Eat Healthy for Less: Using Coupons and Bargain Shopping Does Not Mean Forgoing Healthy Options!

Using coupons and shopping sales at your local grocery store does not mean you have to forego healthy options. There are plenty of ways to eat healthy foods and save money at the same time. Don’t fall into the fallacy that to eat cheap is to eat unhealthy. Sure you can get a ten pack of hot dogs for $.99 and boxes of macaroni and cheese for $.59. But, you can find healthy foods at great prices as well. Here is how you can save money at the grocery store and still make healthy choices.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons! Coupons exist for great healthy foods as well as the not so healthy ones. Brands such as Cascadian Farms, Stonyfield Farms, Organic Valley, Horizon Organic, and many more feature coupons in Sunday circulars or have printable coupons on their websites. Don’t assume that organic and health food aisle foods don’t have coupons. Many of these healthy brands do offer coupons and when combined with a store sale can allow you to get these products for a great price. Also, be sure to sign up for coupon offers with your specific local grocery story. Large grocery store chains such as Kroger regularly send out special coupons just for organic items, dairy products, and produce.

Buy Sale Produce Only. Instead of planning your grocery list around your meals, try planning your meals around what produce you can find on sale at your local grocery store. Each store has a few produce items each week that are on super sale. Purchase these items and save a lot of money, then plan your meals around the items you have purchased. Only pay full price for produce on the extreme occasion that you are preparing a special dish.

Seek Out a “Bent and Dent.” Many areas have surplus grocery stores, often called “bent and dent” retailers. These small, often messy and unorganized, stores have overstock items, items that have been slightly damaged, and items that were shipped from stores that closed. Often shoppers can find great deals on organic and difficult to find grocery items at these stores. Don’t be turned off by the poor outward appearance—these places can be a gold mine for savvy shoppers. Just make sure you read the expiration dates carefully before purchasing.

Shop More Often. While shopping more often isn’t always an option for busy families, hitting the grocery store twice a …

7 Healthy Habits to Help You Live Longer

It would seem that now days people are living longer and longer. At the same time there also seems to be a lot of issues that could hinder one’s living to a ripe old age. There are several things you can do to help improve the odds of getting to that ripe old age. Nothing is fool proof of course, but it is definitely worth it to do what you can to live the best life you can.

Some of these suggestions may seem like common sense but you would be surprised on just how many people ignore common sense. Some may not think these things make a big difference but it does. Most people know it will make a difference but choose to do, or in some cases not to do, them anyways.

My first suggestion on a healthy habit perhaps entails you quitting a habit. That is the habit of smoking. If you don’t smoke then that is great! If you do, now is the time to quit. Smoking seems to be one of those habits that we all know is bad but some choose to do it anyways. It is never too late to quit smoking. Even if you have been smoking for 40 years. Quitting now is better than never quitting. It can drastically reduce your risk to life threatening illnesses.

Eating healthy is another one of those common sense things that most of do not pay much attention too. Eating more fruits and vegetables and staying away from high fat foods will greatly improve your chance of living a long and healthy life. There are so many things out there today that we need to stay away from. A few examples are high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, and a host of other things. When you have the time I urge you to just do a Google search on the above mentioned things. You may be shocked at what you find out.

In today’s busy world most of us do not get as much sleep as we should. Proper sleep is so important to our health and overall well being. When you miss out on much needed sleep it can take you days to catch up. In fact, you may never catch up. Sleep is one thing that needs to be high on your priority list.

Next you need to get moving! Yep, I mean …

Hearty and Healthy Feel Good Meals

These soups can be eaten as a start of a dinner or with salad and bread as a meal. These soups are hearty, delicious, healthy, and vegetarian. The stew is not vegetarian, but is a hearty alternative to chicken soup. The stew is particularly good when you have a cold or your allergies are acting up.

Mushroom- Barley Soup

Cook ½ cup of raw pearled barley in 1 ½ cups of stock until tender. Add 5 more cups of stock, 3- 4 tbsp. of tamari (soy sauce), and 3-4 tbsp. of dry sherry. Sauté 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 heaping cup of chopped onion in 3 tbsp. of butter. When soft add 1 lb. of sliced fresh mushrooms and ½- 1 tsp. of salt. When tender add to barley. Simmer 20 minutes, covered, over lowest possible heat.

Spicy Tomato Soup

Sauté 1 ½ cup of minced onion and 3 cloves of crushed garlic in 1 tbsp. of butter and 1 tbsp. of oil. in a kettle or large saucepan. Cook 5 minutes, until translucent, then add 1 tsp. of dill weed, 2 lb. can of concentrated, crushed tomatoes and 2 cups of stock or 6 cups of chopped canned tomatoes and their liquid and 1 tbsp. of honey. Cover and simmer at least 45 minutes on low heat. Whisk in sour cream 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped scallions.

Zucchini Puree

Place 7 cups of chunked zucchini (3 medium), 1 cup of chopped onion, 2 cups of stock or water and 1 ½ tsp of salt in a saucepan and cook until the zucchini is just tender. Puree in a blender. Put in a pot and whisk in ¾ cup of dry milk, ¼ cup of sour cream, a pinch of celery seed, and ½ tsp. basil. Heat until hot enough to serve and top with scallions.

Chicken Stew and Dumplings

stew: in a large pot gently boil boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 per person you are feeding) totally covered in water (6-8 cups) for ½ hour. Add 2-3 chicken bouillon cubes, around 4 scrubbed, chopped potatoes, 1 chopped onion, 3-4 chunked carrots, and 1-2 chopped celery sticks. Cook 45 minutes to an hour or until the potatoes are cooked. In a separate container whisk together 1 ½ cups of milk and 12 tbsp. of flour. Add to the chicken mixture, stirring well. Add 1 cup …

Top 8 Tips to a Healthier Mane

Your hair frames your pretty face and it is important to keep it looking shiny, healthy, and sexy. With the changes of season comes damage it bring to your hair. From being frizzy over the winter to being sun-bleached during summer, your hair takes a lot of stress from the extremes. Combine it with a hectic lifestyle, unhealthy habits, UV rays, and pollutants – your hair will definitely scream if it can do so. How do you keep it vibrant and healthy amidst all of these?

Secrets to a Sexy, Shiny and Healthy Hair

1.  Love Natural

Go for natural shampoos and conditioners that won’t strip away nutrients and vital oils from your hair. Avoid anything that contains cancer-causing paraben.

2.  Shampoo Every Other Day

It can feel icky, but shampooing your hair everyday makes it limp, lifeless, and brittle. You can dry your hair and scalp with too much washing. You may use a dry shampoo instead if you want your hair smelling clean.

3.  Use UV protection

Who says that only your eyes and skin needs protection from the harsh heat of the sun? Try to find products with UV protecting elements, specially if you have colored or highlighted hair.

4.  Deep Condition

Once a week, you may pamper your hair with deep conditioning treatments that you can buy cheap in your local drugstore. If your hair is super dry, you may use a hair mask, instead of conditioning your hair daily.

5.  Moisturize

When using conditioner, apply more to your hair roots which is prone to dryness. After swimming in a pool filled with chlorine, use a clarifying shampoo to wash your hair thoroughly and seal it with a moisturizing conditioner. Chlorine can dry your hair real fast so wash your hair as soon as you get out of the pool.

6.  Use Styling Products Properly

Don’t blow dry too close to your scalp and don’t keep the nozzle in one place. The last thing you want is to fry your hair. If you are using heated stylers like your flat iron, always put on a heat-protectant spray to avoid damaging your hair with the intense heat. All those anti-frizz serum helps prevent frizz, making your hair shine more, but NEVER apply it before heat-styling.

7.  Massage Your Scalp

Stimulate hair growth and shiny hair by massaging your scalp or using natural boar bristles to comb your hair. If you have a curly hair, …