Learn How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight

It’s common knowledge that fruits and vegetables are some of the healthiest foods in any diet, but learning how to use fruits and vegetables to manage your weight is another story. This informative guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help you plan each meal of the day to ensure that you get the proper vitamins and nutrients to reach your goal weight.

Replacing unhealthy foods with fruits and vegetables helps you to lose weight, but it also prevents cancer and other chronic diseases as well. These health benefits make it apparent how important natural foods are in your diet, and lucky for you, fruits and vegetables make delicious, filling substitutes for other foods in many of your favorite dishes.

This guide explains just some of the many ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal. For breakfast, adding things like spinach, onions and mushrooms to your morning omelet instead of fattening cheese is an easy and delicious way to get one full serving of vegetables. At lunchtime, cutting back the meat and cheese on a sandwich or wrap and replacing them with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, or onions will fill you up in the very same way. Dinner allows you to be more creative, with a number of different combinations of vegetables to add to any pasta, rice or stir fry dish.

Once you become aware of the different ways you can incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet, you’ll start to make changes and, in turn, lose weight.

How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage Your Weight [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

Laundry and Clothing Care Basics Everyone Should Know

Doing the laundry is a necessary annoyance, but modern amenities have done a lot to make this weekly chore a less daunting. Here are the basic rules for properly washing and caring for your most essential articles of clothing.

  1. Sort by color. You’ve likely heard that you need to separate your lights from your darks, but this step is especially important when washing denim or new clothes that have yet to be washed.
  2. Use the right water temperature. As a general rule, wash delicate clothing that could shrink or bleed in cold water. For heavily soiled items, whites, and towels, use hot water instead.
  3. Use the proper detergent. Not all detergents are created equal, so choose a type specially formulated for cold water, hot water, or even a brand made with color-safe bleach to remove stains from colored clothing. As a bonus, using the right type of detergent can even extend the lifespan of your clothes.
  4. Secure buttons. Dab a bit of clear nail polish in the center of shirt buttons to help prevent them from loosening. Even better, learn how to replace one yourself if you frequently wear button-down shirts.
  5. Keep zippers smooth. Rub zippers with wax every few weeks to keep them from catching or sticking.

Laundry Basics – Sorting it Out [For Better Living]
How to Care for Your Clothes [How Stuff Works]
Keep Your Clothes Clean and Bright [She Knows]
4 Clothing Care Skills Millennials Probably Don’t Know (But Need to Learn) [Real Simple]

Easy Tips for Tackling Even the Toughest Stains

When you spill red wine on your favorite shirt or get a grease stain on your jeans, it may seem impossible to get your clothes to look normal again. There is a way to remove just about every stain, provided that you know these simple techniques.

  1. Tackle it quickly. Never let a stain set into your clothes, even if you’re away from home when it happens. Pre-treat the affected area with a stain remover, and be sure to toss a portable version in your purse or glove compartment.
  2. Know the types. Dye stains such as coffee, tea, or ink are the easiest to remove, and simply require running the stain under cold water and then washing in hot water. Protein stains like sweat or blood need to be treated with an alkaline stain-removal solution, while stains caused by lipstick, ketchup, and crayons require a combination of the other two treatments.
  3. Take care of delicates. If you stain delicate articles of clothing, don’t fret. Simply rub the stain with a solution of equal parts salt and lemon juice using a soft cloth or your finger to loosen the stain without damaging the fabric. Let it dry in the sun and it should look as good as new.

Stain Removal Smarts [She Knows]
How to Remove Stains [Esquire]
Stain Removal Tricks and Shortcuts [Real Simple]
Stain Removal Chart [For Better Living]

Love to Fish? Check Out These Websites!

There’s nothing quite like packing up your tackle box for a quiet day out on the lake, and it only gets better if you come home with a great fish story to tell. These great websites offer a wealth of knowledge for the avid fisherman or -woman, and they include some helpful hints for finding the best fishing holes in your area.

National Fisherman
The popular magazine’s website includes just as many interesting articles and stunning wildlife photos as the print version, as well as a number of fishing blogs that provide personal stories from fishermen all across the country. National Fisherman also offers classified ads for fellow fishing enthusiasts to buy, sell, and trade equipment, and the recipes section will show you the best ways to prepare your catch of the day.

In-Fisherman
The entire In-Fisherman website is separated by type of fish, making it easy for you to read only articles based on the fish you’re interested in catching. Browse by bass, walleye, panfish, catfish, and many others, or even search by your location to see which fish are in season. In-Fisherman Timely Features section also offers tips, tricks, and product reviews to help you catch more fish than ever before.

Give Your Lampshades a Makeover With These Easy Projects

If you love doing DIY projects to spruce up your home, you’ll light up over these unexpected ways to dress up your basic lampshades. From polka dotted designs to artistic tie dyed effects, these tutorials have something for every type of home decor—and you can complete them in just a matter of hours!

Fabric Covered Lampshade Makeover [domesticsuperhero.com]
Although this tutorial uses a colorful chevron fabric to dress up an old lampshade, you can choose any type of fabric that fits into your design scheme. After you choose the perfect print, all it takes is a bit of hot glue to completely make over your lamp.

Gold Dot Lampshade [blog.landofnod.com]
There are few patterns more classic than simple polka dots, and this DIY will show you how to add them to a lampshade using only some metallic craft paint. By mapping off different sections with painter’s tape, you can ensure that your dots are evenly spaced.

Modern Marble Patterned Lampshade [minted.com]
This is one of the easiest and most eye-catching ways to dress up a lampshade, as it doesn’t require any painting, gluing, or even much measuring. Simply choose a wallpaper or wrapping paper in a pattern that you love, measure it to fit the shade, and attach it with a bit of regular office tape. This is especially helpful for parties, as you can remove the pattern once you want a less decorated look.

How to Keep Home Offices Neat and Organized

With so many beautiful photos of inspiring home offices floating around the Internet, you may start to feel a bit insecure about your own humble workspace. Even if you can’t hire your own personal interior designer to re-vamp your office, there are a number of ways to make it more attractive and functional. Here are some tips for organizing a home office.

  1. Make a place for everything. One of the main problems with messy home offices is that the storage space to clutter ratio is off. Incorporate more storage solutions, from a tall shelving unit to a traditional file cabinet, depending on what type of clutter is most prominent in your workspace.
  2. Clear clutter. Throw away any papers or files that you haven’t looked at in years, broken or outdated office supplies, and especially any furniture or other home goods that don’t belong in the office area.
  3. Add wheeled furniture. If you often have tasks that require more surface space than you have, purchase a wheeled cart or filing cabinet that can be tucked away when not in use.
  4. Add shelving. Although many people think of floor space when maximizing storage, it’s usually more beneficial to think of wall space. Most people’s walls are under-utilized, so add some sturdy shelves for storing paper files, office supplies, books and other small items.

10 Ways to Organize Your Home Office by Monday [How Stuff Works]
20 Home Office Organizing Tricks [Real Simple]
10 Steps to a Cleaner Office [Oprah]

Imponderable of the Day: Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?

If you’re like most people, your thought process surrounding doughnuts likely only focuses on where the best place is to get them and which flavors to choose once you get there! If you take a break from enjoying your sugary sweet pastry for a moment and actually think about the mechanics of a doughnut, you may begin to wonder how it got its unusual shape. Where did the signature hole in the doughnut come from?

Doughnuts are very dense, chewy pastries, so the main reason for their middle hole is to ensure that they cook all the way through. No one knows for sure which smart baker first came up with this ingenious idea, but fried doughnuts have been around in some form—with or without the hole—for hundreds of years. There is a longstanding myth that a 1930s sea captain named Hanson Gregory first invented the holed doughnut, but because the only proof is Gregory’s story itself, there’s really no way of knowing if this tale is true!

Holy Grail: Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes? [Cakespy]
Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes? [Today I Found Out]
Why Do Donuts Have Holes In The Middle? [Knows Why]

Grow Your Own Indoor Herb Garden With These 3 Tips

Nothing can add flavor to a dish quite like fresh herbs, but constantly buying them from the market can become costly. One budget-friendly alternative is to grow your own herbs at home. It's relatively easy to do, even for those of us not exactly blessed with green thumbs! Here are a few pointers for growing an indoor herb garden:

1) Start with the right herbs.
Mint, chives, thyme, rosemary, and oregano are the best herbs for beginners. Not only are they easy to care for, they're diversified enough to add something unique to a range of dishes. If your garden will be perched upon a windowsill, then opt for herbs in four-inch pots.

2) Find a sunny spot.
Herbs need at least six hours of bright sunlight per day, which is why many herb gardeners choose a windowsill to host their garden. If your herbs become "leggy," a term that describes herbs with long stems and few leaves, then your plant needs more light. Be sure to rotate your plants every so often to expose all parts of the herb to sunlight.

3) Don't over-water.
Establishing a watering schedule will require a little bit of trial and error. One fool-proof way to see if your herbs need water is to stick your finger about 1 1/2 inches into the soil. If the soil feels damp, then your plant isn't in need of a drink just yet.

Tips on Starting an Indoor Herb Garden [Style Me Pretty Living]
Grow Herbs Indoors This Winter [Better Homes and Gardens]
How to Grow Your Own Indoor Culinary Herb Garden [Simple Bites]
Tips for Growing Herbs Indoors [The Herb Gardener]

How to Keep Your Houseplants Alive and Happy

Adding a green plant to your home's decor is easy; keeping it alive is a whole other story. Even if you aren't blessed with a green thumb, these three tips will help you keep your houseplants happy and thriving.

1. Go easy on the watering.
Over-watering is the number one killer of houseplants. Even if the soil on top looks dry, the plant may, in fact, have plenty of water. To test if your plant really needs a watering, stick your finger about two inches into the dirt. If it emerges dry, then your plant could use a drink. Otherwise, hold off on watering for a few days. After watering, ensure that the plant doesn't having water its tray, as this will cause root rot.

2. Find the right plant for your circumstances.
Before you bring that new plant to your home or office, read its tag to see its light requirement. Plants are divided into three light requirements: low light, medium light, and full sun. If your office doesn't have any windows, then a full sun plant won't work for you. Keep in mind that flowering plants require more light than foliage plants.

3. Ward off the chill.
Plants are typically happiest between 65° to 80° F during the day and 55° to 65° F in the evenings. Keep your plant away from heating/cooling vents, and don't allow its leaves to come in contact with a cold windowpane during the winter.

Houseplant Pests and Diseases [Gardener's Supply Company]
A Beginner's Guide to Caring for Houseplants [Mahoney's]
Care for Houseplants [Lowe's]
Tips on Caring for Houseplants in the Fall and Winter [HGTV]

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/rickharris

Any Novice Baker Can Master These Easy Shortbread Cookie Recipes

Whether you dip it into a steaming cup of tea or serve it as a treat for dessert, rich, buttery shortcake is a classic cookie that just about everyone enjoys. There are a wide variety of ways to make shortbread, and there are even more delicious toppings to bring out that creamy flavor. Here are two of the best shortbread recipes.

Ina Garten’s Shortbread Cookies [The Food Network]
Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa offers a traditional shortbread cookie recipe that’s anything but boring. Unsalted butter, vanilla, and sugar combine to create the signature sweet, buttery taste, while a pinch of salt helps to enrich the already delicious flavor. After the cookies are done, Garten recommends drizzling them with semisweet chocolate as a topping.

Scottish Shortbread [Allrecipes]
Prepared just like they used to make it in Scotland, this recipe uses only real, full flavor ingredients to create the beloved cookie. Real butter and brown sugar spare no expense when it comes to taste, and the recipe itself is so simple that just about anyone can make it.

Pin It on Pinterest