Category: Lifestyle

10 Home Improvements Worth Saving Money For

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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We all know that homes can be expensive. Not only do they cost a lot to buy, but they will always find a way to suck up your money on maintenance and spruces. And it’s unlikely to change. So, it’s always good to get in the frame of mind of having money available to invest in your home. It’s not easy, but it can definitely be worth it. You should also have some kind of backup financial plan in place too, should you ever need it. But, enough about the formalities, it’s time to think about that soon-to-be stunning home of yours.

When you want your house to look its best, you can often set your set a bit of a home maintenance to-do list. And most of the time, that list grows longer by the day. Although you could get around to fixing up and improving almost every part of your house, it’s important to realize that it will take time. And money! So, instead of on focusing on a huge list of all the things that you want to upgrade, you’re going to want to hone in on the most important. By pulling together a smaller list, you’ll be able to make a big difference with smaller efforts. So, let these home improvements give you food for thought for your savings list.

Your Dream Kitchen

When you ask anyone what their favorite room in the house is, they often all say the kitchen. There’s just something about it that we all love. Whether it’s because it is the heart of the home, or somewhere that we spend a lot of time, everyone wants a kitchen that they love. So, when you feel like passionate about a room, and you spend a lot of time in it, definitely add it to the top of your list. Although it’s tempting to remortgage or get a large loan for renovations, it may feel more rewarding to wait it out and save instead.

A Stunning Outside Space

Your home improvements definitely don’t need to be limited to the inside of your home. Because sometimes, it’s the changes that you make outside that can make all of the difference. If you like to spend a lot of time in the garden, you may dream of having a space that you can really enjoy. So, it might be time to take a look at some landscaping ideas and figure out how much you need to save.

A Comfier Bed

What could be better than a good night’s sleep? If you find that the bed you have just isn’t cutting it, you should definitely think about putting some money away and making an upgrade. Having a comfortable bed and mattress is essential if you want to sleep well. So it’s definitely worth the investment. Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep!

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Smarter Systems

Next up, you may also want to think about some of the essential systems that you have in your home. It may be the case that when you’re renting, you don’t have to fork out for new things when they break, but when you own your own home, you get to upgrade to the best by choice. Sometimes, a new water or heating system or smarter electrics can really make a difference to your standard of living.

Updating The Decor

Then there’s the simple yet oh so effective idea of updating your decor. When it comes to your home, you may feel that some of the rooms are outdated. But, if you’re able to add a lick of paint and replace the flooring, you may find that you’re much happier with the home that you have created.

Adding In More Bathrooms

Or, you may want to put some money away for more bathrooms. If you only have a master, or one and a half baths, you may want to think about the ways that you can change that. Because sometimes, only one loo won’t do. It can not only improve your standard of living to have more bathrooms at home but also the value of your house too. So an en suite here and a new suite there could make all the difference.

Creating A Show-Stopping Space

Sometimes, the way that you can be the most excited about saving for an addition to your home is to go with something different and creative. If you love to read, adding a library room in your house could be the perfect idea for you. Or, maybe it would be a theater or a gym? Regardless of what the room will be, adding in something that boosts your lifestyle is always a great idea. You work hard, so why not?

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Home Emergencies

On to more practical ideas, you may also want to consider having security when it comes to home emergencies. Although it’s a nice idea to have savings for spruces, sometimes you will need that money for emergency situations. When your boiler breaks or your electrics need re-writing, solutions like Personal Money Store are one option, but having savings behind you always helps. Because we all know the unexpected can happen, so it’s best to be prepared.

Expansion Plans

Another key practicality to consider if the size of your home or the space that you have it – especially in comparisons to the size of your family. If you’re looking to expand your family anytime soon, you may want to extend your home too. When you love your home, you don’t always want to move, so you should think about having a pot of money for when the time comes.

Conversion Plans

Finally, an alternative to that would be to think about a conversion. If you have no room to extend your property outwards, you may want to think about doing it inwards. If you have an unconverted basement or attic space, it could be a great idea to convert either or both into a new living space. But to do that, you will need to save up a little money or find a financial source suitable to your needs.

 

 

 

 

Confused Between Renting & Buying? Here’s the Right Option

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Rent or buy? – The question has troubled most of us at some point of our lives. It’s a tough question to answer since both renting and buying have their own advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the choice between renting and buying depends on various variables such as your income and expenses, family profile, income stability and growth, financial outlook, future needs and plans, etc. Which city you are in also impacts the choice for renting or buying. Here team of NewsPatrolling.com did a survey and on the basis of collected facts sharing some key things to consider prior to making the decision for renting or buying.

Down payment vs. security deposit: When buying a home, you need to pay 10 to 20 percent of the property cost as down payment, while the remaining amount will be covered by your home loan. For example, if the property cost of a 2BHK apartment is 50 lakh, you will have to arrange around 10 lakh for down payment. You need to have adequate funds to arrange this large amount. Also, it would not be wise to empty out your entire bank balance for the down payment. You need to have at least 5 to 10 lakh left in your bank account after paying the down payment. On the other hand, if you choose to rent, you will have to pay anywhere between 1 to 2 lakh as security deposit for a 2BHK flat. However, the deposit amount will essentially be unproductive since you will not be getting any interest on it.

 

Income stability & growth: How secure do you think your job or profession is? If your income is stable and growth opportunities exist, you could consider buying over renting. If not, then it would be better to go for renting. When you buy a home and take a home loan, you have to pay Home Loan EMI every month. This is not a problem when your income is stable, but if anything goes wrong, things can get difficult. On the other hand, renting would not create such problems since you can always shift to a cheaper accommodation if you are facing financial issues.

 

Family profile: How many members are currently there in the family? Are you planning to start a family? More members would mean more expenses and it could affect your monthly budget. Choose to buy a home when you are sure that you will not be overburdened by new additions in the family. You need to be able to maintain your quality of life rather than just surviving through the Home Loan EMIs. A home loan is usually for 15 to 20 years, so it would not be a good idea to keep struggling for such long. Considering all other things equal, renting turns out to be cheaper in the short to medium term.

 

Future possibilities: Does your job or business require you to be on the move constantly? If so, then you could choose renting over buying. If not, then you can choose buying over renting, since it will be profitable in the long run. The rent you pay is basically an expense, but when you buy a home, it is an investment since the value of the property is consistently increasing. This would be applicable when you have finalized to settle down in a particular city.

 

New EPFO rules favor buying: EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organization) subscribers can now withdraw up to 90% of their savings in EPF accounts to fund the purchase or construction of their house/flat or for buying land. Also, monthly PF (Provident Fund) contributions can be used for repayment of home loans. These new EPFO rules have tilted the balance in favor of buying a home. If you are an EPFO subscriber and if you have a substantial amount in your EPF account, you could consider buying over renting.

 

Continual reduction in home loan interest rates is also encouraging people to buy rather than rent. Home Loan interest rates used to hover around 10 to 11 percent in 2012-2013, but now they have come down substantially to around 8.5% in 2017. However, the choice between renting and buying will still depend on various variables described above and your specific needs. You need to keep these factors in mind prior to finalizing your decision for renting or buying.

Celebrate Monsoon with Gond Painting on Umbrella Workshop by ‘Baaya Design’

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

This monsoon ‘Baaya Design’ invites you to learn the latest interpretation of Gond and create your own painting in the ‘Gond Painting on Umbrella Workshop’. Gond is a decorative art form of painting from folk and tribal art, practiced by the Gondi people of Madhya Pradesh. Capture the magic of rains with splash of colors on your umbrella with vibrant depictions of the traditional art form. The workshop will entail waterproof Gond art color play, Gond painting references, Sprinklers, Rollers, brushes, a full size white umbrella with cover and expert guidance.

Date: 22nd July, 2017

Time: 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Price: 1200/- inclusive of all material

For registrations call: 022 24979463 Visit: www.baayadesign.com

Baaya Design, Pratamesh Tower, Raghuvanshi Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013

Happy Days, And How To Find Them Again

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

You are probably aware of the epidemic that is sweeping the world, that of depression and anxiety. You may know someone that struggles with one or both of these problems, or you may have to deal with them on a day today basis yourself? If so then you might what to check out the guide below that can suggest where you may be going wrong and what to do about it?

Are you trying to hard?

Firstly, a lot of anxiety and related depression relates from trying too hard. “But wait,” you say, “Good things come to those who work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty, right?” Well, is that really the case, even in your own experience?

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I’m not recommending being permanent lazy, but it’s good to be balanced in life, and if you are always trying so hard to control outer conditions then not only will this feed into your sense of anxiety, but also make you tired all the time.

Sometimes this great need to work so hard at being approved of by others suggest that there is an issue with ourselves that we need to turn inwards to address. So back off a little and see if that improve things for you.

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Are your expectations off?

Another thing that might be contributing to your anxiety or depression is your expectations. The way we want things to be isn’t often the way that they truly are. This can apply to our relationships, our work, our finances, pretty much everything really.

The problem is the higher your expectations are, the larger space you leave for disappointment when the reality of the world inevitability doesn’t match up to what you were expecting. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect good things for yourself or to be treated with respect and kindness. Instead, it points to the value of being more flexible with your expectations and achieving the clarity to live with things are they are, not as they might be.

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Is there an underlying condition?

Anxiety and depression are medical conditions, and if you have been expanding them for longer than two weeks, you will need to go and see your medical professional for some advice on treatment.

Also, it can really help to make an appointment with a qualified psychologist to get your condition investigated further. This is because there is more than one type of anxiety disorder and more than one type of depression, and the treatments are not all the same for each. So it can really pay off in terms of your recovery to know what you’re dealing with.

Are you kind to yourself?

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Lastly, a contributing factor to anxiety and depressive disorders can be how we treat ourselves. Stop and listen to the thoughts parading around you mind for a second. Would you speak to anyone else that way? Probably not, and if you did they would likely leave. So why do we do it to ourselves?  

Well, it’s mostly because we aren’t taught how to differentiate between thoughts and the meaning of those thoughts. This is something that both meditation and CBT can help you do. Which makes them something worth exploring in your quest for recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy? You Can Still Help with Your Children’s Learning

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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There are a lot of negative articles about hectic lifestyles, especially when it comes to parents who are deeply invested in business ventures. They’re often criticised for not having infinite amounts of time for family matters.

The response to things like this is usually “just make time”, as though it’s that easy! But let’s be realistic: excelling in your career can be beneficial for your child’s in the long-run, especially when you consider finances. But if your child is having school difficulties, this complicates things. Here are some things you can do the will help you overcome a hectic schedule to help your children get the educational assistance they need.

Tutoring 

A lot of kids may balk at the idea of having a teacher outside of school. But so many kids improve tremendously on an academic level when given this type of attention. Some may see it as a lazy alternative to helping them yourself. But you have to get that mindset out of your head. If you’re busy and exhausted, you may not be up to the task. Your child deserves high-quality assistance, and this may be best delivered by a qualified tutor! Look into the ways to pick the best tutor for your child if you think this will help you both.

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Smartphones to the rescue

More and more parents are seeing just how useful smartphones can be when it comes to education. While many see smartphones as just another tool that distracts their kids from their schoolwork, it’s absolutely possible to encourage good study behaviors through the use of Internet research and educational apps. It may be worth looking into cheap used phones that your kids can use instead of investing in expensive, ultra high tech phones. There are apps out there that can help with vocabulary expansion, improved reading comprehension, mathematical skills development, and even language acquisition!

Weekend schedules

The weekend is when you’re most likely to have some time. Whatever you’re doing, schedule yourself at least half hour to an hour discussing school with your kid and helping them with their homework. Scheduling it is the best way to get it done; as many busy parents know, as schedule is vital for productivity in day-to-day working life. Let your child know that this is something you want to do every weekend; they’ll get used to it and will be in the right mindset when the time comes.

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More reading

If there’s any subject your child shows any interest in, then get them some books on the subject. It doesn’t have to be a strictly academic subject. Robots, dinosaurs, film, fashion – anything! The simple act of reading boosts your brain power across multiple disciplines. It boosts concentration and memory in both the short-term and the long-term. It’s something they should be doing in their spare time. It’s a fantastic way of giving your child some extra academic assistance that doesn’t eat up much of your time at all. When they fall in love with reading at this age, they’re more likely to read enthusiastically throughout their lives, which will also help them a lot when it comes to college!

 

 

 

The Hidden Health Benefits To Tea

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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Although water is the most widely-consumed drink in the world, tea follows at a close second. It is a beverage that has been drank for thousands of years, with at least 158 million Americans getting a taste of it every single day – and in a number of forms. There are fruit teas, green teas, breakfast teas, sleeping teas; if you can think of a type that should be up there, it’s probably already been covered. But what’s all the fuss about? Why should we be incorporating it into our diet, and what can it do for us?

It’s Good For Your Heart

 Not only is it delicious in your favourite form, but a good cup of tea can also be brilliant at preventing buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. There will need to be diet changes made if you want to fully lower your cholesterol levels; you can’t just rely on one cup of tea to completely sort you out. Not only this, but introducing a good amount of tea into your diet can help reduce the chance of a heart attack quite dramatically. The temperature that you drink your tea can also help get your heart beating at a sound pace in the morning; a hot cup of the good stuff out of the best teapot available to you will get you set on the right track. Don’t worry if you’re not into warm drinks; this is a beverage that can be consumed cold as well.

It Helps Your With Exercise

This is more green tea than anything else. Your muscle endurance heightens once you have consumed this antioxidant. It helps your body to burn the fat that you already have, using it as fuel for your workout. While your body already does this, the boost that it gets from green tea – as well as the increase of the workload and what is happening – quickens the process and may help you to lose weight in the long run. There are many different types of tea which will help you to reach your target weight, so don’t worry if you don’t like the current one that you’re trying – there are thousands more for you to take your pick from.

It’s Great For The Brain 

Despite the caffeine that lurks within, tea is actually one of the most hydrating drinks that you can have. It’s not a diuretic, as many would lead you to believe, and helps you to retain water within the body. This is great news for your brain. Your brain needs fluids in order to help you focus and concentrate on the tasks at hand, and so tea is a brilliant remedy for this. Not only that, but there are degenerative conditions to do with the function of your brain such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease which a cup of tea a day is cited to be able to help prevent. Start introducing it into your diet and see if you can feel any benefits to it all.

Atlanta Healthcare’s Air Visual Node- Check the quality of air around you!

Posted on by Sunil Malhotra

Atlanta Healthcare, pioneers in bringing out measures and products to control the ever increasing menace of Air Pollution brought out yet another noteworthy product, the AirVisual NODE to help you monitor the quality of Air around you.

The NODE is a portable air quality monitor that identifies the invisible airborne threats that are posing as grave health hazards.
The NODE keeps us informed about the particulate matter (PM) ,the carbon dioxide ( CO2) levels and Temperature and Humidity on a 5″screen and going as per current scenario via your Smartphone.
The Node is something that gives you instant real time PM,CO2, readings aloong with air quality forecasts.
It provides you with air quality insights and phone alerts too from over an existing network of 8000+ monitors keeping track  of pollution sources and helping you monitor air quality at all levels and through all formats like WiFi ,Internet websites with easy integration.
The Node has a over 5 years internal measurement data logging capacity.
It’s a perfect solution to identifying Air Quality at your home n more so at workplaces and subsequently finding a solution to improve the Air Quality.

System specifications

Atlanta Healthcare AirVisual Air Quality solution complies with the following specifications:

  1. Measures PM2.5, CO2, Temperature, Humidity
  2. Monitor has a screen that shows indoor air quality compared to outdoor
  3. Wi-Fi connectivity with enhanced sensitivity to capture remote Wi-Fi signal
  4. USB charging
  5. Battery that ensures continuous measurements even during temporary power cut (24/7 results). In case of a long power cut, the sensor automatically boots up when the electricity is back, without human intervention
  6. Web-based central reporting of the building’s air quality in real-time
  7. Measurements time intervals are configurable
  8. Air quality data is accessible in real-time from the user-friendly dashboard
  9. System supports automatic alerts based on customized rules
  10. All historical data can be downloaded in CSV format from the web browser
  11. Possibility to monitors all the Nodes inside the AirVisual mobile application
  12. Notifications for iOS device when AQI threshold are reached
  13. The device has over 5 years’ internal measurement data logging capacity
  14. The sensor functions with or without an internet connection
  15. The sensor meets EC directives (CE certification) and FCC requirements
  16. Widgets can be installed on intranet and internet website with easy integration
  17. Widgets are fully configurable to match specific requirements
  18. Widgets can be integrated in digital signage (TV screen, picture frames) across the organization

 

Benefits

  • By controlling indoor air quality, you run air purifiers only when needed, extend your air filter’s life and save costs on replacement
  • Identify air pollution leakage from outdoors in real-time
  • Differentiate your work place by advertising good air quality backed up by data
  • Improve productivity and morale in your work place
  • Ensure the health of those under your responsibility and prevent potential law suits
  • Share and promote the air quality within your own website (intranet or internet) and on digital signage screens in your office.
In today’s world of ever increasing truth of worsening Air Quality the Node is a really welcome product in helping solve this humongous problem in the world.
Slightly steeply priced for an individual but perfect for business establishments.
A great step towards a really much needed Air Quality improvement. A really commendable effort.
The product is available at Amazon and Atlanta Healthcare’s Website for Rs 18990, a small investment for your healthy life.

The Incredible Benefits of Garlic

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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Garlic is often seen as a delicious staple ingredient, something one has to have in their kitchen. But it’s also seen by many as dispensable. If you don’t happen to have any, or if you can’t be bothered to prepare it, then no big deal. But the addition of more garlic in your diet isn’t just good because of its exquisite and unique flavor; it’s also because garlic is incredibly good for your health. So here’s a productive rant about, well, garlic!

 It’s good for the heart

High blood pressure. Artery hardening. High cholesterol. Coronary heart disease. Blood coagulation. These are all things that are bad for your heart – and guess what food helps fight them all? You know it: garlic. Garlic has been shown in multiple studies to improve the health of your circulatory and respiratory system – you can check out the results of some of these studies at http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/3/736S.full. However, as with any food that’s good for your heart, you’re also going to need to give it some help by getting regular sleep, exercise, and by drinking plenty of water. Sitting around and eating garlic won’t make up for a day spent doing no physical activity.

It’s good for the skin

Garlic is filled with antioxidants. These, of course, are essential for several elements of your health, and you can read more about them at https://www.verywell.com/benefits-of-antioxidants. But they’re especially useful when it comes to promoting skin health! Antioxidants are essential weapons in the battle against the bacteria that can cause skin blemishes. Another reason garlic is so good for the skin is because it has a lot of anti-inflammatory properties! Skin conditions that are affected by inflammation, including acne and psoriasis, can be soothed with the intake of garlic. In fact, many have reported positive effects when rubbing a slice of raw garlic directly onto problem areas…

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Proper preparation

Mincing is often seen to be the easiest way to get garlic into a meal because it softens the sharp flavor really will. But something you should consider that helps protect the good elements of garlic during cooking while giving you a nice chunk of the stuff is adding slices instead of mince. Get yourself a sharp knife – you can read more at http://www.cutitfine.com/utility-knife-reviews/ – and carefully cut some nice slices of garlic. Sauté it over a gentle heat for about thirty seconds before adding the other ingredients.

Going raw?

As with many foods that are often give ‘superfood’ status, many would argue that the best way to get all the benefits of garlic is to eat it raw. Thankfully, there are several ways to do this that don’t involve simply swallowing garlic straight-up, which can be overwhelming to say the least! Again, a really sharp knife will come in handy to get the garlic into more ‘user-friendly’ portions. Putting thin slices of garlic on buttered toast, putting it into guacamole or salsa, stirring it into a cooled pasta sauce, adding them to mashed potatoes… there’s no shortage of ways to introduce raw garlic into your diet without having to deal with the overpowering taste!

Cookout Tips to Impress Your Guests

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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It’s summer, and for a lot of us, summer and barbeque cookouts go hand in hand. If you’re planning lots of outdoor dining experiences this season, why not aim to make your cookouts the best yet?

There are lots of simple cookout tips that can elevate your barbeque from ok to AH-MAZING and make the whole process of barbecuing even easier. If you use even just a few of them, you’ll soon get a reputation as the best barbeque in the neighborhood.

Put the Doritos to Good Use

There’s nothing worse than planning to cook burgers on the Barbie, only to find out that you’ve run out of kindling and you’re all going to go hungry after all. But, if you have some Doritos in the kitchen or any chips for that matter, you will be able to go ahead and flame-grill those burgers because, chips, and especially Doritos, make for excellent barbeque kindling, due to their dryness and their high-fat content.

Coat Your Hands

If you love making burgers, and you know that your homemade patties are the best, but you hate having bits of meat stuck to your hands, simply coat them with either a small amount of cold water, or even better a thin layer of vegetable oil, and you’ll bed able to make enough patties to feeds the whole neighbourhood before your hands become a sticky mess in need of a good wash.

Keep Your Meat Moist

If you want your guests to be amazed when they bite into you burgers because of your patties are so succulent and juicy that they basically melt in the mouth, then you really do need to work at keeping the meat moist. This isn’t always easy when you’re outdoors in the heat. Fortunately, the fix is a simple one – just mix a couple of tablespoons of mayo to each pound of ground meat you use will ensure a moist burger and enhance the flavor.

If you’re cooking your meat medium rare and you want it to be perfectly pink in the middle, you could also add an ice chip in butter to the center of the burger, and that will stop it from getting too hot.

Two Temperatures

One of the best tips I was ever given was to heat the barbeque to two different temperatures, one at each side you can do this by only heating up half of the grill. That way, you can move cooked foods to the cool side to finish off without the risk of them burning.

Make Use of Muffin Trays

Barbeques are nothing without condiments, but what do you do when you don’t have enough condiment dishes to meet your needs? Do you just serve your ketchup and mustards in the bottle? No, you don’t. You serve them up in muffin trays, that’s what you do!

Use two Skewers

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If you’re cooking kebabs (and if you aren’t, why not?) Instead of attaching your meats, seafoods and vegetables onto one kebab skewer, use two instead. It stops individual chunks from moving around and getting burnt or unevenly cooked as a result. Just remember to soak your skewers before use if they’re wooden, to avoid setting your lovely food on fire.

Flavor Your Meat with Wood

No, I’m not telling you to add wood chips to your ground beef! But, using wood will add bags of flavor to your burgers and make them stand out from the competition. What you need to do is use planks of wood on the grill instead of metal. They will keep the food safely away from the flames and add a woody, smoky flavor to the food. Different woods have different flavors, so you might want to experiment a bit before you throw a cookout for the whole block, but most people find cherry wood to be very pleasant. If you’re interested, you can buy wooden planks for barbecuing at http://www.outdoorgourmet.com/plank-grilling-cooking/wholesale-grilling-planks.These planks are reusable, so they’ll help you to perfectly flavor your barbeque food for the whole summer and perhaps for many summers beyond

Season with a Salt Block

I’m going to say three words that will change your life – well the barbecuing aspect of it anyway – forever: Himalayan salt block. If you don’t know what Himalayan salt is it’s that pink salt that you often see in whole food stores. Bought in a block, it is hands down one of the best things to cook barbeque food over. Skip, the usual seasoning and just lay your meat down on a salt block over an outdoor stove (gas or electric) and you will be rewarded with the tenders, juiciest most flavorful meat you’ve ever eaten in your life guaranteed.

Lots of Lemons

If you’re having a barbeque, then you most certainly should not forget to pick up some fresh starts at www.Citarella.com/shop/lobsters-shrimp, and when you have that wonderfully fresh seafood delivered to your door, you simply must cook it over lemons. Just slice up a few of the citrus fruits and put them on top of your fish, lobster and shrimps it cooks for an end product that manages to be sweet, smoky and slightly sour all at once. Your guests will be shunning the burgers for the shrimp if you do.

Alternatively, you can make a simple marinade by combining olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and marinating your seafood in that for a few minutes before cooking.

Spray Some Apple Juice

Apple juice isn’t just for drinking. In fact, it is perfect for barbecuing. If you spray your grill with apple juice every so often, and you do the same to your meat too, it will be browner, more tender and all round more appetizing. It sounds a bit odd, but trust me it works really well.

Brick Your Chick

We all love to eat chicken especially when it has been chargrilled to perfection, but actually cooking chicken on the barbeque can be quite difficult because of its irregular shape. Chicken is rarely the same uniform thickness, and this means that when one part is cooked, the rest might not be or it could be. A very simple hack to solve this problem involves nothing more than a brick and a sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the brick in foil and use it to press down the chicken until it is one completely even. Then, leave the brick on top of the chicken as you cook it. The meat will be more crispy and tender than any of yore previous efforts.

Make Pizza

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Most people don’t expect to be served up freshly cooked pizza at the cookout. Sure, they might expect to see some pre-cut slices of cold pizza, but fresh, molten hot pizza – that’s something you don’t often see at a barbeque. So, why not exceed your guests’ expectations by serving them up a freshly grilled pizza? It’s really easy to do. Just check out http://ourbestbites.com/2009/06/tutorial-bbq-grilled-pizza/ for instructions. You can thank me for the tip later!

Make Veggie Parcels

Of course, not all of your guests are going to be meat eaters, and even if they are, it’s always good to serve up some veggies to healthy things up a bit, but what to cook? Vegetable parcels, that’s what. They’re so easy that they’ll take up very little of your time and because they’re cooked in foil, there’s no risk of them being contaminated by meat and fish juices.

To create delicious veggie parcels, just chop up and combine mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, corn on the cob, garlic, and sweet potato. Suasion with herbs and salt and toss on the barbeque for between five and ten minutes.

Serve Up Smoked Salt

While you’re grilling up burgers, fish kebabs and sausages on the barbeque, why not use that time to create your own smoked salt too? It tastes amazing, and you can use it to add that smoky barbequed flavor to dishes that have never been anywhere near the grill. All you have to do is light the grill, fill a pan with your favorite salt, and any other herbs you fancy and place the pan directly on the grill. It’s a good idea to use a nice smoky wood like cherry or apple to give the salt the most flavor, but you can use anything you like to get the desired flavor and ensure that you always have a smoky condiment on hand when you have a hankering for barbeque and no time to grill.

Soak Don’t Scrub

The worst thing about hosting a cookout is the clean up that comes afterwards. Luckily, I have the answer to that problem – don’t do it. If you use paper plates and disposable cups, knives, and forks, and you soak your grill in a solution of ammonia once it’s cooled, you’ll hardly have to clean anything up at all, and you can well and truly enjoy your summer evenings!

Are you a grilling or queen? What are your top tips for hosting the best cookout and producing the best barbeque food in the the neighborhood?

 

Got a Passion for Fashion? Turn It into a Profession!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Turning their passion into a profession is the dream of many. Unfortunately, however, not enough people attempt such a venture as they choose to, instead, make do with their ‘safe’ job. But where’s the fun, and the passion, in that? Nobody should stand for letting their passion disappear as they settle for a job that doesn’t provoke any sort of feeling within them. And fashionistas certainly shouldn’t stand for it. There are plenty of ways for fashion lovers to forge a career in the fashion industry — read on to find a few of them.

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  1. Dress well; dress differently

Both when you’re in the comfort of friends and when you’re in your fashion based job — whether this be an internship, an entry level fashion store job or a position of management in such a store — you need to dress differently. You need to prove to everyone that you are someone who knows how to be different with their dress sense. But you also need to prove yourself as someone who is on trend too. So, why not try tweaking the current trend, whatever that may be, in your own, unique way?

  1. Connect with as many fellow fashionistas as possible

Even in the fashion industry it is a case of who you know rather than what you know. This is unfortunate because, really, it should be the other way around. However, it’s not and the sooner you accept this, the better off you’ll be. And the sooner you begin to make vital fashion connections, the better off you’ll be too. Whether this means schmoozing the boss of your internship or entry level store job, or connecting with fashion designers as you climb higher up the ladder and attend networking events, you must do it. And you must do it even if you are prone to shyness.

  1. Always, always, always aim higher

Whether being the CEO of a fashion company is your life’s goal or not, in order to forge a career in the fashion industry you have to show yourself to be someone that always wants more. And to show you always want more, you should always be searching and applying for higher level jobs. There are a host of careers at Belk that suit this description perfectly. At the moment, the company has vacancies in all sort of high level roles: from Director of Brand Management to Sourcing Associate to Technical Designer. And these are the sorts of roles that you should set your sites on. Well, in any case, what’s the harm in applying?

If you are a lover of fashion and have a real passion for it, what’s stopping you from turning it into a profession? Certainly not advice on how to go about it, that’s for sure, because it’s all up there above. Maybe it’s because you’re scared that being in such close proximity to fashion at all times will force you to hate it? If this is the case, then you should know that the best and most amazing hack that every fashionista should know is that a career in fashion will provide them with on-tap clothing. If that’s not enough to entice you into the industry, then what is?