Veggie To Go

Wondering what's in Jen's dish? Me too but to be it looks like the Greek Salad but I doubt if she'll have it all on it's own. So another guess is some green leaves (obviously, it's a salad) and feta cheese. It's like the best weight loss pills for women that every one wants to know what she's having. Or is this to prove that she doesn't eat baby puree?

VEGGIE DELIGHT
Jennifer Aniston takes her salad to go during a lunch break Monday on the Georgia set of her upcoming film, Wanderlust.

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When the food we eat is simply not enough.

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the modern lifestyle we don’t always have the time to prepare nutritionally balanced meals. This is where we need to be vigilant and take dietary supplements, especially for growing children, elderly or before and during pregnancy.

However we can’t always afford the time to stand in queues at chemists/pharmacies to get the right advice, let alone pay their high prices. This is where shopping online comes into its own. It allows you to shop and get quality advice from the comfort of your own home and at a time that is most convenient. It is even better when you can get all those benefits and save up to 80% by buying at wholesale prices.

You may wish to try Vitacost.com who offer excellent savings as well as other great ways to save on all sorts of purchases by using vitacost coupons.

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The World as I See It

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Beef Stew

We haven't had beef stew for the past three weeks so I have some beef taken out for dinner. I've done beef stew many times but I want to try something different. Found this recipe from aussiecooking.com.au. Nothing different from what I usually do aside from the gravy and stock.

Recipe for Tasty Beef Stew:
Approx cooking time 2 hrs
1 large casserole pot
1 kg gravy beef
4 potatoes peeled and cut into half
1 litre of beef stock
3 carrots peeled and cut into rings
1 cup of peas
1 diced onion
1/4 cauliflower cut into good size pieces
1 dessert spoon of oil
salt and pepper
1 cup of gravy mixed with water

Heat oil in pot add saute onion
Cut beef into chunks removing any fat
add beef cook until sealed
add stock, potatoes,carrots,cauli,salt and pepper and top up with water until fully covered.
bring to boil then simmer.
** note when potatoes are soft **
add peas and gravy
continue to simmer until gravy is thickened

** can serve with steam rice **

**my favourite is to wipe up gravy with bread and butter**

Read more: http://www.aussiecooking.com.au/cook/recipes/281/Tasty%20Beef%20Stew/#ixzz0yX56287A

Time to turn the Casablanca ceiling fans for some steaming stew for dinner tonight. It's getting warmer here.

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More Like It

You Are Bitter

You aren't bitter at the world, even though you have a strong personality. Instead, you are sophisticated and cultured. You appreciate acquired tastes. You are very powerful. You have the ability to change a room's energy. While some may find you disagreeable, your points of view are intelligent and interesting.

What Taste Are You?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

Yes, I am it. Enough said.

Anyway, now that it's getting warmer here I'm thinking of snow sleds for the winter that I didn't get to see snow.

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Brake Unhealthy Habits

Bad habit 1: Not drinking enough water


Sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger and our body doesn’t always show signals of thirst until we are dehydrated. We lose 1.5 litres of water a day through our skin, lungs and gut via the kidneys as urine, so if you don’t drink enough during the day you’ll get headaches, bad moods and poor skin as a result. You need 2.5 litres a day, so that’s a glass every hour. Drink water after you go to the toilet and have a coffee. Always keep a bottle of water on hand so there’s no excuse.

Bad habit 2: Skipping breakfast


Sometimes you don’t feel like it or just don’t have the time, but missing breaky can make it harder to concentrate and reduce productivity. Listen to your body. Don’t eat a huge breakfast if you’re not used to it, just have something light like a glass of milk, fruit juice or a banana. If you really don’t have time, take a packed breakfast and make sure you eat as soon as you get to work.

Bad habit 3: Mid-afternoon snack attack


The most common cause is carb overload during lunch or not eating enough protein. Snacking isn’t bad, it’s just the choice of food. When hunger strikes in the afternoon most of us opt for chips, biscuits, chocolate (yes that’s me) and cake which are high in fat, sugar and salt. Eat a nutritious and filling lunch instead. Have an extra half a sandwich or fruit and yoghurt after and opt for more protein which will give you energy. If you still want to snack, eat fat-free popcorn, dried and fresh fruit and raw nuts instead.

Bad habit 4: The late-night takeaway


After a hard day at work the prospect of cooking can be unappealing so takeaway is the easy option. But most of the time they are high in fat, salt and sugar and don’t contain any essential nutrients. Overcome it by eating something before you leave the office to take the edge off your appetite. Stock your fridge with foods that don’t perish quickly and store emergency foods like cans of soup and frozen veggies in the freezer.

These are not really my habits but I want to drink water as much as I can. My bad habit is when I'm so caught up with my work (not just selecting online iphone accessories), I forget to drink or eat until I am really hungry that my tummy is grumbling. It's really bad.

source: yahoo lifestyle

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Weekly Meal Planner

Now, that I have started to really cook for us, I thought having a meal planner would make things a little bit easier for me. For the past weeks, I've been cooking our weekly dinner on weekends. For the coming days this week, this will be our dinner (I have included today as well).

Sunday - pasta in venetian sauce from leftovers and meat pies (frozen from the shops)

Monday - rissoles with veggies

Tuesday - pizza (taking advantage of the promo in dominos)

Wednesday - braised steak with veggies

Thursday - mince and pasta

Friday - Baked chicken and veggies

Saturday - mince and rice

From this one weeke meal, I've only two meals to cook. I cooked the steak, rissoles and chicken already. I've also got our dinner for tonight ready (before I plunge on camera reviews).

Next thing to do is plan for the following week but first I have to check the meat we have in the freezer. This is easy like looking at the camera lense.

Oh, the home brand fish fingers are a hit to my family. It's cheap but still tastes nice (I just hope any cam is the same sans the taste).

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Pineapple Chicken

We tend to add variety on our meat consumption. But Mcj is not really fond of chicken - so I thought of cooking Pineapple Chicken for a change. I got the recipe from grouprecipes.com and I now have all the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 can pineapple chunks, set aside the syrup
1 Tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized onions, chopped
1/2 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk
patis (fish sauce), to taste

How to make it
Marinade the chicken with the pineapple syrup for a few minutes.
Pour the chicken with the marinade in a pot, cook until the marinade evaporates and the chicken is lightly brown. (You’re not exactly frying the chicken–you just want to seal in the juices.)
When done, set aside the chicken on one side of the pot.
Add the oil, saute garlic and onions then mix together with the lightly browned chicken and cook for about a minute.
Add the pineapple chunks then pour the evaporated milk. Cover and bring to a simmer. (If you are using coconut milk, do not cover, otherwise it will curdle).
By the time the chicken is done, the sauce would be rather thick and creamy, stir then season with patis.
Simmer again for 2 minutes then turn-off the heat.
Best serve with steamed rice.

I'm planning to cook it later today but will have to stay in the freezer for this weeks dinner. I tend to cook for the whole week on weekends as I can't be bothered to cook at night when I get home or the night before (even if I don't have to a update car insurance blog)

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Pelagonia

See more flowers at Flowers from Today

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Somewhat True

You Are Modern

You are optimistic and forward looking. You love living in this world. You have are drawn to the darker elements of life. You like a bit of grit. People excite you. You like to be up on what's going on with everyone you know and don't know! You have a few key interests that are borderline obsessions. You can't stop thinking about them!

The Bookstore Test

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Now, on my personality. I like grit - yeah, I like suspense and thrill but not too nauseous. I like intrigue, I don't want to call it gossip because I long ago give up on that. Lol. Yeah, obsessions... when the mood strikes, even lying on massage tables can't lure me to stay away from it. I have to dig and be all over it.

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How to Make Smart Kids

While genetics has a major part to play, smart kids are also shaped by their very first teacher – you! Carrie Cox looks at ways to give your child a wonderful head start.
Toddler + Preschooler
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It’s been estimated that a toddler’s brain is about twice as active as that of a university student, suggesting there’s a lot more going on inside that little noggin than a pressing desire to smear the walls with yoghurt. In fact, medical research has shown that unlike any other part of the human body, the brain has done most of its growing by the time a child is five years old.

By that time, most of the critical pathways and connections within the brain have already been laid down, and some have been discarded permanently. What remains is the foundation for a lifetime of future learning.

Young children’s minds are often described as ‘sponges’ due to their capacity to absorb so much of what is going on around them, but perhaps that is understating the matter. Maybe a ‘mop’ is a better description, because it is possible that young children can soak up a virtually limitless amount of information. But here’s the big question: is the size of your child’s ‘mop’ predetermined, or can early education increase its absorbency?

Nature versus nurture

Researchers have long sought to prove that intelligence is a purely genetic trait, but overwhelmingly the proof shows otherwise. While adults with high IQs are more likely to have children with high IQs, the reason is as much, or even more, to do with a child’s developmental environment as any hereditary hard-wiring.

“A stimulating environment can dramatically increase IQ,” argues Dr Jan Strydom, a professional educator who developed the Audiblox preschool program for children with learning challenges. “At birth, every person is dealt a hand of cards – his genetic make-up. But without having learned the game and without regular and rigorous practice, nobody will ever become a champion at any game.”

A recent study by North American researchers found that bright teenagers do have a different brain structure to their more average classmates but that this structure is largely shaped during the formative years. Apparently, there is a critical ‘use it or lose it’ phase of early brain development during which unwanted connections between neurones are pruned as the brain streamlines its operations. It is at this time that parents can make a vital, brain-boosting difference.

Read more...

I believe both nature and nurture play important role in the development of the child. There should be balance though. I'm not the first to admit that I do well with my kids when it comes to teaching but I try my best and so far, so good. In this day and age when both parents are working, it's easy to forget that our kids need our attention (pulse oximeters might be need to keep in track). Well, who says parenthood is not a job. It is and the hardest job of all.

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It's All About What's In Down Under | Permanence in Change | I Am A Shoeaholic | A Juggling Act | Healthy Living | The Life of a Tatapilla | What's reel and real?

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