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- Health information – allergies, conditions, encounters, family history, immunizations, insurance, medications, and procedures
- Trackers – dietary intake, emotional state, exercise, medication usage, and sleep journal
- Measurements – blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, height, and weight
- Contacts – a great place to keep up with names, numbers, and addresses of your health care providers and insurance.
Note: All this information can be updated on the computer at http://healthvalut.com, as well, and then will show up on your app. I find this much easier if you’re not on the go. Also, once you’ve established an account, you can keep health records for your entire family. - Kiwifruit – These green jewels are low in calories and have more vitamin C than oranges. They are also an excellent source of vitamin K, which is necessary for blood coagulation and maintaining bone health as we age.
- Oranges – This delicious fruit is high in vitamin C and is an excellent source for thiamine and potassium. Thiamine supports the body’s immune system and is necessary to convert carbohydrates into energy. Potassium helps nerves and muscles communicate. It also moves nutrients into cells and waste out of cells.
- Blueberries – These are a great go-to fruit to add to your cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, and smoothies. They are known to help improve brain function and memory. They are also high in vitamins C and K, and are a great source of manganese, which supports your metabolism.
- Strawberries – They are high in vitamin C and are a good source of folic acid, which helps the body make new cells and is necessary to maintain heart health. Like the blueberries, strawberries are great to add to cereal, oatmeal, yogurt or smoothies.
- Apples – They are a good source of fiber and when eaten with the skin left on, they contain quercetin, known for it’s anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Cantaloupes – This sweet fruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium. Vitamin A is the vitamin known to help skin grow new cells, giving you a healthy glow. It is also important for maintaining healthy bones, eyes, and teeth.
- Grapes – They contain an antioxidant known as resveratrol, which promotes a healthy heart. They are also a good source of Vitamin K and maganese. These make great snacks to satisfy a sweet tooth.
- Grapefruit – This fruit is a good source of vitamins A and C and is known to help lower cholesterol. This is a great addition to a healthy breakfast.
- Cranberries – These little tart fruits support a healthy urinary tract and are known to increase HDL (good cholesterol) levels. The dried cranberries that are packaged as a healthy snack work just as well as the fresh ones.
- Bananas – These favored fruits are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, Potassium, Maganese, and Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 helps the body make antibodies so that it can fight off illnesses. Keep in mind that bananas have a higher calorie count than many other fruits. I love to put bananas in smoothies with lower calorie fruits and vegetables, like spinach and blueberries.
- ½ cup water
- 2 seedless oranges
- 1 cup red seedless grapes
- ½ cup ice
- Remove grapes from stems and wash.
- Peel oranges.
- Place all ingredients in blender in listed order.
- Turn on blender on low and gradually increase to highest speed.
- Continue blending until juice is a smooth cosistency (about 1 minute).
- Pour into glass and enjoy!
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- canola or olive oil cooking spray
- 9" x 13" baking pan or casserole dish
- Homemade Low Calorie Barbeque Sauce
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brush barbecue sauce on both sides of chicken.
- Place chicken in pan or casserole dish and put in oven.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes and then flip chicken.
- Continue baking chicken for another 20-25 minutes, or until done (watch carefully not to overcook).
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- ½ cup minced red onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons stevia
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 5-ounce can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons Colgin's Liquid Smoke
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon of organic honey (optional)
- In medium skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Add garlic and onions. Cook until onions become opaque.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Enjoy!
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup blueberries
- 1 orange
- 1 mango
- 2 kiwi fruit
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 4 packets of stevia sweetener (often sold as Truvia)
- 1 cup ice
- Put all ingredients into blender, beginning with water and ending with ice.
- Start blender on slow speed and then increase to highest speed until all ingredients become a smooth consistency.
- Pour into glass and enjoy!
- 4 boneless pork chops
- 1¼ cups brown rice
- 1½ cups water
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup diced green onions
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix soup water, and beef broth.
- Add rice, salt, pepper, garlic, and onions.
- Place pork chops in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Pour rice mixture over top of pork chops and spread evenly.
- Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour.
- ½ cup of water
- ½ cup of blueberries
- 1 orange
- 1 cup of grapes
- 10 baby carrots
- 2 cups of spinach
- 2 tablespoons of pea protein powder
- 1 cup of ice
- liquid stevia
- Place all ingredients into blender, except for stevia (in order, ending with ice)
- Blend on low speed for about 10 seconds, then increase speed to highest speed for about 45 seconds, or until smooth.
- When done, taste. Add stevia to achieve desired sweetness.
Top 5 Picks of Healthy Apps for your Smart Phone, Tablet or Other Mobile Devices
July 24th, 2013
Apps are everywhere. We hear about them everyday. How do we know what to choose? Personally, I always go for the FREE apps when possible. With that in mind, I thought I would share some healthy apps to help you with your weight loss goals, making healthier choices, and organizing all your health and medical information.
1. Health Vault – Login using Microsoft or Facebook account, or create a new account. You will be able to keep a record of the following:
2. iTriage – To take full advantage of this app, you will need a Health Vault account. Also, if you choose to download this app, do so from your mobile device. The website does not accommodate any downloads for mobile devices.You will update your information on your Health Vault account (via computer or app) and then it will show up on your iTriage app, under My iTriage. In addition to keeping up with everything listed in your Health Vault, you can self-diagnose non-emergency symptoms, by clicking on your symptoms until you finally get to possible diagnoses. You can also find a list of doctors, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies in your area, depending on your need and their specialty. It will even tell you how far they are and give you a map and directions to get there. Information on over-the-counter and prescription medications is also a key feature of this app. There are too many features of this app to list them all. Basically this app keeps you up-to-date with all your current medical information and helps you find answers to all your medical questions. I highly recommend this one for all your medical needs.
3. Fooducate – The main feature of this nifty app is that it allows you to make more educated (hence the name – Fooducate) choices when trying to eat healthier. There are a ton of foods listed in the app that give you all the details you need to make the right choice.
This app even gives them a letter grade rating, based on how healthy they are. This takes all the guess-work out of it. If you’re not sure, or don’t feel like scrolling through the list, then you may simply use your smart phone or other camera ready device to scan the bar code in the store or at home, and get the information you need right on the spot. I know for myself, if I am looking for a snack and I see one that has a ‘C-‘ rating and one that has an ‘A’ rating, I am more likely going to make the smarter, healthier, choice. In addition to knowing what you’re eating, you can set goals, track your food, weight, and more with this app.
4. MyFitnessPal – This handy app helps you keep a diary of your food, exercise, weight, and measurements. It allows you to set weight loss goals, join communities of like-minded people, and reports your progress (even publicly, if you allow it, so that it keeps you motivated to keep checking-in). For me, seeing that I might need to burn an extra 100 calories to stay within my allotted net calories for the day motivates me to go hop on the treadmill or bike for 20-30 minutes. Additionally, you can find recipes or add your own. It calculates the calories and other nutritional information for you. Like the other apps, you will just have to try it to see all the great features. It’s sort of like a free weight loss tracker and coach (via all the friends you can make). I find it to be similar to Weight Watchers’ online program, but it’s keeping track of calories and not points, and it’s FREE.
5. FootstepsFree – No need to buy a pedometer, this app takes care of tracking steps, distance, time, speed, calories, and average speed for you. It’s a great tool if you’re serious about getting your steps in, or if you just want to know each day how much you walk when you’re out and about. It can also motivate you to achieve new goals by doing things such as taking the stairs, rather than the elevator (image at beginning of article is a screen shot of this app on an iPhone).
There are literally 1000’s of apps dedicated to medical, health, and fitness. If you don’t like these apps, go to your app store and search by keywords such as ‘calorie counter’ or’ health’ and you will surely find one that will meet your needs, even if you have to pay just a few dollars for it. Enjoy!
Next Health Tip: Practicing An Attitude of Gratitude
Previous Health Tip: 25 Fun and Budget-Friendly Activities For Kids
Debt Reduction Tips and Tools
July 12th, 2013
Paying Off Debt Review
Debt reduction is one financial area that many people do not like to think about. Most people make payments on their debts and never consider how much interest they are paying, or how long it will actually take them to become debt-free. They also don’t consider how to pay that debt off early. Krista Davis touched on some important things to remember in her article on Paying Off Debt. She explained that you should know how much debt you have and figure out the percentages of total debt for each of your listed debts, so that you can see where most of your money is going. Other tips she gave were the following:
1. Quit using credit cards. Credit cards should only be used when you absolutely have to for such things as reservations, but when you get the bill, the balance should be paid in full. As Krista explains, you’re going to be paying way more for a purchased item than you would have if you would’ve just paid cash. Buying sale items by using credit cards just does not make sense, unless you pay the balance in full when the bill comes, or you are getting a special introductory rate, such as 0%.
2. Always pay more than the minimum payment, unless you’re on a mission to pay off one debt at a time, as Krista points out. In this case, pay the minimum on all debts except the one you’re trying to pay off first. Continue this process until you pay off that one. Then take the amount you were paying on that debt and apply it to the next debt’s monthly payment, repeating this process until you get all the debts paid off.
3. Try to pay extra payments toward your principle on loans. For instance, getting a 30-year mortgage on your home…you could end up reducing that down to 20 years or less with just a little extra money and effort on your part. For more information, check out Krista’s full article at http://cleaningouttheclutter.com/2012/04/paying-off-debt/ .
Other Tips
In addition to those tips Krista shared in her article, here are a few more tips to help you get out of debt.
1. Figure out which debts you are paying the most interest on, and try to take out a loan at a lower interest rate to pay those debts off. In some cases you may not be able to pay off all your debts, but at the very least, you’ll lower your payments and free up some cash so that you can apply it toward the remaining debt.
2. Participate in credit card balance transfers. Many credit cards offer low or zero interest balance transfers. This is a great way to move your high interest balances over to a lower interest credit card. The only thing you have to remember is that these offers are for a limited time only. Try to find those that offer at least one year. After the term of the offer has expired,the interest will automatically increase to one that is usually very high. Only transfer an amount you feel confident you’ll be able to pay off before the term expires.
3.Don’t carry your credit cards in your wallet. Only keep one or two for emergencies. If you don’t have them with you, then you won’t be tempted to use them. This is especially true for department store cards. I sometimes will apply for department store cards just to get the discount on my purchase, but when the card comes in the mail, I never use it unless I have to use it to participate in a particular sale. Then, as mentioned earlier, I pay the balance in full. Be very careful about how often you do apply for new cards, because it can lower your credit score. I only do this if I am making a big purchase and the discount will be worth it. This may be once every 18 months or so. I really have way more than I need now, so I don’t like doing this. Another thing to keep in mind is that once you have one of the store’s credit cards, you’re going to receive notices of special sales and promotions, so there are some benefits to having these types of accounts, as long as you use them responsibly.
Tools to Help Manage Finances
Quicken Home and Business 2013Now that you have some tips to get you motivated to take control of your finances, you may be wondering what tools are available to help you manage your debt. The number one tool I suggest is a good account management program such as Intuit’s Quicken. Quicken allows you to keep up with all your bank, loan, credit card, and investment accounts, as well as a lot of other things. This makes it so much easier for you to manage your finances, if everything is in one place. In addition to tracking your accounts, you can set up a budget, plan for retirement, track your investments, track expenses and spending, and manage and pay your bills. Quicken will even link to many of your online bank accounts to automatically download data straight from your bank. It’s really amazing software! There’s so much to it, it’s hard to explain it all here. You’ll just need to go to http://quicken.intuit.com to read all about it. There are others out there, such as Microsoft Money, but I really think Quicken is the most comprehensive.
Quickbooks is also one of my favorites if you own a business. It does all the same things Quicken does but will handle such things as payroll, inventory, and taxes for your business.
There are many free mortgage calculators to help you figure out whether a loan is the right choice for you. One of my favorite sites is http://bankrate.com. They have many mortgage calculators and amortization schedules to choose from, with varying types of interests and loan terms.
Last, but not least, I want to share with you a tool which will definitely help you get out of debt. As with the other tools, it’s not the only option, but one of the best I’ve seen; plus, it’s FREE! It is called a debt reduction calculator. It is by Vertex42 (http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.html). It is in a Microsoft Excel format, so you will need to have this program installed on your computer to be able to open the calculator.
Conclusion
Getting out of debt will require some work on your part. You will need to take a hard look at your current situation and project how and when you want to be debt-free. Set realistic goals and don’t beat yourself up when you slip up. The most important thing is to make progress by stopping the increase of debt, getting the best interest rates you can, and have a pay-off plan that you stick with. Feel free to share with me any tips and tools you use. Also, I am available for any questions you might have. Today is the day you can begin your journey to become debt-free!
Next Financial Tip: As Close to Paper Free as I Can Be
Introducing Our Favorite Products
June 20th, 2013
Hello everyone. We just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all who have followed our blog. We are excited to be building an audience. I am sorry that we have not been posting often, lately, but Krista has been busy moving and I had several issues going on at my house, including a week’s vacation, a week’s visit from my six-year-old granddaughter, my parents’ health issues, and lightning striking our house. We should have some new articles posted very shortly. We are also now working on getting a store set up to showcase some of our favorite products. Any purchases you make will help to offset the cost and time it takes to make this blog possible. Our store is powered through Amazon.com and we receive just a small fraction of the sale price on each purchase. The rest goes directly to Amazon.com and the seller. Krista and I are very passionate about this blog and hope we can keep it going for years to come, with the support of our readers. Please be patient as we gradually build our products up in the store. We only want to present to you those products which are truly our favorites. Our goal is to only show products that coincide with our goal of cleaning out the clutter of our lives. Keep checking back because we will be adding more and more products as we move through this journey. You may click on the “Favorite Products” button found in the right hand column of any page to browse through our favorite products. We also welcome any product information – good or bad. Thanks again for all your support and comments. We value each and every one of our readers and followers.
Cleaning Out the Clutter’s Favorite Products Store
What are Superfruits?
April 28th, 2013
Superfruits are really just that – “super fruits” to have in your diet. For years now, superfruits have been the buzz among nutritionists and health conscious people, but what exactly are they? Simply put, they are fruits found to have a higher than average level of nutritional value and antioxidants. Antioxidants are the good guys. They protect our cells from free radicals, or unstable molecules, which cause damage, illnesses, and possibly even life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
There are roughly 25 fruits classified as superfruits. Depending on which research study you look at, this number can be more or less.
Wanting to make sure I was eating the best of the best, I researched these fruits and the reason they make the list. Below is my list of the top 10 superfruits I like to have in my diet (your list may be different, depending on your needs and tastes):
What are some of your favorite superfruits, and why?
Resources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/10/healthy-superfruits_n_1765768.html
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b1-000333.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/potassium.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/folicacid.html
http://menshealth.about.com/od/diet/a/vitamin_a.htm
Next Health Tip: All About Homemade Cloth Baby Wipes and Wipe Solutions
Fresh Orange and Grape Juice
April 27th, 2013
This fresh orange and grape juice is so easy and nutritious, without all the added junk found in many store-bought brands.
Next Recipe: Homemade Peanut Butter (sweet and creamy)
Baked Chicken with Homemade Low Calorie Barbecue Sauce
March 31st, 2013
Here is the link to the barbecue sauce you’ll need to prepare this recipe: Homemade Low Calorie Barbeque Sauce
Next recipe: Fresh Orange and Grape Juice
Low Calorie Barbecue Sauce
March 22nd, 2013
Next Recipe: Baked Chicken with Homemade Low Calorie Barbecue Sauce
High Energy Fruit Smoothie
March 22nd, 2013
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Next Recipe: Low Calorie Barbecue Sauce
Baked Pork Chops and Brown Rice
March 18th, 2013
Next Recipe: High Energy Fruit Smoothie
Healthy Breakfast Protein Smoothie
March 12th, 2013
Breakfast is a meal that many people do not eat, because they feel they don’t have time. Any doctor will tell you that skipping breakfast is a no-no. Breakfast is your start to the day and jump starts your metabolism.. It also keeps you full, so that you don’t overeat later. Smoothies are a fast and healthy way to get the nutrition your body needs. Adding protein powder to your smoothies is a bonus. I always use my favorite kitchen appliance, the Vitamix 5200, to make mine. Experiment with your favorite fruits and vegetables and enjoy!
