Copyright 2006 Tony Buel

Most conscientious cooks use common sense when preparing or storing food. But common sense in food preparation doesn’t just happen -it is learned. This learning happens and when we forget where we learned it, we call it common sense.

Here are just a few pointers to refresh and reinforce your common sense as you are preparing your current meal or storing it for future use.

- Food safety actually starts with your excursion to the supermarket. Pick up the packaged or canned foods. Do the cans have dents? Don’t buy them. Is the jar cracked? Leave it. Does the lid seem loose or bulging? Pick up another. Look for any expiration dates on the labels -they are there for a reason. Never buy outdated food. Check the “use by” or “sell by” date on dairy products and pick the ones that will stay fresh the longest.

- After grocery shopping, put food into the refrigerator or freezer right away. Make sure to set the refrigerator temperature is set to 40 deg F and the freezer is set to 0 F. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be placed in containers to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. Raw juices could possibly harbor harmful bacteria. Eggs always go in the refrigerator.

- Always cook food thoroughly until it is done. Red meat should turn brown inside. Chicken, when poked with a fork, should have clear juices. Fish, on the other hand, when poked with a fork, should flake. Cooked egg whites and yolks should be firm and not run. Be sure to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperatures of your poultry, meat, and other foods. Leave it in long enough to ensure an accurate reading.

- Wash your hands and cooking surfaces frequently. Bacteria can be spread quickly so this will ensure that it will not take hold and grow onto your food. A solution of one teaspoon of bleach in one quart of water is all that is needed to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils.

- Cooked foods should definitely not be left standing in the kitchen counter or table for more than two hours. Bacteria tends to grow in temperatures between 40 and 140 deg F.

- Foods that have been cooked ahead and cooled should be reheated to at least 165 deg F. (This just so happens to be one of the most overlooked areas in food prep).

- Chill Leftover Food Promptly. Place food in the refrigerator and don’t overfill. The cold air needs to circulate freely to keep food safe. Divide the food and place in shallow containers. Think about labeling some of these containers so you don’t lose track of how long they’ve been refrigerating.

These are just a few pointers that you already know, but need to keep remembering. If you follow these basics you will avoid most of the ‘disasters in waiting’!

Tony has been working diligently to provide free cooking related resources for the chef in all of us. His website is full of Easy Crockpot Recipes and is a labor of love which provides delicious and easy to make crockpot recipes as well as related tips and advice. Stop by any time!
www.my-crockpot-recipes.com

The term ‘alternative medicine’ that is so commonly used today is somewhat unsuitable since that would seem to indicate that it is a form of treatment departing from so-called ‘traditional’ scientific practices and is just a
possibility for a new treatment of disease. The truth is, so called ‘alternative’ medicine is the natural treatment of disease that was in effect in ancient times long before conventional medicine was ever introduced. Alternative medicine is traditional, whereas conventional
medicine is relatively new and not traditional. So conventional medicine should rightly be deemed ‘alternative.’

Upon the introduction of conventional medicine, what is
now called alternative medicine was suppressed, insomuch
that many sufferers are very distrustful of the use of
ancient treatments because they have been made to believe
that such treatments are ineffectual or even dangerous.

Yet, many ancient practices as Chinese, water treatment,
herbal remedies, massage and Ayurveda (Indian medicine
believed to be the oldest and most complete medical system)
are still being practised with great results; and, in recent
times, other systems also based upon the ancient forms of
natural healing have emerged. These include such therapies
as homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, aromatherapy,
nutritional medicine, naturopathic, and many other natural
therapies that have proved to support the natural healing
function of the body with excellent results.

In spite of this, there are persons who would prefer to suffer
than give such treatments a chance. However, when all else
fail, many of those same persons are now returning to such
therapies with the hope of finding relief.

Although there are different alternative therapies with
varying beliefs and techniques, there are common principles
under which they are all operating:

1. The body can heal itself naturally and remain stable.

2. Health problems can be contributed to factors of mind,
body and emotions.

3. It is more important to get to the root cause of an
illness and treat the whole person than to concentrate upon
symptoms only.

4. A person can contribute to his own healing if he pays more
attention to his health.

5. The same method of treatment cannot be suitable for
everyone since each person is unique in his physical, mental,
and spiritual build. This is why two persons may be diagnosed
with the same disease and the same level of illness, and one
survives and the other succumbs. Your mind can work wonders.

The main difference between so-called alternative medicine
and conventional medicine is that the latter is too concerned
with treating the symptoms of disease by scientific
techniques and technology instead of treating the whole person
and the cause of disease. On the other hand, alternative
medicine puts much emphasis upon the prevention of disease
(as mentioned above), and seeks to treat the whole person so
as to strengthen the immune system to bring about a sustained
healing.

Many diseases that have been deemed “incurable” are being

healed by natural ‘alternative’ means today but, unfortunately,
they have never been heard of by countless sufferers.
I enjoy making my own natural remedies from nature’s herbs,
vitamins and nutrients. I have been doing this for years and
have always been quite healthy. You too can avoid the effects
of costly synthetic prescription drugs used as medicines. It
is up to you to stop poisoning yourself, maintain good health
and save.

This article is written for information only and is not
intended to suggest treatment of any disease. Information
contained herein is based on research I have done and just
want to share with interested persons. Anyone suffering from
a disease is advised to consult a recognized practitioner for
advice.

Part 2 to follow …

Jem is a certified Natural Health Consultant and takes pleasure
in sharing what she has learned with others.

If you would like to read more you may do so at:
http://1-personal-improvement.com

15 Creative Ways To Make Money With e-Books by: William R.
Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com

1. Allow other e-zine publishers or web site owners to republish
small nuggets or excerpts of information from your e-book with
your byline or ad included.

2. Make extra profits from selling monthly updates of your
e-book. You could also back end sell the extra never released
chapters of your e- book.

3. Give away a free e-book and then give people an option of
buying the paid version of the e-book. Also let others give away
the free version of your e-book.

4. Divide your e-book content into reports then give people the
option of just purchasing the info they want.

5. Purchase reprint rights to other people’s e-books an combine
them with your in a large package deal or private e-book library
web site.

6. Change the benefits on your e-book ad copy into links. When
people click on it take them right to the order page. It’ll give
them a urge to buy your e-book.

7. Charge people a cheap price to read half of your e-book. If
they like it, they can pay full price to read the other half.

8. Offer freebies that are related to the e-book your selling.
It could be free monthly e-book updates, free e-zine, free
consulting, etc.

9. Show your prospects a sample page out of your e-book. Just
black out some of the important info. This will make your
prospects curious to buy.

10. Provide a low and high priced version of your e-book. Show
benefits of each version side by side. People usually spend a
little more for extra info.

11. Offer the reprint rights to your e-book. You can sell the
rights with the regular purchase price or as a separate higher
price.

12. Make your e-book available for offline people. Your could
turn it into a print book, report, video, audio book, print
newsletter, etc.

13. Redesign your e-book for specific niches. You can create
multiple profits with very little work. Ex: Turn a business
e-book into a craft business e-book.

14. Give your prospects discount coupons on other products when
they purchase your e-book. It could be your products or others
that you made deals with.

15. Divide your e-book into online newsletter issues. You could
charge a reoccurring monthly subscription for people to view
each issue.

—-

William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in domains,
webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles and
resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business
opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at
http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at
william@nabaza.com

more free articles here: http://www.nabaza.com/resources.htm

Swami Vivekananda presented the talk, Real Religion at the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893. With this speech, he introduced Vedanta (AKA Hinduism) to the West. It is more than 100 years later and the Christian West continues to struggle with the world’s religions. This is a brief opportunity to comment on Vivekananda’s speech.

“Religion does not consist in doctrines or dogmas.” What simple and wise words. However, the religion of the West, Christianity, is devoted to its doctrines and dogmas. Doctrines about Christianity as the exclusive path to salvation are the roots of Christian evangelization and, sadly, of Christian intolerance. Such intolerance extends to the ends of the earth. The Catholic hierarchy, for example, sets its gaze upon every religious tradition and judges. The proselytizing view of the Catholic Church and all of Christianity, peruses its own house. In Catholicism, for example, Catholic theologians who dare to present theological arguments for salvation in religions other than Christianity are silenced, taken from teaching positions, indexed.

I agree with Vivekananda. Doctrine is not the same as the experience to which doctrine points. God-realization cannot be achieved by reading doctrines or encyclicals. The Christian Testament points to a reality that must be experienced. The purpose of the Gospels, for example, is to encourage faithful to embark on a journey home to God and to portray the unfathomable source of pure love that is God. But, the words are not the journey. “The raft is not the shore.” If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

This does not mean that doctrines, dogma, sacred texts are disposable and without real spiritual value. I merely suggest that the source of strife among the peoples of the world is inordinate reliance upon religious teachings at the expense of emphasis upon an experience of God and the consequent comprehension of the interrelationship among all people and the cosmos.

For religious leaders in any religious traditions, why is it so incomprehensible to agree with Vivekananda: “As soon as a man stands up and says he is right or his church is right and all others are wrong, he himself all wrong.” Of course, in order to be consistent, I suppose I must admit that I could be wrong.

Sandi Fults has a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She also attended the graduate Middle Eastern Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her area of specialization is Interreligious Dialogue and the world’s religions, with emphasis on the South Asian Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions. She is convinced that interreligious dialogue is a way to peace.

How is it possible that trash Companies are posting less than expected results? Trash Companies are thought of by prudish investors as some of the safest stocks to own. Ask Warren in his Buffet of Essays on Corporate America. Companies which service the needs of the people tend to stay afloat longer and respond very little to economic down turn. Most investment advisors and attorneys would agree. And anyone who has ever stopped to ponder the idea of recession proof businesses would inevitably put Trash and Refuse companies at the top of the list. What other companies? Environmental Companies, Security Companies, Cigarette makers, vice industries (gambling, drinking, risqué type businesses).

We had put together a list last year for our own company of industries during the recessions which were safest to do services for without being strung out on accounts receivables or having companies file bankruptcy on us. We are in the cleaning business and only got burned by a few such industries we had put on the list. Yes all those listed and about 23 others were on the said list in a Memo we call “Letter’s from Lance” copying the Michael Dell theory of management and personal contact to each and every member on the team, his of course discussed in his book, “Dell” by Dell. He called them ‘Messages from Mike’.

If you are wondering how a guy who washes cars can have so much data output, realize we do these discussions from the top of our heads, so it is merely a fact of putting into key strokes, the data is data from past experiences, knowledge and insight from reading many different and unique sources as to never be jaded by Corporate Propaganda, Media Hysteria, here say or rumors. Before you call your investment attorney to sue the trash company for their forward looking statements, think about the changes in that industry. Also understand that 23% to 40% of their business comes from commercial accounts not residential accounts, thus during a recession it may not always be the safest bet, but all in all not a bad bet. If you want further advice call; Jim Kramer on Mad Money; let him tell you. Think about it.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/