The Incredible Health Benefits of Cabbage

According to Ancient Roman healers, breast cancer could be cured by rubbing on pastes made from cabbage. Not long ago, modern scientists would have considered this practice as Folklore, but now they are not so sure.

Jon Michnovicz, president of the Foundation for Preventive Oncology in New York City says: “Studies have shown that if you make cabbage into a paste and rub it on the backs of laboratory animals, you can prevent the development of Tumors.

But the best way to absorb the health properties of cabbage is to eat it, of course.

Cabbage can fight off breast, lung, and prostate cancer. It also contains a wealth of nutrients that can protect you against heart disease, birth defects, and digestive problems, and lowers the risk of cataracts. One study found that eating four servings of cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage, per week, reduced the risk of dying from any cause by 26 %.

Healing Properties of Cabbage Cabbage, like other cruciferous vegetables, contains several compounds that can help prevent cancers, according to studies. Researchers reviewed almost 100- studies that showed the relationship between brassica vegetables, such as cabbage, and cancer. They found that in 70% of the studies cabbage consumption was related to a lower risk of Cancer.

Scientists found that there are two compounds in Cabbage that make it a cancer-preventing food. The first one, Indole-3-Carbinol, or I3C, is especially effective against breast cancer, according to research. The compound act as an Antiestrogen, which means that it removes harmful estrogens that have been linked to Breast Cancer. “There was no doubt that if we gave women pure I3C, it would work,” says Dr. Michnovicz. But for the average person, eating cabbage or another cruciferous vegetable, such as broccoli, would have the same effect.

The second compound in cabbage, named Sulforaphane, proved to protect against breast cancer, by inhibiting carcinogens and aiding in DNA repair. Women in Poland eat three times as much cabbage as women in the United States 30 lbs a year compared to 10 lbs in the US. Women in Poland also use to eat more raw cabbage, sauerkraut, and short-cooked cabbage as a side dish, instead of boiled or slow-cooked cabbage. Compounds in cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables are also protective against Lung Cancer. A study of Chinese women in Singapore, a city with a high level of air pollution, found that non-smokers who ate cruciferous vegetables reduced their risk of lung cancer by 30%.

Smokers who ate cruciferous vegetables reduced their risk of lung cancer by 69%.

savoy-cabbageCabbage also protects against Prostate Cancer. A study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that men who ate three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables each week lowered their risk of prostate cancer by 44 percent. Cabbage is a cook’s best friend. It’s versatile, inexpensive, readily available, and easy to prepare. The only thing is the unpleasant smell. But there is a remedy against it. Next time you want to cook cabbage, add a Celery stalk or a whole English Walnut (in the shell) to the pot. This will neutralize the smell.

Or, cook the cabbage quicker, stir-frying it in a wok or skillet, rather than boiling it for a long time. To preserve the beneficial compounds in cabbage, experts recommend eating cabbage raw. If you must cook your cabbage, steam it lightly, (5 minutes or less), to retain the phytonutrients and maximize their availability. Don’t microwave cabbage, because it decreases the amount of Sulforaphane. Don’t boil cabbage either. In one study, 90 percent of the glycosylates were found in cooking water. 

Don’t buy halved or shredded cabbage, because it loses its Vitamin C content quickly when cut. When you get your cabbage home, place the whole head (in a plastic bag) in the fridge. To promote the production of the most glycosylates, slice or chop cabbage and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking.

Antioxidant Protection. You have read about antioxidants in presiding articles, like Vitamin C and E and Beta-Carotene. They do an excellent job by protecting you and neutralizing free radicals, which damage healthy tissues throughout the body, causing heart disease, cancer, and other serious conditions. All cruciferous vegetables are loaded with these antioxidant compounds. Researchers found that a half-cup of red cabbage contains more antioxidants than a cup of Green Tea, which has long been considered to be a super antioxidant source.

bok-choyTwo cabbages, Bok choy, and Savoy are also excellent sources of Beta-Carotene, a nutrient that other cabbages don’t have in abundance. High blood levels of Beta-Carotene are related to fewer cases of heart attacks, certain types of cancer, and cataracts.

These cabbages are also excellent sources of vitamin C, which has proved to boost immunity, as well as reduce blood pressure and heart disease. A half-cup serving of raw Bok choy provides 16 milligrams of Vitamin C, 27% of the Daily Value (DV) for this Vitamin, while the same amount of raw Savoy Cabbage supplies 11 milligrams or 18 % of the DV. These same cabbages are also decent sources of B Vitamin Folate. Half-cup of either of those provides about 35 milligrams, or 9 % of the DV.

Your body needs Folate for normal tissue growth. Studies have proved that Folate also may protect against certain forms of Cancer, including Cervical, Colorectal, and Lung Cancers, Heart Disease, and Birth Defects.

Also, research shows that women are at high risk for Folate deficiency, especially if they take Birth Control pills.

-Adrian Joele

Winning the War on Our Money: A Psychological Battle

Our Money: Fighting a Psychological Battle

Fighting a Psychological BattleAcross the world, governments and populations alike are encountering the same challenges – namely, how to treat the coronavirus and prevent its spread.

But this is just the beginning. Certainly, in the here and now – in the immediate future – bringing the virus under control is the priority, and we salute the legions of scientists, medical personnel, and key workers who are making that happen every day. But what comes next? How do we deal with the economic depression that follows such a crisis? How do we avoid global recession? There is one thing we must do: We must not give in. We must not roll over and simply accept the worst case as inevitable.

And we won’t. This is not the way that we – as a species – do things. If the last few months have taught us anything, it is that the incredible resilience of humanity is still alive and well. Even in the face of such hardship, the flame of endeavor, compassion, of positivity, still burns brightly.

This is all well and good, but what does this mean in practice? How do we go about channeling this resilience into a set of practical solutions that will carry us, and our finances, forward?

Let’s take a look at this in a little more detail.

Fighting a Psychological Battle3Practical Solutions to Winning the Psychological Battle

We often hear the phrase “it’s all in your head,” as if a psychological problem is somehow less valid than a physical or external issue. In the 21st century, we are pushing back against this – not only recognizing that psychological issues need real consideration but also understanding that there are real steps we can take to overcome them. So, if you’ve found yourself hounded by money worries and anxiety as a result of this crisis, how do you overturn the negativity?

Develop a complete understanding of your situation

Much of the anxiety and worry we feel daily comes from uncertainty and a lack of knowledge. If we do not know what we are dealing with, we assume the worst. And, these negative feelings build and build until we are overwhelmed. Fight this tendency. Fight it with knowledge. Sit down and work out how the virus has affected your incomings. Then, work out what adjustments can be made so not only can you keep yourself moving forward, but you also can actively set yourself up for a thriving future.

This is not a one-off exercise. You need to get used to appraising your situation regularly, running the accounts, assessing the damage and the improvement, and arming yourself with the knowledge you need to gain the upper hand.

Begin to diversify

Don’t put all your eggs, as the adage goes, in one basket. There’s a reason why this has become so cliché – because it’s such great advice. If your income stream is too narrow or too restricted, you are putting yourself in danger. Even when times are good, you are only a hop, step, and jump away from a serious financial problem.

So, what’s the answer? Diversity. Don’t turn your back on your current revenue streams and business interests. Instead, seek to add to them. Think about how you can protect yourself with a more diverse portfolio of investments, and then consider how this diversity can drive your success.

Fighting a Psychological BattleBuild a positive attitude

Negativity will get us nowhere. Instead, it erodes our psychology and makes it difficult to gain perspective and understanding of our situation. Our minds become clouded by doubt and other such thoughts. But, by making small positive changes to our mindset, we can counteract this. Make these small incremental changes – by reframing setbacks as challenges and opportunities, for example, or by putting certain minor hardships in a broader context. Get used to doing this, and witness big changes in your psychology.

Be proactive

Change cannot happen by itself. Your aims and objectives won’t be achieved without effort and action. This does not mean mistaking movement for progress and rushing around like a headless chicken, though. Rather, it means outlining what you want to achieve in the long and short term, thinking about what you need to do to achieve this, and then putting one foot in front of the other until you get there.Fighting a Psychological Battle4

The coronavirus has made goal achievement a little more challenging than usual, so you may need to change your approach. But don’t be discouraged.

Seek assistance

There is help out there, so make sure you get the help you need. This may come from talking to friends and co-workers, or from engaging with webinars, video media, or insightful articles. The truth is, there is no single “correct” way to educate ourselves and grow our emotional and psychological resilience. We are all in this together, so let’s help one another. Let’s accept the help that we need to win the psychological battle, and come through this crisis stronger than ever.

-David Love

https://universalsoullove.com/founders

Seafood: The Key to a Longer Life

Live longer eating Seafood

Live longer on seafood 2It’s no strange coincidence that many of the fish-eating populations located within the Arctic regions of the world have experienced fewer occurrences of heart disease.

This is primarily because seafood their main dietary food which is highly recognized for its high concentration in omega-3 fatty acids is widely renowned for not only lowering the cholesterol levels of the blood within the body but additionally for protecting the heart from diseases.

Research into the benefits of seafood discovered that individuals who consumed an extra portion of fish each week were found to lower their risk of heart disease by more than fifty percent.

Consuming fish reduced the risk of thrombosis (clotting of the blood) by improving blood circulation through the omega-3 oils which reduces the need for the body to produce the hormone-like substance eicosanoids which have been primarily responsible for inflammation and blood clotting occurring within the body.

Individuals who include seafood as a regular dish whether by dining out or via seafood delivery service as a balanced diet were generally shown to experience significant relief in their rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, a severe medical condition resulting in the inflammation of the joints within the body resulting in severe and often unbearable pain.

Alaska Smokehouse Jumbo Smoked SalmonThe link between the omega-3 fatty acids found within the seafood and its ability to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis has been confirmed through medical research resulting in a strong medical recommendation that eating more seafood will prevent the occurrence of this and other health-related diseases.

Live longer on seafoodSeafood has been globally renowned for providing the human body with a vast number of nutrients including zinc, iodine, potassium, and selenium.

Selenium is renowned for its production of enzymes that serve in protecting the human body from cancer, and iodine which is a vital ingredient for the thyroid glands to reduce the risk of slow heart rate, dry skin, depression, weight gain, and several other illnesses.

Shellfish such as lobster, shrimps, and crabs and fish traditionally found in dishes such as Vermicelli Crab, Grilled Salmon, and Steamed Crab Lobster Assorted Platter also contain a form of vitamin-A known as retinol which is popularly recognized for improving vision at night. Individuals who suffer from age-related macular degeneration causing deterioration of the eyesight resulting in blurred vision often referred to as AMD when introduced to a regular diet consisting of such seafood cuisines were able to experience some levels of restoration of their sight.

This has led to a large majority of local health practitioners recommending including seafood as a healthy diet in keeping the eyes bright and healthy.

Seafood not only has been proven through medical research to relieve the symptoms of asthma in children but has shown remarkable signs in preventing the illness from occurring. Families who have customarily eaten large quantities of seafood were observed to possess stronger and healthier lungs with age when compared to those who were found to eat less seafood.

Live longer on seafood 3Depression today remains one of the most widespread illnesses globally affecting millions of men and women today.

In a recent study, it was confirmed that individuals who maintained a diet rich in seafood containing omega-3 oils experienced a lower rate of depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and post-natal depression.

Fish which has traditionally been a great source of protein is recognized for providing the human body with the essential ingredient collagen, a chemical substance widely known for keeping the human skin flexible and firm.

The skin additionally has been scientifically proven to be protected from the harmful effects of ultraviolet damage by the omega-3 oils found in seafood. Many dermatologists and local physicians confirmed that by eating an increased amount of seafood, patients suffering from illnesses including psoriasis and eczema were provided with continuous relief from their symptoms once a regular seafood diet was maintained.

A seafood diet rich in omega-3 fish oils safeguards the individual from severe inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease additionally slowing the progression of inflammatory bowel disease suffered by many patients today.

Sea Best NY Strip Steak and Warm Water Lobster Surf

The human brain is composed of approximately sixty percent omega-3 fat. In a recent study, individuals who routinely ate a lot of seafood were found less likely to be affected by memory difficulty and dementia as they approached their senior years.

During the research, it was discovered that the omega-3 fat DHA found within seafood played a vital role in the development of reading skills, attentiveness, and behavior in children additionally improving instances of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

 

 

 

Where can we get seafood delivery?

Live longer on seafood crabMany popular restaurants around the world have as a mandatory rule included a wide variety of seafood dishes within their menu and delivery service due to the exceptional taste and vast health benefits of the meal.

Restaurants such as the American-based California Pizza Kitchen, Seafood Fettuccine, Hard Rock Café, and Tony Roma’s Cajun Shrimp and Scallops.

Pasta is known for a wide and extravagant range of seafood cuisines such as Clams, shrimp in calamari rings, squid, and sweet and spicy soy sauce,

Tender scallops and shrimp cooked in lemon wine among several other exquisite dishes.

Chinese, Indian, Italian, Korean Lebanese, Vietnamese, and several other countries host several fine dining and takeout restaurants and are continuously finding new ways to include more and more favorite seafood cuisines within their menus for their customers. Enjoy steak and lobster today!

 

Ready to Reopen: Back to Business This Fall

Back to Business This Fall

Back to Business This Fall2As the days continue to get shorter and summer comes to an end, there’s no better time than now to do some much-needed planning and ensure you can get back to business this fall with renewed confidence.

For many businesses, the summer months tend to be much slower, and this makes it easier to neglect the business planning process when what we should be doing is kicking things into high gear in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.

I know some of you are probably wondering, “Why is she going on about business planning? Isn’t that something you do before you’ve even launched your business?”

That may be true, but writing a business plan isn’t something you just do once and never think about again.

A business plan is supposed to define your company’s objectives and determine how you plan on achieving those goals, right?

So, what makes you think the business planning process is something that ends the second your business is launched?

The truth is your business plan shouldn’t be some static document that always remains the same.

Instead, it should be a fluid strategy that morphs to meet the ever-changing needs of your business, and that means it’s a never-ending process.

At a minimum, you should be re-evaluating your business plan at least once a year, and what better time to do it than before the holiday rush?

In any case, after reading through the list of tips we’ve laid out below, you should be able to get back to business this fall armed with great ideas and inspiration to help you cap off the year on a high note.

Back to Business This Fall3Tips to Get Back to Business This Fall

  • Review & Strategize Many small business owners spend so much time working on their businesses, that they often don’t take time to work on their businesses by planning, reviewing, and strategizing.

At any rate, as the summer comes to a close, you should try to schedule some quiet time away from the office to think, dream, plan, strategize, and review.

With that in mind, here are some questions for you to ponder:

Have you met your objectives?

If so, what allowed you to do that?

If not, what was it that got in your way?

Did you reach your revenue goals?

How many new clients did you gain?

How did those clients find you?

What areas of your business were the most profitable?

Are there any undue expenses you need to keep an eye on?

Which marketing activities are giving you the best return on investment?

Is every member of your team on the same page about your business objectives and what needs to be done to achieve them?

Are there people you need to follow up with who is coming back from vacation or about to go on vacation?

  • Make Goal Cards I’ve always been a firm believer in the power of focus and intention.

That being said, writing down your business goals and reviewing them as much as possible should help you keep them top of mind, while staying excited about achieving them, and avoiding getting sidetracked by things that are not in alignment with your priorities.

I love to set aside time each morning to visualize each one of my goals as if it’s already come true. This gets me engaged and enthusiastic about doing whatever it takes to make those goals materialize.

  •  Organize Your Tasks Another way to maintain that enthusiasm and stay on top of all your business goals, and the tasks that need to be completed to reach them is to break them down into action items with deadlines.

This means you need to define what you’re going to do yourself, what you can assign to a team member, and what you can outsource.

Aside from determining who’s going to do what, you’re also going to have to ensure everything’s organized in a way that’s comprehensive and easy to understand.

For example, Asana and Basecamp are excellent project management tools that make it easy to track, manage, and follow the progress of tasks, especially for teams that work remotely.

Here at eVision Media, we use EGroupware to manage all of our projects and it helps our virtual team to be more organized and productive.

This platform offers a multitude of project management tools and allows every member of our team to find whatever they need to know about a particular task using a single intuitive interface.

So, whether you choose to use one of these platforms, go with another one, or decide to use a completely different method, the important thing is to find a way to organize all your tasks so you can ensure every member of your team stays on the same page about what needs to be done when it’s due, and who’s supposed to do it.

  • Identify Required Resources If you want to ensure you’re firing on all cylinders this fall, you’ve got to take stock of everything you need to make that happen.

I know this can be incredibly overwhelming, but it’s better to do it now when you have some breathing room instead of doing it on the fly in the middle of the holiday season when there’s no time to plan.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure you’re not forgetting anything:

Do I need to learn any new skills?

Do I need to hire new team members?

What do I need to make my goals happen?

Are there any industry events I should attend?

Are there any networking groups I should look into?

Should I hire a coach or mentor to help keep me on track with my goals?

Should I invest in new equipment or software so I can get things accomplished faster?

Whatever questions you end up asking yourself, the purpose of this reflection is to make sure you’ve armed yourself with everything you need to make your goals a reality.

So, make sure to go over everything meticulously and consider every possible scenario so you can be sure you’re not overlooking anything.

READ: Simplifying & Demystifying the Business Plan by simplifying-demystifying-business-plan-pamela-chatry2

Creating a business plan can be one of the most intimidating things you’ll ever do. There are a ton of things to consider, and once you start getting into the financial aspects, it can end up being downright terrifying. So, if you want to come up with a business plan, but you want to learn more about what goes into it, then this is definitely for you.

In this video, strategic business advisor and planner, Pamela Chatry, and I discuss what goes into a business plan, including what your sales and marketing should look like, determining hiring and outsourcing criteria, and much more.

  • Update Your Website Something else you can do to adjust your business plan at this critical time of year is to review your website.

This means looking for anything that’s out of date, updating it with new information about things like upcoming promotions or product launches, and changing anything else that is no longer applicable to your business.

For example, one of our clients is a Texas-based human resource and leadership consultant who runs a business called Quantum Ascendance.

Over the last several months, her business has shifted to focus mainly on helping American business owners who’ve been affected by pandemic restrictions to apply for what’s known as the employee retention credit.

So, once she made us aware of this change, we got straight to work making a banner for her website, so this new service could be featured prominently on her home page.

We also worked with her to update her site with fresh blog content related to the employee retention credit, so she can highlight her expertise and let potential clients know that she’s offering this service.

Truth be told, she was already connecting with a lot of clients through other means, including referrals and social media, but it wouldn’t be right to not showcase this service on her website, as well.

At any rate, with the holidays just around the corner, now is the time to stop neglecting your website, update it accordingly, and get it working for you instead of against you.

  • Holiday Planning If you’re planning on taking some time off over the holidays, now would be a great time to ensure all your ducks are in a row so you can relax and enjoy your vacation instead of wasting your time worrying.

First and foremost, this means making sure every single member of your team knows what’s expected of them and they understand all the protocols they’re required to follow.

That being said, no matter what kind of business you run, it’s incredibly important to have a solid set of standard operating procedures (SOP).

With this in place, even if you’re unable or unwilling to answer inquiries from your team while you’re on holiday, they’ll have something to refer to that will tell them everything they need to know.

I recently took three weeks off, which was a bit scary at first, not least because my team had to launch a website in my absence.

But I made sure to finalize our SOP before going on vacation, which ensured they knew exactly what to do, and as a result, I experienced only a few minor interruptions during my time off.

  • Scheduling If you’re running a business, you’ll probably end up with a mile-long to-do list, and that means it’s going to be very difficult to remember everything.

And if you’re anything like me, you won’t rest until everything is scheduled and organized, so you can stop worrying and get back to building your business.

If you’re looking to do this sort of schedule, two things I would recommend are creating a content calendar and a promotional calendar.

This involves planning out all the content you’re going to publish and all the promotions you plan to offer well in advance, using some sort of calendar or spreadsheet.

Everything I need to know to write each article can be found on this sheet, including the topic, due date, keywords, and notes to explain exactly what needs to be written.

But before you can do all that, you’re going to have to determine what kind of content and promotions you want to offer.

As of right now, there’s still time to have a back-to-school sale, plus Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas are coming up, so you should try to take advantage of this window to sit down and figure out exactly what your plans are for these holidays.

This way, instead of scrambling to come up with ideas at the last minute or stressing about when your next article is going to be published, you can just kick back and relax with your family during the holidays, knowing everything is planned out and ready to go.

  • Advertising One way to quickly grab holiday sales is to capture the attention of potential customers by setting up ads that correspond to each holiday you’re looking to target.

For example, you can retarget people who visit your business’s Facebook page using a custom audience retargeting pixel on your website.

This means if someone is looking at gifts for dad on your website, you can retarget them with ads on their Facebook feed that feature the best gifts for dad.

Most social media platforms offer this same kind of functionality, as well, so make sure to take some time to think about where you’re getting a lot of engagement on social media so you can make the best decision about which platforms you want to target.

No doubt, social media can be an absolute goldmine for ad targeting, but despite having accounts on most of the major platforms, I still prefer advertising through Google Ads and other forms of paid search, so keep this in mind.

Paid search allows you to target users similar to how you would on social media, but instead of the ads being served to them on their social feeds, they’ll show up on Google when they search for whatever keyword(s) you’re targeting, and your link will be prominently placed within the search results.

Not sure how to do all this stuff? You should get help from a marketer who knows how to get the best results from these kinds of advertising.

  • Consider Some Cards Despite being immersed in the world of digital marketing for more than 20 years now, I will never discount the value of tried-and-true old-school marketing tactics, like sending out greeting cards.

You could just buy some greeting cards and send them out to your customers, colleagues, staff, and vendors, or target specific areas and have them delivered door-to-door, but you’d be missing out on the perfect chance to showcase your brand.

Instead, why not take this opportunity to leverage your visual brand with some custom-designed cards?

I know it sounds like a blast from the past, but greeting cards are still a great way to let your clients, colleagues, staff, and trusted vendors know how much you appreciate them.

One idea to stand out from the crowd is to send Thanksgiving or New Year’s cards instead of the typical Christmas card.

And speaking of cards, with all these holidays coming up, it’s also an appropriate time to start offering gift cards, if you’re not doing that already.

Even if you are, you can always entice people by featuring specific imagery on your cards for each holiday.

In any case, gift cards provide a terrific option for people who are shopping for those hard-to-buy-for individuals, so it’s something to consider.

  • Book Your Vacation Time Now I know this one seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many business owners leave this stuff to the last minute and allow their teams to do the same, only to end up with one massive headache right before the holidays.

Aside from booking your own vacation time as soon as possible, you should encourage team members to put in their vacation requests early, as well.

This way, you’ll have more time to work out any scheduling issues, and this will make your holiday time less stressful.

In any case, I hope these tips have inspired you to come up with some creative and profitable plans that will help you to build your business as we near the fall season.

Putting this kind of thought into your business plan, and updating it regularly, can produce truly amazing results if you go through everything in detail and make sure to cover all your bases.

Remember, the more you plan now, the easier and more successful your business will be for the rest of the year.

Do you have any further tips you can share about how you’re trying to get back to business now that summer is almost over?

Are you wondering how you’re ever going to figure out all this stuff on your own? We’ve been helping business owners to build their brands for more than 20 years, and we can help you, too. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

To your business success, Susan Friesen

 

Start Your Career as a Bookkeeper

Become a bookkeeperBecome a bookkeeper

Bookkeeping is one of the oldest and most important professions in the world. Bookkeepers maintain accurate company records, financial transactions, and statements.

This article provides some tips on how to teach yourself how to become a bookkeeper. It will also give you some information on the skills needed to succeed in this profession.

 

Roles of a Bookkeeper

To become a bookkeeper, you’ll first need to understand what a bookkeeper does and the education and skills required to become one.

A bookkeeper’s work is to keep track of company finances by creating financial records for all transactions that occur in the company. They also maintain the company’s books and records by calculating taxes and payrolls, paying bills and invoices, reconciling bank statements, preparing financial statements and budgets, and managing investments or other assets such as stocks or bonds held.

They do this by using accounting software such as QuickBooks or Xero and following generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

As a bookkeeper, you’ll have different responsibilities depending on the size of your employer. For example, if working for a small business, you might also be responsible for handling payroll or managing inventory. If you work in public accounting, you may also be responsible for preparing tax returns.Become a bookkeeper

 

 

Skills Needed to Become a Good Bookkeeper

The main requirement for becoming a bookkeeper is knowing how to keep books. A four-year degree in accounting is not required, especially if you possess the following skills;

  • Organized and detail-oriented
  • High level of accuracy and organization
  • Ability to handle multiple tasks at once, such as bills and daily transactions
  • Ability to use computer software and adapt to new programs easily
  • The terminology and procedures involved in financial record keeping
  • Basic math skills, an understanding of debits and credits, and a working knowledge of double-entry accounting.

How to Become a bookkeeper

Step 1. Learn Accounting

To become a bookkeeper, you’ll first learn basic accounting skills. If you don’t know how to balance your checkbook, start there. Learn the difference between a debit and a credit, the difference between cash and accrual accounting, and how to use the various reports generated by accounting software.

You can practice these skills on software like QuickBooks or Quicken as you learn them. These programs are often available at local libraries or on the internet. Once you feel comfortable with these basic skills, you can seek more advanced training.

Step 2. Take Free or Low-cost Online Bookkeeping Courses

Bookkeeping coursework covers general bookkeeping principles and the specific accounting software used by many businesses. Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, trial balance, and journal entries are covered in typical bookkeeping classes.

Free/low-cost bookkeeping courses includeBecome a bookkeeper2

  • Coursera courses

Coursera is a large online learning platform. Many free online courses are available, including courses in accounting and bookkeeping. Most of these courses are done in partnership with other online universities, are accredited, and have certificates of completion.

They offer various courses in different subjects. Some of the courses are free, and some are pay-as-you-go. You can learn and expand your knowledge on bookkeeping at Coursera at a minimal expense.

  • Corporate Finance Institute

Corporate Finance Institute is an online community college that offers specialized training in corporate finance, including stock trading and investing. You can learn from the world’s best instructors in just three months. Corporate Finance Institute also offers new students six months of free access to their online course materials. This includes a large selection of free video training courses covering topics such as stock trading and investing and bookkeeping and payroll.

  • Intuit bookkeeping basics

Intuit is the bookkeeping division of the software giant Intuit Inc., formerly QuickBooks. The QuickBooks bookkeeping software is a great place to get started with bookkeeping, but if you want to advance your career and learn more advanced techniques, you should consider enrolling in one of the company’s online courses. There are several different courses available, designed for beginners and advanced users. You can learn QuickBooks fundamentals and more advanced topics, such as the payroll module.

Step 3. Enroll In Internship ProgramsBecome a bookkeeper3

You may also want to look for an internship with a company in your area that uses bookkeepers. This will give you some hands-on experience.

Once you have completed formal training and gained some practical experience, you will be ready to seek employment as a bookkeeper for a company in your area or even as an independent contractor working from home.

 

Unlock Your Inner Artist: Learn How to Draw

Learn How to DrawLearn How to Draw

Drawing is an art that requires special skills. It’s why some people struggle with basic things like drawing a simple circle or a straight line, even after several attempts. The good news is that anyone can learn how to draw.

You can teach yourself how to draw and improve this skill. Sure, it’s easier to improve this skill for a talented person. But even if you are not, you can perfect your drawing with time and dedication. This article shares some insights on learning how to draw by yourself. Read on to learn more.

Can You Learn to Draw at Any Age?

Anyone can learn to draw regardless of their age. Well, it’s usually easier to perfect your drawing skills at a young age. However, you can still do it even if you are older. What matters is that you are dedicated and motivated to learn this skill. Contrary to what many people think, drawing isn’t only for kids. Adults can perfect this skill and use it as a hobby or even a source of income.

So, how long will it take to perfect my drawing? Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer to this. It could be a few minutes to a few hours or even many years, depending on the individual. It is a matter of prioritization and how complex the object you want to draw is. But once you master a concept, you can keep practicing and improving on it.

Steps to Teaching Yourself How to Draw

Step 1: Collect Your Art Supplies

Of course, you cannot start drawing without the needed tools. But don’t trouble yourself buying expensive art supplies since you are only starting. A simple pen, pencil, and paper will get the job done.

Step 2: Sketch Anything You Want

Choose any subject you like, preferably one that you can currently see. Please choose a meaningful subject like a flower or a pet. Also, note that drawing what you can see is much easier than using your imagination. A visible object improves your focus, and you can capture all the detail.

Step 3: Start by Drawing Short Lines

Begin to press your pencil very lightly against the paper. Pay attention to the line you are drawing without worrying about your subject. For instance, if you have picked your cat, don’t think about it yet. Instead, focus on outlining first. Your cat’s edge will be represented by the line between it and the environment.

It’s also advisable that you avoid drawing continuous lines. Rather, opt for short strokes. The shorter the strokes are, the easier it will be to draw. Also, avoid critiquing your work at this stage. Just draw fast and finish your strokes.

Step 4: Fill in the DetailsLearn How to Draw4

Now that you have an outline of your subject, you can begin working on the interior. Identify the landmarks or distinguishing marks on your subject to help you know where to draw the next line. Using the same cat example, look out for marks like a tuft of hair on the cat.

Step 5: Time to Shade in Shadows

Shading is challenging for many people, but it’s an essential step as your drawings will have more depth and light. Start by observing how the sun shines on the subject, then with a sharp pencil, shade lightly on the object. Remember to make even marks on your subject’s dark areas. As your pencil tip starts to wear away, shade shadow areas. Here, you’d want to press harder to make the marks darker.

You can perfect your shading using a shading bar. Move your pencil back and forth, starting from one end of your drawing paper, and moving across it to the other end. Remember to put more pressure when transitioning to darker marks.

Alternatively, one can use value bars. Divide a rectangle into five sections leaving one end white. Darken the other end and layer lines in the squares in between. This will bring out a different shade of gray.

How to Draw Your Art Style?Learn How to Draw2

Now, the above steps are for drawing a subject that has already been created. But to be a true artist, you must also learn to come up with unique drawings from your imagination. Here are the steps for drawing an original piece;

Step 1: Draw several shapes with your hands shaking; like you are feeling nervous. Do that until your hand relaxes. Try to draw 3D shapes as much as you can. (Skip this step if you already know how to draw perfect shapes).

Step 2: Combine blocks to form figures. Join the objects that you’ve outlined to form one imaginary object. For instance, you can make several rectangles, cylinders, and circles. Then imagine which of these blocks can join together to form an object. Once you have that picture, start linking the blocks up.

Step 3: Design a reference sheet. It’s unlikely that the first trial would be perfect. In that case, you want to make it a reference sheet that you can refer to when doing another attempt. Arrange forms to form a subject’s shape. Erase meaningless lines and refine useful ones to give the subject shape. Once done, try drawing your subject from different angles. For instance, if drawing a horse’s side view, most people would draw the nose from a square, the chest from a circle, and the ears from a triangle. However, there are various other ways you can draw this object.

Step 4: Perfect you’re drawing. Go back to the sketches and check where you made a mistake. Once you identify, draw the subject again, paying close attention to all detail. Start by drawing shapes to outline the subject, then bring out the other details.Learn How to Draw3

Step 5: Practice and more practice. The more you draw, the better you’ll become. So spare time every week to perfect your drawing skills.

If you want to go beyond being just a beginner at this or any other skill, and work toward developing a real mastery, then you are going to need a deeper and more powerful strategy. What you need is a way to hack your brain so you can develop a winning mindset. Learn How to Draw5

 

Beyond the Impossible

Impossible is Just a WordImpossible is Just a Word

Everyone, at some point in his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn’t fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer?

Who hasn’t dreamed of being the homecoming queen?

And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, successful, or happy with our relationships?

Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.

This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self-actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day to day just barely existing.

But you know what? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to aim higher.

The most common problem with setting goals is the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can’t do this. It’s too hard. It’s too impossible. No one can do this.

However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment.

Impossible is Just a Word2

Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee? Theoretically, they said, the bumblebee couldn’t fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So, fly it does.

On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming of totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.

If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging to the impossible dream.

Try this exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life. Under one header, list down things ‘you know you can do. Under another header, write the things “you might be able to do”. And under one more, list the things that are “impossible for you to do”.

Now look at all the headers who strive every day to accomplish the goals that are under things ‘you know you can do. Check them when you can accomplish them. As you slowly can check all of your goals under that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’

Impossible is Just a Word4As the items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’

As you iterate through this process, you will find out that the goals you thought were impossible become easier to accomplish. And the impossible begins to seem possible after all.

You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high and start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is unwise to set a truly unrealistic goal.

Those who just dream of a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.

On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that man could be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.

Impossible is Just a Word 10Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be work and discipline. But take note that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.

Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be.

So dream on, people! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.

 

 

Impossible is Just a Word3Impossible is Just a Word

 

Making Water Safe to Drink: A Comprehensive Guide

How to How to Purify WaterHow to Purify Water?  Water is essential to life. It exceeds the importance of food or even shelter. You could live weeks to a month or more without food, but only a few days without water, As a result, you have to be looking for places to find it, carry it, and ways to conserve it.

The bottled or purified water you have stored is unmatched. If you don’t have water stored, then rainwater is probably the next best to use. Outdoor people in need of drink can use Water Portable Water Purifier Packets.

Be Prepared

Clearwater isn’t the same as purified water., Assuming the water you find isn’t bottled and you’re worried it may not be safe to drink, then you need to purify it and remove any bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms.

The most common way is to boil it. This should kill whatever is living in the water. You could also distill your water by capturing the steam and cooling it till it condenses. This is generally done using a copper tube.

Streams and lakes are also a good source, but can contain pathogens, viruses, and microbes and should be treated. If you are stuck in a city and need water. then check your water heater, Most have water left in them even if the hot water is not flowing and the power’s been out for a week.

How to Purify Water4Water from streams and rivers can be cloudy and full of sediment. This can easily clog and destroy water filters. It’s best to try to find moving water over stagnant water. As you gather the water, try to avoid disturbing the bottom to reduce silt and dirt.

One way to still get water from lakes and rivers without destroying your filters is to stir in some alum (aluminum sulfate) This will remove mud and silt.

The alum will attach to the particulates and settle to the bottom. Once it settles, then the clear water can be poured off into another water container. This process has been used since the days of the Roman Empire. Now just boil or filter the water for further protection.

If you’re close to the ocean, then you may want to invest in a personal desalination device. A solar-powered desalination device as used in parts of the world can be bought for around $50.00. Or, you can use a water straw filter.

A quality personal water filter for each person in a family is strongly encouraged. Every person needs to be familiar with using one. Your filter should filter down to a minimum of 0.2 microns. These can also be used in a bug-out bag.

Ultraviolet light also kills what’s in your water that only looks clean. A UV water filter can disinfect your water and if you buy one that has a hand crank then you are still protected when the power is out. This can also be placed in a bug-out bag.

Water purification tablets are also excellent for purification. and need to be in your bug-out bag as well. Some water purification tablets will leave a subtle difference in the taste of the water. This can be reduced or eliminated by adding some of your favorite powdered drink mix to the now purified water.

Use household bleach to purify clean-looking water. Chlorine is used in many municipal water supplies. While chlorine bleach will kill bacteria, it won’t make other chemicals that may be in the water safe to drink.

If you’re stuck and need to purify water for drinking you will need to put 1/4 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water. This is at a level of 5.25%-6% chlorine, If you are using bleach with a different concentration then you will have to adjust this.

Read the label to find the concentration level. Avoid bleach that has perfumes, colors, or other additives as these are just more chemicals and may not be safe to drink

Pools in your neighborhood could be used for bathing, but are not recommended for drinking, Swimming pools contain chlorine that kills bacteria and algae but you do not know how it was maintained.

Swimming pools also contain chemicals other than chlorine that can be time released. These may not be removed by filtering or boiling. This is in addition to what small children may have left in the pool.

How to How to Purify Water2

How to Purify Water and Water Storage

Water storage containers should be made of BPA-free, food-grade plastic. This means just filling any plastic container is not going to be safe to drink. Non-food grade containers should only be used to hold water for washing.

There are many commercially available containers for water long-term water storage. There are also one-time-use containers that can hold up to 100 gallons of water in a bathtub for up to 12 weeks.

In the end, it’s better to have both long-term water storage and a container to fill a bathtub if an emergency is seen coming. This way your family can prepare while your neighbors are at stores looking at empty shelves.

The majority of people are going to need a minimum of 1 gallon of purified water for drinking per day. This is only a minimum for drinking and additional water will be needed for cooking and cleaning. Keep your purified water for food preparation and drinking.

When you’re short on water, then you’ll have to bathe less frequently and need to try to conserve when you do. If you are caught unprepared or have to leave, then you will have to fall back on what’s in your bug-out bag. Try this system to filter water.

How to Purify Water5Water is essential to life. It exceeds the importance of food or even shelter. You could live weeks to a month or more without food, but only a few days without water, As a result, you have to be looking for places to find it, carry it, and ways to conserve it.

The bottled or purified water you have stored is unmatched. If you don’t have water stored, then rainwater is probably the next best to use.

 

Starting with a clean tarp you will have to direct the water to a container to obtain later.

Stretch a tarp tied on 3 sides and adjust the fourth side so that water flows into water storage containers.

 

Exhausted: The Reasons Behind My Constant Fatigue

So tired all the time? The question that arises is why I am feeling tired all the time. Although it is pretty normal to feel tired after a long day, a constant urge to drop into a bed or a cozy couch is an alarm that something is amiss with your health. This article discusses why you are always on a press to snooze mode or feel drained post-lunch and recommendations to avoid the situation.

tired all the timeWhy am I so Tired All the Time?

The day can affect a person’s physical and mental health. It also takes a dig at the quality of life. Usually, a good night’s sleep or a day off can work well to restore energy levels or eliminate extreme fatigue. But if they are not fixing the issue, something could keep up with your mental health, and should be concerned immediately. It is beneficial to seek help sooner than later if you are not sure about the cause of being tired all the time despite a good diet and enough rest.

Here are 13 key reasons why someone is so tired all the time and when to seek help:

Diet is the most critical pillar of a healthy lifestyle, and so is its importance in sustaining the body’s energy levels. Skipping the meals drops the required level of calories. Long breaks between the means lower the sugar level and make you tired. It is essential to take a healthy diet and high-energy snacks to keep your systems running smoothly. Another more important thing is never to skip an end-day meal going hungry to bed reduces sleep quality, leaving you tired on the day after.

Sedentary Lifestyle Physical activity improves energy levels; on the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle leaves you feeling exhausted and sleepy. In one study, researchers worked on how an inactive and sedentary lifestyle affects women’s fatigue levels. Seventy-three women participated in the study. Some woman was physically active quite well, while others were not physically active.

According to the study’s findings, physically active women had a significantly lower fatigue level than women living a sedentary life. This supports the notion that a healthy lifestyle is physically active, leading to more energy and vigor.

Vitamin Deficiency multivitamins Being tired all the time can be a sign of vitamin deficiency. It might occur because of low vitamin D levels, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, and potassium. A routine blood test is required to identify the deficiency. In case a person is vitamin deficient, the doctor may recommend taking supplements. The natural way to cope with the deficiency is to increase foods rich in multivitamins and other nutrients. For example, clams, beef, and liver may reverse a B-12 deficiency and reduce the constant tiredness and fatigue.Why I am so tired all the time?

Stress can deteriorate sleep quality and its duration. Also, the lack of sleep elevates stress levels. Therefore, it is essential to manage the mental burden and enable a better and sufficient rest, restoring your energy levels. Persistent stress keeps the body in a state of fight and flight, leaving you exhausted. Stress is also a trigger in worsening sleep disorders. It is advisable to avoid stressful events and off to bed in time for healthy sleep. Other ways to prevent stressful thoughts and remain calm are to practice meditation and build new achievable goals regularly.

Depression When you are suffering from depression, lack of energy and tiredness becomes a problem. Feeling tired tends to associate with physical issues, but mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and stress contribute to exhaustion and chronic fatigue. Consult your therapist for mental health treatment or counseling. Antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicine, and cognitive behavioral therapy can make a difference to alleviate the symptoms of depression. If you’re struggling to cope with depression, It can cause Irregularities in sleep and begin to impact your mental health, seek medical advice immediately.

Sleep Disorder can be an underlying cause of tiredness. If a person’s energy level doesn’t improve after weeks, or even improving lifestyle, speak with your doctor. You may need a sleep specialist. A sleep disorder such as sleep apnea or insomnia also affects a person’s cognitive, mental, and physical abilities. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing pauses while a person is asleep. As a result, the brain and body don’t receive enough oxygen during sleep leading to daytime fatigue.

Sleep Apnea is a complex medical condition that can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), decreased concentration, and even a stroke or heart attack. Sleep apnea treatment involves using a CPAP machine or an oral device to keep the upper airway open during sleep hours.

Burn-out If a person has a constant feeling of running on empty, one could be going through burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) now considers burn-out as a medical condition, defining the condition as a syndrome caused by chronic stress at the workplace. But how does it play a part in making someone feel tired all the time?

Scientific facts determine that a rest-activity rhythm is an essential requirement to perform well. Sleep is a prime pillar of human health which is mandatory for the body to perform well during working hours. If a person is becoming a workaholic and performing continuously without a sound sleep or downtime, which is required to restore the body’s ability to function OK- what comes next is physical and mental health deterioration. Therefore, sidestep burn-out and let more downtime invade your daily routine for relaxation.

Being Overweight Being overweight can also cause tiredness all the time. When body weight is more than the desired BMI, it becomes harder for the body to carry your weight during daily life, making you exhausted or feeling tired all the time. You can gradually improve your condition by working on a plan to gradually lose weight by adopting a healthy lifestyle like eating well and starting exercises like swimming, jogging, walking, and gradually increasing the workout.

Fibromyalgia Daily activities become a struggle for people who have fibromyalgia, causing muscle pain and tenderness. Fibromyalgia affects the muscles and soft tissues, but it causes pain that does not let you have a good sleep. The awakening of night and restless leg syndrome results in chronic tiredness throughout the day. An over-the-counter pain killer helps improve pain and sleep. Some people also find an antidepressant, physical therapy, and exercise helpful.

Why I am so tired all the time2Chronic Fatigue Syndrome A person can feel tired all the time without any significant health ailment because of chronic fatigue syndrome. It is a long-term illness with various symptoms such as extreme tiredness, insomnia, and even some patients may feel staying asleep for longer durations. Even longer sleep durations do not help to improve the feeling of tiredness. The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is unknown, and the diagnosis is only possible after ruling out the chances of all other health disorders by a health professional. Treatment of chronic fatigue is possible only by understanding your physical limitations, mild to moderate regular exercise, and circadian rhythm changes.

Medication Certain medications can make you drowsy and sleepy or make you feel tired all the time and complete everyday chores like driving or operating machinery challenges. On the other hand, some medications can cause insomnia, such as high blood pressure and asthma. Consult your doctor about any such medicine you are taking to find if any alternative or dose adjustment.

Diabetes If you are continually experiencing fatigue, thirst, frequent urination, and unexplained weight loss, get yourself tested for diabetes. Feeling tired all the time can be a symptom of diabetes. If a person has diabetes, the body doesn’t make enough insulin leading to high blood sugar and leaving you tired and irritable. Consult a doctor for any unexplained fatigue as it can be a symptom of other medical conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Under-Active Thyroid Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, occurs when the body doesn’t produce the required thyroid hormones. An under-active thyroid causes symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, and weight gain. Although with treatment, people with hypothyroidism can lead an everyday life.

Sleep ApneaPost-Viral Fatigue feeling tired all the time or for most of the day after recovering from an infection like flu and glandular fever, are the signs of post-viral fatigue syndrome. Symptoms include chronic tiredness, severe muscle pain, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, fever or chills, chest pain, and shortness of breath. It is common to feel tired after an illness, but if your symptoms are not alleviating for weeks or months and prevent you from leading an energized healthy man’s life-it’s better to seek medical advice. However, there is not enough research on post-viral fatigue, so it’s challenging to find treatment. The best way to improve the condition is by having self-care making you feel better gradually.

The takeaway, There is not a hard and fast rule that every other day is an easy day. A few days are meant to squeeze your energy and it’s quite understandable to feel tired at the end of such days. But being tired all the time is something that needs to be addressed by a health professional. You may have a health condition that required to be discussed with your health professional. Another thing to understand well cannot be attributed to physical health alone, sometimes what needs the most attention is your mental health.

Achieving True Satisfaction

Know Deep Fulfillment 

Several decades ago, I began studying goal setting as if my life depended on it. I was committed to learning anything and everything I could about how to set goals and “have it all”. I was certain that having it all would bring me a very deep level of happiness. My motivation was the fact that in my twenties I had reached a point where my greatest goal was to merely get through another day. With many of my childhood dreams shattered, my life consisted of going to a job I despised, being newly divorced and left with no apparent way to support myself, and living from day to day wondering if this was it.   

Know Deep Fulfillment

More than three decades ago, all I wanted to do was survive the harsh realities life had put in front of me. And survive I did. I barely got by each day, feeling like the world was against me and wondering why all the lucky breaks happened to others but not to me. I nurtured the belief about how tough life was and as a result, never got any breaks. So much in fact that I lost my assembly-line job with the inability to get another. I became more disillusioned with each passing day and felt stuck with no way out.

I found a book that changed my life forever – The Magic of Believing by Clyde Bristol. From the first page to the last, I was captivated by what I read. Written in 1948, the information is as powerful today as the day the book was written.

In essence, the author wrote that we create our reality by what we think and believe. Feeling as if I had found the holy grail of knowledge, I was fascinated that I had never heard this before. Or if I had heard it, I had never paid attention to it.

Amazingly, as I applied what I read, a few small things shifted. The shift was enough to encourage me to learn more about the power of thought.

Because I didn’t have any disposable income at that time, I found one of my favorite hangouts to be the local library. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on to do with changing the circumstances of my life. There was no shortage of information on setting goals, reaching achievement, accepting “believe and you will achieve” and other such topics. 

Know Deep Fulfillment 2

As much as I had no desire to do much of anything before the discovery of The Magic of Believing, I now had a thirst that no amount of reading, learning, or searching could quench. I was fascinated with what I heard about “What you can believe, you can achieve.”

Now my quest was to turn my life around and acquire whatever I wanted on a material level so that I would be fulfilled. Little did I realize the lessons life had in store. I would learn that fulfillment was not about acquisition but rather something completely different. You see, there were many times I acquired just what I thought would be the “golden ticket” to happiness. Although some things did bring me a sense of satisfaction, often it would be short-lived.

So, what was the answer? When would that deep sense of fulfillment be mine? Having placed so much emphasis on acquisitions, awards, and outward recognition (and having achieved a great deal) I wondered why there were times when, regardless of the outward trappings, a deep level of fulfillment would often evade me.

Over more than a 30-year journey of discovery, my experience and definition of fulfillment have morphed more than once from something superficial to something that words cannot begin to express. Something that one comes to “know” rather than define with words. Yet, words are often all there is to convey to another what the experience is.

Happiness and fulfillment had very little to do with what was manifested on the outside. There is no doubt whatsoever that happiness is an inside job. Granted, there are outward things that do invoke feelings of joy, but it is something that manifests from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. 

Know Deep Fulfillment 4

 

Ironically, when we are on a quest for the deepest level of fulfillment, life will give us exactly what we need. It may appear as if it has nothing to do with what we want, yet when we give ourselves permission to step back, observe all that has occurred, and recognize the gift in even the most difficult situations, we realize we have been given exactly what was needed to reach the deepest level of appreciation, fulfillment and joy life has to offer.

 

Yet, it takes more than simply knowing this. It takes surrender and willingness to allow life to unfold in such a way that we are allowed to become who we are meant to be. It takes a willingness to know that often we just don’t know all there is to know.

This is counterintuitive to much of what many people are selling as the “key to happiness.” How ironic is this? For years we can search for “the knowledge” only to discover the greatest knowledge is that we just don’t know all there is to know.

It is in surrendering to this fact we are in a position to know more. What happens is we become okay with letting go of the need to do, know, and be everything. We simply move in the space of being in concert with what is. We reach a place of showing up to the miracle of what each day has in store.

It has been said that a miracle is a shift in perception. It is in the ability to recognize the shift where the greatest miracle resides – the miracle of who we are meant to be.

Know Deep Fulfillment 4Make no mistake, there will be experiences in our day-to-day living that at times may seem more than we are equipped to handle. Yet, when we move in the space of appreciation for what is in front of us, life holds amazing miracles – miracles that no amount of money can buy; miracles that create the tapestry of our lives; miracles that take us to the deepest place of surrender that makes life have more depth than we ever dreamed possible; miracles that allow us to love in ways we never dreamed we would or could; miracles that allow us to become the person we are truly meant to be.

It is in the surrender to something beyond what we can see, feel or touch that all we had hoped for will manifest.

 

Seven Strategies for Smart Nutrition

7 steps of Savvy Nutrition, 14 tips of Balanced Body

Nutrition and body well-being from the inside out are overlooked in modern days. We focus on outer appearance and sometimes miss that treating the inner causes is by far more successful in the long run than treating the outer consequences.

During the past years, I became increasingly interested in holistic approaches and methods to improve mind, body, and spirit. Today I would like to share useful information I have come across and collected over time-related to body wellbeing. Please take what you need from this article. It’s an invitation to reflection and an encouragement to deeper research or even a visit to a nutritionist should you need and choose to do so.

Our blood tells us everything

7 steps of Savvy Nutrition Our body is a vehicle and representation of everything we eat, drink, ingest or absorb regardless of form. Whilst I am not by far in favor of extremes or dramatic life changes, some balance and moderation are always good when it comes to food, drinks, and other substances we expose to.

Through our digestive system, our blood is a health barometer and a representation of all meals and liquids that come into our body. A blood microscope analysis takes about 5 minutes and shows: how we function, the level of toxins collected in the body, the state of health for the red cells and the oxygen transportation (Wikipedia on Red cells), the existence of any bacteria, mushroom (yeast), level of fat and hydration, clogged cells due to toxicity.

How the body works

In chemistry, the PH scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution. The scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral and our blood ranging between 7.3-7.4 Everything above 7 and up to 14 is alkaline, and everything below 7 and down to 0 is acidic.

When the blood and body are too acidic, they create an unfavorable environment where illness, bacteria, and yeast thrive. Hormonal diseases, digestive and lymphatic problems, cancer, reduced oxygen intake, and fatigue are only some of the issues that may appear.

Scientifically it was not proven that an alkaline diet will remove these risks. Moreover, our bodies have strong regulatory systems that adapt to the environment and whatever food we choose in our diet. However, what is true, is that a more alkaline diet will ease the burden on your digestive system and your blood and body during the PH balancing process. When the PH is too acidic, the blood neutralizes it by extracting minerals from muscles or good alkaline food if ingested. Our mouth, digestive system, and mind (producing thoughts) are acidic, our muscles are alkaline. That is why, too much acidity results in low minerals (calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium) and overall weakened muscles and body.

The aim would be to have a diet that mirrors the normal PH of the blood. Unfortunately, our lives today make it difficult to easily access alkaline products. In simple terms, almost everything around us is acidic. Processed food, meat, dressings, alcohol, coffee, and cosmetics are acidic. The same goes for rumbling thoughts, overworking, stress, or usage of technology which produce acidity and bring blood PH below neutral.

So how can we Help our Body be Slightly Alkaline?  Savvy Nutrition

  1. Drink Alkaline Water! Water is vital to the correct functioning of the body, both from quantity and quality perspectives. The quantity depends on factors such as environment, health conditions, pregnancy in the case of ladies or exercising, and the intensity of physical effort. As with everything, a book can be written only on this. In a simplified version, a formula for the quantity (in liters) is your weight in kg times 0.4. For example, a weight of 60kg, requires an intake of 2.4 liters of water per day (60kg x 0.4).

Alcohol, coffee, or coffee-containing teas do not count and intake of water should increase proportionately. Soup and herbal tea are good and so is bottled water sold in shops if the label shows a PH level around 7. Tap water (where drinkable) is mostly alkaline. If not, adding lemon juice, and sodium carbonate or buying a machine that alkalizes automatically would do the job.

  1. Eat Greens! Almost all green vegetables are alkaline and good for digestion. Notice the difference in how you feel after eating veggies vs. eating meat or other processed food. Heavy meals induce a state of fatigue and burden as the system and blood are fully employed for digestion. On the other hand, vegetables make you feel light and energized, whilst in addition, they contain chlorophyll and help the production and transportation of oxygen into the cells
  2. Eat Proteins from Vegetables! Our bodies need Proteins, but good alkaline ones which exist in vegetables. Meat such as pork, lamb, or beef has a PH between 3 and 4, below the PH level of our blood. In exchange, some vegetables such as broccoli, beans, peas, lentils, sprouts, mushrooms, corn, spinach, or artichoke contain a good proportion of proteins and can be a good replacement for meat. In a simplified manner, the formula of ideal protein intake (in grams) is your weight in kg times 0.8 (For example if you weigh 60kg you should eat around 50 grams of protein per day). An ideal diet would include meat or fish only once a week, eggs maybe twice a week, and the rest of the necessary taken from the greens.
  3. Add good Fat to your meals! Fat is very important for the brain, and eyesight and they make you feel full. Fat is not necessarily meat or associated products. You can take your necessary dose of fat by adding alkaline ingredients to your food such as olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, or nuts and seeds that contain Omega-3s. Good fats (unsaturated) help reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Bad fats (saturated) are found normally in animal products and cooking oils. Coconut oil, butter, olive, and avocado oils are relatively good for cooking. However, seeds, nuts, and other vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, sesame, canola, etc. contain polyunsaturated fats which are unhealthy in the long run, especially for cooking.
  4. Eat natural Sugar! Added sugar contains no nutrients and is bad for the teeth, overloads the liver, can be addictive, and can cause illnesses like diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease. As with fats or carbs, sugar can also be categorized between ‘’good’’ and ‘’bad’’. Processed sugar or similar sweetener products are generally not recommended, including cakes, sweets, and commercially processed products containing sugar among ingredients. The best intake of sugar and energy comes from fruits and vegetables. Agave, stevia, and coconut sugar are also good replacements. You may also create cookies and desserts from alkaline products such as almond milk, coconut, and banana (PH around 9) (http://www.shape.com/latest-news-trends/good-sugar-vs-bad-sugar-become-more-sugar-savvy)
  5. Have your dose of rich Salt! Salt helps the body with minerals and balances the acidity. Processed salt contains limited amounts of minerals. Himalayan salt is a good modern option that contains 84 minerals. It has been preserved under ice and lava for millennia and kept free from pollution, so it’s a good source of healthy minerals.
  6. Limit Dairy products! Opinions differ quite a lot, but generally dairy is difficult for the digestive system, especially as we grow older and have fewer lactase enzymes (after the age of 4). Most of the world (depending on the ethnic group) is intolerant to dairy or highly allergic. In addition to different chemical substances that can end up in the milk such as pesticides or antibiotics (http://www.all-creatures.org/health/howmilkanddairy.html), cow’s milk contains much more protein than human milk. This creates acidity and employs the body to neutralize it. Because it’s an acidic source of calcium, our body will extract its calcium to balance it and in return weaken our bones.
Cheese is also not necessarily good and comes down to common sense. Besides the fact that it consists of milk, it may also contain mushrooms (like yeast) or other bacteria. Goat milk and cheese are a better replacement as their DNA is closer to the human one.

How to detox your body?  detox-your-body

In the body we have around 5-6 liters of blood (7% of the body weight) that transports nutrients and oxygen to the body, cleans the waste in our cells, fights disease, and moves hormones and chemicals. When our digestive system activates, it employs the blood for breaking food into vitamins, fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The more time the blood is employed for digestion, the less time and resources are available for the other functions of cleaning the body, transporting oxygen to the cells, and taking out the residuum and toxins.

Giving some break from eating can enable the blood to perform its other functions and improve health. For example, fasting has been in some traditions for ages. It’s a process of cleansing the body based only on liquid and no solid food. A simpler way to fast is once or twice a week between 8:00 pm to 12:00 am or between 12:00 am to 6:00 am. That translates into having eaten solid food for around 75% of the time and allowing your body to detoxify 25% of the time.

14 tips for a Balanced Body

  1. Size of the portion is one of the biggest problems of today’s modern world. Obesity, digestive problems, bad sleep, bloating, and fatigue can be caused by what you eat and more important by how much you eat. The ideal size of your portion is the size of your fist, which is how big your stomach is. Everything, in addition, stretches the stomach to accommodate the amount of food consumed. Except for green vegetables which contain water and shrink after chewing, most of the food maintains its original weight and size from the plate into your stomach. To help yourself, use smaller plates and utensils for eating, as well as non-transparent dishes which have been demonstrated to facilitate eating higher quantities of food
  2. Chew well! About 20-30 times for one bite. The more we chew, the more the food gets exposed to saliva and digestive enzymes. This facilitates digestive processes and avoids indigestion and bloating. Putting the fork down after having taken a bite, is a simple way to allow time to chew well and be present.
  3. Take Smaller bites! Taking little pieces and breaking down the food sufficiently is one of the most critical processes of the digestive system; overeating or eating in big pieces results in the food not being digested and transferred into the colon where they create a good environment for indigestion, flatulence and bacterial overgrowth.
  4. Don’t eat fast! Your meal should take about 30 minutes minimum. Eating fast allows one to put more food into the stomach and get ‘’stuffed’’ before realizing it. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register the chemicals from the food and tell you if you are full. Satiety is not a result of your stomach being full but rather of your brain acknowledging the chemicals. The level of chemicals increases 10 to 30 minutes after eating and decreases in the next 3-5 hours giving the sensation of hunger http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/stomach-full-stop-eating-3080.html
  5. Contrary to common knowledge, drinking water during eating is not recommended. The water dilutes the gastric acid and burdens the process of digestion. Water intake should be done 30-40 minutes before or after a meal.
  6. Stay present! You may have caught yourself wondering when did you eat all the ice cream or all the popcorn. When we are not fully focusing on one process, we easily end up not realizing what we do. Overeating or not chewing well is very common when we watch TV or engage in conversations. Keeping your levels of awareness high and putting all the concentration in one place, will relief your stomach and bring short and long-term benefits. Some soothing music may be a wonderful way of accompanying your meals without distraction.
  7. Eat-in healthy combinations: Proteins (meat, fish, eggs) go well with greens (vegetables), and greens go well with carbs (bread, pasta, rice, cereals). Proteins and carbs (starches and fruits) do not digest well at the same time and fruits ideally should be eaten alone. Allow a minimum of 2 hours between meals and around 3 hours in-between your last meal of the day and going to sleep
  8. Eat at regular hours. Your body remembers the time for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks and prepares its resources for these processes. In other words, some discipline and predictability to your lifestyle make it easier for the body to allocate resources and employ them for optimal functioning.
  9. Buy and eat seasonal fruits and freshly collected vegetables as they maintain best their vitamins and minerals; replace eating anything processed with everything from the garden. Don’t avoid garlic and onions as they are natural bacteria-killing and try replacing processed fat with coconut oil and Omega 3/6/9
  10. Treat your stomach! If you feel your digestive system needs some help you may want to talk to a doctor or nutritionist. Having a close look at what you eat may change your life for the better. Probiotics are also good helpers; they are good live bacteria that help the gut stay healthy and improve the digestive system. The impression is that bacteria is bad in general, but actually, our body is a home for good and bad bacteria and probiotics rebalance your intestine flora accordingly. http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/what-are-probiotics
  11. Brush / clean your tongue. During the night, our mouth accumulates all kinds of bad bacteria resulting from digestion. Before putting these bacteria back into your body, you may wish to use a brush or scraper device to clean your tongue (which can be found online or at the pharmacy). Rinsing your mouth afterward with coconut oil helps eliminate the acidity, cleans even better, and has a good taste and smell; for a continued good start, I would recommend drinking a glass of warm water and lemon juice that has a high alkaline PH
  12. Brush your body 10 minutes after waking up (a big natural brush that can be found in body shops). These will gently remove the dead cells eliminated during the night from your body and allow the skin to breathe better, regenerate and have an optimal release of toxins. Take a shower afterward.
  13. Exercise to increase your muscle mass and help the body become more alkaline. Practice love and a positive mindset as they are both alkaline as well 🙂
  14. In addition to daily movement, meditation as a routine is a great tool to manage the rumbling mind and balance overall wellbeing

blueberries-savvy-nutrition

 

 

Most of the things our bodies need can be made from natural products with no additives or chemicals. Even toothpaste can be done from mint, coconut oil, and soda with no aluminum; or sunscreen for example from carrot juice and coconut oil. It’s a matter of lifestyle and caring for yourself.

Always ask your body how it feels after ingesting different things and make observations on what works for you. If you have pain, feel tired, and have low energy after eating or drinking, then something is not working well for you, you may need to read, learn or observe more about it.

The more you practice the 7 steps of Savvy Nutrition, the more you look and feel way better! 7 steps-of-savvy-nutrition

 

Perfectly Paired: Exploring Chianti Food Combinations

Chianti Food Pairings

Italy is synonymous with good food and good wine. No matter what region you’re traveling in, you’ll find some of the finest cuisines and wines known to man and a local population who are passionate and knowledgeable about both. The delicate combinations that the food and drink can produce can truly be a revelation for visitors to the country. When paired, remarkable things can happen on your palate. 

Chianti Food Pairings

This dedication to sensuous pleasures is perhaps nowhere truer than in the region of Tuscany, and within that region nowhere outdoes Chianti. Chianti Food Pairings menus that incorporate the wines and food of Chianti can pretty much do no wrong!

 

 

What is a Chianti Food Pairing?

For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, chefs and sommeliers can work wonders with your taste buds by creating a combination menu that takes the finest reds, whites, and rosés and matches them with food that has just the right flavor combination to wow you. Chianti food pairings is likely to be perfect for those who enjoy the classic hearty flavors of Italy, as the wines of this region (for which they are named) go perfectly with these types of dishes. Below are some of the very best combinations of wine and foods that you can enjoy on a tour of the region.

Roast Meats Chianti Food Pairings

Roast meat, such as lamb, is a classic combination that you will see on many a Chianti food pairing menu, and it works. The wine can hold its own against the strong, punchy flavors of roast meat. Giving the meat a generous rubbing with spice and herbs works well as the wine of the region is so robust.

Lasagna

The red sauce of lasagna is perhaps the most widely known and appreciated pairing for the wine of this region. Chianti Classico, with its higher percentage of Sangiovese grapes, is the one to go for in nearly all cases, although the other versions are very nice in themselves. The carbohydrate-dense, rich sauce and heavy meats of this dish can make finding a wine to match quite tricky, but Classico, with its freshness and acidity, acts almost as a palate cleanser between bites – making each mouthful feel like the first. 

 

Chianti Food Pairings

Chicken Parmesan

The trouble with chicken parmesan can be that it sometimes just feels too much. It’s a rich mixture of breaded chicken, strong cheese, and deep red tomato sauce. The subtle flavor of the meat can easily be lost.

 

 

 

Thankfully, Chianti Classico does a great job of bringing out every flavor of the meal because of its acidity, so this dish will taste better than ever before.

11763 876231

 

For your next meal enjoy Chianti Food Pairings – and enjoy food !

May all your wishes come true. Happy holidays!

 

Generate a Steady Income

earn-good-moneyEarn good money and If you work remotely you can realize how to bring in cash with Fiverr, your income potential is limitless. With Fiverr, you can travel anyplace on the planet with your abilities, and obviously, you can get paid for it.

Regardless of your figure, Fiverr can be your remote work stop, make more than $5 per work. A few consultants charge hundreds or even a huge number of dollars.

In this way, as should be obvious, Fiverr’s $5 notoriety was fortunately lost. Pay attention to the assessments of computerized wanderers, explorers, and occupation searchers.

Fiverr is an extraordinary method to utilize your abilities and make additional money. So, we should borrow something more profound and discover how to bring in cash on Fiverr.

In this article, I will show you what how to earn good money at the place where to begin, and what kinds of occupations are accessible on Fiverr, including the best generally beneficial and well-known positions to earn good money on Fiverr.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a popular online freelance marketplace for all types of services. From graphic design to voiceover work, Fiverr has you covered. You can now also offer your skills as a video editor or web developer on the site.

With over 3 million gigs listed and more than half available for $5, this platform offers some great opportunities for freelancers looking to make money and build their portfolios at the same time.

Let’s take a look at some high-paying gigs on Fiverr that you may be interested in getting started with today! Fiverr, to put it is an online commercial center that offers a wide scope of administrations, errands, and smaller-than-normal positions.

The site contains a large number of occupations for every ability type. Regardless of whether you are an originator, web engineer, legal counselor, or performer, Fiverr can address your issues. work-anywhere-earn-good-money

The administrations offered on Fiverr are designated “shows,” and a large number of them start at as low as $5 per individual, which is the name of the organization. Nonetheless, this is just the essential compensation. You pay similar expenses as other building locales.

By straightforwardly associating salesmen with specialists, Fiverr has formed into one of the biggest online assistance trade destinations.

Its ubiquity in the business makes it a mainstream approach to bring in cash while voyaging, low maintenance, and surprisingly busy working.

As I said, Fiverr has practically a wide range of abilities and gifts for work. There are in reality more than 200 different occupation classes on the site! These are only the absolute most ideal approaches to bringing in cash with Fiverr.

Best Freelance High Paying Gigs on Fiverr

Web Developer $100-$2,000 /Gig  vaca-work-earn-good-money

Web development and advancement can be supposed to be one of the most generously compensated high-paying gigs on Fiverr. If you can make every one of the three, you can get more cash flow.

Particularly online business web development is of incredible interest. Purchasers are particularly searching for merchants who can utilize platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, and Shopify.

Graphic Design $10–1,000 /Gig earn-good-money2

There is no shortage of affordable graphic pricing plans on Fiverr. Whether you have practical experience in planning T-shirts, logos, or business cards, there should be no problem tracking your graphic layout work on Fiverr.

Video Marketing $100-10,000 /Gig

Call all hungry bosses! Video marketing is one of the most profitable channels in Fiverr’s diversified work. Interest in this management has increased by more than 100% in recent years, making it a useful alternative for those with video experience.

Alternatives are video preparation, short film events, and promotional activities. In addition, there is an important market for companies trying to become their social media sites. You can find jobs looking for YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook Video Managers.

Social Media Marketing $50–$2,000 /Gig

Interest in important social media marketing is growing. Based on your experience, you can make a lot of money by providing your knowledge to growing companies.

Buyers look for everything, from creating and promoting advertising campaigns to technology and large-scale research. Sometimes, they can also ask someone to manage their social media profile for their benefit.

Virtual Assistant $5-$100 /Gig

As a virtual assistant, you can work anywhere in the world! Assistant is a valuable option. It’s one of the high-paying gigs on Fiverr

Fiverr has a seemingly endless number of virtual assistant positions. Trends include notification areas, patch settings, and cold starts.

Copywriting $50-$2000 /Gig  earn-good-money-now

To win at Fiverr, you don’t have to be a technical genius! There are many composing works, especially in writing. For example, we found that it is possible to verify the posts of journalists, bloggers, and even eBook authors.

Translation Service $100–$1,000 /Gig

If you can communicate in multiple languages, you can certainly make extra money by transcribing recordings for others. The organization looks forward to multilingual providers that can decrypt various files and projects.

Similarly, you can find buyers who want to learn different dialects on Fiverr. If you have a teaching tolerance, you can use these language skills effectively. Many active students are willing to pay for private language coaches.

Keep in Mind

In a nutshell, Fiverr is an online marketplace where you can sell your skills for $5. It’s a great way to make some extra cash while getting the experience needed to land high-paying gigs. I have used this site to get work done for years. 

There are all kinds of services on Fiverr and they’re rated based on quality, price, and turnaround time so it’s easy to find what you need at a reasonable price.

Whether it be graphic design or writing content, someone in their community can help you out!work-anywhere-earn=good-money

Home Automation: The Smart Way to Live

smart-technology

Let’s talk about smart technology. Do you fall into the category of those homeowners who always keep on worrying about whether they have forgotten to lock their doors? If yes, then you need to get over your traditional locks. Locks have great importance as they are part of your house security and people keep on checking whether they have locked their doors to ensure home security. It adds additional stress to your life if you worry about your home safety and locks.

Therefore, most homeowners have switched to smart technology to control their house locks and devices whenever they want. Smart technology helps you monitor with additional security, which gives you peace of mind. In the modern era, locks got smart to reduce unnecessary stress and make our lives safer.

Following are the benefits of having a smart lock:

Appealing

Smart locks are not restricted to the simple turn of a lever or key, which helps us sleep soundly at night. Such locks go the extra mile to keep out intruders. They are more appealing than the classic key lock and are widely used by people located in high crime high-crime places and homeowners and guesthouse owners who stay away due to their business. You need to upgrade your lock to add more convenience and security.

Portable 

Smart locks are portable as they are managed and controlled with the help of your smartphone. So, you can take your locks anywhere you want. You can view the status of your lock if you have data or Wi-Fi connectivity. You can easily control your locks just by tapping your screen.

Connected  Devices 

A smart device is a device that is either electric powered or enabled by Wi-Fi. Smart locks are connected to networks that have private access. They are connected to the internet of things (IoT).

No Need for Keys 

Smart locks eliminate the need to carry keys everywhere. This helps you to go smart and avoid misplacing keys again and again. In this way, you save a lot of time and effort.

Can be controlled 24/7  smart-technology

You can control your locks using your smartphone, so you don’t have to worry about who will enter your home in your absence throughout the day. You don’t have to worry about getting confused about whether you’ve locked your back door or not. You will always control your locks when you control your locks through the app.

Tightened Security

Homeowners can easily verify who comes at their door when their locks become a part of a smart security network. Smart locks enable tightened security as you can let your visitor come in and out by controlling the locks. You will not worry about an open door that makes you the victim of a break-in.

Ample Options for Locking and Unlocking your propertysafe for the family

When your tenant, guest, or house cleaner isn’t tech-savvy but knows how to handle smart technology it makes it easy on them, or, then you can open and secure your lock with the help of a smart deadbolt combined with the traditional locking method. You can use a keypad smart lock instead of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for storing the passcode on the locking device.

It’s high time you don’t waste time buying analog locks and buy smart locks in their place. It becomes an important part of the smart home security package, adding more convenience and security to your house. Smart locks are a relief as they activate the locking mechanism if you forget to lock the door yourself. You can download the app on your smartphone or mobile device to integrate such locks into your home security system.

 

BE PROACTIVE. DONT BE A VICTIM.

 

The Beginner’s Guide to Cooking

Cooking Basics is a fun basic cooking guide to nutrition from a lover of making do with what you´ve got. This is for Evan and his new wife Rachel that cannot even boil water.  rachel-cooking-food

Just watching those long-winded and artificial cooking sessions on the screen is enough to make me wonder just how much simple food can take before it turns into deadwood. However delicious it may look (and it seems that that is all it turns out to be) it is hardly likely to be anything other than a stomach teaser, devoid of palate appeal. Not always, of course, but these chefs are often more like theatrical performers than genuine lovers of the art.

In any case, cooking basic for first-timers is not capable and able to remember all those ingredients, if they even managed to find them, let alone produce nutritious dishes guaranteed to take care of most of their daily vitamin and mineral needs. After years of experimenting (often out of curiosity) with foodstuff that made me feel good the next day (and others not so well), I scoured my mind honestly and decisively for those things over the years that I felt we should all be eating without turning ourselves into rabbits or vampires.

By watching some householders cook (and mainly friends), I began to get a clear picture of what was missing most of the time. The food was bland or overcooked and the ketchup manufacturers rely on them for a living I suppose. It made me remember Mr. Coleman´s oft-repeated phrase, our profit is in the mess left on the plate. He was referring to his mustard which spread liberally over everything to ensure that most were left behind along with whatever it touched – a clear sign of eye over stomach or appetite over palatability.

Time and a desperate need to get it all done quickly and make sure that any hungry bunch would devour it whether or not it was what it should be. That unfortunately is the fate of hamburgers and Pizza eaters. Although both are decorative are very filling (which is why it all sells so well) and tasty, if done properly with quality products, stuffing it all in with the chips and bread that usually follows is hardly the way to keep the stomach in place and unharmed for well after digestion has taken place. I believe in all that – tasty, nutritious, health-protecting as well as appealing to the eye and nose. Think about these four aims in simple cooking. You will not do it properly for some time, but whatever comes out with my easy step-by-step system will fulfill most of what is required. It’s all good commonsense.

Here they are:

  • Good food for the body to use efficiently with well-recorded nutritional values.
  • Sensible cooking methods – to avoid damaging these delicate products of nature which evolved as we did from very basic cellular organisms and which provide us with the regeneration fuel that keeps us alive and well.
  • Essential variety across a wide field of nutritional needs and on the same plate
  • Taste and presentation stimulate the appetite and get those salivary glands working to do their job well. Remember that digestion starts with the teeth and mouth where the first acids start releasing the nutrients and preparing the food for secondary and more efficient digestion in the stomach. Chewing is pleasant and it also does an essential job. Things that do not need chewing are by nature much easier to absorb and digest in the stomach.

 

SIMPLE RULES…spices-for-cooking

DON’T BURN OR OVERCOOK YOUR FOOD IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES IN. This applies to frying mainly, whether deep (totally submersed like we do for chips and use a fryer for) or partly like stir fry or almost no oil at all against the hot plate or semi-dry, pan-frying.

Leave all that fancy red hot sizzling to the professionals and if you want to get some color on your meat dishes particularly, do it less destructively. Browning can be achieved at much lower temperatures than people would assume – just a question of time.

If frying, therefore, do it gently and get the right type of oil. Olive oil for example is useless for frying at high temperatures and contains plenty of olive sediments which burn and give it and your food a bad taste. Vegetable oil is much better – but again, keep temperatures down when cooking anything if you want it to end up the way you see it in your mind’s eye and not something that looks alright when piping hot and hard and unappetizing when it cools.

Cold food should be just as appetizing as hot. Warm is the way to eat most things and how they should be served. If it does not taste good, then you went wrong somewhere – usually, an overdose of add-ons like salt, pepper, chili, herbs, etc. Keep these to a minimum since they usually have strong tastes –for example, basil which sweetens, oregano which can cause wind, and curcumin which can taste bitter, not to mention bay leaf which taste can take all the others with it. How to combine these herbs to produce a good result is a matter of experiment and perhaps asking mum which her favorite ones will produce a safe ground to work with.

FOR A START

REMEMBER – KEEP YOUR FRYING TEMPERATURES ON MEDIUM AND ONLY USE HIGH FLAMES IF YOU WANT TO GET TO BOILING TEMPERATURES ON WATERY LIQUIDS QUICKLY. EVEN THEN, ONCE ACHIEVED, CUT IT DOWN AND SIMMER GENTLY FOR BEST RESULTS OVER A SLIGHTLY LONGER PERIOD. NEVER LEAVE YOUR COOKING ON ITS OWN UNLESS IT IS IN A VERY LOW-TEMPERATURE SETTING WHICH GIVES IT TIME TO BOIL OR FRY DOWN TO NOTHING WITHOUT HAVING TO FORCE YOU TO RUN BACK WITH FLAMES A METRE HIGH AND EVERYBODY AROUND GASPING FOR AIR. KEEP IT SIMPLE, TASTY, AND ATTRACTIVE.

cooking-for-dummiesThe art of cooking is knowing just how long anything takes to reach its best cooking point and combining all the necessary ingredients for healthy living and stimulation to the eye. Loaded plates are unnecessary with more neatly stashed in a covered tureen on the side for second helpings. Little contact with anything else inside this useful container is not only hygienic when covered, but it can be put away in the fridge easily. Make a note of reactions from those you feed, good and bad – and learn from them without sulking and swearing you will never cook for them again. Most people know what is just what they wanted or what can be put aside for another more tolerant day.

Cooking with various ingredients is simply a question of understanding that some things take longer to cook to tenderize, and putting it all in at the same time is alright for some things but not for all. Some things are just right and others are tough or not quite right. If this happens and just when you thought it was ready, the best thing is to take the switch off or bring the heat down to almost zero – remove the cooked bits like the meat, for example, and some of the vegetables and pluck and put on a side plate what is ready. Use a slotted spoon so you don’t take the liquid out at the same time. Or it could be that all seems to be well cooked except the meat so just pull the meat out and continue simmering with some of the liquid from the main casserole until tender. You can put it all back together when they are ready and just give it a few more minutes of broiling to blend it all back again. Always, if the mind blanks over the next step or is forgetful and goes off somewhere else for an instant, don´t risk it and switch it off. Nothing will go hard again now will it spoil except it is something that could go stodgy, like rice. Never leave rice. Always stand by the pan from start to finish adding a bit of water or soup as it boils away gently.

Overcooking often happens with some potato, vegetable, and meat dishes where the meat has not softened enough and the rest, particularly the potato appears to want to disappear into the sauce. Always put aside (for separate further cooking) the easier ones to remove. It is better to remove the bigger tighter chunky things, like the meat or larger vegetables, and do them separately if they are not done but only if the rest of the vegetables are already well done.

REMEMBER TO USE YOUR FORK ON ANYTHING YOU ARE SIMMERING TO FIND OUT WHAT IS DONE AND WHAT IS NOT. HOWEVER, SIMPLE PLANNING, LIKE ADDING THE THINGS THAT TAKE LESS TIME TO COOK AT A LATER TIME IN THE GAME OFTEN SOLVES THE PROBLEM AND COMES WITH PRACTICE. IF THE MEAT REMAINS TOUGH AND YOU HAVE OVERDONE THE REST, IT DOES NOT MATTER. YOU MAY HAVE LOST SOME OF THE NUTRIENTS BUT NOTHING IS STOPPING YOU FROM TAKING SOME OF THE RICH LIQUID, ADDING SOME WATER AND OR A BIT OF WINE, AND BOILING UP SOME COLOURFUL VEGETABLE, LIKE BROCCOLI WHICH DOES NOT TAKE LONG.

You can then put it back into the casserole just before serving or simply ladle the casseroled meat with plenty of sauce into the plate and put your newly cooked broccoli on the side with creamed potatoes or saffron-rice to make up a delightful, no holds barred, and piece of culinary provocation.

COOKING FOR THE HOUSEHOLD

The cooking mystique fostered by professionals is often no more than an attempt at creating their social images. Much of the stuff produced and presented as delicacies are often less appetizing than a simple country dish born of a natural sense of balance and genuine appreciation of flavor – the right thing for the moment. The type of weather and time of year often prompts visions, when hungry, of what would make your mouth water and your stomach rumble. Most national dishes are the result of the ingenuity of their ancient peasants who made do with what was there and often flavored to hide taste and or make it more palatable. Most live on that sort of cooking and much is simple to put together. As cooking methods evolved and technology came to the rescue, much, like slow cooking over embers was forgotten. In the absence of money to buy meat, a great substitute was spent on greens and dairy products. Whatever meat was available was often utilized to make air-dried sausages with a variety of spices and a whole world of different names, like Salami, Chorizo, Longaniza, Blood Sausage, etc.Cooking Basic for Dummies

These were sold to those who could afford them and in turn, provide for the mainly vegetarian dishes that were prevalent in the villages. The meat, (and not every day), consisted of bits and pieces of those dried or salted leftovers from the sausage-making for those imaginative people huddled over a fire or eating out in the patios, these salted bits and pieces were left in the water to dissolve the salt for however many times it took and then put in with the stews.

Cheaper cuts of animal meat are impossible to fry tender, succumb to slow cooking, and are full of flavor.

Rice dishes were also part of the staple diets cooked with cheap garden vegetables not worth selling and bits and pieces of these sausage meats, like chorizo and to provide the taste. The treatment and subtle taste however were enough to get everyone eating these stodgy starches with gusto.

A bit more from the crusty daily bread bake helped keep the hunger pangs away. There is a protein in rice and bread of course otherwise, it would not work. As for modern nutritional suggestions, most of these dishes today would be frowned upon as staple diets and like chocolate, however sumptuous, left for the odd spree or two. Modern cooking can have all the best aspects of these dishes whilst leaning on good quality nutrients to do the rest. 

Anyone can learn the rudiments of cooking overnight. From a simple start, great dishes can be put together, but what matters is being able to combine ingredients on a plate that are healthy, attractive, and succulent. It is just common sense if you think about it without panicking and is always ready to switch off and rethink if you are bent on creating a masterwork.  cooking-for-dummies-First-timers

The two basic ways of making a good start

Gentle frying of the base elements, adding water, bringing to a boil, lowering to simmer, and adding the bits and pieces (according to how long they take to soften), is all it takes to make a meat casserole.

Alternatively, bring base elements together in boiling water – left to simmer with all the extras (put in at different times) to produce either a soup or a stew. Both produce some very good results.

Both tastes differently and both can provide meat and sauce served elegantly with accompanying separately cooked vegetables and chips, rice, or creamed potatoes which I assume, need little to explain about. Getting on with it…

Get a clean, nonstick pan, preferably not aluminum given the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s scare. Add about an egg cup of any oil to start with remembering that olive oil burns at high temperatures and kills the flavor of any ingredient when it does. Remember, therefore, that it is best to work with middle temperatures even if it takes longer.

Now…

Cut the three most widely utilized ingredients for a base concentration Onions, Garlic, Red and or Green Peppers, Tomatoes, and a couple of Bay Leaves. You can skip the tomatoes if you want a different color sauce and remember – very little bay leaf because it can dominate your overall flavor. Cut up however much you want of these but say, a handful of each, and whilst tossing It all around with a wooden spoon, let them fry gently until they are limp and tender and the onion goes golden around the edges. You can do them well (or slightly under so that they show through the sauce or finished dish for color). For a casserole with a rich thick sauce, what matters is that the base materials eventually blend with everything, and most of the water you will add has boiled off whilst cooking the vegetables and or meats. Once the base is ready, take it off the fire and think of your next step.

Instead of Onions, you can use any variety of the family, like Shallots, and Purple Onions. For Peppers, you mix the different varieties if you intend to see them through, say rice, for color or stick to green which stands on its own concerning its particular stronger taste. You will see that you could try different fry-ups for base every day and arrive at entirely different dishes be they meat, completely vegetarian, or fish.

Later on, when you have mastered your stews and your casseroles, you can go mad on soups and learn how to buy for one dish and be able to use the remainder for a variety of others in the following days. 

The next stage …

Remember we have created a base to provide an overall taste that will blend with the meat or fish. It is essential to understand that like ketchup, a strong sauce can drown anything in it and what you would taste would be that and no more. Thinking carefully about what goes with what is important until you arrive at your variety of dishes without having to think about planning at all. Meats take time to tenderize and if required can befriend gently in a separate pan with a small amount of oil or fried in with the base you have just prepared, bearing in mind that it will all then go underwater, brought to a boil and liquid gradually boiled off to make it all rest finally in a nice thick, tasty sauce. Dash Safe Slice Mandoline Slicer

When the meat and the base are done separately you have control of just how limp or disintegrated you want your base to remain throughout the cooking period. However, you can put your meats and base material together and fry them all gently together, and remove your meats partly cooked with a fork so that the base material remains identifiable. One tip concerning garlic and the likelihood of someone not wanting to go anywhere near them is to fry the cloves whole in their skins and then remove them when it gets near to serving. You can always have them to yourself as part of another dish any day after that or blend it in with something like a spread on toast.

When the base and meats are ready you can do a few things, but there are two basics. You can sauté some fresh with stewed tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers are near ready to give a strong red sauce, or you can simply put in a few things like curcumin which is supposed to be a powerful health aid and which makes it all a golden yellow. Both bases can be utilized to make a casserole in which you can put chunky or whole small potatoes and in which you can put some colorful and tasty peas or broccoli (also a much-revered vegetable) and or sliced or button carrots. You can experiment with different results any day and still enjoy the results.

You are staring at your lovely base with added fried tomatoes or on the yellow with a bit of curcumin for looks and taste. You can add as much as you like but be careful with condiments because you can go too far and make it too rich whilst destroying the joy of savoring all the different tastes that blend skillfully in the mouth.

Your meats, base, and added vegetables are now all together in a casserole and begging for water. Put in as much as you like especially if you were thinking of stealing some of the liquid after it has all been brought to a boil and then to half or less heat. It is important if you are going to create a masterful soup on the side which does not taste the same as the main dish, to make sure it has simmered for a while and the meat in particular is getting to the stage where you can easily penetrate it with a knife or fork.

If you are thinking of doing this, you can increase the quantity of the base materials so that when you take off half the liquid, you still have the fairly thickest sauce to get on with for the casserole. If you put in potatoes, peas carrots, and or Broccoli it will thicken of its own accord as you reduce it gently on a slow fire. You could have even put a bit of the base aside before putting the water in case you go over the top with the cooking time and you want those lovely pepper cuts and onion bits to stand out against the potatoes etc.

You simply add it at the end and you will achieve your colorful results. Now you have a meat and vegetable stew or casserole to make any earthenware plate to look the part and into which you can dip some very appreciative crusty farm bread or better still, whole-meal or dark rye for plenty of the fiber the body always needs.

cooking-for-first-timersRemember, there is no way you are going to make it all taste good and use your intelligence if you rush it. If in doubt, remove it from heat and work it out. That base is going to turn into a sauce and the ingredients will probably dissolve in it which is normal, but you must make sure that your meat and your vegetables are tender.

You can always, if you like, boil your meats gently and separately before you put them into the fry-up base. Many people prefer the soft juicy boiled meats which also absorb and allow the blending of the base sauce instead of simmering for longer periods in it to achieve a slightly different result.

 

 

Lesson to be learned…there are many ways of doing the same thing but all are different in one way or another. Cook separately and then finish them off together or cook together and add them at different times. It needs little or no experience to understand what is going on but always with gentle heat on your side. Make sure it all looks and tastes right.

You now hopefully have a nice chicken or meat casserole (try dark turkey chunks one day) and even after having tapped plenty of the watering sauce with a scoopful of vegetables, put it in the blender and watch it turn into a thick delicious soup. It can be brownie red or yellow depending on whether you put tomatoes or curcumin in the base sauce originally.

If you put potatoes in your potatoes in the casserole and are already too well done to allow for more cooking, – simply get some standard breadcrumbs packs (usually flavored with garlic and parsley) and put in as much as you need to thicken the sauce. You can also scoop out one or two whole potatoes or chunks mash them and place them into the mix. It will all thicken as it cools.

You can eat a large portion of this quite easily and if you do not want to be tempted to play piggy, serve less with some fresh pasta or simple boiled rice.

I did not mention salt in all this, simply because if you as much as put it too much you kill it all. A very small amount while cooking to bring out the flavors is fine, but you can season to taste at the end of it all.

And now for that soup…

Cooking my soup tastes like my main course, but it is perhaps not advisable to do it like that. You have a bowl full of tasty very reddish or brownish watery sauce which you drained off the casserole at an early stage of the game. Now you can do what you like with it. It will have some meat flavor but you can still make wonders with it. You can change the color and the taste simply by adding different things to it.

If the main casserole is chicken or turkey, then perhaps a bit of a fishy soup could be interesting. All you have to do is get a few chunks of fish or prawns with their skin on and boil them thoroughly in the soup with a couple of potatoes so that you can mash them in to give it all a bit of body. If you have not put celery or broccoli in your main course, you can boil it all into the soup and when tender, pass it through the blender.

I often throw in half a cupful of plain cooked chickpeas you will find in any supermarket which will then give your soup a new golden look and a very definite elegant taste. You could even sprinkle a bit of Oregon and some grated cheese on top, but if you put the prawns in forget the cheese.

cookingRemember that the base liquid already has enough flavor so the odd pinch of one thing or another should not be bad. More healthy recipes here.

 

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Flowering Teas

flowering-teas

Flowering Teas

 

Flowering Teas, as the name suggests, the type of drink is made of a mixture of edible flowers and tea leaves. The mixture is not processed instead, they are tied together and used in making tea when dry.

This type of flowering tea is quite enjoyable to drink since it is made of sweet-smelling flowers which are also edible.

In the recent past, the Chinese country is the country where tea was introduced and as of now, most people have started using it as it is easily made and less costly. According to doctors, this type of drink is healthier as compared to others because it is more natural.

FLOWERING TEAS all around this world, there are a lot of things that come up each particular day due to research. Innovations, as well as inventions, have taken up most of people`s the time when people are trying to come up with new things. Although some of the past inventions seem to be accidental in a way as some people say since their origin cannot or may not be clearly defined. China is one of the countries where most of its people have dedicated their time and effort to research and development.

It is this country that is believed to be the origin of tea drinking a long time ago. It is for this reason that there are many types of flowering teas in that country ranging from black to white tea. Chinese flower tea is another type of tea that is mostly used in China and has lately spread throughout the world. flowering-teas-pegusas

This is a unique type of Flowering tea that is naturally made from dried leaves and dried flowers by wrapping them together. It has been positively commented on by many people about its taste and other benefits. Although China has many types of meals and drinks there is not one that is more beautiful than this flower tea drink.

The blooming tea is simply made from tea leaves and certain flowers which are mostly found in Yunnan Province in China. The tea leaves and flowers are bound together to form a bulb which is then dried up. As it is drying up the tea seems to be steeping. While steeping, a blooming effect is seen from the flowers producing an aroma where the tea starts to unfold forming a bulb. According to the experts as it is blooming the tea leaves are the ones to bloom first then the flowers follow as the centerpiece.

The flowers that are used to make this type of tea are sourced from Yunnan Province which is a mountainous place. The place is suitable for the production of flowers such as hibiscus and chrysanthemums which are used in making Chinese flower tea. The flowers mentioned are just but a few since there are varieties of them that are acquired cheaply in the Southwestern part of China due to the reliable climate in the place. Many people have started using blooming tea hence gaining popularity over the recent years due to its features. flowering-teas-from-pegusas

It is either bright in color or light green. The teas have a pleasant fragrance and sweet taste and hence have attracted many people. While brewing, one of the preparation methods, produces a sweet smell and attractive color. The users of this tea say that while using it one not only enjoys the sweet taste but also can feel the sense of beauty. Although people are saying that its preparation is easy, the experts warn people to be careful when brewing this type of tea. They warn against choosing the wrong type of container that will be used to brew.  Flowering Teas

The functionality of the Flowering Teas works best as any other herbal product. It is majorly known for its vital health benefits associated with no or minimal side effects. This kind of tea is found in different varieties with different methods of making them. In this type dried flowers are used in place of the normal tea leaves. Under some methods, dried tea leaves are used with dried flowers to provide a pleasant fragrance as well as some health benefits that come along with its usage. The tea can be made from the roots, stems, flowers, and leaves of the herbal plant used.

Chinese teas cannot be generally said to be popular in the whole country, especially in the western part but it is more popular in Yunnan. The surety about the inventor of Chinese tea remains suspended in the minds of many since none knows exactly who came up with it.

Many people have come up with different theories about the origin of this tea. Some propose that it was an accidental invention by someone who was trying to prepare some tea while others think that it was a modern creation or among the older inventions in China. Proposals about the origin vary depending on the person’s research and thinking since there is no single book or historical record about the origin of the Chinese tea.

The fact remains and will remain that the origin, how it came into existence and the founder is unknown.

The Chinese health professionals have confirmed that the blooming tea is healthy and safe to use. It contains many health benefits since it is naturally made. Since it is made from a mixture of bundled flowers and tea leaves it has a lot of benefits for the body. The dried flowers that are made are important in the body in different ways.

Among the many benefits is that it helps in fighting cancer. When used for a long time its effects on the body become anti-cancerous hence helping in preventing cancer. It is important also for cleaning the blood in the body as well as boosting blood circulation. It as well smoothens or beautifies the skin and prevents it from diseases.flowering-teas

It, however, contains antioxidants that clean the body by eliminating toxins from the body. It also treats coughing by moistening the lungs and removing mucus from the body as well as smoothening the nerves. The tea also removes heat from the body as well as removes inflammations. It as well helps in digestion as well as boosting metabolism.

 

How to Brew Blooming Tea

Blooming tea is a visually enticing experience. Hand-rolled, tea leaves are bundled up together with various flowers into many different shapes. Not only is blooming tea easy to prepare, but its dancing leaves will also draw the center of attention at any summer party.

Ingredients:

  • One flowering tea ball
  • Filtered water
  • Medium to a large see-through teapot

Directions:

Bring the filtered water to an almost boil (about 170 degrees). Pour the hot water into the clear teapot containing the blooming tea ball. Watch the tea ball unravel into a flowery design. Steep for at least 15 minutes. Pour liquid into a teacup and drink. Add sweetener if desired.

Flowering Teas

Blooming tea is typically made of Silver Needle White Teas. A silver needle can be steeped for a longer period than green or black for added flavor without tasting bitter. However, once steeped to desired taste, remove the liquid from bloom for later use. In addition, fruit preserves are highly recommended as sweeteners rather than sugar. These can be purchased at your local ethnic grocery store. Some great combinations are rose petal preserves or date preserves.

So, sit down, read a book and relax with a hot cup of flowering teas.

flowering-teas

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The Keto Diet: A Comprehensive Guide to Weight Loss…

The Keto Diet, when you hear about the keto diet, the first thing you perhaps think of is what could make it as good as people say. The answer is, that there are enough benefits to change your life.

What exactly is a ketogenic diet?

The keto diet recommends an intake of low carbs, moderate protein, and high fat. The idea is to fine-tune nutritional intake to send the body into a metabolic state known as ketosis.  The Keto Diet

The body enters a state of ketosis when it no longer has stores of glycogen sugar to fuel its energy needs. With sugar out of the way, the body has no choice but to tap its stores of fat to get by. The liver converts fat reserves into ketones to present to the body as an energy source. This is why the keto program is a good way to lose fat.

Unlike other diets that offer practitioners a weight loss benefit and little else, the keto diet comes with several benefits.

Weight loss

Without a doubt, weight loss is the primary goal of the keto diet. It works because it makes the body look to its fat reserves to power its metabolism. It can be interesting to go deeper into the process, however.

the-keto-dietWhen the body is deprived of carbs, it enters a state of ketosis. Blood sugar and insulin levels fall when that happens. As the body taps the energy in fat cells, they release considerable quantities of water, making for some great weight loss. The fat cells are then able to enter the bloodstream and make their way to the liver, where they are turned into ketones for energy processing. As long as your diet allows you to stay in a caloric deficit, you get to enjoy the weight loss benefits of the keto diet.

It takes the edge off your appetite

When your diet isn’t heavy on carbs, you’ll find that you don’t crave as much food as before. Many people who get on the keto diet can fast most of the day and only eat at mealtimes. They are simply not as hungry as before.

Improved ability to focus

When you choose a regular diet that puts carbs into the body, your brain has to deal with the rise and fall in sugar levels that happen as a result. Inconsistent energy levels can make it hard for the brain to focus. With the keto diet, however, the energy source is constant and consistent. The brain is better able to stay focused.

You feel more energetic keto-is-good

When you are on a regular diet, your body is always on the verge of running out of energy. You need to constantly eat and refuel. With a keto diet, however, the body taps its fat reserves, a nearly unending energy source. The body, then, can maintain constant energy levels throughout the day. The result is, that you end up feeling a lot more energetic.

It helps you fight diabetes

When you suffer from Type II Diabetes, your body experiences high levels of insulin. Since the keto diet takes excess sugar from your diet, it helps stabilize HbA1c counts and reverse Type II diabetes.

You get improved levels of good cholesterol

HDL cholesterol helps get rid of the body’s bad cholesterol reserves. When you’re on keto, your body’s triglyceride levels fall and your HDL cholesterol levels rise.

You get better blood pressure  keto-breakfast

When you’re on the keto diet, it drops your blood pressure. Many people on the keto diet find that they can stop taking blood pressure medicine altogether.

The keto diet can change a person’s life. It isn’t a difficult diet to get on, either. There are plenty of great recipes for the keto diet. All it takes is the willingness to give it a shot.

Is Your Child a Television Junkie?

TV Addict, who loves watching television or is commonly known as the idiot box? However, if there’s no parental guidance, it can expose them to inappropriate messages about violence and sex. And when these kids spend a lot of time watching TV, they’ll not only be addicted but also, they’ll tend towards adopting a sedentary lifestyle. Nevertheless, with parental guidance, watching TV can be educational and will open up the child’s mind and mold it into one that can see an issue from many perspectives.

Tips to help you optimize the benefits and cut down the negativities of watching television on your kids.

Cut down your kids’ TV time

  1. Set a time of saying no more than two hours per day for kids above 2 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of watching good TV programs per day for kids. They caution against letting children younger than two years old watch TV and parents should instead spend more time bonding with them because parent-child interaction brings more benefits to their mental development.  kids-addict-tv-watching
  2. Set a rule that homework and other tasks are to be done first. Let your kids know that school, chores, and exercise take priority over TV. Strike a balance between the times spent watching TV and activities that will develop other aspects of their lives.
  3. Allow one show at one sitting. Ask your kids to choose the programs they like to watch. If there isn’t any specific program that your family intends to watch, keep the television switched off.

Choosing good quality programs suitable for kids

  1. Check out TV ratings. TV ratings are no substitute for parental judgment, but they can be helpful guides. TV ratings provide parental guidelines on the content and age-appropriateness of the various programs.

The rating symbol appears as a box in the top left corner of the screen at the start of a program and it’ll normally re-appear every hour for longer programs.

  1. Utilize V-Chip. The V-Chip is a device fixed into most television sets manufactured after the year 2008. The chip reads the TV ratings and helps parents filter out inappropriate programs. However, remember that even with the ratings and the chips, parents must still use their own discretion to check out cartoon programs that may be objectionable.
  2. Seek out quality programs. It’s easier than ever to find high-quality programs that can help stimulate your child’s interest in reading and other activities. Visit the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) or borrow educational videos from your library. Record valuable programs and watch them in your own free time.

Other TV Viewing Tips

  1. Watch TV together as a family. It can be hard for working parents to spend enough time with their kids, so watching TV can be a rewarding family activity. You’ll also be able to keep track of what your kids watch and discuss the program with them.
  2. Discuss what your kids saw on TV. If a program is about good values that would help in your kids’ development, use it as an opportunity to discuss them further to reinforce the good values. You can impress upon them the virtues of having good values in their lives by telling them real similar cases.
  3. Lead by example. You’ll be more credible with your kids if you limit your own time watching TV. Show to them that there’s more to life than just watching TV. For instance, make use of your free time for reading, outdoor activities, and pursuing other hobbies.
  4. Cut out the Ads. Advertising can influence your kids in a big way and you should reduce their exposure to commercials. You can get around this by recording their favorite programs minus the commercials. It’s also good if you can tell your kids how the commercials influence people’s perceptions, especially the young ones.
  5. Limit snacking. Try to discourage snacking while watching TV. If your kids like to have some snacks, make them healthy snacks like fresh fruits or yogurts. 

 

Indeed, watching TV can expose your kids to a multitude of cultures, places, people, animals, and others that they may have not come across. And is certainly very enriching for them in tv-addict-kids terms of opening up their minds and molding their perception of things.

But help your kids limit their TV time, select good quality programs and encourage family discussion and activities relating to watching TV.

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Battery for…

Have you ever wondered how to pick out the best battery(s) for your solar panel system (or off-grid energy system)? Or have you wondered what makes one deep-cycle battery better than another? If so, this article will answer these questions and give you specific things to check on before buying your new battery (to ensure you get the most bang for your buck)! solar-system

When choosing a battery (or batteries) for your solar panel system, there are three categories of batteries that work best. So, in this article, we will:

Part 1) Quickly compare the three main types of solar batteries (lead-acid, saltwater, and lithium).

Part 2) Compare the components of batteries, such as depth of discharge, capacity and power, efficiency, battery life, and manufacturer.

By the end of this article, you will know exactly how to pick out the best battery for your solar panel system! So let’s get started…

Part 1) The Three Best Types of Batteries for Solar Panel Systems: The best type of battery for your solar panel system will depend on what you’re looking for. Three battery types work exceptionally well; however, each battery type has pros and cons. So the first decision to make is the type of battery that will fit your system.

Lead Acid Batteries

Lead-acid batteries are the most commonly used rechargeable battery in the world. They’re also among the longest-used and most reliable batteries in existence. Compared to the other batteries we’ll discuss in this report; they are the cheapest option but you trade cost for some battery life and depth of discharge. But for homeowners needing lots of storage for a lower cost, or if you are just making the move to a solar panel system, lead-acid batteries may be a very good option. They’re the type of battery we use in most of the battery banks in our solar panel systems.

Another great thing about lead-acid batteries is that you can use the maintenance and reconditioning methods we teach you in the EZ Battery Reconditioning program to greatly extend lead-acid battery’s life span.

Saltwater Batteries

Saltwater batteries are more expensive than lead-acid batteries, but also have a greater lifespan. Unlike lead-acid batteries, saltwater batteries are essentially brand new to the market and remain both somewhat untested and harder to come across. Of the three types of batteries, saltwater has the greatest depth of discharge, so you’ll get the most output per charge before needing to recharge. solar-battery-pack

Lithium Batteries

Lithium batteries are the most expensive and longest-lasting of the three types of solar batteries. Their depth of discharge is less than that of a saltwater battery, but more than that of a lead-acid battery. Comparing all three options, the lithium battery is probably the highest-rated, but also the most expensive. An example of a lithium battery is the Tesla Powerwall.

Part 2) Compare the components of batteries Once you’ve picked the best battery type for your solar panel or off-grid system (that meets your system’s needs), there are components to explore to find the ideal battery for your system.

Cost

Cost is probably one of the more obvious components. But the old saying, “you get what you pay for” holds when buying batteries as well. In some instances though, certain batteries may be overkill for your system so the most expensive battery may not be the best choice always.

Battery Life and Warranty

For most systems, a battery will cycle daily, meaning it will charge and drain regularly. With each cycle, the battery’s ability to hold the same charge lessens slightly. So, one component to consider is the warranty on the battery that guarantees a certain number of cycles of useful life. But keep in mind that if you use the maintenance and reconditioning methods, we teach you in the EZ Battery Reconditioning program, you can extend the life of your batteries.

Depth of Discharge

The depth of discharge is how much you can drain the battery down before needing to recharge the battery without harming its life. Certain solar batteries can be depleted further than others, allowing for more use between charging. Essentially, a battery with a 90% depth of discharge per cycle will provide more battery power per charge than a battery with less.

Capacity and Power

Measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), capacity is the amount of energy a battery can store over time. The more capacity a battery has, the more power it can store.

Power is how much energy a battery can provide at a given moment. A battery with both a high capacity and high power can run a large system for several hours; a battery with low capacity and high power can run a large system but only for a short time.

Efficiency

Efficiency is the amount of energy used compared to the amount of energy it took to store energy. Batteries require power to charge and efficiency compares the energy taken to charge a battery with the amount of energy that the charged battery produces. The higher the efficiency, the more cost-effective the battery.

solar-technician

Manufacturer

This may not be a component most would consider, but it is something to pay attention to. As with other technology, there are both trusted brands and start-up brands. A trusted brand comes with known flaws and benefits; a start-up brand can perhaps have better technology, but can also have yet unknown technological issues.

Depending on your system needs, you may decide to go with a well-reviewed company or one that is brand new to the solar market.

Part 3) What happens when your solar batteries start to die?

But your new solar batteries won’t last forever. So, what can you do? …and what can you do when your batteries actually die Well, that’s where our battery reconditioning course comes in! You can use it to bring nearly any type of dead battery back to life again – including solar batteries, marine batteries, car batteries, forklift batteries, plus many other types.

 

If you follow this article, you should be able to compare batteries and pick out the best battery for your solar panel system’s needs.

The Power of a Nutritious Diet

A healthy life and a healthy diet seem to be an understatement until a person suffers from a physical illness that dries them off their energy and disturbs their normal living. snack-for-happiness

A healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle both are beneficial in the long term as well as short term. In the long term, they help one to avoid various serious and tragic diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart problems, etc. In short term, they keep one in their best shape, keep them energized, active, and fit.

 

Ways to improve habits and lifestyle

  • Little habits can make a huge difference in one’s habits and lifestyle. Switching to a balanced and healthy diet, free from excessive junk and oily food can be very helpful in keeping one fit. Eggs, cereals, vegetables, etc. can be used.
  • Inculcating a habit of physical exercise or workout for at least 30 mins or more can also make a huge difference and help a person to be in shape. healthy-snacks
  • One needs to avoid smoking and drinking to avoid various fatal diseases. One must take care of one’s body and weight.
  • Excessive exposure to the sun can be avoided since it can cause various skin problems. Water is the ultimate solution to all problems. A huge amount of water and fluids intake should be there. Water is very essential for everyone; it cleanses the body from inside.
  • Proper scheduling of sleep patterns is also very important for keeping one fresh and energized.

 

Why is it important to improve your habits?

  • Having a healthy diet and routine comes with many advantages.
  • They keep a person fit, in shape, and active. They build the immune system of the body to fight against problems, if any occur in the future.
  • It helps to maintain the weight of a person and makes them look good. best-health-food-ever
  • It helps it combat various fatal diseases that may arise as one grows old like heart diseases, lung or liver diseases, etc. A healthy diet keeps in check the cholesterol and sugar levels in the body.
  • A healthy body helps in keeping the mood good. A tired or weak body would disturb one’s mood and make one irritable. Insufficient sleep too can irritate and makes one angry. So good and sound sleep is a must. It boosts the life span of a person and grants them the gift of longevity.

 

What are people doing to achieve good health and fitness?

  • People have grown out to be more concerned and responsible when it comes to their fitness.
  • A trend has emerged where people now do things to take care of their bodies. They are no longer careless about their health. More and more people are joining gyms, yoga classes, marathons, health clubs, etc.
  • Parents now inculcate the habits of physical exercise from childhood only. They ensure that their children spend less time on phones.
  • Elderly people also try to regularly go for walks and try to eat healthy as much as possible. If everyone makes an effort, it would be easy to have a healthy lifestyle with healthy people around them. So, one should, no matter what age, start the exercise, and be concerned about their health.
  • There are no double thoughts as to how necessary and essential a balanced diet and healthy life is. It is not at all difficult to add the same healthy habits in the routine considering how beneficial they are. pomegranate-for-life

Healthy diet is a huge benefit for your life! Its a state of mind that gets you to your best!

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