Black Tea Have a Cup of Calm

Do tea lovers do it better?
De-stress, that is. A recent study says yes.

When a group of men were tested with two beverage choices, the men who drank a beverage that was rigged to mimic black tea's constituents recovered more quickly from stress than the group sipping a beverage missing the
black tea ingredients. The credit may go to
black tea's healthful polyphenols, flavonoids, and amino acids. Whatever the reason, it's a good pick-me-up when the pressure's on.

Black Tea can also help to
reduce your appetite

Apple Harvest Oatmeal

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 crisp apple, such as Braeburn or Crispin, cored and diced with skin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, plus more to taste
• 3 cups water
• 2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup ground/milled or whole flax seed (or a combination of both)
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apples
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup 1 percent milk

  
  

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and the apple and cook until lightly brown and soft, 2 minutes. Add cinnamon and sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the oats, wheat germ, flax, dried apples and raisins. Stir constantly for 2 minutes until oats are cooked and dried fruit is slightly plumped. Divide into 4 bowls, sprinkle each bowl with more brown sugar, a drizzle of milk and a dried apple ring.

Yield: 6 (3/4 cup) servings

Blueberries

BLUEBERRIES
Blueberries are a powerful food with a high Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which means

they have armies of antioxidants to fight cancer and prevent heart disease. Blueberries are

probably known best for their high quercetin content. Quercetin may slow cancer growth and

stop LDL oxidation. The fruit also has anthocyanin, which may inhibit cholesterol formation, and

ellagic acid, which may block the initiation stage of cancer. Eating blueberries may also help

reverse some age-related impairments such as memory loss and balance and coordination problems.

Vitamin C, Stress Buster, Fat Burner

People who take 1000 mgs of vitamin C daily cut their output of the stress hormone cortisol by up to 80 percent.

Vitamin C also has energizing powers. Carnitine, a protein that helps the body burn stored fat for fuel, is found in Vitamin C.

Vitamin C is so crucial to the fat burning process that the women with the hightest levels have the lowest body fat percentages.

Many fruits, including pineapples and kiwi, are high in vitamin C.

Reduce your appetite

Here's a tip to help reduce your appetite and boost your body's natural fat burning abilities.

Sip coffee or tea for 30 minutes before a meal.

Green, White or Red tea will calm your appetite and rev up your metabolism and also slow the digestion of carbohydrates.

These teas are also full of antioxidents, which are very important to a healthy lifestyle.

Getting through the holidays with less stress

Hello Fellow Bloggers. Today is December 11, which means, only 14 days 'til Christmas! Exactly two weeks! If you are like so many people, you may find yourself stressings about all of the things you need to accomplish before the big day. Your list may include things such as, complete your shopping, finish wrapping the presents, decorating, planning your holiday meal, getting the Christmas cards addressed and mailed, etc.. The list seems endless, doesn't it?

Stop, take a deep breath, relax! It doesn't have to be so complicated.
Some things I've found over the years that have helped me reduce the stress and consequently helped me to enjoy the holidays more are....

First and foremost is...REMEMBER it really is the thought that counts. Everything does not have to be perfect. It really doesn't. Just think back to last year's Christmas. Do you remember every gift that you received? Do you remember if the turkey was too dry? Was every single ornament in just right spot on the tree? Chances are you don't remember and everything was probably not exactly as you would have liked for it to be. The most important thing is that you are with the people you love and that they know that you made an effort for them.

Keep the decorating to a minimum. Not only is it a lot of work to decorate, it's a lot of work to put it all back after the holidays are over. Not to mention, sometimes if we put out too many baubles, it causes our home to look cluttered and the holidays are no time for complicating matters further. Stick to the basics. Put up a managable tree. What I mean by managable is, one that is easy and quick to put up and take down. There are some great pre-lit trees that can be purchased after the holidays at clearance prices. I've owned three beautiful articficial trees and I've never paid more than $10 for any one of them. HINT: Check out Target's after Christmas sale, usually within the first two weeks after Christmas all items will go to 90% off! If you have a fireplace, decorate the mantle or find the focus on your living room or family room and decorate that area. That should be enough for the main living area of your home.

Set a beautiful table with minimal work. Invest in a nice tablecloth, these can also be purchased after Christmas at drastically reduced prices but, even during the season, you can probably find one for less than $20 that will be beautiful and set a lovely foundation for your holiday table.
Fill a glass/crystal bowl with glass Christmas balls. It's best to stick to two colors. Pick up a couple glass or crystal candle sticks and place long dollar store taper candles in them.
HINT: candles can make any area of your home look festive.

You can also find lovely Christmas or Holiday plates at the dollar store or any discount store for that matter. Nobody will be picking up their plate to look on the bottom to see if it's fine china and if they do well, I don't think that's someone you want at your holiday meal anyway!
I layer plates, large colored dinner plate on the bottom with a glass monogrammed dessert plate on top. I picked up a nice set of water glasses at a yard sale several years ago that compliment my place settings perfectly.
HINT: Be on the lookout all year for items you can use for your holiday table. You can find great items at consignment stores, thrift stores and yard sales.
Serve your food on plain glass chargers or platters.
Now, you should have a lovely table with very little money spent.

Holiday Meal planning. One lesson I've learned is that people are starting to tire of turkey and ham by Christmas and that if you serve appetizers, by the time the meal is ready, your guests are nearly stuffed already and the huge meal that you've spent days planning and hour and hours preparing, is hardly touched. Then you've got a big mess to clear away after the meal, food to store and big expense that was practically wasted. My suggestion is to serve appetizers and only appetizers. Pick 5 or 6 different savory finger foods and 2 or 3 sweet ones. Crockpots are our friend! Buy a bag of precooked meatballs and add bbq sauce or sweet and sour sauce, throw them in the crockpot in the morning on low and then when they are fully warmed and the flavors are mingled, turn the pot to warm..viola! Same for cocktail weenies. These are just a couple ideas and there's a world of ideas just waiting for you in any cookbook, pamphlets that you can pick up for FREE at the super market or on the internet. Also make sure to put out a veggie tray a store bought cheese ball and crackers! Another thing that I've found that is affordable and easy is to check with your local deli about their premade trays. You can find anything from shrimp, hotwings, chicken fingers to relish, fruit, meat and cheese platters! They come nicely decorated with no fuss or work from you. If you don't enjoy baking, pick up a pie and cookies from the bakery or buy a no bake cheese cake and can of cherry pie filling. It takes less than 15 mins to prepare and it will look lovely on your table. Mrs. Smith's and Sara Lee also make great frozen pies and there are always coupons in the Sunday supplement of your local newspaper for them.

I hope you found some helpful tips here. Enjoy this wonderful time of year and don't stress.

I'll be adding more helpful hints, so be sure to check back.

T~

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog.

One of my true passions in life is cooking and in that vain I've created this blog to talk about it.

If you enjoy cooking and cooking healthy, I hope you'll check in whenever you can.

I have many other interest so I will be blogging about those from time to time as well.

I look forward to sharing and learning.

Enjoy!