One way to accomplish this is by “oven frying.” This can be done chicken, pork chops, and fish. Instead of frying the meats in hot oil, the foods are baked in the oven with just a little margarine or cooking spray. To reduce the amount of fat even more, trim all the visible fat from the meats, and remove the skin from chicken pieces. Before baking, rub the flesh with a tasty mixture of herbs and spices, apple cider vinegar, or hot sauce. Next, dip the portions of meat, chicken, or fish in low-fat buttermilk, then dredge the pieces in flour. Spray both sides with cooking spray and bake, as usual.

Another way to get low-fat southern food is to use your grill. Again, rub the meats with some sort of rub before grilling. Use this method for skinless chicken, lean pork chops, venison steaks, beef sirloin, fish fillets, or whole dressed fish. When the meat is almost done, you can always brush it with a low fat or fat-free barbecue sauce or mustard sauce.

Southern veggies are great on the grill, too, especially summer squash, eggplant, zucchini, Vidalia onions, and green beans. Sweet potatoes on the grill are awesome, too! Again, cooking spray is your friend here. Simply coat the sliced vegetables with cooking spray and season with your favorite herbs and spices.

One simple thing you can do on a regular basis for great looking skin is to hydrate yourself. To put it simply, drink more water! You’ve probably heard by now that experts claim you should be drinking 8 classes of water a day. This amount still seems strange to some people, but it makes perfect sense when you consider how much water your skin absorbs on a daily basis. And if you happen to be dealing with problems like acne, rashes, or sunburn, you really need that extra water. In order for your skin to rejuvenate and heal, it needs the basic building blocks to do that job properly. This is especially true if you’re using certain acne products that will dry out your skin as well.

It’s also important to keep up with a healthy diet filled with nutrients that benefit your skin. There are some great foods that coincide with good health such as salmon, fruits, and fresh vegetables. These elements will bolster the health of your skin while providing it with essential minerals and vitamins. Things like green tea and tomato sauce are also loaded in antioxidants which come in handy with eliminating free radicals from your system. These are the types of toxins that can affect your hormones levels or the ability of your skin to repair itself. When you can eliminate toxins and pollutants you’ll be able to get rid of acne and other skin problems more effectively.

You can also bolster your daily washing routine with a bit of exercise and making sure your body is well rested. Exercise is an essential thing to keep your body running at maximum capacity, and it helps to circulate fresh blood to all areas of your body. You should never forget about sleep either because this can benefit your skin in numerous ways, not the least of which is helping with repair and rejuvenation. And if you do have certain products that you apply to your face, you can maximize their effectiveness by applying them right before you go to bed.

All of the spice racks that come with spices sit on your counter. But most of these are quite small and don’t take up much counter space. You’ll find both traditional and modern  styles of spice racks. The one above would fit beautifully in a traditional country kitchen. But never fear if your your kitchen decor is modern, Kamenstein also makes a very similar spice rack to the one shown above, but it is made of black wood and chrome.

Kamenstein isn’t the only company that makes spice racks with spices. Another attractive version is shown and described in the video below.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A GREAT SELECTION OF SPICE JARS WITH SPICES!

One of the most exciting aspects of tea is the fact that the same plant species Camilia sinensis can produce such a variety of different flavors and aromas: from a grassy green tea to a heady chai tea.  All flavors of tea (white, black, oolong, yellow, red, blue, green) are derived from the same 6 chemical compounds that are present in the tea plant: sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, caffeine, pigments and polyphenols. 

The best teas are infused from leaves picked at their peak, containing these compounds in perfect proportion. For most teas the peak occurs in the spring time after the winter dormant period.

From a health standpoint the polyphenols are the most interesting compounds.  These act as antioxidants, and tea has them in staggering proportions.   You’ll find many scientists claiming that they can reduce the effects of free radicals that may cause damage to DNA expression in our cells.  As a result of this the antioxidants in tea are thought to help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Tea also offers anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties which are thought to provide protection against high blood pressure, arthritis and osteoporosis. Some studies even indicate that drinking tea can help lower the absorption of carbohydrates and that tea can help the body responds to bacterial infections. Beyond this, tea is rich in fluoride an important mineral that helps us maintain healthy teeth and bones.

But it’s important that we don’t overreach ourselves. More long-term clinical trials are still needed before much of the evidence can be called conclusive. The way that I think about it is that there do seem to be many potential benefits to tea drinking and I’m sure that in the years to come more of the evidence will be decoded. But for now the simple ritual of enjoying a cup of tea does wonders for my spirit.  It brings me right into the present moment, which I’m sure is the best place to be. Any health benefit that I get from antioxidants is just a bonus.

A diet that consists of natural foods, vegetables, rich proteins, and so forth will be better for you compared to processed foods, foods with high trans fat, and junk food. Now instead of cutting out your favorite foods all together, a better approach would be to allow yourself one or two meals a week where you could eat whatever you want as sort of an award for sticking with your diet. Overtime, those cravings for bad food will be reduced.

In terms of whether vitamins are beneficial or whether they just increase the value of your urine is still up for debate. However, if you’re eating pretty poorly, taking vitamins in areas that you are lacking couldn’t hurt.