ASFSA – Health, Food & Happiness Blog – Page 3 – Promoting Health, Food, Nutrition, Fitness & Happiness

Family, Health

The Downsides of Working From Home – and How to Address Them

February 12, 2016

The Downsides of Working From Home – and How to Address Them

If you work from home you are very likely to be using your computer a great deal. You could be an business consultant, or perhaps you’re a writer. Working from home has a great many benefits, not least being that you can save on renting an office and travelling and also be there for your family. In fact, having some kind of home business is ideal for many people.

However, if you work from home you may have realised there are downsides too. These must be addressed in order to make your business as well as your life, successful. Here are some of them.

It is very easy to put in longer hours at a home business because you don’t need to leave the office at the end of the day. Working can become addictive to the point you neglect your relationships even though you live and work in the same home as your family. You may just want to finish that website or do a little more research into keywords and the next thing you know the children are all in bed and so is your spouse. You need to make a cut-off point for work and stick to it.

Health

Don’t Let Drugs Ruin Your Life

January 22, 2016

Don’t Let Drugs Ruin Your Life

When you first begin to take drugs it is usually as a way to cope with something in your life that is causing emotional pain; something that you don’t know how to handle. The drugs take away the pain and make you feel good for a little while. It might be some time before you realise there is a serious problem and what your friends or parents have been telling you for some time is really true; you are suffering from drug addiction.

This is the time to make some major decisions, before it is really too late. It is time to book into a drug rehab to get off those drugs and get your life back. That doesn’t have to mean you have to suffer from the emotional pain that caused you to take drugs in the first place. If you can get to the right facility for drug rehabilitation your treatment will include counselling to find out what it was you were trying to get relief from and you’ll be taught how to deal with it in a different way; one that doesn’t give you an addiction.

To that end, your parents or other loved ones may have to undergo counselling with you. That’s good, because it will teach them how to change their ways and stop doing or saying those things that hurt you. Your parents love you, but sometimes they don’t know how to cope with certain behaviours. And sometimes they too, were hurt by their parents in the same way.

Health

What to do After You Kick Drugs

December 10, 2015

What to do After You Kick Drugs

So you’ve been to drug rehab and successfully kicked the habit. Now you are home again and you may be feeling a bit let down. After all, home is nothing like that wonderful place you just came back from where everyone treated you so nicely. At home, you have to deal with people who may be cranky, drunk or just uncaring. Or even if they love you, maybe they just have too many issues to deal with to show you some of that TLC you crave.

If your life looks like it’s going to be a hard drag again, it’s important to do certain things to deal with it, or you risk falling once again into the habit you just got free from. Here are some tips to help you.

If a home is difficult to deal with move out, as scary as it may seem.
If you can’t move out, concentrate on making new friends who are caring, but not part of the drug scene. You can do this by joining a club – painting, photography, cooking, dancing – whatever your interests are.
Go out regularly. Nurture your new friends by suggesting you meet for a coffee, a walk in the park or a movie night, whatever seems good to you.
Eat good food. Many people live on fast food and miss out on the basic nutrition their body needs to remain healthy. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables give you energy without piling on the weight.
If you love fast food, you don’t have to miss it altogether, just limit it to once a week or fortnight.

Home & Garden

How To Choose A Swimming Pool

November 23, 2015

How To Choose A Swimming Pool

If you are looking for pool builders to install a concrete swimming pool it pays to do a little research to find the best one. Having a pool installed in not something you want to cut costs with because repairs can be really expensive – and wasting all that water will probably make you shudder. But first, why choose a concrete pool?

Concrete is a very durable and strong substance that will last for many years without leaking.
You can choose many more sizes and shapes for your pool that may fit on your block better than a stock shape from fibreglass.
It is possible to have many more features added to the pool when it’s made of concrete.

To find the best company to install the pool you have to look at what you need and what the company will do for you. Having a pool means a big change in the landscaping. If you had minimal work done in this regard it may be time to have it done properly. You’ll be amazed at the difference a bit of professional landscaping makes to the look – and value – of your property.

Need maintenance?

Some pool companies offer landscaping plus maintenance, which is a good thing. You will hardly have time to enjoy the pool if you are busy every weekend maintaining the garden and lawn, not to mention the pool itself. Get more time to relax by outsourcing these chores to the pool company. They have the expertise to do a great job.

Health

How to Reduce Your Pain Pills

October 9, 2015

How to Reduce Your Pain Pills

It is a well-known fact that laughing triggers release of endorphins – feel good chemicals that help to relieve pain, hence reduces need for pain pills. Some people go without laughter in their life, especially if they have a serious personality. But you can help your friends all have fun and laugh by adding a photo booth to your party or wedding reception.

With the addition of this great piece of technology you and your friends will find many ways to dress up and take funny photos and you are sure to end up in fits of laughter while doing it. Not only will you all have a great deal of fun, you will learn that laughing makes you feel really good inside. Those chemicals called endorphins that have been released through laughing will also take away a great deal of pain and so alleviate the need for taking so many pain pills.

If anyone is in pain on a daily basis due to things like injury or arthritis, then making sure they get plenty of laughter will help them to reduce the amount of pills they have to take for the pain. The trouble is, when you are in pain you don’t feel like laughing. It is important then to do things that help you forget that pain and make you feel happy enough to laugh. You could –

Watch funny movies or sitcoms on television
Read funny stories
Learn and tell funny jokes
Remember funny things that have happened in your life
Get your friends to tell about the funny things that have happened to them

Health

6 Ways to Find a Good Dentist

May 17, 2015

6 Ways to Find a Good Dentist

According to the dentists, most people really need a dentist at some point in their life, especially if they have never gone to one, or not gone regularly. There will come a time when that aching tooth simply won’t respond to pain-killers and you are losing sleep over it, so you finally take the plunge to see a dentist. So how do you choose? Here are 5 ways to make your search a bit easier.

Ask family or friends – those who have a nice smile – who they recommend and why.
Go online and ask Google. Pay close attention to the websites to see what testimonials are there, what the pricing is and whether they allow you to pay it off. Find out how many people work there. A clinic usually employs several dentists while a practice may only have one or two.
See if there are any customer reviews on places such as Facebook.
Ring them to find out what their customer service is like. If the receptionist is cranky give them a miss. It’s bad enough having a tooth out without having to put up with people who can’t treat you with respect.
Go for a consultation to see for yourself in person. Most dentists are caring people who want to help you and create a good impression. The success of their practice depends on it.
That said, don’t be pressured into having work done that you don’t want or can’t afford. If you have any doubts about what is said, get a second opinion.

Family

The Importance of Childcare after Divorce

March 1, 2015

The Importance of Childcare after Divorce

According well know family law firm Robertson Hayles, if your relationship has broken down irretrievably and you’ve applied for divorce, family lawyers will no doubt have told you what the law is concerning your children. While it is easy to get a divorce these days with no one having to prove fault, if there are minor children of the marriage, a divorce won’t be given unless you can prove that proper arrangements have been made for their care.

While you may think this seems silly, in these days of much drug-taking it cannot be certain that either parent is fit to take care of children, especially while they are toddlers. At least older children can get a meal for themselves, but of course, childcare is much more than looking after a child’s physical needs. So the judge has to make sure that one of the parents is a suitable carer, or that other satisfactory arrangements have been made for the children.

Home & Garden

8 Tips to Make Your Pot Plants Look Stunning

January 16, 2015

8 Tips to Make Your Pot Plants Look Stunning

Almost everyone likes the look of a garden, even if they don’t like working in one. Many people with no garden fulfil their need for green and living things by having pot plants. The trouble is, not all of these look really stunning. Some look downright shabby while others seem to be struggling for life. So how can you make that show of garden pots and plants look better? Here are some tips.

When you look at a pot plant, what do you see? The pot and the plant, right? That means the pot is at least half of what you see so if it is shabby the whole together will be spoiled, no matter how nice the plant is. So before you plant out your pretty azalea or whatever it is, make sure the pot is worthy of it. Spending money on a designer pot is an investment in beauty that will last for many years.
Choose a plant to suit the pot. Not all plants are suited for life in a pot. Their root systems are too big and need to expand. It’s hot in a pot, so plants that prefer cool roots won’t be happy. Some pretty pots are also pretty small. Choosing a big plant – or one that will grow big – for a small pot will almost guarantee failure.

Travel

8 Family Friendly Holiday Destinations

January 15, 2015

8 Family Friendly Holiday Destinations

While many families choose the holiday destination with the beaches and safe, shallow water that all kids seem to adore, it can be an even more interesting experience to travel with them to other countries where they can see some amazing sights that will surely interest them just as much. After all, they can usually swim a lot at home too, but they won’t see some of the other amazing things that are on offer overseas.

Here are 8 holiday destinations that are certainly family friendly, though not all offer beaches.

Although this small country is not the cheapest, it offers things not found anywhere else, at least, not to the same extent. For instance, Legoland with its 20 million pieces of building blocks that have been used to portray some of the Star Wars action as well as major iconic sights of other countries. It also has rides suited more to the pre-teen. Then there is Tivoli, an amusement park with free music, fireworks and more almost every night.
Thailand loves children, making their stay there very special. You can easily find beaches, temples, boat trips and elephant camps, all of which your kids are sure to love.

Health

How to Choose Wine as a Gift

October 15, 2014

How to Choose Wine as a Gift

If you’ve been invited out for dinner at someone’s place, it is good manners to take a gift and people often choose wine. But what if you don’t know the wine preferences of your host or hostess? It is easy enough to buy wine, but it is a little more difficult to choose one you can be relatively sure that your hosts will like.

Don’t be tempted by a pretty label

One thing you should not do is buy it just because the label is attractive. This is a hit or miss way to choose a wine and in fact, some of the prettiest labels hide wines that are very ordinary at best and quite horrible at worst. This is because the label is made by a marketing specialist in order to attract buyers.

Wines with an established reputation tend to have quite plain labels that simply tell the buyer what they need to know; they don’t need to rely on marketing with an attractive label to sell to people who don’t know their wines.

Don’t pay more than you need to

You may think that the best way to ensure your wine is acceptable is to pay a great deal for it. This is not necessary; many very nice, quality wines are quite inexpensive.

One way to find a wine that is popular when you don’t know a lot about them is to ask the sales attendant which wines they sell the most of. These will be the most popular wine and are sure to be acceptable to most people.

Beauty

10 Tips for Growing Out a Fringe – Without Going Nuts

February 22, 2014

10 Tips for Growing Out a Fringe – Without Going Nuts

The only thing wrong with having a hairstyle that includes bangs or a fringe is growing that fringe out when you decide on a change. At first it’s not too bad, but once it gets down to eye level it tends to drive you nuts. Hair dangling in your eyes not only irritates them – and you – it makes you look messy. So how can you grow out that fringe without it driving you insane? Here are 10 tips to help.

Part your hair to one side, comb it forward, then flick it to the opposite side of your parting, merging the longer and shorter hair.
If your hair is naturally fine, try getting a perm on large rollers to give it more body, then that fine fringe will be more likely to stay where you put it.
Use dry shampoo to give your hair body so the fringe stays out of your eyes.
Using accessories to keep an overlong fringe off your forehead can work well. A scarf folded into a wide headband and tied under the hair at the back suits many people. Wide or narrow elastic headbands come in many colours.
Attractive clips or pins can keep the shorter hair to one side.

Food

How to Stay Safe from Food Poisoning

June 8, 2013

How to Stay Safe from Food Poisoning

In the rush to get a meal on the table or prepare food for a family party, it is easy to become careless or just not think about food safety issues. Food poisoning is not only unpleasant; it can also be life-threatening, especially in hot weather when dehydration can occur very quickly. Here are some tips to avoiding food poisoning.

Always make sure you purchase fresh food. If you purchase food on a sale, look at the use by date and make sure you will use it before then, especially meat.
If it is going to take you longer than a few minutes to get food home, store it in an esky bag with ice bricks under and on top of it.
If meat doesn’t still feel cool when you get home, cook it immediately and use it up quickly.
When preparing meat and vegetables, keep them separate. This means using different chopping boards and utensils. Or you could prepare the vegetables first, then use the same things to prepare the meat.
Never use utensils or plates that were used in the preparation of meat for handling it after it is cooked. This can transfer particles of raw meat or the juices from it onto the cooked meat.

Food

Simple Ways to Use Up Fruit and Vegetables

April 15, 2013

Simple Ways to Use Up Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit is a very healthy food that everyone should eat more of. However, children are known for their finicky tastes and what they ate all last week they may refuse the next week. This can leave you with fruit that is in danger of becoming overripe. Rather than waste it, here are some easy ways to use it up.

Some fruit such as apples and stone fruit can be stewed and frozen. It will then be ready to make pies with, whenever you have time or feel like it.
Oranges and other citrus fruit can be juiced and frozen into drinks or popsicles for the children to enjoy on a hot day.
If you intend to keep frozen fruit juice or mash, you need to add sugar as a preservative.
Tomatoes sometimes get ripe quickly. They can be grilled on toast, added to soups or stews – or many other dishes. You can make them into tomato relish or even tomato jam.
Bananas can be used up by cooking them into banana bread or muffins. They can also be baked and used as dessert.
Juicing fruit and vegetables is a good way to use them up quickly, so long as you like the taste of the drink.
If your vegetables are starting to go limp, make up a soup or stew with them. You can usually put more in than the recipe says.
Fruit can be diced and made into a fruit salad for dessert. If you only have one or two pieces, they can be added to tinned fruit salad for extra taste.
Apples can be baked whole.

Beauty

How to Get Toned Body without Exercise

August 22, 2012

How to Get Toned Body without Exercise

As many people ingest more and more sugar in their daily foods, there are always new ways of looking after your body being invented, just as new diets are coming onto the market on a regular basis. Diets simply don’t work for everyone and neither does exercise. Even though it may help you to stay fit and healthy, it often does nothing for your actual body shape. That is why CoolSculpting is becoming so popular.

It fills a need in the market that up till now could only be filled by one other procedure and that is liposuction. The trouble with that is you will have needles stuck into your fatty deposits so the fat can be sucked out through them. This can be quite painful and the area takes a while to heal, as you can imagine. Still, it does the trick of removing those fatty deposits that nothing else seems to shift.

Now there is another option for those who don’t like needles. It is called CoolSculpting because it uses a similar process to cryolipolysis – that is, cooling – to freeze and destroy fat under the skin. This doesn’t harm the skin at all, just numbs it and there might be some bruising, but that will soon fade. Once the fat is frozen it is destroyed and the body goes to work to remove it through the usual channels, just like it removes bruised blood or other things that aren’t part of the body anymore.

Food, Health

Child Nutrition Programs: Legislative History Highlights

February 21, 2012

Child Nutrition Programs Legislative History Highlights

The legislative history of child nutrition can be traced back to the creation of the National School Lunch Program in 1946. These highlights are a good primer for anyone interested in child nutrition programs.

1946

The National School Lunch Act (NSLA) was signed by President Harry Truman.
Program began as a grant aid to states.
Per meal reimbursement was approximately 9 cents.
Three meal options were included:
- Type A – A complete lunch.
- Type B -“Incomplete” lunch with smaller portions and fewer items.
- Type C – 1/2 pint of milk.
The American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) was founded.

Beauty

Important Points about Breast Implants

November 19, 2011

Important Points about Breast Implants

Many women turn to breast implants when they become dissatisfied with the size, shape or symmetry of their breasts. It is a good idea to be fully informed about everything to do with this surgical procedure before going ahead with the operation. To that end, here are some important points you should be aware of.

There are 3 possibilities when considering entry points for the implant. Under the armpit, under the breast or via the nipple. Much depends on the particular problem you are looking to overcome with the implant. Nipple insertion is only suitable for small implants. The once popular method of underarm insertion has now waned in favour of under the breast. The scar of the latter is hardly seen, while with the former it is easier to tear the sternum muscle and that can lead to other problems.
The polyurethane implant has now become very popular in the UK and Australia due to its many benefits including preventing hardening of the implant. However, much depends on the size and floppiness of the breast, as well as what problem is being treated.
It is essential for professionals to fully evaluate each patient before a breast implant is agreed to. This will be both physical and psychological.
Emotional stress is also a factor. If the patient is undergoing emotional stress, it is wise to postpone treatment for 6 months.

Beauty

Beauty Tips For Hands and Nails

October 15, 2011

Beauty Tips For Hands and Nails

Many people pay attention to their faces, but neglect their hands and nails. This is a shame because hands show your age just as much as your face – in fact, even more so because they work harder, doing all that you have to do from day to day, while your face basically sits there and oversees the chores. If you don’t lavish some care and attention on your hands and nails they will tell on you – and spoil the beauty of your face for anyone observant enough to notice.

If you have a job where your hands are in the public eye all the time, it is essential to take care of them and make sure they are as attractive as your face. Here’s how:

Wash hands with warm water, paying attention to between the fingers and under the nails. Dry by blotting rather than rubbing as this can abrade the skin.
Use gloves when washing up and moisturise your hands daily or more often if they feel dry.
Use organic products on your hands and avoid those with toxic ingredients. A good way to make your hands feel smooth and soft is to mix wheat powder with milk, water and lemon juice. Leave on for 10 or more minutes and wash off with warm water. Glycerine and rose water is a good moisturiser.
Exfoliate your hands occasionally using 2 tablespoons of butter mixed with 1 of sugar. Rub over the skin until the sugar granules dissolve. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
If the back of your hands has uneven pigmentation, rub them with a cut lemon to even out the colour.

Beauty

5 Shampoo Ingredients That Are Bad For Your Hair – and You

February 15, 2011

5 Shampoo Ingredients That Are Bad For Your Hair – and You

When you pick up a shampoo from the supermarket shelf, it is usually because you expect it to do good things for your hair, whether that is to moisturise it, make it shiny, more manageable and of course, clean it. Shampoo is made up of many different ingredients – the trouble is that most people don’t fully understand what those ingredients do, whether they are safe and why they are put into the shampoo to start with.

If you are having trouble with your hair, or if your scalp feels itchy or irritable, it could be some of the ingredients in your shampoo that are at fault. Here are 5 shampoo ingredients to avoid.

Silicone – this is put into some shampoo to make the hair shinier. The only trouble is it is not water soluble so it builds up over time, especially around the shaft of the hair. This causes the hair to feel greasy and weighed down, especially if it is fine hair. The sulphate in shampoo is put in to help dissolve the silicone, but that ingredient is best avoided.
Sulphate – you’ll see this as sodium lauryl sulphate or laureth sulphates. They are used to create that nice, frothy lather that everyone likes. However, they do more than that. These are one of the most irritating compounds anyone could put on their skin and they are very drying as well. Worse still, they are a proven carcinogen that is absorbed easily into the skin and the bloodstream. And people wonder why cancer is such an epidemic these days.

Beauty

Golden Rules for Healthy and Beautiful Hair

December 5, 2010

Golden Rules for Healthy and Beautiful Hair

Everyone woman wants beautiful hair, but often the promises in those TV ads for shampoo and conditioner just don’t make good. If you tend to have lots of bad hair days, here are some beauty tips for healthy hair that may improve the look and feel of it and reduce those bad hair days when you feel like tearing it out and wearing a wig instead.

One good rule is to stop washing your hair every day. This only encourages your scalp to produce ever more oils to prevent damage to the hair and so you feel like washing it even more. Stop this cycle by reducing your shampoos to no more than twice a week.
Use only top quality shampoo and conditioners without any toxic ingredients, or make your own at home.
If your hair is coloured or permed, don’t wash it too often as this will dry it out.
If your hair seems to be getting more and more dry, changing the shampoo and conditioner often helps. This is because shampoos especially are not all created equal. Some work on a specific type of oil and others work in some other way, so change products occasionally.
Use leave in conditioners and other products to nourish your hair.
Have your hair professionally styled and cut often.

Food

7 Tips for Budget Friendly Meals

October 21, 2010

7 Tips for Budget Friendly Meals

Just think how much you would be able to save if you didn’t have to eat. Sometimes it seems as if you are spending money on food every time you turn around. Unfortunately, there is no real alternative; if you want to live you must eat. That said, there are several ways to save money when buying food, so if you want to give your budget and lift, try some of the following tips.

Get organised – planning your weekly meals ahead of time will enable you to know exactly what you need, rather than buying food on impulse that could well go bad before you can use it up. Even if you don’t want to be quite that organised, just in case you planned a roast dinner for midweek and the temperatures soar to the mid forties so no one feels like eating it, let alone cooking it, you can have some alternatives in the pantry. Or you could check the temperatures ahead of time so you don’t plan a hot meal for a hot day.
Shop around to get the best bargains. That said, if your supermarket options are along way apart, what you spend on fuel could well negate the savings on specials. However, farmers’ markets are often a great place to shop for fresh fruit and vegetables. Go early for the freshest, especially in hot weather if it is held outside. Shopping late in the day or close to shut up shop time at supermarkets can get you some great bargains.

Food

Old Fashioned Food Favourites Still a Hit

August 8, 2010

Old Fashioned Food Favourites Still a Hit

While not many young people make cakes or slices from a basic recipe any more, often they are so quick and simple that it’s no more trouble to cook them than it is to make up a packet cake, especially when there are only five ingredients. If you decide to throw together a homemade slice your family are sure to come back for seconds, but that’s okay; home cooking in newly renovated kitchens is much healthier than anything processed and packet cakes come under that heading.

Besides, making your own cakes is fun and satisfying, knowing you’ve created food from scratch that is much healthier than any processed food and tastes better as well. Many recipes found in magazines these days seem to be complicated and have ingredients that have to be searched for and bought especially. But when the ingredients can almost always be found in the pantry it all becomes a lot simpler. All you really need is a set of measuring scales so the quantities will be right.

Health

2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization

May 28, 2010

2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization

Every five years the window of opportunity opens on Capitol Hill as lawmakers and their staff work together to improve, tweak and reauthorize the federal Child Nutrition Programs. During this time a bevy of questions are asked: what works well? What isn’t working? How can we address new needs? For school nutrition professionals and SNA as the voice of school nutrition, Child Nutrition Reauthorization brings with it a special responsibility to answer these questions in order to ensure quality, healthy, safe meals are provided to children every school day.

The School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program are permanently authorized. However the other child nutrition programs that affect school nutrition operators must be reauthorized every five years. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), State Administrative Expenses (SAE), the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and other smaller pieces of the complete package of child nutrition programs must be renewed because they have actual expiration dates. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 expired on September 30, 2009 was extended until September 30, 2010.

SNA co-chairs the Child Nutrition Forum along with the Food Research and Action Center. The Forum is a diverse group of organizations that comes together every five years during child nutrition reauthorization to help create legislation that promotes access to healthy food for all children.

You will find resources, links and other information on Reauthorization below, continually updated.

Health

How a Photo Booth Can Help You Relax

May 9, 2010

How a Photo Booth Can Help You Relax

It is important when organising a wedding to not get too caught up in everything that must be done to the extent of having no time to relax. If every spare minute of the day is spent on wedding preparations, you’ll soon start to feel too tired to do anything and this is not a good or healthy state to be in. Because Photo Booths can be connected to wedding packages it can reduce time spent on organising the details of the wedding, so giving you more time to relax, which is good for your health.

Not everyone is good at organisation, and working out all the important details of a wedding and reception can be hard work, especially if you are working at a full-time job as well. It’s important to have help so you don’t feel like you are responsible for every single thing. In fact, it’s a good idea to get your fiancée’s help in a lot of the organisation.

At the very least, he should be able to organise –

The wedding cars
The suit rentals/purchases
The venue
The DJ
He should also have a say in the catering

Health

The Best Place to Meditate

June 26, 2009

The Best Place to Meditate

Meditation is a good way to relax, reduce stress levels, stay healthy restore your sanity, especially if life is treating you poorly or you have a very demanding job. In fact, it’s good to do even if you stay home all day coping with toddlers; every parent who does knows exactly how demanding that job can be. Just because it comes with copious amounts of love doesn’t mean it’s not often difficult, especially during teething when you are up half the night.

Where to do it

Everyone should give meditation a try; most will find it helps them to relax at least a little bit. Done properly it can have wider benefits. However, you do need a place to do it that is free from distractions and is comfortable. If you are uncomfortable it will intrude into your inner consciousness and prevent you from meditating properly.

If you can’t find the right place to meditate, create one! This can be as easy as placing a comfortable chair out on the deck where the fresh air and sunshine will help you feel at peace with the world. You can sit there whenever you’ve a spare moment or three and simply relax, or get into other meditation techniques.

Benefits of an outdoor haven

Another place to meditate in is an outdoor haven you create for yourself with plenty of alfresco furniture such as a chaise, chairs, tables and whatever else you feel is needed. Maybe some shade cloth or a decorative garden wall to protect you from the prevailing breeze. Having dedicated outdoor furniture will ensure the place is ready when you are and you won’t have to cart heavy chairs outside and back in.

Health

Natural Remedies for Arthritis

June 10, 2009

Natural Remedies for Arthritis

Arthritis is a condition that affects many people. It may have eventuated from your choice of career. For instance people that have worked all their lives in jobs like furniture removalists such as Brilliance Removalists Melbourne or a tough job such as carpet steam cleaners done by Brilliance Cleaning where their bodies have been subjected to heavy physical loads are particularly susceptible. One big problem with treatment is that there are many different forms of arthritis and not all respond to the same treatment. Another problem is that the drugs – whether they are prescription or over the counter – have side effects that can be sometimes worse than the disease.

Most drugs are anti-inflammatories or painkillers – or sometimes both in one. Long-term use can cause problems such as digestive problems, ulcers, stroke and more. Even if they just make you drowsy, going around in a daze is not living life to the fullest. You may not be able to drive or go out because you tend to lose your balance and are afraid of falling. So what can you do?

There are many natural remedies for arthritis. Trying out these different remedies gives you a feeling of control over your life and your body that can even make you feel better. This is known as the placebo effect. That said, sometimes the remedies work well and it is far better to take them than the drugs that can have those awful side effects. The remedies may be herbs, spices, essential oils or even fruit and/or vegetables. Some people change their diet and get a great deal of relief.

Food

5 Ways to Cut Cooking Time in Half

May 15, 2009

5 Ways to Cut Cooking Time in Half

If you are a working mum and your other half doesn’t do any cooking, you might find yourself getting into the habit of buying convenience foods to cut down on your workload, especially in the hot weather when no one wants to be slaving over a hot stove. However, even though kids love junk food, it is really bad for their health and yours too, so how can you get healthy meals without spending every night cooking?

It is easy to cut your cooking time in half with a little organisation.

For a start, having salads means you don’t have to cook at all, unless you love to make your own potato salad from scratch. That’s okay; it’s easy to cube the potatoes and shove them in the microwave, then throw some mayonnaise over them. It hardly counts as cooking. Besides, you don’t actually have to have potato salad.
You can alternate a cooked meal with a salad; that’s one option. There is another one though. Cook twice as much and have the leftovers the next night. These can be either the same meal or made up into another kind of meal. For instance, if you have three cupfuls of cooked, diced vegetables left over, you can beat some eggs, add the veggies and make vegetable fritters to go with some salad. Even though you still have to cook the fritters, it is not as much effort as cooking meat and vegetables for a full meal.

Home & Garden

More Relaxation = Robotic Pool Cleaners

April 28, 2009

More Relaxation = Robotic Pool Cleaners

Nearly everyone who has a pool knows that an automatic pool cleaner is essential if they don’t want to spend half their leisure time in cleaning the pool. Pool cleaning is a big job and takes a lot of muscle if you do it manually. Not everyone can manage it physically, and most people prefer to enjoy their leisure time rather than using it to clean the pool, especially if they don’t use it all that much.

While automated pool cleaners will do a lot of the work, you still have to do some of it. Even lifting the cleaner into the pool is sometimes very difficult. You have to hook it all up and make sure it is working properly. A robotic cleaner takes a great deal less work. Here are the pros of having a robot to clean your pool.

They do an even better job of cleaning the pool than automatic cleaners do
They require less input and attention from you
They work independently of the pool’s filtration system
They offer value for money, saving on the cost of chemicals, water and power
They clean the sides, bottom and steps of the pool with no dramas
They clean corners

Fitness, Food

Local School Wellness Policies and Related News

April 5, 2009

Local School Wellness Policies and Related News

One section of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires that all school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program have local wellness policies by July 1, 2006. The School Nutrition Association (formerly ASFSA) has put together tools to help assist the school community in dealing with this new requirement.

Well Done! School Nutrition Professionals Put Wellness Policies to Work
This spring 2008 publication from the School Nutrition Association provides inspiration and practical ideas for all in the school community who are committed to fostering healthy eating habits in children. School nutrition professionals from districts of all sizes and all across the country share experiences relating to gaining support from principals, teachers, parents and students; establishing cafeteria-based nutrition education programs; finding products to meet new nutrition standards; developing staff wellness programs and making operational changes.

Fitness

5 Elements of Fitness You Can Do at Home

February 2, 2009

5 Elements of Fitness You Can Do at Home

Most people have some idea that they should workout to keep fit both physically and mentally. The trouble is, life is hectic for most people, especially mothers who work outside the home and don’t get much support from their husbands. Now we are not talking about hard working people such as furniture removalists like Brilliance Removalists Perth or tradesmen, who mostly get plenty of exercise in their day to day jobs – but another reason people don’t exercise is they think it’s necessary to attend a gym and they either can’t afford it, or there is none available close where they live. However, you don’t have to go to the gym to get fit. You can easily do these 5 elements of fitness at home and be much healthier for it.

Always start with a warm up so there is no injury to your muscles or ligaments. An easy way to warm up is to go for a walk. If you simply can’t go outside, getting a treadmill or a stationary bike will really help. The Best Online Fitness Advice sites recommend Walking up and down the stairs is good too. 10 minutes is a good time for warming up.
Once you have warmed up, it’s time to do a cardiovascular workout. How? It’s easy; just walk or pedal faster, go jogging, do some aerobics with a video to guide you or skip rope, whichever sounds like the most fun. Make sure it gets your heart rate up. Try and to it for 30 minutes each time.

Food

How to Get the Best Cake

January 17, 2009

How to Get the Best Cake

Do you spend your days wondering what cake you’ll buy next, or dreaming of the delicious morsels of cake you had last time you were at Gran’s place? It is not easy to get good cake with just the right amount of moisture – and the flavour that you could die for.

Making a cake is a skill that not many people have, but it’s not impossible, so don’t despair. It is all the fault of the education system that took basic cooking out of high schools and replaced it with the science of cooking, a much more complicated subject in which students rarely did any cooking. When they did it was some amazingly exotic food that looked wonderful and tasted disgusting.