Buying a Home

Foods Doctors Steer Clear of, and Why You Should, Too

Did you know many doctors practice what they preach when it comes to diet? Business Insider recently interviewed two doctors to get their take on what not to eat, and why. Five offenders:
 
Candy
Candy and other sugar-laden sweets can have a slew of negative effects on health, even beyond weight gain, due to their added sugars. Men should limit their added sugar intake to nine teaspoons per day; women, six.
 
Dairy Products
Dairy products, especially full-fat butter and cheese, are loaded with saturated fat and sodium, which, if eaten regularly, can be a precursor to out-of-control cholesterol.
 
Large Fish

Large fish like halibut, swordfish and tuna tend to have more mercury than other species (typically because they consume smaller fish), which can be detrimental to health; however, fish are essential to a wholesome diet, so smaller varieties—think anchovies, mussels, salmon, and trout—are permissible.
 
Red Meat
Red meat—generally beef or pork—contains saturated fat, which can have an adverse effect on cholesterol, and, in turn, lead to heart disease. Red meat, especially processed products like bacon and sausage, is also packed with sodium, which can contribute to higher blood pressure.
 
Refined Grains
Refined grains are nutritionally inferior to their whole grain counterparts, specifically with lower levels of fiber. Cereal, pasta, and white flour, white bread and white rice are all classified as refined grains.
 
Source: Business Insider

Rowdy Kids on Your Road Trip? Tips to Save Your Sanity!

Road tripping with the kids and not sure how to keep them calm the whole time? Don’t worry; your sanity has been saved! Here is a brief checklist of some important items not to forget while traveling with your kids.

– Antibacterial Wipes: Make sure every travel bag is equipped with wipes to wipe down seat trays, tables, high chairs, dropped toys and little, sticky hands.

– Backpack: Make sure each kid has a backpack filled with books and games to keep them occupied. Some stores have $1 bins with small toys to add to backpacks.

– Emergency Pack: Kids have a knack for getting sick or scraping a knee while traveling. I always pack a small emergency pack, including a thermometer, Tylenol, Benadryl, Band-aids and other ‘just-in-case’ items.

– Stickers: Stickers are a great way to entertain kids for long periods of times. There are many different types of stickers you can get to please every kid, no matter what their tastes are.

– VIA: Coffee is a necessity when traveling with small children. Starbucks VIA is a strong coffee that will surely keep you awake.

– Zipper Bags: The value of zipper baggies should never be underestimated! They can carry almost every small toy and can be easily tucked into carry-on bags. They’re also great for housing damp or sticky items and opened snack items

Happy road tripping! 

Source: CN Traveler

5 Ways to Eat Healthy Year-Round

Whether it’s a holiday buffet or a backyard bash, special events that can sabotage healthy eating seem to pop up all year long. Armed with the right strategies, however, you can easily beat these binge moments and stay on a nutritious track.

Holistic chef and certified healing foods specialist Shelley Alexander, author of “Deliciously Holistic,” offers five tips for quick and convenient healthy eating during ultra-busy weeks, holidays, and special occasions:

1. When shopping, check labels and avoid foods with a long list of ingredients. The best whole foods have one or just a few unprocessed or minimally processed, easily recognized ingredients. Among ingredients to avoid: chemicals, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, nitrates, MSG, genetically modified ingredients and preservatives (indicated by the initials BHT, BHA, EDTA and THBQ.)

2. Set aside a few hours each week to prep foods to eat in the days ahead. Cut up produce and store it in airtight containers. Lightly wash produce before using with natural vegetable wash or use one part white vinegar to three parts water. Make several homemade vinaigrettes or dressings to last all week so you can make leafy greens and vegetable salads in minutes. Clean and marinate enough meat or poultry for dinners over the next few days.

3. Start your day with a green smoothie. Cut and freeze organic fresh fruit to use in green smoothies. You can also buy frozen fruit that’s already cut up. Add organic kale or spinach, coconut water or nut and seed milks plus natural sweeteners such as dates or stevia for an energy-boosting beverage.

4. For your holiday dinners, plan on making at least three to four dishes that are both delicious and nutritious. Good examples are pasture-raised, wild turkey with sage and garlic, baked wild salmon with lemon and herbs, steamed greens, roasted heirloom root vegetables drizzled with balsamic glaze, pureed winter squash soups, and desserts made with seasonal fruits, spices, and healthy sweeteners like coconut sugar or raw honey.

5. Make batches of fermented vegetables twice a month. Alexander recommends eating fermented vegetables every day to keep your digestive system healthy. They’re loaded with probiotics – the good bacteria your intestines need. Mix a variety of organic vegetables, such as carrots and celery, into brine with warm filtered water, unrefined sea salt, and cultured vegetable starter or liquid whey, and mix with shredded cabbage heads. Pack the mixture into sterilized glass jars and allow the vegetables to ferment for five to seven days. Once done fermenting, store in the refrigerator for up to six months.

4 Budget-Friendly Ways to Learn a Fun New Skill

Learning a new skill is not only a fun avenue to a new hobby, but the act of learning that skill can challenge your brain in new ways. This can lead to better cognitive function and can even reduce your chance of developing dementia. While learning a new skill can seem daunting, especially if you’re on a tight budget, there are a lot of options to ensure you don’t have to invest a lot to become a lifelong learner and find your new favorite pastime. 

Craft Store Classes
From small local shops to large chains, many craft stores offer classes on how to use their products. Take a weekend to explore the world of cake decorating or tackle that scrapbooking project you always wanted to do. These low-cost classes do require some investment in the form of materials and a nominal class fee, but they can be an excellent way to jumpstart a new hobby. Bonus? Attendees often have access to coupons to cover materials for your next out-of-class project.

Home Improvement Store Classes
Learn the basics when it comes to DIY. Your local home improvement store likely offers group classes that cover home improvement basics and fun projects. Whether you learn how to properly use a specific tool or discover how to DIY a wooden planter box, these lessons are sure to come in handy.

Local Clubs
While you might think joining a club is something you do after you have developed a particular skill, chances are your local clubs are interested in welcoming anyone with a penchant for their favorite hobby. There’s a club for almost every interest and skill level. If you’re unsure if your local club would welcome a beginner to the group, simply ask! You may find an avenue to hone a new skill and even a few lifelong friends.

Community College Courses
You don’t have to be seeking a degree to benefit from your local college. Classes are often welcome to community members and some colleges will even offer free or reduced course tuition to seniors or adults wishing to learn about a subject without receiving college credits. Brush up on your cooking skills, or deep dive into your love of Shakespeare without the stress of grades holding you back.

7 Great Up and Coming Career Options

As a new crop of high school grads heads off to college, it’s a good time to think about career majors and where the best jobs will be. Kiplinger’s business editors put themselves to work to identify some of the most promising career options we can expect to see going forward:

Speech/Language pathologist – Many speech therapists work with kids in school who stutter or have other language disorders. But in an aging population, they are also working with older people with hearing loss, a history of strokes, or other disorders related to aging. A licensed therapist will have a Master’s degree and earn about $70,000 annually.

Community Service Manager – An aging population increases the need for adult day care centers, meal delivery systems, and similar programs. With a bachelor’s degree in social work or public administration, a CSM can expect a yearly salary of about $60,000.

Computer systems analyst – In the nerd’s world we live in, a liberal arts degree and a talent for tech can prepare you to earn $80,000 per year or more by ensuring that an organization’s technological security needs are met and are constantly improving.

Apps developer – You may be able to earn more than $90,000 annually if you can develop new and better mobile strategies and/or computer operating systems. You will need a degree in computer science, software engineering or a related field.

Registered Nurse – Already the fifth largest workforce in America, registered nurses are expected to grow by some 450,000 jobs by 2024. A bachelor’s of science degree in nursing, or a diploma from an accredited nursing program, should command a median $66,000 annual salary.

Information security analyst – Thanks to an abundance of cybercrime, this career is growing by leaps and bounds. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science, programming or another tech-related field, and some experience as a network or systems administrator, you should be able to find work in government offices, hospitals or almost any large corporation and earn $90,000 a year or more.

Health services manager – These are the people who oversee the functions of an entire medical practice or facility or a specific department, such as clinical manager for, nursing, surgery or physical therapy. With a bachelor’s in health administration, you can expect to earn over $85,000 annually.

6 Tricks for Getting More out of Your iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, you probably already know how to call, text, and check email. But, say the communications experts at Business Insider, there are tips and tricks that can help you maximize your time and effort. Bonus: most of these tips will work just as well with your iPad.

• Turn off LTE to save battery – On the iPhone 5, you can save battery life in a pinch by going to Settings, then General, then Cellular. Or choose the Enable LTE toggle; if you need to save battery and can spare some Internet speed, turn this option off.

• Lock the screen orientation – To lock your screen orientation, double tap the home button and swipe to the right. You’ll see a gray circle opposite the rewind button. Tap that once and a lock will appear, so when you turn your phone sideways the orientation will stay put.

• Automatically download new apps – A handy feature if you have several Apple devices: New apps and music will download automatically to all of them if you go to Settings and navigate to the middle of the page. Select the Store option, and once inside, under Automatic Downloads, switch on options for music, apps or both.

• View websites in full screen – While browsing a web site in Safari, turn your iPhone to the side (landscape) and tap the full-screen icon (arrows coming together in the bottom right) and you can view a website without distraction.

• Create a custom vibration – This can let you know who is calling or texting without having to look at the phone. Go to Settings, then tap Sounds at the bottom of the page. You’ll be able to select custom vibration or record your own – and you can adjust the length of it, too.

• Use Siri to set location-based reminders – Siri can be used to set a reminder, like saying “remind me to call mom at 4 today.” But you can also set location-based reminders on your iPhone 4S. Say “Remind me to call mom when I get home,” and you’ll be notified accordingly.