Monday, February 6, 2012

Cricut Cake Machine - How to Turn Edible Cake Decorations Into Cash

Cricut Cake Machine - How to Turn Edible Cake Decorations Into Cash-Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

Cake decorating tools just got easier with the Cricut Cake machine. Unlike it's popular cousin, it is specially designed with food safe plastic and stainless steel to decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and candy, just like a professional baker. It uses all the regular cartridges as well as new Cricut Cake cartridges. You just choose the shape and size of your design and press cut and in minutes your frosting, gum paste or fondant decorations are ready to apply to any dessert.

Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

You do not need to be a professional caterer to appreciate the possibilities the food grade die cutting machine opens up. Just think of your next dinner party and wowing your guests with a fantastically decorated buffet table filled with fancy hors d'oeuvres and finger sandwiches. The Cricut Cake can cut cheese, tortillas, cookie dough, gum, soft candy and chocolate paste for modeling.

Why not use the Cricut Cake personal cutter to make a few extra dollars. Creating custom one of a kind cakes for weddings, anniversaries and parties would be a snap with this cake decorating tool. People are always looking for something special, and your cakes would be something to remember, being the hit of any party.

Here are 5 tips to successful cake decorating with your Cricket Cake.

1. Using the right amount of shorting will prevent the frosting sheet from slipping or bunching up when being cut. Use a pastry brush and apply a thin transparent sheet on the cutting mat. If the shorting gets to warm just put the mat in the freezer for a couple of minutes. Make sure you apply shorting to the back of the frosting sheet as well as the mat, smoothing out all air bubbles.

2. Since you can not re-roll frosting sheets you will want to make every inch count. As long as the left over sheet is larger than 3" x 3" it is safe to reuse.

3. Always keep your cut shapes in a sealed bag until you are ready to use them to prevent them from drying out.

4. Never use flour when working with gum paste. Using cornstarch and powdered sugar will help your designs slide and stick.

5. For best results use gel based food coloring instead of the liquid food coloring drops when making edible cake decorations.

Use your imagination the sky's the limit. Don't be afraid to experiment. Start out with impressing family and friends with your hand crafted confections, who knows it my turn into a profitably hobby, paying for your Cricut Cake in no time. Happy eating, Bon appetit!

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Saturday, February 4, 2012

HCG Diet - Weight Loss Cure, How and When to Cheat, Intentionally Or Accidentally

HCG Diet - Weight Loss Cure, How and When to Cheat, Intentionally Or Accidentally-Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

What do you do, if you just have to have something extra to eat? It is always best to stick to the HCG Diet exactly, if you can. But if you must cheat, some ways are better than others. I've done the diet three times and learned a few things.

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1) First of all, try not to eat anything with sugar or starch. Sugar stimulates insulin and insulin turns it into fat. In "Pounds and Inches," Dr. Simeons cautions against eating sugar or starch during the three weeks just after doing the Hcg Diet. It's a big no-no during the diet, too. If you are wanting something extra to eat, you might be tempted by a donut someone brought into work, some chocolate, etc. But, read on and I have some suggestions.

2) Second, try to stay within the diet by eating something that is on it. I'll explain more in a second. Also, there are a few other foods you may not know about that are included at some Hcg Diet clinics.

3) Third, if you do cheat, try to pay attention to how whatever you eat satisfies. How do you feel after? (This is so you can be more prepared for the next time.) It is really good if you keep a food diary of just what you eat and how you are feeling. It is one of the best things you can do, so you can check your progress. You want to be able to look back and figure out what you did right on those days that you lost more than a pound a day and when you only lost half a pound. Sometimes it is really hard to figure out.

4) If you decide you must eat something totally not on the diet, you will be in effect doing a "loading day." (I don't recommend this!) I have done it, but it means it will be at least three days before you start losing weight again. If you must do this, then save it for a very special event and try not to do it more than once during your 23 or 40 days. This is intentional and planned and best of all you can tell yourself you are taking a day off or doing a loading day. It also works if you are in a stall or plateau.

5) Consider how much going off the diet will be costing you. Add up the costs for the diet plan, the hcg, the syringes, the alcohol wipes, the bottles of sterile water, shipping costs, etc., and divide the cost by 23 or 40 days and then multiply by 3 days and you will know what it costs you financially. If you go to a clinic or doctor, there is that cost, too.

6) Then there is the psychological cost. If you have to wait 3 days to see a new weight loss, it is very discouraging. Generally, if you eat anything not on the very specific diet, you will gain the next day. You'll lose the second, but it isn't until the third that you make new headway.

7) If you are set on having a candy bar, stop and think. Could you substitute a piece of watermelon? It would beat having a chocolate bar! And it can be quite satisfying. For those who are staying strictly on the Dr. Simeons diet, don't listen to this. It's just that I found out watermelon was allowed by a few Hcg Diet clinics. Also a few more fruits and vegetables.

8) One other thing that worked for me, when I felt hungry between meals. I would roll a bite or two of left over chicken into a leaf of lettuce like a sandwich and it made a good snack. Then I would cut back on the amount of meat (chicken, fish, etc.) at the next meal.

More hints: you may find some fat free, sugar free marinades and salad dressings. I like a fat free, sugar free dressing called Maple Grove Farms Raspberry Vinaigrette, that I get at Wal-Mart.

You can make yourself an iced coffee with Stevia. It's not quite like Starbucks, but you can try that. Also you may like to take your handful of strawberries and make a smoothie to drink. Just add water, ice and Stevia in your blender. You won't even be cheating!

9) To stay on the diet, I found that eating a sliced tomato or cucumber with salt and pepper between meals really helped to keep me going and on target with the next meal. You can even broil the tomato in the oven or toaster oven with some spices. I'm not sure why it was so satisfying. It is on the diet, and the few (fat free, sugar free) calories didn't seem to hinder my losing weight.

10) One last thing. When I got sick and tired of chicken or fish, occasionally I had a scrambled egg or hard boiled egg. Dr Simeons mentions in his manuscript, "Pounds and Inches, " about eggs for those who are vegetarians. I still kept losing just the same. I cooked the scrambled egg in a little water in a non-stick pan.

If you have read my other articles, then you know how I accidentally learned about eating salads, with more than one vegetable at a meal. I misunderstood and ate salads every single day and still lost weight really fast.

Remember that when you are taking Hcg, if you eat any calories over the 500 a day, that you will gain. It is the nature of Hcg. It only works to help you lose fat when you do the very low calorie diet, called VLCD. There is a great website that helps you calculate your calories, fat, proteins, etc. called fitday.com

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Friday, February 3, 2012

5 Tips For the Perfect Princess Party Menu - Birthday Party Food Ideas

5 Tips For the Perfect Princess Party Menu - Birthday Party Food Ideas-Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

You're ready... your princess has invited the belles of the ball to the finest Princess Birthday Party of the year. You've purchased decorations, planned a few games and have some lovely take home gifts for your guests. Now it's time to plan the finest menu for your royal princess and her court. Let's make it so fabulous that the girls will remember this day when they're planning their future daughter's parties and one that will make your princess throw her hands around your neck and say, "Oh mom! You're the best ever!"

Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

What follows are 5 tips for you in creating the menu of the decade for your princess birthday party.

1. Keep it simple. The last thing you need on a busy day is for you to be running around like crazy trying to make cherries flambé or tiramisu with crème fraise. However, with a little creative planning, you can make something spectacular and still be able to take photos of the lovely girls eating your birthday dainties. There are SO many recipes available at your fingertips that are not only delicious but easy to make with items you probably have in the house or can pick up in your local grocery store at minimal cost (another key!). One of my favorite recipe sites for quick recipes is freequickrecipes.com, or you can just punch a name of a recipe into your google search box and hundreds of recipes will pop up. Just keep it simple!

2. Presentation is everything. Think about it, mom. A peanut butter sandwich is nice, but, make that sandwich and cut it with petite cookie cutters into various princessly shapes and you have something spectacular. Even just cutting the sandwiches with a glass into a circle and then cutting the circles in half would work. Display them nicely on a glass plate with some red grapes or flowers and it's no longer just a boring sandwich but a delicacy that's a delight to look at AND eat.

3. Throw the "no sugar" rule out the window. Ok, I'll get hate mail for this one but c'mon mom! Your princess only has the bash of the century once a year, so break the rules a little and provide something sweet to eat. Balance it out with a lower sugar drink and other dainties that aren't sugar laden.

4. Make the drink pink! Pink lemonade, pink Kool-Aid, pink soda... anything pink in a clear plastic cup and you'll be the coolest mom on the block. Float a half of a strawberry in the cup and you may as well get a revolving door to your house. You'll be the hit of the neighborhood!

5. Work with a timeline and schedule for the day of the party. A checklist of what you'll be serving and when you need to pull it out of the freezer or fridge, what goes where, etc., and how long each thing takes will insure that you won't forget any of the details and insure that you won't go to open the fridge for a late night snack after your princess is in dream land and see the strawberries that you meant to put in the royal goblets.

The perfect, stress free Princess party menu is within reach, Mom. Just keep it simple, fancy, tasty and pink! Write out a checklist and you're all set for the finest party menu for your princess and her royal maidens.

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

How to Make the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

How to Make the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey-Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

When it comes to finding directions on how to make the perfect Thanksgiving turkey, suddenly everyone you know becomes an expert. Your neighbor, your mail carrier, your hairdresser, your car repairman (even though he's never cooked a turkey in his life) and last but not least your pest control man. Everyone has to put in their two cents worth on the subject. Well, I guess that means I'm in good company. Here are my instructions on how to cook the best Thanksgiving turkey you'll ever eat.

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Creating Perfect Flavor

I am going to let you in on a little secret. There is a method that the five star restaurants use to give their turkeys incredible flavor. What is it? It's called flavor brining. Yep, that's their secret. Historically, brining was done as a method of preserving. However, today it is used primarily as a vehicle to impart unbelievable flavor and moisture into a lean cut of meat.

Note: You should begin the brining process at a minimum of four days before you plan to cook your bird.

How to Brine Your Perfect Turkey

1. Purchase a 14 to 16 pound natural, young turkey. It should not be a self-basting or kosher turkey. These types of turkeys have a ton of added salt. Be careful to look at the ingredients on the turkey package and if it says it contains sodium or salt, keep looking for one without salt.

If your turkey is frozen, you will need to thaw it for at least two days before you begin the brining process. Remove the innards.

2. You will need a non-reactive, food-safe, 5-gallon plastic bucket large enough to fit your turkey with enough headroom for the brine to cover the turkey entirely by about one inch. Restaurant supply houses usually have these types of containers. You can also check with a local restaurant to see if they have a container like this that they are discarding. Be sure to clean it well with very hot soap and water before use.

3. To determine the amount of brine mixture you will need, put your turkey in the container and covering it with water. Remove the turkey and measure the remaining water. This is the amount you will need to make. Discard this water.

4. Place your thawed turkey (innards removed) neck cavity side up in the container and cover with it the brine (see recipe below). If you need to weigh your bird down, fill one or two large plastic zipper-type bag with ice and place them on top of the bird. This will also keep your bird at a cool temperature.

Refrigerate or place the bird in a cool place to brine for at least 12 hours or up to two days if desired. You can place the bird outside as long as the weather won't cause it to freeze and the lid is secure against pests and animals.

If you are concerned about the bird being too salty, stop after the 12 hour period. It is better to err on the side of caution.

5. When the brining process is complete, rinse the bird well inside and out to remove the excess salt, then pat it dry with a paper towel. Air dry the bird over-night in the refrigerator to let the skin dry. This will help in the crisping of the skin as it roasts. Stuff your turkey as usual and roast according to the instructions below.

The Perfect Brine Recipe

You may need to double this recipe in order to have enough to cover your bird. Additional spices such as allspice berries, crushed thyme leaves, sprigs of rosemary, cinnamon sticks, and candied ginger may be added to this mixture to create your own unique flavor.

Approximately 1 gallon of cold, no-salt vegetable stock or water.

1 cup of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (if using Morton's Kosher salt, use 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup of light brown sugar

1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed

7 fresh leaves sage, bruised

1 onion, sliced thinly

10 cloves of peeled, crushed garlic

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, sage, onion and garlic in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve all the solids and then bring to a boil. Remove the brine immediately from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Pour the mixture over the turkey and refrigerate or pace in a cool place.

Roasting Your Perfect Turkey

The goal in cooking a turkey is to get your bird cooked and beautifully browned without drying out the breast. Here's the problem: white meat cooks faster than dark meat. Traditionally, the bird is cooked breast-side up. This method causes the breast meat to cook quickly while the legs that are under the bird cook slowly. What you end up with is dried-out breast meat in order for the legs and thighs to be done properly.

So what is the answer you ask? Roast your turkey breast side down. Now before you brand me a heretic and have me burned at the stake, hear me out. Yes, this is not how your mother or grandmother did it but I am telling you, once you try this method you will never go back to cooking your turkey breast-side up again.

Why do it this way? Because when the breast meat in on the bottom, not only is it protected and cooks a little slower but all the juices that are in the turkey drain down into the breast making it moist, tender and juicy. Unless you have your heart set on a Norman Rockwell presentation at your Thanksgiving table, this is the best position in which to cook your bird. It may not look as pretty as the other, but who carves their turkey at the table anyway? We never do.

The last tip to the perfect turkey is to put your bird in the oven a leave it there until it is done. Calculate the amount of time that it will take to cook your bird, then put it in the oven and don't peek until the timer goes off. No basting is necessary. You don't need to baste if you cook the turkey breast-side down.

Roast your turkey at 325 degrees F. A 14 to 18 pound, unstuffed turkey will take approximately 3 3/4 hours to 4 1/2 hours.

For an unstuffed turkey, place the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, taking care that it does not touch any bone. Roast the turkey until the meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees F.

For a stuffed turkey, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the dressing. The center of the dressing inside the bird (or in a separate baking dish) must reach a temperature of 165 degrees F. for food safety.

After removing the turkey from the oven and before carving, allow the turkey to rest at least 20 minutes so that the juices settle within the meat, which will provide the meat with even more flavor and tenderness and will also make carving much easier.

Bon Appetite!

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Decorating Jars for Your Holiday Gifts

Decorating Jars for Your Holiday Gifts-Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

Use paint, labels, stencils, decoupage, and embellishments to make your jars look special. Match gifts and jar decorations to the person receiving the gift. Then attach a matching gift card to your jar.

Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

Use glass canning jars, glass bottles, old-fashioned wire bail jars, recycled jars, antique jars, or plastic storage jars. Jars must have tight fitting lids.

Sterilize Jars for Food Gifts

The jars you use to package food gifts should be glass and sterilized before use.
Check all jars for chips and cracks. If chipped or cracked, don't use for food. Use new lids. Wash with hot, soapy water; then rinse. To sterilize jars, place on a rack in a large pot and cover with water. Let water come to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from boiling water and let dry. Jars and lids can also be sterilized in your dishwasher.
Methods to Decorate Your Jars

Decorate With Paint

Always wash jar in hot soapy water to remove grease or residue.

Select a paint intended for use on the surface you are decorating. Read the label on the paint container to determine the paint's compatibility with your surface. This rule goes for painting on glass, metal lids, or plastic jars and lids.

Acrylic craft paints are not permanent and can be rubbed or washed off.
Acrylic Glass Paints are best for glass jars. They come in a wide variety of pre-mixed colors in convenient squeeze bottles to decorate your gift jars. These types of paints can be baked in a home oven to make them more durable and washable. (Read the label) To bake, let the paint dry on the jar for 48 hours. Place glass jar in a conventional oven (not preheated) and heat to 325 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow jar to cool in oven before removing. After baking painted jars can be hand washed. Washing in a dishwasher is not recommended. Air-Dry Enamel Paints for Glass are opaque, brush-on glass paints available that air dry to a high-gloss, waterproof finish. Choose a brand that is water-based and non-toxic. Paints for Plastic are brush-on paints especially formulated for adhering to plastic and dry to a durable, waterproof finish. Water-based types allow you to clean brushes and spills with soap and water. Paint Pens are available in craft shops and come in a wide selection of colors. They are great for detailing and simple jar decoration. Fabric Paints can be used for special effects like wording or facial features. Can also be used to decorate lids. They squeeze directly from the bottle.

Paint a design on the jar using pre-cut purchased stencils or a design you cut yourself from freezer paper. You can also paint the design on your jar free-hand. Draw the outline with a Sharpie Fine Point Permanent marker or paint free-hand. Use caution as the Sharpie marker will smudge on glass.

Decorate With Labels

Make paper labels created on your computer and then printed, or draw label on your choice of paper.

To give your labels an aged appearance spatter with brown acrylic paint thinned in water. Use an old tooth brush for spattering.

Lightly sponge the edges of the label using a dense foam sponge and the spattering mixture.

Allow labels to dry; then glue or decoupage to jar.

Decorate with Decoupage

Use Mod Podge Gloss Lustre decoupage medium for your jars.

Decoupage is done in three basic steps: cutting, gluing, and sealing.
Trim away excess paper from the image or picture you wish to use. Using a foam brush, lightly coat the back of the image with decoupage medium. Position the image on the surface and smooth it with your fingers, pushing out wrinkles and air bubbles. Allow to dry. Apply two or three coats of decoupage medium over the image with a foam brush to seal the paper. The image appears cloudy when wet, but will dry crystal clear.

Decoupaged jars can be wiped with a damp cloth to clean but cannot be washed in a
dishwasher or submerged in water.

You can create a paper collage jar using decoupage. A collage is a group of pictures or images layered and overlapped to form a display. Use printed photos, interesting paper, stamps, and stickers. Arrange the images by overlapping them for a decorative display. Attach and seal them with two or three coats of decoupage medium.

Decorate with Fabric

If you prefer not to decorate the outside of the glass or plastic jar, add decoration to the lid.

Cover the top of the jar lid with fabric or a small lace fabric or paper doily. Use holiday or gingham fabric cut with pinking sheers. Add three to four inches to the diameter dimension of the jar lid for coverage and decoration. A circular piece of batting can be used under the fabric for a stuffed appearance. A counted cross stitch design can also be used on top of the jar. Place the fabric over the lid on the jar or place over the lid seal and then add the screw-on band. Lace or braid can be glued around the band.

Embellishments

A variety of items can be used to embellish your decorated jar. Make your embellishment compliment the contents. If your gift jar contains a Gingerbread Cookie Mix attach a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Add a holiday cookie cutter to a Sugar Cookie Mix. Attach a tea ball or infuser to a jar of tea. Attach a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or wire whisk to other mixes.

Make a tag or card to coordinate with the jar decoration or contents and attach with a ribbon or raffia.

Embellishments include ribbon, holiday garlands, gold braid or cord, raffia, lace, buttons, beads, charms, tassels, or bandanas.

Choosing Glues

For gluing items to jars, silicon-based glue for glass works best. It also works well for gluing wood to glass, metal to glass, or plastic to glass. It can also be used to attach items to metal or wooden lids. Silicone-based glue dries slowly so you will have to prop the jar carefully until the glue is dry.

A glue gun can be used for attaching light objects such as ribbon to the jar for instant hold.

White craft glue is used for gluing unbaked polymer pieces to a jar or lid before baking in the oven.

Gift Jar Contents

Use your imagination and consider who the gift is for when deciding on the contents. Food mixes are very popular. Gift jars can also contain sewing notions, keep sakes, games, snack foods such as trail mix, nuts n' bolts or chex mix, candied nuts, candied popcorn, Christmas candy or jelly beans, coffee, tea, flavored vinegars and oils in glass bottles, potpourri or fragrance gel, bath salts, and a baked cake-in-a-jar.

If you plan to give a food mix, first choose the recipe and ingredients. Food mixes often look better when the ingredients for the mix are layered in the jar. The recipient can mix the ingredients before using them.

If you plan to give a mix you will need:
A small bottle to tamp down the ingredients as you layer or place them in the jar. A canning funnel or piece of card stock to make a simple funnel for filling jars. Paper towels to wipe powdery ingredients off inside of jar.
Tips for Packing Food Ingredients

Layer ingredients in the jar in the order given in the recipe. Wipe down the sides of the jar with a clean paper towel after adding powdery ingredients such as sugar, cocoa, or flour before adding the next ingredient for a better appearance. Pack down all ingredients firmly as they are added. If you don't, you won't have enough space to fit in all the ingredients. Generally, a quart holds 6 cups of packed down ingredients; a pint jar holds 3 cups of packed down ingredients. If ingredients do not come to top of the jar, fill space with crumpled plastic wrap or waxed paper to prevent the ingredients from shifting and mixing. After packing ingredients into jar, seal with the lid. Attach a card with the recipe, instructions, a list of any additional ingredients, and a holiday greeting.
Baked Cake-in-a-Jar

Use a pint-sized wide-mouth canning jar with a two-part lid (flat seal and screw-on band) when baking a cake-in-a-jar. The wide mouth allows the cake to slide out of jar. Choose a cake-in-a-jar recipe or adjust your favorite cake recipe to make in jars. Place one cup of prepared cake mix in pint jar. Bake according to directions. Jars and lids must be sterilized before using. (Use new lids) Bake cake and add lid as soon as cake is removed from oven. Carefully place flat seal on top of jar and then the screw-on band. Jar is very hot so do not burn yourself. Allow jar to cool and then test to make sure the jar is sealed. If the cake does not seal properly, eat cake, refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat. The sealed jars of cake can be stored without refrigeration for up to two months. Attach a tag with the name of the cake and that says, "Best eaten before (two months from date the cake was baked)."

Give yourself plenty of time to decorate your gift jars and plan the contents for each person on your Christmas list. Fill the jars, then sit back and relax. Sip a cup of hot spiced cider and enjoy the holidays.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Pregnant Women Go Nuts - For Coconuts!

Pregnant Women Go Nuts - For Coconuts!-Cookie Recipes

In many tropical countries, coconuts have long been lauded as having fertility and pregnancy enhancing properties. In India, for example, a woman hoping to conceive will go to her priest for a special coconut; Thai babies receive, as their first solid food, three spoonfuls of soft coconut meat from their priests; a Balinese woman is forbidden to touch a coconut tree for fear she will drain its fertility into her own; and pregnant women from tropical countries consume large amounts of coconut water, hoping to increase their unborn child's strength and vitality.

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Folklore aside, there is now scientific evidence of the numerous health benefits of coconuts. While these health-boosting properties extend to everyone, they can be particularly beneficial to pregnant women. Here are some of the amazing ways the coconut can be a pregnant woman's best friend:

o It alleviates vomiting - coconut water has long been used as a remedy for typhoid, malaria and other illness-induced vomiting. Thus, it should also help mitigate a bad case of morning sickness.

o It soothes the stomach - in addition to offering some relief from vomiting, coconut water can quell a queasy tummy and lessen the symptoms of nausea.

o Virgin coconut oil balances blood sugar and controls diabetes - this also helps keep morning sickness in check and offers some protection against gestational diabetes, a potentially dangerous condition common among pregnant women.

o It alkalizes the body - high in potassium, magnesium and other alkalizing minerals, coconut water can help to create an environment more conducive to conception and perhaps even reduce the risk of miscarriage.

o It keeps the body hydrated - nature's "sports drink", coconut water replaces fluids and minerals lost during physical exertion as well as those extra needed to help support pregnancy and expanding blood volume. Dehydration can be particularly threatening during pregnancy.

o It is a mild laxative - drinking moderate amounts of coconut water can help to keep things running smoothly and relieve the constipation so common during pregnancy.

o It cleanses the kidneys and offers protection against UTI's - Urinary Tract Infections are very common during pregnancy and can be dangerous if antibiotics are not used to treat them. Best to avoid them all together!

o It keeps the body cool - with excess weight, progesterone, and anxiety, it's easy to get overheated during pregnancy. Drinking coconut water helps to regulate body temperature and keep you cool.

o It is great for skin - virgin coconut oil can be applied to soothe the dry, itchy skin associated with pregnancy; it may also help to reduce the occurrence of stretch marks; and, when applied to the perineum in the weeks leading up to labor, can help reduce tearing during birth. Coconut water applied to the face helps to clear blackheads and acne that many women experience with the surge of hormones during pregnancy.

o It boosts the immune system - virgin coconut oil is comprised of nearly 50% lauric acid, which has been shown to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. This can help protect a mother-to-be from a host of potentially threatening infections as well as boost her immunity, which is naturally weakened during pregnancy.

o It promotes healthy lactation - the only other significant source of lauric acid is human breast milk. Research has shown that lactating mothers who consume virgin coconut oil and other coconut products have higher levels of lauric and capric acids in their breast milk; this increases its antimicrobial and immune boosting properties, while promoting both brain and bone development in the infant. Since the body stores lauric acid in the adipose tissues, consuming coconut during pregnancy may also help to ensure successful lactation.

With all that in mind, pregnant women would be nuts not to go for coconuts!

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

What is a "Normal" Bowel Movement?

What is a "Normal" Bowel Movement?-SUGAR

With every new exam I ask the same question...

SUGAR

"How many bowel movements do you have each day? Do you see any mucous, blood, diarrhea or constipation?"

Feces, crap, stools, shit, poop, manure, Bm, #2, dung, droppings, and bowel contents are all the same thing. I use all these terms as sometimes my clients don't know what feces or stool is. If I can't delineate with my clients, I can't help them.

Feces contains water, indigestible fiber, undigested food, sloughed off intestinal cells, living and dead bacteria, bile, and worn out red blood cells. A general stool should be brown to light brown, formed but not hard or too soft, cylindrical but not flattened on any side, fairly bulky and full bodied but not compact, easy to pass, and it shouldn't have an very foul smell. Each bowel movement should be in one piece, about the size and shape of a banana being tapered at the end. Sometimes this will not be discernable if the feces breaks up in the toilet. Some people feel that if the body is exciting all the minerals from the food that the stool will float. Others believe that the stool should sink. I think the important thing is that there are no air bubbles in the stool and that it doesn't drop like a brick in the toilet. It should be somewhere in between.

An occasional deviation from this pattern is acceptable. Any chronic deviation from the above pattern is not salutary and should be dealt with.

It's astounding how many people don't even look at their stools in the toilet. It's so important. Stools can delineate a lot about your condition if you learn to read them. Digestion happens. It's a shame that few of us are unable to talk about them without embarrassment. For instance:

o Air or bubbles in the stool can mean that we have a gut or flora imbalance and that gas producing bacteria are overgrown and contentious with the healthier flora.

o Alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation can be cause by irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, red meat, spices, sugar, alcohol, stress, lack of fiber, irregular bowel habits.

o Color: Stools are regularly the color of the food.

o Constipation can occur important to impaction--the nearnessy in the rectum of a mass of feces too large to pass. Fecal impaction is regularly the follow of poor bowel habits, a diet with too itsybitsy liquid and roughage, too much protein and inadequate corporeal activity.

o Diarrhea, whether acute or chronic, can disrupt the bowel's general rhythm and lead to irregularity. It can mean that your large intestine is not functioning properly. The large intestine is in fee of removing excess water from the feces. Rule outs can comprise food poisoning, lactose intolerance, anxiety, stress, too many antacids, antibiotics, parasites like Giardia or Coccidia, Balantidia, Coccidoidiomycosis or other parasites, viruses, bacterial overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. A salutary bowel will take about a quart and a half and harden it down to 1 cup of stool. That's pretty amazing.

o Frank red blood (obvious exciting red bleeding) can be a sign of hemorrhoids, colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer or be caused from impacted stools passing through the rectum telling us we need to drink more water.

o Horrible smelling stools--too much protein, flora imbalance.

o If the stools are black, tarry and sticky (called melena), this can mean that there is bleeding from the small intestine. These types of stools regularly have a distinctive bad odor. If you've ever smelled a dog with Parvo, corona or rotavirus, you know what I mean.

o Light green stools--Too much sugar, fruits or vegetables and not enough grains or salt (or in the case of animals, too much grass)Mucous can delineate diverticulitis and gut inflammation due to allergies or parasites.

o Oily or greasy finding stools that regularly float and can be large can mean that your pancreas or small intestine are not functioning well enough and not releasing enough digestive enzymes. general stools are about 1% fat. When this division increases to about 7%, the stool will look oily and greasy. This is called steatorrhea. High fat meals can cause this to happen but should be temporary.

o Pale or clay colored stools can mean that your gallbladder or liver is not working correctly.

o Pencil thin or ribbon-like stools can mean you have a polyp or growth on the inside of the colon or rectum.

o nearnessy of food: If the stool breaks up of course and you can see bits and pieces of the food you ate, maybe you are not chewing your food completely enough. This can cause Gerd, acid reflux, abdominal bloating and diarrhea.

o Red or magenta stools-- ingestion of beets.

o Very dark stools: Too much red wine, too much salt in the diet, not enough vegetables. Blueberries, Pepto Bismol (the bismuth in it) and iron pills can also be responsible for dark stools.

Normal bowel habits not only enhance the potential of life, they help prevent some common diseases--for example, diverticulitis and fecal impaction. Gall stones, appendicitis, colon cancer, hiatal hernia, diabetes, and heart disease have also been associated to the potential of bowel movements and the foods that sway them.

Number of bowel movements: salutary bowel performance is determined one or two movements of moderate size every day. Every other day or once or twice a week bowel movements can harm you because the bowel contents release toxins back into the body through the mucous membranes. You've got to keep that waste moving!

Fecal incontinence (uncontrollable diarrhea) should be dealt with by a professional. Often with this particular symptom (and irritable bowel syndrome) I will pick up a bowel parasite. A bottle or two of Bowel Pathogen Nosode drops does an awesome job most of the time in clearing up these cases.

Healthy bowel habits:

There is regularly a time of day when bowel movements are more likely to occur. In expectation of this time, the patient should share in activities that stimulate a general bowel movement. It is also important for the patient to identify the urge to defecate and to talk right away to that urge. The longer stool sits in the rectum, the more water the rectum will suck in from it, production it harder and more difficult to pass.

The urge to defecate is often strongest in the morning: Just getting up triggers the movement of the large intestine. The stomach also sends a signal when it expands after a meal. This gastrocolic reflex is the theorize many people, and especially children, need to go to the bathroom soon after eating. The reflex gets weaker with age, which is one source of constipation problems and the theorize why good and consistent bowel habits are helpful.

Laxatives: Some patients are so convinced they need daily laxatives that they are afraid to do without them. It takes time for a changed diet to sway the bowels and for the bowel to derive its general rhythm. Be patient. Enemas are a good solution.

Healthy bowel movements need ingestion of a large number of liquids and bulk foods. The patient should drink two to three quarts of liquids every day. Bulk comes from unrefined foods. Oat bran, wheat bran, brown rice, green vegetables, apples, and pears are a few examples of high residue, high fiber foods.

Some patients will advantage from adding bulk preparations of psyllium, but others find that psyllium will cause ultimate amounts of gas. For these people, the addition of Whole flax seeds (eat without chewing them) and bran will help. And one particular 8-ounce cup of coffee in the morning often helps people get a regular bowel movement.

Natural Laxatives include:

o Anti-Constipation Paste

o Coffee

o Dss (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate)

o Glycerine suppositories

o Nature's Sunshine Lbs Ii (excellent)

o Oil enemas

o Prune juice

o Saline purges

Fleet enemas are used only for people and dogs. They are very toxic to cats and can kill them. These are Ok to use occasionally, but the other enemas we are talking about are good for healing purposes.

Soap suds enemas can be a itsybitsy harsh to the intestine. Use these only occasionally if necessary

Some Notes on Intestinal Bacteria Replacement: Inside a salutary lower intestine are billions of useful intestinal bacteria or microflora. These bacteria are of the Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bifidus strains and were transferred by breast-feeding into our intestines as newborn infants. The body uses L. Acidophilus and L. Bifidus in the final stages of digestion reproducing themselves as essential to keep in total harmony with the body.

When the good bacteria can't keep up, bad bacteria overpopulate the gut to give a gut flora imbalance resulting in lower bowel diseases, gas, diarrhea, Ibs, and Crohn's. The devitalizing follow caused by harmful bacteria in the intestine is rarely diagnosed near the beginning of this imbalance. Headaches, skin infections, weakness and constipation can also be symptoms of depleted intestinal bacteria.

What Causes A Gut Flora Imbalance?

o Toxins, especially drugs such as antibiotics and narcotics.

o Severe diarrhea can damage or destroy these useful bacteria, allowing harmful bacteria to take over producing by-products like ammonia, purines and ethionine, which can ultimately cause colon cancer.

o Fasting can also deplete the useful bacteria because large quantities of toxins are dumped from the lymph glands into the colon at the time of the fast. Also during a fast, with confident diets and with eating disorders, there is an absence of foods that the good bacteria thrive on.

o Using enemas also depletes the useful bacteria, especially if chlorinated water is used.

To reestablish intestinal bacteria, do a concentrate enemas with liquid acidophilus or live acidophilus. These products should be stored and purchased refrigerated. Off-the-shelf products are not so effective for replacing gut flora. You can also mix a concentrate tablespoons of active plain yogurt to your enema mix along with a tablespoon of the liquid acidophilus. Add some warm water, but do not heat the combination or use chlorinated water. After blending the mixture, pour it into the enema bag. Use less water for these types of enemas (only 1-2 cups) and try to retain the liquid within the colon for ten minutes to allow the useful bacteria to pass up through the intestine. This policy will ensure that a salutary culture will propagate within the intestines.

You can also start adding L. Acidophilus and L. Bifidus to your foods a day or two before you break a fast. Use repeat dosages as per bottle instructions once a week for about 5 weeks.

Fos (Fructooligosaccharides) are also good for reestablishing gut flora. These are long-chain sugars that feed cordial flora. You can purchase this in concentrated pill form or eat lots of apples, Jerusalem artichokes, or pears. These foods have high amounts of Fos in them.

Well...That's the scoop on poop. (Some people take things so seriously.)

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Why Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Why Chocolate for Valentine's Day?-Cookie Recipes

Valentine's Day is many things to different people- a chance to start new relationships, rekindle old ones, or remind that special someone how wonderful they really are. Others feel it is just another "Hallmark" holiday where they are expected to do something for unknown reasons. Regardless of your hopes, expectations, or reservations about Valentine's Day, chocolate has long been a favorite gift for lovers.

Cookie Recipes

Since the days of the Aztecs chocolate has been used as a gift. Today a box of luxurious quality chocolate says a thousand "thank you's", "good luck", or "I love you". Chocolate can be given as a way of saying "congratulations", "I am sorry" or "get well soon". On Valentine's Day chocolate clearly says "I LOVE YOU!" Chocolate is more than food, it not only fills your belly but also makes you feel soooo good. Elaine Sherman wrote "Chocolate is heavenly, mellow, sensual, deep, dark, sumptuous, gratifying, potent, dense, creamy, seductive, suggestive, rich, excessive, silky, smooth, luxurious, celestial. Chocolate is downfall, happiness, pleasure, love, ecstasy, fantasy ... chocolate makes us wicked, guilty, sinful, healthy, chic, happy." What more could you want to say to your lover on Valentines Day? Even the scientific name for the tree from which chocolate is derived, Theobroma cacao, translated from Greek, means "food of the gods".

Why does chocolate evoke so many feelings and emotions for us? Chocolate has long been associated with passion, romance and love. This association may go all the way back to the Aztecs. They believed chocolate was a source of spiritual wisdom, incredible energy and elevated sexual power. Chocolate was widely used as a nuptial aid and was widely served at wedding ceremonies. The Aztecs did not know chocolate as we do today; they consumed the cocoa as a drink. Reports indicate that the Emperor Montezuma consumed large quantities of the drink every day and always fortified himself with a cup before entertaining his harem. The explorer Cortes reported to Carlos I of Spain that chocolate is "... the divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink enables a man to walk for a whole day without food." From the earliest times, chocolate was considered a substance of power and a source of vitality.

Chocolate has been a subject of study since the first shipment from Veracruz arrived in Spain in 1585. But modern science has made some interesting findings that may help explain our lust for quality chocolate. Chocolate contains organic substances known as alkaloids. The most important of these substances is theobromine, which works as a stimulant to the kidneys. Stimulants in chocolate also affect the central nervous system, with effects similar to caffeine, which is also present in chocolate. A chocolate bar may contain as much as 200 mg of theobromine but only about 25 mg of caffeine. Another important substance found in chocolate is phenylethylamine, which is part of a group of chemicals known as endorphins. Endorphins have an effect similar to amphetamine and are found naturally in the human body. When endorphins are released into the bloodstream, the mood is lifted and feelings of positive energy are reached. The sensation known as "runners high" is caused by endorphins released during exercise. Phenylethylamine levels in the brain have also been linked to "falling in love". One more chemical found in chocolate is seratonin. Seratonin is known for its calming properties. The presence of these chemicals may explain the multitude of feelings chocolate evokes.

Debra Waterhouse, author of Why Women Need Chocolate, conducted a survey and found: 97% of women reported cravings, 68% of which are for chocolate, 50% would choose chocolate over sex, and 22% were more likely than men to choose chocolate as a mood elevator. These findings could easily be interpreted as a result of how chocolate makes us feel. I don't know why more women choose chocolate than men, for I am a man and I love chocolate.

Critics would say that the benefits of eating chocolate are small when compared to the sugar and fat contained in a chocolate bar. The best chocolate, dark chocolate with high cacao butter content has no added fat, as well as a high percentage of cacao solids and correspondingly less sugar. Although chocolate will never be considered a health food based on its nutritional value, it is still good for you! Good for your heart and soul-anything that helps relieve stress and makes you feel so good must be.

Receiving a nicely wrapped box of chocolates causes a sense of anticipation. The pleasure of unwrapping the box, the sensual smell, lifting the soft seductive papers, the look of the smooth dark chocolates. When it finally passes your lips and starts to instantly melt filling your mouth with exquisite pleasure. The taste and smell flood your senses with overwhelming ecstasy. Eating it slowly, taking time to enjoy and savor every bit. What better way to start off an evening of love?

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Friday, January 13, 2012

How Sugar Makes You Fat

How Sugar Makes You Fat

Look at how many grams of sugar are in what you're eating (on the nutritional label). Now divide that number by 4. That's how many teaspoons of pure sugar you're consuming. Kinda scary, huh? Sugar makes you fat and fat-free food isn't really free of fat. I've said it before in multiple articles, but occasionally, I've had someone lean over my desk and say "How in the heck does sugar make you fat if there's no fat in it?". This article will answer that puzzler, and provide you with some helpful suggestions to achieve not only weight loss success, but improved body health.

First, let's make some qualifications. Sugar isn't inherently evil. Your body uses
sugar to survive, and burns sugar to provide you with the energy necessary for life.
Many truly healthy foods are actually broken down to sugar in the body - through
the conversion of long and complex sugars called polysaccharides into short and
simple sugars called monosaccharides, such as glucose. In additions to the
breakdown products of fat and protein, glucose is a great energy source for your
body.

However, there are two ways that sugar can sabotage your body and cause fat
storage. Excess glucose is the first problem, and it involves a very simple concept.
Anytime you have filled your body with more fuel than it actually needs (and this is
very easy to do when eating foods with high sugar content), your liver's sugar
storage capacity is exceeded. When the liver is maximally full, the excess sugar is
converted by the liver into fatty acids (that's right - fat!) and returned to the
bloodstream, where is taken throughout your body and stored (that's right - as fat!)
wherever you tend to store adipose fat cells, including, but not limited to, the
popular regions of the stomach, hips, butt, and breasts.

As an unfortunate bonus, once these regions are full of adipose tissue, the fatty
acids begin to spill over into your organs, like the heart, liver, and kidneys. This
reduces organ ability, raises blood pressure, decreases metabolism, and weakens
the immune system.

Not good!

Excess insulin is the second problem. Insulin is a major hormone in the body, and is
released in high levels anytime you ingest what would be considered a "simple"
carbohydrate, which would include, but not be limited to: fruit juice, white bread,
most "wheat" bread (basically white bread with a little extra fiber), white rice, baked
white potato, bagels, croissants, pretzels, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, waffles,
corn chips, cornflakes, cake, jelly beans, sugary drinks, Gatorade, beer, and
anything that has high fructose corn syrup on the nutritional label.

Two actions occur when the insulin levels are spiked. First, the body's fat burning
process is shut down so that the sugar that has just been ingested can be
immediately used for energy. Then, insulin takes all that sugar and puts it into your
muscles. Well, not quite! Actually, most of us, except those random Ironman
triathletes and 8000-calories-per-day exercisers, walk around with fairly full energy
stores in the muscles. As soon as the muscles energy stores are full, the excess
sugars are converted to fat and, just like the fatty acids released from the liver,
stored as adipose tissue on our waistline.

But that's not all. After the blood sugar has been reduced by going into the muscles
or being converted to fat in the liver, the feedback mechanism that tells the body to
stop producing insulin is slightly delayed, so blood sugar levels fall even lower,
below normal measurements. This causes 1) an immediate increase in appetite,
which is usually remedied by eating more food; 2) the production of a stress
hormone called cortisol. Cortisol triggers the release of stored sugar from the liver
to bring blood sugar levels back up, which, combined with the meal you eat from
your appetite increase, begins the entire "fat storage, metabolic decrease" process
over again.

This process of destabilizing blood sugar levels and sending your body on a roller
coaster ride can occur throughout an entire day, week, or month. The excessive
cortisol that accumulates in the body eventually distresses your hormonal system
and results in other problems, including a further decrease in metabolism, obesity,
depression, allergies, immune weakness, chronic fatigue syndrome and other
serious side effects.

So what kind of carbohydrates can you eat to avoid de-stabilizing blood sugar
levels, constantly sabotaging your weight loss, and spending hundreds of thousands
of dollars in health care as you get older? Here is a list of carbohydrates do not
trigger such a strong insulin response and instead provide long-term, stabilized
energy: apples, oranges, pears, plums, grapes, bananas (not overly ripened),
grapefruit, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat spaghetti and egg fettuccine, whole-
wheat pasta, bran cereal, barley, bulgur, basmati, Kashi and other whole grains,
beans, peas (especially chick and black-eyed), lentils, whole corn, sweet potatoes,
yams, milk, yogurt (preferably low-fat or fat-free) and soy. Stay away from
processed and packaged foods as much as possible, because they are highly likely
to include artificial sweeteners (which basically have a similar effect as sugar), as
well as simple and refined sugars. Keep your eye out for ingredients that include
sucrose, maltose, dextrose, fructose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, ribose, xylose,
deoxyribose, lactose, and other fake names for sugars. Even "healthy" juice and
many health food products will need to be avoided if they contain high levels of
sugar.

If you need more help with your diet, just let me know. Feel free to e-mail
elite@pacificfit.net, and I'll give you some suggestions on how a personal trainer can
help you with your nutrition. My new book, Shape21, includes 21 days of nutritional
intake that completely stabilizes blood sugar levels, which, when combined with the
perfect exercise program that I've detailed in the book, leaves you with a lean,
athletic body. You can check it out at my website, http://www.pacificfit.net, or at a gym
near you. E-mail elite@pacificfit.net for more information.

How Sugar Makes You Fat Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction

Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction

In recent years it appears there is a rising epidemic of people suffering from chronic digestive and autoimmune conditions. Food intolerance or sensitivities may lie at the root of the problem. Most people, including doctors, have little clue how foods they eat may be contributing to their chronic illness, fatigue and digestive symptoms.

There are, however, a lot of clues in the medical literature and the lay public's experience about how foods are causing and/or contributing to the current epidemic of chronic illness and autoimmune disease. There are several diets being used by many people with varying success to improve their health despite a general lack of iron clad scientific proof for their effectiveness. One of the clues to the cause and relief of food induced illness may lie in proteins known as lectins that are present in all foods.

Animal and plant sources of food both contain complex proteins known as lectins. These proteins typically have the ability to attach to sugars or carbohydrates on the surface of human cells. Some of these proteins can cause clumping of human red blood cells, a process that is called agglutination. The process of agglutination occurs when someone receives the wrong blood type during a blood transfusion. In fact, red blood cell agglutination specific to each person or groups of people is the basis for testing for blood types. There is some data that blood types may influence how people respond to certain foods though a blood type specific diet appears to have been disproven. The attachment or binding of certain food lectins can initiate a variety of cell specific effects. These reactions may mimic hormones or cause changes in cells. This is termed molecular mimicry.

Most plants contain lectins, some of which are toxic, inflammatory, or both. Many of these plant and dairy lectin are resistant to cooking and digestive enzymes. Grain lectins, for example, are quite resistant to human digestion but well suited for ruminants like cattle who have multi-chambered stomachs. Therefore, lectins are present in our food and are often resistant to our digestion and some have been scientifically shown to have significant GI toxicity in humans. Others have been shown to be beneficial and maybe even cancer protecting. Either way plant and animal proteins are foreign proteins to the body and are dealt with by digestion and our immune system in a positive or negative manner.

The human digestive system was created to handle a variety of plant and animal proteins through the process of digestion and elimination. Some plant and animal proteins or lectins are severely toxic to humans and cannot be eaten without causing death like those in Castor beans and some mushrooms. Other foods must be prepared before they are safe to be eaten. Preparations may include pealing, prolonged soaking and cooking like kidney beans. Other foods may be poorly tolerated because of a genetic predisposition or underlying pre-existing food allergy or intolerance. Others are tolerated to some degree or quantity but not in large amounts or on a frequent basis. People who are intolerant to the milk sugar lactose, because of inherited or acquired deficiency in lactase enzyme, may tolerate small amounts but may have severe bloating, gas, abdominal pain and cramps with explosive diarrhea when a large amount of lactose containing foods are eaten. Foods can become intolerable to some people after their immune system changes or gut is injured from another cause.

Of the food lectins, grain/cereal lectins; dairy lectins; and legume lectins (especially peanut lectin and soybean lectin) are the most common ones associated with reports of aggravation of inflammatory and digestive diseases in the body and improvement of those diseases and/or symptoms when avoided. Recent research by Loren Cordain PhD., has suggested that these lectins may effectively serve as a "Trojan horse" allowing intact or nearly intact foreign proteins to invade our natural gut defenses and enter behind the lines to cause damage well beyond the gut, commonly in joints, brain, and skin of affected individuals. Once damage occurs to the gut and the defense system is breached the result is what some refer to as a "leaky gut". Moreover, many people who develop a "leaky gut" not only have gut symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain but also other symptoms beyond the gut, or extra-intestinal symptoms. Commonly affected areas are the brain or peripheral nerves, skin, joints, and various body glands. With continued exposure of the gut by these toxic food lectins a persistent stimulation of the body's defense mechanism in a dysfunctional manner, occurs, i.e. autoimmune disease.

Wrong types or levels of good and bad bacteria in the gut, or intestinal dysbiosis, may contribute to this process of abnormal stimulation of the immune system. Research supports the strong possibility that such stimulation may be accentuated by interaction of the bacteria with food lectins. It is believed by some that this may further worsen gut injury and autoimmune disease. This latter concept is gaining acceptance and recognition by doctors in one form as the hygiene theory. It is speculated that our gut bacteria have become altered by increased hygiene and over use of antibiotics and that this phenomenon may be playing a significant role in the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, and chronic intestinal diseases like Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Lectins as a cause however are largely being ignored in the U.S. though the field of lectinology and lectins role in disease is more accepted internationally. Avoidance of certain food lectins may be helpful in achieving health and healing of chronic gut injury. Healing of a "leaky gut" and avoidance of ongoing abnormal stimulation of the immune system by toxic food lectins and bacteria in the gut is the basis for ongoing research and probable success of several popular diets such as the paleo diet, carbohydrate specific diet and gluten-free/casein-free diet. More research is needed in this exciting but often neglected area. The Food Doc, LLC features a website http://www.thefooddoc.com that will provide physician authored information on food intolerance, sensitivity and allergy such as lectin, gluten, casein, and lactose intolerance with dietary guidance that will feature in the near future an online symptom assessment and diet-diary.

Copyright 2006, The Food Doc, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.thefooddoc.com

Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

How Does the Body Process Sugar?

How Does the Body Process Sugar?

Simple sugars are one of the two forms of carbohydrates. (The other sphere of carbohydrates would be starches) Simple sugars come in the form of processed/refined sugars which would be found in junk food or in a natural form which would be found in fruits. Clearly, junk food sugars are more problematic than natural sugars although both are essentially processed the same way. Actually, the same could be said of starches since the body will break them down into simple sugars in the bloodstream.

Ultimately, when sugars are released into the bloodstream, there will be a clear effect on the system. Specifically, the pancreas will react to the presence of sugar by releasing a hormone known as insulin. It is insulin that is employed to move sugar through the bloodstream and to the cellular level.

What is so important about sugar that is needed by the cells? Basically, sugar is a source of energy. When the body needs to expend energy, it will employ the sugars in the cells to deliver such a response. This is why the low carbohydrate diet yields such an effective weight loss impact. With little or no sugar in the system, the body will have to burn protein and stored fat for energy. Hence, fat cells are metabolized by the body.

This brings up another point that bears mentioning. When you ingest a diet that is very high in sugar content and you do not burn it, the excess turns to fat and it can turn to fat rapidly. This is why refined sugars are so guilty of causing obesity. Such sugars are loaded with calories which mean they require a lot of energy to burn off. Since it is extremely difficult to burn them off, excess always remains. That, in turn, means there will be a lot of excess calories that turn to stored fat.

Natural carbohydrates and sugars are lower in calories and they do not break down and flood the bloodstream as quickly. That means they are not as guilty of promoting excess weight gain as the other sugars.

Regardless of the type of sugars that you ingest, it is best to never overdo it. This is because a diet that is loaded with sugar will mean the bloodstream will be flooded with insulin. This can lead to problems such as heart disease and diabetes over time. This is most definitely a serious issue which is why people need to pay attention to the effects of sugar on the body and to curtail eating sugars to excess.

How Does the Body Process Sugar? Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Monday, January 9, 2012

Deadly Chinese Diet Pills

Deadly Chinese Diet Pills

In the mad rush to lose weight, some people ignore common sense even though we've been told again and again that it takes time, discipline, and commitment to create a better body. This explains the appeal of over-the-counter diet pills that offer shortcuts to a new you.

Diet pills are available at the local drugstore, supermarket or health food store and many can be purchased online. But are these products safe and effective? Your friend, neighbor or favorite celebrity will probably tell you they are, after all they're using the product themselves.

However, bear in mind that these products are sold as supplements not drugs. As such, manufacturers don't have to prove anything or pass government standards of safety and efficacy. This means they are free to make extravagant claims often at the expense of the consumer.

"Dietary supplements and weight-loss aids aren't subject to the same rigorous standards as are prescription drugs or medications sold over-the-counter. Thus, they can be marketed with limited proof of effectiveness or safety. Vendors can make health claims about products based on their own review and interpretation of studies without the authorization of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the FDA can pull a product off the market if it's proved dangerous," according to the MayoClinic.com.

Sadly, when a product is pulled off the shelves, it is often too late. Take the case of Singaporean actress Andrea de Cruz whose story was reported in Time magazine:

"By a mother's standards, Andrea De Cruz didn't need to lose weight. But show business imposes strict requirements on appearance, and when the dial on the Singaporean TV actress's bathroom scales spun to more than 48 kilos, De Cruz started taking a Chinese diet pill named Slim 10 that she purchased from a colleague. Two months later, De Cruz, 28, was near death, unconscious in a hospital in Singapore," said Lisa Takeuchi Cullen in her story "Asia's Killer Diet Pills."

To survive, De Cruz underwent an emergency liver transplant. Today, she is still living although she needs immunosuppressants that leave her weak and vulnerable to other illnesses. But not everyone who takes over-the-counter diet pills are as "lucky."

"Nobody knows how many are buying untested products of dubious efficacy - certainly consumers number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. At their most harmless, the products are a waste of time, money and good intentions. Some, however, are proving to be deadly. Over the past two years, seven women in Japan, Singapore and China have died due to the toxicity of the substances they ingested in the hope of shedding offending kilograms. From differing ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds and ranging in age from 16 to 60, the women had one thing in common: like De Cruz, they were all taking Chinese-made diet pills containing a variant of fenfluramine, an appetite suppressant that has been banned in the U.S. since 1997 for damaging heart valves. Doctors and health officials in Asia now believe the newer compound, called N-nitroso fenfluramine, can cause liver failure," Cullen added.

There are no shortcuts to losing weight. To achieve your desired goal, you have to exercise, eat smaller portions, and plan your meals carefully to include healthy food choices that have fewer calories. If you're tempted to try diet pills, read the labels carefully. One safe brand that will help you lose weight without side effects is Zylorin - a product that speeds up your metabolism, curbs your appetite, helps control sugar levels, and gives you the energy you need to do what you want. For more information, visit http://www.zylorin.com.

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Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review

When you want to lose weight it can be very hard to find recipes that are as nice as your mother used to make, but not quite so fattening. With 200 recipes, this book holds out a lot of promise for diabetics or people like me who want to lose weight. Now, by sugar-free it doesn't mean that the food produced will be entirely sugar-free, merely that you don't add unnatural sugars.

My first impressions of this book are great. It looks good, and is certainly easy to read. The instructions are, I think, also very easy to follow. As cookbooks go it is also reasonably entertaining.

The recipes cover all the main meals, and even some snacks to keep you going through the long day.

If you have to avoid certain foods because of medical conditions it is ideal. In fact, recipes are generally free of gluten, sugar and usually dairy.

I haven't found another recipe book that is both gluten and sugar free, so it is an ideal choice of book for most dieters.

But the real question is: are the recipes easy to eat, delicious, and easy to make?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a great cook. Most of the food I made was not presented with the same flair as the pictures. But while I am not a great cook I found it easy to make most of these recipes. Although they were easy to make since I live in the countryside, sometimes some of the more unusual ingredients are hard to find (they wouldn't be if you lived in a reasonable sized town with a health store nearby). But I was still able to make a good selection of meals.

It's fair to say, this book contains enough variety to be able to have regular sugar-free meals without too much pain, and with a lot of gain.

It is an ideal book for a nutritionists, a dieter, or someone with medical conditions that require them to avoid certain foods.

The best thing about this book is it isn't a weird book that you need to be worried about your health, if you use the recipes contained in this book sensibly it is obvious that you would be eating a healthy diet.

A lot of books offer healthy but boring food.

This book offers healthy and delicious meals, which are not too hard to make.

One particular section that I liked was the recipes on breads, cakes and muffins. Being able to make them healthily is a real bonus. I think you could easily live on the food in this book, which is more than the case with a lot of new age diets.

So I guess my basic review is... this is a great book.

OK, you will still have to exercise discipline and do those horrible exercises to lose weight, but at least you won't have to eat horrible food to do it.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Living with a Diabetic

Living with a Diabetic

Living with a diabetic has been made easier with all the sugar free offerings there are to choose from. There are gift baskets, to ice cream, and many drinks now too have no regular sugar.

By taking into consideration that your mate is diabetic then it should be no problem in changing your home to just sugar free items, from sweetener to lower sugar items. By having on hand a small amount of regular sugar incase of company will not tempt the diabetic. If you choose to have a chocolate snack then, purchase something that will not harm your mate's sugar counts for the day.

Peanuts, or rather items with protein in the evenings can aid in bringing down the sugar count and help process the sugar intake. Cinnamon can also have the same effect. These have not been proved in studies, however in diabetic guides you many see these featured, as it does help in some. Remember anything white will increase your sugar counts. By paying attention to this you will find that cooking is easier, brown rice instead of white rice, all grain spaghetti instead of regular, and so on.

If you are the chef in the family and your diabetic there are many books on cooking with sugar free products. There are many printed on sweets and many that you can make for dinner or other meals as well.

Take time to plan a dinner. Include your recipes in your shopping list. Take time to plan and you will find that you and your partner are sure to gobble up the great food that you make.

Living with a Diabetic Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Low Fat and Sugar Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Low Fat and Sugar Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 large egg
1/2 cup skim milk
3 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup one-to-one sugar substitute such as Splenda®
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup dry nonfat milk powder
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups fresh diced apples
2 tbsp. of granulated brown sugar, or washed brown sugar
 
In a large bowl, you will beat together egg, milk, oil, yogurt, and sugar substitute. Now you will sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a separate bowl. Now you will pour all of the sifted ingredients into the egg mixture. Mix or fold until the ingredients are just blended, but make sure not to over mix. Fold in the apples and you are ready to make your muffins.
 
You will spoon the mixture into muffin cups, or into a pan that has been sprayed, or greased. You will fill each about two thirds full. If you want a sugar coated muffin top you will sprinkle the washed brown sugar, or granulated brown sugar on top of each muffin. If you want to keep it totally sugar free then do not add the brown sugar.
 
You will bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the muffin tops are a golden brown color, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire baking rack for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove muffins from the pan. If you are not going to serve right away you will want to put them in an airtight container to keep them moist. This recipe should make about 12 muffins.

Low Fat and Sugar Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

How to Lower Diabetes Blood Sugar Levels

How to Lower Diabetes Blood Sugar Levels

Most people who have diabetes have problem whether production adequate insulin for there bodies to burn sugar or there bodies do not administrate it well. You need to eat the proprietary foods so that you can administrate your diabetes better. There are foods that will help you lower your blood sugar.

First you want to understand how the body works. people with diabetes have a question with there blood sugar levels and in most cases they become too high. There are foods you can eat that will keep these levels lower.

It is highly recommended that you eat foods that are high in fiber and low in fat because this will help keep your sugar levels regulated. High fat foods turn to sugar and will cause your levels to rise rapidly. Starchy foods are also something you need to have only in small amounts.

Fruit is also something that you need to have twice a day because it is a great way to get some natural sugar into your body without all the synthetic added sugars that most sweet treats have in them. Olive and peanut oil are great oils to use in cooking because they include less fat in them.

Remember that lowering your blood sugar can help you avow a healthy lifestyle. Diabetes can be controlled when you have a healthy diet that does not include a lot of carbohydrates. Once you start eating a proper diet you will see that you blood sugar levels will regulate and you will not have spikes in them anymore.

How to Lower Diabetes Blood Sugar Levels Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Saturday, January 7, 2012

The Cookie Swap - A Variety of Christmas Cookies in One Afternoon

The Cookie Swap - A Variety of Christmas Cookies in One Afternoon

My daughter and I love baking so when the holidays come we find it quite fun to create a variety of cookies to have Christmas Day. We also love to give away as gifts to people that we are thankful for a package full Christmas Cookies.

A few years back my daughter and I baked and baked and then gave a variety of Christmas cookies to our friends. It took us several weeks to accomplish this task as we wanted the variety of cookies. We had poured over cookie recipes to decide which delicious cookies to make. We chose some favorite cookie recipes like a chocolate chip cookie recipe, our best sugar cookie, a peanut butter, a spritz, and a ginger cookie. We then looked at new ones as we wanted the top cookie recipes! We looked at other recipes for gingerbread, recipes for thumbprint cookies, a lemon cookie, a chocolate cookie recipe and you can't forget about oatmeal cookies. When all was said and done we really had some great Christmas cookie recipes.

Then we compiled this huge shopping list for the ingredients they required. When we got all our materials together the baking began. This was going to take several weeks. So the Christmas Carols were on and the baking began. My daughter and I had a good time baking up her favorites a chocolate chip cookie recipe and the sugar cookies--best part was the cookie decorations. Now I did finish the baking of the rest by myself -Christmas music still going. However, the memories of the time we baked side by side with my daughter with our aprons dotted with flour was priceless.

When they were all baked we gift wrapped them in pretty Christmas tins and it was gift giving time. Oh, don't get me wrong, we also had a nice tray of cookies left at home for our Christmas dinner.

A common comment from the gift recipient was that they loved the cookies but wouldn't have done it themselves. It made me sad that the tradition of Christmas cookie baking had gotten lost with the heavy to-do lists. It got me thinking next year why don't I host a Christmas cookie exchange? We all just bake one type of cookie, bring them to a fun holiday party during the party we cookie swap and we leave happy with a variety of cookies. So my planning began! We all had such a great time.

It is a great way to get into the holiday spirit and socialize with people you care about. Friends, neighbors and family gather together at your home, bringing their favorite baked cookies and cookie recipes. So a new Christmas tradition was born.

You too can create Christmas Tradition and host a Cookie Swap. I hope our story stirs up a little curiosity about an old tradition brought back into light. Simply Invite your guests, eat and swap cookies and enjoy each other's company...isn't that what Christmas is about really?

You may be saying, "I would love to create that Christmas Tradition, but how do you host a cookie swap?" Well, the good news is I have a great resource that will answer your question. It will take you step by step through the planning process, forms and checklists to keep you on track and ideas to keep a simple but fun Christmas Party.

So you can start a tradition without a lot of fuss. It is " The Cookie Swap - Create a Christmas Tradition-One Cookie Recipe at a Time". Get yours here.

The Cookie Swap - A Variety of Christmas Cookies in One Afternoon

Friday, January 6, 2012

Breaking Bad Habits - 5 straightforward Steps for Changing a Habit

Breaking Bad Habits - 5 straightforward Steps for Changing a Habit

"Good habits are hard to found but easy to live with" and "Bad habits are easy to found but hard to live with", agreeing to Brian Tracey, a well-known motivational teacher. You may identify that to successfully carry on habit changes, breaking bad habits may be required in order to found new ones.

Breaking bad habits takes at least 21 days. Of course, in difficult cases, it can take as long as a year. Here's an example of the process of how to convert an unhealthy habit to a salutary habit. Suppose you've decided that coffee is not good for you and right now, you drink coffee with sugar daily. The new habit you would like to found is to drink herbal tea without sugar.

At first, it may be lively to break the bad habit of drinking coffee. You will have to use self-discipline for the first few weeks but gradually it will get easier. Once you are able to convert the old habit to a new healthier one, it will serve you very well. Habits are suited because they don't want thinking. You just "do it" for years until you find yourself changing the habit again.

Here are 5 easy steps for changing habits:

1. Awareness: You must become aware of your habits. What is this habit exactly? How is this bad habit or group of bad habits affecting you? How is this habit affecting others? For example, smoking often has negative effects on others as well as on you.

2. Wanting to Change: As man with a health problem, you must decree that breaking bad habits through a known attempt is a worthy goal. You must convince yourself that the convert in the habit is worth the attempt involved.

3. Commitment: You must be determined to do anything it takes for breaking bad habits so that you can good operate your life. You make a decision that "no matter what" you will convert the habit. You do the work required to stop. Here are some examples of habits you might want to change: Smoking, eating too much, eating processed foods, not exercising, drinking coffee or other beverages with caffeine in them, eating too much sugar or fat, drinking alcohol, procrastinating, etc.

4. Consistent Action: It is prominent to focus on changing just one habit at a time. Then, take consistent daily actions for breaking the bad habit that has been causing problems and take the actions to found a new one. We suggest doing this process one step at a time rather than trying to do it all at once. Sometimes changing a habit can be done "cold turkey" like smoking and sometimes it works good to make a gradual change.

Be sure to give yourself inescapable rewards often for taking small actions toward changing a bad habit. Continual day-by-day actions are what are critical. This is Not about an occasional operation or step. It is about being consistent every day.

5. Perseverance: There will be times when you inquire either it is all worth it. You'll say to yourself that breaking these bad habits is too difficult; that you are too "weak" to change. Your old self, often so comfortable living with the bad habits, is trying to hold on. Breaking your old patterns may want meditation and prayer.

Visualize ordinarily the rewards for following through and the costs of not following through on breaking the bad habits and especially the value to your future of construction new good habits.

Get reserve from others, especially other population who want to make changes in their lives and read about population who have been thriving in breaking bad habits. Affirm that, no matter what, you will not backslide into your old bad habit patterns.

Now, you are armed with a 5-step process for breaking any bad habit or other health that requires changing. If you have an addiction to something such as alcohol, these steps alone may not be enough. You may want added pro help or a reserve group, but for most cases this 5-step process will do the trick!

Breaking Bad Habits - 5 straightforward Steps for Changing a Habit

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Sugar Glider Food - Foods That Makes Your Pet Grow Strong and salutary

Sugar Glider Food - Foods That Makes Your Pet Grow Strong and salutary

Keeping the sugar glider wholesome as much as potential is the owner's want for their pet. Providing thorough diet is a big deal for the owner. Giving them not the thorough food can make them suffer from their health.

Actually, looking the right sugar glider food is easy; there are no extra victuals that are needed on feeding them. Foods that they eat is easy to find, owners might already have them on their refrigerator but have no idea if the pet eat it or not. Apart from it, they may also perceive that the sugar glider is a picky eater. On the other hand, to fight this thing, here are some essentials that can help you to voice your sugar gliders condition and strength.

1. Protein - this is an foremost part on the sugar glider food. On the other hand, it is especially much foremost to those females- when they are on the stage of age breeding. Eggs that are been boiled is a good source, the protein substance that it has is wholly use by the body. Protein rich food is not assuredly the case of this but the article of phosphorus that it has the potential to minimize the protein consumption. Pet owners should also feed the pet with ground turkey that is been simmered any times with water. And also, use to have a monkey diet that contains 25% of protein that can serve as the base to its diet. Turkey also have the bad ratio of phosphorus and calcium, extra calcium can help to balance it.

2. Calcium - sugar glider must also have this vital nutrient. Absorption of calcium can be inhibited by phosphorous. Many of the foods that they eat is rich not only in calcium but also on phosphorous. Because of this, calcium supplement is very vital on the condition of your sugar glider; all the time make sure that the supplement that you use does not have phosphorous. However, overdosing of calcium in most animals can cause problems on the urinary tract.

3. Sweets and fats - this animal in general likes sweet foods, they can be pigs when it comes to eating sweet foods. Sweet foods are rich in fat, too much fat can build up on to their eyes can cause blindness. Also, gliders that are been feed with irregular diet may organize a very strong odor on their urine.

4. Water - fresh water is mostly very foremost to all living things, together with for the sugar glider food and its survival. This animal may die immediately if they are been dehydrated. Also, water serving to this microscopic pet can be mixed with º cup of apple cinder on every gallon. An antibiotic, which is apple cinder vinegar, comes plainly and can be very beneficial. This antibiotic is not only good to animals but also to humans. Overdosing of it is possible, but, too much is not good.

Aside from these foods, if you have two to three sugar gliders, baby foods, vegetable, and fruits are also right for them. Also, mixture of meats and vegetables are good. Having these kinds sugar glider foods can help your pet voice their normal food needs.

Sugar Glider Food - Foods That Makes Your Pet Grow Strong and salutary

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What Foods Can I Eat To reduce My Acne?

What Foods Can I Eat To reduce My Acne?

What you eat can affect your acne breakouts. It's no incommunicable that good cusine is an important factor in getting rid of your acne once and for all. Yet many people who suffer from acne don't positively know how they can enhance their diet, which will in turn enhance their skin. They don't know which types of food helps, or doesn't help.

So this is what I'm going to address in this article.

Let's get started:

Something you may not have known is that foods fall into two categories. There's the alkaline-forming foods which are good for having a clearer complexion, and then there's the acid-forming foods which aren't so helpful for your skin.

The kind of alkaline foods that will help your skin are things like fruit and vegetables. These foods are easy for your body to process, which means there's less toxins in your system. With acid foods (things like meats, fried food, cheese, milk etc), it's harder for your body to process them. This means that there are toxins in your body for longer.

So eating healthier foods will help keep your skin cleaner. But that isn't to say you can't ever eat the fatty foods, or the carbohydrates like rice and pasta. Although these things can take longer for your body to process, which means there's more toxins in your system, it's fine in moderation.

But if you live on these kinds of foods, you may want to rethink your diet. Especially if having clear skin is important to you.

A few other foods to avoid are foods that consist of a lot of sugar or a lot of yeast. Again, these are fine in moderation, but if you eat these foods too often, it can make your cusine unbalanced.

Also, it goes without saying that you should drink plentifulness of water. Why? Because water helps to flush out the toxins in your body which would otherwise seek an outlet straight through your skin.

By drinking more water, you can keep your body clear of toxin build-up. And this will help keep your skin healthier.

What Foods Can I Eat To reduce My Acne?

Enter The Magical World Of Lalaloopsy Online Gaming

Enter The Magical World Of Lalaloopsy Online Gaming

Each Lalaloopsy doll in the online virtual world at lalaloopsy.com has a house that can be entered and in which you can play a game themed to the particular Lalaloopsy doll in question. These are incredibly fun little mini games for children to play that can occupy them for hours in a safe and engaging online environment.

Pillow Featherbed's game is called Sleepy Sheep. In this game, the child must watch as a number of different objects float through Pillow's mind as she's trying to sleep. The child must click only on the sheep, and has a set amount of time to click on ten of them for each level.

Crumbs Sugar Cookie's game is called Recipe Race. In this game, three conveyor belts of recipe ingredients are set in motion and the child must activate mechanical pushers that take the items that are needed off the belt and into bins so that Crumbs Sugar Cookie can use them to make cookies.

Peanut Big Top's game is called Joyful Juggling. In this game, colored arrows are scrolled up the screen and children must select the proper ones as they pass in order to allow Peanut to continue juggling her balls.

Dot Starlight's game is called Space Surprise. In this game, the child controls a space ship in 3 dimensions, and must pilot this ship through a course of loops, not missing too many, in order to complete the task successfully.

Spot Splatter Splash's game is called Paint Park. In this game, the child must navigate a hedge maze in order to find all the objects that are missing their color, and then paint them within a certain amount of time allocated.

Bea Spells-a-lot's game is called School Supply Search. In this game, the child plays a cute little old fashioned platform game in which she helps Bea's pet owl find all of the school supplies and deliver them to Bea.

Mittens Fluff 'n' Stuff's game is called Speedy Ski. In this game, the child must guide Mittens down a snowy mountain and get her to ski into colorful buttons placed around the slope. A certain number of buttons must be collected each round.

Jewel Sparkles' game is called Jewel Jubilee. In this game, a child must control a paddle moving from side to side as a ball bounces off the walls, ceiling, and a group of suspended jewels. The ball must not fall to the floor, so it's vital that the paddle be moved to bounce the ball back into play constantly. The jewels are collected and removed from play once the ball hits them, and a new level is generated when all the jewels have been collected.

There's also a fun boat ride that can be accessed from docks throughout town. Children can use the boat to travel the river to different parts of town faster.

Lalaloopsy land online play is a fun and entertaining way for your child to interact with her imagination and engage in fun Lalaloopsy related activities.

Enter The Magical World Of Lalaloopsy Online Gaming