Relaxation
Relaxation often comes with just needing to get away from one’s normal surroundings. Without realizing it, unconsciously, your mind is thinking not only what you need to be doing next but what you are not doing as you are trying to relax.
There are two places I can go to just forget the world as we know it. The beach is a place where I feel totally “free”. I hear the surf, smell the ocean air, see the birds flying, and watch the waves come in and go out effortlessly it seems. The cares of the day and yesterday and thoughts of responsibility just vanish.
Another place I feel that is on the golf course. The score isn’t important to me. It’s being among nature, where it’s quiet and peaceful! The green grass, the animals you can see scurrying around, the tranquility, and the beautiful sky are nice.
These places help me find the relaxation/stress-free mode my mind and body needs.
Couple the surroundings with a lifetime friend(s) and it’s priceless!
Take a few minutes to enjoy the surf, today! Your mind and body will be glad you did!
Healthy Snack For The Beach
Fruit Salad–a healthy snack for the beach?
Combine 1 cup of coconut and vanilla pudding (the small size) in a gallon zip lock bag. Take this bag, a can opener, a can of pineapple tidbits, and a can of fruit cocktail with you. Twenty minutes before it’s time to eat, open the cans of fruit, dump into the gallon bag, and gently knead the contents, placing it in your cooler until you’re ready to eat!
What is ORAC?
What is ORAC?
It stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbent Capacity.
Oxygen Radicals …………… are the free radicals
Absorbent Capacity …………. is a foods ability to absorb the free radicals
The higher the ORAC score… the greater its ability.
How does Chava Vital Chocolate compare to other foods? One square (8 grams) of Chava has an ORAC score of over 37,208.
Lets compare that to well known foods
Blueberries are known for their high antioxidant value.
To get the equivalent ORAC value of one square of Chava you would need 567 grams of blueberries which is about 1.2 pounds
Or 5.3 pounds of raw spinach that’s a wheel barrel of spinach
Or 6.4 pounds of red grapes
Bacteria…yikes!
Quick Tips
At home and especially On the Remote In hotels, a potential place where bacteria and other germs may hang around is the TV remote control. Be sure to disinfect before you change the channel. Keep some bacteria wipes available at home and when you travel.
Sponge Toss
Two items in the kitchen are generally swimming with bacteria - the kitchen sponge and your dishcloth. Switch sponges often and be sure to use Clorox® Regular-Bleach as directed on your dish towels to remove bacteria.
Toilet Plume
Cover the toothbrushes. Viral aerosols enter the air each time the toilet is flushed, landing on everything in the bathroom, including toothbrushes
Quick kitchen clean
Before going to bed or after breakfast, use Clorox® Clean Up® Cleaner with Bleach on your counters and exterior appliance surfaces as directed, so that your kitchen will be clean, fresh and ready for the next time you use it.
Chocolate, An Antioxidant,Yeah!
Chocolate! There is no product in existence that can compare to dark chocolate for consumption. For the majority of us chocolate is an addiction. One billion people worldwide ate dark chocolate yesterday. They will do it again today,tomorrow, and the next day.
Excited about Chava! NCD has been added to dark chocolate!
Chocolate lovers look at the health benefits of chocolate and NCD, added together, WOW!
The fusion of NCD and a hyper-potent dark chocolate extract that has created an unheard of ORAC value of 33928. There is no other product in any distribution channel that even comes close. This incredible ORAC value has been certified by Brunswick Laboratories. This is the super food of all super foods!
STOP! There’s something about Chava you HAVE to know!
Chava, with its bold intense flavor, rich velvety overtones and smooth finish is designed to be savored in its entirety. Gourmet chocolate is like fine wine, and Chava is no exception. For the complete sensory experience, place the whole square on your tongue and let it melt slowly. The temptation to chew alone is an exhilarating exercise of restraint. Each dissolving layer will reward your patience, from the creamy organic cocoa butter to the robust cacao, and the tantalizing notes of almond and vanilla that will leave you yearning for more. The first piece is a decadent awakening of the senses, but it’s the second piece that’s truly divine. Anything less is unthinkable!
Lettuce Recall
Lettuce Recall, never fear……
The lettuce being recalled is the romaine lettuce. You can still have pretty salads and a salad that is so cool and refreshing without the fear of your lettuce being on the recalled list.
I prefer the green leaf head lettuce. I find there is no after taste, no re-tasting later during the night or feeling yucky after having eaten a salad.
The green leaf head lettuce can be found in most groceries. It is a great source of Vitamin, A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K, calcium, iron, copper and antioxidants lutein and beta carotene. It is very low in saturated fats and cholesterol. On the charts, it would be listed as 0 for both. One cup and a half of loosely shredded is about 15 calories or a cup is about 9 calories.
Be sure to wash the lettuce in cool water and pat dry with a paper towel if you do not have a salad spinner which takes out the excess water, prior to bagging it for the refrigerator. If you take our the moisture, it should be good for about 3 days in the refrigerator.
When storing lettuce, be sure to store away from apples, pears and bananas. Ethylene gas, a natural ripening agent, causes lettuce to have brown spots and to decay much faster than normal. Discard lettuce that appears slimy or has black spots. Slimy lettuce is a sign of decomposing and the black spots are normally mold.
Of all the lettuces I have tried, I keep coming back to the green leaf head lettuce. When spun in a salad spinner after rinsing, its crispness and taste is so good. The green leaf head lettuce doesn’t bother me after eating it as many types of salad leaves do. I do not know why it doesn’t but it doesn’t. I’ve heard others say so too after trying this particular lettuce. Try it for yourself, now that romaine, is not the lettuce of choice in many areas due to the recall.
Check out my recipe section for several great salad choices–with or without the meat, they are excellent salad recipes.
Bon Appetite!
Simple Healthy Tips For Mealtime
Did you know, it’s important to spend a little time on the presentation of your meal?
You are more likely to enjoy a meal if it’s visually appealing as well as tasty.
A simple meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes can go from a hum drum look to a magnificent display by simply cooking your meat loaf in a bundt style stone or pan. Once the meat loaf is finished, dump onto a platter or in large round bowl, putting your mashed potatoes in the center. You could top the potatoes if you wish with a sprig of parsley or cilantra to add color.
Make every meal an occasion. Set the table. Use the real deal, not paper plates. Eat with your family. Sit down with them and eat together. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy your food without distractions like television. At the family meal, you can truly connect with members of your family and hear about their day by being truly present with them.
You are less likely to overeat if you eat slowly and savour every mouthful. As you savour every mouthful of the meal, listen and savour every moment of sharing by the family during this special time together.
Bringing the family back to the table should be a goal for each of us. Meals at home are normally healthier, eaten in less of a hurry, and the reconnection of families. “priceless”!
Celebrating Another Birthday
“Celebrating Another Birthday” is a great theme for this year’s Relay For Life event! May and June are the months we think to celebrate “to honor” those fighting cancer and “to remember” those who lost the battle.
Celebrating “The Pampered Chef” way, Help Whip Cancer Campaign, is an awesome way to honor these individuals! Since Help Whip Cancer began in 2000, The Pampered Chef has raised more than $7.9 million for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the campaign raised more than $875,000 from Help Whip Cancer Fundraiser Shows and special pink-themed product sales. This year PC is hoping to raise 1 million dollars for The American Cancer Society through the sale of its “pink items”.
The a-May-zing thing is with the purchase of each “pink” item purchased, $1 goes to The American Cancer Society. This year’s limited-edition products include: Pink & White Dots Martini Glasses, Pink Color-Coated Tomato Knife, Pink & White Twixit! Clip Combo Pack, Help Whip Cancer Reusable Shopping Bag and Sweet Honey Vanilla Sprinkle, which is a delicious topper on cookies, cupcakes, pancakes and even grilled fruit.
As a breast cancer survivor my goal is to sell 500 of these items! If you would like to help me reach this goal, email me@ yvonne@getyvonne.com so I can provide you with the link through email which will help me reach or exceed that goal. Let’s Whip Cancer together!
Who can you “honor” by providing them with one of these beautiful gifts?
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is a common condition which occurs during this time of year. Many of us have already experienced this condition during the past two weeks, not realizing what we have actually experienced. Heat exhaustion is not a life threatening condition because the core temperature of the body has risen little to none. Rest with the appropriate amounts of water will correct the condition.
In an earlier blog “Heat and Dehydration”, I spoke of the amount of water and fluid needed prior to, during, and after physical exercise or working and playing outside. Taking the proper precautions will keep heat exhaustion from occurring. Just in case you have or know someone who has experienced symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion, nausea, lightheadedness, and or heat cramps after prolonged periods of being in the sun and heat recently whether working in the yard, playing ball, boating,gardening, etc, I will share what you can do to improve the condition.
What has happened to cause these symptoms is the body has not only lost sufficient amounts of fluids but the body has also depleted its sodium and chloride ions.
Rather than wait on the body to get enough rest and fluids, you can treat your condition immediately and more rapidly by partaking “sipping” of this liquid toddy over the course of one hour. The liquid toddy should consist of 1 teaspoon of salt (sodium Chloride) dissolved in a liter of water (quart). Add to this water one tablespoon of sugar or a sweet drink powder (this needs to contain sugar not artificial sweetener). This toddy works best if it is cold and again, consumed slowly within an hour.
Do not substitute salt tablets for this toddy because the salt tablets are too concentrated and will draw the water into the stomach and not into the circulatory system where it is needed to maintain the body’s normal core temperature.
Drinking slightly salty water, massaging heat cramps, and resting will help the cramps that may accompany this fatigue state.
As I mentioned in my earlier blog “Heat and Dehydration”, drinking water and/or gatorade as well as eating salty snacks will give you the electrolytes needed to avoid dehydration. Also be sure to drink because you are suppose to drink, note the frequency in my earlier blog, do not wait until you feel thirsty, by then it’s too late; you are already dehydrated. Take a break during the middle afternoon which is the hottest part of the day.
I have friend who mows for about 6 hours a day once a week. It would be better for her to mow from 9-12 two mornings of the week or to mow three hours in the morning until noon and then again from 5-8pm than to do it in one straight time frame. Why? Heat exhaustion.
Wearing light colored cotton clothing and a wide brimmed hat will also protect your body. You only have one body. Don’t let your body down by abusing it needlessly. Spread your activities out throughout the day and drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes-remember caffeine contributes to dehydration.
If you do experience heat exhaustion remember the toddy above and if anyone you know experiences a heat stroke take them to the nearest medical facility immediately and as fast as you can because a heat stroke is life threatening. Death can occur in about 30 minutes.
In a heat stroke, the core body temperature rises to dangerous levels, the skin can become red and hot, the individual can become disoriented, argumentative, combative or hallucinate. While in route to a medical facility quickly, if possible, remove cotton clothing, soak the person with water, fanning them in order to increase the rate of evaporation and massaging the extremities to help the cool blood return. When available, ice packs could be placed in the following areas and in this correct order - at the neck, armpits, and groin areas. Cooling an individual as instructed in route to a medical facility is the best way to begin the hydration process. The individual in an impaired mental state often will not drink and it is best not to force the fluids. By cooling the body externally it is possible the person will recover enough to begin to drink by mouth. As stated earlier, getting this person to the hospital is crucial while doing any or all of the above because a person in this condition could die in about 30 minutes.
Enjoy the sun and outdoor activities this summer! As you do, take care of yourself and your friends. There is no fun in enjoying the moment or afternoon to find yourself or your friend stuck inside and unable to enjoy the next week or two. We have one life and one body, let’s treat it well especially in the heat.
Heat and Dehydration during these summer days
During this extremely hot weather many are experiencing during the summer already, it is so important to take the proper precautions when you are able to get outdoors to enjoy the outdoor activities such as swimming, sun bathing, amusement parks, ball games, and gardening.
Acclimating oneself to the weather is very important for all ages rather than jumping right into your favorite summer activities.
How does one do this? It takes 10-14 days working or exercising in the heat for your body to become acclimated to the hotter temperatures. You should begin slowly and then gradually add more time doing the activity.As your body adjusts to the temperature, the amounts of body fluid losses (sweating and urinating) increases because once adjusted, you sweat more and sooner than before you were adjusted.
When to hydrate your body? You should be drinking long before you become thirsty. Once you become thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. When it is hot, it is best that you drink on a schedule or keep a drink with you, sipping and drinking continually.
Water is the best thing to drink when you are outside in the heat. Sports drinks such as gatorade is the next best drink because first, it tastes good, so you will drink more of it than the water. These type drinks help you replace the electrolytes you lose while sweating and urinating and they provide the carbohydrate energy needed for your muscles during exercise, work or play.
You need to begin hydrating your body prior to entering the sun and summer day activities. Prior to the activities, adults need 20 ounces of fluid and children need 8 ounces. Adults need 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes of activities while outside in the heat whereas children need 5-9 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes of playing outside. Once the fun in the sun is over, both children and adults need an additional 24 ounces of fluids within the next 2 hours following the outdoors activities.
Signs and Symptoms of Dehydration
Dry lips and tongue.
Headache.
Weakness, dizziness, or extreme fatigue.
Concentrated urine that appears darker than normal.
Nausea.
Muscle cramps.
The American Medical Association reminds us that pouring water over your head when it is hot does not replace the fluids you need in your body and does not lower the core temperature of the body, so please drink plenty of fluids, wear light clothing, and get in the shade from time to time.
Although beer, alcohol, soft drinks and tea may be enjoyed as a cool refreshing drink while outside, these are not recommended because they contribute to dehyration by stimulating urine production; thus, causing dehyration.
Remember, anytime a person who has been outside working or playing in the heat becomes disoriented or unconscious to seek medical attention immediately.