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Cheryl Posner

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Food and Beverage

Munch on Delicious Snacks Without Breaking the Bank

It is noticeable in every household with children.

No matter how much you want to save on groceries, you almost always end up spending more than your outlined budget. This is all the more true when you have some finicky eaters in your clan. If an item is one kid’s favorite, then there is a high probability that the other won’t even go near it.

But since you cannot just simply tell your little angels to split something which one of them doesn’t even like to begin with, you end up buying different snacks for two, three or even the four of them, and that often results in expenditures of funds which you could have spent elsewhere.

Thankfully, you don’t have to keep regretting your purchases, since you can get your budget in control just by making a few changes in your buying and eating habits.

Instead of buying products in retail, try looking for them in wholesale; instead of buying ready-to-go snacks, try making easier items from scratch; and instead of having to make complete meals for each of your kids, try cooking dishes that incorporate a few elements that all of them would like individually.

Buy Sweets in Bulk or Wholesale

While the concept of buying sweets in wholesale sounds daunting, the widespread usage of the internet has made this once-difficult process very easy to execute right from your computer or mobile device.

Since many wholesale vendors now offer their products through their own website, you won’t even have to step away from your house to get the special, discounted pricing that only comes with wholesale purchases.

Buying sweets and candies in bulk is actually a very good way to save some money, which you can put towards getting different types of sweet jars in wholesale as well, which you can consume for weeks on end.

Learn New Recipes for Homemade Snacks

In case you have the time to invest in the kitchen in order to make something exciting from scratch, then you can certainly go ahead and don your chef’s hat to accomplish that mission.

Try looking for snack dishes with simple ingredients that would not need you to purchase any additional or elaborate food items, as that will only save you from spending more money while also ensuring that the dishes you are cooking do not prove to be difficult for you to make.

If you have multiple kids who are not fond of the same dishes, then make sure to cook smaller quantities of different snacks, so that you do not have to waste away food that was not completely consumed by your aspiring food critics.

Make Wholesome Complete Meals to Keep Your Kids’ Appetite Sated

Most of the time, a need for snacks arises from not eating one’s meal properly; while having a few healthy sweets here and there is fine, skipping a large chunk from your meal just so you could have a snack later contributes towards establishing bad eating habits.

If you notice this behavior in your kids, then ensure that you take proper steps to address it. Try preparing dishes that are fun to eat for them and also fun to prepare in case they would like to join in the kitchen with you. By making meals that are not just a chore to eat, you should be able to address the aforementioned problems with ease.

There are quite a few recipes for family meals that you can try without having to buy special ingredients. If possible, try involving your kids in the decision making process of what to cook and what favorite items to incorporate in a family meal – as developing a healthy interest in food goes a long way in making sure your kids are eating well.

Make Sure You Are Keeping An Eye on Your Kids’ Eating Habits

Whether you are buying them healthy sweets to consume in a moderate amount or preparing homemade snacks yourself, ensure that you are aware of any changes in your kids’ eating habits so you can make any necessary modifications to your day to day plans in order to make sure that your children are getting the nutrition they need.

As always, try to maintain a healthy balance of instructional attitude and a friendly demeanor, as that would not only help you strike perfection in your kids’ diet but by knowing what you are in for, you will also get to manage your budget effectively.

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Mom Stuff

Top 5 Instant Pot Recipes To Survive The Winter

Is it just me or is this winter the coldest it’s ever been? And, is your kitchen as cold as ours, despite the warm oven and the central heating and that delightful cup of cocoa? Well, you are in the same freezing ball of snow, then it means that you cannot withstand standing in the kitchen cooking for hours, can you?

While a packet of pastries and more cocoa sounds delightful, that isn’t the healthiest option, especially if you are an athlete or a CRA garnishment professional watching your waist. But, worry not! We don’t wish for you to sleep on an entry stomach, snack on unhealthy foods or starve to death. With the rest of the freezing families and singles out there, we have come up with simple, fast and, hearty instant pot recipes.  In a few warm minutes, you will be back on the warm couch with a bowl of the healthiest food to fill you up and keep you warm.

The five best instant pot recipes include:

1. Easy Chili

This is one of the easy-to-prepare recipes as you can prepare it within 45 minutes. The chili’s preparation time is 20 minutes, it takes 20 minutes on the pressure cooker, and it will be ready in 35 minutes.

If you are craving a hearty meal to warm you up this winter, you should get ready to prepare chili. This is a simple beef and beans chili recipe. Besides guaranteeing to warm you up an hour after you set foot in the kitchen, this easy chili loaded with layers, upon layers of umami, spicy flavors and textures will leave you satisfied.

The recipe for your chili is available here: https://recipesinstantpot.com/2018/01/18/easy-chili-instant-pot/

2. Easy Mac and Cheese

You can never go wrong with mac and cheese, and the best part is that you need an instant pot to prepare this meal that guarantees warmth and fullness. The reason why this mac and cheese meal will take less time compared to other meals is that you get to cook it under a high pressure.

Like baked mac and cheese, your kids and the entire household will fall in love with this instant pot mac and cheese. The result of using a high-pressure cooker making mac and cheese is that it results in the creamiest, cheesiest, and the most delicious simple meal perfect for busy and cold weeknights or weekends. The best part is that you can have this mac and cheese as a side dish or as the main course!

The best part about preparing this meal is that instead of waiting for water to oil for you to add macaroni, the making sauce in a separate pan, you throw everything in the pot. Once you pressure cook the macaroni with butter, salt, and water, plus some dry mustard, you will have perfectly cooked macaroni. You don’t have to keep an eye on this and once cooked; you just need to add your milk and cheese.

Check out the entire recipe here: https://recipesinstantpot.com/2018/01/12/easy-mac-and-cheese-instant-pot/

3. Honey Teriyaki Chicken

Have you missed hearty and flavorful teriyaki chicken but you don’t want to spend your entire afternoon preparing this meal, how about a simple instant pot recipe that requires a minimum of five minutes for preparation?

The instant pot honey teriyaki chicken is full of flavors and extremely easy to make. This chicken will leave you wondering why you even eat out when you can prepare this delightful meal in few minutes and have it ready as you watch your favorite TV show.

The directions are so simple; just make the sauce, saute, add the sauce,  pressure cook, and then serve. You can have the full recipe here: https://recipesinstantpot.com/2018/01/14/honey-teriyaki-chicken-instant-pot/

You will also love this recipe because you will realize that all the ingredients needed are most probably in your kitchen, and the whole family will love this meal whether you prepare it during weeknights or over the weekend.

Given the time it takes to prepare this chicken, it is the go-to recipe for every busy person.

4. Country Steak

Who said you need hours to prepare and serve up steak? As you think of the best ways for staying warm and healthy this winter, you better have this recipe. It is one of the simplest, fastest, and the easiest steak recipes for flavorful, tender, and filling steak.

You will also like it because it is one of those efficient freezer-to-pressure cooker recipes. It has a short preparation time, and in four steps, your steak is ready. The steps are: prepare your steak, saute, pressure cook, and release.

Beware that the cooking time will change depending on the size of the steak. Here is your full recipe: https://recipesinstantpot.com/2018/01/16/country-steak-instant-pot/

5. Portuguese Chicken and Rice

Did you ever think that you could prepare, cook, and serve chicken and rice in less than one hour? Well, you can, once you get an instant pot.  Also, you don’t have to be Portuguese.

In under an hour, you will serve up and enjoy delicious spoonfuls of tender chicken with veggies soaked in the aromatic and colorful coconut turmeric sauce, and paired with perfectly cooked fried rice. Then, top all that with creamy melted cheese! Appetizing, isn’t it?

Well, this meal is eleven (or less) simple steps away. Just make sure to serve and start digging immediately to enjoy the flavors!

Here are the directions: https://recipesinstantpot.com/2018/01/09/portuguese-chicken-and-rice-instant-pot/

Conclusion

If you are still wondering about what you will do to keep warm, healthy, and how you will make this winter a little more interesting, get started with these five recipes. Keep in mind that there are many more recipes from where these came from – we hope your kitchen is stocked up!

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Uncategorized

A How-To on Harvesting Rainwater for Your Household Needs

It is an indisputable fact that water is one of the most essential natural resources we have. Without water, there would literally be no life—not only for us human beings but also for all other living things on this planet, especially animals and plants. But this life-giving resource is not unlimited, and with droughts becoming a more common natural phenomenon throughout the world because of climate change, it has become imperative for us that we learn how to conserve water.

There are many ways on how you can do this. For one, you and your family members can start being more mindful of how you use water in your household. You can turn off taps when they’re not in use, and you can fix leaks as they’re also a source of wasted water. If you have plans of harvesting rainwater for your household, here are some tips that can help you out:

  1. The first thing you need to do is to designate a catchment area.
  • One of the most common areas that will allow you to collect rainwater right away is your roof, and it is also the most easily adapted, thanks to convenient features like gutters. To get the biggest quantity of collected rainwater, it is best to choose a downspout that’s located directly beneath an especially steep part of the roof. If you’d like to keep your water colllection system discreet, make sure to choose a spot that’s hidden from view.
  • You can also look for places where water collects in a natural manner during times of a downpour. Don’t just limit yourself to your gutters; you can use any surface that’s shaped like a slope. One effective way of spotting these areas is to go out after a downpour and inspect the outside of your house for areas where puddles and shallow pools have formed. These spots can serve as good catchment areas.
  • When it rains, a good amount of rainwater is lost due to seepage. To prevent this, you can pave the open catchment areas around your home such as pools and streams. This will keep the water from seeping into the ground and also from being tainted by surface contaminants.
  1. You will also need to find ways to channel the runoff.
  • Your home’s gutters are already an excellent means to channel excess runoff, and all you’ll have to do is to set out a few containers beneath them to catch what they collect. For most homes that are of an average size, gutters with dimensions of 5 × 3 inches will be appropriate. If you have a larger home, 6 × 4 gutters will do.
  • If you’ve opted for a catchment area other than your roof, you will need to set up a conveyance system that reroute the water you’ve collected to where it will actually be stored. You can make this happen through the use of pipes or PVC tubes. Remember to set up your conveyance system with enough slope in order to allow the rainwater to flow.
  • It is best if you set up your storage and conveyance system close to where you intend to use it. For instance, if you plan to use the water you’ve collected to water your garden, it is ideal to keep your conveyance and storage system to the side of your home that’s nearest your yard or garden. It will be more convenient that way.

  1. The next step is to set up a collection system.
  • Make sure you set up containers that can collect rainwater at a high capacity. While plastic barrels are the most common type, there are specially designed containers that have built-in features like spigots and filtration screens. Rain Water Tanks have a wide variety of quality rainwater collection containers that your household can benefit from.
  • One way of ensuring better water pressure and encourage flow is to elevate the barrels. The extra height will allow easier and better flow from the spigot. Also, raising your containers can make it easier on you to position a watering can or bucket underneath it.
  1. Finally, install a filtering system to ensure that the water you’ve collected is healthy for use and is free from any pollutants.
  • Make sure you keep your containers covered at all times so as to keep out mosquitos and reduce exposure to pollutants and bacteria. Also, make it a habit to drain and clean your containers every once in a while for sanitary purposes.

Harvesting rainwater can do much more for your household than what you’ve expected. Aside from giving you and your family a backup water supply in times of drought, it can also greatly reduce your monthly water consumption and bills. Think about how much your household can save each month when you apply this concept in your household.

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Mom Stuff

Sleigh the Holiday Game with Basic Invite

Unless you’re one of those grinches who waits until the day of Christmas to realize how awesome the holidays are… who doesn’t love sleighing the holiday game? It’s fun to soak up the season and show your spirit! Getting the cutest wrapping paper and ribbons, decorating the prettiest tree, hanging lights, and eating all things peppermint are just a few ways to sleigh the holiday game.

This year, creating epic custom holiday cards is also on that list because we have the ultimate online stationery company to assist. Basic Invite is a digital stationery design company with the best holiday cards and hundreds of completely customizable online Christmas cards and they have gifted us with some of their most helpful tips to creating the perfect Christmas card online.

What Are You Celebrating

You name it, Basic Invite’s got it. From holiday cards and Christmas cards, to Hanukkah and New Years whatever you are celebrating Basic Invite has a card for that which makes it easy to sleigh any occasion.

Choose Your Colors

Colors are a huge part of why Basic Invite is such a unique company and an equally huge part of sleighing the holiday game! Even as early as Halloween, color schemes find their way into almost everything because there is a color pattern for every holiday. So, if you want to be on top of your game decorating your cards with the right colors is step one.

For Thanksgiving and all of your other fall harvest celebrations, earthy tones like brown, green, and yellow are often used alongside red and orange. And when it comes to Christmas the options are endless! Goodbye are the days where red and green are the only two acceptable Christmas colors. Now, you can make any color work whether it’s blue, silver, gold, or even bright funky versions of the standard holiday colors. Thankfully Basic Invite has over 180 custom colors to choose from so no matter what you can pick the colors that work for you!

Don’t Forget Foil

Foil is essential when it comes to holiday greeting cards and Christmas cards. Basic Invite offers three foil colors: gold, silver, and rose gold. Each color comes in flat or raised foil and all of them will add an elegance and festive touch to your holiday cards.

Gold and rose gold are perfect for Thanksgiving invitations and silver and gold pair perfectly with every Christmas card design. Anyone who receives a foil card is going to instantly swoon and immediately ask you where you got it! Never forget the foil!

Envelopes & Address Printing

Pairing your cards with the perfect envelope is super important. The envelope is the first thing that people will see when they open their mail and it’s the detail that will bring your look together and create a cohesive and finished product. Classic white is always a solid choice, but choosing an envelope liner or a metallic lined envelope will take your look one step further. Colorful envelopes are another great idea because your card will be sure to stand out from the start! Choose from 40 different colored peel and seal envelopes and always opt for address printing.

Sleighing the holiday game is much easier than it may sound and kicking things off with a holiday card is the perfect way to get into the spirit for the rest of the season! Head over to Basic Invite and customize yours today! Shop from hundreds of designs and use coupon code HOLI30 for 30% off your 2017 holiday cards.

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Family

How To Discipline A Sensitive Child

For those of you reading who were teachers before or are teachers now, the thought of going into a classroom full of kids was frightening to say the least. You didn’t have any class management experience and although you were taught many strategies, by the time you got to the door of the room, you had forgotten them all. Parents have the same issues when trying to control their kids and there are times when you are not sure what is appropriate and what is not.

Most of us learned how to manage the class as we went along, but those first few months were a nightmare. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be like that anymore and if it is your intention to get yourself involved in child care in Canberra then you should read on, to get some invaluable tips on how to instill discipline when you are dealing with sensitive children.

Try To Use Your Normal Voice

This is easier said than done, as we need to raise our voices to get above the din that is children screaming and running around the classroom. At some point, we will lose our voices due to this and it isn’t the best way to get your student’s attention. If you want your student to talk in low, soft tones, then you, too, need to talk like that. You should use different tones when you are asking about different things. If you want the students to put away their toys and return to the mat, then use a matter of fact tone. If you want to ask them questions and would like responses, then use an inviting tone. Check out more articles for tips on how to adjust your voice in the classroom.

 Only Talk When The Students Are Quiet

It’s difficult and you have to fight the real temptation to talk. After all, you are there to educate and to impart knowledge and you should be talking, but only when they are quiet and they are listening to you. Wait for them to be quiet and if they aren’t, then wait a little longer. After a while, the students will notice and will tell the others to be quiet also. Just be patient and the kids will eventually stop talking and begin to listen. 

Use Body Language And Hand Signals

Little things like raising your hand and establishing eye contact with your students helps to calm down a rowdy classroom and it may take a while for them to catch on to this, but it will happen. Turning the lights on and off is a sure way to get their attention and it can also be used as a countdown to the end of a test or an assignment. Clapping your hands also works.

More importantly, make sure that your lesson is planned and is fun. There is nothing worse than a bored student and having thirty of them in one place is even harder to handle. Talk less and allow your students to talk more.

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Travel

Four Holiday Hacks to Help You Have the Best Family Holiday

Relaxation, peace and fun are some of the appropriate words that describe what a holiday is or ought to be for our family. It’s a really amazing time for your family to connect and bond. To make memories and to laugh together. A family holiday is an important part of growing up, so it’s important that we get all those little things right. Holiday planning can sometimes come with a lot of confusion and stress. And figuring out what works best for you and every other member of the family can be a tough hurdle to overcome. So we have compiled four of our favourite tips for having the best family holiday.

Flexible Schedules and Last Minute Fun

It does not matter if you have a whole month, a week or just a weekend to go on your holiday. You are going to want it to be the right one. If you are looking to book a last minute holiday then there are always options available. Having a flexible schedule doesn’t have to be stressful, embrace the freedom of being able to jet off whenever you’re next free. What an adventure! With the help of Easyjet and Thomson Holidays time is never a problem. City breaks can always take care of your short holidays and fun weekends away. And all-inclusive seaside resorts can work perfectly for those longer vacations.  

Top Holiday Hack: One of the best ways that you can land the best family holiday deal is by being flexible, thinking last minute and relaxing into a potentially spontaneous trip. Landing a great deal is just as much about having a relaxed state of mind as your ability to stay organised and on the ball!

Airport Parkin

The security of your car should be one of your top priorities when going on holiday. To begin with, put in mind the size and weight of your luggage, especially when the children are involved. In this case getting to the terminal efficiently should be your top priority. Airport parking can be an expensive ordeal, but if you are traveling from any of the UK’s major airports then you can find some savvy online deals to get a reduced rate. For example, you can find loads of offers on cheap Birmingham Airport Parking online. Having your parking sorted at a lower price will give you the piece of mind that you need to really enjoy your family holiday!

Top Holiday Hack: If you are looking for a truly stress free and enjoyable family holiday then you can choose one of the more luxury ways of parking at the airport. A meet and greet service for example is a great hassle free way to park your car. A chauffeur will even park for you!

Plan Some Fun Activities

Family holidays mean fun, adventure and activities. Make sure that each person in your family gets to do something that they want to do. One day you could be rock climbing, the next sitting by the pool and the next playing volleyball on the beach. Either way, keeping your holiday jam packed with fun activities and games will keep you all integrating, bonding and making memories. Save reading a long book for a couples retreat or the partying for a girls holiday. Really utilise the time to plan family activities that everyone will enjoy. You’ll remember it for years to come!

Top Holiday Hack: Get each member of your family to plan their perfect day. This way everyone will get to enjoy the perfect day for them while the holiday becomes a versatile and varied adventure!

Health and Safety

One of the best hacks that we can give you when going on a family holiday is to think health and safety! Always remember to take out the relevant travel insurance for each member of your family. If someone is injured on your holiday you’ll have peace of mind in knowing that it’s covered. Don’t do anything too dangerous and make sure you always have safety in mind. It can be easy for kids – especially small children – to hurt themselves in the excitement and unfamiliarity of a new environment. Keep your eyes out for any young children and make sure they know to be careful.

Top Holiday Hack: Bring a small medical kit with you. A small kit of bandages, plasters, and relevant medical equipment will not only come in handy in the case that someone does have a tumble, but will also settle your mind. You’ll enjoy your holiday so much more if you know that everyone is safe and covered in an emergency.

Use these tips the next time you want to go on holiday and ease the pressure that comes with planning and preparations. You deserve the best deals in addition to having a peaceful and fun family time. Make use of a flexible schedule and  cheap airport parking deals. Plan some fun activities and never forget health and safety! These tips will help ensure that you have a wonderful family holiday that you will all remember for years to come!

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