Healthy Rice and Potato Dishes That Won’t Weigh You Down

Starches and whole grains are important for feeling energized, but if eaten in excess, they can make you feel heavy or weighed-down. These delicious and nutritious recipes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute incorporate rice and potatoes into your diet in a way that benefits your body and provides proper portion sizes.

Delicious Oven French Fries
Though fast food French fries are anything but healthy, this oven-baked alternative provides the same classic taste without the added fat and salt.

Wonderful Stuffed Potatoes
By stuffing a baked potato with low fat milk and cottage cheese instead of the usual sour cream, you can save calories and still get the same savory taste.

Candied Yams
The holiday favorite gets a healthy makeover in this fast and easy recipe, with sweet brown sugar and tangy orange juice for a boost of added flavor.

Scallion Rice
The addition of green onions and bullion gives this simple, low-calorie rice dish a little something extra, and makes it perfect for eating with a variety of meats, vegetables or stir-fries.

Sunshine Rice
Perfect for pairing with grilled chicken or for eating on its own, this rice recipe contains unique ingredients like hot sauce, almonds, and lemon juice for a distinctly flavorful taste.

For more healthy rice and potato dishes, visit the NIH website by clicking here.

Consignment Stars: Stylish Furnishings for the Thrifty Shopper

Consignment Stars is a consignment furniture store located in the Pflugerville area of Austin. Though the city is filled with a seemingly endless number of thrift and consignment stores, this shop is unique because of its large selection of both new and used furniture.

Consignment Stars’ knowledgeable staff is always on hand to answer any questions about the consigning process or a specific piece of furniture, and the shop carries items for every room in the home. The 10,000-square-foot store hosts beds, couch and loveseat sets, televisions, and even outdoor furniture for exceptionally low prices. If you have your own used furniture that you’d like to sell, Consignment Stars also offers a convenient selling process in which you pocket half of the money once your item is sold.

Consignment Stars is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The shop is closed on Sundays.

Consignment Stars
2405 W. Pecan Street
Pflugerville, TX 78660
(512) 202-3800
www.consignmentstars.com
www.yelp.com/biz/consignment-stars-pflugerville

24 Diner: Austin Comfort Food

24 Diner offers classic American fare with a modern twist in a fun, laid-back Austin atmosphere. The inspired menu, plus a great beer, wine and cocktail selection turn up the volume on the ordinary diner experience. Partygoers love the fact that they stay open round the clock right in the heart of central Austin.

24's all day breakfast menu means you can sidle up to Eggs, Sausage and Waffles at any hour. Burger and sandwich options include a French Dip with gruyere & horseradish, Chicken Salad with spicy pepper relish and a Bacon Avocado Burger with smoked aioli. Entrees include Meatloaf with sweet onion gravy, Pork Chops with sage butter, Roast Chicken with shallot jus, Vegetable Plate with lemon vinaigrette, and No-Bean Chili with cornbread.

Austin's 24 Diner is open daily.

24 Diner
600 N. Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 472-5400
www.24diner.com
www.yelp.com/biz/24-diner-austin

Barton Springs Pool: Cool Off Where Robert Redford Learned to Swim

Any pool that's good enough for Robert Redford should be good enough for the average swimmer. Barton Springs Pool is that pool. Redford took his very first strokes here as a 5-year-old while on a trip to visit his relatives. Perhaps what drew the Redford family to Barton Springs was its one-of-a-kind aesthetic, unlike any other public pool. You see, the pool's waters filter into it from a hot underground spring, so it's a cross between a typical pool (with lifeguards, diving board, and concrete walls) and a natural lake (with algae underfoot).

Head to Barton Springs Pool any time of year for a swim in crisp waters. They average around 70 degrees no matter the season due to the font from which they flow. Locals love cooling off in the chilly pool on an oppressive Texan summer day or just coming here to sunbathe and people-watch.

Barton Springs Pool
2201 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 476-9044
austintexas.gov/department/barton-springs-pool
www.yelp.com/biz/barton-springs-pool-austin

Organize Jewelry and Accessories With These Smart and Easy DIYs

If it seems almost impossible to keep your necklaces, rings, and other accessories neat and organized, read on! These smart tips will show you new, smart ways to keep your jewelry and accessories tidy and tangle-free. Best of all, you can make them yourself — inexpensively!

Antique Saucer Jewelry Storage [Buzzfeed]
Store your everyday jewelry right out in the open by using a few china tea saucers. You can usually find them at your local thrift store, and they make a good place to corral loose rings, bracelets, and earrings.

Hanging Thread Organizer [onegoodthingbyjillee.com]
Make a quick visit to your local craft store and purchase a wooden thread organizer. This handy storage solution is meant to hold spools of thread, but its numerous wooden pegs are also perfect for hanging necklaces and bracelets on the back of a door, on the wall, or inside of a cabinet.

Corkboard Jewelry Holder [beehiveandbirdsnest.com]
Many people have an unused corkboard tucked away in a closet, and if you don’t, you can easily pick one up for cheap at an office supply store. Place attractive push-pins all over the corkboard and arrange them in a way that best suits your jewelry collection.

Cocktails and Crab-Crusted Steak at Austin’s CRAVE

Local, seasonal ingredients form an important part of the menu at CRAVE in Austin. Although not every ingredient comes from a local source, CRAVE's chefs incorporate locally sourced ingredients whenever they can.

CRAVE's menu of options includes some upscale, creative dishes, like crab-crusted filet mignon and egg rolls stuffed with chicken and avocado. Those are two of regular customers' favorites, but they're by no means the only things to enjoy here. The menu is expansive, encompassing a huge array of dishes, from pizza and pasta to pan-roasted sea bass, fried chicken and waffles, and even spicy lamb burgers. There's also a sushi menu, a huge list of specialty and cooked rolls, and the equally impressive cocktail list. Visitors can complement the upscale fare with a ginger pear martini, blackberry sage tea, agave margarita, or a sweet glass of sangria.

Visit CRAVE's website to learn more about this Austin restaurant!

CRAVE
340 E. 2nd Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 469-0000
www.cravetexas.com

www.yelp.com/biz/crave-austin-4

What You Need to Know About the Couch to 5k Program

If you’ve always wanted to run a 5k but you just don’t know where to begin, you might be interested in the Couch-to-5k Program. This beginner-friendly running plan aims to take first time runners from their very first run all the way to a full 5k, and it’s customizable based on your specific time frame. Here are a few things that you should know about the program.

  • A 5k measures 3.1 miles.
  • The Couch-to-5k Program starts slowly and gradually builds up to a full 5k over the course of two months.
  • Each training session amounts to just 20 to 30 minutes three times per week.
  • The training days should be spaced out throughout the week, leaving at least one day for recovery in between.
  • With the Couch-to-5k, you don’t want to focus on how fast you’re going, but rather on building up your distance with each new session.
  • You can follow the Couch-to-5k Program either by time or by distance of each run. Experts recommend choosing whichever option seems easiest for you to keep track of.
  • It’s important to warm up and cool down before each session. With this program, a five-minute jog is a good warm-up, and it’s equally important to stretch before and after your run.

The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan | C25K Mobile App [Cool Running]
Couch to 5K: Is it Right for You? [Answers]
How to Lose Weight With Couch Potato Running [Livestrong]

New Facebook Sweepstakes! Enter to Win an iPad Mini!

To enter the Sweepstakes, visit our Facebook Page and then look for the Sweepstakes tab (image shown below) located on our Facebook Page to enter. Sweepstakes ends August 31st, 2015. We suggest you like our page to keep informed about future sweepstakes and community happenings.

For mobile users, click here to enter.

How to Decorate Your Rental Home With Mirrors

Mirrors work wonders in a rental space. They create a space to check your appearance before your dash out the door in the morning, they add light and size to any sized space, and they even act as a decor element. Here are just a few great places to add mirrors in your rental.

  • Above the nightstand. Add matching mirrors above your nightstands to create the illusion of extra depth in the bedroom.
  • Behind the dresser. If your dresser doesn’t come with an attached mirror, create a sort of vanity space of your own by hanging a decorative mirror behind it.
  • In a stairwell. If you have a set of stairs in your apartment, create a gallery wall of mismatched mirrors up the length of the staircase.
  • Across from a window. Maximize the light in a room by placing a large mirror directly across from a window.
  • On the kitchen cabinets. Cut mirror panes to fit right within the borders of your kitchen cabinets, then attach them with removable adhesive.
  • In a closet. Hang a full-length mirror on the back of a regular closet door to make it feel like a luxurious dressing room.

Adorn Home With Beautiful Mirrors [Decozilla]
How to Decorate With Mirrors [Real Simple]
10 Unique Ways to Decorate with Mirrors [House Beautiful]

Happy Independence Day!

We hope everyone enjoys a fun and relaxing time with family and friends as we celebrate America's freedom.

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