If you're trying to lose weight, it's important to have the right tools on hand to maximize your chances of success. Many people turn to fast food and frozen food because it is often much more convenient to prepare than fresh healthy food is; make sure that you have the right gadgets in your kitchen to make preparing healthy meals easy. After all, you will be more likely to make healthy choices if the food you make is both convenient and delicious! Below are some kitchen appliances that make it easier to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Kitchen Scale

A kitchen scale is by far the most vital kitchen gadget you can have when you are trying to lose weight. There are a number of places on the internet where you can go to log your food and track your daily calorie intake. However, without a kitchen scale it's impossible to know how much you have really eaten.

For example, let's say you buy a whole cake from the grocery store and then cut off a slice of it for yourself for dessert. When you look up the nutrition information for the cake, the serving size will most likely be given as "one slice" with a weight listed in grams beside it. Your idea of what makes up one slice of cake and the manufacturer's idea of what makes up one slice of cake are likely not at all the same, but if you have a kitchen scale you can weigh out your slice and find out how many calories are in that exact portion you are eating.

Owning a kitchen scale allows you to find out with exacting precision how many calories you really are eating during the day and helps you to learn more about what typical portion sizes are.

Vegetable Steamer

Eating vegetables is an important part of losing weight; they are very low in fat and calories and high in fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. They help to add bulk to your food without adding very many calories. Most people, however, cannot stand the texture of raw vegetables. Unfortunately, boiling vegetables to cook them causes them to lose vitamins and minerals since they will leach out into the water that you boil them in. Steaming vegetables is the answer to having appetizing vegetables that retain their full nutrient content.

Purchasing a vegetable steamer provides you with a quick and easy way to steam vegetables; all you need to do is add water, add the vegetables, plug it in and turn it on. A vegetable steamer helps you lose weight because it makes cooking vegetables convenient; as an added bonus, they don't lose any of their nutritional value!

Convection Oven

Fried food is unquestionably bad for you; not only does frying food add a considerable amount of fat to the food due to it soaking up oil, heating oil to the high temperatures used in frying produces heterocyclic amines (known as HCAs) that have been shown to cause cancer in both human and animal studies. As a result of deep-frying being a terrible choice for people trying to eat healthily and watch their weight, cookbooks have been developing a strategy of frying foods in the oven by baking them; this is called air-frying.

Unfortunately, if you have tried to make air-fried food before, you know that it really does not compare to oil-fried food. The reason for this is that the breading on the food gets soaked with steam rising up from the food so it does not brown and get properly crunchy, and if it does brown it means that you have cooked all the water out of the food, leaving it a bone-dry mess!

This is where convection ovens come in; convection ovens work by having fans installed in the oven circulate the hot air around the inside of the oven. Having the air blow against the food being cooked helps to heat the food faster, which results in quicker cooking times. Additionally, the air helps to remove excess water from the breading when you are attempting to air-fry foods. Food air-fried in a convection oven is much more appetizing than that from a conventional oven. A convection oven can help you lose weight by allowing you to cook food that has the taste and texture of fried food without all the added fat and calories from the oil.

Vegetable Juicer

Most people who are tying to lose weight drink a lot of fruit juices. Fruit juices, while having a lot of vitamins and antioxidants, are still frustratingly high in calories and can be hard to work into your diet plan. A lower-calorie solution to fruit juice is vegetable juice, which you can make at home with a vegetable juicer.

Popular and tasty vegetables commonly juiced are carrots, beets and spinach. Leafy green vegetables, such as spinach and kale, are excellent ways to add vitamins and minerals to your diet while being much lower in calories than fruit juices. A vegetable juicer gives you a source of tasty beverages that are both good for you and very low in calories.


Margie Tollison is a family practice nurse and guest author at Accelerated Nursing Degrees, a site with guides and information to help prospective nursing students evaluate accelerated nursing degree programs online.

This summer, many cities across the country have experienced significant heat waves. While people in these cities normally use the summer months as a time to exercise outside, many people are finding the extreme heat has made it nearly impossible. 

While the summer heat has made it quite difficult to exercise, there are five tips that could be followed to make it possible to exercise despite the extreme heat.

Exercise in the morning 

The first tip to follow, to exercise in the heat, would be to exercise early in the day.  While the temperature could easily reach 90 degrees or hotter by afternoon, the temperature does not normally even approach its peak until mid-morning.  If you are able to get up early in the morning, you could always get a run or bike ride in before it starts to get too hot.  Another advantage of exercising early in the day is that the humidity is lower, which also helps to make it more comfortable.

Yoga

If you are looking to exercise in the heat, another option would be to practice yoga.  People spend hundreds of dollars per month at yoga studios to train in heated rooms.  Now, due to the hot weather, you can simulate the same heated exercise for free in your backyard.  If you are looking for guided lessons, many affordable yoga classes are held in public parks across the country during the summer months.

Swim

If you are looking for a good outside exercise in the summer, another option would be to go swimming.  Swimming has always been considered a great form of exercise.  In the extreme heat it is particularly beneficial because a pool, lake, or ocean will always be much cooler than the outside air. This can allow you to stay cool while getting in a great workout.


Stay hydrated

If you choose to do a more traditional workout during the summer heat, the most important tip would be to stay hydrated.  Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after any exercise session.  This will help to prevent you from becoming dehydrated and can also help to prevent muscle strains and other injuries. 

Use moderation

The fifth tip to follow when exercising in the heat would be to exercise in moderation. While you may not get the best workout possible, exercising in moderation will prevent you from overheating.  When exercising, be sure to take plenty of breaks and stop exercising altogether if you start to feel a bit dizzy during the exercise session. 


Written by the health and wellness experts at ezCater.com. Visit ezCater to find and order healthy Baltimore catering.

Eating organic is at the forefront of the food industry today. People are more concerned than ever before about the quality of the food they put into their bodies. With so much attention to eating organic, it is easy to lose sight of what that term actually means.

What does organic mean?

Organic is a horticultural practice of using organic soils that utilize compounds of carbon. This means that growers cannot corrupt the natural soil to grow food. Growers must work the soil and rotate crops to achieve the desired results. In fruit, vegetables, herbs, and plants organic refers to the way foods are grown, produced, and handled. They are grown without the use of petroleum based fertilizers, genetic engineering, fungicides, conventional pesticides, and synthetic soil compounds. Because the soil is nutrient rich and chemical free, organic food is thought to be more nutritious.

Organic meat

In animals, organic means that the animal was given access to the outdoors, for instance “cage free” turkey and chicken lived in an environment that encouraged movement and outdoor activities. The same applies to “grass fed beef”. Cows were given access to fields of grass and were given no animal by-product to eat.

Regulations

The USDA, (United States Department of Agriculture), regulates the use of the term “organic”. Manufacturers of food products must meet quality standards in order to gain the USDA stamp of approval. If the food manufacturer participates in false advertising of their food or product, they will pay a fine. There is great incentive to be honest in the food industry because one fine can easily put a company out of business. The labels and the wording on the labels can be tricky to understand at first.

The terms

The term “100% Organic” can only be used on a food or food product if the product is made from 100% organic ingredients and meets USDA requirements. If the product meets the standards, the product receives the USDA seal of approval. If a product simply says “Organic” then 95% of the product must be organic and the manufacturer can use the seal. If the product is labeled as “Made with Organic Ingredients” then the products has used 60-70% organic ingredients and cannot use the USDA seal.

Food products marked as “natural” are not certified organic, although they may have organic ingredients listed. Other products may claim to be good for you, but if they do not have the USDA 100% Organic seal then the food product is likely to contain a certain percentage of artificial ingredients.


EzCater.com is the other of this post. To learn more about organic food and to find and order organic Portland catering or catering for hundreds of other locations nationwide visit ezCater.com.

The skin around our eyes is the most fragile piece of skin on our body. Our skin is the thinnest around the eyes, and this is why they are affected easily.

The term ‘puffy eyes’ refers to swelling of the skin around our eyes, and could be caused by several factors. It is caused when fluid collects in the tissue that surrounds the eyes. There are several home remedies for this problem, and the measures taken are similar to that of any other kind of swelling.

What Causes Puffy Eyes?

Puffy eyes can be caused by any one or a combination of the following factors: lack of sleep, aging, stress and tension, crying, allergic reactions, drinking too much of alcohol, sinus problems, wearing contact lenses too often, hormonal changes in the body and physical tiredness. Apart from the causes mentioned above, puffy eyes can also be a genetic problem for some people.

How do you Prevent Getting Puffy Eyes?

The best solution to avoiding puffy eyes is to prevent getting them. This can be done by getting eight hours of sleep every night, and at a regular time; drinking at least eight glasses of water a day is a must; avoiding physical and emotional stresses; decreasing the amount of alcohol you drink; and the usage of skin moisturisers that do not have toxic substances in them. If you wear contact lenses, it is important to take them off before you go to sleep, and clean them thoroughly before you wear them again.

Fluid retention can be caused if your eyes are on the same level as your body when you sleep; to avoid this, you can keep your head at a slightly elevated position, so that lesser fluid can collect in the tissue near your eyes.

Reducing Puffiness

There are several beauty tips that promise to get rid of the puffiness in your eyes; the good news is that it is easy to reduce puffiness with the help of home remedies alone. All it requires is that you follow these remedies regularly, and manage your lifestyle well.

1. Wash your eyes with cold water. After this, take some slices of cucumber (grated cucumber will do too) and put them on your eyes. Keep this on for a while until you feel the cucumber has lost its coldness and freshness. Take the cucumber off your eyes and wash your face again. You can also use potatoes in the place of cucumber.

2. Make two teabags moist by dipping them in water. Place these teabags in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Take the cold teabag and keep it on your eyes for approximately five minutes.

3. Keep a spoon in your fridge, and then place it against your eyes. You can also use cotton pads dipped in rose water. Make sure you keep your head above the level of your body so that the fluid can drain downwards.

4. Apply a soothing cream with Vitamin E and Aloe Vera around your eyes every day to reduce puffiness. Vitamin E and Aloe Vera are very good for the skin, as they help it regenerate from any damages.

5. Puffy eyes can be caused by lack of sleep, or disturbed sleep. Avoid any mental stimulation before you sleep. Sleep at the same time everyday, and have a glass of warm milk to help you relax. Do not read or watch TV for about half an hour before sleeping. Instead, just unwind, and you will sleep better. Getting restful sleep avoids puffiness in the eyes.


Prevention of puffy eyes can be undertaken using a good mosturiser found in most department stores, within their beauty products sections. But follow these simple steps and your should be well on your way to clear and bright eyes with no bags.