Tag: <span>cooling food</span>

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Are you thinking of giving a good, useful and creative gift to your talented cooking friend? Either you can redecorate your own kitchen with these cool kitchen gadgets, or gift your loved one with one of these; to impress them and to make it all easy for the maker too.

Check out the following gadgets that will bring a smile to the face of those who sweat in the hottest kitchen to feed their loved ones.

1. Fruit slicer: There are many varieties of fruit slicers available in the market nowadays. The coolest of them are those with the appropriate shape and that which is handy. The banana-shaped slicers are the best for kids who love to prepare their own snack as they can be used to slice the whole banana into even pieces without the help of a sharp and dangerous knife. The apple slicers with large, strong and raised handle makes breakfast preparation easier.

2. Multiple bladed herbal scissors: These gadgets are for those who hate knife as a cutting device. With these scissor-shaped multiple blade gadget, you can cut the herbs into smaller and finer pieces, with little effort and time.

3. Customized rolling pins: Custom designed rolling pins can be the best option for cookie and paratha makers. These pins come with engraved designs so that you can create different shapes while rolling your cookie or paratha dough.

4. Mobile connected measuring gadgets: There are many gadgets that help you to measure the ingredients without making many utensils dirty. There are applications for the phone to connect with these gadgets to get the accurate measurements.

5. Boiled egg moulds: Boiled eggs are the most favoured breakfast option. You can make it more interesting with different shaped boiled eggs. There are different types of moulds for such creative minds; like square shaped, skull-shaped, etc. Just pick out your favourite shape and serve the best breakfast for your loved ones and for yourself.

6. Ice cube moulds: To serve your guests with luxurious drinks, use the crystal gem shaped ice cube silicone moulds or for themed parties you can select the brain shaped moulds to impress your kids and their friends.

7. Tea infusers: Differently shaped tea infusers are an added attraction to your decoration while serving. You can impress your guests with different shapes of tea infusers like leaning man, floating shark or “deep-tea” diver, etc.

8. Roll n pour: This roll n’ pour is in the form of a small rocking chair that can hold your juice or water jug. It will help you to easily pour the liquid from jug to glass without straining your hands, effortlessly.

9. Pancake pen: These are best for moms with little kids to impose creative pancake shapes so that your kid enjoy the breakfast to the fullest. Even your kid can try making shapes that comes to their mind with this handy gadget.

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Source by Rizvana Manzoor

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Preparing baby foods at home helps to integrate preparation of your infant’s meals into preparation of meals for the rest of the family. By making baby foods yourself, you will be in control of the quality of nutrients that your child eats, and also you will be able to provide her diet with a greater variety of healthy foods that taste much better than any jar baby food available at your local supermarket. While having a tremendous sense of satisfaction from having impact on your baby’s health, you will also save money!

Essentials you need:

– stainless steel saucepan and steamer (avoid copper as it robs food from vitamin C)

– food processor or blender

– veggie/fruit peeler

– paring knife

– colander (for rinsing and draining)

– fine mesh strainer

– ice cube trays or muffin tins

– pen, labels or masking tape

– small freezer bags

– instant-read meat thermometer

Fruits & Vegetables

With the exception of bananas and avocado, all fruits and vegetables have to be cooked. Cooking tenderizes them and kills bacteria that may be present on their surfaces. While cooking in water is the easiest way to prepare fruits and vegetables, it’s not the healthiest, as it depletes many nutrients. To preserve all or most vitamins and minerals, steam your fruits and vegetables instead. Other healthy ways to prepare your foods are roasting and baking. You may roast or bake apples, winter squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. Dry heat will preserve all their nutrients and bring out their natural flavor.

Meat & Poultry

Roasting or baking meat or poultry are healthier methods than frying, broiling, or grilling. Frying leaves the food too greasy and fatty, while broiling and grilling can cause formation of carcinogens, the cancer-triggering substances. Always check if your meat is done with the meat thermometer.

You do not need to add salt to your baby’s food. Also, refrain from adding spices in the baby’s first year of life, as her delicate digestive system may not ready to handle them.

Freezing

Spoon your cooked and cooled baby food into clean ice cube tray (~ 2 tbs of food), or muffin tin for older infants. Leave room to allow for fluid expansion during freezing. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. When frozen, transfer baby food cubes into small freezer bags. Label them with the name of food and the date of preparation. You may store the frozen cubes up t 1-2 months.

Thawing

Defrost the desired amount of baby food in the fridge overnight. You may microwave it for ~30 seconds per cube if you need the food right away. However, check the food’s temperature before you serve it to your infant to prevent burns! Discard leftovers. Also any baby food left at room temperature for an hour or more needs to be discarded.

Sample recipes:

BANANA

1 small ripe banana

breast milk or formula

Break banana into pieces. Blend with a blender or food processor. Add breast milk or formula to thin it out.

CARROTS

½ lbs peeled and washed carrots

breast milk or formula

Steam carrots until tender (~10 minutes). Cool for ~ 10 minutes. Blend. Add breast milk or formula to thin it out.

MEAT/POULTRY

2 oz cooked and chopped chicken, turkey, beef, or pork

breast milk or formula

Blend the meat. Remove chunks. Add breast milk or formula to thin it out.

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Source by Barbara Hillary, PhD

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Getting stains out of leather

Fresh stains from things such as blood and food can be cleaned up quickly with a damp cloth. Stains from oil or grease can be lifted by grinding ordinary blackboard chalk, sprinkling the area, and leaving the powder on for a twenty-four hour period. Resist the urge to rub the powder in. After a sufficient time has past, simply use a leather care brush to remove the powder. While fresh stains can be treated and cleaned at home, ground-in stains should be attended to by a professional cleaner who deals in leather.

Storing Leather

Remember that leather is a natural material and should never be stored in plastic because it encourages the growth of mildew and bacteria and will ruin the leather. Always store leather in a cool, dry place away from heat. If the leather item is a garment, store in a breathable bag.

Wet Leather

An important key to keeping leather in top-notch condition is to treat wet leather before it has a chance to dry. Remove any dirt, mud, or other stains with a cleaning agent, then condition while the pores are still fully responsive. It is critical to remember that leather should be dried away from heat. If the leather in question is a garment, it’s a good idea to stuff the garment to retain shape.

Conditioning

Leather conditioners are meant for occasional use. They contain fats and/or oils that help lubricate leather and replenish the suppleness. Look for a product that will penetrate the strong fibers in leather, but beware of any that include petroleum or mineral oils. While petroleum by-products won’t damage your leather immediately, they do over a period of time. Again, just as with cleaning, keep on the look out for thick, greasy conditioning treatments for the best care of your leather.

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Source by Dianna Ennis

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Your skin is the largest organ of your body. Besides a good skin care routine, your skin deserves a good amount of hydration and nutrients from the food you eat. If you are experiencing acne breakouts, it could be caused by a lot of factors like using the wrong products, or it’s simply just eating the wrong kinds of food. Avoiding these acne causing foods will not only benefit your skin, but also the rest of your body.

Your skin has thousands of pores. These pores serve as your body’s exhaust and absorbing channels. Anything your body acquires and secretes will be through your pores. Acne is the effect of an allergic reaction caused by your pore’s secretion or what it has absorbed. Stress, lack of sleep, and hormonal imbalance can also trigger your acne from popping out.

In general, the foods that are best seen to cause acne are oily and fatty foods. If you have oily skin, eating fried foods too often can cause your acne to pop out every time. Another thing can be all about hormonal imbalance. Fluctuating hormones can be worsened by foods that contain caffeine, and dairy products. Lastly, is by eating processed foods. Processed foods can bring a lot of disadvantages to the body, and acne is just a part of it.

If fat, dairy, caffeine, sugar and processed foods are part of your daily lifestyle; perhaps you should change your diet and not your skin care routine. Frappucino with whipped cream is a good example of an acne-causing drink. It is packed with caffeine, whipped cream (dairy product and fat), and sugar. Chips, Ice cream, Pork Chops, Fried Cheese Fingers, and Processed Cheese are just part of the long list of foods to avoid.

So the big fat question is “what is left for you to eat?” If there are foods that could cause acne, there are foods that will also help you combat acne. Eat more leafy green vegetables, whole grains, and dark-colored fruits like pomegranates, acai, and beets. These are rich in anti-oxidants, plenty of fiber and they also stabilize your blood sugar and insulin spikes. Eating fish that is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids also bring good effects to your skin. Lastly, drinking green tea regularly will flush out all the toxins in your body and will bring you clearer looking skin in no time.

Occasionally, you can always eat adequate amount of fatty, dairy and sweet foods. However, make it a habit to eat more healthy, non-acne causing foods than the ones that could ruin your skin. Your skin serves as your health meter. Take care of your skin by always eating healthy foods and by following a good skincare routine.

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Source by Yvette Dignos

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There is nothing quite like being out in the open air by your tent having some lovely hot food after being outside all day. Camping is all about getting back to our roots and being in tune with nature, whether you are camping in the hills, the woods or at plush campsite with all the bells and whistles like shower block and social club with a television.

One of the great things is cooking out in the open whether that is by means of a barbecue or a camping stove. But one of the issues us campers come across is how do we keep the food warm? It is not like at home where you can turn the oven down or reheat your stew in the microwave. At camp you either have to eat it one sitting or eat it cold. Or do you? Here are my top five tips on keeping your camping food hot;

1. Insulate With Cloth And Newspaper. To keep your pans of food hot by placing the pan or saucepan with newspaper or throwing a tea-towel over it will keep it hot for a good extra twenty minutes.
2. Add Sauce. When you serve your food, boiled vegetables can go cold in a flash; try serving them in a hot sauce. This will add flavour but also keep them hot for a lot longer.
3. Make a ‘Hot’ box. You don’t have to use your cool box just to keep items cold. You can use it as a hot box. Fill your cool box with some hot air from a kettle then put your pan or saucepan inside, then seal the box. This can keep your food hot even for hours.
4. Flasks. You don’t have to use a flask just to keep your tea and coffee warm. If you need a sauce hot while you cook your other food and ingredients, pour your sauce into a flask, then seal.
5. Round up the campers.By getting everyone seated just before dinner is served, this will avoid anyone getting a cold meal. In my experience with a family someone generally ends up with a cold meal of you do not adopt this approach.

It can always be a challenge to keep your food hot when camping especially if you go camping out of season. If you are barbecuing food and if you know that it won’t all get used, it is good to wrap those items of food in foil and store them in your larder. This will help keep the food that much warmer for longer.

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Source by Max Webster-Dowsing

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In this day and day we are all told to cut down our energy consumption. Just switch on the television, listen to the radio or turn the pages of newspapers, the advice is to turn down energy consumption. There are things we hear about in the media that are not necessarily always the best of suggestions. With energy consumption, however, it is a good idea for us to follow some of the messages.

We are currently in an economic downturn and everyone is looking to save and reduce costs. In the home, energy consumption is one of the bigger factors to consider in our budget. Naturally by cutting down on our consumption our bills are going to become lower. With energy supplies set to dwindle in the coming years, energy prices are predicted to increase for households. Its a factor that provides additional reasons to become familiar with energy reduction. In the home your pink fridge will be one of the biggest users of electricity. You can take steps to cut down its consumption save money of the energy bill. You may want to consider the following steps:

• Do not over fill your pink fridge. A full refrigerator has to use more energy to stay at the required temperature then a fridge that is not over-flowing.
• Open the door(s) less and for the shortest time possible. Prevents air from the room combining with air from the fridge which increases the temperature inside. The air inside the fridge has to be cooled over again using more energy.
• Hot foods should not be placed in the fridge or freezer compartments. Best to wait for foods to cool to the temperature of the room before placing them inside.
• Make sure your pink fridge or freezer is located in an area with space. Leaving a minimum of 2 inches of space around the fridge provides an escape for the energy produced by the condenser coils. The result is a less build up of heat and the fridge is not over-worked. Also keep the pink fridge freezer away from direct sunlight and other items in the home that produce heat such as a radiator.
• If the pink fridge is not going to be used for a long period, empty its contents and turn its electricity supply off.
• Stop the use of Ice Maker. Running an Ice Maker on a regular and constant basis increases energy usage by up to 20 percent. Using ice trays instead can drastically reduce the energy usage.
• Cooling coils of the pink fridge should be kept dust free to ensure its operating at full efficiency.

These are a few steps that can help reduce the energy consumption of your pink fridge.

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Source by Bal Sella

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Aloe vera with ginkgo nuts, longans and white fungus is a nutritious Chinese dessert (or “tang sui” or “tong sui” in Chinese). This Chinese dessert is suitable to be taken during hot summer days as it has cooling. White fungus usually use in Chinese soup as it is know to benefit the spleen, strengthens the stomach and expel heat. Meanwhile, ginkgo nuts are good for women who experience excessive white discharge and children with weak bladders.

This dessert can be taken cold or hot. Remove the ginkgo nuts by cracking the shell before cooking. To remove the skin from the nuts, keep them in the refrigerator first. This will loosen the skin so that it is easier to peel.

As for the white fungus, soak them in cold water for awhile. Once the white fungus become soft, cut into small pieces.

Remove the aloe vera skin before cooking. Slice them into small pieces.

Longans skin are light brown in color. The flesh is juicy and transparent.

Ingredients

2 pieces white fungus

1/2 cup longans (canned)

1/4 cup ginkgo nuts

1/8 cup aloe vera flesh

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups water

Method:

1. Soak the white fungus in cold water for a few minutes.

2. Remove the skin from aloe vera.

3. Remove the shell and skin from the ginkgo nuts.

4. Mix all the ingredients together and boil for 2 hours.

4. Serve when cooked.

This dessert can be boiled longer if you want the nuts to be softer. If you want to boil longer, use a slow cooker and set to high. It will be cooked to perfection in 4 hours time. Add only enough water to cover the ingredients.This will fasten the cooking time. Once the desserts cook, switch off the stove, add sugar and some more boiled water.

For more information, recipes and also pictures of the ingredients, visit author’s Asian food recipes blog.

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Source by Margaret H

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1. A WHOLESOME DIET

Most people who go on a diet do it because they want to lose weight, or get rid of an annoying skin problem or a disease. But a special diet adopted for these reasons may neither be very beneficial nor procure lasting benefits. Unconsciously you may have linked this diet, however good it may be, with something you fear. Every time you eat, your brain and digestive system produce ‘chemicals of fear’ that act as suppressants of digestion, assimilation and elimination. You are actually afraid of the diet and your body will treat the food you eat as if it were an antigen (a foreign agent that needs to be destroyed). This may lead to food intolerance and even to allergic reactions.

Nevertheless, you can change the reasons why you want to lose weight or help a physical problem. One of the most important steps in this regard is to make improved well-being your Number One motivation for introducing a healthy diet and regimen. What your body is really after is happiness. Happiness can be created by any activity, including eating food. Learn to make the eating process a means to increase happiness in your life and begin to introduce those foods in your diet that are particularly pure and able to enhance your impulse to evolve; Ayurveda calls them sattvic foods.

Sattva, Rajas and Tamas – Three Principal Forces of Life

Sattva is one of the three principal forces or gunas behind every phenomenon and activity in life. With regard to human life, Sattva motivates us to grow, expand, progress and evolve spiritually, mentally and physically, and to find our higher purpose. Like everything in the universe, Sattva has its exact opposite, Tamas, which forces us to stay where we are. Tamas is the force that retards progress, causes stagnation and tempts us to hold on to past events and outdated beliefs. The third force, called Rajas, serves as a neutral link between Sattva and Tamas. Rajas urges us to act, take initiative, move and change, regardless of the direction, outcome or purpose.

All these three qualities are present in everyone and, depending on one’s diet, lifestyle, thoughts, emotions and behavior, expressed in various degrees and intensities. The following are some characteristic descriptions of each guna.

A Sattvic person favors progress above everything else. He derives great pleasure from being creative and innovative. He has a deep respect for life and nature and he always seeks a healthy and life-supportive environment. Sattvic people naturally have healthy habits and prefer pure and energizing foods.

A Rajasic person favors action for action’s sake, regardless of whether it is good for him or not. He has an inner urge to move, overwork his mind and body, be impulsive and impatient and look for an outlet for his nervous creativity. Rajasic people seem to have endless energy and are very extrovert. They prefer stimulating foods and drinks.

A Tamasic person does not want to change and prefers everything to stay as it is. His inactive mind finds comfort in set routines and accustomed environments. Tamasic people tend to dwell on the past and try to avoid the present and future. They rarely develop new ideas or habits in life.

The three gunas, Rajas, Sattva, and Tamas, are mental qualities that correspond to the three physical doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Ayurveda had a clear understanding about mind/body medicine when it linked basic mental impulses to specific physical conditions, tendencies and disorders. It also categorized foods according to their effects on the mind.

Sattvic food is wholesome whereas rajasic and tamasic foods are unwholesome. Charaka, one of the founders of Ayurvedic Medicine, said thousands of years ago: “The body is constituted of food. Wholesome food is one of the causes for the growth of living beings and unwholesome food is one of the causes for the growth of diseases.” In other words, if we want to progress in life, become vital and healthy and live in harmony with the laws of nature, we need to adopt a sattvic diet. Particularly those who would like to enhance their spiritual growth can benefit greatly from a sattvic diet. The following lists give you an idea about the different effects that food can have on body and mind. The quotations, which explain the three types of diet, are taken from the Bhagavad Gita, a 5,000-year-old scripture that narrates in detail the interplay of the three gunas in a person who treads the spiritual path and reaches spiritual enlightenment.

The Sattvic Diet

“Sattvic diet is that which is unctuous, pleasing to the heart and mind, which stabilizes the body and gives long life, strength and health to the mind and body. A sattvic diet promotes happiness and love for all creatures.” (Bhagavad Gita)

Sattvic diet is sweet in taste, light, unctuous (liquid containing), and cooling (versus heating like in chilli, alcohol etc.). Sattvic foods include:

• Breast milk (for babies)
• Ghee(clarified butter)
• Butter
• Wheat
• Basmati rice
• Yellow mung beans
• Freshly cooked vegetables
• Ripened fruits
• Sesame seeds
• Rock salt or real sea salt
• Sesame oil
• Ginger
• Dates
• Almonds
• Honey
• Fresh spring water

Any food that has a soothing effect and is digested easily is sattvic by nature, provided we eat it in moderation. Please note: If any of the above foods do not pass the Kinesiology muscle test, they are not fresh, harvested too early, too old, contain harmful chemicals from fertilization, are gassed to preserve them for longer periods, or have been combined with unwholesome foods or ingredients. You may also check with the list of foods for specific body types, which will help you find out what kinds of fruits, vegetables etc. are sattvic for you. Ayurveda considers the sattvic diet to be the most suitable for promoting strength, vitality, a strong mind and lasting good moods, youthfulness and longevity. By beginning to include sattvic foods in your diet, unwholesome habits, addictions and ill health will gradually disappear.

The Rajasic Diet

“A Rajasic diet is that which brings unhappiness, sorrow and disease. It contains mostly the pungent, sour and salty tastes, and it is too hot, sharp and dry, and causes burning sensation” (Bhagavad Gita).

The Rajasic diet is too spicy, strong tasting (like cheese) and includes foods that have a heating effect such as chilli, garlic, onions, pepper, tomatoes, cheese (aged, salted), ripe eggplants, some pulses, meat, fish, sea food, eggs, alcohol, tea, coffee, cigarettes, sugary foods, soft drinks, crisps and similar junk foods. If you are continuously attracted to these or similar foods, it indicates that there may already be a physical or emotional imbalance.

The Tamasic Diet

“Tamasic diet is that which is stored and spoiled, which is without taste and has a bad smell; also leftovers, and food which does not look appealing” (Bhagavad Gita).

Tamasic food is heavy, cold, dry, tasteless, decayed, spoiled, frozen or cooked in the microwave oven. People who do not mind eating tamasic foods are already controlled by the dulling influence of tamas, thus they are insensitive to purity and refined values. Poisoned by tamas and unable to appreciate pure foods and drinks such as water,tamasic people seem to be able to eat almost anything without a problem. Such people are likely to develop life-threatening diseases at some point in their lives.

2. THE POWER OF THOUGHT

A Change of Thoughts

Since every thought manifests as a powerful messenger molecule in the brain, by changing your way of thinking you not only improve your body but also your relationships and your destiny. If the pilot of an airplane decides to change its course by even half a degree the plane may arrive at a completely different destination.

A change of thought can have a similar effect. Remember how good you felt when someone close to you told you how much he or she loved you or cared about you. By contrast, try to imagine how you would feel if your best friend turned around and told you how much they despised you. A little piece of information can be enough to change your entire life. If you don’t like the way you live your life at this moment you can change its course by taking a new decision right now. Take a few minutes to become clear about what you want out of life and then decide to achieve it.

If you face a major problem in life for which there doesn’t seem to be a solution, you may feel that your whole world is collapsing. But if you could see yourself ten years from now and looked back in time, you would realize that life didn’t stop after all. By simply moving your attention away from what is not possible to what is possible, you will be back on track. It’s as easy as that. Whenever you are facing a serious problem in life, go through the following simple steps which are designed to take you into a more positive and constructive space than you are in right now:

• Think of any one thing or person that makes you feel good. Begin to realize how important this one thing or person is for you and how fortunate you are to have it or them in your life.
• Think of all the people who are not as fortunate as you are, like the homeless, sick and starving.
• Imagine how you would feel if you fulfilled your heart’s desire(s).
• What would you do as a first step towards achieving your goal?

One of the main reasons we attract problems into our lives is because we don’t do what makes us happy. We send out negative messages by saying: “I wish I didn’t have to work so hard”, “How in the world did I deserve this?” or “Life is a struggle!” Your life, and that includes the current condition of your body and mind, is the product of your thoughts and feelings. Thoughts influence everything far or near, material or non-material. If you want to examine what kind of thoughts you had yesterday, then look at your body today. If you want to know what your body is going to be like tomorrow, look at the thoughts you are having today. Every movement and activity in your body and mind is controlled or matched by the corresponding neurotransmitters. Not a single idea, desire, feeling, like, dislike understanding or misunderstanding can go through your mind without creating corresponding physical counterparts.

Happiness – Your Key to Nature’s Drug Store

Your brain is capable of manufacturing any drug that could possibly be made anywhere in the world, provided it receives the ‘go ahead’ signal from you, its master. The brain requires neither a sophisticated chemical laboratory nor much time to develop the most exquisite drugs for any type of physical or mental problem. With the few types of natural food ingredients mentioned above, it makes neuropeptides and related chemicals for every condition you could possibly develop.

For example, if you suffer from pain, your brain makes endorphins and enkephalines, morphine type compounds that are at least 40,000 times more powerful than the strongest heroin. If you injured yourself and your brain didn’t instantly produce these drugs, you would not be able to endure the pain and would faint or go insane quickly. Since endorphins are also related to the experience of pleasure, you will make more of these drugs when you find joy in what you are doing. People who suffer from emotional pain soon begin to have physical pain, too; their brains are inhibited from making adequate amounts of painkillers.

If your body signals ‘cancer’, your brain synthesizes anti-cancer drugs or immune-stimulants that boost your immune system to take care of the problem before you even know it. Each day, millions of our body cells mutate and become cancerous but our immune system deals with them instantly and without the help of chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. We do not have to concern ourselves with the millions of new cancer cells each day unless, of course, our body fails to destroy them. Cancer is the physical counterpart of an unbalanced emotion that contains a clear message: “There is an antagonistic element in your life which is wasting away your body.” This foreign element can be low self-worth, repressed emotions, a negative outlook on one’s life, an unexpressed or unfulfilled desire, defensive responses to a hostile partner or environment, or an unbalanced diet. Usually, there is a combination of factors. Instead of trying to cut out this foreign element, you can learn from it and transform it for your own good.

We generally tend to blame heart attacks, cancer, osteoporosis, AIDS, etc. for causing most deaths in the world as if these diseases were powerful monsters that are out to destroy life indiscriminately. Only a few of the people afflicted with a serious illness question why they manifested it in the first place. Instead of deciding to put all your energy and effort into a particular problem, which tends to escalate it, you can direct your attention towards what you feel could contribute to your happiness. Make happiness your motivation and goal. Always seek happiness as the reward for your actions and the rest follows automatically. Wherever there is happiness, there are solutions and wherever there is unhappiness, there are problems.

Energy Follows Thought

Energy follows thought is an excellent phrase to remember. Do not waste your energy on a disease, on a difficult partnership, on your financial troubles or on an annoying neighbor. You are practically feeding these problems with your energy and thus will maintain or even worsen them. This may give you the illusion that they are real. When you analyze all the solution to problems worldwide, they have never been found by dwelling on the problem. Conflicts, wars, economic struggles, disasters, etc. ended when the involved groups or people began to focus their attention on what was possible rather than what was impossible. We always have the choice and freedom either to argue over who or what is responsible for our problems or to look for real solutions. There is no need to know what causes the darkness of the night when we know that there will be a dawn of a new day.

You may remember how downcast you were when your life was in a state of crisis and how remote and insignificant that problem became a while later. A problem begins to dissipate when we take our attention away from it. For example, if you suffer from a sleeping problem, instead of worrying over the fact that you cannot sleep, you could bring your attention to your breathing or think of things or people who bring you happiness. Suddenly you will find that insomnia isn’t so bad after all, and then you will drift off naturally. Should the problem persist, use it as an opportunity to take a closer look at your life. If you are not happy at night times, it indicates that you have not been happy during the day either. Use the insomnia to find out what doesn’t make you happy in life and then think about how you can change it.

You may decide that you want a better job that inspires and fulfills you more. Be daring when it comes to fulfilling your sire but do not admit defeat before even trying. The argument that you may not be competent or clever enough for a better job is illusory. You will always be good enough for a job you feel attracted to as long as you focus on it. If you keep telling yourself that you are not good enough, you have created the exact limitations that will keep you there until you come up with the courage to say that you deserve much better.

We let ourselves be so easily persuaded to believe that it is another person, society, the government or even destiny that holds us back from achieving our dreams. But it is only our limited thinking that keeps us confined to failure or lack of success. The old saying “where there is a will, there is a way” is a law that holds true for everyone under any circumstance. The three P’s, Patience, Persistence and Perseverance, have been the dominating qualities that have helped transform common people into the most successful and pioneering personalities the world has ever seen. It was Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a better society that propelled him to endure the difficulties of his life. Stephen Hawking became one the most brilliant physicists in the world despite his total speech deficiency and paralysis. Instead of dwelling on his incapacitating disease or feeling sorry for himself, he made an enormous contribution towards understanding and utilizing the most fundamental laws of nature.

The greatest athletes of the world have had their fair share of major difficulties before they managed to rise to the op. Most famous artists and musicians had to go through periods of failure and rejection before they were acknowledged to be among the best. Many of the truly successful people share one common principle of living: they want to be more and more creative because they know that being creative is the only source of happiness. We all share the same infinite potential that creates and maintains the entire universe. What makes the biggest difference between people is that some have decided to use their potential and apply the three P’s in their life, whereas others have not. You, too, can make that decision. You can make it right now! All it needs is a shift of attention.

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Source by Andreas Moritz

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A wine cellar is a storage area for wine in barrels or bottles and is normally built underground. It is a necessity in a quality wine cellar to provide a favorable environment to ensure that the wines kept there remain in a fresh state even after many years cellaring. This means that the temperature and humidity of the cellar have to be regulated at levels that will allow the wines to age slowly and develop complexity.

If a cellar is built above the ground, it could better be described as a wine room and if it contains less than 500 bottles and is above ground, it could be identified as a wine closet. The main purpose of building a wine cellar is to protect the wine from environmental factors that will compromise the quality of the wine. Factors such as light, high temperature or low humidity will all affect the wine in an adverse way. Wine is a living thing that must be protected from fluctuating temperatures, heat and light as well as vibrations. With proper storage, wine not only maintains its freshness but also improves the quality of its aroma, complexity and flavor.

Therefore, a quality cellar should not only maintain the vibrancy of the wine but also improve it. The right temperature in a cellar should range from 13 to 18 degrees C and it should be free from vibration. If the temperatures change from season to season, it should vary by less than 10 degrees C. For centuries, the French have stored their wines in underground caves at these temperatures and that is how people gauge the level of temperature for wine storage. To ensure that the final product has qualities of a well matured wine, the temperatures should not be higher than 18 degrees C as the wine will mature too fast. Wines that mature too fast will often taste more like vinegar and not have the refined and delightful flavor of a fine wine.

Active or passive describe the cooling system used in the wine cellar. A wine cellar with an active cooling system requires insulation and a vapor barrier installed. A special wine cooling unit is then installed in the wall to ensure that the temperature and humidity are maintained at the correct levels. Many above ground cellars will require a cooling unit to maintain a constant temperature. Geographic areas that are naturally very cool are often suitable for a passively cooled wine cellar. Most underground cellars are passively cooled and frequently a well-constructed and well-insulated basement cellar can be passively cooled. A passive wine cellar requires no energy to operate. They are therefore cheaper to build and run albeit sometime unreliable in extreme weather.

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Source by Alison Benjamin

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In today’s day and time, helping to conserve nature by reducing our carbon footprint and wastage should be one of the first priorities as human beings. Therefore, I think the first step we can take is by setting up our very intimate living area in a sustainable manner. Which is why I have compiled a list of the best sustainable homes in Melbourne that take care of nature even while enjoying all the amenities to make life comfortable.

• Ferreira House, Hamilton Hill

This standalone house is supported by Solar Dwellings and The Forever Project. This spacious home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Chris who is the owner of the house began retrofitting his house, which belongs to the 1950, and now he has opened the garden to visitors to show how it has bloomed to life! He has tours that provide food production workshops, soil improvement, fertiliser use and how to use different plants for natural heating and cooling purposes! Imagine the number of possibilities this house offers for all of us to take home.

• Lake Weyba Drive House, Noosaville

This house entirely runs on solar energy! This house has been built with one concept in mind, which is to maximise the electricity production and then minimise the consumption thus promoting economic use of energy. The house has also a very precise mechanism to charge a fully electric car. The surplus energy is transported back to the grid. The house has produced around 48 Kilowatt hours per day for three consecutive years and has used only 9 Kilowatt per day which is quite impressive! The house also processes wastage from food and the garden is used for food production and even the front of the house has some low-maintenance native plants.

• Ben Boyd Road House, Neutral Bay

This house was built in the site of a burnt out bungalow. The new house is built in the old house’s model. The house has a 5 Kilowatt photovoltaic system that provides energy to all the electrical systems in the house. When the house was built, the old common bricks were stored, the brick cavity was insulated that reduced wastage. The house has a rainwater tank built of cast concrete that captures the entire roof rainwater, which is then processed to be used as drinking water.

• Solar Sollew, Seaholme

This house has used sustainable methods to the maximum for making a very environment friendly house. The house has their essential features listing with the following: Food production with the help of seeding-raising greenhouse, the landscaping is completely indigenous; there are systems for water collection and re-use, implementation of grey water irrigation technique, and a lot more. The house comes with a 9.1 energy rating.

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Source by Mousumi Gharami