The Benefits of Cooking Your Own Meals

 Cooking your meals is one of the best things you can do for your health. When you cook your food, you know exactly what is going into it – and that means you can avoid unhealthy additives and preservatives. Cooking your food is also a great way to save money. The following blog will discuss the many benefits of cooking your meals!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

1) It Is A Great Way To Control Your Calorie Intake

When you cook your meals, you are in complete control of the ingredients and the portion sizes. This means that you can easily avoid consuming too many calories – something that is essential if you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

Cooking your food also allows you to customize your meals according to your dietary needs and preferences. For example, if you follow a gluten-free diet, you can easily prepare gluten-free meals at home.

2) It Helps You Eat More Nutritious Meals

Cooking your own meals is a great way to ensure that you are eating nutritious, balanced meals. When you cook at home, you have complete control over the ingredients and can choose to include plenty of healthy vegetables and lean protein sources in your diet.

This is in contrast to eating out, where it can be challenging to find healthy options that fit within your calorie and dietary restrictions. In fact, recent studies have shown that people who cook their meals tend to eat healthier overall than those who do not.

Cooking your food also means avoiding unhealthy additives and preservatives, which are often found in processed foods. These additives can negatively affect your health, including causing weight gain and contributing to chronic diseases.

3) It Saves You Money

One of the best things about cooking your meals is that it can save you a lot of money. When you cook at home, you can buy ingredients in bulk and prepare large meals which will last for several days. This is in contrast to eating out, where you will likely spend a lot more money on individual meals.

In addition, cooking your food means avoiding buying expensive processed foods or take-out meals. By cooking your own food, you can easily save hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars each year.

4) It Is Fun And Rewarding

Cooking your meals can be a fun and rewarding experience. When you cook a meal from scratch, you know that you have put in the hard work and effort to create something delicious. This feeling of accomplishment cannot be matched by simply heating a frozen dinner or ordering a take-out meal.

Cooking your food also allows you to experiment with new recipes, like a garlic confit recipe, and culinary techniques. This can be a great way to expand your culinary knowledge and learn new skills.

In conclusion, cooking your meals is one of the best things you can do for your health, wallet, and taste buds! By taking control of your food preparation, you can ensure that you are eating nutritious, delicious, and affordable meals. So what are you waiting for? Start cooking!

Surprisingly Simple Ways To Stop Your Mountain Of Used Baby Stuff From Building

 

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It’s not until we become parents that we truly realize just how much stuff accumulates when there’s a baby in the house. After all, the theory is that newborns don’t need a great deal. Unfortunately, while there is truth to that statement, the stuff that they do need can be bulky, not to mention that it builds up surprisingly fast throughout their first year or so of life. Given that this period often passes in a blur, many unprepared parents then look up to find themselves quite literally buried by baby stuff or using entire rooms and attic spaces for the sole purpose of storing those used baby items.

Given that you’re only going to keep on accumulating more things into your child’s second year (and, let’s be honest, every year after that), this is by no means a sustainable way of doing things, and it highlights the need to think about the best ways to stop that mountain of baby stuff from ever building in the first place. This can save you a world of stress when you simply don’t need it, as well as ensuring that your home is always far clearer than it would be.

The question is, what exactly are the best hassle-free ways to fight that mountain, and how can you put them into practice for results that stop you from ever having to scale to its top?

Step 1: Develop a system early on

Too often, we make the mistake of not having any storage system in place for our old baby clothes, etc. until they’re already taking up space. Unfortunately, this can result in piles of unsorted clothes and old toys that range across so many ages that you don’t even know where to begin. Given that you’re already an overworked parent, it’s therefore not at all unusual to take one look at this build-up and close the door to deal with it another day. Then, before you know it, you have that much-dreaded mountain on your hands. 

This is precisely the escalation that you’re reading this article to avoid, and the best way to do that is to put at least some kind of storage system in place as early as possible. Ideally, adding this to your list of things to do after finding out you're pregnant means that you won’t even need to worry during those already busy newborn days. Even better, you can find ways to correlate this with your baby prep in general. For instance, you may find it useful to label some storage containers with ages newborn, 3-6 months, and so on. Then, you’ll be able to see exactly what you’ve got ready for baby, as well as keeping those boxes on hand for when your new youngster grows out of each age range. 

Step 2: Research your options for removal

Unless you’re planning on having more children (in which case, sustainable storage solutions are a must!), you’re best off getting rid of used baby items as soon as you’ve filled a storage container or moved into a new age range. Luckily, there are countless ways to do this, and most of them don’t require all that much effort on your part. For one thing, asking around any pregnant friends, or those that you know are making plans of this nature will most likely see you getting rid of the vast majority of stuff. Even if there’s no pregnancy on the horizon, don’t hesitate to ask around – most likely, your friends will know someone who could use the extra! If you have no luck here, then there are also plenty of additional routes to consider online, many of which could see you earning some semi-decent cash for cast-offs. Great platforms for selling high-quality second-hand baby items especially include – 

• eBay

• thredUP

• Toycycle

• Kidizen

• And more

Simply make sure that you set up a profile in the early days, and get into the habit of uploading items before you put them into storage so that they never have a chance to creep up on you. 

Step 3: Put everything away in pristine condition

Considering that you’re finished with them and ready for them to stop cluttering up your house, it’s often tempting to put items away without properly cleaning them. After all, you can do that another day! In reality, though, storing clothes that need a wash, or even a stroller that’s covered in the usual wear and tear of snacks, spit-ups, and so on, can both damage the quality of those items, and make it less likely that you’ll ever get around to getting rid. After all, cleaning one thing is bad enough – cleaning a whole attic full of stuff just isn’t something that you have time for!

Luckily, you can save yourself time by making sure that every single item you have in storage is cleaned and ready to go for the fast turnaround that you’re ultimately aiming to achieve here. The effort that you spend on putting that one load of used clothes straight in the washing machine, or deep cleaning a stroller that’s no longer a good fit, will most certainly save you work in the long run. Not to mention that, if you’re going down the sales route, this proactive cleaning focus can see you getting far more money, as well as guaranteeing good reviews that make it easier for you to get rid of similar items fast in the future. 

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Step 4: Operate on an in-out basis

Despite your best efforts, used baby items can still build surprisingly quickly considering how often you’ll need to update things like your baby’s wardrobe. In fact, with entire outfit overhauls necessary every three months or so for that first year, you could end up with a whole mountain of stuff in less than six months if you aren’t careful. 

To avoid this, it’s always worth approaching used baby items with an in-out mindset. In other words, every single time that you bring new wardrobe sizes, etc. into the house, make a distinct effort to get rid of the size that came before it, and to not buy anything more until you’ve achieved that goal! It may seem strict, but setting yourself this rule makes it impossible for these items to build, buying you time to get rid without panic, and making sure that you never have more to deal with than you can manage. 

Step 5: Take inventory once in a while

While most of us are used to taking inventory at work, few of us apply the same thinking to our home lives. Yet, when it comes to the potentially mammoth task of sorting used baby items, this simple process can become invaluable for helping you to keep your sanity and your space. 

After all, if you don’t know what you’ve got, then it’ll be impossible to effectively impose things like the in-out rule discussed above. Not to mention that, even if you think you know everything that you need to organize/reduce, it’s all too easy to forget even entire boxes of clothes that could then end up as the basis for a build-up if you aren’t careful. 

Luckily, taking even a basic inventory of things like age ranges every few months is all you need to offset this risk and is a process that couldn’t be simpler if you’ve got a decent storage system in place as mentioned. This way, you can always keep track of what needs to go first, what’s newest to your storage setup, and what’s happening with everything in between. 

Step 6: Don’t let yourself get sentimental

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So, you’re prepped, ready, and armed with all of the platforms/know-how to keep used baby stuff under control. Only, then you see the first babygro your newborn ever wore or that coat that they took to their first meeting with the family. Suddenly, you’re overwhelmed with emotions, and can’t shake the feeling that you need to keep every last scrap of it for the sake of memories.

In reality, though, there are very few things that warrant keeping simply for sentimental value. After all, even if you did keep every memorable outfit, you’d likely look at them once every twenty years and coo before putting them back to clutter your home again. With this in mind, our last and perhaps most crucial pointer is to stop yourself from being sentimental about items that, ultimately, have served their purpose. By all means, keep things like the odd handmade piece, or perhaps even that first sleeper that you can’t part with. But, be strict with yourself, and make sure that you’re limiting what you keep to these few special instances before you’ve got an avalanche on your hands.

It’s by no means easy to stop a mountain of baby stuff from building at some stage, but taking it one step at a time with these tips in mind should at least help you to keep your home that bit clearer, and more manageable, for your baby’s first year and beyond. 

Instant Pot Chicken Soup Recipes

Craving something cozy like chicken soup? This collection of instant pot soup recipes is just the thing to check out then! With some really tasty chicken soup recipes to browse, you can find something delicious in this collection to whip up in no time.

While you are here you can find some of my other favorite recipes here.

Jazzy Chicken Soup by Amy+Jacky

This is not your average chicken soup! It has been jazzed up properly with tomatoes and celery and lots of other goodies!

Chicken Enchilada Soup by Burrata and Bubbles

All of the flavor of a good enchilada but in soup form, cooked up in no time, in the instant pot! Sounds great doesn’t it?

Photo Credit: Cassidy’s Crave-able Creations.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup by Cassidy’s Crave-able Creations

This pot pie soup is so good! And it is guilt free with low carbs for a healthy lifestyle!

Instant Pot Thai Chicken Soup With Lemongrass And Ginger by The Instant Pot Table

This thai inspired soup has so many great flavors! And it comes together  in no time, thanks to your pressure cooker!

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup by Chef Savvy

This comfort food classic cooks up fast. Save this recipe for steamy food for your soul in a flash, anytime you need it!

Chicken Tortilla Soup by Marathons and Motivations

This soup is so good! It has a great flavor, lots of color and warms you up on the coldest day!

Chicken Bone Broth by Maple + Mango

Homemade bone broth has never been easier than it is with an instant pot! Save this recipe for all of your broth needs.

Photo Credit: Pink When.

Crack Chicken Chili by Pink When

This chicken chili is so good it is borderline addictive. Try it and decide if you think it has been aptly named!

Chicken and Cabbage Curry Soup by Low Carb Yum

This curry based soup is so tasty! It is packed with good for you ingredients and will fill you up without too many extra carbs.

From Scratch Chicken Soup by Fearless Dining

This chicken soup is from scratch and promises to warm your soul! So good!

Looking for other tasty ways to make chicken?

Cracker Crumb Chicken

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad

Find more instant pot recipes here:

Creamy Mushroom Shrimp Pasta

Banana Cream Rice Pudding

Developing The Fine Skill Of Driving Safer

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Driving is one of those things that we all take for granted. It's something in life that we have to do but we
may not necessarily put much effort into it, perhaps when it comes to cleaning the car maybe. But
because driving is one of those things that we have to do, we may not necessarily invest so much in it.
Driving safely is one of those things that should be drilled into us, but so many people seldom do this.
It's a skill that we all need to develop, and maybe you don't drive much, or you get the kids from A to B
and then that's all you need to do. But we've all had some form of close call, and while it's easy to
blame the other person, it could very well be to do with our own driving habits as well. We got to be
smart when it comes to driving; after all, this piece of machinery is incredibly deadly. But what can we
do to help our skills and drive safer all of the time?

Cover Your Blind Spots

We all get taught to put our mirrors so we can see the side of our car. The fact of the matter is that we
need to move our mirrors further out so that we can cover our blind spots. Instead of turning our head
to check a blind spot before we make a maneuver, we can use the mirrors for this and turn just to double
check, therefore doubling our safety. Adjusting your mirrors so they are all overlapping with each other
means there is a greater field of vision. There are plenty of guides online to help you with this, and when
it comes to making a maneuver, such as changing lanes, and there's a car behind you doing the same,
you should see them moving from one mirror to the next.

Stop Driving Distracted!

The modern car has so many different features, and we take all these for granted, or we use them all.
Whether it's connecting our phone to Bluetooth so we can call people, or turning the music up as loud
as humanly possible, it's all of these little things that can add up to a multitude of distractions. When you
look at any car accident lawyer web page, like the Derrick Law Firm legal representation site, distracted
driving is one of the primary culprits that cause car accidents. Think about it the next time you go in the
car, how many things are taking your attention off the road, for even a split second. Driving safer is
about putting your focus on the road 110% of the time. We all know that we have lapses in concentration.
And unfortunately, it just takes a split second for something bad to happen. And while we can't control
what other drivers do, we can control how well we react to things.

Learn Defensive Driving

One of the most common ways to improve your skills is to go on a defensive driving course. There are
many positives to this; it can take points off your driving license, or help you save money on your car
insurance. But if you've been driving for a long time, and you develop your own unique approach to
driving, a refresher is always worthwhile. It's a small price to pay for a lifetime's worth of reduced
insurance and additional driving skill.

Does Driving Faster Get Us There Quicker?

We all get frustrated and end up overtaking someone because we're running a bit late. But apart from
the fact that if you get caught speeding, you're going to pay for it, the only time that it's worth speeding
is when you go on a very long journey. In a mathematical sense, you save a very minimal amount of
time on a trip by speeding. But if you hit a lot of traffic lights, the people you overtake will end up right
behind you anyway! So the next time you think about passively aggressively flipping the bird to someone
as you pass them, they'll be right there next to you in a couple of minutes’ time!

Driving safer is something we can all benefit from. But what is amazing these days is that fewer people
decide to take this on board. Find great insurance rates at access insurance company . As driving becomes more of a chore and less of a joy, we've got to learn
the fine skill of driving safer. There are so many other aspects that we can benefit from, but as we find
ourselves getting into bad habits, the one true thing we can really do to improve our driving skills is to
practice the safe habits.

Food Prices Are Soaring, But You Still Needn't Get Burnt In The Kitchen

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As food prices increase at rates that we haven’t seen in decades, it’s easy to assume that increases in grocery costs are an inevitable part of life right now. The trouble is that, for families who were already paying a great deal for their weekly food shop, this additional cost can feel like too much to bear.

This is especially true when you pair raising food costs with general inflation of around 7.5%. Luckily, while we can’t impact general inflation and its effects on things like household bills, grocery increases are, at least, something that we can manage if we put our minds to it.

That’s not to say you can entirely overcome paying anything extra in this area over the coming months, but it does at least mean that you can try to keep costs around the level that they were before by simply perfecting priorities like the following. 

Step 1: Pay with the right card

Though it may seem strange to use a credit card to ultimately save yourself money, the fact that many credit card providers offer as much as 2-6% of cashback at nationwide supermarkets means that you can at least reduce the impact of increases by paying this way. By taking the time to consider the best possible options for this benefit with the help of companies like Compare Credit, you can especially ensure that you’re getting almost as much back as the extra you’re spending in the first place. If you pair this with the ability to pay credit card bills as soon as they come through your letterbox, you can at least ease the sting you’ll inevitably feel here otherwise. 

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Step 2: Cut back on meat

With meat currently costing around 21% more than it did in 2021, reducing meat products to one or two meals a week can also significantly help to reduce food expenses overall. This is by no means a new concept, but the cost-cutting benefits of surprisingly affordable protein and iron-rich alternatives like lentils and beans are coming even more into their own right now. Even better, the ability to store these items in the long term can save on food wastage, which will also help to cut back on overall costs here. 

Step 3: Cook in batches

Speaking of reducing waste, cooking in batches is another more financially sustainable way to continue cooking your own meals. As well as saving on the risk of having to throw away food, having affordable meals like chilis and curries in the freezer can especially cut down on the need for shopping trips that leave you at risk of the expensive impulse buys that many of us are guilty of otherwise. And, you’d be amazed how much of a difference that can bring to your monthly grocery outlays overall. 

Cost of food increases are undeniably daunting for those of us with families to sustain, but weathering the change using these simple techniques is guaranteed to make this an easier adjustment than you might be expecting. 

 

In A Rush? How To Make A Short Vacation Worth The While!

Vacations are fun – we all know that. We love dipping our feet in the waters during a hot summer, or cozying up in a bed in the winter. We love looking up private jet rental cost and planning the ultimate luxury vacations we would take if money was no concern. We like touring around beautiful and dazzling destinations, and even eating great food. We love these things, that is, when we do these over a long week or a pre-planned vacation. What if we suddenly get a vacation, though? Isn’t that a bummer? Well, not really. You can make the most out of a short vacation! Here’s how!

Emergency travel funds can save the day. You might read in a lot of money advice articles that you should always have emergency funds with you. After all, we may never know when some emergencies will arrive. And that’s true. However, if you have spare funds outside your emergency funds, you might want to invest in an emergency travel fund. This allows you to not feel as guilty when having spontaneous short vacations. Here’s how you can use this to your advantage:

If possible, try to allot a particular portion of your salary into an emergency travel fund. This way, you’ll have the means to spend money without compromising your current budget and your current savings. You likely won’t be in a short vacation every day, so having emergency travel funds can come in handy should you come up to a similar situation. Practicality helps, and this is a trend a lot of travelers observe. In fact, around 55-percent of travelers worldwide are more determined to save money in their travels, and this means being smarter with their options.

Aside from saving actual money, try to take advantage of “free” coupons and discount promos you can get with ride sharing apps and other services. Don’t haphazardly use these promos, as you can take advantage of these when you’re in the mood for a vacation. These can be in the form of airline miles, discounts from ride sharing apps, or even free meals from fast food surveys and points.

Always take note of your location’s popularity. You might end up being in a place that’s either popular or not-so-popular with tourists. However, you’ll be surprised with the possibilities of being able to get an awesome tour regardless of your location. Remember, your location has spots to offer – it’s just that, it’s hard to appreciate them on the get-go if you’re on a limited time frame. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate them at all. With this in mind, you can actually consider the following:

Develop a habit of constantly checking out just how popular your current location is. Wherever you are, regardless if you’re on vacation, try to make yourself aware if there are

any nearby tourist spots or locations where you live or staying. That way, if you do get in the mood of having a short vacation, you won’t have to panic just finding a place to go. This is a trend a lot of people follow – in fact, Google

research states flights and hotels are booked around three (3) months in advance of actual trips. This is because of growing demand on researching everything about a vacation first. This might not be useful for short vacations, but you at least know apps are out there to help you out in a hurry because of sheer demand.

Try to join communities geared towards travel, and try to check out what they post as travel locations. You’ll likely stumble upon a tourist destination close to where you’re currently at, so you might want to take note of this location as something to visit eventually. Being constantly “on the loop” allows you to stay on top of your travel game when you suddenly find yourself in a vacation. The less panic you experience, the more you can enjoy the trip.

Try as much as possible to have lodgings near city centers. If possible, try to always have your lodgings near city centers. These might be a bit more expensive than usual, but this might be worth the while if you’re having a short vacation. The logic here is that there’s likely a ton of “hubs” or locations with multiple establishments near city centers. This goes for museums and other notable places as well. The closer you are to the proximity of city centers, the likely you’re able to travel to a lot of places in quick notice.

Make it a habit to position your location near city centers, especially when lodging. This allows you to always be near places of interest or tourist locations without having to worry about your commute or travel costs. This might mean your lodgings can be expensive, but this also helps you be nearer important locations like supermarkets, police stations, and hospitals.

Instead of city centers, you can also try to have lodgings near tourist locations. Travel apps and navigation apps can make this easy for you, as a ton of them offer options for you to check out hotels and lodgings but at the same time check nearby tourist locations. Even if you don’t get to check out these tourist attractions, the fact that you positioned yourself near these places gives you the opportunity to always check them out when you have the time.

Develop a mood for spontaneity. Another way to enjoy a short vacation is to slowly develop the attitude to enjoy one. Just because a vacation is short doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. And part of fully enjoying such a short experience is to develop the mindset for spontaneity. You won’t be sure what you can do at any given day, so if you have the time to do something you’ve never tried before, you might want to do it now.

Try to develop a mental state that lets you stay open for spontaneity. This isn’t easy to do, especially for those who aren’t into “sudden” vacations. However, try to do activities on-the-spot and see what makes these activities fun compared to when you plan for them. Understanding and appreciating why people like spontaneous activities can make you

prepared to appreciate them should you have short vacations as well.

If you’re an American Airlines employee, or if you have work that involves a lot of travel, you might be bummed to be stuck in a good place but not have the time to tour around. Don’t think of it this way. Whenever you have the chance to walk around, try savoring in the moment and getting into your system just how breathtaking these places are. You can slowly take note of interesting things you find to check out for when you actually have vacation days.

Try to list activities you want to do for spontaneous occasions in the first place. Do you prefer trying out new food, or trying out new activities? Are you okay with road trips, or do you like walking? Knowing what you want to do when you’re spontaneous opens up a ton of opportunities for you to enjoy a short vacation.

Build relationships with locals. When we say relationships, we don’t mean “as a couple.” Another way to enjoy a short vacation is to enjoy it with a local in the place. This is especially if you don’t know a lot about the place. Eating with a group of locals can give you an authentic experience, especially when it comes to exploring new places and trying out new food.

If you’re part of a travel community online, try to ask for tips where to eat and meet new locals. Or maybe you can ask to eat with local members of the community as well. This gives you a ton of room to meet locals in the area and have them share their experiences with you. Some of them might even help you get a quick tour or visit in some locations as well.

Remember, when meeting any of these people, ensure you do so in a public place or somewhere you can access police or people of authority immediately. When meeting with strangers, always let a relative know where you are and what you’re doing – especially take note of places you visit, plate numbers of cars, and don’t get drunk. Meeting with locals can be fun, but it’s better to be safe as well. Take a friend or two, if you do plan to be locals.

Short Vacations Can Be Fun!

With the above tips, hopefully we’ve been able to help you find out ways on how to enjoy short vacations. They might not be “the best” vacations, but they’re vacations nonetheless. And considering how hectic and busy today’s times are, we should make use of all the time and vacation days we get. Remember, it’s not about how long vacation days are, it’s how you make use of the time you have in order to maximize having fun!