Cold and Flu

Having to combat the common cold and the flu this year more than usual? OR does this season always seem to hit your house harder than others? Check out this article I just came across...it has some interesting information on some habits we don't normally associate with cold and flu season!

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/healthcare/photos/surprising-signs-weak-immune-system#0

Household tip for the day:

Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on 
your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent 
that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.

Tips for Weight Maintenance

Do Not Skip Breakfast

Skipping meals to eliminate calories? It seems like a simple concept; however, the repercussions of skipping a meal far out weigh the advantages of eliminating those calories. Skipping breakfast leads to intense hunger, making it difficult to make wise food choices. The result? Bad habits develop, such as eating convenient high-calorie snacks and meals.

Eating breakfast jump starts your metabolism; so, you start burning calories earlier in the day. If you skip breakfast (or any meal), you are denying your body the calories it needs to function properly. The body is thrown into a "survival mode," which slows the metabolism, resulting in the storage of remaining energy as fat. Research also shows that skipping breakfast lowers mental performance in both youth and adults.

Eat Throughout The Day

Eating 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day, rather than 3 large meals, will prevent your metabolism from shutting down. The longer you go between meals the more your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy.

Drink Water

Water is the body's most important nutrient. If the body is lacking in water, the metabolic rate will be slowed. The liver will begin to retain water rather than burn fat.

Replace Fat With Muscle

Muscle burns more calories than fat. We are able to maintain our weight more easily if we replace fat with muscle. Exercise using light weights to tone and firm muscle.

Aerobic Exercise

Whether you walk, skip, jog, or dance, aerobic exercise burns calories. Although cleaning your house and walking the aisles of the grocery store counts, sustained activity that raises your heart rate will burn the most calories.

Progressive Exercise

An exercise program must be progressive in order to be productive. Providing a challenge for your body is what forces your body to make changes and improvements. For example, if you use a treadmill for 30 minutes/3 days a week, it is beneficial to challenge your body by increasing the time, resistance, and/or frequency that you use the treadmill.

Age And Metabolism

It is a fact: As we age our metabolic rate slows down, and our muscle transforms into fat more readily than when we were younger. To manage your weight as you age, you must either adjust your calorie intake or increase your physical activity level to burn more calories. Physical activity will also keep muscles toned and will slow the process of muscle turning to "flab."

Match Eating To Activity Level

The amount of calories you consume on any given day should coincide with how active you are on that same day. Lower your intake of calories if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Before you try to burn off existing fat, you must first stop storing new fat.

Information from:

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1350/metabolism-and-weight-management.asp

Tip of the day: Keeping Rice Grains Separate

Rice grains will stay separate and white if you add a teaspoon of lemon to the water for each quart made.

Quick-peel a Potato

Tip of the day: The power of the potato

Ever put too much salt in a soup?  Slice a raw potato and toss it in.  It absorbs a lot of the salt and you can easily remove it later.

If your hands get stained by carrots or tomatoes or greens, rub them with a raw, cut potato to get the stain off!

Water from boiled potatoes helps clean silver.

To easily peel a potato, boil the whole thing and let it sit in cold water for 5 seconds.  Wring it with your hands and it should come right off!
I'll post a tutorial next and i think your mind will be blown... besides, I love the background music!  :)

Tip for the day: how to avoid spoiled veggies in the fridge

Line the bottom of your vegetable drawer in your fridge with paper towels to help absorb some of that nasty moisture that makes your produce rot faster.  Then if you do leave it in there until it is unrecognizable, just lift the paper towel out and wipe the little bit that's left out.

What are you looking for when there is nothing to find?

You ever spend a ton of time staring at the fridge or pantry, only to close the door, and come back a few minutes later to nothing?  There's nothing there that you want.  It can be frustrating.  What are you looking for?

My doctor told me we are often thirsty when we go foraging for munchies.  It seems to be true for me.  Instead of looking in the pantry, go to your sink and get one of your 8-10 glasses of water for the day.  It helps your digestion, complexion, and puts you in a better mood.  We get dehydrated easier than we think and drinking more fluids helps head aches and dizziness more often than not.

And a plus side?  When you drink the water you are supposed to be having, you aren't eating all of those extra calories.  So stop looking for things that aren't there and be healthier!  

(On a side note, I've been really thirsty lately...  I think I have a non-alcoholic drinking problem.  LOL)

SISTER TO SISTER

Because the best sisters are healthy for your heart.  Great site for healthy tips and recipes for a longer life.  Here is a link to one of their articles about how cooking with pumpkin is beneficial....  Festive, affordable and healthy! 

http://www.sistertosister.org/eat-heart-healthy/health-benefits-of-cooking-with-pumpkin

Better Broccoli, Moister Meat

Cooking tip:
To keep chicken moist- Cook chicken to your skillet just long enough to get a nice sear on it, but not cooked completely through. Then add about 1/2 cup- 1cup of chicken broth to the pan and let it finish cooking.  The broth helps keep the meat moist and tender!

Cooking tip:
At the stage where your meat is seared and you are adding in your broth, throw in your cut or frozen veggies. It adds SO MUCH flavor. Broccoli absorbs the flavor of the chicken and really hardly tastes like broccoli anymore. (It's how I've gotten my kids to eat their veggies!)

Hard-boiled Eggs

Obviously if you get water hot enough, it boils.  But adding salt seems to make it boil faster.  Unlike with pasta, you add the eggs BEFORE you turn on the unit.  Once the eggs and water start to boil, set a timer for 8-10 min.

Remove pot and place under cold running water.  Don't know if your eggs are boiled?

Here's a trick with boiled eggs:

Place egg on the counter on it's end and spin it.  A hard boiled egg will spin in circles, a raw egg will wobble and stop.

My New Favorite Secret Ingredient...

I have been in a food rut. We seem to make the same 10 dishes over and over again and I admit that I have kind of come to dread dinnertime, because nothing really sounds exciting. Then a miracle happened. I went to the grocery store. ALONE. As in I didn't let any of my 4 children join me.
I was amazed at the produce section. I am always in such a rush that I hurry in and grab my staples; lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Then I zip through to the next aisle, because I don't want to be stuck in the store in case my kids decide to start misbehaving. I never really stopped to look at all the variety of stuff in there. Food shopping had become a chore to be rushed through. (But I digress...)
The point is that when I was able to go alone I decided that I would try one new thing that I had never tried before. There in the produce aisle I found it. It was beautiful and completely foreign to me. EGGPLANT. So I  bought it, having no idea how to cook it or what it tasted like. After a little bit of research I found out that it can be pureed and added to sauces. It is AMAZING! It is so easy to do that I have been secretly sneaking eggplant into common every day meals, and my kids are none the wiser. It makes spaghetti sauces richer and soups are thicker, and heartier.
I decided to share my secret with you... Here's my eggplant technique- sneak it in a few dishes and see how you like it.
PS Don't tell my kids- they still don't know what they're eating! :)

 1. Cut your eggplant in 1/2, drizzle with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them.

 2.Place your eggplant flesh side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 25- 35 minutes. Flesh may be darkened a little, and that's okay.

 3. This is what it looks like when you pull it out of the oven.

 4. Carefully lift you eggplant half  and scrape the contents out of the "shell" into a bowl. It should scrape right out without any difficulty.

 5. It will look like this. The little tiny seeds are completely edible and get pureed so don't worry about them.

 6. Use a hand mixer to puree eggplant.

7. When you are done, it will have the consistency and color of pureed bananas.

8. Your eggplant is now ready to sneak into your favorite sauce or soup.

Other than baking times, the whole process from start to finish takes me about 5 minutes to complete.







FOR YOUR INFO:
Eggplant is supposed to be really good for you and is a low calorie food! Go to
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=22
for more information about the health benefits of eggplant.

My breadstick secret is out.... :)

Carrie asked me to share my bread-stick recipe that was pictured in a previous photo. Well here it is- my secret is out- I CHEAT! 

I have found these awesome crescent roll "rounds" at my grocery store- and I love them! I have unrolled and stuffed them, cinnamon roll style. (see older posts of mine)   I have seasoned them with garlic salt or spread a light layer of pesto on them for extra flavor. I have even unrolled them, let the kids twist them, and bake them like bread-sticks instead of rounds. (Have I mentioned yet that I love them?) Then I follow the cooking times on the package. I hope you enjoy my secret! 

A borrowed article from Saving Dinner

 Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

Food For Thought

More Fiber Please!
By Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

Dear Friends,

Boosting the intake of fiber in the diet should be tops on the list of anyone hoping to improve their nutritional profile.

Getting enough fiber in the diet will absolutely keep you regular--especially if you remember the other corresponding component to filling up with fiber--water. Think for a moment about your garbage disposal. In order to get it flushed out, you must run the water before turning on the switch. This is how you get things moving and flushed out. Your own personal waste disposal isn't much different--you need both to make things work: fiber and water.

Fiber is much more than just oat bran or whole wheat bread. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble fiber--one is soluble in water and the other is not. We need both in order to function optimally.

Soluble fiber sources includes apples, oranges, oatmeal, barley, dried beans and carrots. Insoluble fiber comes from bran, brown rice, popcorn, fruit and vegetable skins, and whole grains. No need to wring your hands over which fiber is contained in which food, just keep in mind that having a well-balanced diet with an assortment of fruits, vegetables and whole grains will help you get what you need fiber-wise.

The National Cancer Institute recommends 20-35 grams of fiber daily, but most Americans only eat 7-8 grams a day! So how do you get the fiber in? A part of the solution can be as simple as changing out the white stuff for the brown stuff: out with the white bread, white rice and white flour and in with the whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole wheat flour. This will pay off in huge dividends--you cannot afford to eat the white stuff. It's like pouring white glue into your intestines. Not only are you not getting the nutrients you need from your food, but you're also slowing digestion way down and setting yourself up for constipation and other fun stuff.

So bulk up--with fiber, that is. And don't forget the water!

Love,
Leanne

Oh, my fantastic tips!

Crayola has tips on how to clean all of their products off of different surfaces!  Woot!

http://www.crayola.com/canwehelp/staintips/index.cfm

The Mayo Clinic

Another wonderful and trusted site for healthy living and healthy eating is The Mayo Clinic. The recipe posted below is from their recipe spot which has a ton of wonderful recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert and entertaining. AND all the recipes are healthy and approved by the health care staff at the Mayo Clinic.

Check it out at...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-sodium-recipes/RE00101

AHA Smart Substitutions

Okay guys I couldn't get this one to transfer from the AHA website without being weird and illegible so I quickly digi-scrapped it. It is a couple of really great regular cooking ingredient substitutions for those of you trying to reduce fats, cholesterol's, etc. Please click on this one and take a look.

AHA Top 10 Healthy Cooking Tips

I know many of us are trying to eat healthier for various reasons so I logged onto the American Heart Association website (one we really trust in nursing) and am posting a few of their postings here so we can all access them quickly and easily.

AHA Top 10 Healthy Cooking Tips

1. Preserve the nutrients and colors in veggies. Cook them quickly by steaming or stir-frying.
2. Use herbs, vinegar, tomatoes, onions and/or fat-free or low-fat sauces or salad dressings for better health, especially if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
3. Use your time and your freezer wisely. When you cook once, make it last longer by preparing enough for several other meals. Freeze it and have a ready-made healthy treat for the next time you are simply too tired to bother.
4. A smoothie can cover a multitude of needs. Throw a banana (you can keep them in the freezer for weeks) into your blender along with frozen berries, kiwi or whatever fruit is around, some orange or other juice, some fat-free or low-fat yogurt and protein powder. You can get 4–5 servings of fruit in one glass of yummy shake. Try getting your loved one to sip on a smoothie. It’s easy, cool, refreshing and healthy.
5. Prepared seasonings can have high salt content and increase your risk for high blood pressure. Replace salt with herbs and spices or some of the salt-free seasoning mixes. Use lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chilies to add flavor.
6. Canned, processed and preserved vegetables often have very high sodium content. Look for “low-sodium” veggies or try the frozen varieties. Compare the sodium content on the Nutrition Facts label of similar products (for example, different brands of tomato sauce) and choose the products with less sodium.
7. Prepare muffins and quick breads with less saturated fat and fewer calories. Use three ripe, very well-mashed bananas, instead of 1/2 cup butter, lard, shortening or oil or substitute one cup of applesauce per one cup of these fats.
8. Choose whole grain for part of your ingredients instead of highly refined products. Use whole-wheat flour, oatmeal and whole cornmeal. Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of all-purpose flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, try 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour.
9. In baking, use plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt or fat-free or low-fat sour cream.
10. Another way to decrease the amount of fat and calories in your recipes is to use fat-free milk or 1% milk instead of whole or reduced-fat (2%) milk. For extra richness, try fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk.

Helathy Tips from Lexi

It's cold and flu season and I know many of us are fighting cold after cold after cold. Especially with little ones in the house it can really help to give our immune systems all the help they can get. There are a lot of products and old remedies out there that claim they can help prevent and cure the common cold so I thought I'd add a post with a few I know work and a few I know don't. (As I am sick and frustrated right now and know some of you are as well!)

1. Many of you might remember your grandparents talk about taking in the vapors when they were sick to help with symptoms and purify the body. This old remedy is a keeper! Although it takes some updating, taking in the vapors was all about warm moist air to sooth the dried out skin and sinuses of the common cold. Today with modern day plumbing taking in the vapors is as easy as taking a nice hot bath or shower. The steam helps provide warm moist air to the sinus, throat and dry skin. It also helps break up mucus allowing us to cough it up or blow it out. If you have little ones instead of using the hot bath which can burn them, turn on the shower to high and let the bathroom get steamy, then go in with them and encourage them to breath deeply, cough and blow their noses or use the bulb syringe for infants. This will improve their breathing and help them, and you, get rest.

2. Today the shelves of our grocery stores and health food shops are filed with get well quick remedies including tonics and powders to swallow or drink. None of these will cure the common cold! Sorry guys, the common cold is a virus and unfortunately we have yet to find anything within the medical field to cure the common cold. Instead we have products that help us combat symptoms of the common cold including FDA approved Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed, NyQuil, DayQuil, etc.

3. If you are successfully managing your cold and flu symptoms with some of the products above but would like to help give your immune system a boost products such as Emergen-C and it's knock off counter-parts such as the Up & Up version I have photographed above are a great option. If you are well you can take this cold or hot to keep your immune system in shape. If you are ill try it warm as a soothing drink to help calm sore throats while giving you that extra boost.

4. The miracles of Zinc have been proclaimed for years and....this one is a keeper too! Recent research has shown that zinc can help maintain your immune system, prevent viruses from binding (which causes the common cold) and help the body get over a cold faster if taken every day during this time of year or whenever you know you will be in close proximity of large groups. The plus sides are it doesn't have any adverse side effects and can be found in many inexpensive products if you aren't a fan of taking pills. Examples of products zinc can be found in are emergen-c, halls vitamin lozenges, adult and youth multi-vitamins, and many store brand smoothies and juices!

5. The old tale that the best place for a sick individual is in bed isn't actually true. Although we do need extra rest when we are sick we also need to keep things moving when we are awake. Getting up and moving keeps your fluids moving too which helps the body process and get rid of the cold faster. This doesn't mean to push it too hard or stay at work when you know you shouldn't! It simply means that getting up to go for a walk, making a healthy meal and showering when sick are essential to the return of good health! So go ahead get out of bed and dance in front of the T.V. during the commercial breaks and keep that body movin'.

6. Grandma's advice to have chicken soup and oatmeal when sick are ...KEEPERS! Chicken soup has all the nutrients you need to keep the body fighting the cold at night while oatmeal is calming and filling to give your body energy to fight without an upset stomach during the day. For an extra kick pick up the oatmeal that has extra protein and calcium in it.

7. Drink your weight in water? Sorry this one is debunked. Although we do need to increase our fluid intake when we are sick we don't want to drink ourselves into a stupor. Go with the standard 8-10 glasses of water a day and then add soups, orange juice, milk, vegetables and fruit to increase your fluid intake further.

8. The old wives tale of slathering on the Vix-vapor rub and then walking out into the cold to open everything up is debunked! Don't do this no matter what you do! Vix vapor rub can be a great product, but the minute it is on you need to stay warm. Introducing cold to open pores really stresses the body and can actually make you sicker. Also, some of your grandparents may have eaten or added Vix to their teas, don't do this either as it can be very toxic and is considered a poison if ingested! If you want that open feeling in your chest via tea try drinking teas with mint or using mentholated throat drops from halls etc.

9. Taking copious amounts of Vitamin B and C is not always the safest way to go! Taking these vitamins individually is highly recommended right now by dietary and supplement consults BUT if you feel like you need extra vitamins especially the cold fighting duo of vit b and c don't start taking them individually without consulting your physician or pharmacist first! The best bet is usually to go with a low dose chewable vit c and a once a day multi-vit such as Centrum. If you are going to buy vitamins and have reviewed your current med list and health concerns with a doc of pharmacist I recommend Centrum, Nature Made or Kirkland as these are the only ones shown to be regulated at this time.

10. Tea and soup, tea and soup! Yep this one is a goody! If you tire of chicken soup or can't stand tea, don't worry! Any soup that sits well and tastes good to you is a good idea and as far as tea goes, warm soothing drinks are great BUT only if you'll actually drink them!

11. The theory that all adult meds can be cut to accommodate infants and children is not true! Although there are some over the counter medications that can be cut to accommodate children it is always best to go with a pediatric specific drug for example children's Tylenol or childrens benadryl. Follow the dosing on the back for safety and if you aren't sure or if you are dealing with an infant always consult a physician, nurse practitioner or pharmacist first! And NEVER give any form of asprin to a child without a direct order from a doctor!

Hope this helps some of you and if you have any other questions you've been wondering about just post in the comments section. If I don't know the answer I'll ask my pharmacist boyfriend or fellow nurses and physicians on my clinical days and reply back asap.

I found this on WebMD of all places...

15 Fresh Brown Bag Lunch Ideas

1. Pasta Lover's Lunch Salad. Pack a cold pasta salad and a plastic fork, and your pasta lover will love you, too! Make your salad with lean meat or low-fat cheese (so it has some protein), lots of vegetables to boost fiber and nutrition, and use a whole-grain blend pasta, like Barilla Plus. Then just drizzle some light vinaigrette over the top and toss.
2. Pita Pocket Sandwich. Pack your whole-grain pita pocket with chicken Caesar salad, or any other lean meat or cheese filler mixed with vegetables and dark green lettuce.
3. The Fruit and Cheese Plate Special. Make crispy cracker sandwiches with whole-wheat crackers, slices of assorted cheese, and lean meats. Don't forget the fruit, which goes nicely with the cheese and adds fiber and nutrition.
4. Peanut Butter Fun Pack. Pack 1/8 cup of natural-style peanut butter, along with a plastic knife or spoon, wheat crackers, and celery sticks, and you have a peanut butter fun pack!
5. Bagel With Cream Cheese, Please. Bagels are a wonderful foundation for hardy sandwiches that stand up to being in a backpack or locker all morning. You can toast a bagel in the morning and simply spread some light cream cheese in the middle. Or make a bagel sandwich with, say, a little light cream cheese, some turkey, and cranberry sauce, then top it off with alfalfa sprouts or Romaine lettuce.
6. Carry a Cobb Salad. Plastic containers can hold the makings of a delicious salad lunch. Fill it with chopped green lettuce, chopped hard-boiled egg, light cheese, and/or lean ham. You can buy packets of light dressing, or just use extra packets of light salad dressing left over from your last trip to the fast-food chain.
7. It's a Wrap! Wraps are a nice change of pace from the usual sandwich. Use one of the new higher-fiber tortillas, like the multigrain flour tortillas available in most supermarkets. Then fill 'er up with chicken Caesar salad or assorted lean meats, cheese, tomato, sliced onion, shredded Romaine lettuce, and light dressing. Just roll it up and wrap in foil.
8. Noodle Soup Cups. Many schools offer a hot water dispenser so kids can add hot water to packaged noodle soup cups. Some brands are higher in sodium and fat, and lower in fiber than others. Check out the options in stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.
9. Veggie Sushi. Not all kids will go for this one, but there are some out there who really like seaweed-wrapped sushi rolls. You can now buy pre-made sushi at many supermarkets, too. Choosing the veggie-filled sushi means there's no chance the sushi will get a little "fishy" while it's in your kid's backpack.
10. Toss Some Taco Salad. If taco salad is a favorite, you can pack the meat mixture tossed with the shredded cheese, tomatoes, and chopped Romaine lettuce in a plastic container. At lunchtime, your child can add crunchy, reduced-fat tortilla chips and a little light dressing.
11. Fried Rice Can Be Fun. When made with eggs or chopped lean ham and lots of veggies, cold fried rice can be a satisfying noontime treat. Make your own, or plan on leftovers the night before if you're ordering from a restaurant.
12. Talk About Taquitos. I started doing this last year, and it seems to have stuck with my girls. I pop some Bean and Cheese frozen Taquitos from Whole Foods into my toaster oven in the morning, then let them cool. Then, I wrap them in foil and make sure they stay cool by packing a frozen juice box or small water bottle. By noon, they are cold, fun finger food.
13. BBQ Chicken Sandwich. Your child can assemble a yummy BBQ grilled chicken sandwich fresh at lunchtime. Just pack a grilled, boneless, skinless chicken breast (you can make it in your indoor grill the night before) with some lettuce and sliced tomato in one baggie, and a whole-wheat bun in another. Add a packet of BBQ sauce to the lunch bag, and it's good to go.
14. Meal Muffins. Certain types of muffins work as a lunch entrée. If you bake them over the weekend and keep them in the freezer, you just have to pull one or two out in the morning. By lunch, they are nicely chilled and ready to eat. Try ham and cheese muffins, Mexican Cornbread muffins, or quiche muffins (quiche filling, baked with or without crust in a muffin pan).
15. Turkey Jerky. You can round off a lunch packed with fruit, vegetables, and maybe trail mix or crackers by adding some high-protein turkey jerky. I found a turkey at Trader Joe's that is made without nitrites, MSG, or artificial ingredients, and the turkey is raised without added hormones. Can't argue with that. A 2-ounce serving of turkey jerky contains: 120 calories, 22 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrate, 540 milligrams of sodium, and 20 milligrams of cholesterol.