Need Help Organizing Your Kitchen Cupboards?

I wanted to share what I did in one of the cupboards that holds all those little things that might get lost in the shelves. I did have something similar in the past, but the boxes were smaller and I only used a few of them for gravy packets and such.

Then I found these boxes at the Christmas Tree Shop...a discount store for just about anything. This is the medium square box. The boxes in my kitchen are the small rectangle boxes

They were only $1.00. I have seen these at The Dollar Tree Stores too.

The boxes are fabric and come in 2 parts.

The box unfolds and then there is a sturdy bottom liner.

The handles are already on the boxes, so I just added a white card stock label that I cut with a die cutter and attached it with a small key ring from the office supply section of any store.

Here's the breakdown, so you can image what you might put in your boxes.

GRAVY...

All those gravy and soup mix packets that get lost in the shuffle.

JUICE...

Those little tiny juice packets that you add to your water bottles are easy to get to now instead of going into the small boxes to get them. This also contains all the juice mixes in one place.

JELL-O...

Easy to find these small boxes now and to see the flavors too .

CUPCAKES...for all those different sizes and colors of cupcake paper liners.

SPRINKLES...for me this is the place for anything cake decorating...sprinkles, food coloring, tubes for frosting etc.

BAKING...this is baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder etc.

For ingredients that come in bags, I also use large canning jars with plastic lids to keep things fresh, easy to use and easy to see.

These plastic lids are great instead of using the 2 part metal ring lids.

You can buy these plastic lids wherever canning supplies are sold. I bought mine in Walmart for about $2.00 - $3.00 for a box of 8 lids.

You can use any style or size box that fits your needs and your kitchen cupboard, but I do recommend organizing things into categories. It will make your life so much easier.

Not to mention, you will be able to see what you have at a glance and you won't be buying another can of baking powder when you already had 3 in the back of the cupboard.

 

Thanks to: http://sewmanyways.blogspot.de/p/about-me.html for this great idea!

National Dance Day is Coming ... July 27th!

 Whether on the dance floor or in your living room, celebrate National Dance Day and get moving!

 

WHAT'S IN A NAME? The words "dance" and "dancing" come from an old German word "danson," which means "to stretch." All dancing is made up of stretching and relaxing. The muscles are tensed for leaping and then relaxed as we make what we hope will be a gentle and graceful landing. Dancing must be organized; it is not enough to jump around the floor with anger or excitement. Dancing is a way of expressing one's emotions through a succession of movements disciplined by rhythm.

ANCIENT ROUND DANCES: In ancient round dances, the dancers formed a circle around something or someone believed to hold special magical power -- a stone, a wooden object, or a witch doctor (modern-day Cuers?). As the dancers move in a ring, power is believed to flow from the object outward to the ring and back again. The dance becomes so absorbing that often dancers felt neither fatigue nor pain. As they whirl around, the performers believe that they themselves have become spirits. These round dances date from earliest times and are found almost worldwide. They flourish wherever people believe that power can leave one object and enter another object by magic (kind of like that helpless look some dancers give the Cuer before a routine to help them remember what was in that new routine taught the week before). Long after their ritual origins had been forgotten, the round dances continued on. Round dances invaded the ballrooms of the 18th-Century Europe. Original "Round Dances" are still popular with the country people of eastern Europe, and survive today in the children's game of "Ring A Round the Rosie."

North American Dances

Did you ever wonder where dance rhythms originated? Though many of the current Round Dancing rhythms originated int the Caribbean, South America, and Europe, several have their true origins in North America. A few "North American Originals" are below.

• BARN DANCE: A nineteenth-century American couple dance in 4/4 time, taking its name from the rural custom of dancing to celebrate the completion of a new barn. Known also as the pas de quatre and the military schottische, the steps involved walking, hopping, sliding, turning, and foot stamping, which shocked many who believed all dancing should be decorous.
• BIG APPLE: A party dance that appeared around 1935 in New York, taking its name from the Big Apple Club of Columbia, South Carolina. Couples arranged themselves in a large circle and performed figures according to the instructions of a caller.
• BLACK BOTTOM: A dance employing strong African- and Caribbean-style hip movements, which first appeared on Broadway in 1926, and which scandalized older dancers on both sides of the Atlantic because of its gliding, skipping, leaping, and stamping -- not to mention its flaunting of the backside.
• BOP: American solo dance popular in the mid-1950s, consisting of a sort of marching in place to music that emphasized the upbeat. Variations were the scooter, the flea hop, the swister, and the rock and around.
• BOSSA NOVA: A combination of American jazz rhythms and Brazilian samba, popular in the USA in the early 1960s.
• CHARLESTON: Originated in Charleston, South Carolina, where black dockworkers danced to amuse themselves. Transported to New York, it became a hit in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, and was quickly adopted by the flappers.
• CONTRA: Contra is an American form of country-dance perfected in the late 17th century. Sets of couples faced each other, usually in a square or rectangular pattern, and exchanged positions using various figures. The name also refers to the fact that the dancers performed counter to, or opposite each other. May have originated from Court Dances.
• FOXTROT: Foxtrot was originally a Ragtime dance best credited to Harry Fox, a music-hall entertainer who performed a fast trotting dance that electrified the Ziegfeld Follies of 1914. Tamed by dancing teachers, it became a popular ballroom dance to ragtime music. The English smoothed out its jerks and originally called it the saunter; it is now termed the Slow Foxtrot (also called English or International Foxtrot). Today, Social Foxtrot (also called American Foxtrot or Rhythm Dancing) closely resembles slow quickstep, due to the influence of Arthur Murray. It involves various combinations of short, quick steps.
• JITTERBUG: In the jitterbug (another name for lindy) athletic couples moved energetically, alone and together to a rapid beat, originally to 1930's boogie-woogie and swing music. There are two types of basic steps, those in which the feet stay on the ground, and the "air steps" in which the dancer leaves the floor entirely.
• JIVE: Jive is a tamed version of the jitterbug that came into fashion in the 1950s.
• ONE-STEP: Also known as the turkey trot,the most ubiquitous ragtime dance. It was universally popular among the young during the early twentieth century. The one-step simply required a single step per beat.
• RAGTIME: Dances performed to syncopated, jazzy music of ragtime, popular in the late 19th century. Ragtime also includes the mimic/animal dances (e.g., black bottom, bunny hug, cakewalk, turkey trot) popular in the first two decades of the 20th century.
• ROCK 'N' ROLL: Frenetic, solo or occasionally couple dances performed to the simple, compulsively rhythmic style of pop or rock music originating in the 1950s. These developed out of jive.
• ROUND DANCE (ancient definition): Prehistoric groups would dance around a central object or totem. In the 19th century, these became country dances in a round or circular formation (as opposed to a square), in which the couples exchanged positions. The term is also used for the 19th-century, couple dances such as the waltz or polka, which feature a constant turning of the partners.
• SQUARE DANCE: An American form of country dancing, developed from the early 19th-century contras and quadrilles. Couples face each other in a square formation and exchange places in relation to their partners and to the other couples. Another addition is that of a caller who announces the figures or floor patterns they are to perform.
• TWO-STEP: A dance requiring two steps per beat, first performed to John Philip Sousa's Washington Post March (1891), and rapidly applied to other dances of the period, until ousted by ragtime and the one-step. An ancestor of the foxtrot.
• TWIST: Solo rock dance that first appeared in 1961, performed by Chubby Checker.

Whipped Cream with a Cherry on Top Please! Happy National Ice Cream Day!

It's National Ice Cream Day! Here's how to 'healthy up' your favorite frozen treat

Just because it's dessert, doesn't mean it has to be unhealthy. Check out these nutritious additions that are perfect for summer.

           

First, let me preface this piece with this: I have no problem with ooey-gooey, 800-calorie, super-sized ice cream sundaes moated up with caramel sauce and crowned with enough whipped cream to enable your cherry-on-top to snowboard off-piste. And if there's ever a day to indulge in such an ode to frozen, creamy dessert, today is it (Happy National Ice Cream Day!!).

However, if you like to enjoy ice cream more than once a year (and really, super crazy dessert treats shouldn't be indulged in more often than that, both because of the calorie insanity and because they start to lose their specialness if you do), I have a few ideas on how you can incorporate ice cream into your diet both healthfully and realistically. And since you're adding extra flavor, you can get away with a smaller serving of the ice cream itself (and saving more for later!).

Add fresh fruit: If you start with a more neutral base — chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chip or pistachio are all great — you can add fresh fruit, which is now at the height of flavor in mid-summer. Adding fresh strawberries to your strawberry cone, or a cascade of berries to chocolate or vanilla ice cream is obvious (and adds few calories, tons of taste, and lots of vitamins and antioxidants to your dessert).

But don't stop there. Try throwing some peaches, nectarines or black plums on the grill once dinner's done and letting them cool a bit before tossing them on top of some vanilla, or adding quickly braised orange chunks to mint chip (chocolate, mint and orange are a super-yum, but not totally obvious combo).

Go nuts: You can turn a bowl of ice cream into a meal if you add nuts and fruit. But even if you just add nuts (I like raw cashews, macadamia nuts or almonds, since they retain more of their nutrients than roasted nuts and have no added oils), you've got a truly nutritious snack. You can try mixing nuts — peanuts and cashews, for example, or swirling nut butters through slightly softened ice cream (and then you can re-freeze if you want it be fancy about it).

Macadamia nut butter swirled through chocolate ice cream with some blueberries on top? Or how about some crunchy peanut butter scooped into a vanilla caramel swirl? Either way, you're getting the health benefits of nuts — packed with protein and minerals — along with satisfying your sweet tooth. As mentioned above, I like raw nuts, and raw nut butters without any additives. Organic, unsweetened roasted nut butters are great too, and recently I've seen almond butter with flax or chia seeds (at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods) mixed in. You could easily make your own with flax, hemp or sesame seeds, which triples the health benefits, bringing omegas and even more protein, as well as additional antioxidants from the seeds.

Double the chocolate: As a dark chocolate aficionado, I rarely go a day without the good stuff, which is filled with antioxidants, isn't highly sugary, and has been shown by a ream of scientific studies to have very real heart-health benefits.

You can melt dark chocolate in a double boiler and pour over your favorite ice cream for a much healthier chocolate sauce (the commercial jarred versions are filled with preservatives, unhealthy oils and other additives), or just break a piece up over whatever flavor you've got on-hand (I think chocolate goes with every ice cream flavor!).

Or, do what I do: break off a chunk of chocolate, cover one end with a bit of foil, and use it as your spoon! The coldness of the ice cream means you just get a bit of chocolate with each bite, which means you really get to savor the flavor.

Can't — or don't want — to eat ice cream? I wrote about my favorite ice cream alternatives here. Pretty much everything above works with these delicious substitutes, so enjoy!

(I'm thinking a super-health sundae with vanilla ice cream swirled with raw almond butter, roasted peaches and melted dark chocolate, and topped with chia seeds might be on my menu today!)

See Starre Vartan's Blog for More tips: http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/best-dairy-free-summer-desserts

3 Stay Slim Secrets!

Enjoy Your Summer While Staying Fit

Inside your body, at this very moment, there's a war going on: a battle between the cells that make up muscle and those that make up fat.
You know which side you're rooting for. But here's the problem: in this war, fat will always have an unfair advantage. The only way muscle can win is with your help. The Seven Secrets of the Slim from The Women's Health Diet will show you how to win that battle.
It will help you build muscle and burn away fat while eating the very best food on the planet and never, ever feeling hungry. It will make you stronger, sexier, leaner, and healthier than you've ever been before. And it will start to take effect, well, pretty much from your very first bite.

Slim Secret #1: "I Will Eat Protein with Every Meal And Every Snack"

Muscle doesn't come simply from lifting weights or hauling groceries up the stairs. Eating protein triggers muscle growth. In fact, every time you eat at least 10 to 15 grams of protein, you trigger a burst of protein synthesis. And when you eat at least 30 grams, that period of synthesis lasts about three hours—and that means even more muscle growth.
Now think about it: When would you typically eat most of your protein? At dinner, right? That means you might be fueling your muscles for only a few hours a day, mostly while you're watching Chelsea Lately. The rest of the day, you're breaking down muscle, because you don't have enough protein in your system. Eat protein at all three meals, which can include meats and eggs or other options such as cheese and milk. You need to boost your protein intake to between .54 and one gram per pound of body weight to preserve your calorie-burning muscle mass. (That's a total of between 76 and 140 grams daily for a 140-pound woman.)

Slim Secret #2: "I Will Never Eat the World's Worst Breakfast"

What's the world's worst breakfast? No breakfast at all. When you wake up in the morning, your body is fuel-deprived. It's been seven to nine hours (or more) since you last ate. Your insulin levels have dropped, your protein stores are empty, and your muscles are desperate for nutrition. Your body needs food to restore its balance.
Breakfast is the one meal where, calories be damned, eating more is almost always better than eating less—in an ideal world, you'd get between 500 and 600 calories at breakfast alone. Just make sure some of those calories come from protein.
In a 2008 study, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found that people who regularly ate a protein-rich 600-calorie breakfast lost significantly more weight in eight months than those who consumed only 300 calories and a quarter of the protein. The big-breakfast eaters lost an average of 40 pounds and had an easier time sticking with the diet even though both groups were prescribed about the same number of total daily calories.

Slim Secret #3: "I Will Eat Before And After Exercise"

Eat a snack containing carbohydrates and protein 30 minutes or so before your workout and one of your protein-rich meals immediately after. Your body breaks down muscle during and after exercise to use as fuel, and it rebuilds muscle using calories that you've consumed. The longer you wait after exercise to eat, the more your body will break down its own muscle and the less it will build new muscle.
Eating before a workout speeds muscle growth, according to Dutch and British researchers. In one study, subjects who ate a protein-and carbohydrate-rich snack right before and right after their workouts fueled their muscles twice as effectively as those who waited at least five hours to eat. By feeding your body with protein and carbohydrates within an hour or two of exercise, you provide your muscles with enough energy to build strength and burn fat more effectively.
Research also shows that eating before and after a workout inhibits the storage of fat, inhibit muscle breakdown, reduce inflammation, and recover more quickly.

Allez, mangez! Go Eat!

Bastille Day is this Sunday-- which means it's time to bust out the beret, baguettes, and vin.
Not only does San Francisco have a long tradition of French settlers, but it also boats some of the best French restaurants on this side of, well, France.

What better way to commemorate the storming of the Bastille on that fateful day 223 years ago, ushering in the French Revolution and the beginning of the modern age, with a delicious glass of wine and a three-course meal?

Here are some GREAT French restaurants in the City

Bistro Central Parc

560 Central Avenue, San Francisco

 

Cafe Claude

7 Claude Lane, San Francisco

 

Fleur De Lys

777 Sutter Street, San Francisco

 

Zazie

941 Cole Street, San Francisco

 

Cafe Jacqueline

1454 Grant Avenue, San Francisco

 

Absinthe

398 Hayes Street, San Francisco

 

Want a Quick Summer Getaway?

Where to Go: Santa Barbara, California

Distance from Los Angeles: 95 miles northwest, with Highway 1 being the more scenic route.

Where to Stay: The hip and trendy boutique Presidio Motel in downtown Santa Barbara uses colorful customized vinyl decals of peacocks, chandeliers, grandfather clocks, giraffes with parachutes, and other playful images to create a modern and individual style for each of its 16 guest rooms.
Price: Doubles from $99.

What to Do: Eat local by making a “Market Foray,” a guided tour that leads the culinarily curious to fresh foods at the farmers’ market, fishermen’s market, C’est Cheese, and Our Daily Bread—all of which are also ideal spots for picking up picnic fixings for lunch to pair with Central Coast wine. To discover more about the region’s famous grapes, hit the Urban Wine Trail, which includes eight wineries and tasting rooms near downtown. If you tire of walking, hop on the 25-cent electric trolley.

Insider Tip: If wine is not your thing, try the Greyhound Proper, a cocktail made with fresh grapefruit juice, gin, and candied grapefruit peel (or any other drink), at the Hungry Cat (six blocks southeast), which has a constantly changing menu based on what’s fresh from the farmers’ market.

Where to Go: LOS CABOS, Mexico

Why: While the highway between the sister towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo now sports a Costco and a Home Depot, this cactus-studded Sonoran Desert region at the tip of the Baja Peninsula retains the laid-back sensibility of a true Mexican outpost, where taco stands, sun-bleached resorts, and empty beaches give reason to linger.

Where to Stay: At Esperanza (Punta Ballena; 52-866/311-2226; www.esperanzaresort.com; doubles from $425), the 56 rooms have terraces overlooking Punta Ballena, where humpback whales feed during their annual migration. Hotel Twin Dolphin (Hwy. 1; 800/421-8925; www.twindolphin.com; doubles from $270) remains a favorite for its white-on-white simplicity, potent margaritas, and access to the best snorkeling bay in Cabo.

Where to Eat: Rossy Taqueria (Km 33, Carr. Transpeninsular; 52-624/142-6755; lunch for two $15) dishes up succulent shrimp and scallops in corn tortillas; wash them down with an ice-cold Corona. For seafood risotto with roasted tomatoes and fresh Parmesan, head to Mi Cocina at Casa Natalia (4 Blvd. Mijares; 52-624/142-5100; dinner for two $100), in the courtyard of a historic adobe town house.

Insider Tip: Rent a Jeep and drive an hour north to the colonial town of Todos Santos, where unpaved streets are lined with modern-art galleries. On the way back, look for dirt-road turnoffs to surfing breaks that attract California's top board riders.

Red, White and Blue 4th of July Cake Recipe!

Fourth of July Flag Cake

 

Be the talk of the party at this year's 4th of July Picnic with this adorable (and delicious) Flag Cake!

Red Cake Layers

1   Box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

1   Pint (2 cups) strawberries, stems removed, pureed in blender or food processor to about 1 1/4 cups

1/3 Cup vegetable oil

3   Egg whites

1   Teaspoon red paste food color

Blue Cake Layer

1/2   Box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix (about 1 2/3 cups dry mix) 

1/2   Cup blueberries, pureed in blender or food processor

3      Tablespoons vegetable oil 
2      Whole eggs 
1/2   Teaspoon blue paste food color 
3      Tablespoons Betty Crocker® white star-shaped candy sprinkles or nonpareils

White Cake Layer

1/2   Box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix (about 1 2/3 cups dry mix) 

1/2   Cup water   

2      Tablespoons vegetable oil 

2      Egg whites

Frosting and Sprinkles

3  containers Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting

                           

Sun Worshippers Beware ...

This summer, think twice before catching those extra rays of sunshine mid day.  Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.  Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers in the U.S.  One in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer and, according to Skin Cancer Foundation Statistics, one in every five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

How many people get skin cancer?

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. It accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States. More than 3.5 million cases of basal and squamous cell skin cancer are diagnosed in this country each year. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will account for more than 76,600 cases of skin cancer in 2013.

What are basal and squamous cell skin cancers?

These types of skin cancer are classified as non-melanomas to set them apart from the more serious type of skin cancer, melanoma. They usually start in the basal cells or squamous cells, which is how they get their names. These cells are found at the base of the outer layer of the skin.

Most basal and squamous cell cancers develop on sun-exposed areas of the skin, like the face, ear, neck, lips, and the backs of the hands. Depending on the type, they can be fast or slow growing, but they rarely spread to other parts of the body.

Basal cell or squamous cell cancers can be cured if found and treated early.

What is melanoma skin cancer?

Melanoma is a cancer that begins in the melanocytes – the cells that produce the skin coloring or pigment known as melanin. Melanin helps protect the deeper layers of the skin from the harmful effects of the sun.

Melanoma is almost always curable when it is found in its very early stages. Although melanoma accounts for only a small percentage of skin cancer, it’s far more dangerous than other skin cancers and causes most skin cancer deaths.

Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will account for more than 76,600 cases of invasive skin cancer in 2013. It accounts for more than 9,000 of the 12,000-plus skin cancer deaths each year.

The overall 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 91%. For localized melanoma, the 5-year survival rate is 98%; survival rates for regional and distant stage diseases are 62% and 15%, respectively. About 84% of melanomas are diagnosed at a localized stage. 

Other types of skin cancer

There are a few rare types of skin cancer such as keratoacanthomas, Merkel cell carcinoma, skin lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, skin adnexal tumors, and sarcomas. These are all non-melanoma types.

What are the risk factors for skin cancer?

Risk factors for non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers include:

• Unprotected and/or excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (sunlight or tanning booths)
• Pale skin (easily sunburned, doesn’t tan much or at all, natural red or blond hair)
• Occupational exposures to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium
• You or other members of your family have had skin cancers
• Multiple or unusual moles
• Severe sunburns in the past

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

Skin cancer can be found early, and both doctors and patients play important roles in finding skin cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor.

• Any change on your skin, especially in the size or color of a mole, growth, or spot, or a new growth (even if it has no color)
• Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or a change in the way a bump or nodule looks
• The spread of pigmentation (color) beyond its border, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
• A change in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness, or pain

Can skin cancer be prevented?

The best ways to lower the risk of skin cancer are to avoid long exposure to intense sunlight and practice sun safety. Here are some ways to be sun safe:

• Avoid direct exposure to the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Teach children the shadow rule: if your shadow is shorter than you, the sun’s rays are at their strongest.
• Seek shade, especially in the middle of the day when the sun’s rays are strongest.
• Follow the Slip! Slop! Slap!^® and Wrap! rules:
• Slip on a shirt: Cover up with protective clothing to guard as much skin as possible when you are out in the sun. Choose comfortable clothes made of tightly woven fabrics that you cannot see through when held up to a light.
• Slop on sunscreen: Use sunscreen and lip balm with broad spectrum protection and a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher. Apply a generous amount of sunscreen (about a palmful) to unprotected skin at least 30 minutes before outdoor activities. Reapply every 2 hours and after swimming, toweling dry, or sweating. Use sunscreen even on hazy or overcast days.
• Slap on a hat: Cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, shading your face, ears, and neck. If you choose a baseball cap, remember to protect your ears and neck with sunscreen.
• Wrap on sunglasses: Wear sunglasses with100% UVA and UVB absorption to provide optimal protection for the eyes and the surrounding skin.
• Sunscreen doesn’t protect from all UV rays, so don’t use sunscreen as a way to stay out in the sun longer.
• Follow these practices to protect your skin even on cloudy or overcast days. UV rays travel through clouds.
• Avoid other sources of UV light. Tanning beds and sun lamps are dangerous. They also damage your skin.