Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Enjoy Your Love Affair with Food

Monday, May 30, 2016


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20 Non-Pill Popping Tips for Sleep

Friday, May 27, 2016

So many of us are affected by sleepless nights. We look for the easiest, simplest solutions. Frequently this comes in the form of a sleeping pill. Interestingly, a recent study was conducted that compared the efficacy and effectiveness of psychological versus pharmacological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder by reviewing randomized control trials between 2004 to 2015. What they found was stunning. Sleeping pills are not very effective long term and many can have very significant adverse effects. In fact, evidence showed that cognitive behavioral therapy (better known as behavior mod) significantly improved insomnia remission, treatment response, and key sleep outcomes, including sleep quality and wakefulness after sleep onset.

Insomnia is a prevalent and debilitating condition that affects over 60 million Americans, and with associated healthcare costs that are estimated in the range of $30 to $107 billion each year. This overall total could double when the additional $60 billion in estimated costs associated with lost work productivity are factored in. Finding effective treatment and long term solutions is very important. The American College of Physicians recently published guidelines recommending doctors put aside their prescription pads in favor of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia as the most effective and safest treatment.

As someone who personal struggles with sleepless nights I have developed a variety of routines, behaviors and rituals to help me sleep and extend the amount of sleep I get regularly. Below is my list of 20 non pill popping tips to help you sleep.

  1. Create a set "going to bed routine"
  2. No tv or phones in bedroom
  3. When lights are out make sure there is no residual glow; the room should be dark
  4. Need to have or invest in a quality bed and pillows
  5. Make your bed with layers so you can manage your comfort zone temperature
  6. Make sure what you wear to bed meets your comfort needs
  7. Create an environment that is dark, cozy and comfy...made for sleep
  8. If you use a clock or electronic alarm make sure it operates noiselessly during the night while you sleep
  9. iPod and kindles  need to be away from your head when sleeping
  10. Take a relaxing bath before bed
  11. Use bath salts for extra mind and muscle relaxing in your bath
  12. Stretches are great before getting into bed; it gets the kinks out
  13. Soothing teas, including "Sleepytime" teas help relax you, your brain and your stomach
  14. Set a regular time for going to bed and stick to it
  15. Read something non-violent for a few minutes before bed
  16. If you are a list person, put a pad of paper and pen by your bedside so when you have a hard time letting go of a thought or "to-do" for the next day write it down and then let it go
  17. No eating 2 hours before bedtime, preferably 3
  18. Avoid stimulants like drinks with caffeine after dusk
  19. Avoid late meals and overeating
  20. Listen to a meditation tape when lights go out

Revel in the process of relaxation and sleep. Make it a part of your healthy lifestyle.
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Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Practice Healthy Eating

Monday, May 23, 2016



#PracticeMakesEasier
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Slaw Salad Dressing--Tasty and Easy

Friday, May 20, 2016

Easy and Healthy Slaw Dressing

 As the weather gets warmer we start thinking about recipes that are easy to prepare and well suited for outdoor meals from barbecues to picnics to family dinners. Tasty sides are key to the ease of serving up these meals. Finding recipes where the dish or the elements of a dish can be prepared ahead, even a day or two before, is ideal.


One such recipe that is a go-to for me is a salad dressing for slaws. You can make it a couple of days ahead and then add it to a prepared slaw you buy at the store from traditional cabbage slaw to a broccoli slaw. It is also easy to prepare a slaw from any raw vegetable you prefer at home and then add the slaw dressing just before you are ready to serve up. Any leftovers can be added as a topping to burgers, fajitas or sliders. Below is the easy to prepare slaw dressing:

Tasty and Easy Slaw Salad Dressing

Ingredients~
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt (Chobani)
¼ cup light sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon celery seeds
¾ teaspoon prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ course ground pepper


Directions~
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well until blended.
2. Cover and Chill.
3. Stir into slaw. Total recipe works well for 6 cups of slaw.

Yield: 1 cup. Serving size: 2 tablespoons. Calories per serving: 34. Calories per 1 cup: 272.


Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!


Innovative Idea: Want an easy way to serve up your dressings in single servings of 2 tablespoons (⅛ cup)? We have the perfect choice--LivSpoons! They come in 4 sought after serving sizes--1 cup, ¾ cup, ½ cup and ⅛ cup. They make measuring in the kitchen easy and they are so attractive you'll want to use them at your dinner table at every meal. Finally there are beautifully designed serving spoons that measure!
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Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Pick Single Serving Treats

Monday, May 16, 2016



#PickSingleServings
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The Secret in Guilty Pleasures and My Guilty Pleasure #1

Friday, May 13, 2016

My Guilty Pleasure #1 hidden in my bathroom
I confess. I read People magazine. It is a great bathroom, dentist waiting room and hair salon reading material. Its a great rag to read when you are having to hang out. My husband has always given me a hard time about my love of People. I think he is actually a bit shocked that I enjoy it so much since it is not like anything else I read. Basically he thinks of it as gossip porn. There is some truth to that.

My thinking is that People is an easy way to read the world's happenings and trends. History is made by the actions of its people. People just makes it palatable to find out what is going on. I also happen to enjoy the style tips and recipes. It has a little bit of everything to satisfy my need to be in the know.

Remember the movie Working Girl? I always use it as an example of the value of People magazine. A key part of the story is that Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) uses information from a tabloid newspaper to come up with a great business deal idea. I rest my case.

Why am I confessing this to you after all these years? I have come to realize we all need guilty pleasures in our lives. They are a way to release stress, allow ourselves some indulgence and also give us the means to "get away with" something not ordinarily considered acceptable in our lives. There is something really satisfying about a guilty pleasure. It heightens our enjoyment in a moment in time. It can even make the drudgery of life seem more bearable. This can be good for our health.

The key to guilty pleasures is to find ones that can enhance your health and healthy living rather than being counter to them. The goal is to make a guilty pleasure one that makes you sigh with satisfaction while putting a rye smile on your face without the consequences of overindulgence. With that in mind I have started thinking about things I do in my life that could qualify as guilty pleasures. What do I love to do that allows me to feel secretly indulgent, carves out a moment of pleasure and ends with me sighing with satisfaction, ready to take on my daily life again? I was surprised how many I could come up with. It kind of made me smile with satisfaction.

For now I confess to my first guilty pleasure:

Guilty Pleasure #1: Reading People Magazine with a Cup of Green Tea 


Stay tuned. There are more to follow.


Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!









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Healthy Lifestyle Tip-- Change to Birthday Cupcake

Monday, May 9, 2016








#ThinkBirthdayCupcake
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Gingered Orange Marmalade

Friday, May 6, 2016
Making Gingered Orange Marmalade
I am an annual marmalade maker. We are lucky to have two Calamondin orange trees that continue to give me fruit. Without them I am not sure if I would make the time to make our marmalade. Those trees give us a great gift each year. From the home grown and home made marmalade we can enjoy many meals, snacks and appetizers. The greatest part of making the marmalade, however, is sharing it with others. There is nothing more original or unique than home made gifts. Our marmalade is shared as hostess gifts and holiday gifts with friends and family every year. We now have friends who remind us that they would love to have some as the holidays approach. It makes gift organizing a breeze since all the hard work has happened months in advance.

This year I thought it would be fun to "spice up" the marmalade a bit by adding some fresh ginger, lemon juice and lemon zest. It turned out to be a great new addition. See how visually attractive it is in jars.

Why ginger? Besides its engaging flavor, it has many health benefits. Historically, ginger has a long tradition of being very effective in alleviating stomach upset and gas. In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as boosting our immune system and fighting cancers such as colon and ovarian. Below is my updated recipe incorporating this health-promoting food.


Gingered Orange Marmalade

This canning method and recipe is a two day process. Instead of adding store-bought pectin, the process I use brings out the pectin that exists naturally in the skin of the orange. I think it tastes better this way. Breaking up the making of the marmelade this way also makes the work load more manageable and not too taxing.

Ingredients~
12 cups prepared oranges
12 cups water
16 cups sugar
6 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 lemons, zested
2 lemons, juiced

Directions~
1. Wash oranges, cut in rounds or quarters and remove seeds. I recommend using gloves because of all the acid in the fruit. I use disposabe non-latex exam gloves.
2. Measure the fruit. Place in a thick bottomed pot. For each cup of fruit use ¾ cup water. Add water to pot.
3. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes.
4. Cool and then put in refrigerator overnight, or for at least 8 hours, to bring out the pectin in the fruit.
5. Measure the orange stock. Add  ¾ cup of granulated sugar for each cup of stock.
6. Add the ginger.
7. Bring to a boil. Slow boil for a minimum of 1½ hours. The stock should decrease in amount by about ¼ to ½.
 8. Add the zest and lemon juice in the last few minutes of boiling the stock.
7. Pour into hot sterilized jars immediately. I prefer 8 oz jars, which are a great size for gifts. Label with content and date.

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!



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Celebrating Our Love of Moms--Mother’s Day Discount of 25%!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Livliga wants to help everyone enjoy a healthy and happy Mother's Day!



For anyone who has a mom, wished they were a mom, enjoys being a mom or who loves someone who is a mom, Livliga wants to celebrate you and all moms with a Healthy Mother’s Day Discount of 25%.

All you have to do is enter the coupon code LoveOfMoms16 at check out to take advantage of the savings to Celebrate Our Love of Moms this Mother’s Day Weekend!

Need some gift giving ideas? Check out this Live Vibrant blog: 

Livliga Makes Great Gift Giving for a Healthy Lifestyle!

 

Hurry! this offer is only available through Sunday!

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Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Reward Yourself Without Food

Monday, May 2, 2016



#RewardYourselfWithoutFood
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