Spring Chicken Soup with Barley

I love this light soup for Spring!  The garnish that you add at the end really makes this unique.

1 tablespoon of olive oil.

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1/2 cup  chopped celery

2 garlic cloves

6 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of cooked diced chicken breast

1/3 cup barley

1 15 ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 cup of diagonally sliced asparagus

1 cup of frozen peas

Dash of sea salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup of chopped fresh Basil

1 teaspoon of orange zest

Heat oil  in soup kettle and saute, onion, celery and one garlic clove. Heat until softened. Add chicken broth, chicken and barley. (Sometimes I just use the already cooked off chickens from the market if you are limited in time).  Bring to a simmer and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.   Add tomatoes with juice, asparagus, peas and salt and pepper if desired. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Chop the remaining garlic clove with the fresh basil and stir in the fresh orange zest. Mix together in small bowl. When serving the soup add a spoonful of this mixture on top. Mmmmm delicious. Enjoy!

Curried Chicken Salad

This is such a quick delicious way to use up Chicken, Turkey or Tofu.

Chop up 1 to 2 cups or Chicken or Tofu in bite size pieces.

1/3 cup of Mayo ( or Veganaise if you are a vegetarian)

1/3 cup Yogurt. We love Greek Yogurt or you can use low fat if you like.

1 cup chopped Apple.

1 cup chopped Celery.

1/4 cup slice Almonds.

1 teaspoon of curry

1 teaspoon of Turmeric

1 teaspoon of Honey.

Add Curry, Turmeric, Honey, Mayo and Yogurt together first . Mix well and toss in chopped Chicken, Apples, Celery and Almonds. Chill and serve.  Enjoy!

(Photo: Getty Images)

How safe is the water that flows out of your tap? The answer very much depends on where you live.

It’s now easier than ever for consumers to find out what’s in their tap water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today released the results of a three-year investigation of municipal water supplies across the U.S.

The research and advocacy group looked at water quality tests performed by water utilities since 2004 and created an extensive database that contains info on the contaminants found in 48,000 communities in 45 states.

EWG also rated 100 big city (population over 250,000) water utilities. Below are the top and bottom results.

Cities with the best water:

1. Arlington, TX
2. Providence, RI
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Charleston, SC
5. Boston, MA
6. Honolulu, HI
7. Austin, TX
8. Fairfax County, VA
9. St. Louis, MO
10. Minneapolis, MN

Cities with the worst water:

1. Pensacola, FL
2. Riverside, CA
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Riverside County, CA
5. Reno, NV
6. Houston, TX
7. Omaha, NE
8. North Las Vegas, NV
9. San Diego, CA
10. Jacksonville, FL

Your city not on the list? Here is the full 100-city listing or you can search for your town by ZIP code.

If you live in one of the few areas that weren’t investigated, you can get an annual report of what’s in your public drinking water. If your water comes from a well, then see the EPA’s guidelines for those who use private wells.

The results of the investigation raise some concerns about municipal water supplies in the U.S. EWG says 316 different contaminants were found in the nation’s tap water. The group also points out that more than half of those contaminants aren’t regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Establishing more effective source water protection programs and developing enforceable government standards for contaminants would go a long way toward improving the nation’s water supply, according to the EWG.

In the meantime, no one is suggesting that you go out and start drinking bottled water (although, of course, in emergency situations it can be necessary). Experts still agree  that drinking tap is preferable to drinking bottled water. Bottled water is much more expensive than tap, it takes a huge toll on the planet, and it’s not necessarily any safer than tap. “Bottled water is not regulated in the same way as tap water,” says Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at EWG. “With bottled water, consumers often do not know what they are getting, and 25 to 40 percent of bottled water on the market is simply tap poured into a bottle.”

Knowing what’s in your water is the key. Once you know which contaminants are present, you can find the best filter to get rid of them. EWG put together a thorough buying guide to help you find an affordable water filter that works for you. You can read the guidelines or search for products based on contaminants you want to get rid of.

More from The Conscious Consumer blog

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Courtesy of Swanson Health Products

The best way to avoid adding inches to your waistline is also the most difficult: avoid eating high-fat foods and treats. During the holiday season, this is nearly impossible. Indulging yourself a little bit isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. So the key is to find a middle ground, where you can enjoy the seasonal favorites while doing so in moderation. Go ahead and have a few bites, but limit yourself to those few bites every day or every other day. Avoid taking home leftovers from the big family dinners, too. Having leftovers in the fridge can almost make a person feel compelled to finish them off so they “don’t go to waste.” You also need to stay active. Even in the colder winter weather, getting outside for a walk or to shovel snow will get your heart rate up and invigorate your natural metabolism. So instead of sinking into the couch after your big holiday meals, get everyone up and outside to enjoy an after-dinner stroll through the neighborhood to enjoy the holiday lights.

There are also a couple dietary supplements, vitamins and minerals that can help you control your hunger and maintain your healthy metabolism. For example, Turmeric is a very popular supplement that contains the antioxidant curcumin, which may help your body burn fat instead of storing it according to a 2009 study in The Journal of Nutrition. Calcium and vitamin D can also help fight the holiday battle of the bulge. According to another 2009 study, this time in the British Journal of Nutrition, these two nutrients can help you curb your cravings for fatty foods.

First of all if you used Mediacoms online mail client, the address for access has completely changed from mymediacom.com to

http://www.mediacomtoday.com/

If you use any other computer based mail client such as Outlook or Thunderbird, you are going to have to change your POP and SMTP settings as follows:

The server is no longer: mail.mchsi.com

The Pop and SMTP server is now: mediacombb.net

Ports can remain the same at 110 for POP or changed to 995 for SSL.

Port for SMTP can remain at 25 or 465 for SSL.

The big bummer comes when you change parameters…. The old server brings all of your old emails over to the new server. My wife had to download 9108 emails, I deleted everything that had been downloaded previously.

But wait there’s more: Although Mediacom’s initial promo email promised that no parameters would change, the tech told me that eventually your email address will need to be changed from: yourEmail@mchsi.com to yourEmail@mediacombb.net. Presently they have a patch in place so you will continue to get youremail@mcshi.com

Having had my internet down for two whole days two weeks ago and now no Email for 5 days, I asked about compensation… the Tech said that Email is a freebie… so no compensation!

Mediacom Tier 1 Tech Support: 1-877-387-8087  – 6am to 11:30pm CST

My suggestion: Get Gmail and forget about Mediacom Email.

Jonathan David Sabin
Vortex Technology Services
www. vortex-tech.net

I love to change people's lives

When I first started to share Isagenix with everyone, I felt like I was intruding on their lives.  Now I feel that I can change lives and feel honored to share.  I know this because I have done it myself and I know I can help.  Its a privilege to be able to do so.

My sister has just started a 9 day cleanse. After her first 3 days, she has already lost 7 pounds and 7 inches.  I’ll keep you posted on how much she looses at the end.  This is so exciting to me, to be able to help my family and friends.  Many people have come to me after trying many other diets and programs.  I know this program is so far superior to anything that I have found.  I have lost 28 pound and have been able to keep my weight in check for two years.

People ask….how long do I have to stay on this program?  Will I gain all my weight back if I stop?  These are great questions.   My question for you is… Are you going to stop eating food?  Why not put quality nutrition into your body?  I start clients out with a 9 day cleanse and depending on how much weight they want to loose, they might need to invest in a 30 day program.  Once you have their weight to where they want it to be, then it’s just maintenance.  I still like to have a shake for breakfast and do a one day cleanse either once a week or every other week.  I’ll do a two day cleanse a couple of times a year.  That’s it!  The truth is, I love the products so much that I choice to use more then just the maintenance.   About putting weight back on:  if you go back to eating and living your life as you did before, then you could probably gain the weight back. Once you get your metabolism going you burn your food more efficiently.  If you want to keep a fire burning, keep throwing on the logs.

Here’s to changing your life!  Pamela 319-621-3523

www.pamelasabin.isagenix.com

pamela@resourcesforhealthandwealth.com

Wednesday 12/3/09 7:00 p.m.

For more information, Please call: 319-621-3523 or 319-621-0191 or 319-354-0019 and go to Our Kangen Water Iowa Page.

In this free lecture we will explore the research and myths surrounding Hydration, Alkalinity and Anti-oxidants.  Do they affect health?  Can Cancer survive in an Alkaline environment?  Nobel Prize winner Dr. Warburg did extensive research on the subject.  Now there is even more evidence to support his hypothesis and new technologies to further his research.  Does the water you drink affect your health? These topics and many more will be discussed.

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4 medium to large Beets

1 medium Onion

5 carrots

4 Portabella Mushrooms

1 cups of Green Beans

6 Fingerling Potatoes

Tofu (optional)

Teaspoon of Tamari

Several sprigs of fresh Rosemary and Sage

Olive Oil

Preheat Oven to 400

Peel and cut Butternut squash into chunks. Peel and chop all other vegetable except Green Beans, leave them whole. I like to cut everything in big chunks. Sprinkle olive oil on everthing and toss with herbs. Cook for 1 hour in the oven and serve with Brown Rice. Mmmm this is so delicious! Great for those cool nights.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Clover Honey

1 to3 Butternut Squash

2 Sprigs of Rosemary

3 Cloves , peeled and smashed

Lemon Zest from one lemon

1 Teaspoon of Chili Flakes

1 Tablespoon Currants

4 Ounces of Pancetta (Optional)

2 Tablespoons  Sweet Clover Honey

Salt to taste

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Half squash lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Peel squash halves and slice crosswise into half-inch-thick pieces.

3. Chop Rosemary, Garlic, and Lemon Zest and mix with Chili Flakes, Currants, Pancetta, and Honey.

4. In a large bowl. toss Squash, Salt, Olive Oil, and all other ingredients. Divide Squash  between two rimmed baking sheets, spreading over evenly.

5. Roast in oven for 15 to 20 minutes (rotating pans front to back halfway) or until cooked through and golden.