Food Recipes

Fish tanks and aquariums are a popular hobby for people of all ages. People can sit and stare at fish for hours. I remember when I received my first fish tank. It was the most exciting thing of my life. I had never had fish before and did not even think about getting any. One day, however, I was down at the local pet shop and they had a contest or drawing where the winner would receive a free fish tank. I had never one a drawing like that before, and did not anticipate winning, nor did I think they were that legitimate or that I would have much of a chance of ever winning anything, but signed up anyway, even as a little boy.
One day a random phone call came and I answered the phone. It was the pet shop! They told me that I had won the fish tank! I could not believe. Nothing this exciting had ever happened to me. I was jumping up and down around the house and told my mom we had to go get it right then. We also bought some gold fish and other fish to put in the fish tank. I could sit and stare at them for hours. A www.VarietyAccess.com>hobby is a recreational activity outside of work or one's career. What better www.VarietyAccess.com>hobbies are there then ones you could do for hours and still enjoy them? I raised my fish for a couple months, but had to learn how to take care of them. Eventually my fish all died and one of my friends was playing with a bee-bee gun in my room one day and accidentally shot the tank. But, it was fun while it lasted.
Later in college, one of my friends had a huge fish tank in her apartment, with several piranhas. She invited us over to watch her feed her piranhas one day. She bought a bag of about 20 live gold fish to feed to her piranhas. All I can say is, it was awesome! We sat there for an hour or more, all of us, like watching TV, but staring at this fish tank as the piranhas attacked and devoured the gold fish. As soon as she dumped the fish into the tank, it went wild. The piranhas just began tearing the goldfish apart. It was one of those moments in life where you are glad that you are not a goldfish, but a human participating in a hobby of feeding the goldfish to the piranhas.
One of my friend's little brothers got a new fish tank and some fish while we were in high school. I am sure he could sit there and stare at them for hours, too, just like everyone else. The reason I am telling about him though, is because he named all of his fish Marcus every one of them. Anyway, I thought that was funny, so I wanted to write it.
My friend has some fish right now. They have a fish tank and a bunch of goldfish. Their fish have lived for a long time, now, and the goldfish are getting huge. The tank is dirty right now, though. A couple weeks ago they brought over a friend's cleaning fish to eat all of the dirty muck in the tank. It only took a few days for the fish to eat all of the muck and make the tank look as good as new. Too bad we cannot have some sort of cleaning animal around the house that would clean up like that. It would sure save a lot of trouble, but I guess for now we will have to settle with the www.VarietyAccess.com>online hobby store and more.

Dear friends, we as humans are a composite of mind, body and spirit. All these three in proper coordination, create the world around us. The things, which we want in life, are first created in our mind, then our mind sends signals to our brain and the brain sends signals to various parts of our body to take action and thus "reality" gets created. This means that whatever we imagine in our minds gets converted in reality. The program of our mind decides what we imagine. I mean if I want to decorate my bedroom, everything from the type of furniture I choose to the budget decision will depend upon my "broader attitude" towards life.
If I am a "budget conscious" person, then this will affect right from the initial stages of the design. I will look at the design from a conservative point of view. Thus everything, which gets created in reality will have an influence of my personality.Here I am not trying to say that only high budget designs are good. I have seen works of many interior designers, who have spent their entire lives on studying low cost design projects
and also have won awards for their magnificent work.
That's why any interior design project can not be fulfilled without active participation of the client or the user. Creativity doesn't have any boundaries of budget. Any piece of art which fulfils the functional need and also the aesthetical need can be easily accepted as an architectural element. Budget is not a constraint at all. On the other hand the budget constraint sometimes is useful to generate some good ideas for a particular
problem.An interior designer is not an artist, because an artist basically performs his acts to satisfy his own desire. This could be any performing art or other forms of arts. His piece of work may not have any functional use from user's point of view.An interior designer is not even a technician or engineer. Because when an engineer builds a design he need not worry of making it "beautiful". His primary aim is to make it functional. He puts his entire energy in making the design functional.That's why an interior designer is one who satisfies both the functional as well as aesthetical part of the design. Sometimes it is easy to accomplish the functional part of an interior design, but since the definition of beauty is different for everyone, it is extremely difficult to satisfy each and every user's aesthetic hunger.This is particularly true about interiors in public spaces. For example a bank building has a definite use and function for all the users. We can safely create a list of functions a person would perform when he visits a bank. But this does not mean the bank reflects his personality, like the first paragraph of this article mentions.That's why interiors in public spaces always are designed by taking into consideration something called as "mass personality". This is a general attitude of the kind of mindset everyone would have or is likely to have when he/she visits that space. If you
visit large corporate software office premise, you will see this picture. Office interiors always have a certain kind of order in them. The use of colors, design styles have a kind of commitment in them, which is expected from you when you work there.On the other hand a bar or a restaurant has some sort of mood generating atmosphere, which sets you loose. Because this is what is expected in a public space like a restaurant.
Thus any interior space is always associated with people. A space which serves its functions best and makes the users comfortable is bound to succeed as a favorite place.

Recently the well known American news anchor Peter Jennings died of lung cancer just a few months after he publicly announced that he had the disease and that he was going to fight it with everything he had.

After his death, I read some of the tributes that poured in about the life of Peter Jennings. One of the common themes that appeared in the statements made by his friends and colleagues was that they remembered what a determined, competitive man he was.

They said that he took on his battle with cancer head on, and that he fought his cancer the same way he battled everything, with steely will and determination. And unfortunately he didn’t win.

Reading about Peter Jennings’ losing battle with lung cancer reminded me of another conversation I had had about cancer very recently.

Last week I had a meeting with one of my business associates, a man named Brian, to discuss some business matters.

After our business meeting was finished, Brian started telling me about his parent’s experience of living with cancer. A lot lof what Brian had to say was very thought provoking to me.

Brian told me that his mother had been diagnosed with a bad type of bone cancer and doctors had told her that she had only a very short time to live. Yet in spite of the fact that her cancer kept spreading to other parts of her body, she managed to live fourteen years longer than what her doctors had originally predicted.

Brian said that he often wondered why his mother managed to live such a long time with cancer when many of his younger friends who got cancer died of it quite quickly.

Brian told me “I come from a sports and and athletic background, and so a lot of my friends are athletes. My athletic friends tend to be very focussed and competitive people, and they’re used to being very aggressive. When they were diagnosed with cancer, I watched them go into their competitive and athletic mode, and they would say ‘I’m going to fight this thing’.

They would fight their cancer the same way they fought their athletic battles, with gritted teeth and courage and determination.

Brian said, “What I noticed about these guys who were so tough and fought cancer so hard was that in a lot of cases they burned out really soon.

When my mother got cancer, Brian continued, “Her approach was kind of the opposite. She wanted to live, but she never said she was going to fight this cancer. One of the things I watched her do is that she decided to drop everything that was stressful from her life.”

Shopping was stressful for her, so she dropped it. Driving a car was stressful so she stopped driving. In fact, she stopped doing everything she didn’t want to do, and she only kept the things she really enjoyed.

And she made a point of becoming very relaxed and enjoying her life.

Then Brian told me, “This experience made me think that maybe the idea of fighting for your life when you have cancer is like trying to fight off insomnia.”

“If you decide to fight insomnia by gritting your teeth and saying ‘I’m tough, I’ve fought lots of battles, I’m going to fight this insomnia and I’ m going to beat this thing, well, you’ll never fall asleep. It won’t work.”

Now I can’t say that what seemed to work for Brian’s mother in living with cancer is the miracle key for anyone else who has cancer. This wasn’t a scientific study, and many other factors are involved.

But Brian’s comments about his mother’s approach to living with cancer, and his comments about trying to use will power to fight insomnia are worth keeping in mind when we are facing a problem. Not every problem can be solved with will power and determination.

In such fields as business and sports, an attitude of determination and competitiveness can be very useful, and can be highly rewarded. If we have been very successful in these fields by being high powered, determined and aggressive, we may try to use the same approach to tackle every problem. Aggressively and head-on. With grit and determination.

However, being aggressive and determined does not work on every kind of problem.

If your mate is unhappy in your marriage, or your child has a serious illness, or if you have too much stress in your life, then using determination and aggression will not solve these problems. In these situations, aggressiveness does not work.

We need to recognize those situations where another approach might work better.

Sometimes what we need to do is relax more, let go of our illusion that we can control everything, become more humble, and be open to living in the moment even when we don’t know all the answers.

Diet is a double edged sword. Improper diet increases the risk of cancer but a proper, well balanced diet reduces the cancer risk.

Diet is one of the most important lifestyle factors and has been estimated to account for up to 80% of cancers of the large bowel, breast, and prostate. Diet affects the risk of many other cancers, including cancers of the lung, prostate, stomach, esophagus and pancreas.

Prostate Cancer:
High consumption of meat, especially red meat, substantially increases the risk of prostate cancer.

Vegetables, especially cooked tomatoes, reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In one clinical trial, the role of Vitamin E as a prostate cancer reducing factor was established. In this study there was a 32% decrease in prostate cancer incidence and 41% decrease in prostate cancer mortality in people receiving Vitamin E supplements when compared to controls.

Breast Cancer:
In Japan, people consume Tofu, a soya product. It contains isoflavones that moderate the estrogen receptors in the body such as breast tissue. The incidence of breast cancer is low in Japan when compared to Western women; only 1/4th of the mortality rate of Western women. Japanese women's low fat diet, high fish consumption and drinking green tea also decrease their breast cancer risk.

One case control study found that regular consumption of soy foods was associated with a marked decrease in breast cancer risk in premenopausal women. No effect in post-menopausal women.

A Japanese case-control study also found that tofu intake (3 times/wk compared with less than 3 times/wk) was associated with decreased risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women. Again, soy intake was not protective against post-menopausal breast cancer.

In one study conducted in America, the relation between soy intake and breast cancer risk found that tofu consumption was protective in both premenopausal and post menopausal Asian women.

Lung Cancer:
Lung cancer risk is substantially decreased by a variety of carotenoids. Carotenoids act as antioxidants and thus minimize cell damage.

One study in Boston focused on the effect of different types of carotenoids on lung cancer risk. It was observed that lung cancer risk was significantly lower in subjects who consumed a diet high in a variety of carotenoids. This was especially true with non-smokers who had 63% less risk.

One study conducted in Hawaii reported further evidence for a protective effect from certain carotenoids against lung cancer and that greater protection was afforded by consuming a variety of vegetables compared to only foods rich in a particular carotenoid.

Stomach Cancer:
Nitrates in food and other preservatives added to food including meat are converted into 'nitrites' in the human stomach. The nitrites undergo nitrosation to form 'nitrosamines' and 'nitrosamides'. This increases the risk of stomach cancer in people eating vegetables from nitrate rich soil.

In one study, Vitamin C appeared to protect against the risk of stomach cancer by inhibiting formation of nitrates in stomach.

Cancer of the stomach is 5 times more common in Japanese people compared to Western populations. When Japanese people migrated to the United States, they progressively acquired the low incidence of the US due to changes in their diets.

In one study conducted in Hawaii that involved both Japanese and Caucasians, the stomach cancer risk was associated with consumption of rice, pickled vegetables, and dried/salted fish, and a negative association with vitamin C intake.

One ecological study in Belgium showed a relation between the nitrate and salt consumption and stomach cancer. The analysis of this model showed that the significance of nitrate as a risk factor for stomach cancer mortality increased markedly with higher sodium levels.

Dietary habits and stomach cancer risk was studied in Shanghai, China. According to this study, risks of stomach cancer were inversely associated with high consumption of several food groups, including fresh vegetables and fruits, poultry, eggs, plant oil, and some nutrients such as protein, fat, fiber, tea and antioxidant vitamins.

By contrast, risks increased with increasing consumption of dietary carbohydrates, frequent consumption of preserved, salty or fried foods and hot soup/porridge, with irregular meals, speed eating and binge eating. This provides evidence that diet plays a major role in stomach cancer risk.

No single food can completely prevent cancer but a balanced combination of different groups can help. Appropriate diet can prevent 3-4 million cancers each year.

Cancer is a very serious illness. This dreaded disease has caused many deaths; cancer is a disease that’s characterized by uncontrollable cell division and the danger of these mutant cells to invade the neighboring healthy cells and infect them. There are many types of cancer and most of them are deadly which can cause death, while there are some treatments available; there has been no known cure that’s potently effective just yet. Some treatments can kill the cancerous cells while some control the symptoms such as pain. Millions every year gets afflicted with different types of cancer and millions more die every year all over the world. Cancer has been a serious predicament in the medical world and there are concerns on the probability of finding a cure soon.

There are some major efforts being done to correct this but funds have been dwindling making these researches an effort that needs the aid of many people. Many foundations, colleges and other medical groups are doing intensive scientific endeavors to understand fully the development of cancer and what possible treatments, therapies and cure could be done to prevent cancer and its growth. They are called cancer research. In cancer research they discover new methods of treating cancer with the development of new technology and new discoveries about the disease. With proper funding, cancer researches would be able to flourish and hopefully find the perfect cure.

Many organizations have been doing their best to help fund this research facilities, doing fund raising projects and programs for public awareness. It is essential for the public to take notice of this programs because anyone from anywhere can be afflicted with cancer. Gradually, more and more people have found ways in doing both, raising funds for cancer and spreading awareness. When doing such, you hit the head of a nail twice making it more beneficial for cancer victims. Any method is appreciated as long as it spread awareness and help bring in money to aid cancer research. The current popular method is by selling cancer wristbands, which are inscribed with inspiring and informing statements.

Cancer wristbands have been the craze lately, many are wearing them because they are cool and fashionable and yet they help out in finding a cure for cancer. Remember the ribbons everybody used to wear for AIDS. Cancer Wristbands now are what the AIDS ribbons were then. This stretchy cancer wristbands, usually made from either from rubber or silicone, are a great way to do fundraising. They are one size fits all and don’t cost too much. There is a 100 percent profit in cancer wristbands, which may be donated to cancer researches and also boost cancer awareness. In doing so, you not only get a cool looking cancer wristband, you are also helping out the countless cancer victims all over the world.

Many say that this trend started out when Lance Armstrong came out yellow “LiveStrong” wristband to promote and fund cancer research. That promotion had all the right ingredients to capture the people’s interest. Present was the revered American icon asking the people for help, the item was very affordable, was a good conversation peace and it showed that if you were wearing it, you were concerned about other people and their needs. It was also for a cause everyone wanted to help in and deserved all the help t can get. Soon enough, everyone was wearing them, from high profile people, to entertainers with big names straight to the president.

After that, many cancer wristbands went into the market spreading the word, many organizations joined the bandwagon and produced their own cancer wristbands. It has come to be that the color of the cancer wristband represented which type of cancer was to be benefited; for example, pink bracelets were in aid for breast cancer. Messages and statements would be inscribed in the bracelets empowering the knowledge of the people about cancer and tugging their hearts and the hearts of others to help out for the worthy cause.

Cancer wristbands are not only cool, they also help out, many small organizations can help out by browsing the internet and order them from reputable manufacturers who pledge assistance for every cancer wristband you purchase. You may also do your own fundraising; some sites offer very low prices for wholesale purchases so that you can sell them at a markup price so you can have earnings to donate to research facilities. Be aware, support cancer wristbands to help cancer research.

The Army defines seven values that soldiers should strive to emulate in their daily lives. These core values establish a standard of conduct; they form the foundation of personal behavior that defines the person, as well as the expectations soldiers have of one another. These values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

Here's the thing. The Army didn't invent the values. There are many more than seven values that identify desirable human conduct and behavior (and plenty that define undesirable behavior as well), and they've been around for a long time. So, that said, it should come as no surprise that the seven Army values are not just for the military - they apply to each and every citizen.this makes perfect sense, as all soldiers are citizens first.

We all have positions in life.stations, if you will.and it matters not what your station in life happens to be.some or all of these seven values are tested as a matter of course, each day of one's life. The values are as applicable to the student as they are to the professor; as important to the patient as they are to the doctor; as challenging to the child as they are to the adult; and as attainable by the penniless as they are by the millionaire. In short, the seven values are for everyone. What are the values, and how are they applicable to everyone?

Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers. Be loyal to the nation and its heritage.

For the citizen, this means showing your faith in our nation, your elected and appointed leaders and your fellow citizens. People want to know they can trust you. And you want the same reassurances from others.

Duty - Fulfill your obligations. Accept responsibility for your actions and those entrusted to your care. Find opportunities to improve oneself for the good of the unit.

For the citizen, you've got a job to do and people depend on you to get it done. If someone needs help, give it to them. If you need help, seek it from your peers. Be consistent in action and deed.

Respect - Treat people as they should be treated. How we consider others reflects upon each of us, both personally and as a professional organization.

Act courteously toward friends, acquaintances and strangers alike. If you disagree with an opinion or point of view, challenge the position, but avoid the personal attack. Remember that your actions speak volumes about yourself and your business or organization.

Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service leads to organizational teamwork and encompasses discipline, self-control and faith in the system.

Take care of your children, your parents, your siblings, and co-workers. Go the 'extra mile' for your customers and clients, even if gains you nothing more than some personal satisfaction. Volunteer to take on the tough job, or the mundane job that others avoid.

Honor - Live up to all the Army values.

Live up to the values of your business, your community, your church, your family. Act accordingly, and others will recognize you as an individual of principled character. Don't fall into the trap of, "but I just did what others did before me". Given the choice, take the 'high road'. Distinguish yourself from those who would be satisfied to do less.

Integrity - Do what is right, legally and morally.

Ask yourself, "Is this the right thing to do? How does it reflect on who I am?" If your inner voice is sounding the alarm, it's doing so for a good reason. Avoid shortcuts, cheats, or otherwise doing less than what is expected. Don't compromise yourself, your friends, family or business for some short-term satisfaction. Integrity offers long-term rewards that can't be acquired any other way.

Personal Courage - Face fear, danger, or adversity with physical and moral courage.

Is a boss asking you to do something questionable? Watched the local bully pick on someone repeatedly? Been in a group that disparages a certain race or ethnicity? It may be safer to go along with the crowd, or do nothing at all. It takes inner strength to stand up to peer pressure, bullies, social challenges, and moral dilemmas. It's easy to be a follower.anyone can do that. True leadership requires all of one's audacity, nerve and 'guts' to negotiate the difficult roads that lie before us.

Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These are values for everyone. No, they're not always easy to live up. Our standards are challenged all the time. We make mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from them, and over time, these values become a part of who we are.

The best news is that if we emulate these values singularly, we become a better people collectively. And that is why the values are so important. They set us apart from those who choose not to live up to them.

Easy summer salads, lighter foods for a brighter summer

Easy summer salads do not need dozens of hard to get ingredients or heavy bottled sauces. Go light and use a few good quality vegetables, well combined with a little well-chosen meat, fish, or dairy, (quality over quantity) and a simple but delicious homemade dressing. For quick tasty summer salad, make it quick, make it light but make it taste sublime!

Easy summer salads are the way to go, now that the winter blues are fading into the distance and salad days are here. The best salads are light, bright and easy to prepare.

After all who wants to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen when friends are round for lunch, the garden is in bloom and the wine is chilled and ready to pour. But before you start to cook you save a lot of energy by buying the right ingredients for a simple salad. That way you don't need the heavy bottled sauces and dressings to make a great flavor

Do you really want to take a beautiful crisp summer salad and soak it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals? If you start off with great food and don't do too much to it you don't need all these strong tastes as you still have great food.

All you need is to combine it well so that the flavors work together, have a nice crunchy texture and add a little light dressing to set it all off, and let the taste buds do the rest Freshness is, as in all cooking, the way to a good salad. Don't take what the supermarkets give you. Although it's easier to pick up the ready packed tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers etc.

To make sure you get the best, take a minute or two and pick over the vegetables, choose what is firm ripe and ready to use. The same of course applies with meat and fish. There is a reason why supermarkets prepackage, and it's not always convenience. So choose well, cook quickly and simply and your friends won't have finished the wine by the time you get there! Enjoy a little bit of summer now with this easy poached chicken salad.

Easy poached chicken salad

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (skinless)

1 finely sliced red onion

1 whole half onion

4 good ripe tomatoes sliced thickly

250 grams/4ozs salad leaves mixed

4ozs raisins soaked in hot water for ten minutes

1 half lemon

2 fresh or dry bay leaves

1-teaspoon peppercorns black

1 small French, stick loaf or similar sliced into 1/2 slices

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1clove garlic crushed

1/2 dessert spoon Dijon or other mild mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together with the garlic, slowly add the olive oil while whisking and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a pan of water to the boil with the bay leaves, 1/2 white onion, lemon and peppercorns.
Carefully add the chicken and simmer gently until cooked, if you unsure it is worth investing a few dollars in a meat thermometer. The temperature should be at least 75 celcius/167 Fahrenheit, put the sliced bread on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt.

Bake in a medium oven until crisp but soft in the middle. Mix the leaves together with the onions and raisins. Turn in the salad dressing and put into 4 good-sized bowls. Place slices of tomato and bread around the edge. Slice the warm chicken at an angle and put attractively on top off the salad. Sit back, enjoy and get someone else to do the washing up.

Experts have discovered that certain foods can actually help you to lose weight without the stress of dieting or exercise. The down side is that many of us have a tendency to dress these foods up with cheese, sour cream, butter or other calorie-laden flavor enhancers. This causes the weight loss effect to be lost. It may be difficult to not add extra calories to these foods but with a strong will power it can be done.
A negative calorie food can be defined as a food that results in a slimming effect for the body. In other words a carrot (without anything else) will cause your body to use an increased amount of energy when digesting it and other foods, this can lead to an overall reducing effect on the body. This is partly from the amount of energy it takes to digest the carrot or other "negative calorie food" and partly from the elevation in metabolism that these foods naturally create. The overall effect is a net loss of energy, which is measured in calories.
It should be understood that 'negative calorie' doesn't mean that the food has zero calories in it, nor does it have an anti-calorie or a negative calorie.
Here is a partial list of negative calorie foods: apples, cranberries, grapefruit, lemon mango, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, asparagus, beets, cabbage (green), carrots, cauliflower, hot Chile peppers, cucumbers, endives, garden cress, garlic, green beans, lettuce, onion, papaya, radishes, spinach, turnips and zucchini. There are more and you can learn about them from a medical doctor's very popular book.
In his book, Foods that Cause You to Lose Weight, Dr. Neal Barnard explains the effects these foods have on the body. A quote from Dr. Barnard's book reveals some startling facts, "They found that those who ate foods that were very low in fat and high in carbohydrates, lost weight steadily, without limiting how much they ate. But those on high-fat diets could not effectively lose weight even if they ate skimpy portions." Dr. Barnard is referring to the published results of an experiment conducted at Cornell University and published in the May 1991 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A book reviewer posted on a website how he lost 30 lbs. utilizing the information from Dr. Barnard's book.
It is important to exercise caution when dieting because there are certain things that your body needs to remain healthy including proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are necessary for the body to function at its optimum level. You cannot remain optimally healthy by eating the negative calorie foods alone.
This article is for information purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, treat or prevent any health condition. Please consult a doctor before dieting.