<< Top Power Foods >>

Feeling tired throughout your day?  It could be that you aren't getting enough iron.  Here are some foods to eat to boost your iron levels!:

• Red meats, fish & poultry
• If you don't eat meat: soybeans, lentils, spinach, & fortified cereals.

 

If you find yourself feeling antsy throughout the day, your jitters could come from too many refined carbs—foods high in white flour (cookies, sugary cereals, white bread, etc.) and stripped of nutrients and fiber that normally keep your blood sugar stable. These foods can possibly help with the problem:

• lean protein
• healthy fats
• unrefined carbohydrates: brown rice, whole-grain bread/pasta, whole oats, fruits, veggies, legumes. 

 

Certain veggies and legumes can make you feel bloated.  A few of these could be beans, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.  Carbonated drinks can up the bloating.  Try this:

• Half the amount of bloat-boosting veggies you normally eat for one week.  Don't cut them out completely, because they provide crucial nutrients for you!  
• Eliminate the soda and up your water intake!  

source 

<< Partying Without the Calories >>

Can you believe...

HaLLoWeEn

is just next week?

It's hard to anticipate the holidays without knowing you might gain a pound or two.

But we have some solutions to make maintaining your weight a little easier.

If you are hosting a party, have some healthy snacks available, but make the main activity at the party something other than eating.

Like...

Decorating Pumpkins 

<< something other than the usual carving idea >>

Click HERE to find out how to glitter your pumpkins!

 

 another cute idea!

 find out how HERE 

 Halloween Games

 

 some other halloween games:

pinata

pin the stem on the pumpkin

bean bag toss

bob for apples

instead of donuts on a string,  apple slices on a string

some of these seem like games for kids, but once you get adults involved everybody will be comfortable and the laughing will never stop!

Good luck party planning!

<< Build Your Holiday Budget >>

 

Fall is the precursor to holiday spending and it’s your last chance to avoid holiday debt by forming a savings and spending strategy. According to 2011 TurboTax data:

Americans spent $516 on gifts for family, friends and co-workers, and purchased about $190 worth of decorations, holiday food and candy, greeting cards and postage last year.

Create a list of every holiday expense you foresee including:

• gift cards 
• stocking stuffers
• expenses related to holiday parties
• hostess gifts
• exchanges at work
• baking
• wrapping paper
• greeting cards
• and anything else that has historically snuck into your budget in the throes of the holiday rush.

Once you’ve arrived at a grand total, devise a personal savings plan with an end goal of early December so you can work towards it little by little. 

For example, a person with the “average” holiday spending profile above could bank the $706 by December 1st by setting aside just $23 a day, starting with Halloween.

In contrast, an unprepared holiday shopper charging that amount and making minimum payments on a “low interest credit card” (at a current annual percentage rate of 10.95%), would need more than two and half years—and an additional $115 in interest expenses to pay off the debt.

source