It is an inevitable part of cooking, clean up. And not very many, if any, people are truly excited to do it.
Here are a few tips to make it faster and easier!
1) Do it right away! I know we’ve all heard it and it takes a while to really sink in, but I promise if you clean up as you go and as soon as you are done it really does go faster.
2) When it comes to stuck on food, burnt on food, especially meats and sugars a little vinegar goes a long way. As soon as you’re done with the pan and while it is still hot pour just enough vinegar to cover the mess and leave it to soak. Just about everything will easily come off.
3) Baking soda is stainless Steels best friend. It will wash and leave those surfaces sparkling clean.
4) A lemon wedge down the garbage disposal will kill bacteria and bad smells.
5) refer back to 1. It really makes a world of difference!
Summer is coming and the quarantines are lifting we will be getting out of the house and there may have been a little wight gained while hanging out at home. Instead of reaching for a meal replacement bottle at the store, get yourself some fresh fruits and veggies, a little yogurt, and your favorite milk to make some smoothies. These are great for breakfast and/or lunch and are nutrient dense and Calorie light.
I just finished a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine about whether or not it was appropriate to let her two-year-old play in the garage. She’s asked on social media and other places and people don’t really have an answer. And really after discussing it it came back to the same old topic round these parts, experience.
What kind of experiences have you had with your child in the garage in the past and what kind of experience are they having right now in the garage all by themselves?
And her house the garage is a place where the children frequent regularly. It is set up so that for the most part it is child safe and the children are aware of things that are dangerous. And therefore based on her experience the garage is a safe place for a 2 year olds to be left unattended.
Before I moved to the city I would allow my children to play outside by themselves. Even though I lived on the highway I wasn’t worried about them running into the street. We spent a lot of time outside together and therefore they knew where their boundaries were and even now that we live in the city I allow them to ride their bikes up and down the cul-de-sac as long as they are together. It is all about an experience and the things you have done and have taught your child.
This leads to a really important topic that comes up a lot when we start comparing our children. Everybody says you should never compare your children and here is the reason why. Each child experiences a different life and therefore has different experiences to build their world on. This is yet another reason why each one of us is unique.
If you want your children to be more worldly let them experience the world. If you want your children to be more responsible give them more responsibility. If you want your children to be more creative give them new ways to create art and express themselves. We are the creators of their environment and provide them with the experiences that used to create a lifetime of knowledge.
You read a food label and it says based on the 2000 calorie per day diet. We read blogs and articles that say you should eat 1500 calories while others say less and some say more. We search and search for the exact number, the right number, leading to confusion and frustration. Many people come to me already having picked a number that they think is the correct amount of calories for them, saying they’ve tried to maintain these calories but they just don’t feel healthy. There is no General number for the correct amount of calories for everyone. Just as our mothers told us we are all special we really are all special and unique and the calories you need should be based on your lifestyle and individual needs.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you start a calorie counting diet.
How active are you? This should include whether you work in an office, how much TV you watch and how much physical activity you were doing every day.
How many hours of sleep are you getting every night? While we are sleeping we are using far fewer calories and our bodies are absorbing more of the calories that we’ve eaten throughout the day.
What kind of calories are we consuming? If the majority of your calories are coming from nutrient-dense food such as fruits and vegetables you can have higher calorie intake. On the other hand, if you’re eating calorie-dense food with little nutrients such as processed or fast food your calorie needs will be lower.
How hydrated are you? If you’re drinking plenty of water the food will move a little more quickly through your digestive system, and your nutrient absorption will increase while fibrous foods will move more efficiently.
And most importantly what is your resting metabolic rate? This is a number of calories that are needed for your body to do its routine tasks such as breathing, keeping your heart beating and your brain going. There are complicated equations that professionals use to get the exact number but you can estimate your resting calorie needs by taking your weight in kilograms and multiplying it by 25. This is a base number and the bare minimum amount of calories that you need.
Under eating is just as unhealthy as overeating and it is important to keep up a healthy calorie intake to keep your body from going into states of starvation. Is also important that you’re not eating too many calories. This can put your body into a state of constant storage slowing your metabolism increasing weight gain.
If you are looking for help in determining the exact number of calories that are right for you, my services are available. Email me your questions and we can set up a consultation time.
Shame is a strong force in our lives. It is a motivator like no other. It makes you want to do something better, to be better, to changed behavior, but in reality it brings you back to the problem repeating the same behavior. Shame leads to guilt and guilt leads to self loathing which brings you to self destructive behaviors that make you feel better.
Now this can be the extremes like doing drugs and self harm, but it can also be over indulging in your physical appearance. We are shamed into a plethora of behaviors and social norms some are based off the best intentions but shame should not be the motivating factor.
You have to make the changes you need because you need and want to. Stop taking external criticism as negative motivation. Think about the person you want to be. Think about what makes you happy and how you can live a life to achieve that. This should not be based on what the people around you or the society says is best for you. You are the only one who knows who it is you want to be and that is just who you should be!
All this time at home has given us a lot of time making lunch. PBJ, turkey sandwich, hot dogs, lunchables, and mac and cheese can only go so far, especially when you are all grown up. Here are some great recipes, that are easy to make and will satisfy your craving for something new and delicious!
We crave those carbs because of the biological need our brain has for carbohydrates. The brain is the most energy demanding organ in the body and just like all cells in the body, the cells of the brain run off of glucose.
Before we can talk about craving carbs, we have to take a brief moment to talk about glucose. Glucose is a simple molecule that is the gasoline for the body. When you google glucose the word sugar is all over, there is so much hype and misinformation around this small and important molecule. The facts are this. Your cells need glucose like your car needs fuel. In this modern world of convenience there is a plethora of this fuel available. We flood our bodies with it and there is an overflow that our body converts to the only form of storage it has, fat.
Now here is the part that people don’t talk about. It is easy for your body to use the food you eat to make glucose right away. It is fairly easy, however very taxing on the liver, to store the excess glucose as fat. Your body can turn that fat back into glucose; however, it is not as easy as it was to store. Your body can also make glucose from protein; however, this causes the release of byproducts that can cause damage.
Just to highlight the complicated processes going on when you eat
Your body craves those carbs because it is the easiest and most efficient way to get glucose to the brain. When your brain is in need of glucose it makes you irritable and also can mimic the symptoms of depression. This is your brains way of telling you it is hungry. Then we crave those carbs!
Now it is not the carbs that are bad, it is the flooding of the system with them and overwhelming tendency to eat way more then we need. To stop this cycle and create healthy habits we need to stop starving our brain and also stop flooding the system. The best way to do this is to eat small meals throughout the day, with the regular small intake of carbohydrates. I think the best inspiration is results. When you are eating small meals throughout the day, your body stops storing so much, you start to see weight loss. Your brain is not starving for energy, there is no rush of dopamine causing the highs and lows. This in turn speeds up your metabolism, leading to more weight loss, and a new cycle arises. One where you feel energized and losing weight.
Feeding your baby is meant to be biologically easy. Breast milk is clearly and literally designed to feed human babies. I could list facts to fill an entire book to back up these statements but I think most people already know breast milk is what babies have evolved to develop on.
Now with that said, let’s talk reality. In reality no one tells you that nursing is not a completely blissful experience. In fact it hurts at first and not just a little but a lot. It is an experience like no other and the most important thing you need to do is breathe and relax. In fact stress is your biggest challenge when it comes to nursing.
There are so many expectations, it is such a big deal and people have talked it up and up and up. It becomes quite an anticipated moment and it can be an extremely stressful experience.
Just relax, you can do this! Just as the milk that comes is biologically designed to feed the baby you are beautifully biologically designed to feed your baby. Take a breath, relax, and just enjoy the satisfaction of truly nourishing your baby.
Whisk the honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch in a medium bowl.
Add cleaned shrimp and set to marinade while you prepare the rice as per its intrusions.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place shrimp and the baby sweet peas in the skillet.
Cook until the shrimp has turned pink and the sauce starts to thicken. Do not overcook, once the shrimp is completely pink it will become chewy if cooked longer.
Serve over the rice and top with the green onions.
Bedtime can turn into a dreaded part of the day. Kids often find every way possible to get out of going to sleep.
Just as with almost everything in parenting it is all about consistency.
Create a routine and carry it out everyday. Bath, PJ’s, brush teeth, read a book, go to bed is a pretty standard, but create something that works for you and stick to it!
Finally the Nanny 911 show said it best! Put them to bed, help them back with words the first time and then every time after that simply walk them back to bed. Try not to say anything. It sounds so easy and if you stick to it it will be!
How many things are you committed to? Work, hobbies, family, friends, and don’t forget alone time. They all seem to create a tornado of things to do and never enough time to do everything.
How many things are you sacrificing? As we prioritize, things inevitably get put at the bottom of the list. Things get put off and altogether left in the dust that you don’t have time to dust off. These are often the things we do just for ourselves or with the people we know who will understand.
An easy way to make sure you are getting everything done is to make a routine and stick to the schedule. This does a few things. One, you get more things done which feels great. You also are less stressed when you are on a set schedule, and most of all you schedule in the time to take care of yourself.
Make a routine that fits your unique schedule. Make sure it includes all of the things that are important both to you and your community. Look at each day, week, month, year, and when things don’t seem to work out make adjustment. Maybe even make a completely new schedule, but keep working at it until you find a schedule that works for you.
