You are here: Home / Archives for Seasonal

Spring Produce Guides to Help You Navigate the Grocery Store This Season

April 5, 2016 by

Every spring there’s an abundance of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables that make their way into your local grocery store. It’s tempting to fill your cart with tasty produce, but these things go bad so quickly that it helps to have a plan in mind when you shop. Here are two online guides to spring produce.

Food and Wine
This beautifully curated guide offers creative recipes that all use spring produce. It’s organized by type of fruits and vegetables, with recipe sections for things like asparagus, spinach, mangoes, and pineapple. Each recipe also uses simple, step-by-step instructions and high quality images that help you to visualize each dish. If you want to prepare elegant, healthy meals with seasonal ingredients, Food and Wine is a great resource.

The Food Network
The Food Network is an authority on all-things cooking, and their Spring Produce Guide is one of the most helpful out there. It utilizes photos, videos, and text recipes to deliver everyday recipes that use spring produce, and many of them come straight from your favorite Food Network hosts. There are also tips and tricks for things like choosing the best fruits and vegetables, washing and preparing them for cooking, and cooking with fresh herbs straight from the garden.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Feeling Under the Weather? Try These All-Natural Cold and Flu Remedies

January 2, 2015 by

If you get a cold or the flu every winter like clockwork, you’re likely always on the hunt for natural ways to treat your illness at home. Before you drag yourself out of bed to go to the doctor, try these all-natural home remedies to help banish your sore throat, soothe that runny nose, and make your aching muscles feel as good as new. (But consult your doctor for professional medical advice first!)

  1. Drink as many fluids as possible. When you’re feeling all stuffed up and congested, one of the best ways to rid your nasal cavity of mucus is by drinking plenty of fluids. Aim for eight to ten glasses of water per day, and supplement them with herbal teas, sports drinks, and even broth-based soups.
  2. Inhale steam. Another way to clear your stuffy nose is by leaning over a pot of boiling water, placing a towel over your head, and breathing deeply through your nose—just be careful not to breathe too deeply and burn yourself.
  3. Adjust your diet. By incorporating things like lemons, garlic, and honey into your diet, you can absorb their vitamins and antimicrobial properties. Green tea or peppermint tea also help to rid your body of cold or flu symptoms.
  4. Gargle with salt water. If a sore throat is keeping you up at night, this old wives’ tale can help to decrease the swelling in the throat’s mucous membranes and ease your pain.

Home Remedies for Colds [WebMD]
Cold and Flu Home Remedies [Doctor Oz]
22 Natural Sore Throat Remedies to Help Soothe the Pain [Everyday Roots]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Did You Resolve to Lose Weight for the New Year? Here’s How to Start!

December 26, 2014 by

So you’ve decided to cut out the snacking and get healthy in the New Year, but now you don’t know where to start. If your New Year’s resolution centers around losing weight and getting in shape, these smart and simple tricks will help you to make it happen.

  1. Choose a specific goal. Although you don’t want to choose a weight loss goal so lofty that it’s actually dangerous, it's beneficial to have a concrete number in mind. Work with a doctor to develop a realistic weight loss goal that you can work toward throughout the year.
  2. Create a schedule. For most people, lack of time is the main thing that stands in the way of weight loss goals. By scheduling your meal prep or workout like a job, you won’t be as likely to put them off.
  3. Start slowly. You’ll probably be full of energy and excitement about becoming the newer, healthier you, but it’s important to start a routine slowly so that you’re more likely to stick with it.
  4. Prepare yourself. Your weight loss won’t be easy, but it will be much more bearable if you make the necessary preparations before New Year’s Eve. Join a gym, research healthy recipes, or even make a trip to the health food store.

Fitness 101: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Exercise [WebMD]
14 Tips for Starting and Sticking with a Workout Routine [SparkPeople]
How To Start Working Out When You Don’t Like To Exercise [Summer Tomato]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

3 Recipes for Pumpkin Seeds

October 24, 2014 by

Even if you make roasted pumpkin seeds every fall, there are so many different recipes for this autumn snack that you probably haven’t tried them all. Here are three unique pumpkin seed recipes that will give a new taste to one of your favorite fall foods.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds [AllRecipes]
Two hefty teaspoons of butter help to bring out the natural flavor of the pumpkin seeds in this simple, basic recipe. Whether you buy a bag of seeds from the grocery store or extract them from the pumpkin yourself, you just can’t go wrong with this fall snack.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto [Whole Foods]
Fans of pesto will adore this unique recipe, which combines the fall flavors of pumpkin seeds with the unexpected taste of cilantro pesto. Store the finished product in your refrigerator to spread on sandwiches, drizzle over pasta, or use as a topping for baked chicken.

Asparagus, Potato and Spinach Galette [Woman's Day]
Galettes are very popular because of their versatility and their beautifully rustic appearance, and this one incorporates pumpkin seeds in a way that you’ve likely never tried before. Fill the rolled pie crust with Gruyere cheese, asparagus, and Yukon gold potatoes to create a truly filling meal that’s pretty enough to serve at parties or holiday gatherings.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

3 Halloween Treats Your Kids (and You!) Will Love

October 3, 2014 by

Kids get a lot of candy during the Halloween holiday, but it isn’t very healthy to consume so many sugary, packaged treats. Instead of the usual store-bought candy, make your children a homemade treat using wholesome ingredients. Here are three creative recipes for Halloween treats that you’ll likely to love just as much as your kids.

Ghostly Pudding Milkshake [kraftrecipes.com]
Milkshakes may seem like a dessert meant more for summer than fall, but this monstrous milkshake makes the ideal Halloween treat. Vanilla pudding creates a sweet and creamy base, and you can add a scary jack-o’-lantern or monster face using some melted chocolate and a paintbrush after pouring it in the glass.

Spooky Veggies and Dip [parenting.com]
While vegetables likely aren’t your kids’ favorite snack, they might change their tune when they see these creepy vegetable sticks. Green beans turn into slithering snakes, an olive slice and a pea transform cherry tomatoes into eyeballs, and adding dip to the end of a carrot stick creates a faux severed finger.

Skeleton Quesadilla [babble.com]
Turn your kids’ lunch into a Halloween masterpiece by making a skeleton face out of nutritious quesadilla. Best of all, you can customize the faces to create a whole family of skeletons for all of your little ones.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Don’t Get Burned by These Common Sunscreen Application Mistakes

May 16, 2014 by

Nothing can quite put a damper on summer fun than a bad case of sunburn. If you've ever been afflicted by the telltale red skin and prickly heat of sunburn, it's likely you committed one of these four common sunscreen application mistakes:

1) You applied sunscreen immediately before sun exposure.
Sunscreen needs time to absorb into the skin. For maximum benefits, try to wait at least 15 minutes after application before venturing outside.

2) You applied too little sunscreen.
There's no such thing as too much sunscreen. Start with a golf ball sized amount, and apply the lotion systematically, massaging it into your arms, legs, face, back on the neck and ears—wherever your skin will be exposed to the sun.

3) You forgot to reapply.
Sunscreen is effective for a maximum of two hours, or about 40 to 80 minutes if you're sweating or swimming. Also remember that the sun can penetrate fog and cloud cover, so wear sunscreen even when the sun's not shining.

4) You used a lotion with a too-low SPF (Sun Protection Factor).
Choose a water-resistant sunscreen that's at least 30 SPF. Also ensure that your sunscreen provides protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Be advised, however, that sunscreens with a SPF higher than 30 won't necessarily buy you more time in the sun. A 30 SPF sunscreen will protect you from 96% of sunburn-causing rays, while SPF 50 provides only slightly more protection: 98%.

Sunscreen: Tips to Wear It Well [MD Anderson Cancer Center]
8 Sunscreen Mistakes You're Probably Making [Huffpost]
How to apply sunscreen (and how not to) [Well + Good]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Pin It on Pinterest