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Tip of the Week - January 5, 2009

Cutting the Cost of Eating Healthy

Many friends and acquaintances tell me that healthy eating is all very well but is far too expensive for those on low incomes.

I feel compelled to explain that even nutritionists, like many others, exist on tight budgets.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to receive these views as they highlight a common misconception.

Perhaps those who genuinely believe healthy eating is expensive are not too keen on the idea of cooking or spending time in the kitchen. Certainly, healthy food can consist of an expensive recipe from a celebrity cookbook. But it needn’t be. Tasty, healthy food can be made using the simplest and most basic ingredients.

Convenience food, on the other hand, may be quick and easy to prepare but is neither cheap nor healthy.

Here are some healthy ideas to help keep your shopping costs down. No doubt you can think of many more:

*Boost your fruit intake by eating it between meals as a snack with seeds, nuts or pieces of cheese instead of spending your cash on chips and chocolate.

*Make home-made muesli rather than buying sugary breakfast cereals: Soak a handful of oats in filtered water for 15 minutes. Add a chopped apple or any seasonal fruit and some nuts or seeds. Serve with a dash of milk or yogurt.

*Make a fruit salad and store for up to two to three days in the fridge: Buy a can of ready-made fruit salad sweetened with apple or grape juice, add chopped fresh fruit of your choice and a little fresh orange or apple juice. Decorate with ready-to-eat dried fruit, nuts or dessicated coconut.

*Increase your vegetable intake by steaming several vegetables at once with your main meal and adding fresh or frozen vegetables to casseroles and stews.

*Home-made vegetable soups with added lentils or barley are quick and easy to prepare and can be frozen into several portions.

*Save chicken bones and boil for an hour to make a delicious stock or gravy.

*For healthier chips, scrub a few potatoes, cut into slices and then sticks, with skins retained. Arrange in one layer in baking pan. Brush with olive oil and soy sauce. Bake for 20-30 mins in a pre-heated oven (220ºC).

*Keep a good stock of low-cost, healthy store-cupboard items such as canned fish (sardines, tuna and mackerel), tomatoes and brown rice.

*Baked beans on a baked potato sprinkled with grated cheese and eaten with a salad is easy, cheap and tasty.

*Boiled or poached eggs and oily fish are useful standbys as they contain vitamin D - a nutrient that is essential to good health.

*Plan ahead and stock up basic ingredients such as rice, meat or fish when they are better priced.

*The ancient, enjoyable art form of cooking is easily learned and you’ll be less likely to resort to expensive takeaways.

Finally, cut down on your transport costs by sharing the shopping chores with your family, friends and neighbors.

Eating well doesn’t have to be expensive if you plan ahead and smartly.

Technorati Tags: Budget Cooking, Cost-Effective Cooking, Eating Healthy, Good Nutrition, Tip of the Week

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Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

The way to keep a New Year’s resolution is to pick a good goal and then overhaul your life to in order to meet it. Simple, right?  Not so fast!

Some of you are saying, hold it, my goal isn’t big enough to require an overhaul of my life. Maybe your goal is to, say, clean out your closet. But look, this is not material for a New Year’s resolution. This only requires you to cross a day out on your calendar and tell yourself that’s your closet cleaning day.

Do you know why most people don’t keep their New Years’ resolutions? Because the resolutions are terrible. The hardest part of a New Year’s resolution is choosing one, not keeping it.

Most resolutions are goals to change our behavior: Stop smoking, stop eating junk food, stop being late. This is not a small change. This is a change that requires a massive overhaul of our daily life.

Most of you are saying that you can’t afford to overhaul your whole life to meet your goal. You have a job, you have children, you have friends who would think you have lost your mind. But you know what? If the goals you set are not worth overhauling your life for, then ask yourself why not?

Pick only one

We can each meet one or two big goals a year. We can’t change a lot of bad behavior - the more resolutions we make the less likely we are to keep them. But we can change one. Pick the one that will mean the most to you. And, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that changing one habit actually requires so many small changes in your day that you also end up being able to change other habits, because the patterns of your life change.

A goal is creative, not analytic

I think a lot of the time we don’t let ourselves see what we really want. Maybe because it seems too hard to get. Often we don’t let ourselves really see ourselves living the life we want, and I think this is a failure of imagination. A worthy goal means you can imagine life after meeting the goal.If you can’t meet the goal, consider that it’s not you; it’s the goal.

I spend a lot of time trying things out to help me find my core goals. I am a big fan of writing things down to understand myself. After all, that’s probably why I am a blogger. Sometimes I write lists of things that bother me, and I learn from that.

Even when I have my goal that I’m focused on, I check in with myself frequently to reaffirm that it’s the behavior in my life that is most important to me to change - like renewing one’s vows.

So think very hard before you make a New Year’s resolution. Because setting your goal is much harder than meeting it.

Technorati Tags: Making New Habits, Managing Your Life, New Years Resolutions, Resolutions

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Happy New Year

A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2009!

FROM YOUR PINOY LIFESTYLES

FAMILY

Technorati Tags: Happy New Year, New Year Celebration, Year 2009

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New Year’s Eve Safety

New Year’s Eve is a huge night for everyone, which means crowds will be swarming toward all the metropolitan centers around the world. People feed off each others’ excitement, and sometimes things can get out of hand if safety precautions are not taken. Everyone wants to have an unforgettable night (in a good way!). By simply using some common sense, we can keep it that way.

* Designate a Driver: If you are going to be driving New Year’s Eve, don’t drink and drive.

If you have a friend who does not prefer to drink, make sure they take the wheel. You might even be on the water this New Year’s Eve. The person in charge of navigating the boat needs to be cautious, and this still applies to them! It is important to be safe on the water as well, so drink sensibly.

* Don’t forget about your pets! They are just as much a part of the family as everyone else. If you are using fireworks, anything with loud noises, or fire, be sure that pets are kept at a distance as well as children. None of these are a good mix. Candles are also a potential hazard.

* Be Alert: Be aware of your surroundings and how others are acting. Stay away from those who are out of control and might cause harm. Taking preventive measures is key. If someone is really intoxicated, prevent them from trying to drive or leaving with someone they do not know. It’s important to keep an eye out for each other.

* Don’t Drive: If you don’t have to go behind the wheel, avoid it. More people will be driving under the influence on this particular night, so avoid a potentially dangerous
accident by staying off the road. Otherwise, be alert and drive defensively. Most importantly, wear your seat belt! Also, using public transportation is a wise option.

* Stick Together: This way we can look out for our friends and family. Going out to parties and nightclubs means a fast-paced, crazy night; so be sure to travel in groups. Having a safety net around you in this environment, especially for women, is imperative.

* Monitor your Alcohol Intake: A majority of people will be drinking on New Years Eve, and there is nothing wrong with that. Just be sure to pay attention to how much you and others are consuming. Drinking too much alcohol can have lethal affects. Be responsible.

Follow up your New Years Eve by making some New Year’s Resolutions and starting fresh! Check out our New Year’s Resolutions post this Friday.

Ring in the New Year Safely!

Technorati Tags: Celebrating a Safe New Year's Eve, Clebrating Safely, Drinking Safely, New Year's Eve Safety

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New Years Eve Main Course

New Years eve is upon us and I know what is on your mind…what do I serve my guests? You don’t want to hear “Gee, ham again?” “Gee, turkey again!” as they have become holiday staples for decades.

Our holiday meal suggestion is a wonderful recipe from Chef Scott Bryan at the world acclaimed Veritas, a  New York City restaurant.

Prepare this recipe for your family, friends and guests on New Years Eve and they will talk about it all  year long.

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 to 1 and a 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, washed and halved
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
10 shallots, peeled and halved
15 fresh mushrooms, halved
5 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
2 fresh whole chickens (3 1/2 pound each)
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 sprigs each of tarragon, rosemary, and thyme
1 cup dry white wine
Fleur de sel (sea salt)

* Servings: 6-8

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the potatoes, carrots, parsnips, shallots, mushrooms, and garlic with the oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a large roasting pan.

Cut the lemon in half, and rub the chickens with the lemon flesh and then the butter, and season the birds generously with salt and pepper. Place half a lemon and 2 sprigs of
tarragon, rosemary, and thyme in the cavity of each chicken.

Arrange the chickens on top of the vegetables, and roast in the lower half of the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until chickens are cooked and the skin is crisp, basting the chickens every 20 minutes. If the birds are not crisp, increase the oven temperature to 475 degrees for the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking.

Remove from the oven, cover the chickens loosely with aluminum foil, and allow the chickens and vegetables to rest in the pan for 20 minutes.

Remove chicken and vegetables to a platter, pour the fat off the pan, deglaze with the wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the carved chicken and vegetables with fleur de sel, and serve with pan juices.

This is a wonderful dish that will excite the taste buds of your guests and make their visit to your home unforgettable.

Happy New Year!

Technorati Tags: Holiday Meals, New Years Eve Recipes, Roast Chicken, Veritas restaurant

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Relationships Are a Work in Progress

The holiday season is longer than we really expect. It is a hectic time for families and, especially, tough on your marriage. With family and friends dropping in and out of your lives, children home on Christmas vacation, shopping and preparing meals; it doesn’t leave much quality time for …just the two of you. When we really think about it, it isn’t just the holidays that are busy and hectic, it is really the entire year. An entire year of going from one major life event to another.

We live in a fast pace world where relationships take an effort. Relationships that are going to be long-lasting, such as marriage, are going to need tending to, attention and effort. They don’t just happen on their own.

When a relationship is new, it can be very exciting. Everything we do with the other person is a new experience, and it can be exhilarating! Just taking a walk, or maybe even going to the grocery store can be exciting and fun. However, once times goes by, you may find that doing those things that once seemed fun with the other person now just seems “old,” or “boring.” Well, you are going to need to work on finding creative ways to keep your love and romance new and exciting! Enclosed in this article are some ideas for keeping your marriage fresh, exciting and solid.

- Try to have a date every other week. Even if it is just going out to dinner and a movie, always make time for each other, just the two of you. It especially will help if you bring each other flowers, or a nice card. One person could even make the dinner for the other person. It is important also to dress up a little. Put on perfume/cologne for the other person like you did when your relationship was new. Wear makeup (women) and a dress, and men, wear a nice suit. Make it special. Don’t come to the table wearing sweats. You probably wouldn’t have done that when you were first courting each other.

-Every so often, get your spouse an unexpected gift of flowers or chocolates, or just a card. It doesn’t have to be expensive, you could even just write a love letter, sometimes that means more than the flowers or chocolates ever could. It’s the thought that counts, not the expense!

-Put a love note in your spouse’s jacket pocket/lunch before work. You can be assured, they will be very thankful and will be thinking of you during the day!

-Play a game together. Remember, the idea is to be silly. Play Twister!

-Take a walk and enjoy nature.

-Listen to music and dance- even if it is in your living room!

-Close your bedroom door, away from pets, children (after they go to sleep), unplug the phone, turn off the tv/radio/computer, and just focus on each other. Light candles, play soft music (preferably only instruments, but that’s up to you), put rose petals all around the room and watch a video. Snuggle with your spouse!

-Go to church together and really talk about what your beliefs are, what your hopes are and your dreams. Get into a very personal and intimate discussion.

-Read a book aloud, and then talk about what you both thought about it. It can be a marriage enhancing book, or it doesn’t have to be.

-Stay up late together, or all night together talking. (You’ll probably want to do this on a weekend!)

-Keep a journal together. Write down your deepest emotions for each other and your hopes and dreams.

-Exercise together. Staying in shape can also help you feel more confident about yourself, making you want to dress up more for your spouse.

-Give each other daily compliments. Don’t let a day pass without letting your spouse know how much you love him/her, and how special he/she is to you.

-Always tell each other “I love you.” Don’t just say it in passing, where it may become said out of habit and lose its meaning. Look your spouse deep in their eyes, take their hands in yours, and tell him/her that you love him/her with all your heart.

-Write your spouse a poem, or maybe even a song, and then sing the song to your spouse.

-Make time for each other! It sounds simple, but in every day life, it can hard with busy schedules. Don’t let work rule your life. Keep your spouse as a top priority.

-Just say “no” to always going out on group or double dates. You need to have time alone with just your spouse.

Try any of these neat ideas or come up with your own. Whatever turns you on. The main thing is to do something. Now, go out and enjoy some creative romance with your spouse!

Technorati Tags: Loving Relationships, Relationship Building, Relationships in Crisis, Relationshps