3 Tricks to Lose Weight Without Avoiding Halloween Treats

!±8± 3 Tricks to Lose Weight Without Avoiding Halloween Treats

The cool fall weather, Halloween and candy. This time of year all comes together quite nicely for anyone addicted to junk food. Not only can you justify eating bags of snickers bars by saying it's part of the holiday, but now that summer is over you can hide the extra weight under a sweatshirt! Sounds like a good plan for anyone who isn't struggling to stick with a healthy weight loss program!

It's interesting that Americans have turned every single holiday into a junk food fest. Everything revolves around some type of food, and it gets worse each year. We all know that Halloween is all about the candy, but adding insult to injury is the fact that the cool weather leaves us wanting hot cider donuts, latte's, hot chocolate and other fatty foods that we don't normally eat on a regular basis.

If you are on a healthy weight loss program, you should not have to avoid all of the fun things other people are eating to celebrate this fun time of year. Listed below are 5 tricks to keep you on track with your weight loss efforts without feeling you are missing out on the things you love about Autumn. You say you don't believe you can lose weight and still eat candy? Well keep reading. You're in for a treat!

Halloween Trick To Lose Weight #1: Green Tea

Most people don't know it, but drinking one cup of green tea every morning speeds up your metabolism so you can literally cheat on your diet and get away with it. It comes in all kinds of flavors, and you can even make it taste like hot cider with cinnamon if you want. I have kept an ideal weight after losing 70 pounds 15 years ago, and one thing I do that most people don't is drink green tea.

Green tea has so many vitamins and antioxidants that you will instantly feel the rush of natural energy, which is another benefit that will help you achieve a healthy weight loss. How do you feel after one of those expensive, fatty lattes from Starbucks? I don't know about you, but after I drink about half of it, it feels like I'm drinking a liquid candy bar, and that is never good for anyone who is trying to lose weight. Save your money and make an intelligent switch to green tea.

Halloween Trick To Lose Weight #2: Moderation

So you decided to switch to green tea, good for you! Does that mean you can never enjoy a fatty latte or hot cider again? Absolutely not! The biggest misconception people have with healthy weight loss is they think they have to forever be on a diet of bland salads. When you are making healthy choices on a daily basis to stick to your healthy weight loss plan, you can fall off the wagon every once in a while and not even notice a difference.

I love to visit Vermont in the fall. The changing leaves are spectacular. One year I was staying at a bed and breakfast and the host offered every guest a breakfast of home-made pumpkin pancakes with Vermont maple syrup. One woman declined because she was on a diet. Excuse me, but this is a life worth living and enjoying. Allow yourself to splurge on occasion. It is not every day you are offered something like that. If you are eating healthy and staying active on a daily basis, one plate of pancakes will not harm you.

Halloween Trick To Lose Weight #3: Exercise

No, I'm not talking about signing up for a gym membership. I'm talking about getting outside and experiencing this special time of year. Don't hire the children down the street to rake your leaves for you. Get out there and do it yourself. Go for walks through wooded parks with your friends and pets. Autumn is famous for outdoor walking activities like public tent markets and haunted tours.

Any extra exercise off a treadmill will accelerate your weight loss and allow you to splurge more often. Since you are drinking more green tea, you will have more energy to do these kinds of things. Just remember not to eat a dozen cider donuts every time you stop and walk through a fall festival. One or two every other day will not hurt, as long as you are not eating candy apples on your days off donuts!

Keep these three Halloween tricks in mind and you won't have to sit around and watch everyone else enjoy the culinary treats of the Halloween season. It's easy to justify that box of donuts by thinking you have all winter to get in shape, but what what happens after Halloween? Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years, Valentines Day, Easter, etc. That sweatshirt is not going to solve any problems come summer time next year. Trust me, that's not a treat you want to indulge in.

3 Tricks to Lose Weight Without Avoiding Halloween Treats

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New Device Could Extend Syrup Season

!±8± New Device Could Extend Syrup Season

Maple sugaring season could get longer, with sugar makers in Vermont and elsewhere getting more sap from trees and making more syrup thanks to a new device developed by University of Vermont researchers.

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40 Gallons: Maple Sugaring Documentary (Part 2)

!±8± 40 Gallons: Maple Sugaring Documentary (Part 2)

Documentary showing the process of making maple syrup, by talking to sugar makers across Vermont and New York.

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Housewarming Gifts For Prosperity and Joy

!±8± Housewarming Gifts For Prosperity and Joy

Moving to a new home is a joyous event and is an important milestone in our lives. Traditionally, the proud new home owner will invite friends and relatives over for a housewarming party, in order to return the hospitality received in the past, and to show off the new house. When someone is a first time home owner, he/she may not have much household items. Friends and relatives usually congratulate the home owner with housewarming gifts that may be needed in setting up the new home. In addition, these gifts are often symbols of abundance and good luck, and are intended to bring prosperity and joy to the new home. This article provides some unique yet practical housewarming gift ideas.

1. Housewarming Gift Basket: This colonial house gift box is filled with gourmet snacks and household items that the new home owner can use. The recipients will be delighted to find items range from liquid hand soap, body and hand lotion, sweet smelling potpourri, scented jar candle, kitchen potholder and dish towel, combination screwdriver set, toothbrush and toothpaste kit to a small first aid kit. The recipients will also find gourmet butter toffee pretzels, French vanilla cocoas, caramel popcorn, and hard candy chocolate mints. Your recipients will appreciate your incredible thoughtfulness in sending them just what they need. Alternatively, you can send a Victorian house gift box filled with shortbread cookies, cheddar cheese stick, spinach artichoke dip, cheese twists, caramel filled chocolates, stuffed olives, Parmesan bread crisps and other treats. The gift box also contains an unique gift bag of chocolate mints with Welcome to your Home Sweet Home" message that will clearly deliver your best wishes.

2. Candles: Candles bring light, warmth, good scent and are symbols of light in life. Candles are very affordable, and have many styles and scents to choose from. It is not surprising that candles are popular housewarming gifts. For example, you can deliver the scent of home by sending a willow basket filled with pillar and votive candles with the scent of apple pie, oatmeal cookies, and strawberry potpourri. This gift also includes glass candle holder, glass votive holders and glass candle plates. Another great candle gift for housewarming is a crystal candle holder with ivory colored unscented taper candles. This crystal candle set can be placed on dining room table to create a wonderful atmosphere for special occasions.

3. Breakfast Gift Baskets: Traditional housewarming gift usually includes a loaf of bread to symbolize that no one in the new home will ever go hungry. However, a more elegant gift would be a breakfast gift basket that brings warmth and comfort. You can send a wicker basket packed with moist, rich pound cake, chocolate chip blondies, and brownies with walnuts. These scrumptious fresh baked goodies will sure deliver good taste. Alternatively, you can send an unique gift that includes necessary items for the kitchen: a large cutting board, hot pad, kitchen towels. Also included are Buttermilk pancake mix, Vermont Maple syrup, blueberry tea, drink mix and biscotti. Breakfast will be an event that everyone looks forward to in the new home.

4. New Home garden: Plants bring prosperity to a new home. This inexpensive container garden that blooms consists of easy-grow seeds, nutrients, soil in a decorative leak-resistant container that is used for its very own growing pot. The recipient just have to plant, water and let the plant grow in the container it came in. This very unique gift will be an unforgettable new home gift. This gift is great as a moving gift for friends and coworkers, or as a welcoming gift for new neighbors.

5. Gardening Gift: The new home owner will likely be busy in setting up his/her garden. You can send a gardening gift basket filled with needed tools and gourmet treats to make the work for the gardener more enjoyable. One such gift consists of a keepsake woodchip basket filled with a mini wooden bird house, a handy gardening cloth apron that holds matching hand tools (spade, rake and two different weed cutters), a soft foam garden knee pad and cloth floral gloves, a variety of five flowering seed packets for planting, and a mini ceramic garden sign with words of widom from the garden. The recipient can take a break and snack on goodies as chocolate mints, key lime white chocolate cookies, gourmet peanut butter pretzel nuggets, pistachios while she is reading the Blessings for Home and Health paperback book. Alternatively, you can send a gardening gift tote that came with a lovely inspirational book entitled Wisdom from the Garden, she can take time out from her gardening to enjoy the treats inside this tote! She will find lemon shortbread cookies, creamy dill cheese spread, Parmesan sticks, barbecue sliced almonds, lemon tea, mint tea, and lemon sours. She will also find gardening notepad with pen, gardening gloves with rawhide palms, pruning sheers, digging spades, branch snippers, and Spritzer bottle.

6. Congratulations Gift Basket: You can send a congratulations gift basket for the housewarming party. The gift consists of a star embossed metal ice bucket filled with a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, decadent chocolates, cookies, truffles, English almond toffee and more. The silvery ice bucket adds a touch of class to the festivities and can be put to use after the party.

7. Coffee Gift Basket: The ideal housewarming gift for coffee lover is a coffee gift basket. Filled with chocolate chip cookies, chocolate drizzles biscotti, cappuccio caramels, gourmet coffee, a nostalgic coffee mug, chocolate covered almonds, and creamy coffee candies, the hand painted solid wood gift container can be used long after the gourmet treats are gone. This unique gift is a terrific way to send your sincerest wishes.

8. Tea Gift Basket: Similarly, the perfect gift for tea lovers is a tea gift basket. This Zen-inspired collection includes a chai tea sampler, green tea chocolates, delicate biscuits, inspiring ginger sweets and more in a ceramic planter complete with natural river stones. Alternatively, you can send a floral paperboard tea pot filled with goodies, including teapot shaped sugar cookies, a mini honey bear and assorted teas with a wooden honey dipper. Honey represents sweetness in life. This thoughtful gift delivers your best wishes to the recipient for a sweet and peaceful life in the new house.

9. Kitchen Essentials: This collection of kitchen items will be a delightful welcome when received. It comes overflowing with gourmet teas, chocolate chip cookies, gourmet white yogurt dipped pretzels, Peanut Delight nut mixture, individually wrapped chocolate truffles, box of milk chocolate caramel hearts, fancy Kernels caramel popcorn all hand packed in a coco basket. Also included is a few fun mini kitchen tools, such as a wooden rolling pin, metal whisk and wooden utensils with a cloth tote bag that holds everything.

In summary, housewarming gifts deliver symbols of a prosperous and joyful life in the new home. Popular housewarming gifts include housewarming gift basket, candles, breakfast gift baskets, gardening gift, congratulations gift basket, and container garden. These gifts not only provide useful items for the new home owner, but deliver our best wishes for the new home owner.

Housewarming Gifts For Prosperity and Joy

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Wedding Favors - Ideas, Tips and Trends

!±8± Wedding Favors - Ideas, Tips and Trends

No, they're not mandatory, but wedding favors are a great way to thank your guests for sharing in your celebration! They're also a fun little extra to tie in the style of the occasion.

Today, almost anything goes. And just like the rest of the event, wedding favors should reflect the personality of the bride and groom. Not sure where to begin? Browse this wedding favor guide for everything you'll need to know in presenting this wonderful little detail with the utmost of style.

What to Give -

Some of my favorite wedding favor ideas and trends include:

Edible Treats

Everyone loves something to eat, so delight your guests with something sweet or savory. Chocolates, almonds and candies are always popular. Or give a regional favorite from your wedding location: peanuts in Georgia, Vermont maple syrup, or hot salsa in Texas.

Something Homemade

Along those lines, test your culinary skills and make a homemade jam or spread for your guests (package them in festive customized jars!).

Quench their thirst

If your budget allows it, wow your guests with a nice bottle of wine, whether a selection served at the wedding or from a local winery. If you're really ambitious, consider making your own, and stamp it with a personalized label. This is one of my favorite wedding favor ideas, but plan ahead - this must be done at least 3 months in advance.

Entertain Them

Give your guests something that will forever remind them of your wedding day. Nothing brings a person back to a special moment quite like a song. So make a wedding playlist, and feature songs from the ceremony and reception. Getting married in a place known for a great music scene? Feature selections from local artists. Or if the two of you just love music and want to share your tastes with your guests, make a cd of your favorites. Every time they pop it into the player, they'll think of you and what a great time they had at your celebration.

Personalize it

These days, almost any item or trinket can be personalized, so think of something creative that goes along with your wedding theme, and stamp it with your initials or wedding date. You name it; someone can customize it - golf balls, koozies, ornaments, seashells, matchbooks, candles or soaps. You're only limited by your imagination. I've even seen fortune cookies filled with personalized fortunes!

Give something back

Another one of my favorite wedding favor ideas: Some brides are foregoing the traditional favor altogether, instead making a donation to their favorite charity. You can print nice cards that read "in lieu of a favor, a donation has been made to xyz charity." Just be sure your chosen charity is legitimate, and get a receipt for tax purposes.

How and When to Give them -

Wedding Favors are all about presentation. A few m & ms can be the epitome of panache when wrapped in a pretty package. Choose packaging that matches or complements your wedding colors and table decor. Matching ribbons and personalized logo stickers or favor labels always add a nice touch. Depending on the favor you choose to give, the choice of packaging may be obvious. If not, consider these fun options:

o Mini Chinese take-out boxes (or any miniature box decorated to reflect your wedding style)

o Miniature canvas bags (printed with your monogram or wedding logo!)

o A Seashell

o Customized bottles or jars

o Miniature baskets

o Small Julep cups

o Mini Terracotta pots

In determining just how and when to present them, you also have some options. Set up a table and display them along with a card that says "Please take one" or "Thank You." (this makes for a lovely photo opp!). Or make your favors part of your table décor and place one at each place setting. A waiter or coatroom attendant can also hand them out at a designated time. Some couples even add the extra special personal touch of distributing them personally to their guests as they leave the reception. However, due to timing and logistics, this method is best saved for smaller weddings.

What They'll Cost -

Remember, favors are simply a nice gesture to cap off a successfully planned and fully considered event. They need not drain your budget. Expect to spend around per guest on the low end, and just like any other element of a wedding, costs can always creep up to suit your wildest imaginations (hmmm - the diamond encrusted Tiffany picture frames sure sound nice).

If budget is a concern, you don't necessarily need to cross favors off of your expense list. Food and candy items are often inexpensive and always popular. Or round up your family or bridesmaids for a fun night of homemade favor-making. Even if you have your heart set on a high-end item, save by giving one gift per couple, placed between their dinner plates and tagged with the couples' names (of course, your single friends will each still receive one). Or get two things for the price of one, and ask your florist to create centerpieces that can be split into tiny bouquets for your guests to take home.

Just like everything else in the wedding planning process, if you would really like to give favors at your wedding, you can always find a way to make it fit within your budget.

Wedding Favors - Ideas, Tips and Trends

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