#low spoon meals need to be 3 steps or less and under 10 minutes

[labelleizzy]

Thank you @beaniebaneenie your tags pass review!

i had to make a solution for this for myself, mostly because of depression, but it makes a nice How To for folks who are low on spoons or could use some help in the kitchen.

Fortunately i was a professional cook for over a decade. UNfortunately the first post i made explaining it was suuuuper long. Let's see if i can do better

So you select any protein that you can cook in a frying pan -- chicken breasts, ground beef, pork chops, sausages, steak, chicken thighs, whatever. You also select one or two types of veggie (mushrooms or tubers also work, i just did this with potatoes and carrots for dinner tonight).

[i like cooking for vegetarians, but this is how i cook for myself when i'm low on spoons - perhaps i'll do another post for meatless meals]

You'll also need some kind of oil, and a sauce or two of your choice in a bottle. All cooking gear is a large frying pan with lid (i prefer non-stick) a spatula, a cutting board, and a knife.

You cut the veggies into bite size pieces, cut up enough for two meals. One kind of veggie is fine, or you can do mix two or three

Put frying pan on medium heat with a little oil. Tubers or mushrooms or go in the pan a few minutes before the protein. 2 portions of the protein goes in the pan, about 5 minutes with lid (don't worry you can still get a good sear on both sides)

Now flip your protein if it's flip-able and add normal veggies, put the lid back on another five-ish minutes.

Take your protein out and put it with one portion of the veggies in a microwave safe container. That's going to be your lunch tomorrow. Put the other portion of protein on a plate to rest (you have to let a cooked protein sit a couple minutes before you serve it or when you cut into it all the juices run out and it goes dry - the liquids thicken as it cools, preventing this drying out if you let it rest, the goal is to serve it very warm but not hot hot)

While it's resting, pour some sauce from your bottle in the pan with the rest of the veggies and turn up the heat. A single sauce/bottle is fine, i like to get fancy and mix a couple. Two examples of personal favorite mixes are 1: bbq sauce and a hot sauce like sriracha 2: roughly equal parts low sodium soy sauce and worcestershire (makes something similar to a teriyaki sauce) A swallow of wine is almost always a great option if you want to add that to your sauce too, just add it to the pan before the other sauces so the alcohol has time to burn off.

...

Here is the important bit. While your veggies are finishing, wash your cutting board and chef knife. Then when you dump your veggies and sauce over your protein on the plate, while it is still too hot to eat, you wash your frying pan and spatula before you eat. Now the only dishes you have left to do are your plate and fork. Maybe a steak knife.

...

The whole thing takes about 35 minutes even with washing the dishes, and that includes your lunch for the next day- just pour a different sauce on and stick it in the microwave for a couple minutes (or five minutes back in the frying pan) and you have a full healthy lunch with a different flavor

You can use this technique every single meal and it yields hundreds of combinations, from pork and potatoes bbq, to salmon and broccoli teriyaki, to chicken and zucchini in a soy glaze.

It will keep you down to less than an hour of kitchen time per day total for both lunch and dinner including all dish clean up, uses the least dishes, the least effort, requires the least technique, and is, depending on what you pick out, very affordable

here are a couple more examples from this month; i didn’t take pictures of the salmon i did recently, but you get the idea

it's not super fancy, but it is easy, affordable, quick, and any flavors you want. Hope this helps some folks

Happy Cooking!

[madlori]

Unveiled - Chapter 3

You guys have been super encouraging today so...surprise! Here’s Chapter 3 early. And it’s kinda short, so. Might as well tack it right on.

Aaaaand chapter 4 will likely show up tomorrow sometime. I’M WEAK. 

BTW make sure you’ve read chapter 2, I posted it earlier today. Links are beneath the header image.

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || Epilogue

by MadLori Word Count: 2000 Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF Pairing: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin Rating: NC-17 (like, heed this, please) Tags: Arranged Marriage, Modern Royalty AU, Mpreg, Not Omegaverse, No Consent Issues, Veiled Sex, Weird Traditions, Don’t Think Too Hard, Handwavey Biology

Definitely sex in this one.

Read it on AO3

The Royal Bedchamber that his consort had mentioned in his message was not Zhenya’s bedroom, nor was it the Consort’s. Their respective rooms were almost next to each other, but not quite -- between them, and with a door leading to each, was the so-called Royal Bedchamber, which was used only during embargo for intimate relations. Once the Consort had conceived and the embargo was lifted, any intimacy they chose to engage in would take place in either of their own rooms.

Zhenya showered, scrubbing himself well. This was the first time he’d really be having relations with his husband -- the ritualized consummation during the wedding hardly counted. It was rare for sex between embargoed partners to reach the level of passionate lovemaking, but they could be more relaxed with each other, and enjoy a more personal experience, than they could do with a cleric standing over them.

The best part, though, was that even though Zhenya would still not see his husband’s face or even most of his body, he would definitely get to see his cock, and he was looking forward to it.

He suspected that his new husband was a man who appreciated punctuality, so he waited until precisely 3:00 pm, then opened the door into the bedchamber.

The consort was sitting on the large, low bed that was the main piece of furniture in the room. He’d changed out of the black drapings he’d been wearing earlier in the garden and into lighter, flesh-toned veils that still concealed him while being a little less forbidding. They covered him only to the middle of his chest and were entirely opaque; Zhenya wondered, not for the first time, how the consort could see through them. He straightened up as Zhenya entered. Sitting there on the bed with his legs folded under him, perked up at attention, the man looked like an eager schoolchild waiting to be called on. His consort had yet to speak a single word to him, but Zhenya was utterly charmed.

Zhenya shut the door behind him and lurked there for a moment, not quite sure how, exactly, to approach having sex with this man. Should he just climb aboard and go to it? Seemed so abrupt, and borderline rude. There was no need for pretense  -- they both knew why they were here -- but that didn’t seem like any reason to abandon all niceties, just because they couldn’t make small talk or kiss.

His consort seemed to sense his hesitation -- he took a breath, unfolded his legs, stretched out and...well, there was no other way to put it...displayed himself.

Zhenya’s breath caught. His husband -- it still felt new and strange to even think the word --  was toned and muscular, with magnificent thighs and a narrow waist, the V of his hips drawing Zhenya’s gaze to his impressive cock, sizable even in its flaccid state. Zhenya couldn’t see the man’s face, but he knew that the consort was watching him.

Zhenya slipped out of his dressing gown, revealing his own nudity. His cock was filling rapidly; his balls felt heavy beneath it, as if the task he was here to accomplish weighed upon them. He let his eyes roam up his consort’s strong legs and hips, and all at once he knew what he wanted.

He stepped to the foot of the bed and made a “turn over” motion with one hand. The consort rolled over, keeping his drapings carefully in place, and Zhenya’s cock plumped further at the sight of him. He knelt on the bed and slid his hands to his consort’s hips, urging him up to his knees. Free now to do so, he palmed the smooth, muscled globes, slipping his thumbs between them. The consort arched his back and pressed into Zhenya’s touch in a silent urge to keep going.

Zhenya parted his cheeks, exposing his hole, and then swiftly buried his face there, swiping his tongue up the center with a low growl. He’d wanted to eat this ass since he’d first laid eyes on it, and the reality was even better than his fantasy. The consort smelled clean and masculine, electric like the scent that rose from the earth after a thunderstorm, and Zhenya felt him jump and shudder at the sudden contact. He slipped off his hands where he’d braced on them and sank down to rest on his elbows, dipping his back lower and pressing his ass into Zhenya’s face.

Zhenya relished in the breathy gasps he was wringing from his mate as he worked him over with his mouth. The consort’s cock hung heavy and hard now between his thighs, dripping; Zhenya reached up and stroked it in time with the thrusts of his tongue. He could feel his consort’s pussy getting slick as well; he dipped his tongue lower to swipe across it, drawing a deeper shudder. His own arousal was cresting; he might come without even a hand to himself at this rate, and he had a job to do.

He left off his attentions and knelt up behind his husband, who read the change and moved to spread his thighs and present himself. Zhenya grasped his hips and mounted him quickly, not wanting to finish prematurely and cause an awkward delay while he worked back up to hardness. The consort met his thrusts eagerly, his erection still bobbing free; Zhenya wanted to hang on long enough to bring him to completion as well. He grasped his husband’s cock again and stroked him, keeping a rhythm he hoped would be pleasing; evidently it was, for after only a few strokes the consort stiffened and came over Zhenya’s hand, his passage pulsing and clenching and drawing Zhenya’s orgasm from him. He thrust deep and came hard into his husband’s body, visualizing again a successful conception.

As they both came down, breathing deeply in counterpoint, Zhenya withdrew and collapsed onto his back at the consort’s side. His mate stayed where he was for a moment, then he rolled to his back and tucked his legs close to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. Zhenya recognized this as a superstitious posture to maximize the chances of conception. He had his doubts about its effectiveness, but it wasn’t his place to judge his consort’s habits, or his superstitions. What was the harm? After a few minutes during which Zhenya looked his fill at his husband’s fine body while he was otherwise occupied, the consort uncurled himself and rose. He turned to face Zhenya, put his hand to his chest and gave him a little bow, then quickly left the room. Zhenya lingered for a moment, enjoying the lazy post-sex lassitude, before he began to feel self-conscious and retreated to his own chamber to clean up and dress before dinner.

------

Zhenya was restless that night. He hadn’t eaten much at dinner, so distracted had he been by thoughts of the surprisingly good sex he’d had with his new husband, not to mention everyone’s endless teasing about his newlywed status. His consort had not been present; it was nearly impossible for embargoed spouses to share meals given the drapings and veils required, not to mention the restriction on both of their speech, so consorts typically ate privately, in the company of their own guards and attendants where they would be allowed to remove their veils. In fact, Zhenya hadn’t seen his consort all evening, and would very likely not see him again until the next day’s 3:00 appointment.

He wondered how many of those appointments they would have. Their wedding would have been scheduled to coincide with his consort’s most receptive time, which would last for as long as a week, but after that the odds of conception were low. The usual custom was that relations took place only if both parties desired them to, until the next cycle of fertility came around. His consort had seemed to enjoy their appointment today, but would he wish to continue when his chances of conceiving dropped? Zhenya would leave that decision to him. 

Dammit. Now he was restless and hungry. He glanced at the clock -- after midnight. The kitchens would be deserted.

He rose and put on slippers and his dressing gown and snuck down the back staircase to the kitchen.

Which...was not deserted.

Sitting at the long stainless-steel prep table, holding a large bowl of ice cream and spoon frozen halfway to his mouth, staring at Zhenya with wide, surprised eyes, was one of his consort’s guards, the one he’d noticed earlier with the bow legs and the handsome face. As Zhenya watched, a dribble of ice cream slid from the corner of his mouth and fell to the spotless tabletop. He looked like a child, caught stealing sweets from the cupboard.

“Well, you’re caught,” Zhenya said. “Off to the gallows with you.”

The man seemed to remember himself. He dropped the bowl and spoon with a clatter and jumped to his feet, saluting smartly -- it looked odd on a man clad in a threadbare t--shirt and loose sleeping pants. “Your Royal Highness, my apologies. I…”

“At ease,” Zhenya said, flapping a hand. “I just came down for a late night snack myself. Looks like you had the same idea.” He went to the cabinet, in search of the graham cookies that were his favorite. “Ah ha,” he said, pulling out a tin. He poured some milk and joined his mystery guest at the island. The guard had resumed his ice cream binge. Zhenya peered over. “What flavor is that?”

The guard licked his lips. “Butter pecan.”

“Mmm. My favorite.”

“Mine, too.” He looked down at his bowl of ice cream, then cleared his throat. “Sir, I really do apologize. I’m…”

“Never mind. You don’t report to me, right? We’re...colleagues. If anything. Besides, I’d be a fool not to make friends with one of the men who guards my husband.”

The guard tilted his head to the side with a shrug, a “that’s a good point” sort of gesture. He thought for a moment, then stuck out his hand. “I’m Sidney,” he said.

Zhenya shook it. “Call me Zhenya.”

“Hoo, I don’t know if I can do that.”

“How about just here in the kitchen, and only after midnight?”

“I’ll try.”

Zhenya ate two cookies and washed them down with milk. “Have you been guarding His Highness for long?”

Sidney swallowed. “I’m new. Transferred into the Consort’s detail from the Prime Minister’s.”

“So you transfer in and immediately get stationed halfway across the world?”

This statement was met with a blank look. “That’s why I transferred. I wanted to come. See another place, experience a different kind of life. I’d never left New Scotland before, so when the Earl -- sorry, the Consort -- asked me if I’d like to join his guard, I said yes.”

Zhenya wondered if this new guard would be more amenable to divulging intelligence than his captain was. The consort might be dedicated to the integrity of the embargo, but Zhenya wasn’t above a little snooping. “So you don’t know the Consort very well yet?”

“No, I’ve known him since we were kids. I just never guarded him before.”

“He seems like a good man.”

“That’s not for me to judge.” He hesitated. “But that’s what’s said of him.”

“What does he look like?”

A smirk spread over Sidney’s mouth. “You know I’m not supposed to talk to you about him like that. The embargo and all.”

“Is he handsome? Tell me that much.”

Sidney flushed a little and looked away. Zhenya wondered why he’d find that question embarrassing. “He’s...often told that he is.”

“Hmm. Well, I hope I’ll get to see for myself.”

“I’m sure he does, too.”

“His mother said he had a lot of marriage proposals.”

Sidney snorted. “Yeah. Most of them boring as shit, or rich people who wanted a spouse with a title.”

“You knew who’d proposed to him?”

“Everyone talked about it. Heck, people were laying bets on who he’d accept.”

“What were my odds?”

Sidney grinned. “Even. Best odds in the pool. I told him he should bet on one of the long shots then pick him, take the money and run off to the country.”

“Not a bad plan.”

He shrugged. “He’s the one who has to marry the guy.” He blinked, hearing what he’d just said. “Sorry. That wasn’t...I didn’t mean to insult you. I’m glad he picked you.”

“No insult taken.” Zhenya ate another cookie. “I hope he’s glad, too.”

Sidney smiled. “Yeah. I think he is.”

Next Chapter

[whaleinch88-blog]

Swift Meals - Important intended for the Family

When you get home after the long working day of work, not what you want to do is usually more work. For those who have a family, however, you need to acquire foodstuff about the table-and rapidly. Nonetheless with fast food harmful and sit-down dining establishments expensive, what is some sort of family members that will wants to stay healthy and fiscally in charge to do? First of all, dad can ditch the business fit with plus mom the could do the job clothing and get right down to the cooking area. If typically the young children are little, sometimes mum or maybe dad can certainly play with them while often the other sets out dinner. The moment the meal is usually well prepared, the kids, mom, together with pop can all have a seat at the dinner kitchen table to talk about their day and to consume a nutritious meal. Sound out of the question? With a few cautious planning plus setup, this isn't. This first step to preparing a fast meal is usually to possess the proper ingredients around. Even if you happen to be not the sort associated with person that works away from the recipe, you happen to be going to need typically the organic ingredients in the house if you need to create a speedy meal. Intended for quite a few men and women, making a food plan is a better path to take. On the beginning connected with the few days, write down what you're going in order to eat each night. In case the meals aren't expensive, don't worry-it's certainly not crucial to make something that will anyone in a gourmet pant together with shirt combo would like. Healthful in addition to fast, with sufficient style to satisfy the household are the main goals here. When you have the recipes preferred as well as the food on hands, all which left is usually to make it! But what sort of recipes should you choose? To begin with, the emphasis should be upon healthy meals that include things like many fruit and vegetables. For instance, a flatbread silba slathered in hummus with sliced vegetables plus salad dressing is a good healthful, filling, and delightful dinner. Another easy dish is usually stir fry fruit and vegetables more than rice, with several sort of necessary protein such as chicken, pork, or tofu. Of course, all connected with your dinners don't will need to be healthy. Often the periodic frozen pizza or macaroni and cheese might be slipped in there in addition to you will be just fine. And just because you don't have some sort of diner shirt on doesn't entail that you can't make easy, healthy meals your own personal whole family members will take pleasure in! Need to get evening meal on the table fast? Don't give up for fast food : it's costly and complete of fat and even calories. We have four simple meals that you may have shared in 30 minutes or much less. In addition, these meals are excellent to get you and taste great. Call the family and even set the table. It can time to take in! 1. French Omelets -- Acquire a cue from the Norwegian and have ova for evening meal. Using typically the blender, whip up a couple of eggs and 1 tbsp. of of water per individual. Melt 1 tablespoon associated with butter in a 10-inch skillet. Put in typically the eggs and using a good spatula, lightly lift typically the edges to allow often the raw egg to attain the skillet. When nearly done, best your omelet with mozzarella dairy product, cooked ham, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, efficient pepper or even any other topping you like. Cover for a new minute to dissolve the cheese. Fold often the omelet and slide on a good plate. Serve using a new green salad, crusty bread and a wine glass regarding wine. 2. Chili Prawn on Rice using Steamed Vegetables - Swift, simple oh, so fine. Put rice on to help cook. Put iced greens into a steaming container and let simmer more than medium heat. When typically the rice is almost done, heat a skillet over medium high heat. On the other hand, fin 2 cloves regarding garlic herb. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and let melt. Add more shrimp (quarter pound every person) and garlic herb and chuck to combine. Include 1 tbsp of chili powder. The particular shrimp is going to cook immediately, when these people turn pink they can be accomplished. Remove from heat in addition to serve over a cargo area of steamed rice, having steamed greens. 3. Hot and spicy Garlic Linguine - Steam salted water and cook linguine according to information. In the mean time, mince 2 gloves involving garlic. In a good skillet more than medium-low temperature, heat a few tablespoons associated with olive oil. When hot, add garlic herb in addition to saute until browned. Remove the fry pan from heat and move the garlic out of the olive oil and discard. As soon as the linguine is done, strain the particular noodles and add to the hot olive essential oil. Add 1 tea spoons reddish pepper flakes, 1 tbsp. of of fresh lemon zeal and ¼ cup connected with Parmesan cheese. Toss to mix. Serve in warm dinero bowls with lots connected with fresh terrain pepper together with more Parmesan cheese. Add a good green greens in addition to bread. 4. Norwegian Dip Sandwiches - Temperature one particular 15oz. can of beef broth in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lessen heat in addition to let simmer until broth is reduced by way of 50 percent. Turn on the broiler. Split vegansk måltidsersättning ?te plus cut into five half inch pieces. On each and every piece, include a few pieces of thinly sliced beef roasts beef through the deli and a piece of provolone cheese. Heat the sandwiches under the broiler for three to four minutes to make often the bread and dissolve typically the cheese. Serve along with broth for dipping, baked espresso beans and chips.

[khanskitchen]

Home made mango pickle

Mango pickle is a traditional Indian condiment made with raw mangoes, spices and oil. In India, pickles are relished as a side in every meal. It is eaten with dal-rice, dal-roti, parathas & even with many breakfast dishes. Indian cuisine is diverse so a mango pickle is made in many different ways. I am sharing the easiest recipe to make it at home.

Mango pickle

Mango pickle is a Indian pickle variety made with raw unripe green mangoes, pickling spices and oil. Aam chunda, Punjabi aam ka achar, Rajasthani aam ka achar, mavinakayi uppinakayi, Maagaya, Avakaya & Vadu mango pickle are some of the most well known mango pickle varieties made in India.

Traditionally, chopped mangoes are pickled with the spices and oil in large ceramic pots known as bharani or barni. The ingredients ferment as the mango pickle ages and develops tons of flavor and deliciousness.

Avakaya is one of the popular variety of pickle made in Andhra pradesh, a South Indian state which is immensely known for hot and spicy foods. This mango pickle is a similar but toned down version which is also simpler to make.

Recipe



1.This step is for better shelf-life. If you skip this step, you have to refrigerate the pickle right away after making it. To make mango pickle, firstly make sure all the following are completely dry and free from moisture. It is ideal to sun dry all of them for a few hours. If you do not have sunlight, then wipe with a clean dry cloth and keep them in a dry place the previous night.

1 mixing bowl

2 large spoon

1 small blender jar (or spice jar)

1 chopping board

2 knives (1 small & 1 large)

work area (has to be super clean and dry)

2. Dry roast half teaspoon methi seeds on a low flame till they begin to smell good. Transfer these to a plate. To the same hot pan, add 3 tablespoons oil and allow it to warm up. Set aside to cool completely. You can skip warming the oil if you intend to finish it with in 10 to 12 days. If using cold pressed oil, skip heating the oil.

3. Powder 1 tablespoon mustard seeds and ½ teaspoon roasted methi seeds in a blender to a fine or coarse powder to suit your liking. A fine powder needs less oil for the pickle.

4. Wash 1 large mango (or 2 medium) well under running water. I prefer to soak mango in salted water for 30 minutes, scrub it with additional salt and wash off. If you are using organic mango, you can just wash it well and use. Dry it thoroughly. Wipe off with an absorbent cloth or tissue.

5. Chop them to slightly large cubes of 1 by 1 inch. Smaller pieces tend to turn very soft and mushy when stored for longer. Also I used up the left over pulp on the mango. I finely chopped it as well. They turn soft and add volume to the pickle gravy.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: How to Use Life Hack

s Life hacks are quick, relatively easy, and usually fun things that save a bit of time or make your life a little easier. Try some simple hacks when you’re cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, or even just relaxing on the beach. You can find endless lists of life hacks online, but always use your best judgment as to whether a hack is both useful and safe. [Edit]Steps [Edit]Cooking and Food Prep Hacks Lay a wooden spoon over the top of a pot to prevent a boil-over. The foaming bubbles created by boiling water are filled with steam. If they touch something at a temperature below , the steam will condense (change back into a liquid) and break the surface tension of the bubbles.[1] A wooden spoon is the best choice because a plastic spoon might melt and a metal spoon will get very hot to the touch. Make Ramen Noodles in a coffee maker for a quick meal. Put the noodles in the carafe and add the recommended amount of water to the reservoir. Turn on the brewing cycle and leave the noodles in the dispensed hot water for the recommended time. Transfer them to a bowl and stir in the seasonings.[2] You can add the seasonings to the carafe as well, but this makes it hard to get the flavor of Ramen Noodle seasoning out of your coffee pot! Make there isn’t a used coffee filter in the machine before proceeding. You don’t need to add a clean filter. Reheat leftover pizza in a skillet to get a crispy crust. Place the skillet over medium heat and add a quick spritz of cooking spray or a few drops of cooking oil. Heat a slice of pizza in the pan for 2 minutes, then put the lid on and turn the heat to low for about 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.[3] Add a few drops of water to the pan before putting on the lid to cook the top of the pizza a bit faster. Be careful, though, as any oil in the pan may splatter. Use a skirt hanger with clips as a space-saving cookbook holder. Use the 2 clips on the hanger to hold the cookbook open. Put the hanger’s hook over a nearby cupboard handle to create an instant and very useful cookbook holder![4] The open book will be at just the right height for easy reference, and it won’t take up valuable counter space. Remove stems from strawberries quickly with a thick straw. Insert the straw into the side opposite to the stem and press it up through the center of the strawberry. When you get all the way through to the top, the stem will pop right up and out![5] A sturdy plastic straw works well, but a reusable metal straw is even better. In either case, use a wider milkshake or smoothie straw if available. Use tongs to more easily squeeze all the juice from a lemon. Cut a lemon in half, then wedge one half between the tongs, cut side facing out. Squeeze the ends of the tongs that you usually use for picking up things to press out as much lemon juice as possible. Repeat with the other half.[6] Consider laying a fine mesh strainer over the bowl or pitcher you’re squeezing the juice into in order to catch the seeds. Use your cereal spoon to keep milk from splashing when you pour it. Add your cereal to the bowl, then lay your spoon upside down on top of it. Pour the milk slowly onto the underside of the spoon’s head. You’ll notice far less splashing than when you pour the milk directly onto the cereal.[7] Alternatively, add the milk to the bowl first, then the cereal! Remove the yolk from a cracked egg easily with a water bottle. Crack the egg into a bowl or dish, then grab a clean, empty plastic water bottle. Squeeze the bottle about halfway (not enough to crush it), place it right on top of the yolk, and release your squeeze. The yolk will be sucked up into the bottle![8] Pit cherries quickly with a straw and a bottle. Choose an empty glass or plastic bottle with a mouth that’s smaller than your cherries, so that you can place a cherry stem-side up on the bottle opening. Press straight down through the stem with a sturdy straw (metal is best), a skewer, or a chopstick. The pit will drop right into the bottle.[9] Dip your finger in water to remove egg shells from a cracked egg. Wash your hands and dry them off with a towel, then dip one finger into a bowl of warm water. Use your wet finger to press down on each egg shell piece and pick them out of your cracked egg one at a time. The water will make the shells gravitate toward your finger, making it super easy to get rid of all the shells.[10] Don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done! [Edit]Food Service and Storage Hacks Chill a beverage quickly in the freezer with wet paper towels. Wet down 1-2 paper towel sheets, then squeeze out the excess water. Wrap the paper towels around a can or bottled drink and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. The damp paper towels help chill the drink much more quickly.[11] Don’t forget about a glass bottle you put in the freezer—if the liquid freezes, the bottle may explode! Store mixed pancake batter conveniently in a plastic ketchup bottle. This is a great way to store extra batter in the fridge for up to 3 days, and it makes dispensing the batter easy! Just squeeze out the amount you need right onto the griddle when making pancakes.[12] Use a kitchen funnel to make it easier to pour the batter into the bottle. Or, find a plastic bottle with a slightly smaller mouth than the ketchup bottle. Cut off the bottom of this second bottle, place it upside down into the mouth of the ketchup bottle, and use it as a DIY funnel. Use a muffin tin to serve a range of condiments at a party. Add ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, salsa, mayonnaise, or whatever other condiments you need to the individual indentations in the muffin tin. This makes serving the condiments and cleaning up afterward a cinch![13] Cut clean slices of cheesecake and soft desserts with dental floss. Cut a length of unflavored dental floss and wrap the ends around your index fingers. Pull it taut and press it straight down through cheesecake, cinnamon rolls, fondant, jelly rolls, and so on.[14] Use the same process to cut through clay with a length of wire. Keep your packaged bread fresher longer with a plastic bottle top. Starting at the point where the cylinder starts to narrow toward the spout, cut the top section off of a clean, dry plastic drink bottle. Feed the open end of the bread bag up through the cut opening and out of the mouth of the bottle, then fold it down over the sides of the mouth. Screw on the bottle’s lid to make an airtight seal.[15] Use plastic lids as simple but effective coasters. Don't have a coaster on hand? A plastic lid from a mayonnaise jar or similar container can do the job! Just place your drink on top and you've got a neat coaster. [Edit]Clothing Hacks Make canvas shoes water-resistant by applying beeswax. Use a clean rag to spread the beeswax over the entire outer surface of the shoes, making sure not to miss any areas. Then, wave a hairdryer over the shoes until the wax melts and becomes invisible. Apply another coat of beeswax whenever you notice the water-resistant coating begin to falter.[16] Iron a dress shirt collar fast with a hair straightener iron. This is a quick fix that saves time versus getting out your iron and board. Just plug in the hair straightener, let it heat up, and clamp it over each side of your shirt collar for about 15 seconds. To play it safe, don’t do this while you’re wearing the shirt![17] This is a great hack if you’re going to wear a sweater over your dress shirt anyway—why bother ironing the whole thing? Use white wine to reduce the appearance of a red wine stain. If you splash some red wine on your white shirt, grab some white wine! Dampen a clean cloth in white wine and gently blot the red wine stain until it becomes less noticeable. It won’t remove the stain completely, but it does a surprisingly good job.[18] If you have a stain remover stick or wipes with you, use them—they work even better. If you left them at home, use them on the stain before washing the garment. Prevent lost socks by pinning pairs before washing and drying. Stop feeding single socks to the “dryer monster” by outwitting it! Simply secure each pair of socks together with a safety pin before putting them into the wash. Keep them pinned together when you transfer them to the dryer.[19] Replace any pins that start to show signs of rusting. [Edit]Housekeeping Hacks Screw a magazine holder onto the back of a cabinet door to hold a hairdryer. Choose a magazine/file holder made of plastic, wood, metal wire, or sturdy cardboard and secure it in place with 2-4 screws. Most standard hairdryers fit perfectly into this spot.[20] Alternatively, use several removable adhesive strips instead of screws. Use coat hooks instead of rods to hang towels in a small bathroom. These take up much less space, since each hook can hold 2 large towels. The towels may also dry faster than if you use towel rods that are stacked one in front of the next. Apply magnetic strips behind cabinet doors to store personal care items. Buy peel-and-stick magnetic strips, or use removable adhesive strips to secure the magnets in place. Use the magnetic strips to hold tweezers, bobby pins, cosmetic brushes, and other magnetic objects.[21] Check to see how many of your personal care items are magnetic before trying this. Buy a scrub brush attachment for your drill to clean tile and ceramic. Instead of relying on elbow grease alone to scrub a tub or toilet, let your drill do the hard work! Look for different types of scrub brush attachments where cleaning supplies are sold. Set the drill to its lowest speed first, then increase it as needed. Follow the brush attachment’s instructions carefully. Don’t use the attachment to clean fiberglass, laminate, wood, stone, or other surfaces unless the brush is specifically marketed for that purpose. Use a clean dustpan to fill a bucket that won’t fit under the sink. Place the bucket on the floor directly in front of the sink. Place the larger end of the dustpan under the faucet so that the pan’s handle is resting over the front edge of the sink. When you turn on the water it will flow through the channel in the handle, go over the edge, and fall like a waterfall into the bucket.[22] Have some towels handy the first few times you try this. It may take a bit of practice to get the placement and water flow just right. Paint your keys with nail polish to color-code them. This is a great hack if you have a bunch of similar-looking keys on your key ring. Gel nail polish adheres best to metal keys, but any type of polish will do.[23] Store your household cleaners conveniently in a shoe hanger. Hang or attach the shoe hanger to the back of a closet or pantry door, then fill the pockets with your cleaning bottles. Choose a shoe hanger with mesh or clear plastic pockets so you can easily differentiate the cleaning bottles.[24] If you have a hanging rod in the closet, get a shoe hanger with hooks. For safety, add a lock to the door if there are kids around. Try different home remedies to remove permanent marker. Different DIY removers may work better for different materials. Give the following a try: For fabric, try hand sanitizer. For your skin or for wood surfaces, try rubbing alcohol. For painted walls, try hairspray or toothpaste. For ceramic or glass, mix 1 part white toothpaste and 1 part baking soda. Soak a crusty paintbrush in vinegar for 30 minutes to ease cleaning. After 30 minutes, use a wire brush or paintbrush cleaner to remove the loosened paint. Then, wash the brush with soap and water, rinse it, and let it air dry.[25] If you heat the vinegar to nearly boiling in a pot on the stove, you can reduce the soaking time to 10 minutes. Reduce the odor of water-based paint with vanilla extract. When painting a room, stir in of vanilla extract per of paint. The vanilla will mask the unpleasant odor of the paint. Essential oils like peppermint work as well.[26] This hack doesn’t work on oil-based paint, since the vanilla extract or other essential oil creates a solution with the oils in the paint—which may negate the pleasant scent you’re aiming for or make the paint smell even worse. The oils aren’t soluble with water-based paint, though, so they remain separate and help mask the paint odor. [Edit]Childcare Hacks Use a rubber band to keep kids from locking a door. Loop the rubber band over one door knob, make a figure eight over the latch, then loop the free end of the rubber band over the other door knob. Choose a thick, sturdy rubber band that is stretched taut when positioned this way.[27] Make a smaller “laundry basket play tub” within your bathtub. Place a standard rectangular laundry basket into the tub as you fill it with water. Put your toddler or small child into the basket, along with their toys. When bathtime is done, just drain the tub and lift out the basket with all the toys inside![28] This is not a substitute for an infant bath basin. Use it only for kids who are big enough to bathe in a standard tub. Supervise children at all times while bathing. Create a child safety bead-bracelet with your phone number on it. Buy a container of colorful bracelet beads and let your child help you thread them onto the bracelet string. Pick out numbered beads and string them on so that they correspond to your phone number.[29] You might also want to spell out the child’s first name. A bracelet is no substitute for proper supervision of a child. Use pool noodles to help keep a kid from rolling out of bed. Lay a foam pool noodle along each long edge of the bed, right on top of the mattress. Tuck the fitted sheet over the mattress so that the noodles are held securely in place. The small humps created by the noodles will make it less likely that your child will roll off the edge of the bed.[30] Use this as a short-term measure for an occasional problem. Invest in proper bed rails if your child rolls out of bed frequently. Trace a kid’s feet on paper when you’re shoe shopping without them. Instead of having to guess whether a pair of shoes will fit, bring their tracing with you. Trace around both their feet, either barefoot or with socks on. If the shoes you’re looking at are larger (but not too much) than the traced outlines, the shoes will fit—at least for a few months![31] Use paper cupcake or muffin wrappers to catch drips from frozen treats. Poke the bottom of the wooden stick of your kid’s favorite frozen treat—like a Popsicle or ice cream bar—through the bottom of the paper wrapper. Slide the wrapper up to the base of the treat and let it catch all the inevitable drips![32] Paper wrappers with foil on the outside work best, but any paper wrapper will do. [Edit]Tech and Home Office Hacks Seal your tablet in a zip-close bag if you like to read in the tub. Use a clear, bag with a secure zip closure. Test the bag first by sealing a piece of paper inside and submerging it for 1 minute. If the paper is dry, your tablet should stay dry too![33] Play it safe and do your best to keep your tablet dry regardless. Don’t try to read underwater! Use springs from used pens to strengthen the ends of charger cables. Charger cables tend to kink, bend, and break right near the ends (where they plug into the wall or your device). To protect these sensitive areas, pull apart several old, dried up pens and pick out the springs inside. Wrap the springs around the ends of the cables to give them more protection while still letting them flex somewhat.[34] Organize cords at the edge of your desk with binder clips. This is a great hack if your desk is cluttered with several charger cables, printer cables, ethernet cables, and so on. Choose binder clips that are large enough to clip to the edge of the desk, but also small enough (if possible) to keep the head of each cable from falling through the binder clip opening.[35] If you can’t fit the head of a cord through the binder clip wires, squeeze the sides of each wire to remove them from the clip. Then, squeeze them again to put them back in place after you’ve pulled the head of the cord through. Organize cords using empty toilet paper tubes in a shoebox. For a smaller cord, stand a toilet paper tube up in the box and feed the cord down into the tube. For a larger cord, use the toilet paper tube as a sleeve and slide it over the cord once you’ve looped it around itself several times.[36] Stand your phone upright in a cup, glass, or mug to amplify the volume. If you tend to sleep through your alarm even when it’s set to high volume, give this hack a try. Put the phone’s speaker (which is usually at the bottom) into the bottom of the cup and get ready for a much louder sound![37] You can use this trick to amplify music, but it may take some trial and error to find a cup, glass, or mug that doesn’t distort the sound of your favorite tunes. Use a cassette tape case as a cheap but sturdy phone stand. Try this hack if you find some old cassette tapes (with their cases) in the attic. Open the case’s lid as far as it will go, then lay the case front-side down on your table or desk. The slot in the lid will hold your phone at a great viewing angle.[38] Some larger smartphones may not fit into the slot. [Edit]Miscellaneous Hacks Carry multiple plastic bags at once with a large carabiner clip. The problem with carrying several plastic shopping bags at once isn’t that they’re too heavy, but that the handles dig into your hands. Instead, buy a large carabiner clip at a hardware, outdoor, or sporting goods store. Clip both handles of each bag into the carabiner, then carry everything more comfortably by holding onto the carabiner.[39] Use snack chips as kindling to help start a fire. Light a loose pile of snack chips on fire, then slowly add wood to build up your campfire. Snack chips are made almost entirely of 2 components—hydrocarbons and fats—that burn readily, so you’ll be surprised how quickly and easily they go up in flames.[40] Cheesy tortilla chips (like Doritos) work great here, but any type of fried snack chip will do the job. Make sure not to eat all your kindling beforehand! Hide your valuables on the beach in an empty sunscreen bottle. Your best option is a bottle with a rounded rectangular shape and a large flip-top lid that also twists off. Clean and dry the bottle thoroughly, making sure to get rid of the oily residue on the inside. Then, stick things like your ID and cash inside it.[41] Unless there is a sunscreen thief around, your stuff will stay safe! Alternatively, you can buy storage containers online that are made to look like real sunscreen bottles. Use your phone and a Gatorade (or similar) bottle to make a lantern. Turn on your phone’s flashlight tool and lay it down so the light is shining straight up. Place the Gatorade bottle right on top of the light—it’s shape will diffuse the light and create a cool lantern.[42] Full bottles work better than empty bottles, and liquids with light coloring (like yellow or pale blue) work better than clear liquids. [Edit]Video [Edit]Tips These life hacks are by no means the only life hacks out there. Do not be limited by the ones listed here. Make up your own! [Edit]Warnings Do not try things that are unsafe. Always use critical thinking and common sense. [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.thrillist.com/home/how-to-hack-a-coffee-maker-to-cook-food-12-other-things-you-can-do-with-a-coffee-maker ↑ https://food52.com/blog/11021-the-best-way-to-reheat-pizza-at-home ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/a-cereal-controversy-what-side-are-you-on ↑ https://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-use-an-empty-water-bottle-to-easily-separate-eggs-putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-200436 ↑ https://www.rachaelraymag.com/food/the-quickest-way-to-pit-cherries ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-easiest-way-to-remove-broken-eggshells-from-a-bowl-2017-2 ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.farmersalmanac.com/tips/muffin-tin-condiments ↑ https://www.cuisineathome.com/tips/how-to-cut-perfect-cheesecake-slices-with-floss/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://vinepair.com/articles/white-wine-remove-red-stain/ ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.onecrazyhouse.com/organize-hair-styling-tools/ ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-clean-hardened-paint-from-paintbrushes-naturally/ ↑ https://www.bhg.com/decorating/paint/how-tos/how-to-improve-the-smell-of-paint/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.kckidsdoc.com/kc-kids-doc/laundry-basket-baby-bath-correcting-facebook-misinformation.html ↑ https://www.danyabanya.com/phone-number-bracelets/ ↑ https://hintmama.com/2014/05/20/todays-hint-diy-frugal-toddler-bedrails/ ↑ http://www.froddo.com/how-to-pick-the-right-shoe-for-your-child ↑ https://www.pennypinchinmom.com/mom-tip-use-a-cupcake-liner-as-a-popsicle-drip/ ↑ http://osxdaily.com/2010/02/08/waterproof-your-iphone/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/ ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html ↑ https://www.safewise.com/blog/hiding-plain-sight-6-sneaky-ways-keep-valuables-safe/ ↑ http://www.shamelesstraveler.com/blog/weekly-travel-hack-the-gatorade-triple-threat

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/how-to-use-life-hack

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Read More 30 Worst Diet Mistakes You’re Making

The following post 30 Worst Diet Mistakes You’re Making is republished from Eat This Not That by Olivia Tarantino

“I’m so tired of dieting!” says my friend Sarah yesterday “I’ve lost some weight, I’ve lost some inches—but I just can’t lose belly fat!”

Poor Sarah. She’d also lost her willpower. Turns out, she was sabotaging herself—without even knowing it.

You could be doing the same. By kicking these worst diet mistakes to the curb, you’ll finally see those pounds fall off—and stay off. And once you’ve stripped your routine of these pesky patterns, start burning off the flab with these 44 Ways to Lose 4 Inches of Body Fat, compliments of the researchers at Eat This, Not That!

1

You Set Unreasonable Expectations

This should come as good news for those of you who feel guilty for not following strict dietary lifestyles: Going vegan to lose weight won’t work for everyone. Especially for those who always eat eggs for breakfast and like to eat a burger for lunch. If the diet plan you’re following isn’t compatible with your lifestyle, the odds are higher that you’ll fall off the bandwagon and regain the weight. Rather, put a vegan spin on your omnivore lifestyle—add onions, peppers, and spinach to your omelet and order your burger with a side salad instead of fries. To lose weight without overhauling your lifestyle, also check out these 40 Ways to Lose Weight in 4 Seconds.

2

You Go It Alone

You’ve decided to change your life—good for you! Now spread the news! When you share your mission with your close friends and family, it will help you to build a support system and you’ll have people who can keep you accountable to your goals. It’s easy to mindlessly scoop another spoonful of ice cream into a bowl, but you might think twice if you have to justify this extra portion to your family as you eat dessert together at the dinner table. Want to take it a step further? Find yourself a diet buddy! Dieters who have a weight-loss partner lose significantly more belly fat compared to those who try to slim down alone, according to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

3

You Cut Out Groups of Foods

You shouldn’t punish an entire food group as a dietary villain. A diet that forbids entire food groups is not only unsustainable, but it can also be dangerous. (Unless, of course, there’s a medical reason—such as lactose intolerance or Celiac disease—to scratch something from your diet). For example: While eating too many refined flour foods can pack on the pounds by spiking your blood sugar and never fully satisfying your hunger pangs, that doesn’t mean that all carbs have the same effect. In fact, whole grains are rich in energizing B vitamins and digestion-slowing fiber. Plus, since carbs are an essential source of energy, completely slashing this food group from your diet can cause exhaustion, irritability, and lethargy.

4

You Fall for Health Halos

Whether it’s slapping a product with a “sugar-free” label or pointing out the food’s myriad of vitamins and minerals, marketing claims can get in the way of weight loss if you’re not actually reading the ingredients and nutritional information. You see, when dieters perceive a food to be nutritious—thanks to buzzwords like “organic” or “gluten-free”—they tend to misjudge how many calories are actually in them. As a result, dieters tend to feel entitled to indulge, which can lead to eating 131 percent more calories than you otherwise would, according to a Cornell University study.

RELATED: 14 “Health” Foods Worst Than a Donut

5

You Eat While Watching T.V.

The big game is on and it’s dinner time? Well, that’s why we have DVR! Press pause. Experts find that when your mind is distracted by other things while eating, such as watching TV or listening to loud music, it can block certain satiety cues from alerting your brain that you’ve eaten your fill. As a result, you consume more calories than your body needs, which will likely be stored as fat.

6

You Skip Meals

Constantly find yourself downing bags of chips or sleeves of cookies? Despite what you may think, feeling like you’re always hungry is not because you have a lack of willpower. In fact, if these binges are happening on busy days when you’ve “forgotten” to eat lunch, it’s likely a sign you need to change up your diet. “While skipping meals might seem like an easy way to eat less, it will most likely actually cause you to eat more later on,” says Sarah-Jane Bedwell, RD, LDN.

7

You Dine While You Dash

In a rush? Don’t start shoveling food in your face. If there’s one resolution to make this year, it should be to extend your lunch break to at least 20 minutes. Why the time minimum? Experts have found it takes around that amount of time for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full. It’s one of the reasons why fast food is so bad for your waistline; you quickly eat the calorie-laden fare before your body can tell you you’ve had enough!

8

You Forget to Exercise

According to recent research published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, weight loss programs that formally include an exercise routine are significantly more effective for weight loss and improved health than diets without recommended sweat sessions. Dr. Conrad Earnest, lead co-author of the study, recommends an exercise routine that includes both aerobic and strength training. Before you hit the weights, don’t miss these 24 Things No One Ever Tells You About the Gym.

9

You Go Too Hard Too Fast

It’s great to switch things up into a new exercise routine, but don’t hit the ground running—both literally and figuratively. If your body isn’t used to working out on the reg, you could injure yourself if you up your reps or mileage too quickly, which can hamper your weight-loss progress. Take your time to build up your base before you start racking up 10-mile runs every day.

10

You Rely on Exercise Also

“Moving more” isn’t going to be the only thing that helps you slim down. For starters, a 2012 review published in the journal Obesity Reviews found that people tend to overestimate how many calories they burn when they workout. As a result, people will not only overcompensate for their workout by eating more calories than they burned, but they may also think they can now indulge in junk food as a “reward” for exercise. As an example, a 155-pound person biking for one hour burns on average 520 calories. That can all be undone by under two slices of Domino’s Hand Tossed Cheese pizza.

11

You Slack Off When It Comes to Beverages

Although diet usually refers to food, don’t forget beverages! Processed juices, sugary sodas, and sweetened teas are all full of calories and can do major damage to your waistline. It’s not just the calories that will encourage your body to pack on the pounds. Studies have found that our bodies don’t register liquid calories like it does solid calories—and as a result, we may end up drinking more calories until we feel full.

12

You Assume “Diet” Drinks Are Good Replacements

They may tout “zero calories,” but a 2017 review published in the journal PLOS One concluded that diet drinks are not helpful for weight loss and that they may even cause people to pile on the pounds because they can dull your sweet receptors, causing you to consume more of traditionally sweet foods, and thus, consume more calories.

13

You Treat One Food Like a Magic Diet Pill

Yes, apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been connected to delaying gastric emptying (i.e. keeping you fuller for longer) and minimizing spikes in blood sugar. But just because you’re coating your salad with it every day doesn’t mean you don’t have to change anything else about your diet. There is no magic cure-all food that will help you drop the weight. Continue drizzling on that ACV, but just make sure you’re also cutting out junk food, doing your exercise, and avoiding these 31 Things You Did Today to Slow Your Metabolism.

14

You Rely on Supplements

Americans may spend billions of dollars on dietary supplements a year, but according to a 2016 study published in the journal JAMA, many of these products show no benefit over placebo. Another surprising finding? Supplement users are apparently among the healthiest members of the population and likely don’t even need supplements. So, unless you have a nutritional deficiency and have been instructed by your doctor to take a supplement, you should look to get your nutrients from whole foods. Doing so will mean you’re getting more than just the vitamin you’re looking for; you’re also getting belly-filling fiber, muscle-building protein, and brain-powering healthy fats.

15

You Forget Fats

Let this be the last time you choose the “low-fat” option! Don’t fear fats! In fact, when you don’t eat enough fat, you may suffer from feeling constant hunger, could develop adult acne, and may constantly feel like your brain is in a fog. Fats are necessary to feed the brain and help mitigate cravings. Incorporate more healthy fats like those from avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, and grass-fed butter.

16

You Skimp On Sleep

When you snooze, you lose—weight that is. Sleep helps your body recover from those heart-thumping workouts, allowing for cell regeneration and muscle building. That’s not all. Sleep also keeps your metabolism humming, your hunger hormones in check and your stress levels low. When you don’t sleep enough (experts recommend seven to eight hours a night), your cortisol levels skyrocket, which can slow down your metabolism and lead to excess production of belly fat.

17

You Forget to Dress Your Salads

Leafy greens are some of the top sources of vitamins. In particular, four vitamins that are fat-soluble: vitamins A, D, E, and K. That means these essential micronutrients will only be absorbed into the body once they’re dissolved in fat globules (in other words, a little EVOO). These vitamins play varying roles in maintaining proper bone, eye, and skin health, but also help keep your immune system fend off the colds that could put you out of commission and may throw your diet off track.

18

You Eat Your Brown Bag Lunch at Your Desk

Being mindful is a major part of weight loss, and it’s a sure bet that it’ll take a back seat when you’re simultaneously working and chomping on your lunch. Trying to do two things at once can distract your brain from recognizing that you’ve reached your fill. Not to mention, being able to step away from work briefly can subliminally tell your body you don’t have to be so stressed about work, which can help you get a handle on your fat-inducing cortisol levels.

19

You Eat When You’re Not Hungry

You know about the seafood diet right? Every time you see food, you eat it? It’s a mildly amusing joke, but it’s also surprisingly accurate. You see, the problem is that when we see food, we’re more likely to eat it even if your body isn’t in need of calories. According to Oxford researchers, the phenomenon is called “visual hunger.” It refers to our body’s natural response to increase your “I’m hungry” hormones upon sight of food since our brains developed when food was scarce and your body wanted to ensure you consumed all available resources that could provide energy and nutrients for survival. Science says the solution to the “see-food diet” is simple: hide your vices and steer clear of the break room box of donuts. You can also try these 30 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Feeling Full.

20

You Eat Dinner Too Late

And no, it’s not because it stalls your metabolism. When you eat a large meal too close to your bedtime, you may have trouble falling asleep, thanks to your body working to digest that meal. And when you don’t get a good night’s rest, studies show you’re more likely to have higher levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin the next day, which can cause you to overeat. “Research also shows that when we’re sleep-deprived, our brains respond more strongly to junk food and have less of an ability to practice portion control,” Alissa Rumsey, RD, and Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics tells us.

21

You Celebrate Success with Food Rewards

Whether it’s hitting a personal best mile time or losing another five pounds, you should certainly celebrate—just don’t rely on alcohol and sweets to reward your success. If you do, odds are you’ll see the weight creep back onto your slimmed-down frame before you know it. Instead, use things like a facial, manicure, or a favorite exercise class as a reward for your hard work.

22

You Stop Weighing In

What’s the harm in reminding yourself of your continued success? The scale keeps you mindful of your diet, and it will quickly tip you off to regained pounds. In fact, dieters who weigh themselves daily can lose twice as much weight as those who weigh themselves less frequently, according to University of Minnesota researchers.

23

You Bore Yourself with the Same Workouts

Routines are great when it comes to always heading to the gym before work, but if you get there and repeat the same elliptical workout, you’re likely not getting as much from your exercise as you could. That’s because you’re not challenging new muscles. To wake up your metabolic rate, shock your muscles by changing up your workouts every two weeks.

24

You Let Frozen Options Replace Homemade Meals

Frozen meals once in awhile: approved. But for every meal? Skip it. Not only are these cold concoctions typically loaded with bloat-inducing, blood-pressure-raising sodium, but—let’s face it—you’re not likely going to be able to subsist on frozen meals forever. After a while, you’re likely to tire of the same menus. Plus, if you rely on pre-portioned meals, once you go off them, you’re likely to regain all that lost weight since you have no replacement. If sustainable weight loss is your goal, kick the shortcuts to the curb and make your meals at home from scratch. Doing so can help you banish these nasty additives as well as cut calorie consumption by an average of 200 calories a day, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.

25

You Deprive Yourself

You don’t have to deprive yourself to lose weight. The reasoning is simple: research published in the journals Appetite and Eating Behaviors supports the notion that giving into a guilty pleasure is more effective at keeping weight off long term than trying to suppress it. Why is that? Well, both studies demonstrated that when participants gave into a craving (rather than fighting it off), it actually helped to reduce binge eating and decreased subsequent cravings.

26

You Save Your Calories for Later

You know you’re going out to dinner with your friends later tonight, so you choose to sip on a fruity drink and chomp on a couple carrots for lunch to save calories for later. It may seem responsible, but “it rarely works out as cleanly as we like,” nutritionist Lisa Hayim, MS, RD tells us. “By the time you get to dinner, and have a drink or two, the feelings of extreme hunger rush in, and you’re grabbing for whatever you can get your hands on, which is usually foods high in calories and fat. You’re so hungry, you may even end up consuming more than a day’s worth of calories in one sitting,” explains Hayim. Instead, she recommends eating on a normal schedule during the day and choosing to eat responsibility at night. And remember—one day of overindulgence isn’t going to do your body much harm. It’s only when it becomes a bad habit.

27

You Leave Your Water Bottle at Home

“Not drinking enough water can have a negative impact on the metabolism as well as your appetite,” says Alexandra Miller, RDN, LDN. Research has shown that people often respond to their thirst inappropriately by eating instead of drinking since the same part of our brain controls both responses. When you’re hydrated, it also helps to make your stomach feel full, which can fend off the feeling of hunger.

28

You Gush Over Food Porn on Instagram

If you shouldn’t eat it, don’t stop to gawk at it on your social feeds. That includes looking at oversized milkshakes and extra cheesy pizza. Studies have found that simply looking at calorie-laden fare can actually cause your hunger hormones to spike—even if your body isn’t physically in need of food.

29

You Rely on Food to Ease Your Nerves

The deadline for your project is fast approaching and you need to ease your nerves before the presentation. Here’s a newsflash: Downing a pint of ice cream is not the answer. Not only are the foods we typically lean towards when we’re stressed high in things that exacerbate your stress hormone levels—like fat and sugar—but they’re also high in calories and can cause weight gain. Plus, making a connection between eating and emotions can result in poor eating decisions and coping mechanisms. Instead, create an automatic response to stress that doesn’t involve food, such as going for a walk or taking a shower.

30

You Plan Your Life Around Your Diet

There’s a difference between being committed to a weight loss plan and being obsessed with it. If you start planning your entire life around your diet—like avoiding birthday parties so you don’t feel tempted by cake or miss out on seeing your old friend who’s in town briefly because you don’t want to get a drink—it will make your diet hard to stick to in the long run. A sustainable diet is one that leaves some wiggle room and doesn’t hinder you from living a fun and a fulfilling life. And now that you know what not to do, be sure to keep the healthy living going with these 40 Best Fat-Burning Foods.

  The post 30 Worst Diet Mistakes You’re Making appeared first on Eat This Not That.

[thehowtostuff-blog]

A glazed ham is an impressive main course for any festive occasion. It’s easy to make, and a few tricks can guarantee moist, tender meat and a flavorful, gleaming glaze. Prepare the glaze while the ham’s in the oven, and brush it on when the ham is nearly done. Continue to bake the ham for around 15 minutes, or until the glaze is crispy and caramelized. For best results, use a meat thermometer to track the internal temperature and cook your ham to perfection.

EditIngredients

EditSimple Brown Sugar Glaze

1 ⅓ cup (265 g) dark brown sugar

orange juice, red wine, or cognac

EditBrown Sugar and Soy Sauce Glaze

1 ⅓ cup (265 g) light brown sugar

soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

EditBourbon, Molasses, and Clove Glaze

molasses

bourbon

½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cloves

EditMaple-Orange Glaze

maple syrup

orange marmalade

2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon (16 g) Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon (2 g) ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon (¾ g) ground cinnamon

EditSteps

EditMaking a Glaze

Prepare the glaze after putting the ham in the oven. Eventually, you’ll glaze the ham about 15 to 20 minutes before it’s finished cooking. To have the glaze ready in time, start working on it around 45 to 60 minutes before you expect the ham to be done.[1]

Quick glazes take mere minutes, and even those that need to be reduced on the stove top take under 15 minutes.

Whisk up a brown sugar glaze if you want a simple, classic option. For the easiest, no-cook option, simply whisk together 1 ⅓ cup (265 g) of dark brown sugar with of orange juice, red wine, or cognac. Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved completely.[2]

Simmer a soy sauce glaze to add savory notes. Alternatively, combine 1 ⅓ cup (265 g) of light brown sugar, of soy sauce, and 2 minced garlic cloves in a small saucepan, then bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat.[3]

Lower the heat once the mixture has reached a boil. Stir it occasionally, and simmer it for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it’s thickened slightly. Then turn off the heat, and allow the glaze to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes before brushing it over the ham.

Combine bourbon, molasses, and cloves for a deep, warm glaze. Whisk together of molasses, of bourbon, and ½ teaspoon (1 g) of ground cloves in a small saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes.[4]

Once the mixture has thickened slightly, turn off the heat, and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Make a maple-orange glaze for a tangy, bright flavor combination. Combine of maple syrup, of orange marmalade, 2 tablespoons (30 g) of unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon (16 g) of Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon (2 g) of ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon (¾ g) of ground cinnamon in a small saucepan. Simmer the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it’s syrupy and has reduced to .[5]

Let the glaze cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes before brushing it over the ham. of honey.[6]}}

Try coming up with your own custom glaze. You can find countless recipes for glazes, but coming up with your own glaze is easy. Experiment with ingredients on hand until you've balanced sweet, acidic, and savory flavors. Aim to make between of glaze, and reserve about a third of it to serve at the dinner table.[7]

The basic ingredients of a glaze are a sweetener (such as brown sugar or molasses), an acid (such as vinegar or orange juice), and herbs or spices (such as thyme or cloves).

EditApplying the Glaze

Bake a cured or pre-cooked ham covered at . Preheat the oven, remove the ham from its package, and pat it dry. Place the ham in an oven bag, and set it cut-side down on a shallow roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. If you don’t have an oven bag, cover the ham loosely with aluminum foil.[8]

Plan on baking a cured (pre-cooked) ham for about 10 to 15 minutes per pound (about 22 to 33 minutes per kg), or until it reaches an internal temperature of . If you didn’t soak the ham to bring it to room temperature, plan on heating it for an hour longer.. Set the ham in a foil-lined roasting pan, and pour of bourbon, cider, wine, or water over it. Bake it for about 20 minutes per pound (about 44 minutes per kg), or until it reaches an internal temperature of .[9]}}

Remove the ham from the oven 20 minutes before it's finished baking. If you’re reheating a cured ham, take it out of the oven once it reaches an internal temperature of . For a ham soaked in hot water and baked at , that should take about 1 to 1 ½ hours.[10]

Rest the hot roasting pan on a wire cooling rack. After you take out the ham, raise the oven temperature to .

If you’re cooking an uncured ham at , take it out of the oven once it’s reached an internal temperature between , or after about 2 hours.[11]

Score the ham if it’s not spiral-sliced. Make a series of deep diagonal cuts apart across the top surface of the ham. Then rotate the pan and make diagonal cuts in the other direction to make a grid of diamond shapes. Scoring makes for a great presentation and allows the glaze to penetrate deeper into the meat.[12]

Since a spiral-sliced ham is pre-cut, scoring is unnecessary.

If desired, press a whole clove into each point where 2 scored lines intersect. Just remember to remove them before you carve and serve the ham. deep cuts across the its surface.[13]}}

Brush the ham with about a third of the glaze. Use a basting brush or a spoon to coat the ham with a portion of the glaze. Be sure to work the glaze into the ham’s scored lines or spiral cuts.[14]

The sugars in the glaze will caramelize, yielding an attractive, flavorful, and candy-like skin. Glazing the ham too early in the cooking process will lead to a scorched ham, so wait until the last 15 to 20 minutes.

Raise the oven to and continue baking the ham. Return the ham to the oven and continue baking it, uncovered, until the glaze begins to become shiny, crispy, and slightly brown.[15]

Raise the temperature when you first remove the ham so the oven has time to heat.

Brush on another third of the glaze after about 10 minutes. Work quickly when you brush on more glaze to prevent the oven temperature from dropping too low. Keep the ham in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until the surface is crisp, brown, and caramelized.[16]

Be sure to keep a close eye on the ham through the oven window to keep it from burning.

EditServing Your Glazed Ham

Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest. Take the ham out of the oven, transfer it to a carving board, and turn off the oven. Tent it loosely with foil, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes.[17]

While the ham rests, its internal temperature will increase a bit. This means the final serving temperature will be around for a cured ham and for one that was uncooked when you purchased it.

For a fresh, uncooked ham, is the recommended safe internal temperature. A cured ham was already cooked, so it’s even safe to eat cold.[18]

Make a quick sauce with the rest of the glaze. While the ham rests, whisk 2 to 4 tablespoons of the pan juices with the remaining third of the glaze until you’ve thinned it into a sauce.[19]

To keep the glaze warm, place the saucepan over a burner set to low heat and stir it occasionally.

Present the ham to your guests before carve it. Garnish the ham with a bouquet of fresh herbs, such as parsley or watercress, and show it off to your guests. Once they've had a chance to admire your handiwork, you can get to carving and serving the ham.[20]

Carve the ham into slices. If your ham isn’t pre-cut, slice it yourself with a sharp carving or chef’s knife. First, remove the cloves, if you inserted any into the scored surface. Cut off a few slices to flatten the thinner side, then turn the ham onto the flat side so it won’t roll as you carve the meatier side.[21]

If you look at the cut side, you’ll see that the bone is closer to one edge. This is the thinner side, and you want to carve the opposite, meatier side.

Slice straight down into the ham until you reach the bone. Make cuts every , then run the knife horizontally along the bone to remove the slices.

If you bought a spiral-sliced ham, simply cut along the bone to remove the slices.

Serve the ham slices with your glaze sauce. Transfer the slices, along with your garnishes, to a serving platter. Set a serving fork on the platter, and pour the glaze sauce into a gravy boat. Bring the boat and platter to the table, serve your guests, and invite them to add sauce to their liking.[22]

Pair your glazed ham with side dishes such as balsamic green beans, mashed or scalloped potatoes, and roasted carrots.

EditTips

Go with a bone-in, spiral-sliced ham, which are the most flavorful, convenient, readily available options. They take less time to prepare and, since they’re pre-cut, are easier to carve.[23]

If you’re not sure what size ham to buy, allow about per person.

Avoid purchasing hams labeled “water added” or “ham and water product.” These injected solutions dilute the flavor.

To reduce cooking time, soak the ham in its original packaging in hot water for 90 minutes. Less time in the oven means less evaporation, which translates to moist, tender meat.[24]

Store leftover glazed ham for 7 to 10 days, and enjoy it with fried eggs, in sandwiches, or with leftover side dishes from your holiday meal.[25]

EditThings You'll Need

Roasting pan

Oven bag (or aluminum foil)

Meat thermometer

Small saucepan

Measuring cup

Measuring spoon

Whisk

Basting brush or spoon

Cutting board

Chef's knife

EditRelated wikiHows

Score a Ham

EditSources and Citations

EditQuick Summary

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

from How to of the Day http://bit.ly/2VHN3Nd

[applecybermonday]

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Cyber Monday Crock Pot Deals - Best Crock Pot 2018 Cyber Monday Deals (Cyber Monday Slow Cooker Deals) - Looking for the best slow cooker? You’ve come to the right place, because we have taken the time to document some of the top-rated slow cookers for you.

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Slow cookers аrе а rеlаtіvеlу nеw addition tо thе cooking market whеn уоu compare thеm wіth оthеr cooking pots, ѕuсh аѕ pressure cookers аnd rice cookers. Sіnсе 1940, whеn Irving Naxon patented thе fіrѕt model, slow cookers hаvе соmе quіtе fаr іn thеіr development. In fact, а research study conducted bу NPD Group Inс. twо years bасk іndісаtеd thаt mоrе thаn 83% оf American households uѕе slow cookers—creating а demand fоr slow cookers thаt hаѕ doubled ѕіnсе thе 1980s. So, mоrе thаn likely, whаt уоu mау bе dealing wіth аrе models thаt offer а combination оf oven safe crock аnd built-in stove. Additionally, thе slow cooker уоu аrе lооkіng fоr mіght bе thе оnе wіth multiple functions – аll digital. If thаt isn’t іn уоur price and/or interest range, thеrе аrе ѕоmе alluring models thаt саn quicken оr slow dоwn thе cooking time, depending uроn уоur culinary needs.

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Cyber Monday Crock Pot Deals

Cyber Monday Crock Pot Deals

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Crock-Pot SCCPVL605-S 6-Quart Programmable Cook & Carry Oval Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel

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Read More About Cyber Monday Crock Pot Deals

Itѕ initial appearance mіght ѕееm funny, but thе Crock-Pot Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Cook & Carry Slow Cooker іѕ а tough competitor whеn compared tо other, similar models. Thе Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Slow Cooker іѕ mаdе fоr travelers аnd sports lovers whо wаnt tо watch thеіr teams play whіlе thеіr food cooks unattended. Whіlе thіѕ раrtісulаr model features thе Pittsburgh Steelers logo, thеrе аrе 11 оthеr models dedicated tо оthеr NFL teams.

Design аnd Construction

Thіѕ slow cooker hаѕ а solid metal exterior аnd maintains average slow cooker weight аѕ а result—13.9 pounds tо bе exact. It offers а spacious oval ceramic pot (stoneware) thаt rests іnѕіdе thе heating base. Thе stoneware іtѕеlf іѕ removable аnd dishwasher safe, ѕо уоu won’t nееd tо spend tоо muсh time washing іt аnd еnd uр missing thе lаѕt seconds оf thаt crucial game! Thе stoneware offers а 6-quart capacity, whісh cooks еnоugh food tо satisfy 7-or-more people іn оnе sitting. Travel-Friendliness

Thіѕ slow cooker hаѕ а glass lid complete wіth а travel-friendly locking system, tо kеер уоur cooked food frоm sloshing аrоund оr spilling durіng transportation. Similar tо оthеr models, уоu саn ѕее full-grip stay-cool handles аt еасh side оf thе cooker. They’re designed tо mаkе thіѕ slow cooker feel аѕ light аѕ аn ordinary pot, аnd аlѕо mаkе carrying іt muсh simpler. Thе control panel resides оn thе front оf thе cooker аnd features а manual control knob. Features

Functionality-wise, thіѕ slow cooker mау nоt bе аѕ convenient аѕ оthеr models wіth touchpad controls, but аѕ іt іѕ mаdе tо appeal tо travelers аnd sports fans, аnd dоеѕ а great job reaching bоth groups. Lіkе оthеr models, thе Crock-Pot Cook & Carry offers on/off, high, lоw аnd kеер warm options іn terms оf cooking temperatures. In short, аll thе features оf а basic digital model аrе аvаіlаblе оn thіѕ Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Slow Cooker, wіth thе exception оf automatic shifting оf cooked food tо kеер warm mode. Though, tо mаkе uр fоr thаt missing feature, thе manufacturers include а recipe list wіth еvеrу slow cooker.

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[fatburningblog-blog]

Lose weight in 7 days with lemon

The pursuit of health and being able to maintain an ideal figure may be the pursuit of many, and after these attempts to get a body turned and attractive silhouette comes the question: How to lose weight ?; There are a variety of solutions for this, but here's the alternative to lose weight with lemon, a natural and effective solution to get it in a week.

How to Lose Weight in 7 Days with Lemon

How does Heidi Klum and Jennifer Aniston stay slim and retain a healthy glow? Apparently, these beautiful celebrities are betting to lose weight by eating a lemon diet, one of the simplest and most effective diets. Lose weight with lemon can have amazing effects, so if you want to increase your vitality, eliminate toxins, remove excess fat and increase your shine, cheer up.

Here is our plan to lose weight in 7 days with lemon, complete menus including this citrus, recipes and daily goals. All it takes is 7 days on the lemon diet to cleanse your body, recharge your batteries and down one size of your jeans. (Always stay with a professional).

Do you want to lose weight in 7 days with lemon ? Here are the day-to-day steps you must follow to accomplish the goal.

Before You Start Lose Weight With Lemon - You Need A Detox

To lose weight, take a day of detoxification to purify your system

Before starting your diet really, you have to free your body of the toxins that are hindering and start up your digestive system. This does not mean that you should fast. Dying of hunger puts your body in a state of deprivation that, instead of being cleaned, actually causes your body to produce more waste.

So take an entire day eating many natural foods, foods that will help the detoxification process, as well as water to aid the drainage process and eliminate toxins.

Boost the cleaning process by drinking lemonade glasses at room temperature throughout the day. No coffee or alcohol.

How to make lemonade?

1-1½ Lemons - Squeezed (2 tablespoons lemon juice)

300 ml of filtered water

2 Quality teaspoon of organic maple syrup (or cinnamon sticks if preferred)

A pinch of cayenne pepper.

To make your lemonade, mix 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 300ml filtered water and 2 teaspoons (grade B) organic maple syrup or a cinnamon stick and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Also in addition to the lemonade you can drink herbal tea or fruit and homemade vegetable soup.

Homemade vegetable detox soup

1 chopped carrot

Chopped celery 1 branch

½ chopped onion

4 radishes

1 handful of peas

½ chopped fennel

Chop all vegetables into small pieces. Add the carrots, celery and onion in a medium skillet with boiling water. After 5 minutes, add the radishes, peas and fennel. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes and serve.

At the end of your day of detoxification, you will feel light and full of energy, and you will have lost 500g to 1kg (depending on your weight and body shape).

Daily diet to lose weight in 7 days with lemon

First Day - Detoxifying Menu

Drink on awakening (07:30) Glass with lemonade (recipe above).

Breakfast (30 minutes after getting up) Fruit salad (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries). An apple, a pear, an organic yogurt and a handful of unsalted organic almonds.

At mid morning A glass of lemonade. A banana. A handful of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

Lunch or meal Bean or lentil salad with lemon, apple cider vinegar dressing with extra virgin olive oil.

Snack Glass of lemonade. A serving of crudités (cucumber, radishes and celery) or a handful of nuts.

Dinner Grilled fish with lemon juice. Steamed vegetables.

1 hour before bedtime Glass of warm or hot lemonade

Second day - Start up your digestive system

The goal of this day is to drink lots of lemonade, from the moment you get up until just before bed. Like water, lemon is excellent in driving your digestive system, helping bowel movements and eliminating toxins. It is also a natural appetite suppressant.

How are you going to make this lemonade this day: As soon as you get up, take a glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice and warm water. For the rest of the day, focus on hydration. Take a bottle of water with you if it helps, with your 6 glasses of water in it. Try to drink outside of meals to help suppress appetite.

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast bowl of fruit salad, natural organic yogurt without sugar and 2 tablespoons of oats. Organic or almond milk 300ml.

Half morning 8 almonds without salt. Glass of fresh fruit juice diluted with water.

Lunch or meal Homemade organic vegetable soup Sandwich with organic whole-grain bread with low-fat and sprouted cheese.

Snack 2 homemade oatmeal cookies Cherry tomatoes and a spoonful of cottage cheese.

Dinner Grilled fish, chicken (free grazing) or tempeh with lemon sauce and olive oil (3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and half a clove of garlic). Green leafy vegetables sautéed into the wok with 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds. Cooked peaches and cinnamon. Warm water with lemon juice.

Third day - Aim of this day: burn fat

H oy you will use the power to burn fat with vitamin C on your side. Vitamin C is one of the most effective nutrients for fat burning and weight loss. It is mainly found in fruits and vegetables, which become the best low-calorie, fiber-rich , low-calorie slimming aliments, such as kiwi (80 mg / 100 g), cabbage vegetables (57 mg in red cabbage and 50 mg in califlor) Citrus fruits (52 mg of lemon and orange and 37 mg in grapefruit), pepper (160 mg medium), watercress (60 mg), aromatic herbs (37 mg in chervil, 200 mg in parsley and chives in 60 mg).

Along with your morning lemon drink, eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day. To achieve your goal, mix fruits with organic whole grains, use frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, and eat nuts and crudités (range of raw vegetables cut and accompanied with dressings) if you are hungry.

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast 1 poached egg. 2 slices of toasted whole wheat bread with a thin spread of organic butter and 1 roasted tomato. 1 apple. 300ml of almond milk or rice.

Half morning 2 fresh or dried apricots / apricots. Peanuts / peanuts without salt. Juice of watercress, apple and lemon.

Lunch or meal 3 tablespoons of each: beans, chickpeas and beans mixed with tomato and green pepper with lemon juice dressing. 1 piece of whole-wheat bread. 1 large green salad with chives. 1 kiwi.

Snack 1 oatmeal pancake, cottage cheese and strawberries.

Dinner Menestra of vegetables (tomatoes, chickpeas, spinach, potatoes, raisins and whole grain rice). Grilled banana with 2 ounces of fused black chocolate.

Fourth day - Regulate your blood sugar levels.

Regular blood sugar is one of the best ways to lose weight. If you are excessively low or excessively high in blood sugar, you are more likely to console yourself eating and you will store the sugar you consume as fat. First, sprinkle your meals with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice, or the mixture of lemon juice and lemon zest in your dish. Like vinegar, lemon helps to break down sugar gradually into the bloodstream.

To have your blood sugar under control:

Eat protein at every meal (protein delays the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats).

Eat at regular intervals.

Do not skip breakfast.

Choose low GI foods whenever you can (rice, bread and whole vegetables) as well as foods rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables and all things whole grain).

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast Raspberries and strawberries mixed with 2 teaspoons of oats and 300 ml of almond milk. Nectarine.

Half a morning Fruit salad with lemon juice. 300ml of almond milk.

Lunch or meal Dry bean salad / beans (red, Peruvian or any dried beans). Piece of whole wheat bread with a fine extension of organic butter. Natural yogurt.

Snack 1 teaspoon of sunflower seeds. Small bunch of grapes.

Dinner Fillet of salmon with lemon juice, baked with a large mixture of steamed vegetables Small ball of vegan chocolate ice cream with chopped walnuts

Fifth day - day of eating less sugar.

E l sugar stimulates insulin production and increases appetite calorie foods such as chocolate, biscuits and sweets. It also encourages fat accumulation and makes the liver work harder by disrupting the digestive process. If you have a sugar concussion, you do not have to get stuck in the pie: opt for low-GI carbohydrates instead, such as a slice of whole-wheat bread, rice crackers or oatmeal cookies.

Remember that processed foods have the same effect as sugar in the body, so avoid them. Fruits are also high in sugar, so eat a few nuts, almonds or few seeds with your fruit to minimize the effects. And sweeteners tend to make you crave sugar, so opt for maple syrup or honey bees instead: they may contain more calories, but they are healthier.

Breakfast Banana shake (mix milk 300ml of almonds, 1 natural yogurt, 2 small bananas and 1 teaspoon of raisins of good quality ) 2 slices of toasted whole bread with a fine extension of butter.

Half morning Seeds and nuts.

Lunch Potatoes and a small portion of beans / beans. Large vegetable salad with a pinch of low-fat grated cheese. 1 pear or peach.

Snack Vegetables with homemade hummus (chickpeas, lemon, sesame paste and garlic).

Do not stop reading:Japanese Deep Breathing Technique for Losing Belly Fat

Dinner Stuffed Pepper: Mix 4 tablespoons of basmati rice, 2 teaspoons pine nuts, chopped chives, cherry tomatoes and 60g feta or vegan cheese together. Chop a pepper in half, fill and serve with a large portion of steamed vegetables. Baked apple drizzled with cinnamon and a dash of maple syrup or honey from bees.

Sixth day - do not neglect your fat needs.

Fat can be high in calories (1g of fat contains 9 kcal), but it is essential for the body. As proof, we must get 25% of the daily calories from fat. A very low-fat diet can cause mood swings, skin problems, joint pain and even weight gain. If you eat good fats, you're really going to lose weight because healthy fat slows down the passage of sugar in the blood.

Ideally, 20-25% of our diet should consist of good fat, ie essential fatty acids (nuts, seeds, blue fish, rapeseed oil and walnut oil, avocados) and monounsaturated fats Extra virgin olive). It reduces the intake of less healthy types of fats (found in pasteurized dairy products, margarine and meat) to a minimum. Eat fatty fish at least twice a week, and eat a few nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds) with each bite.

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast A hard boiled egg and a sliced ​​tomato on a slice of rye bread. Half a dozen raspberries.

Half a morning A handful of nuts. Milk rice 300ml.

Lunch Cucumber and salmon on toast. A yogurt.

Snack 1 peach. 1 handful of grape seeds. 1 handful of sunflower seeds.

Dinner Pasta with tuna and sweet corn kernels: 6 tablespoons cooked whole wheat pasta, tuna, 2 tablespoons sweet corn kernels and a handful of chopped broccoli or tomatoes. Serve hot, with steamed vegetables and lemon juice. If you do not eat tuna, you can fill it with these recipes . Puree fruit and nuts.

Seventh: eating natural foods

This day is for eating natural foods. This day we will go with whole grains. Whole grains, whole wheat and whole grain foods are rich in nutrients that are essential for health and weight loss: fiber, vitamins and minerals. They do not contain hidden sugars or artificial substances that hinder digestion, overload the liver and stop the burning of fat. Cut out any refined food processed in any form. Eat only whole grains or whole wheat pasta, brown rice, bread and cereals. If you are gluten intolerant , try only to go with whole grains that do not contain it.

Make your own juice, soup and puree with fresh produce, and eat organic if you can (organic products contain very little, if any, chemicals).

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast A bowl of fresh fruit salad. A natural yogurt with 2 tablespoons of oats. 300ml of almond milk.

Half morning 1 Nectarine. A handful of nuts and seeds.

Lunch A small avocado / avocado. Green leaf salad with lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. An Apple.

Snack A slice of whole wheat toast sprinkled with grated cheese.

Dinner Tortilla made with 2 organic eggs, chopped mushrooms, 3 tablespoons low-fat grated cheese. Steamed vegetables. A small banana. Some strawberries.

Seventh day - be good with your digestive system

On the last day of your diet, focus on helping your digestive system . Bad digestion deprives the body of the essential nutrients it needs for metabolism and weight loss. First, chew each bite slowly, covering your food with the saliva to start the digestion process. Eat in moderation, at regular times, taking your time, and watch what you eat when you are very tired (mentally or physically). Have a break before dessert, do not eat in front of the television and do not have long conversations after dinner - get up from the table. Make sure you exercise regularly to improve your digestion and keep you regular.

Drink on waking Lemon juice and lukewarm water.

Breakfast Whole wheat cereals with fresh fruit, seeds and organic milk Glass of fresh apple juice diluted with water

Half a morning Small bowl of guacamole with carrot sticks 300ml of almond milk

Lunch Vegetarian pizza: cut a slice of whole wheat into slices 10 cm long. Cover with tomato sauce, chopped mushrooms and green pepper, 1 tablespoon of sweet corn kernels and a small slice of mozzarella, cut into slices. Bake and serve.

Snack Fruit salad sprinkled with sunflower seeds

Dinner Risotto (chicken breast, rice, grated cheese, lemon juice, tomato puree) Fruit salad

[richardrobertsimsuccessblog]

Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet!

There’s nothing like the dawn of a new year to get the adrenaline pumping, the motivation at DEFCON level, and the desire to do everything right like a new year’s resolution on steroids when it comes to our blogs. Maybe this is the year we get our big break if we just work hard enough!

I like to do somewhat of a spring clean of my blog at the beginning of the year, while I’ve got a bit of time over the holiday break, and also while I’m in the mood. If you’ve done your end-of-year blog audit, you’ll be in an even better position to kick-start your best year yet, so make sure you’ve got that sorted before you go through this list – it will give you a fantastic indication of where you can improve and what bits need working on the most.

I’m excited, and I know you’re super-keen to get moving, so these are my top tips for getting your blog in tip top shape for 2017. Go get ’em tiger!

Dream a dream

This is the bit where I like to go to a coffee shop, get a cup of something nice, and daydream. Where do I see myself in five years? How will my blog help me accomplish that? Where do I want my blog to go? What would I do if money were no object? What would I want to do if there was nothing to hold me back?

Think about where you’re headed – not in a practical sense, but in an anything-is-possible sense. Write it down. Mull it over. Brainstorm for a while. See what your heart desires for you and your blog. The answer might surprise you.

Make a plan

Now is the tricky part. How much of those dreams can you accomplish or work towards this year? What is going to be achievable on a practical level?

Write a list of all the things you’d really like to see yourself getting done this year.

How many posts you want to write

What kind of topics you want to explore

What kind of posts you enjoy writing and want to do more of

How many readers you’d like to end the year with

Ideas about growing your social media

Random thoughts about moving into video, podcasting, eLearning, freelance writing, writing a book

Places you’d love to get a guest post published

Who you’d like to collaborate with

Brands you’d like to work with

How much money you’d like to make

What you want your blog to achieve

What kind of products you’d like to create

You get the picture! Write down the things you really want to get done this year, and then jot down next to them three concrete steps you can take this year to work towards that.

If you want to get even more technical, break the tasks down to monthly/weekly/daily and make sure you set aside some time each week to review how well you are sticking to your plan.

Set a goal

This can be big or it can be small, it all depends on where you’re at in your blogging career. You can have one goal or you can have five (just don’t have too many, trust me!).

Goals are excellent for giving us purpose and driving us forward, and also giving us some parameters within which to work so we can decide whether opportunities or projects that become available to us are actually worth our time. Does it get us closer to our goal? Do you really want to do it for another reason? No? Well, “no” is your answer!

But I digress.

Think of a goal or goals and work out step-by-step how you’re going to get yourself there. Keep yourself accountable and review often. This advice will get you straight on the path to goal-achieving success:

How to Set Blog-Changing Goals for the New Year

Setting Goals: Why You Need Them, and How to Write Them

Blogging in Brief: Goal-Setting … and Reaching!

Long-term Goal-setting for Successful Bloggers

Nail that editorial calendar

I’ve said over and over again that this was finally the thing that helped me get more done because with a schedule, I was no longer wasting time. Well, I was wasting less time! I could plan out a content schedule, make preliminary notes and ideas for images, and do prior research when I could, so when I would sit down to write there was no faffing about – I had the bones of a post right there in front of me, and I knew when it was due – it felt like the work was already half done. It did wonders for my motivation, too.

Blogging spontaneously is fun. I like it. I always keep spots available for when I want to write off the cuff. But when it comes to keeping continuous, excellent content on my blog, an editorial calendar is MAN-DA-TO-RY.

If you chafe under such restrictions, think it hampers your creativity, or just need a hand getting started, then you might want to check out these posts:

Creating a Blog Content Plan for 2017

How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar

Mapping Out your Promotional Calendar

Develop an Editorial Calendar (and How to Do So!)

10 Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Blogging Schedule

Behind the Scenes – My Low Tech Editorial Schedule

Set a schedule

Speaking of schedules, I like them for all things – my blog work, my freelance work, my work here at ProBlogger, my housework, our meal plans – all sorts of things! I find they take the stress out of making decisions on the spot, and it allows me to get a head start on things I know are coming up. Everything from dinner to blog post ideas.

You can get all my secrets here: 3 Ways Scheduling Will Make You a Better Blogger, and you’ll find yourself with more time than stress this year. I promise.

What can you lock into your work week that you can then plan around? Make a note of these.

Ditch your bad habits

Oh my hand is firmly up here when it comes to doing things the wrong way. But as I said to a bunch of newbie bloggers recently, I think you sort of have to go about things the wrong way to start with, in order to find out what works at what doesn’t. You almost have to get to burnout stage before you make changes that will ensure you’ll never find yourself back there ever again.

Laziness and poor time management were my biggest bugbears before I got them straightened out. Assuming things will work themselves out was another problem vying for the top spot in Dumbest Things I Did While Blogging. Thankfully I took a good, hard look at how I was spending my time and what good habits I had to cultivate to make sure I was making the most of what I had and learning to cut away what no longer served me. You can read about that and get some tips for yourself here: Say Goodbye to Bad Habits: Five You Should Ditch in the New Year.

What are your bad habits? What do you know you need to reverse or alter before the new year starts in earnest? Be honest, now! It’s the only way!

Be more productive

It’s everybody’s dream – in the short hours we have to blog, we’d sit down at our computer, and churn out exactly what content we need to, without a wasted moment or an unnecessary break. We’d blog, ninja-style with no human desires to hold us back.

Wellll, we are human, things go wrong, we spend 45 minutes on Facebook instead of writing that post we were going to write, the cat is hungry, our mind wanders, we half-write a post and then go off on a tangent with something else… all too often, we get distracted.

I’m here to tell you that productive people aren’t accidentally productive. They’ve done things to optimise their environment, manage their weaknesses, and give themselves incentives for staying on task. There’s no reason you can’t do the same!

If 2017 is the year you’ve sworn to be more organised and less flighty, we’ve got the goods to help:

2x Your Blog Writing Productivity and Reduce Your Stress by Single-Tasking

How Working Fewer Hours Can Increase Your Productivity

Applying the Pareto Principle to Increase Your Productivity

5 Ways I Use Habits to Stay Creative and Productive When Working From Home

7 Productivity Tips for Bloggers

10 Ways To Stay Productive as a Work-at-Home Blogger

15 Quick and Easy Productivity Super-Hacks for Busy Bloggers

7 Ways for Bloggers to Be More Productive

Want a More Productive Week? Clean Your Darn Desk!

I mean, it’s a hot topic, right? None of us are born knowing how to blog efficiently! It’s like the blogger’s great white whale.

Let go of self-doubt

“Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do” – Steve Martin.

I love that quote – it sums up a lot about what it takes to make it in any creative endeavour. Hard work and no real idea what you’re up against. I think success is a curious mix of a willingness to have a go, and a lack of self-consciousness. Everything worth doing is hard, and there are too many people out there doing everything anyone would ever want to do. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for you.

I’ll bet you’ve heard again and again that nobody can write your story but you. That you have something special the world wants, whether it’s whittling spoons or writing the next Great American Novel. You have every right to follow a passion and see where it leads, regardless of how good you think you are at it. We all start from zero.

Feeling a Bit Lost? 4 Ways to Boost Productivity and Motivation on Your Blog

Is Your Self-perception Killing Your Blog?

How to Blog Without Comparing Yourself to Others

New to Blogging? Ditch the Fear of Judgement

Overcoming Blogger Fright

Automate

Honestly, blogging is on 24-hour time, and can’t (and shouldn’t want to!) be on call that whole time. We need blogging to fit around our life, not the other way around, and that means automating what you’re comfortable with. From blog posts to return emails, socila media, mailouts, anything that can be automated without pissing your readers off, should be automated.

Just please – PLEASE don’t do auto DMs on Twitter or bot-like comments on Instagram. They’re obvious, and they’re a turn-off. Don’t farm out your authenticity, sense of community, or personality. Automate everything else.

Need some ideas?

The Top 7 Email Marketing Automation Lifecycle Triggers Every Blogger Should Implement

Could Marketing Automation Be Hurting Your Blog-Reader Relationships?

How I Use Edgar to Increase The Effectiveness of My Social Media Strategy

10 PBEVENT Speakers Reveal their #1 Life Hack

Find your creativity

I always feel a bit wrung out at the end of the year, like a limp rag that has nothing left to give. Therefore, I spend most of my Christmas break reading widely, looking at beautiful, inspiring things, and letting my brain have enough time to daydream and imagine.

I think it’s so important to tap into that part of you that creates ideas and fill it to the brim with thing that will spark it up again. Get back to enjoying the things you love and let it naturally seep into your creative side.

Batch your tasks

When it comes time to sit down at your desk and crack open your laptop, you’re going to want to put your newfound new year motivation to good use. Write big lists for every aspect of your blog of things you need and want to do this year, and then batch similar tasks together.

Using the schedule you created earlier, see where these tasks can fit in to your day. Say Monday is a writing day, Tuesday is photography, Wednesday is editing, Thursday is scheduling social media, that sort of thing. Doing like tasks together helps you waste less time and uses less brain resources than flitting between tasks, or doing different sorts of tasks all day long.

The Science and Art of Batching to Increase Your Productivity

5 Reasons Batching Your Blog Content Can Improve Your Productivity

5 Tips to Blog Faster

3 Steps to Saving Time by Writing Social Media Updates in Batches

5 Ways to Make Your Blogging Life Easier

Improve your writing

If you’re feeding your creativity before you get started blogging this year, as I recommended earlier, then one of those things you should be doing is reading. Read anything and everything that you think will help you master the craft of writing. Read classics, re-read books you love, read blogs by people you admire, read writing that sparks emotions in you.

Then write. Fill up journals with anything, have a go at different styles, tinker around with how you can make your own writing more emotive. Maybe even take a short writing course, there are plenty to choose from online.

No matter how much blogging and social media changes, the ultimate way we connect with our audience is storytelling. Practice the art of it.

Five Quick Grammar Tips to Improve Your Writing – Plus Free Cheat Sheet

Blog like Hemingway: 5 Writing Tips to Improve Your Blog

The Stephen King Drawer Method for Writing Better Copy

NEVER SAY NEVER: Do You Always Have to Follow Writing “Rules” to Be a Successful Blogger?

7 Small Ways to Be a Better Writer

Take better photos

Now also is the time to practice taking photos for your blog. Often if this isn’t where our talent lies, we’re too busy taking care of our to-do list to work on the photography aspect. If you’re still on a break, or you’re in planning mode for your blog, take advantage of these extra minutes to read up on great technique and words of wisdom of those who make excellent photos look effortless.

But more importantly, practice! Make time to really get to know your camera, understand lighting, and play around with composition.

You can find endless amounts of tutorials and guides over on Darren’s other blog, Digital Photography School.

  Level up your Social Media

It’s time to get your game plan on! This is the year you’re going to share excellent content with regularity. Now, how are you going to do that?

What I would do if I were you is to make a list of all the sites I like to go to for inspiration and information. Maybe put them in a Bloglovin’ or Feedly reader so you can keep tabs on what they produce so you can share them with your audience.

Then I would mine my archives for blog posts that need to be shared again with my audience.

After that, I would have a look for a couple of funny things that my readers would like that suit my brand and personality.

Then I would write up a schedule for when things are going to be shared (take a look at your insights to see who’s on your page and when, and work around those times for sharing).

And above all of that I’d be thinking of how I could serve my readers the best on social media, and how I can allocate my time responding to them and engaging with them. How can I show my personality and be fully present when need be?

Our Top Tips on Social Media

How to Make Your Social Media Strategy More Effective for the New Year

The Step-by-Step Method to Making Your Content Shareable on Social Media

How to Rock Instagram to Promote Your Small Business

Why Boosting Facebook Posts Is Not So Bad After All

10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign

A Quick way to Get More Facebook Likes for Your Facebook Page

Write a Mission Statement

I think if you haven’t already, now’s the time to sit down and write down in a nutshell what your blog is and what it stands for. What you hope to achieve with it, and how you want people to receive it. It only needs a few lines, but it will the the guidepost and the framework from which all your blog decisions will come.

I think one of the best posts about blog purpose or mission statements comes from The Nester, so I’ll let her explain: Why Your Blog Needs a Purpose.

  And I wish you well on your new year blogging journey! May you begin it feeling positive, and may the good vibes continue all year long.

What do you like to do to ensure your blog is in tip top shape for the year to come? I’d love to hear!

The post Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet! appeared first on ProBlogger.

       Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet!

[becreativelyhealthy]

Optimal Low Carb "Stuffed Manicotti" (5&1 Compliant meal) [4 Servings: 1 Lean, 3 Green, 3 Condiment] 8 Cali'flour Flatbreads (8 Green, 1-⅓ Lean) 1-1/3 cups low fat ricotta cheese (1-⅓ Lean) 6 oz low-fat Mozzarella cheese or Italian blend (1 Lean)*reserve 3 ounces of cheese for top 1 large egg (⅓ Lean) 1-⅓ cup raw spinach (4 Condiment) 1 teaspoon garlic, minced (1 Condiment) ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (1 Condiment) ¼ teaspoon pepper (½ Condiment) ¼ teaspoon salt (1 Condiment) Sauce 1-½ cup Rao's Sauce* (4 Green,+4 Condiments) ¼ cup beef or veggie broth (¼ Condiment) chopped parsley or basil for garnish *OR: No sugar added approved marinara sauce can be used in exchange for Rao's Sauce Directions: ~Prep the Flatbreads: Bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes on parchment paper lined baking sheet. (You need them pliable enough to roll) ~Prep the Sauce: Measure the marinara sauce and broth into a blender and blend into smooth. Spritz a small rectangular or square glass microwave baking dish. Then pour ⅓ of the sauce into the glass dish; set aside. ~In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the manicotti filling. (Smooth the top of the filling in the bowl, making it flat and even. With a knife, score the top into 8 equal wedges to make sure you divide the filling evenly) ~Lay a warm Flatbread on the work surface in front of you. With a large spoon, spoon out about ⅛th of the ricotta filling and place it towards the front of the Flatbread. Gently Roll-up and place seam-side-down in the baking dish. Repeat this step for each Flatbread and filling portion. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the rolled stuffed Flatbread and top with the reserved cheese. ~Cover with plastic wrap and cook in the microwave for 4-5 minutes (more or less depending on your microwave). *Remove plastic wrap. Place under the broiler to brown the cheese for 1-2 minutes; IF Desired. Watch carefully so you do not burn it! ~Garnish with chopped parsley or basil. #BeCreativelyHealthy #opt4lifewithjenn For homemade wrap recipe message me. To order approved Flatbreads, use link: https://www.califlourfoods.com/products/lite-intro-packs/?aff=138 USE CODE: LitePack at the checkout page https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cYoXbA3bu/?igshid=103lqfzll6zq0

[kristinejrosario]

Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet!

There’s nothing like the dawn of a new year to get the adrenaline pumping, the motivation at DEFCON level, and the desire to do everything right like a new year’s resolution on steroids when it comes to our blogs. Maybe this is the year we get our big break if we just work hard enough!

I like to do somewhat of a spring clean of my blog at the beginning of the year, while I’ve got a bit of time over the holiday break, and also while I’m in the mood. If you’ve done your end-of-year blog audit, you’ll be in an even better position to kick-start your best year yet, so make sure you’ve got that sorted before you go through this list – it will give you a fantastic indication of where you can improve and what bits need working on the most.

I’m excited, and I know you’re super-keen to get moving, so these are my top tips for getting your blog in tip top shape for 2017. Go get ’em tiger!

Dream a dream

This is the bit where I like to go to a coffee shop, get a cup of something nice, and daydream. Where do I see myself in five years? How will my blog help me accomplish that? Where do I want my blog to go? What would I do if money were no object? What would I want to do if there was nothing to hold me back?

Think about where you’re headed – not in a practical sense, but in an anything-is-possible sense. Write it down. Mull it over. Brainstorm for a while. See what your heart desires for you and your blog. The answer might surprise you.

Make a plan

Now is the tricky part. How much of those dreams can you accomplish or work towards this year? What is going to be achievable on a practical level?

Write a list of all the things you’d really like to see yourself getting done this year.

How many posts you want to write

What kind of topics you want to explore

What kind of posts you enjoy writing and want to do more of

How many readers you’d like to end the year with

Ideas about growing your social media

Random thoughts about moving into video, podcasting, eLearning, freelance writing, writing a book

Places you’d love to get a guest post published

Who you’d like to collaborate with

Brands you’d like to work with

How much money you’d like to make

What you want your blog to achieve

What kind of products you’d like to create

You get the picture! Write down the things you really want to get done this year, and then jot down next to them three concrete steps you can take this year to work towards that.

If you want to get even more technical, break the tasks down to monthly/weekly/daily and make sure you set aside some time each week to review how well you are sticking to your plan.

Set a goal

This can be big or it can be small, it all depends on where you’re at in your blogging career. You can have one goal or you can have five (just don’t have too many, trust me!).

Goals are excellent for giving us purpose and driving us forward, and also giving us some parameters within which to work so we can decide whether opportunities or projects that become available to us are actually worth our time. Does it get us closer to our goal? Do you really want to do it for another reason? No? Well, “no” is your answer!

But I digress.

Think of a goal or goals and work out step-by-step how you’re going to get yourself there. Keep yourself accountable and review often. This advice will get you straight on the path to goal-achieving success:

How to Set Blog-Changing Goals for the New Year

Setting Goals: Why You Need Them, and How to Write Them

Blogging in Brief: Goal-Setting … and Reaching!

Long-term Goal-setting for Successful Bloggers

Nail that editorial calendar

I’ve said over and over again that this was finally the thing that helped me get more done because with a schedule, I was no longer wasting time. Well, I was wasting less time! I could plan out a content schedule, make preliminary notes and ideas for images, and do prior research when I could, so when I would sit down to write there was no faffing about – I had the bones of a post right there in front of me, and I knew when it was due – it felt like the work was already half done. It did wonders for my motivation, too.

Blogging spontaneously is fun. I like it. I always keep spots available for when I want to write off the cuff. But when it comes to keeping continuous, excellent content on my blog, an editorial calendar is MAN-DA-TO-RY.

If you chafe under such restrictions, think it hampers your creativity, or just need a hand getting started, then you might want to check out these posts:

Creating a Blog Content Plan for 2017

How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar

Mapping Out your Promotional Calendar

Develop an Editorial Calendar (and How to Do So!)

10 Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Blogging Schedule

Behind the Scenes – My Low Tech Editorial Schedule

Set a schedule

Speaking of schedules, I like them for all things – my blog work, my freelance work, my work here at ProBlogger, my housework, our meal plans – all sorts of things! I find they take the stress out of making decisions on the spot, and it allows me to get a head start on things I know are coming up. Everything from dinner to blog post ideas.

You can get all my secrets here: 3 Ways Scheduling Will Make You a Better Blogger, and you’ll find yourself with more time than stress this year. I promise.

What can you lock into your work week that you can then plan around? Make a note of these.

Ditch your bad habits

Oh my hand is firmly up here when it comes to doing things the wrong way. But as I said to a bunch of newbie bloggers recently, I think you sort of have to go about things the wrong way to start with, in order to find out what works at what doesn’t. You almost have to get to burnout stage before you make changes that will ensure you’ll never find yourself back there ever again.

Laziness and poor time management were my biggest bugbears before I got them straightened out. Assuming things will work themselves out was another problem vying for the top spot in Dumbest Things I Did While Blogging. Thankfully I took a good, hard look at how I was spending my time and what good habits I had to cultivate to make sure I was making the most of what I had and learning to cut away what no longer served me. You can read about that and get some tips for yourself here: Say Goodbye to Bad Habits: Five You Should Ditch in the New Year.

What are your bad habits? What do you know you need to reverse or alter before the new year starts in earnest? Be honest, now! It’s the only way!

Be more productive

It’s everybody’s dream – in the short hours we have to blog, we’d sit down at our computer, and churn out exactly what content we need to, without a wasted moment or an unnecessary break. We’d blog, ninja-style with no human desires to hold us back.

Wellll, we are human, things go wrong, we spend 45 minutes on Facebook instead of writing that post we were going to write, the cat is hungry, our mind wanders, we half-write a post and then go off on a tangent with something else… all too often, we get distracted.

I’m here to tell you that productive people aren’t accidentally productive. They’ve done things to optimise their environment, manage their weaknesses, and give themselves incentives for staying on task. There’s no reason you can’t do the same!

If 2017 is the year you’ve sworn to be more organised and less flighty, we’ve got the goods to help:

2x Your Blog Writing Productivity and Reduce Your Stress by Single-Tasking

How Working Fewer Hours Can Increase Your Productivity

Applying the Pareto Principle to Increase Your Productivity

5 Ways I Use Habits to Stay Creative and Productive When Working From Home

7 Productivity Tips for Bloggers

10 Ways To Stay Productive as a Work-at-Home Blogger

15 Quick and Easy Productivity Super-Hacks for Busy Bloggers

7 Ways for Bloggers to Be More Productive

Want a More Productive Week? Clean Your Darn Desk!

I mean, it’s a hot topic, right? None of us are born knowing how to blog efficiently! It’s like the blogger’s great white whale.

Let go of self-doubt

“Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do” – Steve Martin.

I love that quote – it sums up a lot about what it takes to make it in any creative endeavour. Hard work and no real idea what you’re up against. I think success is a curious mix of a willingness to have a go, and a lack of self-consciousness. Everything worth doing is hard, and there are too many people out there doing everything anyone would ever want to do. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for you.

I’ll bet you’ve heard again and again that nobody can write your story but you. That you have something special the world wants, whether it’s whittling spoons or writing the next Great American Novel. You have every right to follow a passion and see where it leads, regardless of how good you think you are at it. We all start from zero.

Feeling a Bit Lost? 4 Ways to Boost Productivity and Motivation on Your Blog

Is Your Self-perception Killing Your Blog?

How to Blog Without Comparing Yourself to Others

New to Blogging? Ditch the Fear of Judgement

Overcoming Blogger Fright

Automate

Honestly, blogging is on 24-hour time, and can’t (and shouldn’t want to!) be on call that whole time. We need blogging to fit around our life, not the other way around, and that means automating what you’re comfortable with. From blog posts to return emails, socila media, mailouts, anything that can be automated without pissing your readers off, should be automated.

Just please – PLEASE don’t do auto DMs on Twitter or bot-like comments on Instagram. They’re obvious, and they’re a turn-off. Don’t farm out your authenticity, sense of community, or personality. Automate everything else.

Need some ideas?

The Top 7 Email Marketing Automation Lifecycle Triggers Every Blogger Should Implement

Could Marketing Automation Be Hurting Your Blog-Reader Relationships?

How I Use Edgar to Increase The Effectiveness of My Social Media Strategy

10 PBEVENT Speakers Reveal their #1 Life Hack

Find your creativity

I always feel a bit wrung out at the end of the year, like a limp rag that has nothing left to give. Therefore, I spend most of my Christmas break reading widely, looking at beautiful, inspiring things, and letting my brain have enough time to daydream and imagine.

I think it’s so important to tap into that part of you that creates ideas and fill it to the brim with thing that will spark it up again. Get back to enjoying the things you love and let it naturally seep into your creative side.

Batch your tasks

When it comes time to sit down at your desk and crack open your laptop, you’re going to want to put your newfound new year motivation to good use. Write big lists for every aspect of your blog of things you need and want to do this year, and then batch similar tasks together.

Using the schedule you created earlier, see where these tasks can fit in to your day. Say Monday is a writing day, Tuesday is photography, Wednesday is editing, Thursday is scheduling social media, that sort of thing. Doing like tasks together helps you waste less time and uses less brain resources than flitting between tasks, or doing different sorts of tasks all day long.

The Science and Art of Batching to Increase Your Productivity

5 Reasons Batching Your Blog Content Can Improve Your Productivity

5 Tips to Blog Faster

3 Steps to Saving Time by Writing Social Media Updates in Batches

5 Ways to Make Your Blogging Life Easier

Improve your writing

If you’re feeding your creativity before you get started blogging this year, as I recommended earlier, then one of those things you should be doing is reading. Read anything and everything that you think will help you master the craft of writing. Read classics, re-read books you love, read blogs by people you admire, read writing that sparks emotions in you.

Then write. Fill up journals with anything, have a go at different styles, tinker around with how you can make your own writing more emotive. Maybe even take a short writing course, there are plenty to choose from online.

No matter how much blogging and social media changes, the ultimate way we connect with our audience is storytelling. Practice the art of it.

Five Quick Grammar Tips to Improve Your Writing – Plus Free Cheat Sheet

Blog like Hemingway: 5 Writing Tips to Improve Your Blog

The Stephen King Drawer Method for Writing Better Copy

NEVER SAY NEVER: Do You Always Have to Follow Writing “Rules” to Be a Successful Blogger?

7 Small Ways to Be a Better Writer

Take better photos

Now also is the time to practice taking photos for your blog. Often if this isn’t where our talent lies, we’re too busy taking care of our to-do list to work on the photography aspect. If you’re still on a break, or you’re in planning mode for your blog, take advantage of these extra minutes to read up on great technique and words of wisdom of those who make excellent photos look effortless.

But more importantly, practice! Make time to really get to know your camera, understand lighting, and play around with composition.

You can find endless amounts of tutorials and guides over on Darren’s other blog, Digital Photography School.

  Level up your Social Media

It’s time to get your game plan on! This is the year you’re going to share excellent content with regularity. Now, how are you going to do that?

What I would do if I were you is to make a list of all the sites I like to go to for inspiration and information. Maybe put them in a Bloglovin’ or Feedly reader so you can keep tabs on what they produce so you can share them with your audience.

Then I would mine my archives for blog posts that need to be shared again with my audience.

After that, I would have a look for a couple of funny things that my readers would like that suit my brand and personality.

Then I would write up a schedule for when things are going to be shared (take a look at your insights to see who’s on your page and when, and work around those times for sharing).

And above all of that I’d be thinking of how I could serve my readers the best on social media, and how I can allocate my time responding to them and engaging with them. How can I show my personality and be fully present when need be?

Our Top Tips on Social Media

How to Make Your Social Media Strategy More Effective for the New Year

The Step-by-Step Method to Making Your Content Shareable on Social Media

How to Rock Instagram to Promote Your Small Business

Why Boosting Facebook Posts Is Not So Bad After All

10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign

A Quick way to Get More Facebook Likes for Your Facebook Page

Write a Mission Statement

I think if you haven’t already, now’s the time to sit down and write down in a nutshell what your blog is and what it stands for. What you hope to achieve with it, and how you want people to receive it. It only needs a few lines, but it will the the guidepost and the framework from which all your blog decisions will come.

I think one of the best posts about blog purpose or mission statements comes from The Nester, so I’ll let her explain: Why Your Blog Needs a Purpose.

  And I wish you well on your new year blogging journey! May you begin it feeling positive, and may the good vibes continue all year long.

What do you like to do to ensure your blog is in tip top shape for the year to come? I’d love to hear!

The post Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet! appeared first on ProBlogger.

       from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/7mJYoisYLT0/

[silvino32mills]

Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet!

There’s nothing like the dawn of a new year to get the adrenaline pumping, the motivation at DEFCON level, and the desire to do everything right like a new year’s resolution on steroids when it comes to our blogs. Maybe this is the year we get our big break if we just work hard enough!

I like to do somewhat of a spring clean of my blog at the beginning of the year, while I’ve got a bit of time over the holiday break, and also while I’m in the mood. If you’ve done your end-of-year blog audit, you’ll be in an even better position to kick-start your best year yet, so make sure you’ve got that sorted before you go through this list – it will give you a fantastic indication of where you can improve and what bits need working on the most.

I’m excited, and I know you’re super-keen to get moving, so these are my top tips for getting your blog in tip top shape for 2017. Go get ’em tiger!

Dream a dream

This is the bit where I like to go to a coffee shop, get a cup of something nice, and daydream. Where do I see myself in five years? How will my blog help me accomplish that? Where do I want my blog to go? What would I do if money were no object? What would I want to do if there was nothing to hold me back?

Think about where you’re headed – not in a practical sense, but in an anything-is-possible sense. Write it down. Mull it over. Brainstorm for a while. See what your heart desires for you and your blog. The answer might surprise you.

Make a plan

Now is the tricky part. How much of those dreams can you accomplish or work towards this year? What is going to be achievable on a practical level?

Write a list of all the things you’d really like to see yourself getting done this year.

How many posts you want to write

What kind of topics you want to explore

What kind of posts you enjoy writing and want to do more of

How many readers you’d like to end the year with

Ideas about growing your social media

Random thoughts about moving into video, podcasting, eLearning, freelance writing, writing a book

Places you’d love to get a guest post published

Who you’d like to collaborate with

Brands you’d like to work with

How much money you’d like to make

What you want your blog to achieve

What kind of products you’d like to create

You get the picture! Write down the things you really want to get done this year, and then jot down next to them three concrete steps you can take this year to work towards that.

If you want to get even more technical, break the tasks down to monthly/weekly/daily and make sure you set aside some time each week to review how well you are sticking to your plan.

Set a goal

This can be big or it can be small, it all depends on where you’re at in your blogging career. You can have one goal or you can have five (just don’t have too many, trust me!).

Goals are excellent for giving us purpose and driving us forward, and also giving us some parameters within which to work so we can decide whether opportunities or projects that become available to us are actually worth our time. Does it get us closer to our goal? Do you really want to do it for another reason? No? Well, “no” is your answer!

But I digress.

Think of a goal or goals and work out step-by-step how you’re going to get yourself there. Keep yourself accountable and review often. This advice will get you straight on the path to goal-achieving success:

How to Set Blog-Changing Goals for the New Year

Setting Goals: Why You Need Them, and How to Write Them

Blogging in Brief: Goal-Setting … and Reaching!

Long-term Goal-setting for Successful Bloggers

Nail that editorial calendar

I’ve said over and over again that this was finally the thing that helped me get more done because with a schedule, I was no longer wasting time. Well, I was wasting less time! I could plan out a content schedule, make preliminary notes and ideas for images, and do prior research when I could, so when I would sit down to write there was no faffing about – I had the bones of a post right there in front of me, and I knew when it was due – it felt like the work was already half done. It did wonders for my motivation, too.

Blogging spontaneously is fun. I like it. I always keep spots available for when I want to write off the cuff. But when it comes to keeping continuous, excellent content on my blog, an editorial calendar is MAN-DA-TO-RY.

If you chafe under such restrictions, think it hampers your creativity, or just need a hand getting started, then you might want to check out these posts:

Creating a Blog Content Plan for 2017

How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar

Mapping Out your Promotional Calendar

Develop an Editorial Calendar (and How to Do So!)

10 Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Blogging Schedule

Behind the Scenes – My Low Tech Editorial Schedule

Set a schedule

Speaking of schedules, I like them for all things – my blog work, my freelance work, my work here at ProBlogger, my housework, our meal plans – all sorts of things! I find they take the stress out of making decisions on the spot, and it allows me to get a head start on things I know are coming up. Everything from dinner to blog post ideas.

You can get all my secrets here: 3 Ways Scheduling Will Make You a Better Blogger, and you’ll find yourself with more time than stress this year. I promise.

What can you lock into your work week that you can then plan around? Make a note of these.

Ditch your bad habits

Oh my hand is firmly up here when it comes to doing things the wrong way. But as I said to a bunch of newbie bloggers recently, I think you sort of have to go about things the wrong way to start with, in order to find out what works at what doesn’t. You almost have to get to burnout stage before you make changes that will ensure you’ll never find yourself back there ever again.

Laziness and poor time management were my biggest bugbears before I got them straightened out. Assuming things will work themselves out was another problem vying for the top spot in Dumbest Things I Did While Blogging. Thankfully I took a good, hard look at how I was spending my time and what good habits I had to cultivate to make sure I was making the most of what I had and learning to cut away what no longer served me. You can read about that and get some tips for yourself here: Say Goodbye to Bad Habits: Five You Should Ditch in the New Year.

What are your bad habits? What do you know you need to reverse or alter before the new year starts in earnest? Be honest, now! It’s the only way!

Be more productive

It’s everybody’s dream – in the short hours we have to blog, we’d sit down at our computer, and churn out exactly what content we need to, without a wasted moment or an unnecessary break. We’d blog, ninja-style with no human desires to hold us back.

Wellll, we are human, things go wrong, we spend 45 minutes on Facebook instead of writing that post we were going to write, the cat is hungry, our mind wanders, we half-write a post and then go off on a tangent with something else… all too often, we get distracted.

I’m here to tell you that productive people aren’t accidentally productive. They’ve done things to optimise their environment, manage their weaknesses, and give themselves incentives for staying on task. There’s no reason you can’t do the same!

If 2017 is the year you’ve sworn to be more organised and less flighty, we’ve got the goods to help:

2x Your Blog Writing Productivity and Reduce Your Stress by Single-Tasking

How Working Fewer Hours Can Increase Your Productivity

Applying the Pareto Principle to Increase Your Productivity

5 Ways I Use Habits to Stay Creative and Productive When Working From Home

7 Productivity Tips for Bloggers

10 Ways To Stay Productive as a Work-at-Home Blogger

15 Quick and Easy Productivity Super-Hacks for Busy Bloggers

7 Ways for Bloggers to Be More Productive

Want a More Productive Week? Clean Your Darn Desk!

I mean, it’s a hot topic, right? None of us are born knowing how to blog efficiently! It’s like the blogger’s great white whale.

Let go of self-doubt

“Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do” – Steve Martin.

I love that quote – it sums up a lot about what it takes to make it in any creative endeavour. Hard work and no real idea what you’re up against. I think success is a curious mix of a willingness to have a go, and a lack of self-consciousness. Everything worth doing is hard, and there are too many people out there doing everything anyone would ever want to do. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for you.

I’ll bet you’ve heard again and again that nobody can write your story but you. That you have something special the world wants, whether it’s whittling spoons or writing the next Great American Novel. You have every right to follow a passion and see where it leads, regardless of how good you think you are at it. We all start from zero.

Feeling a Bit Lost? 4 Ways to Boost Productivity and Motivation on Your Blog

Is Your Self-perception Killing Your Blog?

How to Blog Without Comparing Yourself to Others

New to Blogging? Ditch the Fear of Judgement

Overcoming Blogger Fright

Automate

Honestly, blogging is on 24-hour time, and can’t (and shouldn’t want to!) be on call that whole time. We need blogging to fit around our life, not the other way around, and that means automating what you’re comfortable with. From blog posts to return emails, socila media, mailouts, anything that can be automated without pissing your readers off, should be automated.

Just please – PLEASE don’t do auto DMs on Twitter or bot-like comments on Instagram. They’re obvious, and they’re a turn-off. Don’t farm out your authenticity, sense of community, or personality. Automate everything else.

Need some ideas?

The Top 7 Email Marketing Automation Lifecycle Triggers Every Blogger Should Implement

Could Marketing Automation Be Hurting Your Blog-Reader Relationships?

How I Use Edgar to Increase The Effectiveness of My Social Media Strategy

10 PBEVENT Speakers Reveal their #1 Life Hack

Find your creativity

I always feel a bit wrung out at the end of the year, like a limp rag that has nothing left to give. Therefore, I spend most of my Christmas break reading widely, looking at beautiful, inspiring things, and letting my brain have enough time to daydream and imagine.

I think it’s so important to tap into that part of you that creates ideas and fill it to the brim with thing that will spark it up again. Get back to enjoying the things you love and let it naturally seep into your creative side.

Batch your tasks

When it comes time to sit down at your desk and crack open your laptop, you’re going to want to put your newfound new year motivation to good use. Write big lists for every aspect of your blog of things you need and want to do this year, and then batch similar tasks together.

Using the schedule you created earlier, see where these tasks can fit in to your day. Say Monday is a writing day, Tuesday is photography, Wednesday is editing, Thursday is scheduling social media, that sort of thing. Doing like tasks together helps you waste less time and uses less brain resources than flitting between tasks, or doing different sorts of tasks all day long.

The Science and Art of Batching to Increase Your Productivity

5 Reasons Batching Your Blog Content Can Improve Your Productivity

5 Tips to Blog Faster

3 Steps to Saving Time by Writing Social Media Updates in Batches

5 Ways to Make Your Blogging Life Easier

Improve your writing

If you’re feeding your creativity before you get started blogging this year, as I recommended earlier, then one of those things you should be doing is reading. Read anything and everything that you think will help you master the craft of writing. Read classics, re-read books you love, read blogs by people you admire, read writing that sparks emotions in you.

Then write. Fill up journals with anything, have a go at different styles, tinker around with how you can make your own writing more emotive. Maybe even take a short writing course, there are plenty to choose from online.

No matter how much blogging and social media changes, the ultimate way we connect with our audience is storytelling. Practice the art of it.

Five Quick Grammar Tips to Improve Your Writing – Plus Free Cheat Sheet

Blog like Hemingway: 5 Writing Tips to Improve Your Blog

The Stephen King Drawer Method for Writing Better Copy

NEVER SAY NEVER: Do You Always Have to Follow Writing “Rules” to Be a Successful Blogger?

7 Small Ways to Be a Better Writer

Take better photos

Now also is the time to practice taking photos for your blog. Often if this isn’t where our talent lies, we’re too busy taking care of our to-do list to work on the photography aspect. If you’re still on a break, or you’re in planning mode for your blog, take advantage of these extra minutes to read up on great technique and words of wisdom of those who make excellent photos look effortless.

But more importantly, practice! Make time to really get to know your camera, understand lighting, and play around with composition.

You can find endless amounts of tutorials and guides over on Darren’s other blog, Digital Photography School.

 Level up your Social Media

It’s time to get your game plan on! This is the year you’re going to share excellent content with regularity. Now, how are you going to do that?

What I would do if I were you is to make a list of all the sites I like to go to for inspiration and information. Maybe put them in a Bloglovin’ or Feedly reader so you can keep tabs on what they produce so you can share them with your audience.

Then I would mine my archives for blog posts that need to be shared again with my audience.

After that, I would have a look for a couple of funny things that my readers would like that suit my brand and personality.

Then I would write up a schedule for when things are going to be shared (take a look at your insights to see who’s on your page and when, and work around those times for sharing).

And above all of that I’d be thinking of how I could serve my readers the best on social media, and how I can allocate my time responding to them and engaging with them. How can I show my personality and be fully present when need be?

Our Top Tips on Social Media

How to Make Your Social Media Strategy More Effective for the New Year

The Step-by-Step Method to Making Your Content Shareable on Social Media

How to Rock Instagram to Promote Your Small Business

Why Boosting Facebook Posts Is Not So Bad After All

10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign

A Quick way to Get More Facebook Likes for Your Facebook Page

Write a Mission Statement

I think if you haven’t already, now’s the time to sit down and write down in a nutshell what your blog is and what it stands for. What you hope to achieve with it, and how you want people to receive it. It only needs a few lines, but it will the the guidepost and the framework from which all your blog decisions will come.

I think one of the best posts about blog purpose or mission statements comes from The Nester, so I’ll let her explain: Why Your Blog Needs a Purpose.

 And I wish you well on your new year blogging journey! May you begin it feeling positive, and may the good vibes continue all year long.

What do you like to do to ensure your blog is in tip top shape for the year to come? I’d love to hear!

The post Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet! appeared first on ProBlogger.

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Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet!

There’s nothing like the dawn of a new year to get the adrenaline pumping, the motivation at DEFCON level, and the desire to do everything right like a new year’s resolution on steroids when it comes to our blogs. Maybe this is the year we get our big break if we just work hard enough!

I like to do somewhat of a spring clean of my blog at the beginning of the year, while I’ve got a bit of time over the holiday break, and also while I’m in the mood. If you’ve done your end-of-year blog audit, you’ll be in an even better position to kick-start your best year yet, so make sure you’ve got that sorted before you go through this list – it will give you a fantastic indication of where you can improve and what bits need working on the most.

I’m excited, and I know you’re super-keen to get moving, so these are my top tips for getting your blog in tip top shape for 2017. Go get ’em tiger!

Dream a dream

This is the bit where I like to go to a coffee shop, get a cup of something nice, and daydream. Where do I see myself in five years? How will my blog help me accomplish that? Where do I want my blog to go? What would I do if money were no object? What would I want to do if there was nothing to hold me back?

Think about where you’re headed – not in a practical sense, but in an anything-is-possible sense. Write it down. Mull it over. Brainstorm for a while. See what your heart desires for you and your blog. The answer might surprise you.

Make a plan

Now is the tricky part. How much of those dreams can you accomplish or work towards this year? What is going to be achievable on a practical level?

Write a list of all the things you’d really like to see yourself getting done this year.

How many posts you want to write

What kind of topics you want to explore

What kind of posts you enjoy writing and want to do more of

How many readers you’d like to end the year with

Ideas about growing your social media

Random thoughts about moving into video, podcasting, eLearning, freelance writing, writing a book

Places you’d love to get a guest post published

Who you’d like to collaborate with

Brands you’d like to work with

How much money you’d like to make

What you want your blog to achieve

What kind of products you’d like to create

You get the picture! Write down the things you really want to get done this year, and then jot down next to them three concrete steps you can take this year to work towards that.

If you want to get even more technical, break the tasks down to monthly/weekly/daily and make sure you set aside some time each week to review how well you are sticking to your plan.

Set a goal

This can be big or it can be small, it all depends on where you’re at in your blogging career. You can have one goal or you can have five (just don’t have too many, trust me!).

Goals are excellent for giving us purpose and driving us forward, and also giving us some parameters within which to work so we can decide whether opportunities or projects that become available to us are actually worth our time. Does it get us closer to our goal? Do you really want to do it for another reason? No? Well, “no” is your answer!

But I digress.

Think of a goal or goals and work out step-by-step how you’re going to get yourself there. Keep yourself accountable and review often. This advice will get you straight on the path to goal-achieving success:

How to Set Blog-Changing Goals for the New Year

Setting Goals: Why You Need Them, and How to Write Them

Blogging in Brief: Goal-Setting … and Reaching!

Long-term Goal-setting for Successful Bloggers

Nail that editorial calendar

I’ve said over and over again that this was finally the thing that helped me get more done because with a schedule, I was no longer wasting time. Well, I was wasting less time! I could plan out a content schedule, make preliminary notes and ideas for images, and do prior research when I could, so when I would sit down to write there was no faffing about – I had the bones of a post right there in front of me, and I knew when it was due – it felt like the work was already half done. It did wonders for my motivation, too.

Blogging spontaneously is fun. I like it. I always keep spots available for when I want to write off the cuff. But when it comes to keeping continuous, excellent content on my blog, an editorial calendar is MAN-DA-TO-RY.

If you chafe under such restrictions, think it hampers your creativity, or just need a hand getting started, then you might want to check out these posts:

Creating a Blog Content Plan for 2017

How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar

Mapping Out your Promotional Calendar

Develop an Editorial Calendar (and How to Do So!)

10 Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Blogging Schedule

Behind the Scenes – My Low Tech Editorial Schedule

Set a schedule

Speaking of schedules, I like them for all things – my blog work, my freelance work, my work here at ProBlogger, my housework, our meal plans – all sorts of things! I find they take the stress out of making decisions on the spot, and it allows me to get a head start on things I know are coming up. Everything from dinner to blog post ideas.

You can get all my secrets here: 3 Ways Scheduling Will Make You a Better Blogger, and you’ll find yourself with more time than stress this year. I promise.

What can you lock into your work week that you can then plan around? Make a note of these.

Ditch your bad habits

Oh my hand is firmly up here when it comes to doing things the wrong way. But as I said to a bunch of newbie bloggers recently, I think you sort of have to go about things the wrong way to start with, in order to find out what works at what doesn’t. You almost have to get to burnout stage before you make changes that will ensure you’ll never find yourself back there ever again.

Laziness and poor time management were my biggest bugbears before I got them straightened out. Assuming things will work themselves out was another problem vying for the top spot in Dumbest Things I Did While Blogging. Thankfully I took a good, hard look at how I was spending my time and what good habits I had to cultivate to make sure I was making the most of what I had and learning to cut away what no longer served me. You can read about that and get some tips for yourself here: Say Goodbye to Bad Habits: Five You Should Ditch in the New Year.

What are your bad habits? What do you know you need to reverse or alter before the new year starts in earnest? Be honest, now! It’s the only way!

Be more productive

It’s everybody’s dream – in the short hours we have to blog, we’d sit down at our computer, and churn out exactly what content we need to, without a wasted moment or an unnecessary break. We’d blog, ninja-style with no human desires to hold us back.

Wellll, we are human, things go wrong, we spend 45 minutes on Facebook instead of writing that post we were going to write, the cat is hungry, our mind wanders, we half-write a post and then go off on a tangent with something else… all too often, we get distracted.

I’m here to tell you that productive people aren’t accidentally productive. They’ve done things to optimise their environment, manage their weaknesses, and give themselves incentives for staying on task. There’s no reason you can’t do the same!

If 2017 is the year you’ve sworn to be more organised and less flighty, we’ve got the goods to help:

2x Your Blog Writing Productivity and Reduce Your Stress by Single-Tasking

How Working Fewer Hours Can Increase Your Productivity

Applying the Pareto Principle to Increase Your Productivity

5 Ways I Use Habits to Stay Creative and Productive When Working From Home

7 Productivity Tips for Bloggers

10 Ways To Stay Productive as a Work-at-Home Blogger

15 Quick and Easy Productivity Super-Hacks for Busy Bloggers

7 Ways for Bloggers to Be More Productive

Want a More Productive Week? Clean Your Darn Desk!

I mean, it’s a hot topic, right? None of us are born knowing how to blog efficiently! It’s like the blogger’s great white whale.

Let go of self-doubt

“Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do” – Steve Martin.

I love that quote – it sums up a lot about what it takes to make it in any creative endeavour. Hard work and no real idea what you’re up against. I think success is a curious mix of a willingness to have a go, and a lack of self-consciousness. Everything worth doing is hard, and there are too many people out there doing everything anyone would ever want to do. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for you.

I’ll bet you’ve heard again and again that nobody can write your story but you. That you have something special the world wants, whether it’s whittling spoons or writing the next Great American Novel. You have every right to follow a passion and see where it leads, regardless of how good you think you are at it. We all start from zero.

Feeling a Bit Lost? 4 Ways to Boost Productivity and Motivation on Your Blog

Is Your Self-perception Killing Your Blog?

How to Blog Without Comparing Yourself to Others

New to Blogging? Ditch the Fear of Judgement

Overcoming Blogger Fright

Automate

Honestly, blogging is on 24-hour time, and can’t (and shouldn’t want to!) be on call that whole time. We need blogging to fit around our life, not the other way around, and that means automating what you’re comfortable with. From blog posts to return emails, socila media, mailouts, anything that can be automated without pissing your readers off, should be automated.

Just please – PLEASE don’t do auto DMs on Twitter or bot-like comments on Instagram. They’re obvious, and they’re a turn-off. Don’t farm out your authenticity, sense of community, or personality. Automate everything else.

Need some ideas?

The Top 7 Email Marketing Automation Lifecycle Triggers Every Blogger Should Implement

Could Marketing Automation Be Hurting Your Blog-Reader Relationships?

How I Use Edgar to Increase The Effectiveness of My Social Media Strategy

10 PBEVENT Speakers Reveal their #1 Life Hack

Find your creativity

I always feel a bit wrung out at the end of the year, like a limp rag that has nothing left to give. Therefore, I spend most of my Christmas break reading widely, looking at beautiful, inspiring things, and letting my brain have enough time to daydream and imagine.

I think it’s so important to tap into that part of you that creates ideas and fill it to the brim with thing that will spark it up again. Get back to enjoying the things you love and let it naturally seep into your creative side.

Batch your tasks

When it comes time to sit down at your desk and crack open your laptop, you’re going to want to put your newfound new year motivation to good use. Write big lists for every aspect of your blog of things you need and want to do this year, and then batch similar tasks together.

Using the schedule you created earlier, see where these tasks can fit in to your day. Say Monday is a writing day, Tuesday is photography, Wednesday is editing, Thursday is scheduling social media, that sort of thing. Doing like tasks together helps you waste less time and uses less brain resources than flitting between tasks, or doing different sorts of tasks all day long.

The Science and Art of Batching to Increase Your Productivity

5 Reasons Batching Your Blog Content Can Improve Your Productivity

5 Tips to Blog Faster

3 Steps to Saving Time by Writing Social Media Updates in Batches

5 Ways to Make Your Blogging Life Easier

Improve your writing

If you’re feeding your creativity before you get started blogging this year, as I recommended earlier, then one of those things you should be doing is reading. Read anything and everything that you think will help you master the craft of writing. Read classics, re-read books you love, read blogs by people you admire, read writing that sparks emotions in you.

Then write. Fill up journals with anything, have a go at different styles, tinker around with how you can make your own writing more emotive. Maybe even take a short writing course, there are plenty to choose from online.

No matter how much blogging and social media changes, the ultimate way we connect with our audience is storytelling. Practice the art of it.

Five Quick Grammar Tips to Improve Your Writing – Plus Free Cheat Sheet

Blog like Hemingway: 5 Writing Tips to Improve Your Blog

The Stephen King Drawer Method for Writing Better Copy

NEVER SAY NEVER: Do You Always Have to Follow Writing “Rules” to Be a Successful Blogger?

7 Small Ways to Be a Better Writer

Take better photos

Now also is the time to practice taking photos for your blog. Often if this isn’t where our talent lies, we’re too busy taking care of our to-do list to work on the photography aspect. If you’re still on a break, or you’re in planning mode for your blog, take advantage of these extra minutes to read up on great technique and words of wisdom of those who make excellent photos look effortless.

But more importantly, practice! Make time to really get to know your camera, understand lighting, and play around with composition.

You can find endless amounts of tutorials and guides over on Darren’s other blog, Digital Photography School.

  Level up your Social Media

It’s time to get your game plan on! This is the year you’re going to share excellent content with regularity. Now, how are you going to do that?

What I would do if I were you is to make a list of all the sites I like to go to for inspiration and information. Maybe put them in a Bloglovin’ or Feedly reader so you can keep tabs on what they produce so you can share them with your audience.

Then I would mine my archives for blog posts that need to be shared again with my audience.

After that, I would have a look for a couple of funny things that my readers would like that suit my brand and personality.

Then I would write up a schedule for when things are going to be shared (take a look at your insights to see who’s on your page and when, and work around those times for sharing).

And above all of that I’d be thinking of how I could serve my readers the best on social media, and how I can allocate my time responding to them and engaging with them. How can I show my personality and be fully present when need be?

Our Top Tips on Social Media

How to Make Your Social Media Strategy More Effective for the New Year

The Step-by-Step Method to Making Your Content Shareable on Social Media

How to Rock Instagram to Promote Your Small Business

Why Boosting Facebook Posts Is Not So Bad After All

10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign

A Quick way to Get More Facebook Likes for Your Facebook Page

Write a Mission Statement

I think if you haven’t already, now’s the time to sit down and write down in a nutshell what your blog is and what it stands for. What you hope to achieve with it, and how you want people to receive it. It only needs a few lines, but it will the the guidepost and the framework from which all your blog decisions will come.

I think one of the best posts about blog purpose or mission statements comes from The Nester, so I’ll let her explain: Why Your Blog Needs a Purpose.

  And I wish you well on your new year blogging journey! May you begin it feeling positive, and may the good vibes continue all year long.

What do you like to do to ensure your blog is in tip top shape for the year to come? I’d love to hear!

The post Start With a Bang – Things You can Do to Set Yourself up For Your Best Year of Blogging Yet! appeared first on ProBlogger.