Sweet Love and Ginger

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How to Reduce the Temptation of Take Out

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How to Reduce the Temptation of Take Out

 

Eating out, picking up take out or having pizza delivered is incredibly convenient and accessible, but it cost money, and can hurt your waistline. I’ve mentioned this a bunch, but Chuck and I are trying to save money right now so we are doing our best to avoid spending extra money on food. The obvious way to do this is to cook at home. I’ve already talked about how I meal plan to help save money, but I’m human and a meal plan doesn’t ensure I won’t want that super greasy takeout pizza on Friday after a long work week. Here is what I’m doing to avoid the pesky temptation troll.

 

  1. Try to come up with recipes similar to my favorite takeout food. Some great examples are 15 Minute Lo Mein, Wonton Soup, Homemade Pizza, Linguine with Clam Sauce, and One Pan Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.
  2. Keep a list of easy and quickrecipes on hand with all the ingredients. 15 and 20 minute meals are totally more appealing than a 40 minute, multi-dish recipe (hello clean up after?).
  3. Meal plan. I already discussed this above, see here for more info.
  4. Keep ready prepared meals accessible – Precooked chicken breasts, frozen homemade soups, ravioli, frozen meatballs, frozen taco meat and other things that I can prepare in 10 minutes or less is ideal.
  5. Use the crockpot. If I start the crock pot before work I pretty much then have to eat whatever it is when I get home or it goes to waste. Also coming home to a wonderful smelling house does wonders to change your cravings. Check out my list of 100 Slow Cooker Recipesfor Winter.
  6. Keep salad stuff in the house. – Those frozen chicken breasts heat up in the microwave and go great on a big salad. The same goes for taco meat (or beans), leftover roast veggies, leftover steak, and a ton of other stuff. Also it doesn’t last long so if I know its going to go bad soon then I am more likely to eat it instead of ordering out.
  7. Set a dining out budget for the month. Once you hit that limit don’t go out until the beginning of the next month. If it’s the social aspects that you are missing try hosting a potluck, or inviting friends over instead of going out.

Do you have anything that you do to help curb the take out monster? I’ll take all the tips I can get!

The Lazy Girls Guide to Getting Long Hair

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I have read hundreds of these kinds of posts, and articles in hopes and prayers that something will make my hair grow longer faster, and the fact of the matter is that your hair simply grows at one rate and there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it, some of us are lucky and it seems to be faster than others.
According to Sheldon Cooper it grows at 4.6 yoctometers per femtosecond, which is less than half an inch per month. I’m a nerd. Moving on.
The Lazy Girls Guide to Getting Long Hair

I get comments and compliments all the time on how fast my hair grows, how long it is and how amazingly still healthy it is at that length. Since I have chopped my hair off and donated it several times since the age of 12 I thought I would share my few secrets.

  • Don’t cut it. I have heard all kind of things about every 6-8 weeks, and getting the dead ends off and all that but the fact of the matter is the more you cut the slower the growth. Logic people! I only get my hair cut every 4-6 months or more. There have been times where it’s been almost a year. Basically I just watch the ends when they start to get bad it’s time to go.
  • Don’t style with heat. I know a lot of you are cringing right now, but heat damages hair, that’s a fact. The more you use heat the more damage, and breakage and therefore less growth. I only use heat once or twice a month, the rest of the time I just let it go naturally, occasionally adding some leave in moisturizer to help out the curls.
  • Don’t Wash it (that often). I only use shampoo on my hair 1-2 times a week, more if I have some hard workouts. I still wet my hair when I am in the shower, and sometimes use conditioner, or apple cider vinegar, to help the curls out, but that’s it. If I don’t wet my hair for a few days I use backing soda as a dry shampoo.  I love Katie’sPost on dry shampoos, there is so much to talk about there.
  • Take your vitamins. B vitamins are great for growing strong and healthy hair and nails. I take a basic multivitamin with iron, because I am a little anemic. I can totally feel the difference if I don’t take them for a few days, and also see the difference in the strength of my nails for sure.
  • Oil, egg or avocado scalp massages. I don’t know if these actually do anything for you, but I have issues with really dry skin, especially in the winter. I do these once a month in the winter time and they do wonders for my dry skin, they may do something for strengthening the hair at its root, or maybe they do nothing, but they do feel awfully nice. Here are the basics, you can find links all over the internet for hair masks with other ingredients.

Well now if I have not cemented in my hippy nature with this post I’m not sure what else will. Basically there’s only really two things here required of you, if you take the last point as anything worthwhile, and the rest is about being lazy, or hippi-esque. Call it what you will but this is my method and it works great for me. If you have anything else to add I’d love to hear it!

10 Reasons Why You Should Get Outside this Summer

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I am a firm believer in the healing powers of the outdoors. Even if you are just taking a couple steps out of your back door here are 10 reasons why you should get yourself outside every single day this summer.

 

  1. Vitamin D. You get it from the sun. Nuff said.
  2. Blooming flowers, unless you have allergies, in that case, refer to the one above again.
  3. Fresh air. The air in your home is the same stuff you have been breathing in all winter long. I’m sure that it can’t be good for you. I mean all those cold germs, and musty, moldy nonsense just think about it. Plus there is some kind of science that says being outside increases the oxygen in your blood or something.
  4. Getting outside is a good excuse to burn a few extra calories and talk a walk, or play some sports. I mean there is way more room for activities out there than inside.
  5. Beaches and lakes are warm. At least up here in the great northeast it’s not very long that you can actually jump into the water with out a fear of loosing your toes. Take advantage of that.

 

6. Frozen cocktails are better outside. That’s just science.

7. Computers and TV take a toll on your eyes. Why not sit outside soak up some vitamin D, have that cocktail as discussed in no. 6 and let those puppies relax a little? Fresh air and warm sun reduce stress. I mean this is kind of like an obvious one. Being inside is like being boxed in, free yourself!

9. Better sleep. All that sun and activity will help you fall right to sleep.

    10. Boosting your immune system. I mean aside from better sleep, vitamin D, and the germs you are killing with all that alcohol, there is also
something to be said about all the studies that say getting out of the city and into nature boosts your immunity.