Stock You’re Cupboards

Open up your cupboards and take a good look inside: do you have the basics? For easy home cooking, every cupboard should have certain dry goods: pasta, rice, soups, canned vegetables and favorite grains. Sit down and make a list of things that you and your family like to eat. Do you like couscous? Do you and your family enjoy pasta dishes? Consider the dishes that your family prefers and keep your cupboards stocked with the dry ingredients used for those dishes.

Stock Your Refrigerator and Freezer

After you’ve taken the time to take stock of your cupboards, do the same to your refrigerator. Your refrigerator should always contain eggs, mayonnaise, butter, ketchup, milk, mustard and salad dressing. Your freezer is perfect for storing bags of frozen vegetables, various meats and meals that you’ve prepared the weekend before.

Spend the Day Cooking

Most people typically have at least one day off a week. Spend that day cooking meals for the week ahead! You don’t have to cook a dozen separate meals. Think of meals that will freeze easily: chili, soup, pasta sauce, sloppy Joes and even stews freeze incredibly well and are easily reheated for lunch or dinner. Choose two or three meals depending on the size of your family then cook them and put them into appropriately sized containers. You can pull out your lunch or dinner as you want it.

Invest in a Crock-pot

Crock-pots are making a comeback, and for good reason: they make it incredibly easy to cook a hot meal with very little effort. There is hardly anything that can’t be cooked in a crockpot! Simply toss your ingredients in the pot before you leave for work, turn the pot on and, when you come home, you’ll have a hot, home-cooked meal waiting for you. If you buy a crockpot, chances are it will come with a recipe booklet. Be sure to invest in an additional recipe book: you’ll be amazed at all of the things you can cook that your little booklet doesn’t even mention!

Make a Recipe Box

When you have an afternoon to sit down with a couple of packets of note cards and your computer, put together your own recipe box. You can organize it however you like: time of preparation, number of ingredients needed or even main ingredient. No matter how you organize it, a great recipe box can be your go to when you think you’re too busy to cook.

If you organize yourself well, there is no reason that you have to eat out rather than dining in. Cooking doesn’t have to be difficult nor does it have to take an extraordinary amount of time. By keeping your kitchen well stocked, putting together a recipe box and even investing in a crockpot, you can cook quick and easy meals at home no matter how busy you are!

Marcia Read is a freelance blogger for Refrigerator Headquarters, a site that provides loads of helpful reviews of refrigerators such as GE refrigerators to help you make a more informed purchase. She is always on the lookout for easy meals to make at home!

Effect of Stress on Your Health

When you are suffering from a prolonged period of stress, your body’s fight or flight response can be placed into a sort of permanent overdrive. If you are unable to control your stress levels, you’re body will enter into a state called “distress.” When this occurs, you will notice a myriad of health conditions including, but not limited to: headaches, nausea, insomnia, sexual dysfunction as well as anxiety and panic attacks.

Although these symptoms of stress are manageable, some are not. Heart disease, cancer, cirrhosis and lung ailments can all result from excessive, prolonged levels of stress. Stress can also lead people to engage in behaviors that they otherwise would not. Gambling, sex, alcohol and the Internet can all quickly become addictions thanks to the quick, but temporary, relief they provide from the symptoms of stress.

What Are the Warning Signs of Too Much Stress

While some people function quite well under a bit of stress, there is almost no one who can function well under a mountain of it. If you experience one or more of the following physical symptoms, you may be under stress overload:

- Indigestion

- Grinding teeth

- Headaches

- Changes in appetite

- Insomnia

- Racing heart

- Exhaustion

- Weight fluctuations

- Diarrhea

- Sexual difficulties

- Irritability

- Mood swings

While any one of these symptoms can easily be attributed to something else, a combination of these symptoms, or those symptoms that are persistent, could be signs that you need to start getting your stress under control.

How To Reduce Your Stress

The way to reduce stress will vary from person to person. While one person may find exercise a great stress reliever, another may find meditation to be what they need. Don’t give up if the first thing you try doesn’t do the trick; there are dozens of ways that you can relieve the stress in your life. Keep trying things until you find what works for you! Here are some great ways to try to reduce stress:

- Maintain a positive attitude: adopting a “glass half full” attitude takes some work but can be done. When you feel a negative thought or response slipping into your head, try to halt your thoughts and turn them into something positive. With enough practice, doing so will become second nature.

- Relax: the word “relax” means different things for different people. For you, it may mean spending time in a hot bath with a favorite novel. For something else, it may mean hiking through the woods on a sunny day. Set aside at least 30 minutes each day to do the thing that relaxes you the most.

- Find the source: if you can find the source of your stress, you can often nip it in the bud. Can you attribute your stress to poor time management? Do you take on more work than you can reasonably handle? If you can find the source of your stress, do what’s in your power to change it.

Managing your stress is the key to good health. The first steps you should take are towards recognizing the symptoms of your stress and deciding whether or not you need to work on ways to relieve it. Find the source, try to adopt a positive attitude and adopt healthy relaxation habits. The sooner you begin to work on relieving your stress, the better you’ll feel.

Jessica Alan is a guidance counselor earning an online counseling masters degree while working fulltime.

While ignoring some advice can be done with relative safety, ignoring all advice will certainly prove to be a detriment to your health. We’re here to help! Here are five healthy tips that actually can make a difference:

Avoid BPA

Many people have no idea what BPA is. It seems as though BPA-free products were unavailable one day and unavoidable the next. BPA, or bisphenol A, is a chemical that has been used in plastics manufacturing since the 60s. BPA can leach into your foodstuffs and beverages when used in the containers that store these products. While there is some argument as to the true effects of BPA on human health, it’s so easy to purchase BPA-free products that there is no reason not to. It’s far better to use products that don’t contain BPA than it is to find out you did too little, too late.

Avoid Nitrates

Have you heard of nitrates? If you feed your family hot dogs, processed lunch meat, bacon or any other food that is normally pink in color, you better educate yourself quickly. Nitrates are a chemical preservative that is added to these processed and cured meats. Nitrates and nitrites are known to increase the risk of cancer of the urinary bladder, stomach, oral cavity and esophagus. In fact, a study has found that children who eat more than a dozen hot dogs per month, or more than three per week, are at a nine times higher risk for developing leukemia.

Avoid Stress

Perhaps someone has told you that you’re too stressed out and need a break. Maybe your doctor has told you that your blood pressure is high and you need to find a way to relax. No matter whom you’ve heard it from, stress is very real and so are its effects on your health, both physical and mental. An overload of stress can cause: dry mouth, irritability, nausea, chest pains, rapid heartbeat, lethargy, loss of appetite or overeating, lack of concentration, forgetfulness and even susceptibility to illness. If you’ve got a lot going on, no one will blame you if you’re stressed out now and again. It’s the way you handle that stress that matters!

Avoid Tobacco Products

Does this tip really need to be reiterated yet again? The majority of people know that smoking, or otherwise using, tobacco products can put them at serious risk for grave illnesses. Unfortunately, because many of these illnesses are not seen until later in life, many smokers are not in a hurry to quit. Smoking is by no means an easy habit to break, but it is one that must be broken. If you are addicted to tobacco products, there are many services that you can turn to for assistance in quitting.

Don’t become so overwhelmed with unsought health advice that you ignore all that you are given. It’s important that you be able to sort through the facts and the fiction when it comes to your health. If you ever have questions, be sure to consult with a true medical professional in order to receive the soundest answers.

Jerry Edgars is a nutritional consultant and often recommends comparing car insurance Toronto using Kanetix insurance comparison to his clients in Toronto so they can ensure they have a good rate on their car insurance. He received extra discounts for being healthy!

Renee Varney is a vegan and freelance blogger, she occasionally writes for delivery.com a site she loves using to find local Food Delivery services using their Delivery Chicago directory.

Watch the Alcohol
No one has any doubt that college freshman drink, legally or otherwise. Not only will alcohol pack on the weight but the habits associated with alcohol consumption will help you pack it on as well! When was the last time that you had a beer in your hand that you didn’t have a fistful of peanuts or nachos in the other? What food goes great with beer? Pizza!
If you’re going out for a night on the town with friends, consider eating a healthy dinner beforehand and following each drink with a glass of water. You’ll not only drink less but you’ll end up eating less as well!
Sleep
People almost never stop to consider the effect that a lack of sleep has on their weight. Studies have shown that those with healthier sleep habits are more apt to maintain a healthy weight. Be sure that you are getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
To ensure that your eyes are slamming shut as soon as your head hits the pillow try to avoid caffeine in the evening. Avoid exercising right before bed and keep the television and radio off while you’re trying to sleep.
You don’t have to be a statistic! If you follow these tips you’re sure to keep the freshman 15 at bay and ensure that your family and friends recognize you when you come home for break.

Nicole Morgan is a nutritionist and career counselor, she blogs for executivembaguides.org where you can find information about top executive mba programs. She enjoys finding unique career opportunities for her students!

1. Fewer Sick Days

People who maintain a proper level of physical fitness and eat right are less likely to fall victim to illness. With healthy habits comes a healthy immune system and, as a result, fewer instances of illness. When you don’t get sick, you don’t have to call off of work. When you don’t call off of work, you don’t lose your pay. This is particularly important for those people who don’t get paid sick days as part of their benefits package at work.

2. Better Jobs

It’s a sad fact that discrimination still exists in our country, but for those who lack a certain level of physical fitness and health, high paying jobs can be hard to find. There is a stigma surrounding those who are severely overweight or out of shape, and employers often assume that you will be taking an above average amount of sick time. When in competition with someone who is physically fit, the fit person will almost always get the job before the unfit person.

3. Longevity

It makes sense that those among us who are healthiest are able to work longer. By staying fit and healthy, you’ll be less likely to take an early retirement, losing out on a great deal of income. In fact, if you retire early and begin drawing on social security when you are 62, your payments will be roughly half that of someone who waits until they are 70. If you will be depending on social security to get you through your later years, it will benefit you to be able to work until you’re 70 years old; something that will only occur if you are in prime physical condition.

4. Discounts

People who are healthy may receive substantial discounts on health and life insurance policies. While these discounts may not actually pay you cold hard cash, they will prevent you from spending more than you have to; saving you money in the long run. If you are of a healthy weight, don’t smoke and have no instance of major illness in your medical history, you may qualify for savings on your various insurance policies; contact your agent for details!

5. Insurance That Pays You Back

Some insurance companies are undertaking programs that will pay subscribers back for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, for instance, has a program called Healthy Rewards that will pay up to $1,000 per family every year for doing simple things like working around the garden and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Find out if your health insurance company offers any rewards programs that you and your family can take part in.

Staying as healthy as possible simply makes good sense. If your health isn’t incentive enough to maintain a fitness program and nutritional diet, maybe cash will give you the push you need! Consider these five ways that a healthy lifestyle can pay you back over the long haul the next time you’re hoisting that greasy cheeseburger to your lips!

Author Sandy Landsford is a self-proclaimed bargain hunter and blogs for www.carinsurance.org.uk, where you can get a quote for cheap car insurance. She enjoys finding unique discounts for her readers!

If you’re on the roller coaster ride of stress, it’s even more important that you maintain your healthy habits. Proper diet, sleep and exercise programs can not only boost your immune system, but decrease your stress at the same time. Here are five easy, healthy habits to maintain during times of stress:

1. Sleep

You can never catch up on sleep, and a lack of it can make your stress worse. It can be hard to fall asleep when you are under stress; many people fight with bouts of insomnia when their emotions are running high. To get yourself back into your old sleep patterns, start practicing a sleep routine. Take a hot bath, drink a cup of tea or read a chapter in a favorite novel; whatever it takes to get your mind off of your troubles and ready for bed. Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day. You’ll soon find your insomnia cured!

2. Over Eating

If you are a stress eater, you’ll find yourself reaching for handfuls of candy, bowls of ice cream and anything else that contains sugar! Be aware of what you are doing and, if need be, empty the kitchen of any tempting foods. Gaining weight isn’t going to help you deal with your stress and will only serve to make you unhealthy. Try keeping the fridge full of your favorite cut up vegetables, if you find yourself eating emotionally, at least make it healthy.

3. Under Eating

If, unlike stress eaters, you tend to forget to eat all together when you are under stress, pay close attention to how you are eating; or not eating. It may help to prepare meals in the morning, or even on the weekends, to ensure that you eat properly throughout the day. You may not feel like eating but, if you don’t, you’ll only make yourself feel worse. Instead of not eating, choose light foods that won’t sit in your stomach for hours.

4. Exercise

Did you know that one of the best stress relievers is exercise? The next time you feel yourself stressing out, lace up your tennis shoes and head outside. Whether you go for a walk, take a run or even mow the lawn, the simple act of moving will help to quickly relieve, if not eliminate, your stress. Those who exercise regularly often find that the things that would throw others into a downward spiral don’t affect them as greatly; what a great reason to go for a run!

5. Supplements

If you simply can’t force yourself to eat properly or pay attention to your fitness regime when you are emotionally distraught, at least take supplements. A multivitamin that contains vitamins A, B, C, D and E can help you maintain your health better than those who don’t take supplements at all. Vitamins will boost your immune system, keep your metabolism in check and even support brain and nervous system function. As stressed out as you are, don’t skip your daily vitamin!

If you are stressed out and overwhelmed, do your best to maintain healthy habits. Over-eating, not sleeping and remaining sedentary will only serve to make you feel worse in the long run. Remember that if you fall down, to get back up and continue your healthy habits, it can really help you cope during times of stress!

Nicole Morgan is a nutritionist and career counselor, she blogs for mastersineducationguides.org where you can find information about master of education programs. She enjoys helping her students find ways to stay healthy in school.

If you’re going away to college this year, or if your child is leaving home for the first time, it’s important that you know about the common health habits that college students develop. Unfortunately, most of these habits are bad ones. College freshman are notorious for gaining weight and developing health issues. Many times, these issues can be attributed to a simple lack of proper attention to health and fitness. Here are the five worst health habits that college students fall into:

Poor Eating

Almost everyone knows that proper nutrition plays a big part in our physical health. Not only does healthy eating often stave off illness, but it keeps our skin glowing, our hair and nails strong and our energy levels high. With college comes late nights of studying, a schedule packed with classes and free time full of parties and social events.
Special care should be taken with regards to nutrition in college. Instead of dropping by the coffee shop or fast food restaurant, check out the healthier fare in the dining hall. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional pizza-packed cramming session, but don’t forget your fruits and vegetables!

Lack of Sleep

When you get a good night’s sleep, you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can catch up on sleep over the weekend; once you’ve missed out, there’s no getting it back. Put yourself on a sleep schedule and stick to it. You’ll obviously have to stray off schedule now and again, but aim for solid seven or eight hours of sleep every night.

Lack of Exercise

Many college students think that they are exercising simply by walking back and forth to class every day. Unfortunately, this just isn’t enough. In order for exercise to really matter, you must get your heart pumping for at least 15 minutes; more is even better! Try to make time in the morning before class, or in the evening after class, for a brisk walk or bike ride. If your college offers any type of fitness classes, take one! Not only will you stay in shape, but you’ll get a couple of credits to boot!

Risky Sex

Parents don’t want to think of their children having intercourse, but it’s a fact of college life. Young men and women, thrown together on a college campus, are bound to “hook up”. If you aren’t going to abstain from sex, at least be smart about it. If you are sexually active, be sure to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases once a year, at a minimum, and make sure that you, or your partner, are wearing a condom.

Ignoring Symptoms

Without mom and dad to tell them to go to the doctor, many college students will simply try to ride out an illness. If you are sick, don’t be shy about visiting the student health clinic; that’s what it’s there for. Ignoring a cold or the flu can lead to a much more serious illness. Any symptoms that last for more than a day or two should be checked out!

Part of being independent is being responsible for your health. As a college student, no one is going to be by your side to make sure you are eating right, sleeping enough and visiting the doctor when you need to. You are in charge of your health; make sure your habits are good ones.

Amanda Davis is a medical writer earning her masters in nursing education online to teach other nurses in the future

1. Nutrition

Nutritionists and dieticians help people who need to lose weight, who need to gain weight and who have specific dietary needs due to medical conditions. From figuring out caloric contents of foods to designing menus and creating shopping lists, nutritionists are an invaluable source of help for many people. If you have a desire to help people, and an interest in food and nutrition, this can be a great career for you. If you want to take nutrition a step further, look into the homeopathic market; people are turning towards homeopathy and preventative nutrition more and more each day.

2. Physical Therapy

Physical therapy and physical therapy assisting are fantastic careers for those that have a desire to assist those who have been dealt an unfair shake in life. PTAs can be found in nursing homes, gyms, rehab centers and even schools. If you have an interest in anatomy and physiology, and a passion for improving the lives of others, physical therapy is a fantastic niche to get into.

3. Green Fitness

What better way to combine your environmental ideals with your passion for fitness? It’s incredibly easy to incorporate “green” into any physical fitness program. Instead of taking clients to a gym to throw some weight around, head to the local park and take advantage of the natural topography. If you would prefer staying indoors and operating your own fitness center, make sure that your gym is as environmentally responsible as possible with recycling centers, low flow shower heads and eco-friendly lighting.

4. Coaching

Do you love children? Do you have an innate understanding for how they learn and grow? Coaching a sport may be the perfect fitness niche for you. You don’t have to be a teacher to be a coach; volunteer with your local parks and rec department and coach children during the summer. Many parks departments have sports for children all year round; find a sport that you love and volunteer to coach a team of children. Not only will you be teaching them the ins and outs of a sport, but you’ll be teaching them respect, good manners and self-discipline; attributes they can carry with them for a lifetime.

5. Boot Camp Instructor

Fitness boot camps are all the rage and are very easy to start up with a little bit of know-how. If you have a strong personality, or are a natural born leader, with an interest in helping people reach their peak form, running a fitness boot camp can be incredibly rewarding. Boot camps are often run outdoors, allowing you to combine your love of all things fitness and Mother Nature. If you think running a boot camp would fulfill your goals, find a mentor and get started.

There are dozens of niches within any profession. The key is to find something you are passionate about and combining it with your new career. Find an area of fitness that isn’t already flooded with professionals and create a name for yourself! Once you’ve found your niche and gotten off the ground, it won’t be long before you are checking goals off of your list left and right!

Lindsey Harris runs a green fitness studio and in her spare time blogs for erikorganic.com, a great site to find custom Wood Conference Tables and other furniture!

The Short Answer

Catechins are a type of antioxidant and flavanol that is naturally produced in some kinds of plants. This means that catechins reduce how many dangerous free radicals your body produces and also reduce how much your arteries are constricted. In short, because of a lot of chemicals that are difficult to spell, you can live a lot longer by ingesting catechins. However, catechins have also been shown to reduce the level of body fat you store, even when nothing else in your diet or exercise regimen changes.

Ordinary Tea Leaves

There’s nothing intrinsically special about tea leaves aside from their chemical makeup. They’re just plants that human beings have been cultivating for thousands of years. Prior to that, they simply occurred naturally and were harvested like any other crops. While the above reasons to drink green tea were excellent, perhaps the most enticing is that you can actually get thinner from drinking it.

Reduction of Body Fat

When your body produces too much fat, you run the risk of several different medical disorders that can greatly shorten your life. These include heart disease, diabetes and even more dramatic problems such as strokes and heart attacks. However, when you drink green or black tea on a regular basis, your risk of obesity actually decreases.

In a 2005 study of Japanese men whose beginning waist circumferences and weights were roughly equal, one group drink a tea with some catechins while the other group was loaded down with them. The group who took in the dramatically larger amount of catechins lost a substantially larger amount of weight, particularly fat, than the control group. This reduction has also been seen in other similar studies.

A Little Like Red Wine

Many of the health benefits you can get from catechins don’t just come from green tea. In some cases they can come from flavonols in other mixtures such as juices or wines. In fact, the immunity enhancement and additional longevity that used to be attributed to resveratrol has actually been reassigned to flavonols after further research has shed additional light on the matter.

Catechins are a chemical that scientists are only now beginning to understand, but that yield tremendous health benefits. You can have a healthier heart, a slimmer belly and arteries that allow more blood to flow more easily.

About the Author: Genny Silvera is a huge fan of tea and can often be found sipping a mug of the oolong tea blend she loves most. When she’s not researching alternative health, she can often be found browsing www.goldenmoontea.com for her next favorite tea blend.