By Registered Dietitian Laura CaJacob 

While statistics on holiday weight gain are inconsistent, one thing is for sure: the holiday season makes normally healthy habits much more difficult. The mashed potatoes get passed one extra time around the table, and the chocolate peppermint brownies stare at you all day from your desk. More than anything, holiday eating is challenging because we are surrounded by a sea of indulgent dishes.

Just like Coach Josh says on p.164 in his book, Belly Fat Free, “You’re only setting yourself up for failure if you start an eating program that forbids you from ever eating your very favorite foods.” You don’t have to jump off the wagon over the holidays in order to enjoy your favorite foods. There are a variety of recipe substitutions that can keep you on track toward reaching your goals. Rather than skip your favorite dish entirely, why not lighten it up a little?

Before we get started, I must make a few notes as a lover of food, tradition and flavor:

• I know it can be a sin to alter an all-time favorite family recipe. Leave Aunt Jane’s famous candied yams alone, and try changing some dishes that aren’t the one thing you look forward to in December. Who knows – you may add a new recipe into the regular rotation!
• Don’t you dare try to eliminate every unhealthy ingredient in a recipe. The intention of modifying a recipe is not to create cardboard. As Coach Josh declares on p.174 of Belly Fat Free, “Remember—love the food you eat or you won’t stay on the program for long!”

Below is a list of five simple ways to adjust some holiday recipes without sacrificing flavor.

1. Substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil.

This works great in baking desserts to lower the fat content. The substitution ratio is 1:1, and the result is a moister, sweeter dish. This even works with boxed mixes.

Note: Do not try this with butter. Chocolate chip cookies turn into chocolate chip pancakes.

2. Increase vegetables.

There are so many dishes that could have more flavor, texture and color by adding some extra veggies. Try using more roasted root vegetables in a stuffing than bread. Throw leeks and mushrooms into a wild rice side dish. Generously add a variety of vegetables, and your belly will thank you.

3. Replace mild cheese with half the amount of strong cheese.

You flat out can’t eat as much blue cheese or parmesan as you can mozzarella or mild cheddar. By using less of stronger cheeses, you can drastically reduce fat and calories while actually increasing flavor. This works great for cheese plates, salads and melting cheese on vegetables.

4. Substitute pureed vegetables for cream.

Zucchini, squash and cauliflower are excellent choices for thickening soups without changing the flavor. Simply peel and roast the veggies then blend until you have a “creamy” puree. Add as a thickener until you get your desired consistency.

Note: Be mindful of the color vegetable you chose as this can really affect the soup’s appearance. We eat with our eyes first, and nobody wants to eat green cream of corn soup.

5. Reduce sugar by 25%.

There is usually so much sugar called for in most recipes that nobody will notice the 25% that goes missing.  If your recipe calls for 1 cup sugar and you use ¾ cup, you cut out 200 calories just like that. Consider this when using syrups, honey, or jams as well.

I challenge you to try some of these recipe modifications. I wouldn’t be surprised if you like the healthier version better than the original.

P.S. I never even considered tip #3 and #4… did you? 

Source: Belly Fat Free by Coach Josh

Android Christmas Funny Facts With Christmas Facts you'll find lots of interesting facts about Christmas! How much do you know about the history of Christmas? Do you now how “Rudolph” was created? Do you know where X-Mas comes from? Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second travelling 650 miles a second. And many more .. KW: sleeps, countdown, Christmas, holiday, winter, snow, holy night, minutes, seconds, hours, days, event, timer, calendar, xmas, christmas songs, christmas tree, christmas cards, christmas lyrics, christmas lights, christmas ideas, christmas gifts, gifts for christmas, christmas ornament, christmas decoration, christmas games, christmas parties, christmas pictures, christmas tree shop, christmas gift idea, christmas shop, christmas movies, christmas greetings,christmas poems dinner list cookies stockings artificial christmas trees christmas traditions christmas wishes jokes holidays stories lights backgrounds events what is christmas christmas party games christmas dress quotes, lovely quotes, quotes of love facebook youtube games craigslist myspace ebay yahoo mapquest radio AOL free music video Recent changes: + new facts added + new quotes and facts added + interface improvements + quotes section added + famous quotes + UI improvements + several bug fixes + several interface improvements + added new Funny Christmas facts + Xmas Quotes + Did you know that Santa Claus travels at 650 miles p

Item DescriptionThis year Christmas brings a lot of surprises. Game "Bomberman vs Zombies: Christmas Edition" is one of them and the best of them. Don’t you think so? More than 1,000,000 of people are already in love with Bomberman, and you’ll be the next one! Darkness invades the Earth on Christmas Eve. People are scared because Zombies threaten their holiday! Step by step, night by night, Zombies - attack. The World can be turned into Zombieland, but Bomberman is prepared to save the Planet and doesn’t want to take a rest! "Bomberman vs. Zombies: Christmas Edition" comes with nice Christmas design, best controls, new characters, huge number of bonuses… You will see everything with your own eyes! Just to remind you: Bomberman has 5 lives. To pass the level a player has to kill all the Zombies or to find a key in one of the boxes and open the hatch. The hatch is a kind of door, through which a player passes to the next level. Characteristics: *best controls; ** Zombies go faster; *** new crazy character appears; **** bonuses and antibonuses; ***** fantastic Christmas design: ****** amazing quality. Celebrate Christmas with Bomberman vs Zombies: Christmas Edition! P. S. Don’t be shy and let us know whether you like the application or not. Feel free to contact Contlex Ventures team if you have some problems with the application and we will do our best to solve it. Thank you. Enjoy your time with Contlex Ventures!

Item DescriptionWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and Christmas Penguin is our sweet present! Christmas Penguin is a captivating amusing game that will help you to kill time in the long Christmas queues and tiring journeys. Spend happy holidays with Christmas Penguin! The game is pretty interesting and at the same time pretty easy. A nice Penguin is excited to receive his Christmas presents, but he has to be really quick to get them. He has to catch Christmas-tree decorations, the more decoration he catches the more presents he receives. The decorations are falling down from branches of trees and a player should use trackball to catch them if it is a non-touch device. Players who have touch devices should just tap a branch of a tree to move the penguin. Characteristics: *Christmas mood; **addictive gameplay; ***original design; ****good game for kids, teens and adults. P. S. Don’t be shy and let us know whether you like the application or not. Feel free to contact Contlex Ventures team if you have some problems with the application and we will do our best to solve it. Thank you. Enjoy your time with Contlex Ventures!

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Here are some tips to spread DIY epicurean cheer to your loved ones this festive season 

One of the biggest problems my wife and I face during the festive season is picking out Christmas gifts for friends and family members who seem to always already have every other fancy toy, sexy bag and en vogue accessory out there. The solution we’ve come to depend on over the years is creating food-related gifts that we know our friends will appreciate – and perhaps most importantly – not be able to pick up at any regular mall.

Five or six years back, we assembled some DIY molten chocolate cake kits, each of which contained the popular dessert recipe, metal moulds, chocolate and other dry ingredients, and distributed these as Christmas goodie packs to friends and family. Then three years ago, we compiled several of our favourite simple recipes into a small cookbook, which we self-printed using Lulu.com and gave to our close friends as gifts.

Other great foodie gifts that your loved ones will appreciate can range from simple things such as homemade jars of vanilla sugar or preserved lemons (both really easy to whip up), to more complex creations such as gingerbread houses with self-decorating kits, even homemade duck prosciutto (idea courtesy of a friend who recently generously bestowed it upon us).

The trick we’ve learnt to making these presents really special? Take time to package them beautifully. A pretty handwritten label or gorgeous box can really go a long way in transforming your homemade goodies into an artisanal creation.

Here are some of our top picks for the most wanted additions to the tech lover’s holiday gift wishlist 

It’s that time of year again. The invariable waiting and hoping for shiny new gadgets, and then perhaps the disappointment, when the big day comes and you open that promising looking gift-wrapped box to reveal, yet again, the dreaded pair of socks/mug/towel set. But hope springs eternal, and whether you’re dreaming up a list to hint to a loved one, or if you’re thinking of playing Tech Santa this year, these are the current most coveted items on any self-respecting tech lover’s wishlist: 

Nikon J1
This camera might just be the perfect gift for your trigger-happy loved ones. Part of the new Nikon 1 System, the Nikon J1 features a compact, portable design in a range of stylish colours. Even though Nikon has developed new imaging sensors and technology for fast and powerful autofocus, the J1 also allows the option of interchangeable lenses when greater flexibility and control are wanted. It can also capture HD video and photos simultaneously, for times when you simply must have both. 

Sony PlayStation Vita
Gamers have been drooling in anticipation since Sony’s new handheld game console was officially unveiled this past summer. The PS Vita packs a punch with its innovative user interface, featuring a beautiful front 5-inch multi-touch organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen and, along with traditional controls, a multi-touch pad on the back, which offers a new immersive style of play that allows users to interact directly with games in 3D-like motion. Online connectivity is baked into the PS Vita through Wi-Fi and optional 3G, while social features allow gamers to connect with one another to play the latest next-generation game titles. 

Amazon Kindle Fire
Although they didn’t start the fire, so to speak, Amazon has released a 7-inch slate to enter the tablet wars. It offers a zippy dual-core processor, full-colour touchscreen and a fast, cloud-enhanced web browser called Amazon Silk. The key strength of the Kindle Fire though is perhaps Amazon itself, with a vast library of streaming movies, songs, apps, games, books, magazines and other digital content readily available at your fingertips. In fact, like the regular Kindle, the Fire comes synced with your Amazon account, so that anything you’ve previously bought and have in your collection would be instantly accessible. 

iPhone 4S
This list would be incomplete without the highly awaited Apple iPhone 4S, which was announced in early October. In design, it’s not much different from its predecessor. Instead, the main differences lie within the svelte handset: a faster processor, 8-megapixel HD-capable camera, and a voice-activated virtual assistant called Siri, which can understand naturally spoken questions to set up reminders, find information and assist with other tasks. With the new iPhone, Apple also launched the iOS 5, the latest significant update of its mobile operating system offering many new refinements, as well as the iCloud, which allows for content such as documents and music to be synced and accessed effortlessly across multiple Apple devices.

Source: rdasia 

The red velvet filling is spiked with cocoa, topped with cream cheese frosting, and baked in a chocolate cookie crumb crust 

Ingredients

17 chocolate cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 teaspoons Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 bottle (1 ounce) red food coloring

FROSTING:
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan.

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter and sugar. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, buttermilk, cocoa and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in food coloring. Pour over crust. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.

Bake at 325° for 60-70 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Frost top of cheesecake. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 16 servings.

Serves: 16 Prep: 30 min. Bake: 1 hour + chilling

Nutrition Facts: 1 slice equals 463 calories, 29 g fat (17 g saturated fat), 131 mg cholesterol, 276 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Source: rdasia.com

We all love Mariah Carey and the way she sing. Here are some videos of her Christmas songs with a bonus of her newest Christmas song featuring John Legend.
Watch and sing with us.. Advance Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy :)