Healthy Recipe Makeover: 7 Layer Salad

Ingredients

• 8 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes , or quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions
• 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 3 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

Preparation

1. Place lettuce in a large bowl. Layer peas, bell pepper, tomatoes, celery and scallions on top.
2. Whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar to taste, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread the dressing evenly over the top of the salad (an offset spatula is handy for this, if you have one). Sprinkle with cheese, basil and bacon. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition

Per serving: 84 calories; 4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 0 g mono ); 7 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 2 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 355 mg sodium; 234 mg potassium.

Healthy Recipe

 Baked Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp onion powder

1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or thighs

1 cup corn flakes cereal 

 

Cooking Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes. Place cornflakes in a plastic bag. Crush using a rolling pin. Add remaining ingredients to the bag and shake well. Gradually add chicken pieces to the bag. Shake to coat. Place coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cooking sheet so they are not touching. Bake until golden brown, about 13-15 minutes.  

Nutrition Facts

Calories 310

% Calories From Fat 18%

Total Fat 6.2g

Saturated Fats 1.7g

Mono-unsaturated Fats 2.1g

Poly-unsaturated Fats 1.4g

Cholesterol 140mg

Sodium 130mg

Total Carbohydrates 6.2g

Dietary Fiber 0.3g

Sugar 0.5g

Protein 53g

Good Communication Tips

Having effective communication can help us better understand a person or situation. It helps us resolve differences, build trust, build respect, and create better environments. Effective communication can improve relationships at home, work, and any other social situation. Knowing how to better your communication will also give you the ability to deepen your connections with others and improve teamwork, decision making, and problem solving.

• Listening- One of the most important aspects of communication is listening. By listening to whoever you are talking to it will help make the speak feel heard and understood. Some ways to have effective listening are to focus on the speaker, avoid interrupting, avoid seeming judgmental, and show your interest in the speaker.  This will help improve your listening skills, which is essential for good communication. 

• Nonverbal Communication -Another important aspect of good communication is nonverbal communication, both yours and reading the speaker’s. This includes all of the wordless communication we do when we speak to others, body language, facial expressions, body movement, eye contact, posture, tone of voice and even muscle tension and breathing. Tips on how to read nonverbal communication are; to practice observing people, be aware of individual differences, and look at nonverbal communication signals as a group. When using nonverbal communication yourself it is important to use signals that match up with you words; it should reinforce what is being said. Adjust your nonverbal signals according to the context; example would be the tone of your voice should be different when talking to a child as opposed to an adult. Also use body language to convey positive feelings.

• Stress Management-Another helpful tip for effective communication is managing your stress.  Having stress can disrupt your ability to think clearly and act appropriately. There are a few ways to help control your stress while communicating; recognize when you are stressed, take a moment to calm down, take a few breaths to relax, look for humor in the situation, be willing to compromise, and agree to disagree. These will help to manage your stress levels so you can better communicate.

Above are just a few tips explained on how to have good communication skills. Being a good communicator also depends on the type of person or group of persons you are talking to. There are a number of different ways to better your communication in specific situations.  For more information go to:    http://www.assetproject.info/learner_support/communication_skills.htm

Magnets on Pain

Recent studies have shown that magnets may work in helping relieve pain, but there is still more research to be done on how effective they are. Magnets work by increasing blood flow to the injured tissue. Increasing blood flow will increase the amount of oxygen and nutrients arriving at the injured tissue. This will help speed up the healing process.  Researchers have shown that a mild magnetic field can cause blood vessels in the body to dilate or constrict, increasing blood flow and suppressing inflammation.  Magnets also may help prevent muscle spasms, which causes many forms of pain, by interfering with muscle contractions. They also interfere with electrochemical reactions within the nerve cells, blocking their ability to transmit pain messages to the brain. 

Magnetic therapy is said to relieve pain from arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, sinus and stress headaches, asthma, muscle spasms, strains, joint pain, and swelling. One benefit of using magnet therapy opposed to other relief methods is there are no negative side effects of using it. Not everyone should use magnet therapy. Those that are pregnant, have pacemaker or automatic defibrillator, or use and insulin pump should not use magnetic healing. 

When using a magnet therapy, the magnet should be applied directly over the painful area on the skin. They can be adhered by ordinary adhesive bandages. They also can be adhered by Transpore, a paper tape, which may work better.  It is important to get a strong enough magnet when choosing which one to use.  Magnets are measured in gauss; the average refrigerator magnet has a gauss of about 50. Most pain relieving magnets measure between 300-1000 gauss. They also come in a variety of shapes and sizes: wrist and ankle jewelry, Velcro wraps, even magnet-filled pads to fit on your bed. These wraps and jewelry can be placed in several spots on your body to help speed up your healing process.