Why Vegetables are Good for You

According to U.S. Dietary Guidelines, adults and children alike should have from 5 to 13 servings of fruits and veggies a day, each serving at least 1/2 cup. While this is beyond what most people currently consume, it's not an impossible task.

For veggies, simply include them with foods you and your family already like.

In general, you need to eat a wide variety of vegetables, including plenty of the bright- and deep-colored ones, to get all the vitamins, minerals and fiber that veggies have to offer. With the exception of soy foods, though, the protein in plant foods is incomplete. It lacks one or more of the protein building blocks that your body can't make.

You can mix and match different plant foods to make their protein complete. But even many vegetarians find that it's easier to simply include a complete protein source, such as eggs or milk foods, in their meals. Nutrient-dense eggs provide not only some of the highest quality protein available but, except for vitamin C, eggs also contain varying amounts of all the essential vitamins, including those that are not abundant in plant foods.

It's simple to combine eggs and veggies in satisfying entrees. For instance, you can turn a salad into a quick-fix main dish by starting with greens -; the darker green, the better nutrient content. Toss with other vegetables, perhaps whatever is coming up in your home garden or is most appealing at the store.

Then, top with wedged, sliced or chopped eggs to add the protein you need. Finish the unique salad off with a hurry-up, homemade hot dressing. This salad is especially easy to make if you keep a dozen hard-cooked eggs chilled in the fridge. You can store the eggs for a week after cooking and use them for handy snacks, too.

Warm Mimosa Salad

6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 cups loosely packed torn mixed greens (about 9 oz.)

• 6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

• 2 small or 1 medium zucchini, cut into julienne strips (about 2 to 2 1/2 cups)

• 1 cup thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

• 2/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crushed

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 large tomato, wedged (about 7 to 8 oz.)

Method

Tear greens into large bowl. Add eggs. Set aside. In 10-inch skillet or large saucepan over medium heat, cook zucchini and onion in hot oil, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. In small bowl, stir together vinegar, mustard, seasoning, sugar and garlic powder. Pour over vegetables in skillet. Stir in tomato and cook until heated through, about 1 minute more. Pour over reserved greens. Gently toss until evenly coated with dressing. 

Serve immediately.

Danie de Villiers - Freelance writer

The Perfect Turkey Recipe for Christmas

The year is racing towards its end at a tremendous speed – just to think; in just over a month from now, we will be celebrating the festive season with our loved ones. And what better way to celebrate it with a well-cooked meal with turkey as main ingredient.

Here is how to prepare the perfect turkey with chestnut stuffing and bread sauce.

Ingredients for the turkey

• One turkey, trussed and weighing about 5 kg (10 lb.)
• 500 g (1 lb.) back bacon, thickly sliced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 500 g (1 lb.) chipolata sausages
• 2 lemons
• A bunch of watercress

Ingredients for the chestnut stuffing

• 500 g (1 lb.) fresh chestnuts or if not readily available, a can of chestnuts in water
• 250 g (½ lb.) streaky bacon
• 250 g (½ lb.) minced pork
• ⅓ tsp. ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the bread sauce

• 2 cups milk
• 1 onion, stuck with 8 cloves
• 5 slices stale white bread with crusts removed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. butter
• A pinch of mace

First, make the chestnut stuffing

1. Place the chestnuts into a pan, cover it with cold water and bring it to boil. Take the chestnuts out from the boiling water and remove the outer shell and inner skin. Put the prepared chestnuts into a mixing bowl.
2. Mince the bacon and add it to the chestnuts, together with the minced pork, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix the ingredients together but try to keep the chestnuts whole.
3. The stuffing is ready to use.

Now you can stuff the turkey with it

1. Starting at the neck, work your hand under the skin of the turkey to about halfway along the breast. Be careful not to split the skin. Insert the stuffing carefully under the breast skin, pressing it well into the turkey so that it will help to keep the breast moist during roasting.
2. Make sure the stuffing gives the turkey a well-rounded appearance. Tuck the loose skin, which covers the neck under the wing, as this will help to keep the stuffing in place.

Now the turkey can be roasted to perfection

The cooking time should be 20 minutes for each 500 g (lb.) and after calculating the time according to its weight, add another 20 minutes additional time overall.

1. Cover the turkey completely with the rashers of bacon – starting with the legs. Place the bird in a suitable roasting tin, pour the chicken stock around the bird, and cover the tin with cooking foil.
2. Roast the turkey in a pre-heated oven at 200⁰ C (390 ⁰F) for an hour and then reduce the heat to 180⁰ C (350 ⁰F) for the remainder of the calculated cooking time. After this first hour, baste the turkey without removing the bacon. Prick the chipolata sausages and arrange them around the turkey.
3. When a half an hour cooking time is left, remove the cooking foil and bacon to allow the skin to become golden brown.
4. When the turkey is cooked, transfer it to a warm dish and arrange the sausages around it. Cut the lemons in slices and garnish the turkey with the slices and the watercress.
5. Skim the fat off the liquid in the roasting pan and keep the sauce aside.

The last step is to prepare the bread sauce

1. Put the onion into a pan with the milk and heat it gently so that the flavor of the onion and cloves infuses into the milk.
2. Break the bread into small pieces and put it in a saucepan. When the milk is almost boiling, strain it over the bread. Cover the saucepan and leave the bread sauce to soak for an hour.
3. Beat the sauce with a fork until it is smooth. Add the gravy from the roasted turkey, the salt, pepper, mace and butter and bring to boil. It is ready to serve.
Serve it with yellow rice, seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes and all the love in the world!

Enjoy with the people dear to you!

Do You Suffer From Low Self-Esteem?

Low Self-esteem Description:

• You avoid looking into the eyes of others.

• You do not smile easily.

• You avoid other people.

• You push people away, even your friends and family.

• You constantly feel bad.

• You are tired all the time.

• You are afraid to take risks.

• You create negative situations.

• You constantly analyze yourself and wonder why you are the way you are.

• You talk negatively to yourself

• You do not tell the truth or keep your word.

• You have trouble forgiving yourself or others.

Is Your life Dominated by Television?

Is your life dominated by television or do you use it sensibly as a source of relaxation, information or stimulation when you choose?

It is very tempting after a hard day’s work to sit in front of the telly - switch the set on and yourself off. Indeed, from time to time, this passive form of entertainment can be very therapeutic. 

However, too many people keep their television on constantly, giving it half an eye even when they are occupied with other things. It means that neither the programme nor what they are doing is getting their full attention. They are, in fact, gaining little from either.

Glued To the Box

If the televising is always switched on, family conversation is bound to suffer. We all want to feel that others are eager and interested to hear what happened in our day. But, however amusing a little anecdote or thoughtful an observation, we don’t want to compete with a favorite soap opera in telling it. Children, too, do not like to feel pushed aside for television. If they want or tell you something it is immediately, as they come rushing in from the garden or home from school. If you put them off because your gaze is wandering to the television screen, you will spoil this spontaneity, and communication, which is so essential in your relationship. 

Read further . . . . 

Women and Stress at Work

Every job has its stresses, but if you learn to deal with them, you will be happier, healthier and work better too.

Your mental health at work is just as important as your physical health, so it is important to think in terms of ways of alleviating stress. 

How to go about it

Work can be a major source of stress. Tensions can arise because you feel you have too much or too little responsibility, or that you are not getting enough recognition for what you are doing. Overwork, too, is frequently a major cause of strain.

Very often, the root of the problem lies in poor communication with your colleagues. You may brood about your personal situation, or complain about it to family of friends. Instead, it may be worth talking about your difficulties with others at your workplace. If you take an interest in each other’s problems, you may find it easier to establish a spirit of teamwork, which is so important for a good working atmosphere. 

If you are unhappy about your work situation for a lengthy period, it may be a sign that you need a change. Taking it over with management may help-they may be sympathetic to you changing some of the duties of your job, or taking a retraining of refresher course. 

It is also important to bear in mind that difficulty and tensions at work may be connected with your life-style in general. You may feel very differently if you make the effort to use your leisure time productively, rather than spending it thinking about your work problems. If you feel better in yourself, your attitude to your work will improve. 

One way to do this is to make good use of your rest periods. I you have break in the morning or afternoon, take advantage of them: at the same time as you put your feet up you can socialize with your colleagues. 

If you have sufficient time in the lunch break, use it to get away now and again from the work environment. A brisk walk, a short swim or a keep-fit class will leave you more relaxed and ready for the afternoon’s work.  

In some workplaces, workers meet after the day is done to participate in games such as football, tennis of basketball. This not only provides healthy exercises, but also it gives workmates the opportunity to meet together in a different environment and get to know each other better. 

Finally, it is important to re-adjust your dietary habits to meet the demands of a busy day. Eat a good, healthy breakfast; avoid, if possible, drinking at lunch; and try to cut down your consumption of tea or coffee- stimulant drinks that intensify stress.  Instead, lay in a stock of fresh fruit and fruit juices: they are more refreshing and better for you.    

Recommended book for every couple: A Guide to Fulfilling Sexuality - What Every Couple Should Know

Tips for Planning Meals for the Family

Next time you sit down for a lovely family meal; spare a thought or two for the woman behind the meal.

To ensure at least three meals a day that will suit all taste buds and preferences and still be of nutritional value for the entire family, is not easy.

This article is therefore dedicated to the women who day in and day out, had to cater for the families’ meals and meal plans with some tips to lessen their burden.

1.       Turn menu planning into a family project. Task family members to assist with providing a list of their favourite dishes, then compile menus using these lists. When given a chance to participate, people enjoy their meals more and maybe will complain less.

2.       Perk up your dinners by serving your family a new dish each week if possible. Exchange recipes with friends and neighbours; check food sections of magazines and newspapers and do not forget the many recipe sites and blogs.

3.       Change your meal pattern. Instead of the same old routine – meat, potatoes, and green vegetables for dinner every day – serve a hearty soup, an unusual casserole, or a main-dish salad.

4.       Notice what your family enjoys at restaurants. Consult your recipes and try to create similar dishes at home.

5.       Vary the shape, colours, and textures of vegetables. For example, mashed potatoes make a nice contrast to Brussels sprouts, or green beans to carrots.

6.       To add interest to a soft-textured meal, serve crunchy vegetables or crusty bread.

7.       Serve something other than rice or potatoes to accompany gravies and sauces. Try barley or pasta.

8.       When serving leftover meat or fish, don’t just reheat it. Instead, prepare it in a different form. For example, mince it and shape it into patties, dice it for casseroles, or slice it thin and add it to stir-fry dishes or to a tasty sauce.

Daniel

How to be a Working Mom and Housewife

Hats off to all working moms. They are a special breed of women! But take it easy!

To be a working mom and housewife is a tall order. Very tall! Not so long ago the role of women was perceived to be that of housewife – to be at home and attending to the typical house chores, bring up children and be prim and proper in waiting for hubby with a nice home cooked meal upon his return from home.

It was inevitable that as society became more enlightened which especially started after the last World War, a change occurred in respect of what the natural role of women should be. It is especially the political and societal movements of specific feminist pressure groups that attributed to the past few decades’ progress in respect of not only women’s rights but also a new look at what their role should be in a relationship – whether through traditional marriage or a formal agreement of living together.

But, what they could never change or foresee was that only women can be the bearers of children. So what now? Even in the most liberal society, a woman will still be a Mom. Will still be responsible to bring up her children to a certain degree. The theorists shrugged their shoulders and said “Ok, let us call them Homemakers. It would sound better than the gender based housewives.”

However, housework is not always a lifetime commitment: many homemakers and Moms, for economic or personal reasons, return to the workplace. Therefore, the dilemma is the dual role women have to fulfil – how to be working mom and housewife.

Working women are under pressure meeting the demands of workplace, family and home.  Here are a few hints that just might help in coping as a woman:

·         It is of utmost importance that you must establish a sound routine of planning your week and day. It is important to prioritize – so ensure you write down the top three things you must do every day. Plan your week in advance. The weekly plan does not need to be very detailed – just address the major must-do-things. In addition, very important – do not forget the must-do-list of the children and hubby!

·         Delete all the trivial or non-essential things from your list. Here is where you have to delegate this non-essential or not so important tasks or chores to the children and hubby, for instance to clean up the lawn of dog poo! The best advice is to always do your most important things first.

·         You must learn to say no. You have to be cruel to be kind. You have planned your week in advance. You are coping with the pressure of two jobs. Do not let anyone interfere with your schedule. If you cannot fit them into your schedule, say NO!

·         Remember, there is no such thing as Super Woman! It is difficult for a perfectionist to accept, but sometimes it would not be possible to finish everything on your task list. Prioritize what has to be done and if you do not get through everything today, tomorrow is another day!

To be a working mom is a blessing and privilege. But never burn yourself out. Take it easy. Take charge. Do not let anybody dictate to you. You must dictate!