Naturally Happy

Naturally Happy

Welcome to short and dark days, endless to-do lists and spirit numbing traffic. If the hubbub of the holidays leaves you more stressed than merry, you’re not alone. A survey by the National Women’s Health Resource Center revealed that almost two-thirds of the respondents experience holiday depression. Still, these feelings are hardly seasonal; stress and fatigue can strike on any given day. If your depression is ongoing and significantly interferes with your work or relationships, you may need clinical treatment, so talk to your doctor about options. But if the occasional bad day (or week) is taking too much of an emotional toll, these natural

mood boosters may be the best gift you can give yourself—and your loved ones—this season.

Get involved

One good way to lift a blue mood is to get involved in your community, and the holidays offer plenty of opportunity. In a study of more than 2,500 people published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, researchers found that volunteer work enhanced six aspects of personal wellbeing:

Spice Rubs and Marinades

Spice Rubs and Marinades

What are rubs, brines and marinades and how are they used?

Answer: Spice rubs, marinades and brines are some of my favourite cooking practices using everyday. It’s the opportunity where any cook can be creative in manipulating the texture,

tenderness and most importantly, flavour of meat. They can also help transform tougher cuts of meat into a melt-in-your-mouth meal, plus they are easy to make.

So, let’s start with brines and marinades. Basic brine is a saltwater solution, usually 3% salt to water weight (the brine should taste like sea water).

ARSENIC IN BABY FOODS

What We’ve Learned About the Safety of Rice Products for Infants and Children

After six months of breastfeeding, Kim was delighted to have reached the pivotal milestone of introducing solid foods to her infant daughter. Following tradition and the trusted advice of family and friends, Kim confidently chose rice cereal as her baby’s first solid food.

Shortly thereafter, in early 2012, researchers from Dartmouth College published scientific findings that revealed many baby foods, including rice cereal, contain significant levels of arsenic

COLD WEATHER SAFETY

If your clients live in a region that fully experiences the four seasons, cold, snowy weather creates opportunities for special winter workouts, such as Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice-skating on a frozen pond, sledding, hiking, and skijoring. Some people, though, like to stick with standard activities such as running and cycling, which can prove dangerous during this time of year.

The Risks of the Road

Runners and cyclists on winter roads increase their risk of the following dangers:

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

This salad is great garnished with fried garlic and shallots, if you’re up for the extra work.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T fish sauce

1 T sugar

1⁄8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced

3 pink grapefruits, peeled and segmented

1⁄2 cup cilantro leaves

1⁄2 cup mint leaves, torn in half

1⁄4 cup finely chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

Directions

1. Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper flakes in a bowl; set aside.

The Jeans- Body Workout

The Jeans- Body Workout

Jeans have the ability to make you feel yoursexiest…or to squish you in all the wrong places. These easy exercises will reward you with a flat stomach, tight butt, and slim thighs so you can rock any pair with total confidence.

Most women would rather eat nails than try on a bikini under the soul-crushing glare of dressing-room lights. But shopping for jeans can be almost as traumatizing. Unlike slipping into a skimpy two-piece that lets everything hang out, shimmying into a pair of jeans means squeezing everything in. And all too often, one of three culprits keeps you from a perfect fit: muffin top, thick thighs, or a flat butt. While you can’t solely target your trouble spots (no amount of crunches will instantly or effectively zap your belly fat), the right fitness routine can significantly help reshape your body. The moves here are meant to build

and define your backside, strengthen and flatten your core, and blast fat toslim your legs.

You can’t lose weight and keep it off

The sad reality is that you have about as great a chance of losing

weight and keeping it off as you do of winning the lottery. This is

just a simple fact of life. Everybody knows it. Every magazine article and

television show on the topic gives the same facts: 95% of diets fail, and

for those who do lose weight, it’s just about guaranteed that they’ll gain

it all back. When the media interviews experts who study weight loss

for a living, they all say this is true.