarring of one’s children, and a drop in productivity at work are all potential outcomes of uncontrolled anger. On the other hand, when channeled properly, anger can have many benefits

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Our articles on “Positive Feedback” and “Constructive Feedback” show how (and why) to praise employees for what they’re doing right … and redirect them when what they’re doing isn’t yet quite right. Here we describe how and why to combine the two types of feedback.

Even if you avoid criticizing and you give constructive feedback in the most benevolent way, it’s not as much fun for the employee as receiving positive feedback. So, it might be helpful to:

Begin the session with positive feedback.
Then, give the constructive feedback, and
End the conversation with more positive feedback.

What do you think this is called? That’s right – the Sandwich Technique. That is, the constructive feedback is sandwiched between two layers of positive feedback.

If you choose to use the sandwich technique, be careful with your transition from positive to constructive feedback. Avoid words like but or however. Why do you think we say that?

Yes, but or however would tend to undercut the sincerity (and desired feel-good impact) of your positive feedback.

Instead, end the positive statement with a period. And begin a new sentence with the constructive feedback. Or use phrases like: To improve on this, What concerns me is, At the same time.

What do you think might be a potential disadvantage to the sandwich technique?

Well, if you always precede your constructive feedback with positive feedback, whenever you simply want to give positive feedback, your employees will be waiting in fear for the other shoe to drop!

What we prefer is the Open Sandwich. That is:

Start right out with the constructive feedback. [Remember, you're not balling them out. You don't need to cushion the blow.]
Then finish off the conversation with positive feedback.

The closing positive feedback puts the redirect into the perspective of the employee’s overall performance. In effect, what you’re communicating is: You are a good [or great] employee. Of course you’re not perfect. None of us is.

For example:

Initial Constructive Feedback

When you accomplish all the tasks yourself… behavior

…your coworkers feel excluded and don’t learn. impact

Does that make sense to you? inquiry

I’d like you to involve your teammates in some of the tasks in your project. expectation

What are some tasks you could get others to work on? inquiry

Closing Positive Feedback

You’re willingness to accomplish so much… behavior

…is a real asset to this team and will serve you well in your career impact

I’m really glad to have you on the team. Thanks for all your hard work! appreciatio