Buy Better and Have a Better Life

Homemade Yoghurt

Laura — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:02:05 +0000

Before I got married I was offered a Yoghurt Maker so I have it for almost 16 years. I barely used it because the Yoghurt didn’t taste as well as the ones we buy. The ones we buy can be very creamy, tasty and flavored so I never bother spending time to improve my yoghurt and just put the yoghurt maker aside.

Now that I’m doing everything I can to cut on my monthly expenses I thought about saving some money and make my own Yoghurt. After 16 years I didn’t know if the Yoghurt maker was functioning but after I tried it I realized it is good as new.

For now I’m only making natural yoghurt and add the extras when I’m about to eat them.

The recipe I use is very simple:

1 Litre of Milk (33,8 oz/US)
1 Natural Yoghurt
3 or 4 soup spoons of powder milk (to make yoghurt more solid)
2 small spoon of sugar

When I’m about to eat them I add some Jam. On the photo below you can see cherry jam but I also use other fruit jam like peach, blackberries or pumpkin jam. Yammy!! So good.

Doing the Yoghurt at home makes me save a lot of money. My kids still prefer the fancy, attractive yoghurt cups from the supermarket but I’m sure they will change their minds pretty soon.

Next step is to start making my own jam instead of buying already made one.

Do you make your own yoghurt? Do you have any yummy recipes to share? Just leave me the link and I will check them up.

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Almost Starting My Organic Garden

Laura — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:23:50 +0000

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Sunny days makes us enjoy being outdoors. Today I started removing some leaves that fall in our backyard from the eucalyptus. I need brown stuff to put in the composter so the old dry leaves are excellent.

Being jobless makes me think more about improving the house and the garden. We already bought packs of seeds of several vegetables and I am thrilled to start planting them. I’m going to wait a few more days because heavy rain is expected in the next days, but as soon as I can I will start the gardening.

Looking for a job outside the house, in an office, right now, it’s not an option. I would like to work from home so a IT job search is not out of question as well as editing, translation, blogging or something related to writing.

So, right now I have plenty of time to take action and build my own organic garden with the most common vegetables. As soon as I start planting I will start a weekly update with photos and a description of the progress.

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Ugly Mold on the Bathroom Ceiling

Laura — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:02:36 +0000

My bathroom has a black ceiling. No, I didn’t paint it black, it’s mold caused by the shower water vapor. The bathroom doesn’t have a window and the door leads to the plain space that leads to the rooms.

I like to shower with the door closed as well as the kids otherwise we feel the cold coming through the door. The water vapor creates a accumulation of water in the ceiling, in the walls, in the Toto toilet, on the floor, everywhere.

I didn’t bother to clean the ceiling yet because I know that only when we have warmer days I will be able to dry the bathroom. Right now we are using the desumidifier to take most of the water out, but it’s not enough.

Do you have the same problem? What do you do to prevent mold on the ceiling?

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What is the importance of daily magnesium intake?

Laura — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:19:43 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

It seems that lately magnesium is getting into our lives every day through health magazines, magazines in general, newspapers, TV commercials, etc.

To stay healthy we need minerals like calcium, iron and magnesium. Calcium and iron are very popular on the news because they are essential to our health, magnesium was almost never mentioned until very soon. Supplementing our daily diet with magnesium is a necessity and will improve our health.

Magnesium has an exceptional effect in treating and preventing osteoporosis because it increases the absorption of calcium. This way, calcium is well absorbed and do not get lost in the kidneys (where it forms painful stones) and do not cause muscle cramps. So magnesium and calcium are two great friends.

Magnesium is also a helper when it comes to high blood pressure. It does this by relaxing smooth muscles in the arteries that cause them to dilate. Studies suggest that through this action and its ability to work with potassium to manage blood pressure, magnesium helps to prevent hypertension.

Magnesium deficiency can be contribute to type 2 or adult-onset diabetes. Magnesium is important in the metabolism of carbohydrates and prevents diabetes in the future. It also controls the heart rhythms and helps to prevent strokes and heart disease.

A large part of the population does not get enough magnesium on a daily basis. This mineral influences a number of vital processes in the body. Supplementation is an excellent way to receive the many health benefits magnesium provides. A healthy diet full of beans, nuts and vegetables will also help you get a large part of your magnesium daily needs.

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Money Saving Tips: Phones, Cable, Stuff

Laura — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:43:23 +0000

photo credit: annia316

Telephone vs Cell Phone
First, check the different providers and the plans they have. Stick with a basic plan and forget all those funny stuffs and extras that are dispensable and only make you spend more money. Nowadays wireless carriers offer all the applications that a regular phone offers so you won’t need a regular phone at home. Stick to just one.

Cable
Search for a package that offers all in one – internet and cable. A wireless router will do the trick to have internet all over the house, there is no need to require two or three internet connections.

Sell your Stuff
If you have valuable stuff that you don’t use at all and you want to get rid of it like: sport equipment you no longer use, clothes, garden tools (why keep a lawn mown if you don’t have lawn, decoration items, etc. (no, you can not sell your term life insurance) take pictures of all the items and list them on eBay.com or Halfoff.com. You can earn some money and have your dream vacation or just put it on a saving account for future use.

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Eco Tip: Reuse Yoghurt Plastic Cups

Laura — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:55:23 +0000

Image by coda via Flickr

I love jelly and so do my kids. Usually when I make Jelly I use glass cups to put it individually but this last week I started using the plastic yoghurt cups. Although they end up in the recycle bin after a while, at least they are reused one or two times.

Plastic yoghurt cups can also be used for pudding or mouse. It might not be attractive when we have guests but it works fine for us and it is a way to show the kids that we can reuse simple things, we just have to think what we can do with them.

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Shopping: Gorgeous but not for my Pocket

Laura — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:43:31 +0000

I’m not a window shopping person because I don’t like to look around what I know I can’t buy. But sometimes when there is nothing interesting to do or the weather doesn’t allow us to be outside we go to the mall and we look around the shops.

A couple weeks ago I was shocked with some “natural skin” coats prices. I don’t know how people give so much money for a coat. Brand stores are really not acessible for me but they really have beautiful stuff that catch my eyes. Look at these Christian Louboutin shoes and boots:

Aren’t they gorgeous? Yes they are but not for my pocket. Hoover over the pictures for price.

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Home Remedy: Acne Prevention and Treatment

Laura — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:13:06 +0000

photo credit: * Hibicus *

A lot of people, especially teenagers, struggle everyday with acne. It can be facial acne, chest acne or back acne. This Homemade remedies work for all types of acne.

1 – Eat non-fat or low-fat foods – Cut back on saturated fats like whole milk, butter and red meat.

2 – Eliminate partially hydrogenated fats. Avoid fired foods, chips packed snack foods and cookies that contain these fats.

3 – Avoid excessive sugar, salt and carbonated beverages.

4 – Drink plenty of water to flush out toxins.

5 – Eating vegetables and fruits are necessary for good health and for keeping your skin free from acne. The vitamins contained in these foods can have a significant beneficial effect on acne.

6 – Avoid foods that increase heat in the body, spicy foods, chocolate and coffee.

7 – Don’t wash the skin with soap, which is too alkaline and debrides the acid mantle of the skin.

8- Enough sleep is a killer treatment for ache.

9 – Lemon juice wash. Apply cotton ball to face soaked in lemon juice. Let it actuate during 10 minutes then rinse with cold water.

10 – Apply uncooked honey to face and pat until sticky. Leave in place for five minutes.

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Fat, Fat and Fat.

Laura — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:43:03 +0000

I know, talking again about fat burners. It is a hot topic already now that Spring is approaching. People start talking about loosing weight, how fat they are, and I just stand there quietly because I don’t need them at all.

There are a lot of fat burner products but make sure you choose the best fat burning supplement. How can you do that? Well, make a deep search online for all the products, ingredients, compare them and choose the one you believe is the best one.

The opinion of a doctor should always be taken into consideration.

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Book: Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Alan Greene

Laura — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:28:55 +0000

If you are pregnant or already have a baby this book will help you having a green pregnancy and a green baby care. Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Alan Greene has all the information you need explained in a very easy way.

Here is the Product Description by Amazon:

In this illustrated and easy-to-use guide, noted pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, a leading voice of the green baby movement, advises parents how to make healthy green choices for pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care—from feeding your baby the best food available to using medicines wisely. Consumer advocate Jeanette Pavini includes information for making smart choices and applying green principles to a whole new universe of products from zero-VOC paints for the nursery, to pure and gentle lotions for baby’s delicate skin, to the eco-friendly diapers now in the marketplace, as well as specific recommendations for hundreds of other products.

Baby grow really fast (no extra human growth hormone) so next week I will bring you a green book for grown-ups.