TIPS FOR THE DAY

From:  Rajni Verma, Pune, India
 

1. Before grinding red chilies in your mixer, add two
to three drops of mustard oil. Your chilly paste will
turn redder.
 

2. Wile kneading ‘atta (flour) ‘dough add half a cup
of milk and some lukewarm water. Your ‘chapati’ will
be softer and tastier.
 

3. If stored pickles dry up, heat the required amount
of oil, cool and off to the jar to make the pickle
soft and edible again.
 

4. To clean Aluminum use a piece of crumpled kitchen
foil and rub over it Your vessels will get a bright look.
 

5. To clean your mixer thoroughly fill it with warm
water, add a drop or two of washing liquid, cover and
switch on far a few seconds . Rinse and dry.
 

6. To eliminate odors from your hand after you have
chopped a garlic or cleaned fish, rug then with two
spoons of soda carbonate instead of soap.
 

7. To clean your hands and eliminate the odor after
cleaning and cutting fish or prawns , rub with a
mixture of salt and lemon juice . Rinse with soap and
water.
 

8. Keep your bathroom clean and smelling fresh by
placing decorative dish filled with half a cup of soda
bicarbonateon top of the cistern or on the floor behind the bowl.
 

9. Most Kitchen drains can be unblocked by putting in
a cup of soda bicarbonate followed by a cup of
vinegar. Give it several minutes to work, than add a
liter of boiling water. Repeat if necessary.
 

TIPS FOR THE DAY

From:  Rajni Verma, Pune, India
 

Easing Tension

1.Laughter is the best medicine, it is said . So why not laugh your guts out by watching a funny movie and unwind. Research proves that the people who are always happy, tend to be more relaxed and healthier all around.

2.Practice "touch therapy". The best way to do that is to encourage hugging at home. Studies have proven that touching reduces tension and makes the person being cuddled , feel more relaxed and wanted.

3. One of the effective ways to unwind is to concentrate on one thing at a time whether you are cooking, ironing or gardening. A short duration of unbroken concentration can free your mind of all troublesome thoughts.

4.And last but not the least, happiness is the key to relaxation, which comes with a positive thought process , by writing down at least 10 positive things that have happened to you at the end of the day. Initially, it might be difficult to find 10, but if you preserve you will find more than 10 in due course of time.

Household/Kitchen TIPS

1. To make blue cheese , mozzarellas and other soft
cheese easier to grate, place them in the freezer for
about 20 minutes before grating
 

2. If you use a nonstick pan, you'll need only one
tablespoon of olive oil to saute vegetables.
Use flavored oil such as extra virgin olive oil. This will give extra flavor.
 

3. To freshen cooked rice, steam it covered with wet
cloth.
 

4. Add lemon juice to give color & taste to icing.
 

5. Add lemon rind to puddings to lessen the smell of
egg.
 

Household/Kitchen TIPS

From:  Rajni Verma -  Pune, India

1. Candles burn more slowly & evenly with minimum
drip if you place them in freezer for several
hours before using.

2. Refrigerate egg whites before beating them for cakes,
ice creams or pudding for fluffier results.

3. Coat fish pieces with rice flour to prevent from sticking to frying pan.

4. A remedy for salty vegetable soup or stew is to add cut raw
peeled raw potatoes . Discard after they are cooked and have absorbed the salt.

5. Knead flour (atta) in a non stick pan so that it
doesn't stick to the vessel during kneading.

6. For a delicious flavor, while making jams at home, add
a few lemon peels, simmer for five minutes and remove.
You will love the delicious flavor.

7. While splitting milk for paneer, add sour curd for better result and softer paneer.

8. To get more juice from lemon, submerge the lemon in
hot water for five minutes before squeezing.

9. To get wafer thin slices of bread ,dip the knife in
boiling water or warm the knife over  fire and then
cut the bread.

10. To preserve freshly cut coconut for three four days,
immerse them in cold water and change the water daily
until used.

11. While cutting yam ,raw bananas or jackfruit, oil
your palm for preventing them from getting sticky.

Easing Tension

1.Laughter is the best medicine, it is said . So why not laugh your guts out by watching a funny movie and unwind. Research proves that the people who are always happy, tend to be more relaxed and healthier all around.

2.Practice "touch therapy". The best way to do that is to encourage hugging at home. Studies have proven that touching reduces tension and makes the person being cuddled , feel more relaxed and wanted.

3. One of the effective ways to unwind is to concentrate on one thing at a time whether you are cooking, ironing or gardening. A short duration of unbroken concentration can free your mind of all troublesome thoughts.

4.And last but not the least, happiness is the key to relaxation, which comes with a positive thought process , by writing down at least 10 positive things that have happened to you at the end of the day. Initially, it might be difficult to find 10, but if you preserve you will find more than 10 in due course of time.

Household/Kitchen TIPS

1. To make blue cheese , mozzarellas and other soft
cheese easier to grate, place them in the freezer for
about 20 minutes before grating
 

2. If you use a nonstick pan, you'll need only one
tablespoon of olive oil to saute vegetables.
Use flavored oil such as extra virgin olive oil. This will give extra flavor.
 

3. To freshen cooked rice, steam it covered with wet
cloth.
 

4. Add lemon juice to give color & taste to icing.
 

5. Add lemon rind to puddings to lessen the smell of
egg.
 

Household/Kitchen TIPS

From:  Rajni Verma -  Pune, India

1. Candles burn more slowly & evenly with minimum
drip if you place them in freezer for several
hours before using.

2. Refrigerate egg whites before beating them for cakes,
ice creams or pudding for fluffier results.

3. Coat fish pieces with rice flour to prevent from sticking to frying pan.

4. A remedy for salty vegetable soup or stew is to add cut raw
peeled raw potatoes . Discard after they are cooked and have absorbed the salt.

5. Knead flour (atta) in a non stick pan so that it
doesn't stick to the vessel during kneading.

6. For a delicious flavor, while making jams at home, add
a few lemon peels, simmer for five minutes and remove.
You will love the delicious flavor.

7. While splitting milk for paneer, add sour curd for better result and softer paneer.

8. To get more juice from lemon, submerge the lemon in
hot water for five minutes before squeezing.

9. To get wafer thin slices of bread ,dip the knife in
boiling water or warm the knife over  fire and then
cut the bread.

10. To preserve freshly cut coconut for three four days,
immerse them in cold water and change the water daily
until used.

11. While cutting yam ,raw bananas or jackfruit, oil
your palm for preventing them from getting sticky.

Stress -What is it? How to deal with it...

If you are not sure of what exactly stress is and what the symptoms are, here are some pointers. You are stressed when you are consistently fatigued, unable to concentrate on work, feel flashes of anger over little things, repeatedly get headaches, back pain or other physical ailments, do not get proper sleep at night, feel helpless, depressed or anxious most of the time.

1.  The first step in helping yourself is to identify the WHY of your stress.
2.  Relax. Practice clearing your mind off of disturbing thoughts. Remove yourself from the stressful situation. If that is not possible, remove disturbing thoughts from mind by doing something completely different from what you have been doing.
3. Take time out every day for yourself.( doesn't matter if it is only 10 minutes). Analyze the situation and try to bring some short term changes in your lifestyle.
4. Set realistic goals for yourself. Reduce the number of activities that you involve in every day. Try to prioritize a few truly important things and focus on those. Don't overwhelm yourself by fretting about your entire future plan of work.
5. Change the way you see things. Learn to recognize stress for what it is and accept it as normal.
6. Avoid extreme reactions. Remind yourself that things will not change because of your expression of anger, rage, or irritability; instead, things may change if you peacefully analyze your situation and then resolve the issue.
7. Pay special attention to eating proper and healthy food. Get enough sleep( 8 hours every night). Remember, lack of sleep causes nervousness, forgetfulness, and confusion in mind. Always remember that lack of rest aggravates stress.
8.. Work off stress with physical activity, whether it's jogging, tennis, gardening or simply walking.
9. If you can't fight what's bothering you and you can't avoid it, flow with it and try to use it in a productive way. Laugh off your situation and tell yourself there are millions of people more stressed and depressed than you.
10. Try to be positive. Give yourself messages as to how well you can cope rather than how horrible things could turn out to be. Stress can actually help memory, provided it is  short-term and not too severe. Stress causes more glucose to be delivered to the brain, which makes more energy available to neurons. This, in turn, enhances memory formation and retrieval. On the other hand, if stress is prolonged, it can impede the glucose delivery, resulting in loss of memory.
11.  Do something for others to help get your mind off of your self. Thinking and doing something for others will take your mind away from your own stress. Deep down in your heart, you will feel even better and proud of yourself when you realize YOU ARE HELPING SOMEONE!
12. Most importantly, if stress is interfering with your everyday normal life and you feel overwhelmed, seek professional help.

 

TWELVE TIPS FOR BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE

1.      Accept yourself completely the way you are. Self acceptance is the first step on the road of confidence. If you accept and like yourself, others will tend to do so, too.  Your positive feelings about yourself will translate into your positive attitude and behavior.

2.      Count your accomplishments and blessings everyday, and be proud of yourself for whatever positive things you do – big or small.

3.      Replace negative thoughts with positive. Believe in yourself. No one else can make you believe in yourself. Affirm and assure yourself by uttering to yourself, “I am intelligent, smart, attractive and capable of achieving what I want to achieve.

4.      Never change to please others because that change would be superficial. The real change in you will take place when you yourself see a need for it. Always aim high and imagine yourself overcoming all barriers in the way of achieving your goal.

5.      Never hesitate in speaking the truth and how you feel. People will respect you for being honest and truthful and you will never feel guilty about misrepresenting yourself or others.

6.      Be sure to pamper and reward yourself everyday. Treat yourself with what you enjoy. Remember your friends love you not because you are like someone else but because you are YOU.

7.      Measure your success based on whether you have improved in what you have been doing or not. Comparing your success and accomplishments with others may make your life miserable. Keep in mind that success is a relative term – it depends on how you define and perceive it. Therefore, enjoy your own accomplishments, without comparing it with what others have achieved. You will begin to love yourself.

8.       Learn to accept compliments and believe that they were meant for you when someone says, “You look good” or “You did a great job.” Sometimes, people think others compliment them because they want to please or need a favor. Well, if that is the case, shouldn’t you be proud of the fact that you possess some qualities because of which people try to please you?

9.      Accept criticism without feeling put down. Take the comments positively – as an opportunity to analyze your thoughts and actions based on the comments. However, keep reminding yourself, “ I will always say or do what I think is the best.” 

10.   Never let a failure change your positive perspective on a matter. Disregard failure, thinking this was a step toward growth.

11.   Build strong friendships and allies with individuals who value you as a person. Stay away from negative people who keep bickering about things.

12.  Remind yourself everyday that you are an intelligent person and you can make things happen. AND YOU WILL MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!!