Refrigerator Redesign

by Leanne Ely, C.N.C

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to ask each of you, if you would, kindly open your refrigerator door.

So how's it looking? A little messy? Maybe it's so full of food you can't even see the shelves anymore? If it's really bad, does it have a peculiar odor? And what kind of food do you have stored in there? A beautiful array of produce? Or a bunch of stuff you wouldn't want to tell your favorite Dinner Diva? :-)
 
Everything in life demands order; even in something as small as a refrigerator. Maintaining order reinforces a sense of peace instead of a stressed frenzy that comes hand in hand with disorder. And along with an orderly fridge comes what you keep in your refrigerator and where you keep it. This will affect, believe it or not, your choices. The what and where of food in your fridge can actually benefit a healthier diet if you take control of location and the actual food being stored.

Health.yahoo.net pointed at a study practiced by Cornell University, which was that if you fill your top shelf with fruits and veggies and other nutritionally benefiting foods, you're more liking to snack and eat those initially, instead of grabbing some easy snacky not so good for you food. According to this article, placement is king and not just in regard to your choices.

Some refrigerated foods can affect others and not for the good. For example any raw meats, you really need to keep them on the bottom. If they leak there's a greater chance for salmonella or E. coli to sneak into your other food. See why placement is so critical?

I wrote an article about storing leftovers that can go hand in hand with what I have to say in this article. One of my points that coincide with that article is that you have to be aware of what is in your refrigerator. Know what leftovers you have, and pair leftovers accordingly. Maybe you still have leftover meat from the day before and you now have leftover veggies from today's meal, mix and match and make the two of them a meal for the next day. Be mindful of your space, be mindful of your leftovers, and be mindful of what you need versus what you want.

If you can ensure some basic organization in what you buy, where you're placing it, and what is already in there in conjunction to what you need - you'll save time and money and even manage a healthier constitution. I would like to encourage you to take five extra minutes out of each week to quickly wipe down the surfaces of your refrigerator with a disinfectant cloth or wipe. If you are what you eat, don't you want to eat something being stored in a clean place so you don't get sick?


Avoid leftovers completely with our Cook Once Eat Twice menus!
Copyright (C) 2011 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

Fall is the Time to Commit to Family Dinner

by Grace R. Freedman, Ph.D.

The nip of fall is in the air, school is well underway, the kids' extracurricular activities are gearing up, and maybe new projects are getting started at work. Whew! This time of year can be the busiest season, often crammed with new schedules, new transitions and new commitments. Without a clear plan, family dinner may be the first thing to go or the last thing you want to add to a crammed schedule. As you re-think routines and priorities this fall, don't forget that family dinner can actually help you smooth out the day-to-day chaos. Family dinner can be there to provide structure and sanity, and to give you and your kids a good foundation all year.

We often hear about the long-term benefits of family dinner. It's true that family dinner is one of the only things that has been consistently shown to have a positive effect on multiple health and social issues, such as obesity, underage alcohol and drug abuse, social disconnectedness, low school performance, and unhealthy relationships to food. Nonetheless, for busy parents, it can be hard to think about health and social benefits that are far down the road when you are just trying to get through the day. What can family dinner do for you and your kids TODAY?

Here are just a few things:

Family dinner gives you a way to "touch-base" daily with kids of any age. Don't underestimate the importance of nightly check-ins at the dinner table to hear new stories and get wind of any new problems. Whether your child is just starting kindergarten or already in high school, he or she will appreciate knowing you can always talk at dinnertime.

Family dinner saves money. Cooked meals at home can be cheaper, healthier and even faster than take-out or delivery (One study reports that Americans spend on average $4.50 per person eating at home compared to spending $8.50 a person eating out.)

Family dinner makes healthy eating easier for everyone. Family-style meals have been shown to help everyone in the family maintain their weight and consume more fruits and vegetables, when served. Also, a CDC study reported that people were better able to lose weight and keep it off by planning weekly meals rather than "winging it" at every meal.

Family dinner gives you time to be a family. Back-to-school is often a time when we notice and marvel how fast our kids are growing up; the years honestly can speed by. Now is the time to begin your family dinner tradition, or re-commit to it, so you can really learn from one another and enjoy each other's company.

Start the school year out right by planning to make family dinner a part of your new routines. At the Blog for Family Dinner project, we hope to help with inspiration, advice and recipes as we post stories about family dinner throughout the #B4FD month from September 26 to October 24, 2011.


Grace R. Freedman, Ph.D. is the Founder and Executive Director ofEatdinner.org, which provides research, education, and support for family meals. She is co-founder of the Blog For Family Dinner Project.


Copyright (C) 2011 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

Jesus Could Come TODAY . . .

was Reilly's response to seeing this sunrise today.

He said that the little clouds might be angels just waiting for the trumpet to sound. . .
He has been talking a lot about the Lord's return lately.
I love the tender heart that kids have.
He wants the Lord to return and he is concerned about the people he knows who don't know Jesus.

Or it could be that he has a Language test today.

Either way, my little man is precious!

We Will Never Forget

Great service and time of remembrance of 9/11 at Faith FWB Church, Goldsboro

College Football

It's that time of year. College football time. We are headed, with some Southeastern students, to Durham to go see Duke *ahem* play Stanford.

Tips for Choosing the Perfect Pineapple

I love fresh pineapple!

It is my favorite summer fruit, but if you are like I am, you may be confused about how to choose a good one. I found this list on Relish! and I wanted to share it.

1. Be alert for two key elements of a ripe pineapple: freshness and deterioration. You are looking for a fresh pineapple, not a rotting one. The stem is the area of the pineapple that feeds sugar to the fruit. It is from here that the pineapple changes color.

2. Look at the pineapple. It should reflect a golden yellow color. The minimum area for this should be on the eyes at the base of the fruit. Never purchase a pineapple that is fully green as it will not ripen well. The higher the color rises up the pineapple, the sweeter it will be. The pineapples in the photo above indicate good coloring

3. Smell the pineapple. If it smells sweet, then it's ready. If it has no scent, it's not ripe. If it smells fermented, it's over ripe!

Check out this great video on how to cut a pineapple. If you don't want to take the time to cut the pineapple into rings, when it's peeled, slice into strips and then into cubes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJJ-iQkbRNE

EIGHT Free One Night Rental Codes

Blockbuster Express is offering 8 Free One Night Rentals with codes:

85JBHS2 – 86RRAP3 – 23CMEA6 – 66MLBJ9
72MDEB9 – 34ZGDB4 – 74EHJR4 – 22VHAP2

You can use these codes to reserve online.
Don’t forget to return your movies by 9pm the next night to avoid the $1 per night rental fee!
You can use EACH once per credit card.
Expires 7/4/11.

Try AboutOne for a year--FREE!

What is AboutOne?

When was the last time you had to search through boxes, piles of paper, or a filing cabinet for information related to your family?

AboutOne is a secure online family management system that simplifies daily life by providing ONE location to store and manage household information, including:

• Health
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And right now, through 6/30 (tomorrow) you can get a year subscription by using the code JUNEFREE. You don't even have to enter a credit card number.

You can check out the site here.
Read more about them on their blog here.

The Buzz of the Blogosphere--10 cents/gallon discount at Murphy Express!

Walmartstores.com: Walmart Offers 10-Cents-a-Gallon Gas Savings at Participating Stations Nationwide

"Walmart Offers 10-Cents-a-Gallon Gas Savings at Participating Stations Nationwide

Today, Walmart announces a 90-day Rollback at the pump to give customers a savings of 10 cents a gallon on all fuel, gas and diesel, at participating Murphy USA and Walmart gas stations. The discount applies to gas purchases made when using a reloadable Walmart gift card, reloadable Walmart MoneyCard® or Walmart credit card from June 29 through September 30, 2011."

A Scensty Giveaway

Head on over to The Modest Mom to see what you can do to win a $25 Scentsy Gift Certificate. I love the Scentsy products. My mother-in-law gave us a warmer and a brick of wax (Baked Apple Pie) for Christmas and I have been impressed with how long the scent lasts.

Click on the links above to go to the giveaway page to see what you have to do to be entered into the drawing.

Turn a Crib Side Rail into a Magazine Rack

I just had a "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" moment?

This is a great use for a crib side rail.

Even if you don't have a crib sitting around your attic or garage, you can always get one at a yard sale CHEAP or even a giveaway on Craig's List!

What a great way to UpCycle!

Turn Your Crib Siderail Into A Magazine Rack Salty Pineapple | Apartment Therapy Ohdeedoh